It was already three in the morning when they left the factory.

In this remote suburban area, the night felt vast and empty. You Mingxu looked up at the scattered stars in the sky, feeling an inexplicable loneliness. Perhaps it was because of everything weighing on her mind lately. The Xie Huifang family case remained a puzzle, and now there was this new case.

However, based on You Mingxu’s experience, this case should be solved quickly. It wouldn’t be as thorny as the Xie Huifang case.

Local police forces had already been mobilized for a large-scale search around the crime scene—they might find traces of the suspect soon. This thought lightened her mood somewhat. She turned to see Yin Feng letting out a huge yawn, then looking at her with watery eyes, appearing quite dopey.

You Mingxu smiled and said, “If you’re tired, go home and sleep. You don’t have to stay up all night with me.”

He must have been extremely tired, his eyes rimmed red. He rubbed them and said, “I didn’t know A-Xu’s work was so exhausting. You’d be even more pitiful without me. I want to stay.”

You Mingxu said, “Huh, I’m pitiful?”

He nodded. She leaned against the car, lighting a cigarette to stay alert while he waited beside her. You Mingxu was also feeling drowsy, having been busy for so many days straight. She held her cigarette, eyes closed, massaging her brow.

Suddenly, she felt two soft fingers press against her temples. She kept her eyes closed, allowing him to continue. Yin Feng’s pressure was just right as he massaged in small circles. You Mingxu thought to herself that perhaps when he was still a scoundrel, he frequently visited massage parlors. As the saying goes, “Eat enough pork and you’ll learn how pigs run”?

The thought made You Mingxu smile softly. She let him continue the massage, lowering her cigarette. Unknown to both of them, the ash slowly fell from its tip.

As Yin Feng massaged, he watched her. She looked so docile like this, her whole face relaxed under his touch. Yin Feng felt a warmth growing in his chest, thinking how nice it would be if he could keep massaging her like this forever. He’d do nothing else in this life but give her massages, help her relax, keep her from getting tired or drowsy, and never let her furrow her brow so deeply again.

You Mingxu opened her eyes, their clarity restored, and said, “That’s enough, thank you.”

Yin Feng lowered his hands but stood rooted in place.

You Mingxu stubbed out her cigarette. “What is it?”

A quick smile flashed across his lips, then he closed his eyes, tilted his head up, and moved his face closer.

You Mingxu: “…”

“Press harder,” he said. “This handsome one’s bones are tougher than yours, and my head is aching from sleepiness.”

You Mingxu raised her hand and pressed hard on his temples twice. He flinched, and You Mingxu laughed, saying, “Done! Get in the car! We’re in a hurry.”

The town was only a few minutes’ drive from the factory, no more than a 20-minute walk.

You Mingxu and Yin Feng stood before a three-story rural residential building. Most buildings in the area were similar. Several police cars were parked below, with villagers gathering to look on.

The victim, Xu Jiayuan, had rented the third floor with three other factory workers. The first and second floors were rented to other tenants, so the building housed many people. Fan Jia was leading the scene investigation and taking preliminary statements from the three roommates.

As You Mingxu and Yin Feng climbed the stairs, they saw a police officer taking a statement from someone near the entrance. You Mingxu stopped and asked, “Who is he?”

The officer understood her question and answered, “His name is Liu Ruoyu, Xu Jiayuan’s roommate, who works in the packaging department.” Lowering his voice, he added, “Claims he’s 18, but hasn’t shown his ID card. I’d say he’s no more than 16.”

You Mingxu studied Liu Ruoyu, who looked up at her at the same time. He was fairly tall with a sturdy build, ordinary features, and darkened skin—someone used to manual labor. But looking closer, his face still held traces of youth. You Mingxu agreed with her colleague’s assessment; judging by his appearance and demeanor, he was only fifteen or sixteen, yet somehow working alongside adults.

Liu Ruoyu’s expression was notably tense, his face pale. His tightly pressed lips betrayed a gloominess that seemed beyond his years.

The officer continued, “Just show us your ID card. You’re barely more than a child, yet working at the factory. The factory will be held responsible for this, so stop being stubborn…”

Liu Ruoyu lowered his head, the veins in his neck bulging.

