Chapter 69: (Three-in-One): Officer Zhou, Are You Ready for Our Date? Part 1

Zhou Hui glanced over and saw that Yu Bai’s smiling face showed no trace of fear whatsoever. Where on earth was her fear?

She thought back once more to three days earlier, when Qin Hua had pulled off that soft confinement stunt right in front of the police. After days of surveillance, not a single person had left the Datang Foot Spa. Clearly, their internal suspicions hadn’t been resolved yet.

And now, they were willing to let someone go just like that?

Zhou Hui narrowed her eyes and gave her a scrutinizing look, her brows furrowing slightly as she said, “Did Qin Hua send you?”

“Why do you say that?” Yu Bai’s smile remained on her lips. She reached up to smooth her hair and sat up a bit straighter.

Her expression was calm and composed, showing no tension at being called out, yet she didn’t deny it either.

Zhou Hui’s brows furrowed even more tightly. Replying to that obviously evasive question, she said, “The police have to follow anyway, so why not take the initiative? You could even use the police to eliminate a rival. Isn’t that right?”

Yu Bai lowered her gaze and licked her lips. She pulled another folded card from her handbag, holding it out between two fingers as she lifted her brows with a soft smile. “This is an invitation.”

She had no intention of responding to Zhou Hui’s words.

“There was no evidence of the killer left at the scene. What does Qin Hua expect you to find at Frank’s place?”

Yu Bai’s face remained unmoved, her smile still alluring and captivating. But her response was as direct as ever: “Tomorrow night at eight. I’ll come pick you up.”

Zhou Hui opened her mouth to say something, but Yu Bai moved faster. The woman across from her let out a relaxed breath, grabbed her handbag, and stood up, clearly preparing to leave.

“Dinner with Officer Zhou was truly refreshing for body and soul. See you tomorrow night.”

She waved with a smile, her high heels clicking as she stepped away—only to pause and turn back halfway. From that not-too-distant spot, she arched a brow at Zhou Hui. “Oh, and Officer? No more peeking tonight. I’m drawing the curtains.”

“…”

Zhou Hui’s face flushed a little in the glow of the setting sun. That evening, back at the hotel across from the Datang Foot Spa, she confirmed that Yu Bai’s room curtains were indeed drawn. Even the silhouette by the window had vanished, denying her any further glimpses.

Not until the lights finally went out did that figure reappear behind the window. Staring at the hazy moonlight, Zhou Hui suddenly felt a pang of emptiness.

The next morning, Zhou Hui pulled back half the surveillance team. The remaining officers shifted from the shadows to open view, monitoring the comings and goings at the Foot Spa City.

Sun Ye slumped into his office chair the moment he returned, grabbing hold of Yang Pingfan, who happened to be passing by with a stack of files. He shoved his water cup into the man’s hands. “Flower, quick—get me some hot water! Oh, and toss in a couple extra goji berries. I need to recharge. These all-nighters are about to make my eyes pop out.”

Yang Pingfan stared at the cup that had suddenly appeared in his hand, stunned for a few seconds. Before he could speak, Sun Ye’s booming voice rang out again. Slumped in exhaustion, it didn’t hinder his volume one bit.

“Turns out they spotted us ages ago. They’ve been parading us around the docks like it’s a tour, toying with us the whole time! Days of surveillance down the drain.”

Zhou Hui strode in from outside the office, brushing past him. She waved the USB drive in her hand. “It wasn’t a total loss. The USB Yu Bai gave me yesterday checked out—no signs of tampering. And the hair salon owner from that alley just confessed to the interrogation room about the pinhole camera. The video’s authenticity is confirmed. Miao Deng did meet Frank the night he was killed.”

Sun Ye bolted upright in his chair, genuinely shocked by Zhou Hui’s efficiency. “Captain Zhou, when did you even question the hair salon owner?”

They’d only been back from the Datang Foot Spa for less than an hour.

Zhou Hui’s gaze shifted to the stack of files in Yang Pingfan’s hands. “Little Yang, are these the cases from around the time Miao Deng entered the country ten years ago? Anything similar, or any unsolved ones?”

Yang Pingfan set the files on the desk and shook his head. “Nothing connected so far. Too few leads. Probably won’t turn up much even if we dig.”

Zhou Hui nodded. There were almost no traces of the killer at the scene, and it might not even tie back to anything from ten years ago. Investigating would be tough, but these were the leads they had. Yu Bai’s information had checked out, but her motives were unclear. Zhou Hui couldn’t put all her eggs in the Frank basket.

They had to pursue the other angles simultaneously. She pulled half the files from the stack and handed them to Yang Pingfan. “Check these together.” As she turned to leave, she glanced at Sun Ye sprawled in his chair and added, “Sun Ye, with Little Yang.”

With that, she headed into the office, leaving a trail of Sun Ye’s wails in her wake.

As six o’clock in the afternoon approached, Officer Zhou finally finished reviewing the files. She organized the materials in her hand along with the report for the next day.

Sitting at her desk, she pinched the bridge of her nose and let her gaze drop to the invitation lying on the desktop. She frowned, lost in thought for a moment.

Yu Bai was meticulous in her work and would never leave any glaring evidence in the hands of the police. Even when borrowing strength to strike back, she needed a perfectly reasonable excuse.

