The Yu Brothers’ Case Book

“Ah Liu, Ah Liu, do me a favour.”

As Ah Liu passed by carrying a box of items, he heard Jiu Shen waving frantically in his direction while calling his name. “What?”

“I got stuck while taking apart a digital clock. You’re better at this stuff, can I ask you to do it?” Jiu Shen cocked his head as he spotted the box. “Which home is that from? The neighbour’s or Luo’s?”

“Luo’s. I heard that Boss ended up fighting with him when he went, and that legislative representative came back again to slam tables.” Ah Liu placed the box down to let Jiu Shen see the various objects inside. A cellphone and computer took up half the space, while the other half was comprised of cameras and CDs. “Apparently when Boss arrived, Luo just happened to be smashing his cellphone, maybe to destroy some kind of evidence? The conflict started when Boss and the others tried to forcibly take it. Luckily, the reporters hadn’t arrived at the scene yet, and we got some photos ourselves. What are you taking apart a digital clock for? Isn’t that the one we brought back from the deceased’s apartment?” He peered over to spot the digital clock on the work table that had been partially disassembled.

“Yeah, but when I was inspecting it, I noticed that the clock seemed to have been taken apart before. Plus, the clock seemed to be out of battery which bothered me, so I wanted to try and disassemble it.” Jiu Shen handed his tools over to his colleague and flipped through the box out of curiosity. The cellphone had completely shattered apart, but the SIM card seemed undamaged. Jiu Shen gave Ah Liu a heads up before retrieving the SIM card and inserting it into the computer nearby.

After completely disassembling [the clock], Ah Liu inspected it closely. “There seems to be a SIM card in the digital clock. The little screw was stuck, likely from the last person reassembling it; that’s why you couldn’t take it apart.”

“Really?” Jiu Shen opened the cellphone’s storage files and found quite a few photos inside. Most were nudes, and the subject of the photos was clearly the deceased that had jumped off the building. “No wonder he wanted to destroy it.”

“If my son grows up to become someone that takes nudes of girls like this, I’ll definitely strangle him and stuff him into a toilet like Boss suggested before.” Ah Liu pressed down on Jiu Shen’s shoulder as he briefly skimmed the photos. He then asked his friend to make copies first; these would need to be organised and sent out, as they could become useful evidence.

“If the law allowed the dicks of these repeat offenders to be cut off, the number of such cases would probably decrease significantly.” While sexual assault crimes were not their main responsibility, they had often seen these aspects mixed into the cases that did pass through their hands, and Jiu Shen was deeply disturbed by it. “Doing that would be more straightforward, since the chances of a crime being repeated are quite high, while the victim’s willingness to report the assault are extremely low.”

“Civil rights, oh civil rights.” Ah Liu rubbed his coworker’s head. “Just keep these words to yourself, hopefully it makes you feel better.”

“Hmph…” Jiu Shen retrieved the SIM card [from the clock] and he made copies of the previous card’s files and transferred them onto the computer. “Wonder if Tong’s side is going smoothly?”

“They should be able to send things over very soon.” Ah Liu checked the time; it was already past eight at night. Ah Liu belatedly realised that none of them had eaten yet. “Are instant noodles okay? I can make yours while I’m at it?” They couldn’t be bothered to run outside and buy food these days, and they had no desire to eat convenience store food either. Thus, they could only turn to their best friend once again tonight.

“Mhm.”

Ah Liu walked out as Jiu Shen just finished reading the data from the SIM card, only to discover that it did not contain the photo files he had expected. Instead, it was a recording.

As he played the file, he heard a female’s quiet sobbing, the trembling voice extremely close by. She had likely been right next to the recording device. A distance away, he could barely hear a male’s threatening words.

“I beg of you, don’t…”

“If you dare mention this to your family, I’ll kill them all. A gas explosion impacting the floor above wouldn’t seem strange at all, don’t you think? Hmph.”

“Please don’t…I beg of you…”

“Trash! Don’t pretend you’re some kind of virgin in front of me. Who knows how many people you’ve slept with…”

A sharp cry sounded out, followed shortly by silence.

He watched the file for a while; there was actually a huge chunk after this as well, but there was no longer any sound. Just as he was about to change the track, he suddenly heard a low breathing come from the computer.

Jiu Shen was stunned for a few seconds, then squinted at the track indication where the screen indicated that this should have been a soundless file. However, he really was still hearing breathing, the sound of someone’s breath stuttering in agony. It was as if each inhale and exhale seemed to be an extreme struggle, and the breaths were dragged out too long for the average person to breathe.

