Lu Shimiao stood there in a daze, her arms hanging limply at her sides.
She stared at the white wall behind Xue Tong. Her body was held like this in the other woman’s embrace. Xue Tong’s hands were wrapped around her waist, as if using a great deal of strength, holding her tight with an intensity she couldn’t quite gauge.
A cold sweetness entangled Lu Shimiao’s consciousness. Xue Tong was like rime ice, unconsciously reminding her of the fine shavings shaved from a brick of rock sugar milk, the kind that would numb the tip of your tongue if you put it in your mouth. Though she wanted to breathe her in, she restrained herself and didn’t nuzzle closer.
She didn’t dare.
She cared about Xue Tong’s every move, so she was afraid of backlash.
The pillow during the typhoon, the silver-patterned sleeve garter on a blouse, the profile she could see from the passenger seat, that ring, the birth control pills, Xue Tong crying on the sofa… Unfamiliar Hong Kong seemed to have woven a vast dream around her, enveloping her in golden beer foam.
But what was the real, desaturated Xue Tong like?
She couldn’t see anything clearly within the bubble.
She only felt that everything about Xue Tong was dreamlike.
Xue Tong was so beautiful. Her slightly wavy black hair was naturally that way—probably not even Qiu Wen could get the trendiest hair stylist to perm it for ten thousand yuan. Xue Tong sitting in the driver’s seat, pinning up her hair; Xue Tong outside the walk-in closet, tying her hair back. The black hair tie was always on her wrist. Even the belt she changed every day was so good-looking.
In those moments, Xue Tong seemed so real. But just thinking about being in Hong Kong, the word real was somehow taken away by an inexplicable filter.
Like how Xue Tong, after drinking alcohol, suddenly ignored people. Or how Xue Tong, with the lights off, suddenly lashed out. Lu Shimiao didn’t know what kind of role she played in Xue Tong’s eyes, for Xue Tong to stop liking her just like that.
Whether those cruel words came from Xue Tong’s heart or not, the moment they were spoken, they proved they had existed.
Lu Shimiao couldn’t accept a version of herself like that existing in Xue Tong’s mind, even for a single second.
To the point that she’d spent these days lying in bed, thinking about it over and over. Her rebellious heart, too afraid to rebel, had cracked open. And those treacherous, insidious voices came back to haunt her.
“Can’t you do even one thing right?”
“Why become such a despicable person?”
“Why can’t you solve the penthouse issue properly?”
These voices pulled at her, circling her relentlessly. Lu Shimiao felt that if the penthouse matter wasn’t dealt with properly, the only path left for her was utter ruin.
Lu Shimiao braced both hands between their chests to create some distance. She couldn’t quite break free. “Instructor, I will handle the penthouse issue properly. Please trust me.”
“Instructor, you’re holding me too tight.”
…
Instructor.
Instructor.
Feeling the pushback against her chest, a clear rejection, each call of “Instructor” made Xue Tong’s heart ache unbearably. She let go, found the sofa, and sat down, covering her face with her hands as she tried to calm down.
Xue Tong’s mind was filled with Lu Shimiao’s words just now.
It took her a long, long time before she finally spoke. “Then how do you plan to handle the penthouse issue? How am I supposed to trust you?”
Lu Shimiao had been watching Instructor’s beautiful hands from afar. There was no ring on them now.
“I’ve been listening carefully in all your classes. I think—”
“Fine.”
Xue Tong dropped the single word, stood up, and started walking toward the door.
She was afraid that staying even one more second would let her possessiveness change her mind.
“I’ll pack up some of your clothes later and send them to the front desk. Come downstairs to get them. You must answer every call I make to you. When you sleep at night, remember to lock the door.”
She left quickly, shutting the door. The moment she got into her car, Xue Tong called Ah Tang.
“Ah Tang, notify the duty officer at Criminal Records. For any burglary cases reported within the Equator district in the next two weeks, our division needs to be the first responder. Don’t assign the case to the crime scene supervisor from Internal Affairs. Transfer it directly to me. Also… once the investigation file is initiated, immediately request a Search Warrant from the magistrate.”
