"…Microcrystalline wax, candelilla wax, hydrogenated castor oil, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, hydrogenated palm oil, and chemical compounds containing iron ions."
There was a gauze wrapped around Yan Xie's head and he patted the analysis and inspection report placed on the dining table.
The Zenith revolving restaurant that the Yan family invested in was filled with fragrance and piano music lingering in the air. As soon as the door to the private room was closed, the low laughter and conversation outside were completely blocked out. There was only a gap above the floor-to-ceiling window, where the high-altitude winds carried the sounds of birds chirping.
Last night, it was almost three o'clock when they returned to Jianning, and Yan Xie was directly transferred to an ambulance by the sub-bureau. After learning that the deputy division leader was attacked by Fan Wu and other gunmen at night, most of the City Bureau leaders were shocked, and Chief Lu rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night. When he arrived at the emergency room, he was still wearing his slippers and he didn't even have time to bring his teapot.
The report center didn't make it very clear, so everyone in the bureau thought that Yan Xie had been seriously injured and was on the verge of death — who knew that Deputy Yan was worthy of being called a man built like a monster. He was hit so hard on his forehead, but only broke his skin and bled a little, and his brain was not injured. He sat in the emergency room while having an IV drip and reported the search results of the house of the criminal Fan Zhengyuan to Chief Lu, and handed over the 250,000 worth of illicit money. Then, as they agreed on the way, the credit for shooting the kidnapper's gun away with one shot was given to Han Xiaomei.
Han Xiaomei was very nervous, but fortunately, Chief Lu only looked at her a few times, nodded, and didn't ask any more questions.
Yan Xie dealt with the cunning old bureau chief, then with his parents who came after hearing the news and slept in the hospital until noon the next day before being awakened by hunger. Division Vice-Captain Yan, who came back to life with full blood, took a shower, shaved his beard, and changed into a custom-made shirt and trousers, looking like an elite male protagonist of a domestic eight o'clock tv show crossed with an American crime film; a completely changed look from the inside out. Only then did he take the technical investigation report and sauntered out to find Captain Jiang for dinner.
Jiang Ting had already eaten, and with steaming hot coffee and afternoon tea cake in front of him, he took the report with a frown: "Cosmetics?"
"Yes, cosmetic ingredients." Yan Xie devoured a plate of Italian lobster noodles and let out a long sigh: "Technical investigator Lao Huang said that the test results are exactly the same as the tube-shaped eyebrow pencils that the young girls in his department use."
Jiang Ting nodded and took a sip of coffee. Suddenly Yan Xie asked suspiciously, "But how do you recognize it, have you used it before?"
Jiang Ting covered his mouth with his hand and choked a few times, "Yang Mei has used it before."
"What's the relationship between the two of you? One day it's a curling iron, another day it's an eyebrow pencil. Do you two also use the same bottle of facial cleanser?"
"..." Jiang Ting said helplessly, "When Yang Mei was an informant in Gongzhou, she once urgently delivered a tip in a nightclub. She didn't have a pen on hand, so she used an eyebrow pencil and lipstick. Later, she probably got affected by spy movies, and started using eyebrow pencils and lipstick every time, changing to different shades based on the reliability of the tip…"
Yan Xie said solemnly: "Don't do this next time. Based on my more than ten years of criminal investigation work experience, she's trying to seduce you."
"..."
The two stared at each other, and after a long time Jiang Ting finally pointed to the report: "I'll admit to the lipstick part, but the eyebrow pencil might not be the same case. At most, it can only show that the person who handed the money to Fan Zhengyuan may be a woman."
Yan Xie narrowed his eyes: "Queen of Hearts?"
Jiang Ting was about to say something when the door of the compartment was knocked on twice, and then a young man stuck his head in with a "disturbed" expression on his face.
"Ma Xiang?" Yan Xie was a little surprised: "Why are you here?"