The more he listened, he felt his hairs rise on end. Just as he was about to turn it off and wait for Ah Liu’s return, a screeching static sound abruptly rang from the computer. Jiu Shen, who had cranked the volume up on the higher side, jolted in shock. The interference-like static appeared to be from the file itself and was very loud. He frantically paused the file and wiped away his cold sweat as he decided to go and urge his friend to quickly come back.

“I must be mistaken, definitely all my imagination. It’s absolutely not as unscientific as I’m thinking….” He mumbled as he stood, nearly about to break open the glass door to flee. Just then, the lights in the room flashed, and the space instantly sank into darkness.

Goosebumps crawled over his body as the light burst. Jiu Shen crashed into the glass door, the thud so loud that it echoed. He clutched his pained face, but before he could run away, he heard the breathing from the file come out from the computer once more.

Jiu Shen did not have the courage to turn around and see what unfathomable thing was at the computer. He covered his head as he burrowed himself into the corner of the opposite wall.

The soft sound echoed from behind him. An exceptionally distinct female voice came from the darkness:

I…don’t want to die…

I…want to kill them…

“What are you doing!”

“Waaaaaaaaa—”

Jiu Shen’s body slammed against the wall, causing him to cry out in anguish only to discover that the voice behind him was extremely similar to that of someone he knew. The familiarity forced him to turn around. That was when he finally noticed that the office lights were already back on.

Ah Liu stood behind him with wide eyes, also completely shocked. “Why the loud shout???”

“I-I-I…” Jiu Shen weakly collapsed on the ground, having no clue how to describe what had just occurred. “Could I change offices with you…”

“What the heck? Well, the noodles are already cooked, hurry up and go eat.” Ah Liu was completely baffled, uncertain why the other person was so frightened. He kicked the person on the ground and glanced over at the computer. “That’s…”

“Let’s just quickly go and eat! We can do that after we come back later!” Jiu Shen leapt up from the ground and instantly raced outside.

Ah Liu shot a puzzled stare at the person fleeing before looking through the computer file and replaying the recording. The short file ended after a scream, only about a dozen seconds long total. However, it was enough evidence of the deceased having been threatened into sexual assault.

Sometimes there were pieces of evidence like this that would have been better if found while the victim had been alive.

Perhaps then she would have still had a chance for a new beginning.

But now it was already too late.

“So what if I had sex with the girl next door?”

Song Jie Han was in the living room as he smiled at the officer before him and said, “Good thing my wife is out. Honestly speaking, I really have had sex with the mèimei next door. But it was just the start of an extramarital affair. I still love my wife very much, so I broke up with the girl after a few times. I don’t want my wife to know this, since such things could negatively affect our feelings for each other as husband and wife…I hope that you’ll let me complete my work first, I still need to submit things to clients.”

Yu Tong glanced at the notebook he had exchanged with Yu Xia before facing the smiling young adult. “Are you sure you truly saw the girl from next door jump from the building that day?”

“Yes, I just happened to be on the balcony hanging up clothes to dry that day. The resident on the other side also saw me. If you don’t believe me, you can ask them again. These are the facts.” Song Jie Han comfortably sat on the sofa with a cup of tea. He casually asked, “It’s getting quite late, if you don’t mind, would you like to eat dinner with me?

“Honestly speaking, Officer Yu, why work so hard? Isn’t it just a suicide case? Wouldn’t it better to save the effort to do something else?” Song Jie Han walked over to the front door to open it, his grin unchanging. “She’s already dead; she won’t be able to speak of anything ever again.”

“…That isn’t for certain.”

“Even if you say that, wouldn’t choosing the simplest way be preferable? I very much look forward to the next opportunity I can invite Mr. Officer over for a meal. I’m sure that the police rarely go to high-grade restaurants; enjoying such things on occasion isn’t bad, am I right?”

Yu Tong watched the door close in front of him as he stood in the building corridor and let out a sigh.

Exactly what is the reason the deceased’s family would suddenly do a press conference…

Yu Tong could not help but feel like the reporters would get harmed. He had heard that conflicts had arisen over at Yu Xia’s side. While there had not been any conflicts here, and things had even gone quite smoothly, his gut told him that bringing anything back would not be of any use.

“Mr. Officer.”

