After saying that, Jiang Chengyi returned to his room and emerged with a stack of documents, answering a phone call.

Lu Yan noticed he had no intention of cooking and, remembering they hadn’t settled lunch yet, headed to the kitchen to prepare something.

When Aunt Liu left in the morning, she had left what looked like a stew pot in the refrigerator.

Lu Yan had noticed it earlier and, out of curiosity, had peeked inside, only recognizing some abalone sauce among the contents, but unsure of its specific use.

Just as she was about to make some simple home-style dishes to get by, the phone on the dining table rang.

She went to check and, seeing an unfamiliar number, hesitated before answering.

“Miss Lu, guess who this is?”

It was a man and one with a very pleasant voice.

Having heard it just last night, it was quite familiar. Lu Yan said in surprise: “Yu Baifeng?”

Nearby, Jiang Chengyi, who had been on his call holding what appeared to be a USB drive, looked over when he heard Lu Yan’s voice.

Yu Baifeng sounded like he had just woken up, his voice slightly husky, making it even more seductive: “I’m so happy you remember me.”

How did he get her number? Lu Yan was completely puzzled.

Da Zhong and Tang Jie wouldn’t have taken such liberties, and she didn’t have the habit of giving out her number casually. After thinking it through, Senior Wen Peng seemed the most suspicious.

She responded politely: “Good afternoon, Mr. Yu.”

Yu Baifeng chuckled softly: “Are you free this weekend? No, no, don’t rush to reject me, Miss Lu. You’ve only met me once, you don’t know me well enough yet. I’m… much better than you imagine.”

Lu Yan laughed dryly: “Mr. Yu, I haven’t eaten—”

“Let me take you to a movie this weekend, the premiere of my film ‘XX Brilliant Starlight.’ Miss Lu, I know you’re busy, but life needs some variety. I bet you’ll like this film. Plus, many friends will be there—David, Dashan, Xiaowen—they’re all fun people. It’ll be lively.”

Jiang Chengyi tossed the USB drive and stack of documents back onto the coffee table and walked coldly to the dining room. As he passed Lu Yan, he gave her a meaningful look.

Lu Yan turned sideways and spoke into the phone: “Mr. Yu, I have to work this weekend, and besides, I’m not really into movies. But thank you for the kind offer.”

After hanging up, she realized Jiang Chengyi had somehow already retrieved the stew pot from the refrigerator.

Though he had shown no intention of cooking earlier, now he seemed ready to take charge of the kitchen himself.

Lu Yan didn’t let her gaze linger too long on his lean waist and expressionless profile as she returned to her room, retrieved her laptop, and sat at the dining table.

The meal was ready quickly.

Jiang Chengyi not only knew how to handle the stew pot but did so expertly.

He made two plates of rice with abalone sauce.

The sauce was perfectly thick and authentically colored, and even the rice and broccoli were arranged beautifully.

Lu Yan took a spoonful, finding the sauce rich and flavorful with a lingering aftertaste that made her reluctant to swallow it too quickly.

After finishing, she couldn’t help but blurt out praise: “That was delicious.”

Jiang Chengyi didn’t respond, but after a while asked: “What time do you start work tonight?”

“Five-thirty.” She took the initiative to clear the dishes and headed to the kitchen.

Jiang Chengyi glanced briefly at her retreating figure.

The house’s heating was set high, and she wore only a fitted loungewear set that showed off her long legs, slim waist, and shapely figure.

His mind suddenly flashed back to years ago when she wore her cheerleader uniform—a white T-shirt and, a white pleated skirt. When he saw her then, she was sitting in the stands with her long, snow-white legs tucked under her, engrossed in reading.

The basketball court was crowded, and as he walked past, numerous burning gazes were directed his way, but none of them were from her.

He pretended not to notice her, casually bouncing the basketball and chatting with teammates. When passing by, she remained absorbed in her book, not even bothering to look up.

He glanced over her shoulder at the book in her hands—him? A manga. Wasn’t she the top student in Class 6? Yet she read the manga.

Just then, his teammate tossed the ball back, and whether his mind had short-circuited or not, he deliberately failed to catch it, letting the ball drop and roll to touch her shoe.

Her shoes were also white, scrubbed clean, and the dirty basketball immediately left a mark.

She finally put down her book and looked up at him.

He nonchalantly bent to retrieve the ball, his gaze passing over her knees. He was startled—he hadn’t known a girl’s skin could be so delicate and milk-white.

She was still looking at him, and whether it was his imagination or not, he felt her gaze was too clear as if she could see right through his thoughts.

He pretended to look back casually, and though her manner remained composed, under his gaze, her long eyelashes trembled imperceptibly.

He straightened up slowly and said indifferently: “Oh, sorry about that, classmate.”

