There was a problem in the kitchen – the gas stove wouldn’t light, and the half-stewed chestnut chicken was about to get cold.

Once soup gets cold, its flavor changes. Lu’s mother was a perfectionist who didn’t want her daughter’s boyfriend to get a bad impression of her cooking. In her urgency, she searched everywhere for a lighter.

Lu Yan also helped her mother search, but their efforts were fruitless. Instead, they ended up drawing Jiang Chengyi into the kitchen.

He had taken off his suit jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeves. Producing a lighter from somewhere, he approached and lit the stove. The pale blue flame steadily supported the silver pot, immediately lifting Mrs. Lu’s spirits.

She smiled at Jiang Chengyi: “Little Jiang, please wait outside. I’ll have Yan Yan help me cut some vegetables, then just need to stir-fry them. We can eat very soon.”

Jiang Chengyi had already reached the doorway, but hearing the sound of chopping, he stopped and turned back to look at Lu Yan.

The green was cucumber and bell pepper, the white was her fingers. The sharp blade was so close to her delicate white fingers, ready to nick them at any moment.

The more he watched, the more nervous he became. Unable to resist, he walked back and said softly to Lu Yan: “Move aside.”

He efficiently chopped the cucumber and bell peppers into neat pieces, quietly placed them beside Mrs. Lu, and then glanced at Lu Yan before leaving.

Half an hour later, Lu Yan came out to set the table while her mother brought out four steaming dishes and two soups.

In the living room, Jiang Chengyi had already organized everything he brought, sorted by category.

The little dog Doudou wagged its tail, running back and forth around the operating air purifier. Though the house suddenly had this large, boxy newcomer, it wasn’t afraid at all. Instead, it wagged its tail happily, circling a few times before stopping to stick its wet black nose near the air inlet.

Jiang Chengyi was about to pull it back by its tail when he heard Mrs. Lu coming out. He quickly switched to “kindly” petting it instead.

Lu Yan pretended not to see, but couldn’t help the upward curve of her lips.

What an act.

While setting the table, she remembered Jiang Chengyi’s commanding presence in high school, showing no trace of being “gentle, kind, respectful, frugal, or yielding.” There was also that time when a student from a neighboring school was stalking her. After a school competition, he threw aside his basketball, grabbed the other person’s collar, and threw a punch, causing quite an uproar.

But Mrs. Lu was unaware of all this. During the meal, she specially ladled a full bowl of golden chicken soup for Jiang Chengyi, and when encouraging him to eat more, her smile was even warmer than when he first arrived.

The meal was filled with warmth and harmony. When the couple was leaving, Mrs. Lu repeatedly emphasized: “If you have time to come over next week, call ahead, and I’ll make more of my specialties for you both.”

Back home.

As soon as Jiang Chengyi entered, he loosened his tie, threw off his suit jacket, and collapsed onto the sofa: “Lu Yan, I’m thirsty, I need water.”

Mothers-in-law were truly the hardest people in the world to please, and much more exhausting than solving cases.

This man… showing his true nature as soon as he got home. Understanding how hard it had been for him to “act,” she put down her bag and brought over two glasses of water. Handing one to him, her eyes sparkled: “Considering your performance today, I’ll forgive you for bullying Doudou.”

Jiang Chengyi drank it all in one gulp and denied: “When did I ever bully Doudou? I love small animals the most.”

Seeing Lu Yan’s pout, he pulled her into his arms and asked: “So, with your mom, did I pass?”

His eyes were darker and brighter than usual, his voice deep with confidence.

Lu Yan played with his buttons, teasing him: “What do you think? I don’t know anything.”

He knew the answer but still asked her, just wanting to fish for compliments.

She laughed and pushed him away as she stood up.

By the time she returned from the bedroom with her notebook, Jiang Chengyi was already lying on the sofa, one arm covering his eyes, pretending to sleep. Hearing her approach, he asked: “Are you going to sleep? I need to go back to the station this afternoon, so I’ll take a quick nap. Wake me up later.”

Since entering this line of work, working odd hours was common, and he had grown accustomed to catching sleep whenever possible.

Lu Yan covered him with his suit jacket. Seeing his eyes and eyebrows hidden behind his arm, only his lips visible, she leaned down and gave them a light peck, saying with a smile: “I’m not sleeping.”

Jiang Chengyi moved his arm: “Didn’t you used to love taking afternoon naps when you were studying?”

