◎She Won’t Let Me Sleep.◎
After hanging up the phone, the City Bureau office instantly erupted into chaos.
“Who can tell me what exciting drama I missed?” Sun Ye demanded. “What happened to Love Sea? The giant sand fort? This plot isn’t following the script at all!”
“I’m totally baffled too!” someone replied. “But hotpot is always a win—no cooking tonight.”
Sun Ye shuddered and rubbed his shoulders. “Somehow, this hotpot doesn’t sit right with me.” He scanned the group with a grave expression. “You lot completely lose your brains at the mention of food. I’m ashamed for you.”
Several hands simultaneously slapped his back, sending him stumbling forward.
“Little Sun! You asking for a beating?” one of them shot back. “You’re always the most eager for grub. Weren’t you just nagging Captain Zhou the other day about that seafood feast she promised?”
Sun Ye shrank back with a dry chuckle, trying to explain himself. “Come on, guys, I was wrong! I was wrong, okay? What I meant was, we need some spirit of inquiry. Don’t any of you want to know what actually happened?”
One of them nodded thoughtfully. “Fair point. Captain Zhou dating is headline news once in a blue moon, so it’s worth looking forward to. Does she like Yu Bai, then?”
Han Wei leaned back against the desk, his eyes wide with shock. “No way! In all these years, I’ve never heard of Captain Zhou liking women!”
Yang Pingfan cut straight to the chase. “But we’ve never seen her like any men either.”
Han Wei sucked in a sharp breath and nodded vigorously. “Little Yang, you’ve got a point there!”
Sun Ye bounded over in two steps, stroking his chin. “Flower, now that you mention it, I remember—last time in the interrogation room, didn’t Yu Bai say Captain Zhou had stayed at her place? And that Captain Zhou could vouch for her alibi? Ring any bells?”
Realization dawned on the group. “Oh! Yeah! Bureau Chief Zhang’s eyes nearly popped out of his head back then. Were they already together? Man, I must’ve been blind! We definitely have to congratulate Captain Zhou this afternoon.”
“Right, right! Something’s definitely up. Absolutely!”
Harboring these questions, the group clocked out and headed en masse to Zhou Hui’s place after work, eager to get to the bottom of it.
~~~
Century Villa District.
Zhou Hui was in the kitchen prepping vegetables for the hotpot while Yu Bai arranged platters in the dining room. After setting the hotpot base, Yu Bai unpacked various meatballs and meats into dishes. Out of nowhere, she called toward Zhou Hui in the kitchen. “Your colleagues say you’ve been vacationing at Love Sea lately? Waterskiing and surfing with someone, even building giant sand forts?”
Zhou Hui’s mouth twitched. She turned, staring at Yu Bai in disbelief. “Han Wei said that? Are those guys that bored?”
Yu Bai nodded, raising an eyebrow as she grabbed more ingredients. “Apparently, you swore not to come back until you’d surfed for at least fifteen days.”
Zhou Hui: “……”
“Should I slice the beef?” Yu Bai leaned against the table, holding a whole slab of brisket she’d just bought from the supermarket. She glanced toward where Zhou Hui stood.
Hearing her, Zhou Hui paused mid-slice on a potato and looked back. “Hand it over—I’ll cut it.”
Yu Bai stepped into the kitchen and noticed the half potato still waiting by Zhou Hui’s hand. She grabbed a fresh knife from the rack, looked up at her with a gentle smile. “Let me handle it. You keep doing what you’re doing.”
Zhou Hui eyed her suspiciously but saw the confident smile on Yu Bai’s face. Not wanting to crush her enthusiasm, the words “You sure you can?” turned into, “Be careful not to cut yourself, then.”
Yu Bai nodded and seized the knife, hacking away at the beef on the cutting board with fierce determination.
After five grueling minutes of bitter struggle, barely making a dent, she finally gave up and turned to Zhou Hui in exasperation. “Why won’t it cut? Zhou Hui, your knives need replacing.”
“……” Zhou Hui felt even more helpless. Were her knives really the problem?
She shouldn’t have held out any hope for someone who’d never set foot in a kitchen. Snatching the knife from Yu Bai’s hand, she said, “Here, let me do it. Why don’t you go watch TV in the living room? The crew from the bureau will be here any minute.”
With that, Zhou Hui shooed Yu Bai out of the kitchen. Yu Bai still insisted it was the knives’ fault, muttering under her breath, “They really do need replacing. Bet you couldn’t cut it either.”
Zhou Hui was about to respond when the doorbell rang.
