As a frontline detective, Meng Jin hadn’t had a deep sleep in years.
His phone had barely rung before he woke up, instantly alert. But as he glanced at the screen, his tense nerves relaxed.
It was his mother, Mrs. Luo, reminding him not to forget today’s blind date at 10 a.m. at the Starbucks Coffee Shop. Then, as always, she went into detail about what clothes he should wear, which shoes to pair them with, and even what topics to talk about with the girl.
While washing up, Meng Jin played the voice on speaker, half-listening to Mrs. Luo’s nagging. It was partly his fault anyway. One time, he had shown up to a blind date in his police uniform. The girl later said the entire date felt like she was being interrogated by the police. Since then, Mrs. Luo paid extra attention to his wardrobe.
At 32, Meng Jin had accumulated plenty of blind date failures. The reasons he got rejected were all over the place—some thought he was too busy with work, some didn’t like his looks, and some thought he wasn’t enthusiastic or proactive enough.
He could understand every reason. Being busy with work was a fact; no argument there. As for his looks—well, he respectfully disagreed, but everyone had their own preferences. And not being proactive enough? Ha, he was a normal man. He worried that if he got too enthusiastic, he might overwhelm the girl, and if he took the initiative, he might scare her off.
But the one reason he couldn’t understand was being rejected because of his profession. “Lady, if you don’t like cops, why did you agree to meet in the first place? Did you expect me to switch careers for love? I’m not that naive.”
After breakfast, he took a short break, changed into the outfit Mrs. Luo had picked out, and sent her a selfie. Mrs. Luo would be happy to see how obedient he was.
He left right on time at 9 a.m., knowing it would take about 30 minutes to reach the meeting spot. Along the way, he replayed all the reasons for his past failed dates, determined to “reform” himself and finally fulfill his mother’s long-held wish.
At 9:30, Meng Jin was already seated by the window, sipping an Americano. While waiting for his coffee, he began observing the other customers, guessing their professions from their attire, their habits from the stains on their sleeves, and even their economic status from the amount of coffee left in their cups.
Mrs. Luo called again, reminding him not to be late. He responded with another selfie of him drinking coffee, which pleased her immensely.
At 9:40, his phone rang again. Seeing the caller ID, he cursed silently.
It was a familiar number, which meant work.
“Hey, Captain Meng… Nothing major, I just missed you. You’ve got a blind date today, right? Best of luck.”
Zhao Yunzhi, fresh out of the police academy and considered Meng Jin’s apprentice, was a diligent kid, though a bit impetuous.
The worry that had crept into Meng Jin’s mind eased. He wanted to tell Zhao not to call unless there was an actual case but didn’t want to scare the rookie or distance himself too much. A good working relationship was a balancing act—too close or too distant, and it could get awkward.
“I’ve done plenty of prep today; everything’s under control,” Meng Jin said confidently. He had already decided that no matter what, he’d set up a second date with the girl. That would be progress for him.
“Alright then, Captain. You handle your business first, and we’ll wait for you to treat us later,” Zhao hurriedly hung up, seemingly called by a colleague.
After another few minutes, Meng Jin glanced at his watch. It was only 9:45, but it felt like twenty minutes had crawled by.
He couldn’t help but mock himself. For most people, free time was a luxury, but for him, it was torture.
He fought the urge to check his watch again, trying to focus on his coffee instead.
But this forced relaxation only made the wait more excruciating.
Where was Tang Xiaoguo, his date? Was she the type to walk in exactly at 10 a.m. on the dot?
Speak of the devil—or rather, her phone call.
Luckily, Mrs. Luo had already saved Tang Xiaoguo’s number, or else Meng Jin might’ve mistaken it for a spam call and hung up.
In an instant, he’d already prepared himself: even if she was going to be half an hour late, he couldn’t get angry. He had to stay calm and tell her not to worry.
He answered the call with a friendly greeting.
Unexpectedly, Tang Xiaoguo briefly introduced herself and then told him she suddenly couldn’t make it due to something urgent.
In the past, Meng Jin would have brushed it off with an easy, “No worries,” and then happily gone back to work.
But this time was different. He had vowed to take this seriously. He couldn’t let the date get “canceled” before even meeting.
Before she hung up, he hurriedly asked, “Is everything okay? Can I help with anything?”
His concern surprised her. After a pause, she replied, “If you don’t mind, you could come to Jiangnan Park, across from the Jiangnan Oasis Community. There’s been a homicide here. I’m a reporter, and I just happened to catch the scene. Please understand. But if you’re not comfortable with that…”
As soon as Meng Jin heard the words “homicide,” he was already on his feet.
While starting his car, he realized the real reason for Zhao Yunzhi’s earlier call wasn’t just to wish him luck. They had a case but didn’t want to disturb him. That tiny hesitation between “Captain Meng” and “nothing major” had been Zhao contemplating whether to inform him.
He called Zhao back and confirmed it. A male body had been found in Jiangnan Park, across from the Jiangnan Oasis Community.
Thirty minutes later, Meng Jin arrived at the scene. A police barrier kept the crowd a hundred meters away, nearly everyone holding up their phones to record videos. He scanned the area but couldn’t tell who his blind date might be.
Zhao spotted him from afar and ran over, lifting the police tape to let him through.
“Captain, you’re in your ‘date armor,’ huh? Super stylish! For a second, I thought you were some university student. So, how did it go? Did it work out?”
Meng Jin was wearing a trendy white-and-green baseball jacket, faded blue jeans, and black leather boots. In contrast to the somber police uniforms around him, he stood out like a sore thumb.