Right as Yu Tong was about to press the elevator button to go downstairs, Yu Tong heard a soft voice ask, “Still working so late at night? Have you eaten dinner yet?” He turned to see Tang Yu Yao standing at the doorway with a faint grin, her expression gentle. “Would you like to come in and eat something before leaving? I stewed a whole pot of meat; my colleagues all said my stewed meat tastes delicious~”

“No need, thank you,” Yu Tong politely declined with a smile of his own.

“Then I’ll just box some up for you. While it’s possible to buy food at this time, eating take-out all the time is bad for your health…There shouldn’t be any issue with bribery or anything like this, right?” Before Yu Tong could respond, Tang Yu Yao automatically walked into her home, bringing out a small insulated pot out a few minutes later. She carefully placed it into a pink cloth bag before passing it over. “I saw on TV what happened to the mèimei next door. Good luck~ I’m sure the truth of the case will definitely come to light.”

“This isn’t necessary…”

“Make sure you eat it while it’s still warm~” Tang Yu Yao stuffed the bag into his arms with a sweet grin. “Oh right, the mister on the other side has run to the garbage dump several times in the past two days, I wonder what he’s been throwing away?”

“The building’s garbage dump?”

“Yep, tomorrow should be the combined disposal day. Our things get tossed every three days here. When I went down just now, the trash and recycling were already about to burst. If you’re interested, you can ask the security guard. But it’s pretty filthy, and there might be rats…”

“Thank you.”

Once Yu Tong expressed his thankss, he directly pressed the elevator to head to the garbage dump.

He was not sure if it would have anything, and asking Jiu Shen and the others to come now would not do. After retrieving the keys to the garbage dump from the guard, he arrived at the back of the building where tons of trash were piled.

The rotten stench was detectable just from where he stood. Both cockroaches and rats were currently scurrying through the corners.

“You came to go through the trash, Mr. Cop?”

Yu Tong was stunned by the sudden voice behind him as he spotted the girl wearing shorts jump down from the flight of steps and scratch her head. “Ah, I managed to find out that you were still here. Since I had the day off for once, I wanted to find Mr. Cop and ask if you wanted to eat at the night market with me…”

“It’s very dirty here, don’t come down,” Yu Tong quickly said as he saw the girl indifferently crush some large cockroaches under her high heels.

“Don’t worry, I’m not afraid of cockroaches or rats. I’ve even touched puke before. I can also grab snakes with my bare hands.” Xiao Hai openly smirked as she took off her jacket and stepped over some fallen trash bags. She then jumped over the edges of an extremely large garbage can to sit on the un-closable cover.

“So, what are we looking for?”

***

“Boss, you’ve practically become a legend.”

Yan Si played with the disinfectant in his hands as he leisurely lazed around on someone else’s chair and watched the expert currently changing clothes. “I heard Xiao Wu and the others say that you actually broke up a fight with knives using your bare hands today. Are you going to compile a collection of martial arts fights by filming something every time you go out on a task? I think you guys could edit something in the future for a commercial. Maybe the citizens will feel more at ease knowing that the police station is filled with otherworldly experts.”

“Did you come here just to spout bullshit because you have nothing better to do?” Yu Xia put on a clean T-shirt and grunted as he grabbed the top that had accidentally been sliced up. His brother would almost certainly scold him non-stop again if he saw this. But this also needed to be brought over as evidence, so he could not destroy it as he pleased. So annoying.

“Of course I came with my old roommate to enjoy the show~ I also wanted to make a copy of the special flip from the martial arts experts and bring it home to consecrate it. The prowess of an immortal Daoist is pretty amazing!” Just earlier, the instant he and Li Zi Hong had entered the station, they had heard of several people talking about how Yu Xia had been attacked when visiting Luo Qiang’s residence. When Luo Qiang saw Yu Xia just as he was destroying the phone, Yu Xia had acted to grab it. The man had then grabbed a kitchen knife and swung it around wildly in attempt to slash someone. When fighting in close combat, Yu Xia had been cut several times. The miraculous part was that it had mostly been his clothing that had been sliced. His actual body had not really been harmed at all; at most, he had only gotten a few shallow cuts on one of his arms, which had only happened from his own carelessness after he had restrained the owner against the ground. This had really made Yan Si want him to quickly start teaching some classes; there would definitely be many people that would want to learn combat from him!

Li Zi Hong coughed, ignoring the forensic investigator that had run over to run his trash mouth at a certain officer. The prosecutor directly turned to tidy up some reports. “Anyways, it is good that you are uninjured. Ah Liu just called to say that they found a recording of Luo Qiang threatening sexual assault.The main storage also had more clips and photos that should be sufficient evidence that the deceased had been a victim of repeated sexual assault.”