The third floor had two rooms—Xu Jiayuan shared one with Liu Ruoyu, while the other two urban youths shared the other. You Mingxu and Yin Feng first entered the victim’s room. The bed near the south-facing window was messy, with clothes strewn about—clearly belonging to the older, larger-built Xu Jiayuan. There was only one desk in the room, next to Xu Jiayuan’s bed, with a computer and several pinup posters. There were also various books: “Become a Millionaire in 100 Days,” “The Art of Black and White – Understanding Human Nature,” “Ghost Stories from Miao Territory,” “And Hong Kong Entertainment Industry Secrets”… But even these books looked new as if barely opened.

“Whose desk is this?” Yin Feng asked.

A police officer answered, “Xu Jiayuan’s.”

Yin Feng made a sound of acknowledgment.

On the other side of the room, Liu Ruoyu’s bed was much plainer and smaller. The bedsheet was the cheapest kind available, though neatly made. Two boxes and some woven bags were stuffed under the bed. Nothing else. A trash can sat at the foot of his bed.

It was as if his entire existence was compressed into this corner of the room.

The other two roommates, Liu Ping and Jiang Mingxuan, roughly matched what Xu Jiayuan must have been like in life—young urban men in their twenties, dressed somewhat provincially, ordinary in both appearance and economic status. Working mundane factory jobs, their days filled with nothing but work, card games, eating, drinking, and killing time.

They were shocked by the news of Xu Jiayuan’s death, speechless for a while. Their statements matched Liu Ruoyu’s perfectly: on the night of the incident, the three of them had ordered takeout in the dormitory, then spent time gaming or watching shows, never leaving. They knew Xu Jiayuan had a card game that night, so no one worried when he hadn’t returned by midnight.

Whether they were lying could be quickly verified through surveillance footage and neighbor interviews.

This obvious investigative result gave You Mingxu pause.

Initially, after seeing the body, she had thought the card-playing companions or these three roommates were the prime suspects, as they were most familiar with the victim’s habits and whereabouts tonight. But now, everyone had clear, definitive alibis. Her experience told her they weren’t lying—and couldn’t have been lying.

So was there someone else?

She immediately had her colleagues ask all eight people the same question:

“Did the victim have any recent enemies? Or any financial or romantic disputes?”

The five-card players quickly gave nearly identical responses: “No idea.” “Probably not.” “Little Xu got along fine at the factory.” “Though Xu Jiayuan liked to joke around and had a bit of a temper, he was smooth enough not to offend anyone.” “Who could have such a deep grudge to kill him?”

Then they questioned the three roommates.

Liu Ruoyu maintained his taciturn demeanor, the teenage boy keeping his head down as he said, “I don’t know, he didn’t seem to have any enemies. We’re all very upset that he’s dead.”

The roommate Liu Ping said, “What enemies could he have? We’re just ordinary workers, usually just hanging out among ourselves. I really can’t understand who would want to kill him. Was he targeted by some robber-murderer?”

The officer replied, “You don’t need to ask about that, we’ll investigate. Recently, did he have any arguments or conflicts with anyone?”

Liu Ping paused, then said, “We all just joke around and make noise sometimes, it’s not a real conflict.”

Jiang Mingxuan couldn’t think of anyone the victim had feuded with either.

The police asked, “Did he borrow money from anyone, take out online loans, or have any financial disputes?”

Jiang Mingxuan thought for a moment, then answered, “No, he didn’t seem short on money lately, and hadn’t bought anything special. They won and lost just a few hundred playing cards. I even borrowed three hundred from him a few days ago to buy clothes. But I paid him back as soon as I got my salary.”

“Did he have any recent arguments or conflicts with anyone?”

Jiang Mingxuan hesitated, seeming to recall something. The officer’s voice grew stern: “Tell us everything, don’t hesitate! This is a murder case!”

Jiang Mingxuan quickly said, “No, officer… it’s just that in the dorm, Xu Jiayuan and Liu Ruoyu didn’t get along well. He would sometimes mock Liu Ruoyu for being unsophisticated, and sometimes… sometimes he’d make Liu Ruoyu run errands for him. Liu Ruoyu probably wasn’t happy about it, but he still did what Xu Jiayuan said.

A few days ago, they had a confrontation. Xu Jiayuan told Liu Ruoyu to buy cigarettes, but Liu Ruoyu was reading a novel and refused. Xu Jiayuan cursed at him and threatened… threatened to expose him as an underage worker get him fired, and send him back to his mountain village. Liu Ruoyu was furious and said… said…”

“What did he say?”

“He said… ‘One of these days, I’m going to hack you to death.'”