Chang Bin walked over to Zeng Yongjia and smacked him on the back of the head. “Why do you care how he knows that? What, cops aren’t allowed to have a private life now?”
It sounded like he was defending Ji Chen, but the way he was wiggling his eyebrows made it look suspiciously insincere.
Sure enough, laughter immediately broke out around the office.
Xie Zihao became even more animated. “Zeng Yongjia, just take a look at Team Leader Ji’s face. You think he’s anything like you? If you went out without covering your face, girls would be running the other way. And have you seen his waist? If he started dancing in a nightclub, it’d probably be pretty damn impressive.”
“Hahahahahaha…!” The laughter grew even louder.
The office door was open, and the commotion likely carried quite a distance down the hallway.
No one particularly cared whether they were overheard. The Special Crimes Unit and the Cold Case Unit didn’t exactly get along, and neither side ever held back when teasing the other.
“Tone it down a little!” As usual, Zeng Yongjia reacted quickly. He slapped away the hand Chang Bin had draped over his shoulder and glanced nervously at He Shu’s calm, unreadable face.
Lowering his voice, he said: “Our team isn’t an all-boys club anymore. We’ve finally got a flower among the leaves. Watch what you say from now on.”
When it was just a bunch of men together, conversations naturally got a little unrestrained when people got excited. But that didn’t mean He Shu wanted to listen to it. The others were decent enough to save face.
Hearing that, they turned around and went back to what they had been doing. Only Xie Zihao curled his lip disdainfully and let out a snort.
Seeing this, Zeng Yongjia glanced at He Shu again. She remained focused on reading her report, head lowered, seemingly oblivious to the conversation. Breathing a sigh of relief, he dragged Xie Zihao over to a distant desk.
Chang Bin, naturally eager for gossip, followed along.
A few nearby colleagues also noticed and turned their heads curiously.
“Brother Xie…” Zeng Yongjia lowered his voice to the barest whisper. “You really don’t have to be so hostile all the time, do you?”
“No matter what, Captain He was appointed after careful consideration by the department leadership. It’s one thing if you don’t trust her, but do you not trust the leadership either? They’d never joke around with the Major Crimes Unit!”
“Exactly, exactly.” Chang Bin immediately nodded in agreement.
“Put your prejudice aside for a moment. You’ve seen it yourself these past two days. She may be young, but she’s actually pretty capable.”
“She picked up the work incredibly fast; every assignment has been handled properly, and there haven’t been any mistakes.”
“I call it reasonable skepticism!” Xie Zihao was nothing like the other two, who were treading carefully. Instead, he craned his neck and spoke openly.
“So what if the appointment came from the leadership? Are leaders incapable of making mistakes? If she wants me to respect her, fine. Then she needs to show me something worthy of that respect!” When he finished speaking, he deliberately looked toward the person standing in front of the whiteboard with her back to them.
The challenge in his attitude was unmistakable.
Zeng Yongjia covered his face in defeat. He had never imagined that his well-intentioned attempt to smooth things over would only further provoke the man’s rebellious streak. They had worked together for years. How had he never realized that this guy’s psychological age was apparently still stuck in adolescence?
“Hey, hey, hey! Easy there!” Chang Bin hurriedly stepped in. “What’s gotten into you lately? You’re like a firecracker. One little spark and you explode.”
Xie Zihao glared at him. “I should be asking what’s gotten into the two of you! You’re practically one step away from tattooing the word coward on your foreheads!”
“Let’s not even talk about Old Chang…” His gaze settled on Zeng Yongjia. “I’m talking about you. Why do you always shrink your neck the moment you’re around that little girl?”
“She hasn’t even said anything yet, and you’re already afraid to breathe too loudly. Have you got any backbone at all?”
“Sure, she’s the boss, but do you really have to act like such a suck-up?”
As soon as he said that, Chang Bin seemed to realize something as well. He shot Zeng Yongjia a highly suspicious look. “Old Xie may be out of line, but you’ve definitely got issues too. Didn’t you say you’d only met Captain He twice back when you first joined the force? Are you hiding some crucial clues and evidence from us?”
“…”
Zeng Yongjia truly hadn’t expected the conversation to suddenly turn on him. The tips of his ears turned slightly red. After suppressing the guilty feeling that had risen inside him, he stubbornly retorted,
“Hiding what… what?!” He paused, then looked at the two men as though they were hopeless cases. “One day you’re both going to regret this!” The final sentence was practically squeezed out through clenched teeth, as if he had used every ounce of strength he possessed to say it.
“What are you all talking about?” A clear female voice suddenly sounded from behind them.
In that instant, cold sweat broke out all over Zeng Yongjia’s back. He spun around quickly and forced a smile. “Nothing, Captain He. Did you need something?”
Chang Bin looked just as embarrassed. Only Xie Zihao looked completely unconcerned.
“Now that the Technical Division has finished analyzing those glitter particles and given us a lead, and since our investigation doesn’t have any major new breakthroughs at the moment…” He Shu raised an eyebrow and curled her lips into a smile that was both charming and dangerous.
“How about going out and relaxing a little?”
…
A little after ten that night, the familiar silver-gray beater drifted smoothly into a parking space with a clean, effortless turn.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Chang Bin was so stunned by the display of driving skill that he couldn’t react for several seconds. When he finally came to his senses, he unbuckled his seatbelt and gave the driver a thumbs-up.
“Beautiful!” Then he opened the door and got out. Dressed in a tracksuit, he stood there with his hands on his hips, watching the stream of people coming and going.
Most of them were fairly young. The women were largely dressed in fashionable, revealing outfits, wearing carefully applied nightclub makeup.