Seizing the opportunity, she skipped the topic and nudged Yu Bai toward the door. “Yeah, I couldn’t either. Go answer it—must be Han Wei and the others. I’m tied up here.”
Satisfied, Yu Bai nodded and headed to open the door.
By the time she reached the entryway, the noisy chatter from outside was impossible to ignore.
Sun Ye’s voice came first from outside the door. “Hey! Deputy Han, how are we supposed to ask when we go in? Ask Captain Zhou straight up who she went to Love Sea to build sandcastles with? No way, no way… I’m scared she’ll kick me out on the spot.”
“Hey? Little Sun, don’t chicken out! Just ask whatever you want! Captain Zhou isn’t gonna eat you alive.”
Sun Ye shot back, “But Captain Zhou will dock my bonus—maybe even my paycheck. I haven’t seen a bonus in seven straight months. If she docks my pay too, your big bro here will be living on fresh air next month.”
“Hahaha! Just give Captain Zhou two large Cokes and beg her nicely. She might let you off the hook for the bonus.”
Yu Bai stood at the entryway, overhearing this exchange. She paused for a moment, a smile tugging at the corners of her eyes. City Bureau colleagues were certainly an entertaining bunch.
She reached out and opened the door. The group outside was still bantering when they heard it swing open. Without even seeing who it was, Sun Ye squeezed forward from the back, holding a large Coke in his left hand and a large Sprite in his right, thrusting them right up to the person at the door. He grinned and bellowed, “Captain Zhou! Congrats, congrats! Don’t dock this month’s bonus, okay? I’ll be diligent and hardworking from here on out. You…”
“Pfft!” Yu Bai, standing inside the door, covered her mouth and let out a light laugh. Unable to hold it in, she said, “This… I’m afraid I can’t make that call.”
Sun Ye’s words caught in his throat, his voice cutting off abruptly. Finally seeing who it was, he lowered the drinks with an awkward expression.
The air hung silent for two seconds.
Yu Bai broke the tension first, suppressing a smile at the corner of her eye as she stepped aside to let them in. “Come on in!”
The group followed her inside. Zhou Hui poked her head out from the kitchen. “Yu Bai, give them some snacks to tide them over first. Mine’s just a few minutes away.”
She started to head back but caught sight of Sun Ye and paused, turning halfway around. With a smile, she said, “Think a single Coke solves your bonus problem? Tally up how many times you were late last month—and you still want a bonus?”
With that, she turned and returned to the kitchen.
“Touched! That’s what I love about Captain Zhou—strictly by the book. Little Sun, looks like your bonus is for the next lifetime! Hahaha!”
Another colleague kicked off his shoes at the entryway and gave Sun Ye’s shoulder a solemn pat. “Tsk tsk! Little Sun, your work ethic leaves something to be desired. Why don’t you leave the bonuses for the rest of us? Your big bro here hasn’t seen one in two months. Look—my pocket’s got just two sixty left. I’ll probably need you to spot me bus fare home.”
Sun Ye looked like he was about to burst into tears.
“Is your Captain Zhou usually this tough?” Yu Bai feigned surprise, her peripheral gaze drifting deliberately toward the kitchen now and then.
“Aw, you haven’t been at the City Bureau long enough to know. She’s a total workaholic. Let me tell you…” Midway through, Sun Ye suddenly caught himself. He pivoted with a grin toward Yu Bai, his face lighting up with gossip-hungry curiosity. “But she’s definitely not tough on you.”
Yu Bai leaned back slightly, arching a brow thoughtfully. “She’s… pretty tough on me too.”
She rubbed her chin, pondering for a moment before delivering her deadpan complaint. “She won’t let me sleep.”
Everyone’s eyes widened in shock. “?”
Yu Bai nodded solemnly, then shrugged as if to say, that’s the truth.
Having lived at Zhou Hui’s place for ten days now, she had to follow Zhou Hui’s rigid senior-citizen schedule: lights out at eleven-thirty sharp, up at six in the morning at the first sign of dawn.
But Yu Bai, accustomed to burning the midnight oil, couldn’t adjust. She lay awake at night with nothing to do but scroll on her phone.
And without fail, every morning at six-thirty, Zhou Hui would knock on her door, rousing her for a run and workout.
Wasn’t this ridiculous?
Yu Bai felt utterly helpless. After just a few days, dark circles had bloomed under her eyes.
She urged the City Bureau colleagues to dig into the snacks, then made her way to the sofa and sank down, drowsiness crashing over her. She propped her head up, her eyelids fighting to stay open.
