Chapter 49: The Body That Vanished in a Bloody Foam – 15
She slept for an hour, and when she woke up, she was faced with Tang Yingli, who had already changed into casual clothes. At the owner’s invitation, she enjoyed the luxurious bathtub.
She felt refreshed after a thorough cleaning, but it was a little awkward when she came out.
It was the first time she had worn someone else’s clothes, and they were Tang Yingli’s.
Don’t be fooled by Tang Yingli’s usually gentle demeanor; in reality, she gave off an air of unapproachability and distance. No one would have thought—including herself—that Tang Yingli would go to such lengths for her.
Perhaps Tang Yingli was just cold on the outside and warm on the inside, but in any case, the words “we’re already friends” were not easily won.
But… if it weren’t for this sudden turn of events, would Tang Yingli still be treating her this way?
With a mixture of joy and melancholy, Jinglin walked to the living room and unexpectedly heard Tang Yingli talking to someone.
“…He confessed? I see. Did he explain the crime?”
She was clearly talking about what had happened today, probably with Fang Zijun.
“Officer Zhou? She’s fine…” Tang Yingli saw her and immediately gave a gentle smile. “Yes, I’ll let her know. I’ll be there tomorrow… okay, we’ll talk then.” The call ended there.
She stared at Tang Yingli’s phone. “Did they catch him?”
“Yes, they did. And as for whether he killed… killed Mrs. Li Yuejiao, and the two hostesses before her, he confessed to everything.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “It was him? Then why did that man appear…”
“I can’t figure it out either. If it was a coincidence, it was too much of a coincidence.” Tang Yingli crossed her arms. “No, if you think about it, the whole case is full of suspicious points, including the overly messy scene. It’s not so much that there was a struggle, but more like it was deliberately staged.”
“Deliberately… staged?”
“Yes, I had that feeling when I was examining the scene, but at the time, my attention was on the murder scene, so I haven’t mentioned it to Chief Fang yet.”
“Then what else did you find?” Jinglin grabbed her sleeve. “No matter what the detail, tell me. I want to know.”
“I will tell you. But now is not the time. Not only have your emotions not really settled down, but my grasp of the situation is also incomplete.”
“Then you’ll interrogate Qian Hanliang personally, right? I’m going too.”
“Chief Fang just asked me to tell you that he hopes you’ll take a break for a while. When you’ve calmed down…”
“I don’t want a break.” She shouted excitedly. “It was my mom who was in trouble. I have to find out what happened there…”
“You need to rest.” Facing her agitation, Tang Yingli was still calm. “I guess if you heard Qian Hanliang’s testimony now, you might be like you were with the serial child murderer… and I have no doubt that you would kill him with your own hands.”
Jinglin clenched her fists, the astonishing anger growing inside her, almost eroding her reason.
“I’ll have my brother arrange for you to have a brain scan. Your brain may have a functional defect that makes you prone to anger and out of control.” She wrapped her arms around Jinglin. “Remember, you are a police officer. You absolutely, absolutely cannot make a big mistake because you can’t control yourself.”
Tang Yingli’s embrace gave her a warm and stable strength. Jinglin trembled all over and took some time to barely suppress her emotions. “Okay, I know. I’m sorry…”
“Don’t be sorry. You’ve just been through a tragedy, and you can’t investigate the truth yourself. I understand that feeling. That’s why I had you come here for a while.”
“I feel like you understand me better than my own mother.” She wiped away her tears and let Tang Yingli lead her to the sofa.
“I wouldn’t say I understand.” She smiled. “I just happen to have had a similar experience.”
Tang Yingli opened the gate and let the golden hamster out to play. Its round, plump body was very cute, and its crawling movements were a little silly.
“Let her run around for a while. What do you want to drink?”
“Besides red wine and sparkling water, what else is there?”
Tang Yingli, who was about to open the fridge, froze. “Oh, that’s all there is.” She laughed at herself.
Drinking the sparkling water, Jinglin let out a small burp. “It’s so strange…”
“What’s strange?”