The men were no less eager to stand out. Some looked trendy and stylish. Others looked unmistakably wealthy.
The parking lot was filled with luxury cars. Looking down row after row of them, it felt like you could snap off any hood ornament, walk over to a real estate sales office, and use it as a down payment on a house.
Zeng Yongjia and Xie Zihao climbed out of the back seat right behind him.
Chang Bin smacked his lips a couple of times and turned to look at He Shu as she got out of the driver’s seat.
“Captain He, just look at this. We drove our little junker in here. Doesn’t it stand out way too much? It’s completely out of place!”
“What?” Zeng Yongjia walked over and rolled his eyes. “From the sound of it, Old Chang, are you hoping to pick up a girl or something?”
“You can forget it. Sister-in-law would kill you.”
“What, from the sound of it, Old Chang, are you looking to pick up a girl or something?” Zeng Yongjia walked over and rolled his eyes. “Forget it. Sister-in-law would kill you.”
“Pick up girls? Me?” Chang Bin scoffed. “I’m thinking about you younger guys here!”
After shutting the car door, He Shu casually tossed the keys over. Smiling as Chang Bin fumbled around before finally catching them, she said, “Hey, I already picked the most intact-looking vehicle in the motor pool. It’s an official work trip, so don’t be so picky.”
The four of them headed out of the parking lot.
Across the street was an entire district devoted to nightlife. Since Jinghuai was a coastal tourist city, many bars and nightclubs were located near the beach. Besides residents, a large portion of their clientele came from the huge influx of tourists every year.
“Zeng Yongjia, you and Old Chang are one team. Brother Xie and I will be the other.” He Shu quickly laid out the plan. “Once inside, focus on two things: the glitter particles and whether any of the staff recognize either of the two victims.”
With no one objecting, the group entered the first club together. The investigation went smoothly, yet not smoothly at all. They moved quickly, but found almost nothing useful. Near midnight, the four of them left their fourth venue and headed for a fifth.
This nightclub, called Phantom, had an extremely lively atmosphere. The difference was obvious the moment they walked in. A cross-shaped stage stood at the center of the club. Several scantily dressed female dancers moved around the poles mounted on it, while pounding dance music filled the air. The area around the stage was packed with people, men and women alike, practically shoulder to shoulder.
Taking in the scene, Zeng Yongjia clicked his tongue. The music was so deafening that he had to move close to the others and shout at the top of his lungs: “Seriously?! This kind of performance isn’t against the rules?!”
Chang Bin shook his head and yelled back just as loudly: “The club’s pushing the boundaries!”
“You could say it’s legal because technically it hasn’t crossed the line. But you could also say it’s not exactly legal because… well, just look at it. Makes you uncomfortable either way.”
“Captain He, how about this one: you and Old Xie check out the dancers, while Zeng Yongjia and I talk to the waitstaff.” He bared his teeth in a grin. “I’d better not spend too much time looking at that stuff. My wife might gouge my eyes out when I get home.”
Zeng Yongjia teased, “It’s work. Sister-in-law will understand.”
“Whether she understands is one thing. Whether I keep myself in line is another.” Chang Bin shoved Zeng Yongjia toward the other side of the club, continuing to mutter, “A lifelong bachelor like you wouldn’t understand a damn thing…”
Naturally, things were nowhere near as harmonious between He Shu and Xie Zihao.
After the other two disappeared into the crowd, the pair headed toward the stage in silence. Only after forcing their way through layers of human “shields” did they finally manage to squeeze into a spot directly beneath the stage.
And what a spot it was.
The moment they looked up, a dancer’s body, twisting and bending in every conceivable direction, filled their view. If her movements became any more dramatic, they might end up seeing things they definitely weren’t there to investigate.
Adhering to the principle of look but don’t stare, Xie Zihao shifted his gaze toward another dancer farther away. Through the flashing lights, he studied her carefully for several seconds before nudging the person beside him with his elbow.
“See it?”
“Mm. Glitter.” He Shu nodded.
More than that, the style of the fluorescent pink skirts the dancers wore looked somewhat similar to the outfit described by the elderly man living across from Nie Han’s rented apartment.
As they talked, the music suddenly paused. When it started up again, it was much softer than before. The dancers on stage gradually stopped as well and began heading backstage, apparently signaling the end of the performance. Only one dancer jumped straight off the stage, seemingly to greet some acquaintances.
He Shu gave Xie Zihao a meaningful look, then walked over by herself. Reaching out, she tapped the woman on the shoulder with a bit more force than necessary.
“Excuse me?” Startled, the woman turned around and frowned. After giving He Shu a once-over, she asked in a less-than-friendly tone: “Who are you?”
He Shu took out her police identification and smiled. “I just have a few questions. It’ll only take a moment.”
The two people who had been talking with the woman immediately backed away the instant they saw the badge, clearly afraid of getting into trouble.
The woman looked even more impatient. “Officer, I’m working here legally. You’re not going to arrest me just for dancing, are you?”
“Have you ever seen these two men?” He Shu held out two photographs.
The woman didn’t even take them. Standing there with her arms crossed, she merely glanced at them twice and answered perfunctorily: “Don’t know them. Never seen them. No idea.”
Then she shrugged. “If that’s all, Officer, I need to get back to work.” With that, she sauntered off.
He Shu didn’t stop her. Instead, she put the photographs away and raised her right hand, palm up. Under the dim club lighting, it reflected tiny flashes of color.
“Captain He? What are you looking at?” Zeng Yongjia suddenly emerged from somewhere in the crowd.
“A search warrant…” she replied. As she spoke, the glittering particles scattered across her open palm sparkled in the light.