The group was still reeling from Yu Bai’s bombshell comment, but seeing her like this, knowing looks dawned on their faces.
“Dinner’s ready!”
Just as their imaginations were running wild, Zhou Hui’s voice rang out.
Chairs scraped, tables shifted, and dishes were carried in amid a flurry of activity. Yu Bai’s sleepiness vanished in an instant.
She jumped up too and headed to the kitchen to help carry dishes. As Zhou Hui handed her one, she glanced down and noticed Yu Bai looked a bit wilted. Her expression darkened slightly as she asked, “Didn’t sleep well? That can’t be! Seven hours a night is plenty for any adult.”
Yu Bai: “…”
Thanks for the advice.
At the dinner table, it didn’t take long for the chatter to start up after a few bites.
Sun Ye had just swallowed a slice of beef tripe. In the brief pause before his next bite, he turned his head and asked Captain Zhou, “So, Captain Zhou, who exactly did you go to Love Sea with? Yu Bai? Didn’t you say you absolutely wouldn’t come back for at least fifteen days? How come you’re back after just ten?”
Zhou Hui listened to Sun Ye rattling off a long string of baffling rumors, unsure of how to respond. She said helplessly, “Who told you I went to Love Sea? I’ve been home the whole time and haven’t gone anywhere!”
Sun Ye looked astonished. “Little Liu from the Technical Department! He said you and Yu Bai are dating!”
At those words, Zhou Hui nearly choked to death on her sip of water. “Cough cough!”
That damned Little Liu. In that instant, Zhou Hui ground her teeth, itching to hack him into pieces. Not only did he have no filter on his mouth, but he’d gone and spun such an outrageous tale about her.
Sun Ye suddenly understood. “Ah, so Captain Zhou didn’t go to Love Sea after all. She’s been at home carrying on a romance with Yu Bai this whole time.”
Zhou Hui: “……”
Fearing Yu Bai might misunderstand, she opened her mouth to explain. Tilting her head, however, her gaze collided directly with the faintly amused depths of Yu Bai’s eyes. Yu Bai gave her a long, meaningful look before shifting her soft, smiling gaze away from Zhou Hui’s face.
Han Wei rolled up his sleeves and scooped a piece of beef into his own bowl. Lifting his eyes, he shot a gossipy, beaming grin at Zhou Hui, who was busy placing food into Yu Bai’s bowl.
Sensing the gaze upon her, Zhou Hui paused mid-motion. Looking up, she saw Han Wei grinning from ear to ear, nothing but teeth, which sent goosebumps prickling across her skin. Her mouth twitched. “What are you scheming to say now?”
Han Wei quirked a corner of his mouth at her, then shifted his gaze to Yu Bai. Smiling, he asked, “Nothing, nothing. I’m just curious why the teacher is staying at Captain Zhou’s house.”
The words had barely left his mouth when several pairs of eyes swiveled toward them.
Confronted with those expectant stares, Zhou Hui felt the meat she’d just eaten lodge in her throat.
Yu Bai showed no particular reaction. She set down her chopsticks and offered a faint, polite smile as she explained, “My old house is under renovation, so I’m borrowing Officer Zhou’s place for a while.”
Han Wei glanced back and forth between them, curiosity sparkling undisguised in his eyes. With a smile, he pressed, “Oh! Just crashing there? Nothing more to it? Captain Zhou went out of her way to snag an extra half month of leave from the bureau.”
Zhou Hui watched her own past fib to Yu Bai unravel right in front of her. Her expression tightened as she shot a sidelong glance at Yu Bai, then irritably snapped at Han Wei, “Isn’t all this food on the table enough to stuff your mouth? Eat up already! Have seconds.”
Yu Bai let out a helpless chuckle. Regaining her composure, she arched an eyebrow at Zhou Hui, a trace of gentle amusement lingering at the corners of her eyes, but she said nothing.
After a round of teasing from the group, Zhou Hui remembered something and asked Han Wei, “Any leads on Yan Mingchang’s case yet?”
It had been over half a month since they’d brought Yan Mingchang’s body back to the City Bureau from the morgue.
“Nothing yet. Too few clues—we can’t crack it for now.” Han Wei shook his head and set down his chopsticks. Suddenly turning mysterious, he said, “But Captain Zhou, there’s something else you haven’t heard. A couple days ago, I was at the Provincial Department dropping off the case closure files when I ran into Shao Ze.”
Zhou Hui started. Peering through the rising steam from the hotpot, she raised an eyebrow. “Shao Yuan’s younger brother? He’s back in the country?”
“Word is he landed two days ago to collect his brother’s first-class merit award.”