She hung up.
Xue Tong gripped the steering wheel.
Trial and error.
She didn’t even know whose error she was testing anymore.
—
An entire week passed.
Almost every day, Xue Tong would go to the school gate to watch for Lu Shimiao. Only after seeing her come to school would she drive to the Police Station for work.
Her days were quiet, just… dull.
Until Friday afternoon, four-thirty.
Ah Tang rushed into the office with his laptop.
“Madam, the Criminal Records case alert came through!!! You predicted it! Burglary!! The reported value is 50,000.”
Xue Tong bolted up, took the laptop, and scanned it quickly. The case alert details were listed in the system. “Where’s the brief?”
“I saw the backend alert and came right to you. The police are already on scene. Don’t worry… Criminal Records probably hasn’t received the feedback report yet—”
“We’re going to the scene. Now.”
Xue Tong grabbed her phone from her desk and started walking toward the equipment room.
From seeing the case file alert to arriving on scene, Ah Tang felt it had taken them only ten minutes.
Stepping onto the 36th floor.
The cordon tape was already up.
The moment the elevator doors opened, Xue Tong was practically the first one out.
The tenants on the 36th floor had already been required to leave their rooms. A few tenants who weren’t at work were whispering amongst themselves, staring at Lu Shimiao.
From a distance, she could see personnel and a large group of police officers surrounding Lu Shimiao. The kid, though drenched in a thin sweat, otherwise seemed completely fine.
Good, she was alright. That was all that mattered.
Xue Tong’s grip on her uniform relaxed slightly.
“Madam Xue.” The officers on scene were visibly surprised to see a Forensic Superintendent personally taking charge of a case. The speed of their response, given the case had just been entered into the system, was absurdly fast.
Hearing the familiar name, Lu Shimiao immediately looked up, but after just a single glance, she quickly lowered her head again.
…
It had only been a week without seeing each other.
Why had Lu Shimiao become so nervous and distant toward her? It wasn’t even an exaggeration to say she was trying to hide.
Clutching the file folder, Xue Tong strode over to Lu Shimiao’s side and swept her gaze around the surrounding officers. “Sorry, everyone. She’s my student from the Police Academy. I need to speak with her privately.”
Ah Tang’s expression flickered upon hearing this.
So this was the girl… the female student his boss had been looking for some time ago?
He remembered Superintendent Xue’s silent storm over the past two weeks and alarm bells went off in his head! He quickly pulled the various officers far away. “Come on, let’s go over the case statement on that side.”
The crowd dispersed, leaving only two people outside the cordon.
“Look up at me.” Xue Tong’s tone was gentle as her eyes swept over the girl from head to toe. “You haven’t done anything wrong. Don’t keep your head down all the time.”
Lu Shimiao looked up at the sound of her voice, her words a mosquito’s whisper. “I didn’t expect Instructor to come.”
“Hmm? Is it bad that I came? Isn’t it good to catch the criminal together?”
Xue Tong took out a tissue and wiped Lu Shimiao’s sweat. “After you finish giving your statement, wait for me a while, okay? I’ll take you to eat…”
“Shanghai cuisine, what do you say?” Xue Tong put the tissue away and back into her pocket.
Lu Shimiao’s voice rose, her dimples showing. “Really?”
“Really.” Xue Tong answered in her newly learned Shanghainese.
“That sounded nothing like it! Hehe.” Lu Shimiao’s eyes curved into slits. “It’s, zeng e.”
“Then you say something in Cantonese, let me hear.” Hearing Lu Shimiao not call her ‘Instructor,’ Xue Tong smiled along.
“zan ge, zan ge.” Lu Shimiao enunciated clearly.
[“zeng e” and “zan ge” mean “awesome/great” in Shanghainese and Cantonese, respectively.]
“Ahem, sorry to interrupt you two.” Ah Tang noticed the two people practically glued to each other and popped his head in, waving his tablet. “Madam, the Search Warrant is approved.”
