Liu Keying exclaimed, "Could it be that she didn't have enough money for proper cosmetic surgery and just bought some random botulinum toxin injections online? I remember a session at a clinic costs over a thousand, but some of the ones you find online are less than two hundred."
Zhao Simeng shook her head and said, "No online shop would sell such a large dose. Just two ounces of botulinum toxin can be fatal. Even if someone wanted to profit, they wouldn't be crazy enough to use an entire syringe."
Following Zhao Simeng's comment, I added, "So, it wasn't a suicide; someone deliberately switched the syringe."
Watching our back-and-forth discussion, Liu Keying felt a bit embarrassed, showing a single-dog expression. But she quickly regained her composure and said, "Since it's a murder case, it should already be registered. Brother He Sheng, can I join you in the investigation?"
"Uh, are you serious?"
I had just started to respond when we heard the sound of police sirens outside—it seemed the reinforcements had arrived.
This time, Gao Qiang and Li Siqi came. Li Siqi was Gao Qiang's apprentice. She was a bit short, with short purple hair, and was taciturn. Due to her meticulous and serious work ethic, Gao Qiang took her as his apprentice.
Both of them specialized in forensic trace analysis. Li Siqi had worked on the first case but had been on leave recently due to being busy. She only returned today, which was why I hadn't seen her for a while.
Once they arrived at the scene, they began their inspection immediately. Many officers were visibly disturbed by the fly-covered corpse. After composing themselves, they took out precision instruments to investigate the surroundings. I didn't interfere with their work. Meanwhile, Liu Keying kept pestering me, asking to join the case. I was a bit at a loss about whether to agree or not. But Zhao Simeng interjected, "What's a student like you doing investigating a case? What if something happens?"
"I'll be fine! I'm majoring in criminal investigation, after all. If I could join this case, it'd be practical experience, way more useful than the things I learn in school," Liu Keying retorted.
"Is that so? But this case looks dangerous. How old are you? Your psychological resilience isn't there yet."
"I wasn't scared earlier. Look at those cooks—each one either screamed or ran out in fear."
I agreed with Liu Keying on that point, but I didn't say anything. It seemed like Zhao Simeng was intentionally trying to prevent her from joining. She said, "Even so, investigating cases isn't as simple as you think. He Sheng, you'd better find someone to take her away!"
For some reason, I listened to Zhao Simeng. At her suggestion, I grabbed Liu Keying and said, "Why don't you go back to school for now? Next time, when there's a chance, we can investigate together, okay?"
Liu Keying didn't resist as I led her outside. I whispered to her, "If you want to join, just go talk to my dad. If he agrees, no one can stop you."
"Hehe, okay! Just wait for my good news."
Actually, with my position, I could've allowed Liu Keying to join directly. But I didn't want to upset Zhao Simeng, so I pushed the matter onto Director Liu instead.
Pretending nothing had happened, I returned to the crime scene. By now, Zhao Simeng was still examining the corpse. Gao Qiang came back to report that nothing had been found elsewhere. However, at that moment, Li Siqi discovered a phone in a burlap sack in the warehouse. The phone had a cartoon sticker on the back and appeared to belong to the deceased.
Initially, she hadn't noticed it but kept searching the sack persistently and finally found it.
I praised Li Siqi for her diligence and instructed her to place the phone into an evidence bag and take it back to the station.
Then, I turned to ask Simeng, and she said there was nothing else to be found. We decided to transport the body back for further examination.
Just as we were leaving the Hunan restaurant, Liu Keying returned, accompanied by someone else. The person wasn't a stranger—it was Zhang Wang from our team. Seeing them arrive, Zhao Simeng curiously asked, "Little Liu, didn't you leave?"
"Hehe, my dad said I can join now. You can ask Brother Zhang Wang!"
"Yes, Captain Zhao. She's officially joining this case," Zhang Wang confirmed.
Hearing this, Zhao Simeng huffed, "I didn't think you'd actually go to Director Liu. Fine then, but you must be careful."
I couldn't help but smile wryly. It seemed like Zhao Simeng was overly concerned about Liu Keying's safety, yet also reluctant to see her around.
But that was their business. As long as it didn't affect the investigation, I didn't care.
Now that Zhao Simeng had agreed to let her join, Liu Keying was naturally overjoyed. However, as we were heading back to the station, my phone rang. Answering it, I found it was Liu Chao calling. I asked, "Liu Chao, what's up?"
"We just received a report. A woman was found dead in a suite at the Mendels Hotel. The caller is a man."
I acknowledged and told him I'd head there immediately. Seeing my grim expression, Zhao Simeng asked, "What's wrong?"
"Another homicide. A woman this time. Let's go to the Mendels Hotel," I said as I quickly got into the police car, with Liu Keying tagging along.
We switched locations and arrived at the Mendels Hotel. The place was quite remote. Led by Liu Chao, we reached the suite where the incident occurred. A police officer was questioning a young man.
The young man, who appeared to be about 23 years old, was decked out in designer brands. His Rolex alone was worth hundreds of thousands—clearly a rich second-generation heir. He was reportedly the one who found the body.
I found it strange that someone so wealthy would book a room in such an out-of-the-way place.
The deceased turned out to be the woman he had brought to the suite.
Approaching him, I asked, "How did you find out she was dead?"
"We agreed to meet here, had some takeout, and then... started. In the middle of it, Xiao Ying suddenly screamed and went unresponsive. I thought she was just tired, so I didn't pay much attention. But when I pushed her a while later, I realized she wasn't breathing. Scared out of my wits, I jumped out of bed and called the police."
"Was she your girlfriend?" I asked.
"Uh, not exactly. I'm one of her many men, and she's one of my many women," the rich heir admitted awkwardly.
I speculated, "A lover, then?"
"Yeah, I guess," he replied with his head lowered.
Hearing this, Liu Keying snapped at him, "Shameless! People like you, these filthy rich heirs, think you can just sleep around because you have money. Disgusting!"
I felt their private lives were chaotic beyond words. The rich heir explained that Xiao Ying had invited him out, saying she was in the mood and had already booked the room. He arrived shortly after, wondering why she had chosen such a remote place for the rendezvous.