That night, the rain was heavy, pouring down as if from upturned basins. The “pat-pat-pat” sounds hitting the window glass made this spacious room seem like a separate world from the misty exterior.

She stood under the camera lens, unclothed, feeling deeply ashamed. Several men and women stood nearby. Their expressions appeared calm, but their eyes were fixed on her.

After the shooting, someone threw her clothes at her, while others offered gentle words of comfort. Her mind was in a fog, completely unable to judge whether their words were true or false. Perhaps they were true – otherwise, what could she do?

Later, someone pulled her along to drink, everyone drinking together, acting as intimate as if they hadn’t been the ones coercing her earlier. She couldn’t remember when things spiraled out of control. She seemed to see someone’s eyes flickering, and she couldn’t remember what she had drunk. At first, she seemed to enter a bizarre world of pleasure, many hands touching her body. Though she was no longer a virgin, she still felt pain. She was continuously manipulated into different positions, driven to madness and pain in various ways…

Her consciousness seemed to drift into a long, dark river. Though her mouth clearly said “Don’t do this,” “Please let me go”… no one listened. Hidden fangs finally exposed, they reverted to a pack of man-eating beasts.

Later, someone scattered money, lots and lots of money, over her body. Those fluttering bits of red reflected in her eyes like blood. Money, that was money, she thought, wasn’t that what she had always wanted? She suddenly laughed foolishly – with money, she wouldn’t have to fear anything, wouldn’t need to retreat, and could live any life she wanted.

Later still, even her consciousness gradually dimmed, only felt herself lying on the cold floor. They seemed to have tired of their game, bodies coiled like snakes on the surrounding sofas. She didn’t know that her snow-white young body, lying among the pile of bills, looked like a lily blooming in a swamp, making everyone’s eyes ache slightly.

Just for a moment, she felt someone walk over, touch her face, and say softly, “They’ve had enough fun, get up and go home. Don’t come back again.”

But she didn’t move, slowly closing her eyes, thinking: I can’t go home anymore. I’m already bound here by countless ropes. My life is over.

——

As deep autumn arrived, the rains in Hunan grew more frequent. Leaving Changsha toward Western Hunan, mountain ranges stretched endlessly, shrouded in rain and mist all day, with river waters flowing slowly through the misty wetlands. Along the riverbank were roads or paddy fields, with occasional water buffalos standing quietly in the fields. This was exactly the elegant and beautiful Western Hunan scenery described in Mr. Shen Congwen’s writings.

After leaving the highway and entering the national road, then switching to provincial and county roads, the journey became more difficult. With recent rainfall making conditions worse, the requisitioned minibus sometimes bumped up and down, and sometimes crawled alongside oncoming traffic at an extremely slow pace, making everyone on board drowsy.

You Mingxu had planned to review case files on the bus but had to give up, instead watching the wet, lush scenery outside the window.

Yin Feng took out his thermos, poured himself a small cup and drank it, glanced at her, then poured another cup and offered it: “Ah Xu, have some hot water.”

You Mingxu accepted and drank. He put the thermos back in his backpack, then pulled out two apples: “Ah Xu, you haven’t had any fruit today.”

Fan Jia, sitting in front of them, chuckled, fortunately not waking the sleeping Xu Mengshan. Other colleagues were also dozing. You Mingxu ignored Fan Jia and said softly, “I’m not hungry.”

Yin Feng nodded, put the fruit away, and somehow produced a bag of beef jerky pieces, offering them to her. This time You Mingxu was amused, took one piece to eat, and said, “Are you Doraemon or something?”

This tall guy, dressed in sportswear and white sneakers, with an expert badge hanging on his chest and hugging a huge sports bag – did he think he was going on a school trip?

Since Yin Feng had helped them solve the previous case, combined with his existing expert credentials, Chen Feng had somehow processed his internal paperwork, so he was now officially affiliated with the system and could legitimately assist in solving cases.

Yin Feng just smiled slightly: “You can lean on me if you’re tired.” Then he put his bag on the floor, and closed his eyes, making a show of settling in to sleep seriously. Though the shoulder facing her was tilted, waiting for someone to lean on.

You Mingxu smiled, closed her eyes, and leaned against the window. They had set out before dawn, and she quickly became drowsy.

In her half-sleep, she felt the bus hit a pothole and bounce. She didn’t open her eyes, just frowned, about to continue sleeping when she felt something heavy and warm press against her.

She opened her eyes to see a head of black hair pressed into the crook of her shoulder. Someone had completely settled into his usual sleeping position, long limbs sprawled out, one arm even draped across her thigh. Half his body weight pressed against her as he breathed heavily in sleep.

After offering to let her lean on him, he’d turned completely boneless himself.

His hair was very soft, his head carrying a warm weight, and You Mingxu found it quite comfortable being leaned on like this.

After a while, she closed her eyes.

Yin Feng had felt her move and knew she was awake. But he kept his eyes tightly shut, the hand deliberately placed on her thigh slightly sweaty.

She hadn’t pushed him away.

After some time, Yin Feng slowly opened his eyes, feeling her head resting against his crown, her breathing deep and even – she must have fallen asleep. This feeling of intimacy was simply too good. Yin Feng couldn’t help but smile.

But just as his mouth curved up, he saw that Xu Mengshan had somehow awakened and turned to look at him. That gaze was extremely meaningful as if he had seen all of Yin Feng’s earlier actions.

Yin Feng’s response was… to close his eyes, make a couple of lip-smacking sounds as if dreaming, turn his head to burrow deeper into You Mingxu’s embrace and continue sleeping.

Even Xu Mengshan, who usually watched everything with amusement, couldn’t help but widen his eyes at this kid’s bold move. Looking at You Mingxu “embracing” him, clearly sleeping without any guard up, Xu Mengshan suddenly felt that this time, Queen You had raised a little wolf in sheep’s clothing.

The minibus carrying the province’s elite criminal investigators stopped beside the county road. They were now in the heart of Western Hunan, within Huaicheng’s jurisdiction.

Beside the county road was an earthen slope, below which lay a riverbank overgrown with yellowed weeds, accompanying the jade-colored river water. Looking into the distance, it resembled a wilderness above the river.

They got off the bus, pushed through the grass, crossed that riverbank, and came upon a small bay about thirty meters wide, with a small island opposite.

This case had been reported from Huaicheng to the provincial level, leading to the formation of a special task force for support. The task force was led by a veteran criminal investigator surnamed Tan, with You Mingxu as the deputy in charge of operations. As luck would have it, two years ago, Yin Feng had interviewed Old Tan about a major case he had solved. Perhaps Yin Feng’s brain damage wasn’t too obvious now. So when You Mingxu brought him along, Old Tan had no objections.