“That bastard even kept mementos?!” Yu Xia furrowed his brows as he tossed Yan Si away.

“That indeed seems to be the case. Ah Liu said the footage was all self-recorded and included quite a few scenes of the victim crying and pleading for him to stop filming. After compiling everything, Ah Liu’s group sent everything over. At the very least, we can confirm that it was against her will.” Li Zi Hong looked back, feeling somewhat helpless. They would have to explain all this to the family members. After their loved one had died, the family would have to endure this second hit. Moreover, the deceased had clearly not suffered from only a single instance of harm. There had been trauma from a third time, a fourth time, and more…

“Trash!” Yu Xia cursed.

“Boss, don’t charge out and burst his balls or anything.” Yan Si rubbed his beaten-in face and kindly reminded, “Although I’m quite supportive of bursting his balls, figuring out how to do it requires knowledge. You can only do it if you keep it hush-hush; don’t destroy your prospects because of trash like that. We can figure it out together in private?”

“…Stop fooling around.” Li Zi Hong glared at his friend trying to add fuel to fire and coughed before saying, “Regardless, I will raise a lawsuit regarding this aspect. However, we all know he is not the killer. The other aspects need to advance quickly. The media has already publicised everything; we have to hurry before all the evidence is destroyed.”

“Understood.” Yu Xia honestly had a stronger desire to go bust open the heads of those reporters that had given the criminals a chance to make preparations. He stuffed the clothes into a bag for evidence and nodded with a foul expression. “Did the family members give an explanation as to why they held a press conference?” The fact that they had not even informed the police beforehand had caught them completely unprepared; the entire matter had been very sudden.

“Apparently they were not too satisfied with the police’s track record. They felt that if things were dragged out any longer, the criminal would flee, afraid of getting arrested. As a result, they spontaneously called many reporters. The reporters we are acquainted with did not even get the chance to inform us of the news before it was broadcasted.” Li Zi Hong had only managed to ask around and find this out after the event had occurred. It had merely been two or three days since the incident, yet the family was already unwilling to cooperate. “There are too many immoral people that simply try to grab the news and viewership nowadays. Not every family is willing to work together with the police. The family also has their own pressures. Since the matter has already happened and there is no way we can harshly criticise them for anything, we can only try our best to salvage the situation and speed things up.”

“I know.” Yu Xia was honestly already getting used to being stabbed like this. He could only silently press his feelings down and gather the energy to tackle that Luo person. “I’ve already detained the man; hopefully his lawyer and legislative representative will not wake up until tomorrow.” Seeing those bastards this late would definitely give him stomach ulcers.

“I will request for custody first thing in the morning.” Li Zi Hong elbowed Yan Si. “Don’t forget to check the injuries.” Aside from being a suspect for sexual assault, the fastest and most direct accusation would be having attacked the police. In short, they would just detain him first and figure out the other details later.

“Sure.”

After Li Zi Hong and Yan Si both went their separate ways, Yu Xia checked the time and found that it was already past nine. For some reason, Yu Tong had sent a text saying he had stayed at the building and would not arrive home until later. Yu Xia cleaned up the document files on his hands, and around ten or so, decided to leave the station.

There was no news regarding Ye Yi or Xu Zhi Gao. The two children were in intensive care, still in critical condition.

He made a call to confirm that they had indeed not yet woken, then headed directly to the hospital where Yu Yin and the others were.

When he arrived, he just happened to bump into Teng Qi, who was leaving. Yu Xia thanked the other man and arrived at the ward to see the doctor. He asked about the patients’ conditions and learned that they could complete the process for hospital release tomorrow, which made him feel a wave of relief.

Yu Yin and Yu were playing a PSP on the bed when Yu Xia walked in.

Yu Xia was speechless for a moment. “What time is it now? Why are you two still playing video games?!”

“We borrowed them from Li-dàgē a while ago. It’s not like we have anything else to do here anyways.” Yu Yin was sprawled across the bed. He glanced at the extremely engrossed Yu and shrugged. “Besides, we’ve only been playing for a bit, it hasn’t been that long.”

“They’ve already turned off the lights. Put that away now and go to sleep!” Yu Xia did not take the device away, but after the reminder, the two children reluctantly lay down on their respective beds for the patient and family members. “Ah Yin, are you fine staying here?” He could not help asking, as he had not forgotten that Yu Yin could see all kinds of things, which were greater in number in hospitals.