Jiang Ting beckoned him to come in: "I asked him to come here — did you bring the thing?
"Yeah, I bought it with me, and I also got a computer." Ma Xiang lowered his shoulders and called the waiter to order something to eat — anyway, it was the restaurant opened by his brother Yan's family, and it wasn't his first time coming here, so he was very relaxed and bold while ordering the dishes. After ordering, he asked the waiter to leave and close the door tightly, only then did he take out the hard drive and computer from the bag under Yan Xie's suspicious gaze.
Yan Xie asked: "What are you two doing, sneaking around behind my back?"
"I asked Ma Xiang to find your technical team and copy something from Wang Xingye's computer. Last night, on the way back to Jianning from Jiangyang County, I made a call and told him in front of you. Han Xiaomei can testify."
"Why don't I remember?"
Jiang Ting said coldly: "You had a fever and were talking nonsense the whole time…"
"Ah, yes," Yan Xie suddenly remembered: "Is it when I was confused and was planning for the two of us to go abroad for the honeymoon?"
Jiang Ting was expressionless.
"Brother Yan," Ma Xiang said solemnly, "According to what I heard on the phone, it was when you were saying that Consultant Lu's figure didn't look like he could have easy labor, and was wondering if he could give you two children smoothly."
Yan Xie: "..."
Jiang Ting turned on the computer, inserted the hard drive, and after a while, a densely packed folder popped up on the screen.
When Ma Xiang's order came, he sat on the other side of the table with his legs crossed, eating and drinking loudly. Yan Xie moved his chair behind Jiang Ting, only to see that the screen was full of titles mixed with Japanese, English, Traditional Chinese, and meaningless characters that every straight man was very familiar with, which made Yan Xie suddenly feel a sense of intimacy.
"…Although I don't speak Japanese," Yan Xie put his chin on one hand, and said deeply in the pose of a thinker sculpture, "Thanks to a few teachers who were both moralistic and artistic, I still can understand the meaning of the worlds 'polar pen', thirty roads' and 'wasted karma in the world'… What are you doing?"
Jiang Ting slid the mouse down, and quickly skimmed over the provocative pornographic film titles, then suddenly paused, and clicked on an "Art Exhibition Related" folder.
"This guy, surname Wang, is so strange. He stuffed his exhibition materials in his special folder for porn films, wouldn't it be annoying to find it?" Ma Xiang said vaguely while eating: "Or was he paying special attention to the combination of work and rest, and didn't forget to masturbate while working?"
Jiang Ting said, "No."
The information folder of the art exhibition was full of pictures imported from digital cameras. Jiang Ting clicked on the first one to open it and zoomed in — Immediately afterward, to Yan Xie's surprise, a pair of female feet appeared in front of him in a very impactful manner.
"This is Wang Xingye's private painting exhibition," Jiang Ting flipped through the albums one by one, and the constantly changing images on the screen glowed faintly in his eyes: "It's Wang Xingye's unique hobby that can't be published, and can only be hidden in the computer to secretly appreciate…"
He paused and said, "Foot fetish."
Obviously, Ma Xiang didn't actually click into the folder to read it when he copied it and was stunned on the spot along with Yan Xie.
"How do you know he had a foot fetish?" Yan Xie reacted in surprise.
Jiang Ting sighed, "Remember when Wang Xingye just escaped, you searched his residence in Jianning and found a bunch of women's socks of various colors and materials?"
Ma Xiang said blankly: "Later, we questioned some of his f*ck buddies, and those women claimed all of the socks…"
"Do you think he kept these socks just to show off?" Jiang Ting's question made Ma Xiang hesitate: "No, collecting worn shoes and socks is one of the typical external characteristics of a foot fetish, but it wasn't this that caught my attention at the time, but something else: "These women were all in their thirties and forties."
