Xinyan opened her half-asleep eyes and covered her eyes with her slender and pale hands as the sun shone on her through a slightly opened curtain. She got up and stretched for a few seconds.
Another day, huh. She thought as she drank the glass of water on her bedside table. Today, it was her first day at work. She forced out a smile and looked at the photo on her desktop which was facing her.
"Gege (older brother in Chinese), today will be my first day at work. I don't know what will happen but please watch over me. I hope you and mom are happy up there. Don't worry about me or dad, he's doing well."
As she dressed up for work, she grabbed a quick breakfast from the convenience store which was located right outside her apartment complex. Even though her father was rich, she didn't want to depend on his money and support. All of the things she bought until now were from her blood, sweat, and tears. The money that she saved up little by little through part-time jobs and side gigs. The apartment wasn't luxurious at all but it was quite comfortable for a single person to live in. There were a lot of people waiting for the public buses on this hot weather, Xinyan wore her black baseball cap while she got onto the bus.
Finally, she thought as she sat beside the window. She opened the window to let in some fresh air when she suddenly heard police sirens at the next lane. Some people didn't care as they listened to their music, while some people were snoozing.
She was hoping nothing bad had happened and thankfully, the bus arrived at her workplace just in time. Xinyan organized herself while quickly putting on some makeup.
Take a deep breath, Xinyan. You can do it. For your older brother, you can do it. She gave herself some pep talk then went to the station.
--------
Yuze and his team arrived at the station just in time. He came out of the police car looking unbothered while his team were complaining about the relentless heat for the past few days. He did not even break a sweat. His stern expression were feared even by his team members who worked with him for quite some time.
Yuze went into his office then drank a whole bottle of water within a few seconds. Xinyan was waiting for him to say some kind of greeting but ultimately, got ignored by a cold man.
"Uhm... my name is Zhang Xinyan. Today is supposed to be my first day here. An officer brought me here to wait for you." Xinyan calmly greeted him.
"Hm. I know." He closed his eyes while adjusting his tie.
"Is there anything that I should know?" She asked because there was an awkward silence between them. Yuze opened his silver eyes, he had no expression.
"You should have known about everything before you came here to work. Did you not come to our orientation?" Yuze's expression did not change and that made Xinyan a little bit uncomfortable.
"Uhm... I did. I remembered something about partnering up and I was wondering who I will be with..." Xinyan stammered a bit since she was feeling too awkward in the office.
"Me." Yuze replied in a monotonous manner.
"You? Is that a mistake or?" Xinyan couldn't believe what she was hearing. Him? Of all people?
"You don't want to?" Yuze looked at her with the same cold expression. Xinyan gulped.
"Did the leader agree?"
"Leader?" Yuze slightly smiled but then immediately changed,
"You're talking to him right now."
Xinyan slowly nodded and tightly grasped her bag, "Oh... I see. What do I need to do right now?"
Yuze sighed and got up from the couch, he picked up his phone and called one of his teammates, Lu. Lu came in right on time and Yuze asked him to show her dorm and around the station.
"Miss. Zhang, from now on, you will be my partner. I expect you to come immediately when I ask you. If you're late, you will be fired. Understand?" Yuze faced her with both of his hands in his work trousers. His silver eyes looked dead and his expression was cold as ice. Xinyan nodded and followed Lu to her designated dorm.
"Miss. Zhang, don't worry. Our team leader may look cold but he is very caring. His past was a bit tragic but I promise you, he is the best leader who you can learn from." Lu smiled at Xinyan which made her a little relieved.
"I'm fine, I just have to get used to it. Officer Lu, how long have you been working with Officer Jiang?"
"Five years." He replied and pointed out her dorm.
"This room will be your dorm. It's right across our team leader's room. It will be easier to access his room if you're on this side of the hallway."
"Left side, I see." Xinyan nodded and answered.
"If you have questions, let me know. Today at 6 pm, we'll have a welcome gathering. Just bring yourself and that will be enough." Lu smiled and waved bye at her.
Welcome gathering, huh? Xinyan sighed and looked at her brother's photo. Her slender index finger moved across the picture frame as if she's wiping away the dust. She had a lump in her throat and then naturally, she teared up while thinking about her brother. She could feel the temperature of his corpse and smell his blood all over again.
"Gege, please wait for me. I promise you that I will find your killer. No matter what happens, I will find out about the truth."
Yuze snoozed on his couch without knowing lunch had already passed. He woke up feeling sluggish after each nightmare. Both of his hands covered his tired expression. He closed his eyes and whispered,
"Haoran... where are you?"