He remembered passing by Class 6 at noon several times back then. She would be lying on her desk, cheeks flushed pink, with a shiny trail of drool on her face, sleeping soundly.

The first time he saw this, he felt his goddess image of her crumbling in his mind.

The second time, he stood outside the classroom rubbing his chin for a while, then decided Lu Yan was incredibly cute. Looking back now, a youth’s thoughts were truly hard to fathom.

“That was when I was young,” she glanced at him, opening her computer. “When I’m working, I spend all day in the operating room, needing to stay focused every moment. There’s no chance for afternoon naps.”

Jiang Chengyi fell silent, probably trying to fall asleep, so she stopped talking to avoid disturbing him.

Soon after, Jiang Chengyi’s phone rang. She checked the time and thought sympathetically: “This job is too demanding, facing all kinds of emergencies at any time. He’s barely slept for ten minutes just now, and I don’t even know if he fell asleep.”

Jiang Chengyi, eyes still closed, reached for the coffee table and turned on speakerphone.

“Captain Jiang, we’ve completed the search. Ding Jing’s residence isn’t large, and there weren’t many suspicious clues, but we found some video discs in a locked drawer in the bedroom. Also, there are signs that someone tried to break the front door lock. We can’t rule out an attempted burglary, though, for some reason, they weren’t successful – probably an amateur. Captain, we’re almost done here and heading back to the station.”

Jiang Chengyi rubbed his brow and got up: “I’ll be right there.”

He pulled Lu Yan up: “Come with me to the station, you can give your statement too. I’m worried the killer might target you next. Until we catch this person, I don’t feel comfortable leaving you alone at home.”

Lu Yan nodded and packed up her notebook.

Jiang Chengyi asked: “Do you have something due? You’ve been working on assignments every day.”

“There’s a case competition next month.”

“It’s the weekend, the leaders aren’t in. Our station has WiFi – I’ll find you an empty room. While we discuss the case, you can work on your stuff.”

“Okay.” Lu Yan’s eyes brightened. Though somewhat scared, she was more hopeful about finally solving Deng Man’s case.

At the station, the office was indeed full of people. Among them was a chubby middle-aged man surrounded by others, snacking while chatting cheerfully.

As soon as Lu Yan entered, the man turned his gaze toward her.

His appearance and demeanor were quite distinctive. Lu Yan found him oddly familiar, and after some thought, recalled seeing him at a physiology conference at S Medical University.

Jiang Chengyi called him Dr. Yu and had Officer Xiao Zhou take Lu Yan to the next room for her statement.

Before entering the room, Lu Yan noticed Jiang Chengyi sitting down at the computer desk, taking a disc from Old Qin.

The disc was labeled with a black marker: April 2009.

Old Qin was puzzled: “The Ding family’s apartment is quite old, and hasn’t been lived in for years. Only Ding Jing occasionally checks on it. Wonder what’s recorded here that she kept it locked in the bedroom.”

Jiang Chengyi looked at the date on the disc, inserted the first one into the computer, and pressed play. As the player started, everyone gathered around.

Though it was quite old, the disc was well-preserved due to limited playback.

The person recording was amateur, with unstable camera work. It seemed to be filmed in the evening, showing a desolate scene in what appeared to be a remote park.

For a long time, the image remained static. At the thirty-second mark, the camera suddenly shook, as if the person holding it had discovered something and quietly stepped back.

Then two people appeared in the frame.

The one on the left was a high school girl about seventeen or eighteen, wearing a school uniform. She was tall for a girl, about 167cm, with her long hair in two braids, and had delicate features.

Old Qin, having reviewed Deng Man’s files extensively these past few days, immediately recognized her.

The person on the right was about the same height as Deng Man, wearing black-framed glasses and a white shirt, appearing gentle and refined, around thirty-six or thirty-seven years old.

“Teacher Zhou,” Jiang Chengyi frowned slightly.

The two walked while talking, with Deng Man occasionally turning to look at Teacher Zhou, smiling sweetly and demurely.

They sat down on a stone bench under a willow tree, maintaining their conversational posture.

Half an hour later, the camera holder seemed to grow impatient, and the frame shook slightly.

But just then, Deng Man suddenly looked up at Teacher Zhou and quietly nestled against his shoulder.

Teacher Zhou’s back stiffened for a moment. After a while, he hesitantly put his arm around Deng Man’s waist and lowered his head, tentatively kissing her lips.

