CH 3

Chapter 3: A brief uproar

Yun Xiaoxiao stood on the ladder and pointed the flashlight at the vent: “Captain, are you sure I can climb in?”

“Try it.” He Wei supported the ladder, saying, “Our ability is limited, we really can’t get in; otherwise, we wouldn’t have to make it hard for you.”

Yun Xiaoxiao was 165cm tall, weighed only over 80 jin1, and had a small frame, so she was the only person in the team who could enter this vent. She tied her hair into a ponytail, held the flashlight in her hand, and carefully stepped on the top of the window frame. She wanted to stretch her feet first, but it didn’t feel right. She asked, “Captain, how should I get in? Head first or feet first?”

He Wei stroked his chin, replaying the disappearance scene of the suspect in his mind. If you held the top of the window frame with your hands and jumped into the air vent like in a movie, that would be a posture with your head out and your feet in. which would show that this person was very flexible and had a little martial arts foundation. However, if it was done head first, it would be much more difficult and less agile, and it would take a few seconds to get into the vent.

“Most of them usually went in feet first, but we need to search for evidence, that position would be inconvenient, so just climb in.” 

“Okay.” Yun Xiaoxiao crawled as she spoke. Although she looked weak and delicate, she did things cleanly and could endure no matter how tiring or hard it was on the scene. This was also the reason why she was able to stay on the front line all the time; otherwise, the beauty, who was as weak as a delicate flower, would have already sent a report and transferred to a civilian job.

The two colleagues in the technical teams were very nervous, for fear that the sunflower of their criminal investigation unit would fall off. He Wei smiled and said, “You guys go do your work; I’m looking at Xiaoxiao. Check around the window frame and the louver carefully. ”     

Yun Xiaoxiao put her elbows on the air vent and crawled in with all her strength. He Wei supported her leg to lift her. Yun Xiaoxiao finally went in with half her body, sweating all over.     

“Captain, it’s very narrow here. I think the person who can come in should be thinner than me.” Yun Xiaoxiao’s shoulders were against the upper wall of the ventilation duct. She struggled to even use the flashlight and could only try her best to search as much as possible. He Wei’s arms wrapped around her legs to prevent her from falling.

“There are also traces of wiping dust here in front of me… about half a meter in front; the suspect should have gotten in with his whole body. There are a lot of corpses of bugs and cockroaches here! It’s disgusting… this!” 

Yun Xiaoxiao’s cry suddenly changed, her legs moved twice, and she crawled a little further in. There was a rustling sound in the ventilation duct. She slowly crawled out, her fair face turning into that of a little spotted cat, shaking the bag in her hand : “There is biological evidence!”

He Wei smiled and brought her back to the ground safely: “You worked hard; go wash your face quickly.”

——

After all the evidence collection and transcripts were completed, He Wei and his group went back in the middle of the night. Yun Xiaoxiao yawned: “Captain, shall we go back to the bureau directly?”

He Wei raised his hand and looked at his watch: “It’s 4 o’clock now; I can give you guys a few hours to rest.”

“Thank you, Captain.” Yun Xiaoxiao touched her cheek and said, “I’ve been staying up late for the past month. I’m going to be a yellow-faced woman before I get married.” 

“You little girls are the only ones who care about this. Look at our Sister Lan from the forensic department of the Shengzhou City Bureau. She is still struggling with the corpse on the dissection table,” said Chong Zhen.

Hu Songkai sneered: “Xiaoxiao and Sister Lan’s pursuits are different. Sister Lan doesn’t need a man, so you should just forget about it.” 

This sentence hit Chong Zhen’s sore spot. He had pursued Du Ruanlan for several years, but this cold-faced beauty refused him mercilessly. It wasn’t that she disliked that he was younger than her by two years, nor did she look down on his rough and shabby appearance. Du Ruanlan had made it very clear—she didn’t need a man or love. In the future, she would just choose high-quality sperm from a sperm bank to cultivate a successor to her forensic career.

The person had already said this; what else could Chong Zhen do? He could only bury his love silently in his heart. This topic was never mentioned again after that, and they all worked together on the case, which was no different from before.

Yun Xiaoxiao stretched her waist: “I have to take good care of my skin these two days, since I’m going to a concert this weekend to see a handsome guy!” 

“Concert? Whose?”

“Cheng Zesheng, that pianist who is always on the hot search lately!”

Xia Liang, a two-dimensional young man, didn’t understand this and asked curiously about how much the ticket cost. Yun Xiaoxiao said a number, and he was surprised: “So expensive?! If you want to see a handsome guy, isn’t there one on our team? Captain He, the reputation of our city bureau. Look at him as much as you want; why spend so much money?”

Chong Zhen interjected: “How could you miss me? I’m Shengzhou City Bureau’s Andy Lau!”

Hu Songkai raised his hand and said, “And me! Shengzhou City Bureau’s Zhang Cheung!”

He Wei closed his eyes and rested, too lazy to chat. Listening to their noise, his tense nerves gradually relaxed.

He went to the scene from his home today. After dismissing the team, he went straight back to the dormitory in the bureau. Xia Liang and Chongzhen followed him along the way, especially Chong Zhen. The two lived on the same floor, just like neighbors.

Chong Zhen and He Wei were transferred to the Municipal Bureau together and had been working together for five years. They were about the same age; from young men in their twenties to men in their thirties, they knew each other well. Seeing that he was rarely quiet, He Wei guessed that he was worried about Du Ruanlan, so he poked him with his elbow: “Don’t force it if it’s not fated. Let my younger brother introduce you to someone some other day. There are many beauties in his company.” 

Chong Zhen was surprised: “Don’t mention your brother introducing someone to me. Your brother is gay! His vision is different from us straight men’s.”