“Good.” Xue Tong’s expression shifted back to its cold, professional mask.
—
“Madam, look at the case statement first.” Ah Tang handed over the tablet.
Xue Tong scanned it briefly.
The items stolen in the burglary were valued at 50,000 Hong Kong dollars: three Hermès bracelets and one silk scarf.
“She really is your student. When she reported the case, she had already prepared photos of the handprints, footprints, video footage, and receipts. Feels like, other than DNA comparison, she did everything she could.”
Xue Tong looked down at the information and nodded with satisfaction.
Although formal court evidence could only be provided by experts from the Forensic Science Division of the Criminal Investigation Department, Lu Shimiao had provided corresponding photographs of suspected trace evidence. Not only did this not contaminate the scene, but it also helped them quickly organize their thoughts.
Following the leads provided by Lu Shimiao, the forensic officers quickly extracted and photographed the footprints from the floor of the room, and also correspondingly lifted fingerprints from the cabinet and the headboard.
Since they had the video surveillance provided by Lu Shimiao as proof, they now only needed to find the tool used in the crime to perfectly close the chain of evidence.
“The Search Warrant covers the entire 36th floor, right?” Xue Tong asked Ah Tang as the scene processing began to wrap up.
“Yes.”
“Next, search that one.” Xue Tong pointed toward An Cheng’s room.
Following the Superintendent’s instructions, the officers collected fingerprints from An Cheng’s door handle, then readied their professional lock-picking tools, preparing to breach the door.
But before the device could even get close to the electronic lock, a furious roar echoed through the corridor:
“Who told you to go into my room?!”
Five minutes earlier, An Cheng had just gotten off work. Stepping out of the elevator and seeing the cordon tape, his heart pounded with fear. He wanted to press the elevator button and flee downstairs, but an officer called out to him.
The officer reminded him that everyone on this floor had to stay and be questioned.
How could An Cheng dare run in front of the police? Wouldn’t that be an admission of guilt?
He figured he’d only stolen Lu Shimiao’s cosmetics once. The actual burglary tool wasn’t in his possession, and he’d been careful to wear gloves when entering her room. If anyone was unlucky, it would be Lin Tingting. If he hired a good lawyer, he might be released that very night. So he steeled himself and stayed.
He never expected that before he was even questioned by an officer, he’d see people in crime scene suits heading toward his room.
Inside that room…
“Who gave you permission?! You can’t go in there! Get out!” An Cheng’s eyes suddenly turned a bloodshot scarlet. As if possessed, he tried to rush past the cordon.
Several police officers intercepted him, issuing a verbal warning: “Sir, remain calm, or we will have the right to arrest you.”
“Get out!” An Cheng shouted, his eyes meeting Xue Tong’s gaze.
From several meters away, behind her goggles, Xue Tong stared back at An Cheng.
It was as if a judge had abruptly torn open a black curtain. Her eyes locked onto the loathsome lurker. A black mist swirled around this sinner, an indescribable terror warning its master. The crawling insect concealed in the dark, foul sewer stretched its limbs wide. Its squirming ugliness was about to be exposed to the sun. In that instant, the devil uttered its final whisper.
“Lu Shimiao!”
An Cheng craned his neck, twisting to look at the girl. Those eyes couldn’t hide their slimy, tactile sensation.
“Lu Shimiao!”
Another low growl.
After shouting, An Cheng quickly moved toward the girl. The surrounding officers tensed up, stepping forward to block his approach.
Xue Tong pushed open the door to his room and pressed the light switch.
“Kai!(Damn!)“
Ah Tang looked at the photos on the wall and couldn’t help but curse. “This… fing pervert.”
Seeing the wall, Xue Tong froze completely. She heard An Cheng’s roar just outside. Stunned for barely two seconds, she spun around and sprinted back toward the cordon. “Grab him!”
But just as Xue Tong shouted, the dying devil crawled out of its grave.
A fruit knife slipped through a gap between the officers’ arms.
Its target: Lu Shimiao’s abdomen.
