Several detectives expressed their appreciation for Yi Jiadong’s culinary skills with actions swift and decisive as a whirlwind.
Upon hearing that everyone was going to work late into the evening, Boss Yi personally made them coffee.
Liu Jiaming continuously thanked him, rushing in and out to help carry the coffee. In just a short while, he was already casually referring to Yi as “Brother Dong”.
Yi Jiadong smiled and asked everyone to take good care of his sister, first explaining that Yi Jiayi had just joined the police station and knew nothing, asking everyone to teach her well. He also mentioned that Yi Jiayi, being young and inexperienced, needed their guidance and patience.
“Being a young lady, working as a clerical officer in the police station is quite comfortable, and the things she needs to learn are not difficult. In a few years, find her a good man to marry, and you don’t need to worry,” Uncle Jiu said, then picked his teeth and added with a laugh:
“Jiayi is pretty and earns a good salary; she’ll definitely marry well.”
“Exactly, what are we teaching her? To charge into battle and catch criminals? Look at her, delicate as she is, haha. Brother Dong, rest assured, she won’t be touched by the wind or sun here, she’s in good hands,” Liu Jiaming said after having his fill, stretching his arms to grab some tissue paper and carefully wiping his fingers.
Fang Zhenyue downed most of his coffee in one gulp, exhaled deeply, and his gaze suddenly shifted to Yi Jiayi’s face. He thoughtfully responded to Yi Jiadong’s request:
“Like your sister, who made significant achievements shortly after joining the station, there are only a few like her throughout the entire station.
“Yi Jiayi is very diligent and ambitious. It’s rare to see someone who is so active and engaged in their work.
“And…”
Yi Jiayi, originally slumping in her chair due to a post-meal slump, unwittingly straightened up when she heard Fang Zhenyue’s words.
Since coming here, she had been trying hard to adapt, learn, and change.
This was the first time someone had given her such a serious review.
Her eyes widened, looking nervously at Fang Zhenyue.
She was anxious, as if worried he might discover some significant flaw she had been trying to conceal, carefully holding her breath.
Fang Zhenyue was originally just being polite at Yi Jiadong’s request to look after his sister.
But unexpectedly, these subordinates, both old and young, really took themselves seriously, adopting an elder and senior’s demeanor and talking about ‘marrying well’ and ‘being pretty’, which was quite embarrassing. This made him seriously highlight the young policewoman’s merits.
To him, these were just normal courtesies, but facing Yi Jiayi’s serious gaze, he felt a bit of pressure.
So he chewed over his words, then finally said:
“She’s soft on the outside but strong on the inside, has her own ideas, and can properly handle the tasks she’s given.”
Only after hearing his words did Yi Jiayi finally take a breath.
Gripping her chopsticks tightly, she watched Officer Fang, who seemed a bit lethargic from being healed by the delicious food in front of him, and suddenly felt inspired.
Even if she was indeed frail and delicate, such praise made her inevitably want to toughen up.
Fang Zhenyue glanced at his watch and stood up to pay the bill.
The child that had been cut out had not yet been found, and its life or death was unknown. The victim’s relatives still held their grief while waiting for the truth; the murderer was still at large, leaving them little time for eating and drinking, as they needed to hurry back to work overtime.
Yi Jiadong waved his hands generously, “It’s on the house, I’ll treat.”
Fang Zhenyue smiled and thanked him, but still pulled out several Hong Kong dollars, crumpling them up and throwing them behind him.
Just finished with his homework, the kid behind the counter, Yi Jiajun, stretched his arms and legs, looked up instinctively, caught the banknotes in his hand, then looked up blankly, meeting Fang Zhenyue’s briefly appearing, somewhat authoritative yet gentle smile.
Yi Jiadong went back to take the money from Jiajun and brought it out again, but Fang Zhenyue and his two companions had already driven away.
“This man…” Watching the jeep’s rear end, Yi Jiadong couldn’t help but laugh and cry.
“Officer Fang cares about face, huh? He wouldn’t take advantage of us,” Yi Jiayi explained to her brother, then praised with a smile, “Big brother’s wonton noodles are really delicious!”
Upon entering, Officer Fang must have already surveyed and analyzed everything in the shop; perhaps even the old shoes of Jiadong and the fraying cuffs of Jiajun’s sleeves provided him with important information.
She had already guessed that her brother would offer to treat, and also guessed that Sir Fang would certainly not accept.
“Officer Fang looks really good, huh? Is he still single?” Yi Jiadong suddenly turned back, asking with implied meaning.
“I heard he treats the police station as his home, not romantic, not gentle, very fierce when handling cases.”
“People chase him but he doesn’t care, and he always forgets the names of female colleagues at the station.”
“He usually deals with either victims or criminals, everyone says he doesn’t think about women.”
“Sister Yin even said that during Fang Officer’s first few years at the station, he was the top imaginary crush of the female colleagues. Three or four years later, everyone avoided him.”
Yi Jiayi pieced together the rumors she had heard about Sir Fang, and without waiting for her brother to say more, she turned to clean up the tables.
Sister Yin also had an original saying: “That Fang Zhenyue from Team B, doomed to be a bachelor forever, will never taste the goodness of a woman.”
Yi Jiadong had been eager to chat more with his sister, but tonight, Yi Jiayi was exceptionally efficient, clearing tables, washing dishes, sweeping floors, arranging stools, swiftly finishing up the work, even jumping up to help him pull down the shutter door.
Recalling Fang Zhenyue saying she was soft on the outside but tough on the inside, tsk tsk, in just a moment, she proved to be tough both inside and out.
Officer Fang’s praise really had a lasting effect.
….
Returning home, Yi Jiayi didn’t join her older brother to watch the TV drama. Instead, she headed back to the study, where she squeezed in with her younger sister Yi Jiaru to share the desk.
She spread out a sheet of paper in front of her and, recalling Fang Zhenyue’s words that she could handle whatever she wanted to do, felt empowered. She buried her head in the paper, recording the details from the mental imagery that appeared after examining the body today.
She tried to find some useful clues from these details to determine the identities of the two individuals.
【Two people】
【A man and a woman】
【Elderly】
【They would ask for help; there were no signs of forced entry, suggesting the perpetrator was someone familiar…】
The young policewoman’s brows were tightly furrowed, completely forgetting her sister’s presence, immersed in her own world.
Half an hour later, she suddenly raised her head, pressed her left hand firmly on the desk, and with a force that could pierce through paper, she wrote down two characters:
【Key】
The key hanging on the murderer’s waist, which was the same glaringly orange square-handled key as the one hanging beside the deceased’s door!
Combining this with information such as “police deployment without spotting any suspicious individuals,” could it be inferred that the neighbor committed the crime?
After all, if it was someone living here moving in and out, wouldn’t it be easy to appear unsuspicious?
Clenching her fist, Yi Jiayi didn’t realize that her startled demeanor had frightened her sister. After pondering with lowered eyes, she came up with her own plan.