“His vision is better than yours—a straight man’s, I can assure you.”

Chong Zhen took out a crumpled packet of cigarettes from his pocket and handed over one of the cigarettes. He Wei looked down, only to see that the shreds of tobacco were exposed: “Did you pick it up on the road? It’s all crumpled.”

“Sorry to say, but didn’t you tell us to go and be Spiderman? I put the cigarette in my trouser pocket, and it became like this after untying the safety rope.”

“Did you find anything?” He Wei wiped the cigarette and lit it up, and Chong Zhen waved his hand: “Now is the rest time. The case will be discussed when we return to the bureau at dawn. Can you have any other hobbies besides investigating cases? No wonder you still don’t have a partner after all this time.”

He Wei smiled lightly, took only a few puffs of the cigarette, and had already walked to the door of his dormitory. Chong Zhen held a cigarette in his mouth and put his hands in his trouser pockets: “Didn’t Old Zheng say that he would change your dorm room after he was promoted? How come there has been no movement until now? Why don’t you urge him?” 

The “Old Zheng” he mentioned was Zheng Furui, the chief of the Shengzhou City Bureau. The former captain of the criminal investigation unit had just retired this year, so Chief Zheng brought He Wei up and offered to change dormitories. The bureau had planned for a new dormitory two years earlier, and it was built according to the popular small single apartment and was also arranged for him.  

That’s what was said, but there were no movements in the follow-up. Three months passed in a flash, and the small apartment was still unoccupied. He was not in a hurry and didn’t care at all; it was just a place to sleep for him. The new dormitory was some distance away from the bureau, and it would just delay him in handling the case. 

“What’s there to rush? It’s not that you’re moving, so be positive.” He Wei opened the door, “See you tomorrow morning; don’t be late.” 

In this 15-square-meter dorm, things were arranged extremely neatly. Large furniture consisted of only a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk. The sheets were not wrinkled, the quilt looked like a block of tofu, and the color was monotonous black and white. The whole room was spotless, from the window sill to the floor, so clean that it was almost lifeless.     

Chong Zhen took a look and shook his head: “It’s still the same; how does it smell like a single man? Cleanliness is a disease, and it needs to be cured.” 

He Wei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He told him to go back to his doghouse. Thinking that the other party usually throws his socks and forgets to wash them for a few days, where did his confidence come from? 

After closing the door, He Wei went to take a shower, and when he came out in a quarter of an hour, it was already daylight. 

Well, there was no point in sleeping. He Wei took out the transcript made by Yun Xiaoxiao and looked it over carefully.     

——

At eight o’clock in the morning, the Municipal Bureau was already busy. He Wei was carrying the steamed buns and soy milk bought in the cafeteria. The colleagues he met along the way greeted him one after another, “Morning, Unit Captain He” and “Hello, Captain He”. He also ran into Heng Luzhou, the second in command of the anti-drug unit, head-on, who was rushing out with his people in a hurry, and was about to go on a mission.

“Leaving so early?” He Wei asked, and Heng Luzhou rushed over while putting on his coat: “Yeah! I’ve received a reliable tip that the leopard has come out of the mountain! I’ve been after him for more than two years, and this time I have to arrest him back with my own hands!”

He Wei told him to walk slowly, wishing his brother a successful completion of the mission. He had just inserted the straw into the soy milk when Heng Luzhou flew past him, and in the blink of an eye, the steamed stuffed bun and soy milk in He Wei’s hand disappeared.  

“I haven’t eaten breakfast yet, so how can I have the energy to fight drug dealers?” Heng Luzhou took a bite of the steamed stuffed bun and waved at He Wei, “Thank you, A-Wei; I’ll treat you to dinner later!” 

“……” He Wei looked at his empty hands, then at the door, only to see that the robbery suspect had disappeared. He murmured to himself: “I’ve already been robbed a few times; if you talk about treating me, you should really treat me.”  

He walked into the big office with empty hands. Everyone was busy with their work. Xia Liang was watching the surveillance video as he ate the cake in his hand. But as soon as he looked up and saw the captain staring at him, he quickly put the cake in his hand into the drawer: “I will definitely watch the surveillance carefully; don’t worry, Captain He.” 

He Wei didn’t mean to stop him from having breakfast at all; he was just thinking about whether to buy another breakfast or not. At this time, a box of yogurt was handed to him. He Wei raised his head, and the owner of the white wrist bent their eyes and smiled at him: “I just witnessed Brother Heng’s robbery scene at the door; this is for you.” 

“Thank you.” He Wei took a glance at it. It turned out to be mango yogurt, so he didn’t reach out to pick it up. “I’m allergic to mangoes.”     

“You allergic to mangoes too?” Zheng Youqing was surprised, “Captain He, do you have an allergic constitution? Last time I bought you lychees and pineapple, you also couldn’t eat them.”     

He Wei nodded. He was naturally allergic to many foods. Sometimes it showed on the skin, causing skin rashes; sometimes it showed in the body, causing throat edema, difficulty breathing, etc. Especially with the seafood, the allergy was the most serious, so he couldn’t even touch it. This might be part of the reason for his cold personality. Food was one of the most important things for the people. God tied his mouth, and he couldn’t eat many things and satisfy his most basic appetite, so his desire for other things was even shallower.   

Zheng Youqing returned to his seat and took out a box of strawberries from the drawer: “Can this be eaten?”

In the transparent plastic box were delicious, plump strawberries. He Wei took one and stuffed it into his mouth: “Has the trace inspection report come out?

“A part of it came out. At dawn, Sister Lan asked Luo Ying to send some, but there are still a few identification results that haven’t come out.”

He Wei covered the strawberry box, returned it to Zheng Youqing, and asked Yun Xiaoxiao to call the forensic department for an immediate meeting.