Seeing that Fan Mingming was willing to answer questions, Shi Ting continued: “You were doing homework at the time — did you hear any sounds from downstairs?”

Fan Mingming nodded and replied in a very small voice: “I heard someone screaming for help from downstairs. I was about to go down, but when I stood at the top of the stairs, I saw my mother running up. She spotted me and yelled at me to go back to my room and lock the door. I was terrified, so I ran back in and locked it.”

Fan Mingming lowered her head as she said this, her hands on her knees tightening involuntarily. “I heard my mother screaming — crying out for help. I desperately wanted to go out, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to do anything even if I did. I was so scared, all I could do was cry and cry. When it finally went quiet downstairs, I dared to open the door. I saw my parents lying in pools of blood, so I called the police.”

“Did you see the person who attacked them?”

“They were wearing masks that covered their faces. I couldn’t see anything clearly.”

“What about their build — tall or short? Heavyset or slim?”

Fan Mingming shook her head. “I was genuinely terrified at the time. The only thing I saw was that the person was wearing a black mask. Nothing else.”

“How many people were there?”

“I — I think two.”

Shi Ting said, “Take a moment to calm down, and try to recall as many details as you can. The more information you provide, the better it helps us crack the case. We’ll have you come to the station later to make an official statement. And — please accept our condolences.”

Fan Mingming looked at him, biting her lip, saying nothing.

“Captain Shi.” Old Fan walked in from outside. “When are we heading back to the station? Director Liu wants to hold a meeting.”

“Heading back now.”

The female officer, hearing Old Fan address Shi Ting as “Captain Shi,” first blinked in surprise, then realized what that meant.

She’d heard colleagues say that the criminal investigation unit at the Pujiang branch had a new captain who was remarkably young. Seeing him now, he wasn’t just young — he was strikingly handsome. If he weren’t a police officer, he could easily have been an entertainer.

Too bad the criminal investigation unit at the Pujiang branch was made up entirely of men — none of the women at the station would be getting to see him regularly.

After Shi Ting and Old Fan returned to the station, Director Liu was already waiting for them in the conference room.

“Little Shi.” Director Liu stepped forward with a smile and shook Shi Ting’s hand warmly. “Welcome, welcome! As you can see, we didn’t have time to prepare a proper welcome for you — instead, we’ve sent a case your way straight out of the gate. Ha!”

Shi Ting said, “A case is the best welcome. Now that I’m here, I’ll have something to work on right away.”

“Exactly! And with you here, I’m already feeling much more at ease. With you on board, there’s no doubt we’ll crack this. Come, come — sit.”

Once everyone was seated, Director Liu’s expression turned grave. “The victim Fan Wenzhi was a university professor with significant influence in academic circles — he’s won multiple international awards. His wife, Lin Yuqin, was a senior executive at SD Corporation with an extensive network of connections. The deaths of these two individuals will have an enormous impact on society, and we’ll be facing pressure from multiple directions. As a result, we must solve this case as quickly as possible and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

He then looked in Shi Ting’s direction. “Allow me to make an introduction. This is Shi Ting, the new captain of our criminal investigation unit. Old Fan, you and the rest of the team will need to provide him with your full cooperation. As a veteran here, you’ll need to set a good example. I’ll tell you all straight — don’t let his age fool you. He has broken multiple major cases. I have his full file; I’ll send everyone a copy later so you can see exactly what kind of record this man has built.”

Old Fan laughed good-naturedly: “Of course, of course. We’ll give Captain Shi our full support — wherever he points, we’ll strike. For someone so young to have achieved this much is something we should all learn from.”

Shi Ting heard this and stood. He gave the assembled team a crisp military salute.

“I look forward to your guidance and patience.”

“Alright — the welcome formalities can wait. Right now, the case comes first,” Director Liu said. “The forensic autopsy results aren’t in yet, so use this time to press ahead with investigating the victims’ social connections. Aim to produce a full social relationship chart for the victims within a day and screen for any persons of interest. In addition, regarding Fan Wenzhi’s only child, Fan Mingming — Old Fan, arrange for someone to take her to her grandmother’s home. Wait until her emotional state has stabilized before taking her formal statement. She’s a young girl, and having witnessed something like this firsthand, there will inevitably be lasting psychological impact. Also arrange for a counselor to provide her with psychological support.”

Old Fan said promptly: “Understood, Director.”

“Alright — I have a meeting at the city level. I’ll be waiting for your good news.”

Everyone rose to see Director Liu out. Then all eyes turned to Shi Ting.

Director Liu had given a broad directive, but the actual investigative strategy was not his domain. Every aspect of the case’s investigation and coordination fell to the captain.

Shi Ting faced the team and deployed his assignments calmly and without hesitation: “Old Fan, take one team and investigate the victims’ social connections. Du Tao, your primary responsibility is canvassing the residents of International Mansion — given the sensitive nature of the residents here, avoid confrontational approaches when conducting interviews. Zhigang, your technical division should pull surveillance footage from International Mansion covering the past week, with priority given to the footage from around two in the morning on the second — the approximate time of the victims’ deaths.”