Yan Xie squeezed his chin: "I also noticed it at that time, but I think it's just because he, as a middle-aged man, prefers mature people of the opposite sex…"
"It's not a preference, it's a kink. Look closely at all his pictures." Jiang Ting repeatedly clicked the drop-down button, and countless feet kept flashing on the screen: "These feet have a very distinct thing in common: gorgeous nail polish, not slender or thin, and even biassed toward plumpness and a sense of maturity. A person's fetishes are extremely difficult to change after they're formed. For sexual fetishes, only by satisfying psychological needs can it cause physical impulses — that is, only mature, plump, and painted nails of women can induce Wang Xingye's physical desire. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"
The room fell into silence. Ma Xiang even forgot about his food, and a piece of sliced beef on the fork wasn't delivered to his mouth for a long time.
"…Bu Wei." Yan Xie murmured, "Bu Wei said that Wang Xingye sexually harassed her for a long time, and even nearly raped her once…"
Jiang Ting said: "It's impossible. Wang Xingye's own moral standards are already quite low. If he had such a strong obsession with her, he would definitely steal her shoes and socks — but Ma Xiang also just said that all the ladies' collections in his house have been claimed, and there was none of Bu Wei's."
Ma Xiang cried out: "That little girl is lying!"
"When I saw the words 'Two hundred fifty thousand', I felt that they were too neat and delicate, they didn't look like they were written by Wang Xingye, but that was just a feeling. Later, I saw that the oil and wax texture of the writing was too fine and smooth, not like a crayon but an eyebrow pencil, so I vaguely had this guess."
Jiang Ting closed the computer with a 'click', and immediately raised his eyes to look at Yan Xie: "We can probably guess the reason why Fan Zhengyuan was killed, but there is a paradox here: If Fan Zhengyuan's killing was disciplinary, why was Wang Xingye, who hired him to kill me, safe and sound without receiving any punishment? The only explanation is that Wang Xingye had nothing to do with this matter, and Fan Zhengyuan took over the private work of a female employer."
Ma Xiang was puzzled by the side: "What? Hire him to kill Consultant Lu?" But no one paid him any attention.
"…This female employer can get in touch with Wang Xingye's subordinates, and can bypass Wang Xingye and have private contact with the killer…" The countless vague doubts in Yan Xie's mind finally formed a complete line of logic: "Could it be that…"
Jiang Ting said those two words coldly: "Bu Wei."
The compartment was silent for a moment, and the beef on Ma Xiang's fork fell back to the plate with a clatter.
Yan Xie suddenly grabbed his phone and stood up, went around the dining table, stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, and made a phone call:
"Hey, Han Xiaomei. Last night, you said that you were going to the hospital this afternoon to accompany Bu Wei?"
Han Xiaomei didn't know how to answer. Yan Xie said solemnly: "Listen, don't ask why. Just go and do something for me right now."
...…
Hospital corridor.
Han Xiaomei hung up the phone, took a few deep breaths, turned around, and pushed open the door of the ward.
The sun was shining brightly, projecting through the clean glass window. The girl's white and tender cheek looked almost transparent. When she heard the door open, she raised her head from the picture book in her hand, and smiled at Han Xiaomei, her pink lips curving into a very beautiful arc: "Sister, you're here?"
Han Xiaomei also smiled, trying her best to look into Bu Wei's eyes: "I just came from the office, and happened to talk to the doctor about the cost of follow-up treatment…"
Bu Wei put down the album and looked a little worried: "What did the doctor say?"
"Don't worry, you're a minor, and your basic expenses can be reimbursed." Han Xiaomei quickly said: "But there is one thing we can't decide for you, that is, the medication during the follow-up recuperation and hospitalization observation period. The doctor said that there are several plans to choose from, of course, the price of each plan is different — you know, the hospital."
Bu Wei said in a low voice, "I don't have much money, so I should be discharged from the hospital now…"
"The doctor said that it'll be better to talk to your guardian." Han Xiaomei fixed her gaze on her, but her tone was very natural: "I told him that you don't have a guardian for the time being, but you're already an opinionated girl and can consult with the attending doctor and make a decision by yourself. What do you think?"