At the Anshan District Police Station

Old Qin and others were gathered around the desk studying case files when Jiang Chengyi entered. They hurriedly said: “Captain Jiang, Ding Jing’s autopsy report is out. Just like Wang Qianqian, she was strangled to death, then wrapped in waterproof inflatable material and thrown into the lake.”

Jiang Chengyi sat down at his computer, took the two case files, and turned to the crime scene photos for another careful comparison.

Old Qin looked at Jiang Chengyi: “Captain, how about it? Has our morning report been approved?”

Jiang Chengyi nodded: “The methods in both cases show high overlap, suggesting a likely serial case. The bureau will hold a meeting this afternoon to discuss it.”

Little Zhou, who had only recently started working, scratched his head after hearing this: “One at Yanping Lake in the suburbs, one in the city park’s artificial lake—this killer seems to have a thing for water. But something’s off. Even in serial killings, perpetrators usually want the bodies found later to destroy evidence, but this killer specifically used inflatable material to make the bodies float, as if wanting them to be seen—”

Jiang Chengyi posted similar crime scene photos from both cases on the display board, saying nothing.

Old Qin stared at the photos, walking closer thoughtfully: “Captain, I remember before Ding Jing’s case came up, you mentioned that Wang Qianqian’s body disposal site had a ritualistic feeling. If this theory holds, what was the killer’s purpose?”

Jiang Chengyi recalled the witness’s words from the night Ding Jing’s body was discovered: the dark lake surface, the white body bag floating in it, the déjà vu of a fetus floating in amniotic fluid.

“The killer’s intentions are still unknown,” Jiang Chengyi began, “but you should remember that after killing Wang Qianqian on the 28th, the killer sent text messages to her colleagues on the 29th, pretending to be her.”

“Right,” Old Qin nodded, “as if buying time.”

After a few seconds, he tried to analyze: “If the killer hadn’t done that, Wang Qianqian’s colleagues or family would have quickly suspected something was wrong and reported her missing or searched for her, preventing the killer from arranging the ideal disposal scene. If there is a ritual aspect, the killer was willing to risk exposure just to delay discovery, suggesting the ritual was crucial. Looking at the entire process, the idealized disposal scene seems almost essential?”

“Whew.” Another officer sipped his hot water, “This person is fucking twisted.”

“And notice something else.” Jiang Chengyi wrote the timeline of both cases on the whiteboard, then tossed the marker back to his desk. “From Ding Jing leaving home in the morning to her murder and body discovery, it only took twenty-two hours total, the entire process seamless. Looking at Wang Qianqian’s case, she was killed on the 28th but the body wasn’t disposed of until the 29th. To maintain the illusion she was alive, the killer had to imitate her texting style. Though ultimately no flaws were left, from a temporal perspective, the killer lacked fluidity.”

“Captain, you mean—” Little Zhou seemed to grasp something.

“From Wang Qianqian to Ding Jing, the killer’s methods have become increasingly skilled.”

The office fell silent for a moment before Old Qin spat: “Damn, can’t understand these psychos. Oh right, Captain, you asked me to contact Dr. Yu this morning. I called, but Dr. Yu went to B City to give lectures a few days ago and won’t be back for a couple of days.”

“Dr. Yu?” Little Zhou’s eyes lit up, “Yu Zheng? The famous criminal psychologist? He’ll work with us?”

Old Qin glanced at him: “Look how excited you are. Captain said these cases have many questionable points and need a criminal psychologist’s help to solve them, that’s why we submitted the report this morning.”

Just then, several others entered, one of them immediately handing a folder to Jiang Chengyi: “Captain, those items found in Wang Qianqian’s trash bin that you had us send to forensics a few days ago—they’ve restored some of the damaged items and just completed their analysis report.”

Jiang Chengyi flipped through it page by page.

Most were everyday items, miscellaneous and trivial—about a dozen supermarket receipts, several empty skincare product containers, snack wrappers, torn stockings…

His gaze stopped at one particular photo.

Old Qin and the others looked over to see a sticker whose original color was indiscernible, similar to the kind children often play with. Part of the sticker’s surface was damaged by water, but its butterfly shape was still visible.

Seeing Jiang Chengyi’s increasingly grim expression, Old Qin wondered: “Captain, did you find something?”

Still staring intently at the photo, Jiang Chengyi took something wrapped in a disposable plastic bag from his pocket and placed it next to the document page for comparison.

Old Qin and Little Zhou looked closely and were stunned.

Placed together, though one was bright and intact while the other was dim and damaged, they were the same type of sticker.

Jiang Chengyi looked at Old Qin: “Take Little Zhou and the others to search Ding Jing’s home right away. Not just her home, but also her foreign trade company office. Check her bedroom, desk, everywhere, and pay special attention to similar stickers.”

After speaking, he tried calling Lu Yan, but after many rings, there was no answer.

He put on his coat: “I’m going out. We’ll meet back at the bureau later.”