And she had chosen well. Officer Zhou was genuinely unsure of Yu Bai’s true intentions right now, which gave her a bit of a headache as she stared at the invitation on the desk.

Suddenly, a piercing screech of brakes echoed from downstairs at City Bureau headquarters. Officer Zhou’s train of thought was interrupted, and she instinctively glanced toward the window.

She saw a luxury SUV—so flashy that its paint job gleamed brighter than any other vehicle at the bureau—swing into a sharp turn at the entrance. The rubber tires screeched against the concrete pavement, carving out a perfect arc before coming to a steady stop.

It was flaunting its wealth in the most ostentatious way possible. She didn’t even need to guess who it was.

Officer Zhou’s brows furrowed instinctively, but just then, her phone on the desk rang. The caller ID showed “Yu Bai.”

Officer Zhou picked it up and answered, but before she could say a word, Yu Bai’s voice came through.

“Officer Zhou, come on down!”

Her voice rose at the end, laced with a hint of excitement.

Officer Zhou glanced at her watch. It was exactly six o’clock.

“…” After two seconds of exasperation, she said, “Didn’t you say eight o’clock…”

Beep beep beep—

Officer Zhou: “…………”

Yu Bai didn’t give her any time to complain and hung up directly.

With no choice, Officer Zhou headed downstairs. Before leaving her office, she glanced at the invitation on the desk again, hesitated for a moment, and took it with her.

She hadn’t even reached the entrance when she spotted Yu Bai leaning against the car, a slim cigarette between her lips. In less than two minutes, she had already struck up a conversation with the gate guard. They seemed to be chatting about something amusing; Yu Bai brought her fingers lightly to her lips, and a smile immediately danced in the corners of her eyes.

She wasn’t deliberately flirting, yet every glance and gesture exuded effortless charm, the allure of a mature woman that left the guard staring wide-eyed.

Catching sight of Officer Zhou out of the corner of her eye, Yu Bai turned and beckoned her over leisurely, a smile blooming on her lips that made Officer Zhou pause.

Her heart skipped half a beat.

She wondered why Yu Bai, still dressed in her usual white suit, could fluster her so suddenly.

Up close, she realized there was a difference. Today’s makeup was bolder than usual, and her nails were painted a striking red.

Officer Zhou walked over, interrupting their pleasant chat, and tilted her chin at Yu Bai. “What are you doing here? Didn’t you say you didn’t want to come to City Bureau?”

She had even handled her resignation paperwork through a proxy, clearly avoiding the place like the plague.

Yu Bai’s gaze fully shifted from the guard to Officer Zhou, a gentle smile curving her lips. “So don’t keep me waiting too long.” She turned and opened the car door. “Get in, Officer Zhou.”

“Where are we going?”

Yu Bai looked at her with a mix of surprise, crossing her arms as she scanned Officer Zhou from head to toe. “You’re not planning to attend the banquet in that outfit, are you?”

Take a look—what was she wearing?

A faded black T-shirt, black sweatpants covered in pills, white sneakers with a chunk of rubber missing. Thanks to the recent rain, the cuffs of her pants and the shoes were still splattered with mud.

It was downright pitiful.

“Didn’t you buy a dozen identical outfits? How did they get this worn out?” Yu Bai couldn’t help saying, “Is Director Zhou requiring his family to uphold the same frugal style?”

Officer Zhou: “……”

She remembered coming back from Datang Foot Spa that morning after interrogating the hair salon boss. The stench of instant noodles and seafood clinging to her clothes was unbearable.

She decided to hit the bureau’s showers. When looking for a change of clothes, she discovered the locker only held one old T-shirt from three—or was it five?—years ago.

Officer Zhou had sniffed it; it even smelled musty.

But it was still better than what she had on.

Without further hesitation, she showered and changed, feeling refreshed.

Now, that faded T-shirt was getting roasted by Yu Bai. Officer Zhou pursed her lips and said, “If you lot caused fewer headaches for the police, maybe I wouldn’t go three days without going home or changing clothes. I’d have more than just some three-to-five-year-old relic from the bottom of my office locker to throw on.”

“I see.” Yu Bai nodded in sudden understanding.

“Since it’s my fault, let me take Officer Zhou to get a new outfit. Otherwise, you might not even get past the door with that invitation.”

Amusement deepened in Yu Bai’s eyes. She stubbed out her cigarette and tossed it into the roadside trash bin, then stood by the car door once more, extending the invitation. “Get in?”

This time, Officer Zhou didn’t refuse. She gave Yu Bai a look, hunched down, and climbed into the SUV.

Yu Bai got in the car with her, and they sped along, twisting and turning through the streets before finally pulling up near the Jewelry City on Commercial Street.

“Are you buying jewelry?” Zhou Hui’s eyes flicked upward at the corners as she peered out the car window at the uniform row of jewelry stores. She recalled their first meeting with Uncle Jiu at Ten Li Shop, when Yu Bai had bought a jade stone ahead of time to present as a gift. With her years of business experience, Yu Bai had explained it as simple courtesy—reciprocity in gift-giving, spending money to ward off disaster, the idea that no one slaps a smiling face, and a way to dispel bad luck.

Yet even after giving him the jade last time, Uncle Jiu had still turned hostile on a dime. Clearly, that business wisdom didn’t work all that well.

Zhou Hui couldn’t hold back and asked, “What’s the excuse this time? Warding off bad luck again?”