Zhou Hui: “That’s only natural.”
Han Wei prodded at the food in his bowl, his gaze sharpening as his tone grew grave. “The kicker is, the first thing he did upon returning was visit Zhao Haiqin in prison, the guy currently serving time.”
Zhou Hui drew in a sharp breath, tamping down her surprise. Frowning, she said, “If memory serves, the case details were never released publicly. We only told the family to come for the funeral. How did Shao Ze learn about Zhao Haiqin? Who tipped him off?”
Han Wei shrugged. “Maybe one of the big shots at the Provincial Department?”
“Is he still in Pingling City?”
Han Wei nodded. “Yeah, says he’s sticking around to pay respects at his brother’s grave. Flight back to America the morning after tomorrow.”
Even after bidding farewell to her City Bureau colleagues, Zhou Hui was still turning the matter over in her mind as she washed the dishes in the kitchen. Something about Shao Ze just didn’t sit right with her.
“What are you thinking about?” Yu Bai took the rinsed bowls and plates from Zhou Hui’s hands, narrowing her eyes slightly. “Still dwelling on Shao Ze? The case is closed—don’t heap too much pressure on yourself.”
Zhou Hui snapped back to the present, wiped the water from her hands, and met Yu Bai’s gaze. With pointed meaning, she said, “I remember the day of Shao Yuan’s funeral, at the cemetery—you asked me how Zhao Haiqin knew Wu Guojiang and Jiang Jiwen were the killers behind Shao Yuan’s family of five. Now I’m wondering if there’s some improper connection between Shao Ze and Zhao Haiqin.”
Yu Bai stood two steps away, holding the dishes, her expression giving nothing away.
Zhou Hui noticed Yu Bai’s calm and composed demeanor. She arched an eyebrow and slowly closed the distance between them, step by step, until she had backed Yu Bai against the edge of the sink. Her right hand slid along Yu Bai’s waist and pressed down onto the marble countertop, while her left hand casually swept aside the bowls and plates that had been separating them, setting them on the counter nearby.
Towering over her, Zhou Hui fixed her with a piercing stare. “So, you’ve been suspecting him all along?”
Yu Bai leaned back slightly, her upper body arching away until her back pressed uncomfortably against the hard marble surface. Being interrogated like this from above only made it worse. She shifted her gaze slightly to the side.
Zhou Hui had no intention of letting her dodge the question so easily. Her eyes narrowed as she followed Yu Bai’s gaze, inching even closer by a couple more inches.
Yu Bai’s breath hitched subtly. She lowered her eyes with a faint smile, her slender fingers slowly climbing up to rest on Zhou Hui’s shoulder. The undisguised amusement in her eyes followed the path of her hand, pausing only when it met Zhou Hui’s scrutinizing gaze.
“Suspecting him doesn’t get you anywhere, Officer Zhou!”
Her unique voice echoed freely in the intimate space between just the two of them. “To make an arrest, you need an ironclad chain of evidence. The moment the River Channel Murder Case broke, I’m betting the Provincial Department zeroed in on Shao Yuan’s younger brother, Shao Ze, as their prime suspect. If they could have nabbed him, they would have done it ages ago.”
As she finished speaking, Yu Bai’s eyes curved downward in a subtle droop. Her smooth, cool fingers slipped away from Zhou Hui’s shoulder, brushing ever so lightly—and imperceptibly—across her collarbone.
Zhou Hui’s body shivered faintly as she swallowed down a complicated surge of emotions.
Sensing the shift in Zhou Hui’s mood, Yu Bai tilted her head back slightly and flashed her a soft smile. With a light sigh, she gently pushed her away.
“Let’s head upstairs. Time for a shower and bed—I’m beat.”
Zhou Hui watched as Yu Bai’s figure vanished around the corner of the staircase, her throat moving unconsciously with a hard swallow.
After her shower, Yu Bai emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a bathrobe and sat on the edge of the bed, blow-drying her hair.
Suddenly, the screen on the phone lying on the bed lit up with a new text message.
Yu Bai instinctively glanced down at it. The sender’s name read “Third Brother.”
Her hand paused mid-motion. She switched off the blow dryer and picked up the phone to read the message.
【Tomorrow night at 9 PM, Shawan Wharf, Datang Foot Spa Room 608】
Just two short lines: a time and a place.
Yu Bai stared at the message in a daze for a full two minutes. Still in her slippers, she padded over to the floor-to-ceiling window and gazed out at the quiet, pitch-black night. With a sigh so soft it was barely audible, she breathed out.
