However, on the third day, Uncle Jiu caught a cold.
“Uncle Jiu, Sun Xin brought some hot coconut milk and afternoon tea. Please have some,” Jiayi said as she watched Uncle Jiu blowing his nose and quickly handed him the hot drink.
“Uncle Jiu, let me take over the rest of your work,” Liu Jiaming said as he drank the coconut milk and leaned over.
“It’s alright, I just need to take some cold medicine,” Uncle Jiu forced a smile, gulped down half a cup of coconut milk, and felt his body warm up. After sneezing, he rubbed his swollen nose, wiped away uncontrollable tears, wrapped up in his coat with the coconut milk in hand and headed out, his speech slightly slurred as he thanked Jiayi:
“This hot drink is really thoughtful.”
“…” Jiayi frowned deeply, standing in the office, unable to speak for a long while.
…
Fang Zhenyue had just discussed the progress of the case and made reports and plans for what to do next with Qiu Sushan, and walked out of the office with his head down. However, when he stood at the entrance to Team B’s office, he took a deep breath and tried to cheer himself up.
A commander must not lack morale. No matter how great the pressure, no matter how anxious or rushed he felt, he could not show these emotions in front of his detectives.
He as a commander must stand firm.
In the neighboring Team A office, You Zhaohua led his team out, passing by Team B’s office and saw Fang Zhenyue standing at the door, staring blankly at the whiteboard.
He stepped in and patted Fang Zhenyue on the shoulder, smilingly asked:
“How’s the progress on the Tram Car Corpse Case? I see the newspapers are almost turning this case into a horror story of a ghost bus. The movie about this case will be out in a couple of days, you better solve it soon. Weird cases attract public attention, the longer it drags, the more pressure you’ll have.”
“Did your team solve your case?” Fang Zhenyue didn’t respond immediately, but instead inquired about Team A’s recent situation.
“We cracked it yesterday. It took over half a month, but that’s considered fast. Thanks to you guys, our team’s solving speed has improved,” You Zhaohua chuckled, seeing Fang Zhenyue’s bitter smile, he quickly changed the subject:
“I’m treating tonight, celebrating Team A’s case being solved. Why don’t your team join us? As brother teams, let’s spread some good fortune and switch up the mood.”
“Forget it, if we’re there, you wouldn’t really feel right celebrating grandly. Watching you celebrate, everyone would think about their own unsolved cases and feel a bit odd. Let’s celebrate together once our case is cracked,” Fang Zhenyue patted You Zhaohua’s shoulder, “Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” You Zhaohua is not very good at comforting people, but he excels at sarcasm. However, things have been going well recently, which made him feel a bit of mental pressure to act mean. So, he just politely said one line and then quickly said goodbye, taking his team and leaving.
Fang Zhenyue rubbed his temples and turned back to continue pondering over the whiteboard.
Jiayi sat at her desk writing a progress report on the case investigation. Having listened to the entire conversation between Sir You and Fang Zhenyue and observing Fang’s retreating figure, she suddenly felt a sourness in her heart.
In her eyes, the once majestic Sir Fang, like an eagle, now had only a pair of bare little wings left, and his proud peacock tail had vanished too.
…
That evening, Jiayi and Fang Zhenyue visited the ninth neighbor of Liu Dahong, and on the way back, he drove her home.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Jiayi organized her notes and finally couldn’t help but look up and ask Fang Zhenyue:
“Brother Yue, what’s the most unscrupulous thing you’ve done while leading Team B in investigations?”
“For solving cases…” Fang Zhenyue blinked, his eyelashes lightly trembling under the neon lights, and he smiled amusedly at his own memories, then said:
“Creating fake search warrants, and getting scolded by madam.”
“And sneaking into a suspect’s home to search for evidence, only to later prove that person was not the murderer. Luckily, I wasn’t discovered, otherwise, I would have faced a complaint to the police complaints department.”
“In the last case, leading you guys in faking some evidence and such, but these kinds of things must never be discovered or complained about. Otherwise, at best, my gun would be confiscated, I’d be fined, or forced on leave, and at worst, even my police license could be revoked. Don’t follow my example; I know my limits.”
Jiayi couldn’t help but chuckle; every brawling teenage boy thinks they know how to punch with restraint.
And every kid who wants to play video games still promises their parents that it won’t affect their studies, but somehow Sir Fang’s excuses sounded just like those naughty kids.
“When I was younger, it was even more outrageous, like when I got really mad at a murderer, I would stomp on the murderer’s foot to vent. I said it wasn’t intentional, but later, at the hospital check-up, the murderer’s toe bones were all broken by me, hahaha. Back then, I really didn’t know my own strength. But that murderer had lured young girls to sell, and later got worse; if the girls disobeyed, he’d hit and scold them, even forcing them to transport drugs. When caught, he even said things like his life was worthwhile, which made madam shake with anger. Really despicable,” Fang Zhenyue finished, then made an earnest effort to prove he wasn’t a random violent person, explaining very seriously.
“You weren’t punished then, were you?” Jiayi asked somewhat worriedly.
“Yes, I was suspended for a week. If it weren’t for Qiu Sushan being somewhat loyal, helping me with the applications back and forth, I might have had to go back to being a uniformed officer,” Fang Zhenyue shook his head with a bitter smile.
Jiayi imagined Madam Q helping Sir Fang with his applications, reporting to the superiors, all the while secretly cursing Sir Fang, and couldn’t help but laugh again.
