Ge Yu and Cheng Yong watched the two of them.
Ge Yu tugged at Su Miaoyi. “Do you know him?”
Su Miaoyi nodded.
Ge Yu immediately said, “It’s not much money, just take it and eat. No need to pay, no need to pay.”
“It’s fine.” Su Miaoyi brought over the payment code. “Just scan this.”
Consider it payment for the help.
Zhuang Yanzheng scanned the code and paid.
Four hundred yuan credited to the account.
Su Miaoyi was momentarily stunned, then smiled again.
Seeing her smile, Zhuang Yanzheng’s brow twitched slightly. “Let’s go.”
“In a hurry? Is there time to make a quick trip home?” Su Miaoyi asked. “If not, never mind.”
“There’s time.” Zhuang Yanzheng said.
Su Miaoyi looked at her uncle and aunt.
Ge Yu immediately smiled and asked, “A friend?”
Su Miaoyi saw the smile on her aunt’s face—that gleaming, radiant smile—and figured she’d actually wanted to ask, “A boyfriend?”
“Um… yeah, a friend.” Su Miaoyi certainly couldn’t say he was the captain of the city’s criminal investigation unit.
Within two hours, rumors that the Cheng family’s adopted daughter had been arrested for various reasons would spread all over the district.
“Good, a friend is good, a friend is good.” Ge Yu looked at Zhuang Yanzheng, smiling with great satisfaction and great warmth.
Zhuang Yanzheng gave her a polite nod.
Su Miaoyi emphasized again, “Auntie, just a regular friend.”
“I understand, I understand.” Ge Yu smiled.
Su Miaoyi scratched at her cap. “…Auntie, I have some things to take care of. I need to head back to the city.”
“Then go on ahead.” Ge Yu said.
“Okay.” Su Miaoyi left together with Zhuang Yanzheng.
Cheng Yong remarked, “Look at you, smiling like you won the lottery.”
“What’s wrong with me smiling? You can’t even control that.” Ge Yu said. “That young man is so handsome, so steady, and he doesn’t talk much—unlike you, jabbering on and on all day without end.”
“Grim-faced, doesn’t even know how to smile, and clearly not young anymore! He’s not good enough for Miao Miao.” Cheng Yong said.
“You say he’s not good enough, so he’s not good enough? Who do you think you are! Stay out of Miao Miao’s business.” Ge Yu said.
“I’m her—” Cheng Yong started but stopped himself, lowering his head in silence.
Seeing that he was upset, Ge Yu sighed and said, “It’s not just you, it’s me too. Don’t think too highly of yourself. We only raised her for a few years. We took her in willingly, so don’t use that to demand things from her.”
“I know.”
…
Su Miaoyi first went home, placed the cash she’d withdrawn into an envelope, and tucked it under Ge Yu’s pillow.
Then she followed Zhuang Yanzheng back to the city.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Su Miaoyi was quiet for a moment before asking, “Are the cases all resolved?”
“Yeah.” Zhuang Yanzheng replied.
Su Miaoyi said nothing more.
“Why don’t you ask more? Not curious?” Zhuang Yanzheng asked.
“Didn’t you say case details can’t be disclosed to outsiders?” Su Miaoyi said.
“Yeah.” Zhuang Yanzheng hummed in acknowledgment.
Su Miaoyi glanced at him, then turned to look out the window.
If you can’t tell me, don’t tease my curiosity!
How infuriating!
Arriving at the city bureau, Su Miaoyi got out of the car and followed behind Zhuang Yanzheng.
Entering the police station, Zhuang Yanzheng called out, “Qi Feng.”
Su Miaoyi was startled by his voice.
Qi Feng immediately ran out and stood straight in front of him. “Captain Zhuang, awaiting orders.”
Zhuang Yanzheng tossed him the car keys. “There’s groceries in the trunk—stuff for cooking at home. Distribute them to the team.”
Qi Feng caught the keys. “Captain Zhuang doing a good deed again today?”
“Ran into a robber today.” Zhuang Yanzheng said.
Su Miaoyi pressed her lips together and said nothing.
“Who would dare rob Captain Zhuang? They must have nerves of steel.” Qi Feng said.
