***
"Alright, enough arguing, I get it!"
Mai Xiaomai stopped their ongoing quarrel and, after applying medicine for her dad, returned to her room.
Sitting at the desk, she opened a drawer and took out a photo.
The boy in the photo was smiling brilliantly, like the sun. The girl nestled beside him also sported a sweet smile, her eyes curved like crescents, seemingly filled with happiness.
Her lips, unconsciously, lifted into a slight, smiling curve...
But in a blink of an eye, her expression soured, her heart aching as if pricked by a needle...
She quickly locked the photo back in the drawer, opened her computer, and began sorting through today's autopsy report...
*
It wasn't even seven o'clock when Mai Xiaomai was pressed by her mother to wear that tender Pink Lotus colored dress.
"Mom, do you think it's appropriate for an older girl like me to wear this kind of youthful, pretty dress meant for young girls?"
Mai Xiaomai tugged at the poufy collar on her shoulder and said with a mix of annoyance and amusement, "This is just like an old cucumber getting a fresh coat of green paint, pretending to be young!"
"You've inherited your mother's good genes; you look several years younger than your peers, naturally youthful. You're only 28; look at those old ladies overseas, still wearing pretty red dresses at the age of seventy or eighty. You look wonderful in it—tall and slim, with fair skin and delicate features exuding grace. Truly my daughter. Most people would think you're just twenty, not twenty-eight! Be confident! Weren't you the campus belle back then, and now the police flower, the medical examiner?"
Mai's mom watched her daughter with satisfaction, finding her more beautiful the more she looked, and growing increasingly frustrated that her lovely daughter was still not married. Thus, she nagged for quite a while longer.
Mai Xiaomai quickly grabbed her purse and fled in haste.
Once outside the door, free from her mom's nagging, her mood improved slightly.
It was only seven-thirty.
However, she was always punctual, never intentionally late or willing to waste others' time.
Despite the earliness, she still arrived at the Red Rose Restaurant twenty minutes early.
The restaurant had an air of upscale bohemian charm, with an aesthetic and romantic setting—ideal for couples or a few close friends to dine quietly, savoring a peaceful mealtime.
As for Mai Xiaomai, she didn't have much of an opinion about the place.
However, her best friend, You Bei, a romantic at heart, would often drag her here for a meal, saying they might as well scout for suitable good-looking guys.
You Bei was chubby and round, born with a babyface, and loved to dress in pastel outfits. Her voice was sweet and coquettish, making her quite adorable.
Unfortunately, she too had become an older single lady, suffering from failed relationships—apparently because the men had issues with her weight.
Determined to slim down, she often said, "Out of ten fat people, once slim, nine are beauties. Once I become a beauty, I want all the handsome men to line up before me!"
Mai Xiaomai would tease her, saying she feared she might be that one exception.
Every time You Bei heard this, she would declare their friendship over in anger!
She said "friendship over" countless times, yet she still spent countless times with Mai Xiaomai, never really intending to end the friendship.
Due to her job, Mai Xiaomai spent long hours with victims of violence or unnatural deaths, which had inevitably hardened her heart a bit. Coupled with the blow from Cheng Dongcheng, she seemed somewhat cold, distant, and unattainable to outsiders.
****