“Eh, it’s fine. It’s quite clean in this room. Next door is worse.” Yu Yin quietly told Yu Xia as he was putting things away, “It’s best if the relatives of the old grandma next door are called back. I saw it lying on the patient’s body today when I was passing by the ward.” Then the patient had started coughing non-stop for the entire day, not easing even when the doctor supplied medication.

“…” Thankfully they’re leaving tomorrow. Yu Xia turned around and said, “You guys should hurry up and sleep. Ah Yin, help Xiao Yu finish the procedures for release tomorrow. Don’t loiter around and obediently go home.”

“Got it.”

Yu Xia sat there for a while until he was sure the two young ones were both asleep. Checking the time, Yu Xia shut off the lights and prepared to head back to the station to continue his endless work.

Then, he heard a faint noise.

A chilling breeze blew past in the darkness. There was no way Yu Xia could forget that black thing crouched next to the guest bed.

“Please leave.” Yu Xia looked straight at the mound as he coldly stated, “This is not where you belong. We will do everything we can…Leave my son ¹.”

The next second, the lump instantly vanished with a whoosh, leaving no trace behind.

“Damned thing!”

***

“Not planning on going home yet?”

Yan Si yawned and collapsed onto the sofa. Having had nothing to do for most of today, he had followed people around all over the place. He glanced over at his former roommate still concentrating on the screen. After retrieving a bunch of footage from the police station, Li Zi Hong had remained stuck in front of the monitor this whole time with absolutely no intentions of leaving. “You’ll die of overwork.”

“You said that earlier,” Li Zi Hong replied without looking back as he sipped his hot tea.

“I’m hungry.”

“You said that half an hour ago and even went out to buy a late-night meal. You also mentioned something about how salads had shrunk while the prices have heartlessly skyrocketed.” Li Zi Hong furrowed his brows as he checked the statement records in his hands and marked the parts that were not unanimous.

“As a matter of fact, it’s been…let me see…over fifty minutes already. Don’t tell me time flows more slowly for workaholics like you? You guys actually go by 48-hour days, don’t you!” Yan Si eyed the time. Seeing how late at night it was already, he started considering if he should ask the officers for something to make a bed on the floor with.

“There is something distinctly wrong with Song Jie Han’s wording. His wife returned that day five minutes before the deceased jumped. She did not enter from the front entrance, but rather from the underground garage, clearly captured by the surveillance cameras in the garage and elevator.” Yet the records said that she had only returned after the incident. The officer that had been responsible for reviewing the tapes had also written that these did not match up either. Li Zi Hong changed to the files from the market. “In addition, the two children were caught coming in and out. They entered half an hour before the jump and left immediately after it, at the same time Yu Yin said they had.”

“…You’re just completely ignoring my words, aren’t you.” Despite the complaint, Yan Si flopped back onto the sofa. When he was thinking of how to continue the pointless argument, he unconsciously glanced at the corner of the scene on display. “Wait, pause for a moment. That girl in the upper left corner looks a bit familiar.”

“Where?” Li Zi Hong stopped it and shifted his gaze. The paused display showed the deceased hesitating over what kind of knife to buy. The angle of the camera posed a birds-eye view of the adjacent shelf. At the corner was the outline of a woman pushing a small cart who just happened to spot the deceased on the opposite end. “…Song Jie Han’s wife.”

At the very beginning, he and Yan Si had met the woman while interrogating the residents. Who would have expected for Yan Si to remember clearly enough to instantly recognise her?

“Didn’t he say she had gone out to buy lunch?” Yan Si came to sit next to him in interest and pressed play, eyes locked onto the female that appeared to walk past before disappearing off screen. Several minutes later, she passed behind the deceased with her cart, seemingly unintentionally.

Li Zi Hong retrieved his laptop to play other tapes. With their target now changed, they discovered that the woman had apparently gone around the market meticulously, circling around the inside a few times yet never adding any new items to her cart.

Finally, when the deceased was checking out, the woman coincidentally glanced towards the counter. A few seconds later, she picked up her cellphone and turned around, her back facing the camera.

Yan Si clicked his tongue and rubbed his chin. “I sometimes feel like your job is actually quite interesting. What would you call this kind of situation…a jackpot? Simply put, it’s as exhilarating as the discovery of fresh teeth pulp in a crisp, completely scorched corpse.”