Zhuang Yanzheng glanced back at Su Miaoyi.
Su Miaoyi quickly said, “I’ve been a law-abiding citizen my whole life.”
Zhuang Yanzheng said nothing and continued walking ahead.
Su Miaoyi jogged a few steps to catch up with him.
From this building to the one behind it.
Before going in, Su Miaoyi looked at the sign outside that read “Forensic Center.”
A wave of cold air hit her the moment she stepped inside.
Su Miaoyi shivered.
They finally stopped at the autopsy room.
Opening the door, they went in—there was another door inside.
Zhuang Yanzheng handed her shoe covers, a mask, and gloves.
Then he opened the second door and went in.
A forensic examiner was at the autopsy table.
Su Miaoyi saw the needle and thread in his hands.
She also saw the blood on the table.
The forensic examiner didn’t pause his stitching, nor did he acknowledge them.
Only when he finished suturing did he look at them.
Su Miaoyi saw a pair of very classic phoenix eyes.
Judging by the look in his eyes, she estimated his age.
At most thirty.
The captain, the forensic examiner, and the sketch artist at this station were all relatively young.
“So this is the one you mentioned…” The forensic examiner looked at her, weighing his words, hesitating, and finally settled on three words: “Little Split?”
Little Split?
Who?!
Su Miaoyi looked at Zhuang Yanzheng.
Did you come up with that name??
Zhuang Yanzheng glanced at her and introduced, “Su Miaoyi. This is the city bureau’s forensic examiner, Yan Cheng. He was on a business trip recently and just got back a couple days ago.”
“Hello.” Su Miaoyi said.
“Hello.” Yan Cheng’s tone of voice gave off a very gentlemanly and polite impression.
“Can you see any images related to him?” Zhuang Yanzheng pointed at the autopsy table and asked Su Miaoyi.
Su Miaoyi looked at him. “Right here, on the spot?”
“Yeah.”
Su Miaoyi looked back at the autopsy table.
The body was covered with a white cloth.
The previous two times, she had seen things suddenly. Would she see anything if she faced the body directly?
Su Miaoyi wanted to know too.
She slowly walked over.
Yan Cheng stood at the side, watching the two of them.
Zhuang Yanzheng had told him about Su Miaoyi’s situation.
He found it utterly unbelievable.
He had even given Zhuang Yanzheng a psychological test, thinking maybe he was overwhelmed by too many cases and had gone crazy.
But the test results showed he was perfectly normal.
No one was more normal than him.
Even so, standing here listening to the two of them talk, he still felt they both had mental issues.
Su Miaoyi walked up to the autopsy table, grabbed the white cloth, and slowly pulled it back a little.
She instinctively took a step back.
Dissected and then sewn back up, it was really…
But she only stepped back once before accepting everything before her.
She made a rough assessment.
A male, around twenty-two or twenty-three years old.
There were ligature marks on the neck.
The marks went upward—death by hanging?
Aside from these observations, Su Miaoyi didn’t see anything else.
She looked at Zhuang Yanzheng and shook her head.
Yan Cheng stood to the side without saying a word. At this point, he even thought Zhuang Yanzheng was just too tired lately and was messing with him for fun.
Zhuang Yanzheng looked at Su Miaoyi and asked, “Cause of death.”
Yan Cheng watched him.
“Death by asphyxiation?” Su Miaoyi gave a somewhat uncertain answer.
Yan Cheng didn’t find that surprising either.
Anyone with a bit of common sense, looking at the ligature marks on the body’s neck, would come to that conclusion.
But an autopsy couldn’t just rely on the surface of the body.
“Time of death.” Zhuang Yanzheng asked.
Su Miaoyi pulled the white cloth down a bit more, then reached out and touched the victim’s skin. “Rigor mortis is starting to ease, and livor mortis… around forty-eight hours?”
Zhuang Yanzheng looked at Yan Cheng again.
Yan Cheng merely nodded.
That didn’t prove anything either.
At most, it showed she had some level of knowledge.
But just as Su Miaoyi’s words trailed off, the scene before her eyes suddenly changed—though this time, the images were somewhat different…