Time flew like a white horse passing a crevice, and in the blink of an eye, it was the summer of 2010.
On this day, the scorching sun burned fiercely. There were no clouds in the sky, and there was no wind. The blazing sun roasted the earth. Along the tree-shaded streets, the willow leaves drooped and curled up, turning the entire city into something resembling a brick kiln that made it suffocatingly difficult to breathe. Pedestrians on the road hurried along, most of them rushing into air-conditioned places to escape the sun and cool off.
Inside Villa No. 13, located in an upscale villa area in the northern part of the city, the air conditioning was set to 15 degrees Celsius. The master of the house, whose slender frame was clad in a thin shirt, did not seem particularly sensitive to the cold. However, his fingertips were pale, the tip of his nose was slightly red, and his phoenix-like eyes, with their upturned outer corners, were half-closed. He reached out to pick up a cup, took a sip of the rich coffee, and a cold smile curved the corners of his lips. His fair hand picked up a tissue to wipe his mouth. Every movement exuded an innate elegance and noble breeding.
At this moment, however, he seemed somewhat impatient. Raising his eyes behind his rimless glasses, he looked at the man opposite him and said, “Director Liu, I have listened to your fantasies for two hours. Now, what is your actual intention in coming to see me?”
The interrogated man shivered again, his stiff facial muscles squeezing out an extraordinarily ugly smile as he stammered, “Mr. Zhuang, I want to ask for your help. I was locked up for two days for no reason at all, and when I woke up, I felt like I had committed murder. But I could never do such a thing.”
He sighed softly, then made a blunt suggestion to Director Liu: “You can go turn yourself in.”
“No, impossible! I could never do such a thing!”
Faced with Director Liu’s interruption, he smiled with an ambiguous meaning, which made the man opposite him even more anxious, his plump buttocks sliding to the edge of the sofa.
“This is no joking matter, Mr. Zhuang,” Director Liu said anxiously. “I cannot go to the police station. What if I really did commit murder? Just think about it, that is something punishable by death!”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“I know it has nothing to do with you. But aside from the police, I can only turn to a private detective. Please help me out, considering your older brother, our chairman.”
“You are an employee of Zhuoran. If you have any issues, you should go to him.”
“Please, Mr. Zhuang.” In his desperation, Director Liu grabbed his hand, the excess fat on his stomach jiggling in a somewhat comical fashion.
He deftly pulled his hand away, smiled, and asked, “Why look for me? I am not the only private detective around.”
“I know that you even solved a serial murder case earlier this year, and your peers respectfully refer to you as Young Master Yi. Please treat this as me overstepping my bounds. You can name any price you like for the consultation fee.”
He arched a brow: “Do you think I, Zhuang Zhuoyi, am lacking in money?”
“No, no, no,” Director Liu hastily corrected himself. “That is not what I meant. Shouldn’t everything be done with proper justification? I am simply pleading with you here.”
Unwilling to bicker with this person any longer, he lowered his eyelids, gazing down at his nose, his nose at his mouth, and his mouth at his heart with a detached attitude. Even a fool could understand this reaction: his mind was completely made up not to help. Yet Director Liu refused to give up, spouting a flood of flattery strong enough to make anyone’s teeth ache. But no matter how much he wore down his lips, the other man remained unmoved.
“Mr. Zhuang, you are far too cold-hearted.”
“Oh? Did you just realize that?” he asked with a smile.
Director Liu hardened his resolve: “I no longer expect you to help me, but you must help me figure out whether I actually committed murder or not! Back in that small warehouse…”
“I know,” he interrupted. “You were knocked unconscious on the afternoon of August 6, and when you woke up, you found yourself in a pitch-black small room. No one brought you food or water, and no one appeared. Then, a memory formed in your mind of strangling a boy by the beach. But this memory is very vague and incomplete. You merely feel that you committed murder. By 05:00 on the morning of August 8, a loading worker helped you open the door, and after going outside, you realized it was an abandoned garage in the remote outskirts.”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Director Liu nodded frantically.
Sighing helplessly, he pushed his glasses up his nose and said, “Do you see any part of me that resembles a psychologist? Whether you killed someone or not, I have no way of giving you an answer.” He tilted his head, smiling completely harmlessly, “However, I can offer you a suggestion.”
“What is it?”
“Call the police.”
Can I strangle this damn kid to death? Director Liu thought, gritting his teeth.
Just as he was deadlocked with the fat man, the cell phone on the table buzzed. He picked it up and answered without looking, saying, “Hello?”
“Zhuoyi, this is Lawyer Teng. Chairman Zhuang is in trouble. This morning, people from the municipal police station said he needed to assist with a murder investigation, so they took him down to the station. As a result, they still have not released him, and they won’t even allow me to see Chairman Zhuang.”
“When this morning?”
“He was taken away at nine o’clock.”
“Right now. Alright, wait for me, don’t go anywhere. I am heading over right now.”
The lawyer on the other end of the line seemed to have more to say, but he immediately hung up. He raised his head to glance at the embarrassed-looking fatty, smiled, and asked, “Liu Gang, you…”
“It is Liu Tie.”
He nodded apologetically: “Director Liu, you should go home first. Tonight or tomorrow morning, I will contact you.”
“Does that mean you are willing to help me?” Director Liu’s face lit up with pleasant surprise, looking as though he wished Zhuang Zhuoyi would give him a definitive answer right this second.
He neither nodded nor shook his head, simply stating, “What I said just now was not a joke. Whether you committed murder or not, being attacked and imprisoned for two days is something that definitely requires reporting to the police. If you do not dare to do it, then wait for my contact.”
