The first week after we came back, I was lost in a daze and was a mere shell of my old self. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, and I couldn’t focus my thoughts on anything at all.
Dali asked me if it was due to the pressure of having to solve multiple cases back to back. He offered to buy an old chicken and cook it in a soup for me so I could feel better. The fact was, I was in love with Huang Xiaotao, but I couldn’t tell anyone about it.
I sometimes sent short WeChat messages to her, saying banal things like “What are you doing?” or “Are you asleep already?” and all that drivel. This was a completely new experience for me. I had never been in love before, much less being in an actual relationship. It was impossible for me to suddenly act all romantic with her because I didn’t have a single clue how to do that kind of thing! Huang Xiaotao herself seemed to be very busy with work. She rarely replied to any of my messages, and even when she did it was only a short few words.
Yet I rejoiced and celebrated even if she sent me a single emoji. I would be in a jolly mood for the whole day, and I might even pick up the phone every few minutes just to read her message again. I seriously considered if I had actually lost my mind.
It was often said that people in love were fools. I now deeply understood how right it was.
That day, Huang Xiaotao called and told me and Dali to go to a hotel in the evening. After we arrived, we saw Huang Xiaotao waiting for us in the lobby on the first floor. She wore a T-shirt and a pair of jeans, and had a pair of sunglasses resting on the top of her head. She looked like the coolest woman I had ever met. I then noticed that I’d never seen her wear a skirt before. That said something about her personality, I suppose.
With Huang Xiaotao’s appearance, she could wear the plainest clothes and still looked amazing.
“Xiaotao-jiejie,” Dali drawled, “you look so pretty today that you’re giving me a nosebleed!”
“I haven’t seen you in a just a few days and you’ve become a pervert now, huh?” Huang Xiaotao raised her fist at Dali.
“No, please have mercy on me, Xiaotao-jiejie!”
When I saw how friendly and casual they both were with each other, I suddenly felt a twinge of jealousy. But I showed none of it in my expressions, of course.
“Song Yang,” said Huang Xiaotao when she turned to look at me, “Sun Tiger is waiting for you upstairs.”
“Why did he suddenly decide to treat us?” I asked.
“Have you forgotten? He told us before we went to Wuqu that he would treat us to a nice meal when we get back!”
We then proceeded to a private room on the fourth floor. When we got there, we saw that Wang Yuanchao was already there. The dinner hadn’t been laid out yet, so he was just sitting at the table drinking wine while snacking on the nuts and seeds that were served in a bowl.
Sun Tiger, on the other hand, was sitting on the other end of the table, playing poker with himself. When he saw us coming in, he stood up and roared, “Kiddo! Come here, my boy! And is this your assistant?”
“My name is Wang Dali, sir. Good evening, sir.”
“Hahaha, there’s no need to act so formal, kiddo! Just call me Uncle Sun! Come on, sit down! Xiaotao, tell the waiter we’re ready!”
As we sat down, Sun Tiger apologized to me and said he was going to have dinner with us immediately after we came back, but because there was some business in the bureau that could not be delayed, he had to postpone it till now.
Then, he informed us that while the Beckoning Cat case was still in the judicial process, an unexpected event had occurred. Yu Jun had committed suicide in the prison that he was held in.
I was taken aback.
“How did he die?” I asked.
“The bastard used the sheets to fashion a rope and hung himself from the iron bars of the window in his cell,” Sun Tiger explained. “When his body was found the next morning, it was already cold…”
He then paused and frowned.
“There is a rather curious aspect to his death, though,” he continued. “The window was almost the same height as he was, and although he died by hanging, when his body was found, his feet were both firmly on the ground. The other prisoners in the cells close to his smelled the stench of urine the next morning. When they saw that the cold corpse of Yu Jun was standing straight at the window, it scared them witless!”
“His feet were both on the floor?” asked Dali, his eyes wide open.
I could imagine how the other prisoners felt. They must’ve seen a man standing there stiffly, with a long red tongue sticking out of his mouth and urine trickling down his pants—it was no wonder that they’d be horrified.
The first thought that came to my mind was the Wealth Beckoning Cat’s curse.
Sun Tiger poured me a cup of tea and said, “Kiddo, the coroners in Wuqu City are all scratching their heads about what to write in his death report. Do you have any idea?”
I shook my head. “I can’t just make conclusions without examining the scene.”
“No, no, there’s no need for you to go there! It’s not worth another round trip to Wuqu City just for this.”
I thought about it for a while, then said, “There can be two explanations for it. Firstly, Yu Jun could have been killed due to the curse of the Wealth Beckoning Cat. Perhaps the cat spirit came back for him and killed him for enslaving it.”
Sun Tiger nodded. “Yes, we think so too, but to write this down in the formal death report is…”
“The second explanation is that Wuqu City is close to the sea, so the humidity in the air is fairly high. The rope was probably short enough to lift Yu Jun up from the floor, but as the morning dew fell, the rope dampened and stretched. Plus, the spine elongates slightly after death. These two factors worked together to create the scene the prisoners saw in the morning.”
Sun Tiger’s eyes widened and he slapped his thighs.
“Ah, what a simple solution! You are undoubtedly a genius, kiddo!”
“You’re too kind, Uncle Sun,” I said modestly.
“No, no, I’m not being kind at all! You remind me of your late grandfather. I used to discuss difficult cases with him, and he would come up with simple solutions that amazed me! Just like how you are amazing me now!”
“No, I still have a long way to go to catch up to Grandpa’s brilliance,” I replied.
At that moment, Huang Xiaotao returned and interjected, “Director Sun, didn’t you promise we won’t be discussing cases today?”
Sun Tiger laughed.
“I’m sorry! It’s a difficult habit to break! Come on, kiddo, let’s celebrate an end to a case and talk about other things!”
We then chatted casually for a while. Sun Tiger mentioned that Sun Bingxin was now studying forensic pathology in a university in Nanjiang City. Sun Bingxin, by the way, was his precious only daughter. We were both of the same age. I used to spend a lot of time at Sun Tiger’s house during the summer vacations when I was in junior high school and high school. Though we didn’t grow up together, it wouldn’t be wrong to call us childhood friends.
“But I thought you wouldn’t let her join the police force! Why did you let her study to become a coroner?”
“Ah, don’t get me started,” Sun Tiger sighed. “That daughter of mine is stubborn and she’s used to being spoiled. I can never refuse her anything. She secretly changed majors when she entered college. I wanted her to study law or medicine and get a proper job, but she insisted on wanting to become a coroner. I was so angry when I found out, but there was nothing I could do. The moment she shed a few tears I get weak and just let her get away with anything.”
I was amused by the juxtaposition between the fearsome police officer that we saw all the time and the doting father whose daughter had him wrapped around her fingers when he was at home.
“Bingxin has always been talking about you,” he added. “She’s been asking why you never show up anymore after high school. She’ll be working at the police station after she graduates, so you’ll be able to meet her soon.”
“Bingxin was a cute girl when she was young. I bet she’s grown into a beautiful young woman now.”
“Of course she has! No one’s prettier than my little girl!” exclaimed Sun Tiger with pride. He then sighed and added, “I was so worried because all of her classmates in college are boys! I’ve been driving her to college and picking her up myself every day. I can’t let any of those bastards mess with her! Fortunately, my girl is only focused on her studies and never gave them the time of day.”
“Bingxin has such a great father in you,” I remarked. “I’m envious of her.”
“Well, I do what I can. I feel guilty for splitting up with her mother, so I have to make amends!”
At that moment, I suddenly noticed that Huang Xiaotao was glaring at me with angry eyes, but she quickly looked away when I turned to her. Or was it just my imagination?