Bu Wei's clear, bright, slightly long eyes fell on Han Xiaomei's face, and after looking at her for a while, she seemed relieved, and said, "Well… can I really do it myself? "
"If it doesn't work, I can only let the bureau try to notify your other relatives. Did your parents have other contacts during their lifetime, like you're uncles and aunts?"
As expected, Bu Wei immediately put down the album when she heard this: "Sister, then I'd better go by myself. I can do it myself. Is the doctor in his office?"
Han Xiaomei nodded and smiled.
She didn't know why, maybe it was a psychological effect, but two days ago, she was still a loving little girl who could get along with her naturally; but suddenly she seemed to have undergone an indescribable change in language, and her every move would take away from the already thin oxygen in the ward, making it even more difficult to breathe.
"It's the doctor who usually checks on the ward. You know him, his surname is Li." Han Xiaomei watched Bu Wei walk out of the ward, and suddenly added: "When you get there, just look for him directly."
The girl turned her head and thanked Han Xiaomei earnestly, then pushed open the door to leave.
Click.
Han Xiaomei maintained her previous position and her whole body stayed in place.
Three seconds later, as if a switch had been turned on, she hurried forward to open a crack in the door, and stuck her head out, making sure Bu Wei was walking towards the nurse's station at the end of the corridor. Then she immediately closed the door of the ward, closed the curtain on the glass of the door frame, turned and rushed to the locked bedside table, took out two hairpins from the pocket of the police uniform's trousers, and put them into the keyhole and twisted them a few times.
With a soft click, the lock was opened.
Bu Wei's red school bag was quietly placed on the bedside table.
Every heartbeat of Han Xiaomei was fiercely tugging at the flesh in her throat. She kept turning her head to pay attention to the movement at the door of the ward, while her trembling hands opened the bag and turned it over a few times. After a while, she finally touched what Yan Xie had asked her to look for——
A bunch of house keys.
...…
"Dr. Li has an operation and won't be back until after work. Do you have something to say to him?"
There were people coming and going at the nurse's station. Bu Wei was still wearing a white floral nightdress with her hands folded in front of her politely, and the expression on her face seemed to have changed suddenly.
"Do you have any questions to ask the doctor?" The head nurse looked at her with concern: "How about I call him for you?"
"..." Bu Wei took half a step back — but it was only half a step. Immediately afterward, she seemed to have controlled her emotions, smiled slightly, and nodded to the head nurse: "It's nothing, thank you, sister. I'll talk about it tomorrow!"
"Hey, you…"
The head nurse was still asking about something when the girl turned around and walked quickly through the corridor. She came to the door of the ward and stretched out her hand to push the door with such a great force that the door panel made a creaking sound in the air——
Bang!
A tall, thin, and quiet figure was sitting in the armchair in front of the hospital bed with their back to her, gently turning the pages of the album in their hand.
Bu Wei's pupils suddenly widened.
"Hello, I'm Lu Chengjiang, consultant of the Jianning Municipal Bureau." Jiang Ting closed the album and turned around: "I hope you will cooperate in answering a few questions."
Jiang Ting and the girl stared at each other, the side angle of each other's eyes reflected the most similar half of their silhouette. It was obviously midsummer, but the air seemed to condense into the most piercing ice shards, crushing the spine inch by inch from the tailbone to the back of the head.
Bu Wei's breathing became a little short, but Jiang Ting seemed to be unaware. He looked at her, slightly tilted his head toward the hospital bed, and said, "Sit down."
At the same time, downstairs at the hospital.
Han Xiaomei rushed down the steps, breathlessly supporting her knees. She raised her head to look left and right in the crowd, and a Phaeton stopped silently in front of her.
The passenger seat's window was lowered, revealing Yan Xie's stern face: "Get in the car."