“As you said, there are a lot of suspicious points, right? My mom was lying there, covered in blood… the person in the house was her ex-boyfriend, but Qian Hanliang said he killed my mom.” Jinglin held her head, her eyes welling up with tears. “I really don’t understand what’s going on.”
“It’s normal to be troubled. But in any case, there must be an explanation that fits everything. Our purpose is to find that explanation.”
“I keep thinking, why… why my mom?” she asked Tang Yingli. “What did she do wrong? Why was she targeted? How did Qian Hanliang and that man find her?”
“Your aunt was probably targeted a long time ago…” She rested her chin on her hand and pried open the bottle cap with her long fingers. “Although I don’t really want to talk about the case with you, you probably can’t help but think about it, right?”
“You can just ignore me. As you said, I can’t think straight right now…” Jinglin drank the sparkling water and said with a frown, “It’s all just a mess of thoughts.”
Tang Yingli was silent for a moment, and in the end, she just crossed her legs and said coolly, “Just say it. Tell me what you’re thinking. No matter how wild, I’ll listen.”
Jinglin shook her head. “You should go to bed, right? A neuroscientist… it’s almost eleven.”
Tang Yingli was unconcerned. “I’ll go to bed after you do.”
“You’re kidding.” She didn’t believe Tang Yingli would give up her precious sleep for her. “I just woke up, and I took a shower… I’m wide awake now.”
“Then I’ll stay up with you. It’s better to have someone to talk to than to face it alone.”
Jinglin suddenly understood… Tang Yingli was serious. No matter what, she would not leave her alone.
Losing her mother was painful, but the hole in her heart was quietly being filled by Tang Yingli. “Teacher…” she choked out, leaning into Tang Yingli’s embrace.
“It’s okay.” Tang Yingli gently patted her. “No matter what happens, after you’ve cried and slept, things will gradually get better. It’s okay…”
That night, they talked a lot, the topics jumping around, and Tang Yingli always listened patiently, until she finally couldn’t resist her sleepiness.
Gently helping her lie down, Tang Yingli covered her with a quilt. Seeing her sleeping peacefully, the heavy stone in her heart finally lifted.
Her index finger traced her sleeping face. Tang Yingli withdrew her hand and whispered in her ear—
“Good night.”
**
When Jinglin opened her eyes, she almost thought the clock on the wall was wrong.
“Twelve o’clock? Really?” She, who was always early, had actually slept until noon.
She jumped up, looked around the unfamiliar environment, and was stunned for three seconds before she realized she was in Tang Yingli’s apartment.
That’s right, a lot happened yesterday… she was taken home by Tang Yingli… she was forced to take a day off today.
There was a key on the coffee table, with a note under it—it was Tang Yingli’s handwriting.
‘I’ve confiscated your car keys. Here’s a spare. You can come and go as you please. There’s pasta in the fridge. Remember to eat breakfast.’
Breakfast? She looked up, and on the dining table not far away was a rice ball, already cold.
She picked up the rice ball, and under it was another note. ‘After breakfast, go for a walk. After lunch, remember to feed the hamster for me. The food is next to the cage.’
The golden hamster was running on its wheel in the cage. She stared at it for a while, and on the food, she saw another note: ‘Your clothes are washed and in the dryer. Remember to get them.’
Jinglin tore off the note and went to the dryer. ‘Help me put the dirty clothes in the washing machine. Around five in the afternoon, remember to let the hamster out to run around. I’ll try to be home for dinner. We’ll be in touch then.’
“You’ve basically given me a whole day’s worth of homework.” Staring at the handful of notes, Jinglin frowned, then it dawned on her. “Ah, you must be afraid I’ll overthink things…” Realizing her thoughtfulness, Jinglin couldn’t help but find it funny.
“How much time did you spend preparing all this?” she covered her mouth, picking up the black lace dress from the laundry basket and imagining its owner wearing it.
“A worrywart neuroscientist… I can’t stand it.”