“Don’t spout nonsense.” Li Zi Hong noted the time and reached over to grab his cellphone. He then discovered that he had found a few texts that had been sent a few minutes ago. “Yu Tong’s side seems to have found something as well.” He opened the message to reveal several photos that appeared to be from some kind of garbage dump. There was trash scattered everywhere. One bag sat in the center of the photo; unlike the other junk, it contained sanitary pads. The photos were close-ups of these objects, showing that they still had brand-new tags on them. The final photo was a selfie Xiao Hai had taken with her spare hand bravely wrapped around the neck of a rat about the size of a kitten.

“Oh, Xiao Hai-mèimei’s also there? How rare nowadays to see a girl willingly flipping through garbage like that.” Yan Si studied the messy girl in the picture and then checked the time. Based on his calculations, the two on the other end of the phone had been rummaging through [the garbage] for a few hours now. It was good that they had ended up gaining something from it.

Li Zi Hong copied the photos to his computer and called the other person to verify the situation. “They are still at the garbage disposal right now and people have already been sent over for support. The items will likely be a match, without a doubt. Only the purchased knife is missing.”

“…Used?” He even pulled a knife-swallowing act too?

“Possibly. If the deceased did not fall from her own apartment, the knife may still be where she dropped it.” Li Zi Hong quickly tidied up and shut off the laptop. “You should go back and rest first. I’ll make another stop before I go home.”

Yan Si shrugged since there was indeed no need to follow any further. He stood up and stretched his aching muscles as he said, “Alright. Don’t just play video games when you get home, I spotted new games when I went over a few days ago. If you want to die suddenly, there are other ways to do it.”

“They were just placed there, I haven’t played them yet.” Li Zi Hong picked up his work bag. “I know when to grasp the time.”

“That’s for the best.” Yan Si had no desire to list examples of when he had seen the person not grasp the time properly. Yan Si glanced at his watch again. “Anyways, that’s all, I guess. Take care, great prosecutor.” Yan Si still had to wake up early in the morning to go find a corpse to report in, so there was no way he could fool around for much longer. Otherwise, he might end up with a disaster after dissecting the butt instead of the brain.

“Be careful on your way back.”

Once Yan Si left, Li Zi Hong switched off the room lights and locked the door. There was already no one else in this office area. Swiping his card as he exited, he was met with pitch-black darkness outside. The only light was the faint glow from the neatly lined up streetlamps.

Since he often did not return home until deep in the night, he was already very used to the darkness in this area. Taking his keys out, he walked towards the parking lot.

He had barely taken a few steps before he sensed something off, the vague sense of a gaze locked onto him. However, he did not see anything when he looked around.

He assumed it was his imagination, but as he began to stride forwards again, the sensation appeared again. Moreover, he could faintly hear movement behind him…Someone was following him.

When he realised this, he instantly raised his guard. The person behind him did not seem particularly concerned about being discovered, tailing after him without the slightest restraint.

While unable to make clear distinctions like Yu Yin, Li Zi Hong could tell that the person behind him was a human. Their movements were too obvious. He had been followed in his last work location as well; such experiences were not foreign to him. He simply did not know if the other party was approaching with good or malicious intent.

After gradually approaching his car, he was given a fright not by the person tailing him from behind, but by the bundle he spotted next to his car when he turned around. That lump was extremely familiar; he had just seen it earlier in the afternoon.

“Junior?”

Dong Feng glanced up from where he was crouched down next to the car and slowly stood up.

Li Zi Hong had no idea what his junior was doing here, but he abruptly recalled that there was still someone following him. Yet when he turned his head, there was nothing there; even the feeling of eyes on him had vanished. He did not know if they had given up, or if the follower had not caught up due to other reasons. Either way, it was a relief; he turned to focus on his friend instead. “How long have you been here?”

“Not too long.” Dong Feng eyed the time and patted his slightly numb thighs. “Did you guys transfer over the surveillance footage from the school?”

“Huh? Yes, the officer responsible is still reviewing them.” Li Zi Hong could not quite follow these sudden words. He opened the car doors; it would be safer to get into the car first anyways. “I’m dropping by the police station, we can talk on the way.”

“Ok.”

^{1. Xia always refers to Yu Yin as his son because he treats Yu Yin as such, which is also related to why Yu Yin calls him “Second Dad”. I usually change the son to nephew when Xia’s saying it to others to avoid confusion (similar to how I change “Second Dad” to Uncle), but I felt it was more appropriate to leave it as son here to express the emotion. ↑}