“I will wait, I will wait!” Director Liu was ecstatic. “I will definitely wait!”
Having finally dismissed the newly pardoned Director Liu, he pulled out his pure white phone and dialed a number. Someone answered quickly, and he said in a firm, unquestionable tone, “Twenty minutes from now, license plate ABCXX will pass the north-to-south intersection on Hexiang Road. The driver is a fat man in his forties. Follow him until I contact you again. In addition, have your subordinates find an abandoned garage in the outskirts. The garage door should be half open.”
The person on the other end seemed quite prompt, a fact he could deduce from the satisfied expression on his face as those various requirements were accepted. After arranging everything, he grabbed his car keys and headed straight for the police station.
Upon arriving at the police station, he walked toward the criminal investigation squad’s office area. Based on his understanding of the police department, homicide cases fell under the jurisdiction of the criminal investigation squad. The captain, Lei Bin, was an inflexible fellow, but also an all-rounder with considerable quality. Having crossed paths with him a few times, their relationship could be aptly described by the phrase mutual revulsion upon sight.
Lei Bin, who was currently locked in a battle of wits with Zhuang Zhuoran in the interrogation room, looked up in surprise upon hearing that Young Master Yi had come for a visit. A cold smile crossed his face as he said, “Your detective brother has arrived.” Without waiting for any response from the other man, he stood up and left.
In the criminal investigation office area, Zhuang Zhuoyi saw many people busy at work. Sitting near an open window was a woman in her forties with a look of extreme anxiety on her face, clutching a transparent plastic bag in her hands.
Is she a suspect? Zhuang Zhuoyi’s mind brushed past a thought entirely unrelated to himself.
“It is rare for you to grace my humble temple, Zhuang Zhuoyi,” Lei Bin bellowed from afar, greeting him with a lukewarm, boisterous shout.
He smiled faintly, waiting until Lei Bin approached before saying, “You detained my brother. How could I possibly not come?”
“OK,” Lei Bin shrugged. “But it is best not to ask questions about the case.”
“Do you think that is likely?”
His smile was genuine and radiant, yet anyone who saw it felt no warmth—only a chilling draft blowing down the back of their necks. Turning to look at Lei Bin, who was smiling even more candidly than Zhuang Zhuoyi, observers felt the same creeping chill running straight down their spines. The surrounding police officers discreetly retreated, each finding cover to observe the hidden daggers and poisoned arrows exchanged behind those smiles.
Lei Bin’s smile had been honed through thousands of trials, and Zhuang Zhuoyi’s expression was similarly consummate. It was impossible to tell whose technique was superior, but the first to speak was Lei Bin. Pointing at the person Zhuang Zhuoyi had noticed earlier, Lei Bin said, “The reporter of the crime. A body was found on the beach this morning. We found Zhuang Zhuoran’s business card and a large amount of cash covered in his fingerprints inside the victim’s clothes. According to the preliminary forensic appraisal, the victim had engaged in homosexual acts before death, and their entire body was covered in beating bruises. We invited Zhuang Zhuoran back to assist with the investigation, and he admitted to spending the night with the victim and having relations. Furthermore, laboratory tests confirm…”
Just as the surrounding police officers were about to rush over and cover Lei Bin’s mouth, the captain who had just leaked case details suddenly stopped speaking, striking an exaggerated expression of sudden enlightenment as he patted his forehead. “Ah, Young Master Yi, I cannot say another word past this point.”
“That is enough,” he replied indifferently. Ignoring Lei Bin, who was still putting on a show, he walked straight toward the two reporting witnesses.
Lei Bin flashed a look at his underling, who eagerly trotted along behind Zhuang Zhuoyi. Watching Zhuang Zhuoyi squat down in front of the elderly woman, the young police officer noticed he first flashed a smile at her.
That smiling expression was somewhat dazzling; the junior officer nearby thought a smile like that was enough to conquer any creature possessing maternal instincts.
“Hello,” Zhuang Zhuoyi greeted her. “Don’t worry, the elderly person at home will be fine.”
The woman was startled, then asked, “You, how did you know I have an elderly person to take care of?”
He pointed to the white bag in the woman’s hand and said, “Inside are southern-north almonds and snow pears. As far as I know, these are foods used to assist in treating geriatric asthma. Furthermore, you still carry the scent of traditional Chinese medicine, so I surmise that you have an elder at home between sixty-five and seventy years old.” He glanced sideways at the young policeman standing nearby, then continued, “Located in the North Bay area of the city is an early morning wholesale market. There are no residential neighborhoods around it; the closest is Lilac Town north of the city, and riding a bicycle to the wholesale market takes an hour. Judging by the operating hours of the early morning market, I deduce that you must have left your house at three in the morning. The road from Lilac Town to the market is very remote, and if you had any other idle family members, they surely would not have let you out in the middle of the night. Therefore, I conclude that there is only you and that elder at home.”
The woman stared at him in utter astonishment: “Yes, that’s right. My mother has asthma, and I rushed to the early morning market just to buy her some fresh southern-north almonds. These items are out of season and expensive, so they are slightly cheaper at the wholesale market.”
He smiled and patted the woman’s hand, a gentle expression gracing his handsome face as he said, “Do not worry, the police will arrange for someone to take care of your mother.” Finally, his tone shifted slightly: “The road from Lilac Town to the wholesale market passes the northern side of the coast, which means the body was found along that exact route. You are holding goods you already purchased; calculated by time, you must have discovered the body between 06:00 and 06:30 this morning, is that correct?”
The young policeman beside them blinked, thinking to himself, This guy is insanely good!