With swift, decisive movements, Yan Qing sliced a sausage into neat, uniform pieces.

“Here.” Shi Ting passed over the peeled carrots.

“Thank you.” She said, “You can go watch TV — the food will be ready soon.”

“I didn’t expect your knife skills to be this impressive.”

“So — do you dare eat what I make?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Shi Ting said.

“No hesitation at all?”

“None whatsoever.”

Yan Qing laughed. “When I go on blind dates, Second Aunt strictly forbids me from mentioning my job — afraid it’ll scare the other person off.”

“And you actually hold back and don’t say anything?”

“Of course not.” A sly smile crossed Yan Qing’s face. “Once, while we were eating at a restaurant and I’d ordered chicken feet, I started explaining to him the anatomical similarities and differences between chicken claws and human fingers — he was so disgusted he got up and left on the spot.”

“That was enough to disgust him?”

“People who aren’t in this line of work generally can’t handle it.”

Shi Ting gave a nod. “So you need someone who’s genuinely on the same wavelength — who shares the same perspective.”

“I agree completely. If the other person can’t accept what I do, we’d never be able to build a life together anyway. And our kind of work — when things get busy, you’re completely consumed by it and can’t devote much time to family life. If someone doesn’t understand that, the friction will pile up day after day until it all falls apart. There’s no point in that.”

Shi Ting nodded again, in full agreement. “I understand.”

Yan Qing didn’t probe those words any further. She assumed he simply meant he understood what she’d said.

With efficient, practiced movements, she quickly put together two servings of fried rice.

“Dinner’s ready.”

Shi Ting took the plate from her hands and set it on the dining table. “It smells wonderful already.”

“Fried rice looks simple, but there’s actually quite a bit of technique involved. I’ve put real thought into mine — give it a try.” Yan Qing passed him the spoon.

“Excellent.” Shi Ting praised her with full sincerity. “Right up there with your baking.”

“Honestly?”

“Of course.”

Yan Qing beamed, her eyes sparkling as though stars were flickering in them. “Thank you for the compliment, Team Leader Shi. I’ll keep working at it.”

The two of them sat across from each other, eating quietly, as the sound of rain drummed steadily against the windows outside.

By the time the meal was finished, the rain seemed to have eased a little. Shi Ting checked his watch. “At this hour, there shouldn’t be any traffic jams.”

“Take the umbrella with you — don’t forget it.” Yan Qing retrieved it from the bathroom. “And remember — don’t go through Changsheng Bridge.”

“I remember.” Shi Ting took the umbrella and glanced at her once more. “Get some rest.”

Yan Qing saw Shi Ting off, then went to have her bath. By the time she was lying in bed, the rain outside was still falling.

She glanced at her phone, wondering whether she should send Shi Ting a message to check in — and while she was still hesitating, a notification appeared on the screen.

“I’m home.” A familiar profile picture. A few short words.

“The roads were that bad? What took so long?”

“One section of the road had flooded over.” He said. “I’m going to shower now. Get some rest.”

“Did they fix your water heater?”

“It’s been fixed for a while.”

Yan Qing covered her smile. “That’s good then.”

“Oh, and that name card from your friend who handles real estate — remember to send it to me later.”

“Are you seriously thinking of buying property? She’s a secondhand property agent — she might not have access to good new listings.”

“Still a decent investment, either way.”

“True enough.” Yan Qing counted on her fingers. “Unlike me — still paying off this apartment, more than ten years still to go. Ten-plus years… I’ll be over forty by the time it’s done.”

“It won’t take that long.”

“Maybe. Who knows — I might win the lottery one day and pay it all off in one shot.”

“Do you normally buy lottery tickets?”

“No.”

“Then drop that idea. There are probably other easier, more realistic paths to take.”

Yan Qing’s curiosity sparked immediately. “Does Team Leader Shi have some secret to getting rich?”

“I do, naturally.” Shi Ting replied with deliberate mystery. “I’ll tell you another time — I’m heading to shower now.”

Yan Qing was left staring at her phone. She lay back against her pillow, turning his words over in her mind, wondering whether he was being serious or not.

If he was being serious… perhaps there was something worth looking forward to. Following Team Leader Shi to prosperity actually sounded rather promising.

Shi Ting set down his phone, the corner of his mouth curving faintly upward. He murmured under his breath, “Silly girl.”

The moment he put his phone down, another call came in.

He hit the speaker button and set it aside, picking up his sleepwear to change before his shower.

“Little brother, Mom’s asking if you can come home for dinner this weekend,” came a voice on the other end, carrying a languid ease. “Your case wrapped up, didn’t it? How are you still this busy?”

“The case is closed. There are other things going on.” Shi Ting pulled off his shirt, revealing a lean, well-defined torso. He continued changing as he spoke. “Things more important than a case.”

“The only thing more important than a case is your love life.” The man said. “I’m almost going to be a father, and you’re still single. Mom doesn’t dare nag you directly, so she gets me to do it every day. I’ve been worn down to nothing — my ears are practically growing calluses.”

Shi Ting said nothing.

“The last time, she set you up with a blind date — and you actually went, which was pretty remarkable. So? Did anyone catch your eye?”