“Yes, sir.” The team responded in unison.

“Meeting dismissed. I’ll head over to forensics.”

~

Yan Qing, dressed in her examination suit, was conducting an autopsy on Fan Wenzhi, while at the adjacent table, Hulu was working on the body of Lin Yuqin.

*Knock. Knock.*

When the knock came, Yan Qing called out: “Come in.”

“Teacher Yan, how is the autopsy progressing?”

The voice behind her made Yan Qing turn around. She saw the tall man standing in the doorway, set aside the flicker of awkwardness in her chest, and smiled briefly. “Nearly finished. I’ll have Hulu send you the autopsy report in a moment.”

“Anything significant so far?”

“The attacker’s strikes were fast, precise, and lethal — this person has almost certainly done this before. Both victims were killed with a single blow, with no hesitation whatsoever. I’ll sketch out the profile of the murder weapon shortly — it appears to be an ordinary pointed kitchen knife of the kind commonly sold on the market, which offers almost no investigative value for narrowing down the source. What’s also notable are the multiple incised wounds on both bodies. The wounds are distributed across the victims’ upper limbs and chest area, and show minimal signs of vital reaction — they were inflicted postmortem.”

Shi Ting’s brow furrowed. “If this were a revenge killing, the perpetrator should have inflicted harm on the victims while they were still alive. There would be no reason to kill them first and then vent on their bodies.”

“That’s my thinking as well. Perhaps the attacker has a slow reaction time.” Yan Qing shrugged lightly with a small smile.

Shi Ting watched her bow her head and resume suturing the body, then said suddenly: “You haven’t eaten since this morning.”

They hadn’t ordered at the restaurant, and had received their calls from the station immediately after. It was now four in the afternoon — she’d had nothing to eat or drink all day.

“I’m used to it. It’s fine,” Yan Qing replied, then caught herself. “Captain Shi — you haven’t eaten either, have you?”

“Once the autopsy report is finished, go get something to eat,” Shi Ting said, and left.

Hulu, who had been straining to eavesdrop the entire time, immediately grinned. “Mentor — how did Captain Shi know you hadn’t eaten lunch? And he seems really familiar with you. Have you two met before?”

Yan Qing shot a look at Hulu’s shamelessly curious face. “Have you finished suturing the body? Have you written up the autopsy report? No wonder you can’t find a girlfriend — you’re too busy gossiping.”

Hulu chuckled. “I’m only thinking of you, Mentor. There are just the two of us in this department. Weren’t we sworn to walk this road of life together — whoever gets a partner first is a traitor to the cause?”

Yan Qing: “……”

She had never said anything of the sort.

Yan Qing picked up her scalpel and walked over to look at the body before him. “How many times have I told you — when you suture a body, you need to be careful and precise? These stitches of yours are nearly an inch wide.”

“I was wrong, I was wrong — I’m sorry, Mentor.” Hulu immediately begged for mercy. “I know: a body is the deceased’s final appearance in this world. Even if we can’t leave them whole, we should make them as dignified as possible. That way, when their family sees them, it won’t hurt so much.”

Yan Qing wanted to knock him on the head, but seeing her gloves covered in blood, she simply made a gesture in his direction. “Good that you know. Redirect all the energy you spend gossiping toward your work, and maybe you’d have your professional certification by now.”

“Mentor, you’re one to talk — you yourself haven’t even—” Hulu stopped himself abruptly, biting back the words that had nearly escaped his mouth. He looked at Yan Qing with a hint of apology. “Sorry, Mentor. I didn’t mean to—”

“I heard you. Take it apart and restitch.”

Yan Qing glanced at him, then turned away. In that instant, something darkened in her eyes.

But the feeling was gone as quickly as it came. She composed herself quickly, returning to her characteristic calm, and bent her head once more to attend to the body.

When the autopsy report was ready, she took it and knocked on the captain’s office door.

“Come in.” Shi Ting’s voice sounded from within.

“Captain Shi, the report is ready.” Yan Qing pushed open the door to find Shi Ting sitting at his desk, writing.

He looked up at the sound. “Thank you. You didn’t have to rush.”

He gestured to the sofa across from him. “There’s a meal on the table — eat something first.”

Yan Qing looked over at the coffee table. Two takeout bags sat on it, each holding a disposable food container.

“I didn’t know what you liked, so I ordered two options online. Open them and take whichever one you want.”

Shi Ting accepted the report she handed over. “Eat first.”

“I couldn’t — you just arrived at the station and we haven’t even held a proper welcome for you. I can’t have you buying me food first.”

“It’s just a takeout box. No need for formalities, Teacher Yan.” Shi Ting opened the autopsy report. “Eat while it’s warm.”

“Well, in that case, I’ll take you up on the offer.”

Yan Qing was genuinely hungry, and she didn’t stand on ceremony with Shi Ting now. She picked one of the boxes at random and began to eat.

“Actually, there’s a point I’d like to bring up with you,” Yan Qing said, setting down the half-eaten box.

“Finish eating first. It can wait a moment.” Shi Ting glanced at the box in her hands. “Eat.”

—