“Teacher-student relationship!” someone slammed the table. “What kind of teacher is this?”

By then, Officer Xiao Zhou had finished taking Lu Yan’s statement. As the door opened, Lu Yan caught a bit of the conversation, but Xiao Zhou quickly closed the door when she tried to hear more.

Lu Yan had to give up.

After watching the first video, there were two more discs. As they watched through them all, they discovered that the first segment was the most subtle of the three. In the later videos, the pair displayed the intimate behavior typical of couples in the honeymoon phase.

Considering all the evidence, the person filming was most likely Ding Jing.

After finishing the discs, Jiang Chengyi opened a slideshow.

The screen went black, then lit up, and the next second, Zhou Zhicheng’s front-view portrait appeared.

“Zhou Zhicheng, born May 31, 1971, resident. Graduated from S City Normal University in July 1993, then taught at No. 7 Middle School until now. Outstanding work performance, named excellent teacher every year. Married in 1997 to Lin Chunmei, an employee at the Electric Power Bureau.”

The slideshow immediately showed a photo of a young woman with an oval face and beautiful features, though her eyes had a fierce look that made her seem unapproachable.

“Records show that in their third year of marriage, Lin Chunmei had an unexpected miscarriage and never conceived again. Zhou Zhicheng and Lin Chunmei sought treatment at several major hospitals without success. In 2007, Lin Chunmei had an electric bicycle accident on her way home. Due to severe injuries, she fell into a deep coma after hospitalization. After a year of treatment, Zhou Zhicheng, unable to afford the high medical expenses, signed to take Lin Chunmei home. She remained in a vegetative state for three years before passing away in September 2010.”

Yu Zheng asked Jiang Chengyi to freeze on Lin Chunmei’s close-up: “Captain, do you have detailed information about Lin Chunmei’s family?”

Jiang Chengyi handed Yu Zheng a stack of papers: “Lin Chunmei was also local, her parents worked at the Electric Power Bureau too – father in technical work, mother managing the cafeteria, both now retired. After the accident, Lin Chunmei’s parents frequently visited their daughter’s home to argue, claiming Zhou Zhicheng had put too much pressure on their daughter over the years, causing her to be distracted and have a traffic accident. The Lin family blamed all their daughter’s misfortune on Zhou Zhicheng, believing that since their daughter had lost her ability to work, Zhou Zhicheng, as their son-in-law, owed them an explanation. Neighbors intervened to mediate several times.”

“Did Zhou Zhicheng remarry after Lin Chunmei’s death?”

Old Qin shook his head with a click of his tongue: “With such in-laws, how could Zhou Zhicheng dare to remarry? Even if he found someone, he’d keep it secret.”

Yu Zheng remained focused on Lin Chunmei, saying to Jiang Chengyi: “Captain, I’d like a detailed resume for Lin Chunmei.”

Lu Yan sat quietly in the room for nearly two hours. At first, she tried to listen to the conversation outside, but the room was too well soundproofed. Eventually, she focused on preparing for next month’s case competition.

Around five o’clock, her phone rang. Seeing it was Jiang Chengyi’s mother, she quickly answered.

“Yan Yan, are you bored at home? Jiang Chengyi isn’t answering his phone, working overtime again, right?”

“Yes, Auntie.”

“Yuheng Plaza called me, saying this season’s clothes have arrived. I originally wanted them to deliver to my home, but then I thought you might like this brand too. And that friend of yours surnamed Tang whom I met last time, she’s also their customer. We got along quite well. Why don’t we invite your friend out shopping tonight?”

Lu Yan knew she meant Tang Jie, and smiled awkwardly: “Auntie, my situation is a bit special right now, it might not be convenient to go out.”

Just then, the door opened and Jiang Chengyi appeared: “Let’s go.”

His mother immediately caught her son’s voice: “Yan Yan, give the phone to Jiang Chengyi, I need to talk to him.”

Lu Yan had to get up and hand the phone to Jiang Chengyi: “Your mother.”

Jiang Chengyi took it and listened for a few seconds, looking at Lu Yan: “Oh, understood.”

Lu Yan had no interest in shopping at luxury stores and didn’t bother to figure out whether Jiang Chengyi had agreed or not. She simply packed up her notebook and came out to find Dr. Yu still standing beside Jiang Chengyi.