Shi Ting paused mid-motion pulling on his shirt, and a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

That blind date had been entirely to spare Shi Cheng the trouble. If Shi Ting didn’t take some kind of action, their mother might actually succeed in wearing Shi Cheng into the ground — better to humor her and go through the motions, at least buying some relief for a while.

He and Shi Cheng were born of the same mother but were completely different in temperament. Shi Cheng was normally easygoing and carefree, but in front of their mother he was completely shameless and slack — while Shi Ting was unsmiling and reserved, doing everything by the book. So their mother tended to speak to Shi Cheng about things, and have him relay the message.

Take this whole business of finding a partner — their mother was clearly burning with urgency about it, yet she still had Shi Cheng act as the go-between.

“Hey, little brother — why aren’t you saying anything?” Shi Cheng bellowed from the other end of the line.

“Nothing to say.” Shi Ting pulled his thoughts back. “It’s going well.”

“What do you mean ‘going well’ — does that mean someone caught your eye? Seriously?” Shi Cheng’s voice practically vibrated with excitement. “One strike and you’re out? Is that what happened?”

“I’m going to shower. We’ll talk later.”

“Wait, come on — little brother, at least tell me what she does, what she looks like— hey! Did you just hang up on me?”

Shi Ting tossed the phone onto the bed and headed into the bathroom.

He could perfectly picture Shi Cheng hopping with frustration on the other end of the line, but he had no interest in elaborating. The city gates hadn’t opened yet — there would be time to say something when they did.

—

Yan Qing was jolted awake by a call from Second Aunt. If it hadn’t been for that call, she would have completely forgotten about the blind date today.

After making repeated assurances to Second Aunt over the phone, Yan Qing finally pulled herself out of bed.

She was just heading into the bathroom to wash up when her phone rang again. Without checking who was calling, she answered immediately, “Second Aunt, I know, stop nagging me already…”

“Well, hello there, my dear niece,” came a voice dripping with theatrical amusement.

Yan Qing’s mouth twitched. “Hu Xiaohan, don’t push your luck.”

“You were the one who called out ‘Second Aunt’ before I even said a word — how is that my fault?”

“If you have something to say, say it quickly — I’m washing my face.”

“Aw, is your Second Aunt on your case about another blind date?” Hu Xiaohan laughed with undisguised glee. “Another ‘elite among elites’ this time?”

“If you don’t get to the point, I’m hanging up,” Yan Qing threatened.

“Fine, fine, I’m getting there.” Hu Xiaohan gave a short, breezy laugh. “Do you know someone named Shi Ting?”

“Team Leader Shi? The head of our criminal investigation unit. Why?”

“He added me on WeChat today and said you referred him to me.”

Yan Qing thought back — the night before, just before going to sleep, she had indeed sent Hu Xiaohan’s WeChat contact over to Shi Ting. She had assumed it was just something he said in passing, but apparently he had actually reached out.

“Whoa, the unit head — is that a pretty senior rank?”

“Not a small one.”

“So if I ever need help with anything, could I go to him?” Hu Xiaohan suggested.

“He handles criminal cases. Are you planning on committing a crime or something?”

“What kind of thing is that to say? I’m a law-abiding citizen — there’s no way I’d do anything illegal.”

“Then what do you need his help for?” Yan Qing snorted.

“You’re so literal-minded. He’s in the criminal investigation unit — his connections must run wide. Government offices, tax and business bureaus, he probably knows people everywhere. In this world, more connections mean more doors open. Unlike you, stuck at your dissection table all day dealing with dead people, completely cut off from the real world.”

“What’s wrong with dealing with dead people? Dead people don’t lie, they don’t scheme or plot…”

“Stop, stop — you’re giving me the creeps,” Hu Xiaohan cut her off quickly. “Anyway, your unit head probably wants to buy property through me. If the deal goes through, I’ll give you a commission.”

“You already know he’s my unit head, and you’re still trying to squeeze money out of him? That’s not right.”

Hu Xiaohan pursed her lips. “Fine, I’ll take a smaller cut. I’ll knock the agent’s fee down to eighty percent.”

“Seventy percent.”

“Seventy percent? That’s our absolute minimum! You’re really something, putting a man ahead of your friends like this.”

“Seventy percent, final answer. And I don’t want any commission — I have to go, I’ll talk to you later.”

Yan Qing hung up. Thinking about Shi Ting actually reaching out to Hu Xiaohan about property, she figured he was probably looking to invest, and didn’t give it any further thought.

Right now, all she wanted was to get this meeting with Shen Liang over with as quickly as possible, so she’d have something to report back to Second Aunt.

When Yan Qing arrived at Rose Restaurant, a server came over with immediate warmth and began to lead her to a table.

Yan Qing paused inwardly.

She hadn’t made a reservation. She hadn’t said what she was there for. How did this server already know exactly where to take her?

“Miss Yan, I noticed the gentleman at that table has his cup placed face-down,” the server explained, pointing toward a window seat. “That usually means he’s waiting for someone.”

Yan Qing was at a loss for words.

She had clearly come to this place far too many times — the servers had figured out the whole routine.

At that moment, all she wanted was to find a table to crawl under and disappear.

“Miss Yan?” The man seated by the window stood up of his own accord.

—