HH Chapter 5

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring it up,” the man on the couch stood up, his smile not reaching his eyes as he extended his hand towards Cheng Ye. “I’m Pei Qinghuai.”

Cheng Ye ignored the outstretched hand and walked straight towards the chief. “I don’t need a partner. How many times have I told you that?”

The chief, unfazed, smiled at Cheng Ye. “Try working together for a few days, then we can discuss it.”

Before Cheng Ye could respond, the chief stood up, interrupting him. “That’s settled. I have a meeting to attend. Xiao Pei, spend some time getting to know Cheng Ye.”

Pei Qinghuai remained polite. “Understood.”

Cheng Ye placed his hands on the desk, his tongue pressing against his cheek. He turned to Pei Qinghuai. “I’ve heard you’re quite popular at the university.”

“Not really, just rumors,” Pei Qinghuai replied. “Can you give me a brief overview of the case?”

Cheng Ye straightened up, looking at Pei Qinghuai with feigned interest. “Psychology experts are supposed to be good at observing people. Why don’t you tell me what you’ve observed about me?”

Pei Qinghuai anticipated that Cheng Ye would try to assert dominance upon their first meeting, so he remained unfazed and smiled calmly.

“Let’s skip anything related to the case to avoid any misunderstandings with the chief,” Pei Qinghuai said, looking Cheng Ye in the eyes. “You have a gunshot wound in your left leg, and I think you’re not as hostile towards me as you want to appear.”

Cheng Ye instinctively glanced at his leg. Three years ago, he had indeed suffered a gunshot wound, but his remarkable recovery had left him walking almost normally. Had this guy investigated him?

Cheng Ye’s eyes questioned, but Pei Qinghuai caught on. “Investigating a police officer without permission is illegal.”

Cheng Ye scoffed and shifted the topic. “I just don’t need a partner; it’s not as complicated as you think.”

“Looks like I got at least one thing right,” Pei Qinghuai said, his lips curving into a slight smile. “Looking forward to working with you.”

The office fell silent for a few seconds until the door behind them opened. Fang Yuan walked in, hesitated for a moment, then addressed Cheng Ye. “Team Leader, the comparison results are out. It’s definitely Tian Mingwei.”

Cheng Ye turned around. “Alright, notify everyone to meet in the conference room.”

“Yes!” Fang Yuan left, glancing briefly at Pei Qinghuai before shutting the door.

As the team’s intelligence officer, Fang Yuan moved to the center of the group. “I’ve got some news. We might have a new member joining our team!”

Zhang Erbao, with a laid-back smile, chimed in. “Fang Yuan, you’re slipping. I knew about this this morning.”

Chen Xiaonuan and Jiang Fei raised their hands from the back. “Same here.”

Fang Yuan looked perplexed. “You all knew?”

The others nodded. Zhang Erbao continued, “Pei Qinghuai, Professor Pei, a specially appointed lecturer in psychology at the Northern City Police University. Every year, countless students fight to attend his lectures.”

Jiang Fei, unable to contain his curiosity, added, “I heard from some of the older folks this morning that Pei Qinghuai started working on cases at the police station when he was twenty-two, even before Team Leader Cheng.”

“Sounds like they’re evenly matched this time. Let’s bet on how long before our Team Leader drives him away,” Chen Xiaonuan said, holding her coffee.

Fang Yuan was about to respond when he saw Cheng Ye heading out. He quickly straightened up. “Meeting in the conference room!” At that moment, Yan Ya emerged from the lab with some documents.

In the conference room, Pei Qinghuai sat at the back, letting Cheng Ye lead. Cheng Ye began, “The chief isn’t here, so let’s proceed as usual. Yan Ya, you start.”

Yan Ya stepped forward, placing the documents on the table. “The deceased is confirmed to be Tian Mingwei. Preliminary findings suggest he died elsewhere and was moved to the scene. There are signs of struggle, and his injuries indicate a violent confrontation.”

Cheng Ye nodded. “We’ve established that Tian Mingwei had a history of domestic violence. Fang Yuan, what did you find out from the locals?”

Fang Yuan stood up. “The neighbors reported that Tian Mingwei was often abusive and had a volatile temper. His wife left him about a year after their marriage due to the abuse. Recently, he had been acting erratically, claiming he was going to make it big.”

Cheng Ye turned to Zhang Erbao. “What about the surveillance footage?”

Zhang Erbao projected the footage onto the screen. “We found footage of Tian Mingwei entering the alley around midnight two nights ago. After that, there’s no clear trace of him leaving. The heavy rain might have washed away any other evidence.”

Pei Qinghuai, observing quietly, spoke up. “Based on his behavior and the evidence, it seems likely that Tian Mingwei might have been involved in some illegal activities. His erratic behavior and sudden disappearance suggest he might have had enemies or debts.”

Cheng Ye glanced at Pei Qinghuai, then back at the team. “Good. We need to follow up on all leads. Yan Ya, check for any other injuries that might indicate how he was moved. Fang Yuan, continue interviewing the neighbors for any new information. Erbao, focus on enhancing the surveillance footage to see if we missed anything.”

The team nodded in agreement, and Cheng Ye concluded, “Let’s get to work. We’ll regroup with updates in a few hours.”

As the team dispersed, Pei Qinghuai approached Cheng Ye. “I hope we can work well together, Team Leader Cheng.”

Cheng Ye gave him a measured look. “We’ll see. Just don’t get in my way.”