“But after that, I learned my lesson,” Fang Zhenyue said earnestly.
“No more touching a suspect with a finger?” Jiayi blinked.
“Nonono. You still need to step on it, but you have to be careful about the force; you can’t break their toes anymore. Or accidentally bump them so their head hits the doorframe. Or accidentally lift your arm and hit someone’s ribs. Just a little punishment for justice,” said Fang Zhenyue, turning to face the clear eyes of Officer Yi Jiayi, suddenly realizing the nonsense he was spouting.
He was about to corrupt a good child!
He quickly corrected himself:
“But I don’t do that kind of thing anymore. It was childish, really foolish back then.”
Jiayi pursed her lips, her eyes and eyebrows curving, obviously understanding the complex emotions behind his words.
After parking the jeep by the roadside, Fang Zhenyue wanted to explain further, but felt that anything he said would seem superfluous and awkward.
He simply said goodbye to her, muttering “nonsense,” then stepped on the accelerator and zoomed away.
On the way back, Jiayi was contemplating some issues.
When she reached her building, she couldn’t help but lean on the caretaker’s counter, asking if there were any mail for her family, then started a casual conversation:
“Uncle Wu, how many years have you been a caretaker?”
“Seven or eight years now. I was a security guard before. Now that I’m older and can’t stand guard anymore, I just sit here handling some mail and doing some registration work.” Uncle Wu spent his days watching TV and reading newspapers, being able to enjoy the company of young people talking to him, who is also the legendary detective in the newspapers, which made him happily chatty.
“Have you ever encountered any paranormal events during all this time?” Jiayi asked.
“Of course, countless times! In our line of work, dealing so much with houses and people, you’re bound to encounter some haunted houses or places, or paranormal events. I’ve even heard for myself a woman who committed suicide after an abortion, crying terribly in the stairwell at night, looking for her child…” Uncle Wu asserted confidently.
Jiayi nodded seriously as if she believed him, though she thought to herself: It’s probably just the wind in the corridors.
“Aren’t you scared? Have you ever been frightened sick?” Jiayi asked somewhat worriedly.
“How could I be? If you’re scared of such things, then you don’t do this job. We, every year, burn incense and make offerings to the wandering spirits. There are rules in this line of work. We all share this world; you take your sunny path, and I’ll walk my solitary bridge, without interfering with each other,” Uncle Wu said, then went on to educate Jiayi about various metaphysical preparations they do as concierges and security guards.
He even pulled out a flattened talisman paper from under his seat.
After chatting with Uncle Wu for a while, Jiayi finally felt at ease, and as she turned to take the elevator home, she silently made a decision.
…
In the middle of the night, when everyone in the Yi family was sound asleep, Jiayi quietly crawled out of bed, tiptoeing as she wrapped herself in warm clothes.
She left the house, went downstairs, and quietly walked out the back door. She walked three streets to an unassuming phone booth and dialed the number of the building concierge’s desk that she had jotted down a few days ago when visiting the home of a murdered couple.
The phone rang eight times before someone leisurely answered with a slightly hoarse “hello.”
Jiayi bit her lip and said nothing.
It wasn’t until the person across from her asked about the topic with confusion that Jiayi internally apologized and lowered her voice, saying softly:
“Help me…”
“Who are you?” The old man’s tone suddenly became tense, and he instantly became alert.
“…” Jiayi silently counted to six in her mind, before the other’s patience ran out, she again whispered: “Help me…”
“Stop joking, who are you?” The old man’s voice gradually became stern.
“… Help me… Apartment A on the 4th floor… Help me…” Jiayi kept her voice very low, making sure the other party could hear clearly while also slowing down her speech, which was not easy.
“What? Mrs. Fang on the 4th floor? What’s the matter, Mrs. Fang?” The old man’s voice even trembled a bit.
Jiayi, seeing the timing was right, hung up the phone with a snap.
The reaction after doing something bad was exhilarating, Jiayi’s heartbeat sped up, her face flushed.
Smacking her lips, she glanced at the public phone, pulled out a tissue to wipe off the fingerprints, felt it was an overkill, scratched her head, and then ran off.
She rushed home and only when she lay in bed for quite some time did her heartbeat gradually return to normal.
Breathing out a long sigh, she pressed her hands together in prayer, silently.
…
The next day, Jiayi felt uneasy all day and did not receive a call from the police from the old man.
In the evening, she quietly went to Fuk Oi Estate and observed from a distance. Everything at Building 6 was as usual, the old man still sat behind the counter watching his black-and-white TV, and even had a dish of peanuts beside him.
Disappointed, she returned home and at the same time late at night, she had to wrap herself in thick clothes again, run to another farther phone booth, and only after putting on wool gloves did she pick up the phone and dial the same number.
It rang many times before someone answered, this time, the old man’s “Hello” carried a tremble and an inquisitive tone, clearly, he had guessed who was calling.
Jiayi again silently counted seconds, counting to six before speaking, still only uttering that one phrase: “Help me… Help me…”
“Is that Mrs. Fang? I knocked on your door during the day, and you didn’t open it, there was no sound inside. I haven’t seen you or Mr. Fang for several days, is something wrong? What’s the matter? Don’t scare me…” The old man seemed to have been holding back his concerns all day, and upon receiving the call, he blurted them all out.
Jiayi did not answer, still only lowering her voice, softly saying that one line:
“…4th floor, Apartment A…”
“…Help me… Help… Help… me…”