His colleagues teased him, all saying how youthful his outfit made him look. Some even suggested he should dress like this more often.
Youthful? That just meant he wasn’t actually young, right? It was like saying he was pretending to be young. When you think about it, it wasn’t really a compliment. Meng Jin wished he could strip off the outfit right there.
“How did you know about the case? Who told you? I specifically instructed everyone not to disturb you while you were handling such an important personal matter. Who’s the fool that didn’t get the memo?” Zhao, a bit of a chatterbox, finally stopped when Meng Jin reached the body.
The victim was male, completely wrapped in thick layers of plastic wrap like a mummy. The head had been tightly covered, but the police had cut open the wrap around the head to confirm the victim’s gender.
Meng Jin’s gaze shifted to a nearby shallow pit. The body had been buried there, but the pit wasn’t very deep, with only a small amount of dirt covering it.
Zhao briefed him on the basic situation. The body had been discovered by a dog walker, whose smart Border Collie often buried food in this small forest. Upon returning, the dog had started digging again, and instead of food, it unearthed the body.
“What does Dr. Jin say?” Meng Jin asked.
Dr. Jin, the team’s forensic expert, was one of the few forensic doctors in the province with a PhD. The higher-ups were very proud of her and respectfully called her “Dr. Jin,” a title that had stuck.
“Judging by the livor mortis, the victim’s been dead for over 72 hours. Likely sometime on the evening of the 19th, but we’ll need to confirm that back at the station.”
Dr. Jin took off her gloves, tossing them into a large blue garbage bag. She then removed her glasses, fogged them with her breath, and wiped them with a cloth from her pocket. Putting them back on, she continued, “Preliminary judgment is that the killer pierced the victim’s kidney with a sharp object, leading to death from excessive blood loss. That’s all for now. We’ll get more after the autopsy back at the station. The plastic wrap? We’ll deal with that at the station too. There are too many bystanders and media here.”
Meng Jin glanced at the crowd beyond the police line, all holding up their phones to record. He quickly turned his back to them to avoid becoming part of their footage.
He ordered the body to be transported back to the station. Once the body was taken away, the crowd began to disperse, except for a few elderly onlookers and… one young woman.
Could she be the one who had stood him up?
“Any clues so far?” Meng Jin asked as he saw his colleagues searching the area without much success.
“Nothing valuable. Though… take a look at this photo. It might not be a clue.”
Zhao pulled up a picture on his phone. The photo showed the body before it was dug up. There were many footprints around the area, and the dog had torn at the plastic wrap around the head, leaving it exposed.
The so-called clue was the mass of footprints—too many, too messy, making them practically worthless. Even if the killer’s prints were in there, it would be hard to distinguish them.
“The killer wanted the body to be found soon,” Meng Jin frowned slightly, still puzzled by some things.
Zhao also noted the contradiction, “The killer wrapped the body in so much plastic wrap, probably to prevent the smell from escaping, right? Like they didn’t want it to be discovered. If they wanted it found, they could’ve just left it out in the open, without even bothering to bury it.”
Meng Jin shook his head slightly, unable to answer. “The pit is shallow. One good rain and the body would be washed out. There are plenty of dog walkers here, both with pets and stray dogs. Any of them could find the body.”
Zhao wasn’t entirely convinced. “The shallow pit—couldn’t that be because the killer was in a hurry? Captain, you might not know this, but some people walk their dogs late at night. Others with large breeds, like Golden Retrievers, or even aggressive breeds, like Rottweilers, might also walk their dogs at night. What if the killer was seen by someone out walking their dog, and that’s why they buried it so hastily?”
Thinking Meng Jin was upset, Zhao worried that as a new recruit, he’d overstepped by questioning his senior in front of others. But before he could apologize, Meng Jin nodded approvingly. “Good. The dog walker probably passed the killer, maybe even saw them. Start by tracking down any potential witnesses among the dog walkers.”
Although he affirmed Zhao’s contribution, Meng Jin still believed the killer had deliberately made the pit shallow.
Zhao couldn’t figure it out, but followed Meng Jin closely. Meng Jin circled the small forest, and Zhao mirrored his movements. Meng Jin then ducked under the police tape and left the crime scene, with Zhao hurrying after him.
The two of them walked along the park’s path, looking as relaxed as two people taking a post-meal stroll, though Zhao’s police uniform drew plenty of attention along the way.
Meng Jin looked around as they walked, but Zhao couldn’t figure out what he was searching for.
Finally, they reached a small hill with a pavilion at the top, the highest point in the park. Meng Jin climbed the steps, stood in the pavilion, and slowly turned, scanning the entire park with a careful gaze.
The breeze on the hill was refreshing, and the view was wide open. Looking down, the park’s lush trees and clear waters made for a picturesque scene.
Zhao had a sense of what Meng Jin was doing but didn’t know exactly what he was looking for. Feeling a bit useless, he grew frustrated.
“Captain Meng, what are you looking for? Did you find it?” Zhao couldn’t hold back his curiosity.
“Did you notice?” Meng Jin asked, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction.
“Notice what?” Zhao was utterly confused.
“There’s only one Red Maple Tree in the entire park,” Meng Jin replied, turning to face the small forest where the body had been found.
Even from a thousand meters away, that Red Maple Tree stood out vividly—a lone red dot in a sea of green. And the body had been discovered right under it.
There were plenty of people taking photos by the Red Maple Tree. Of all the places the killer could have buried the body, they had chosen to bury it there. Meng Jin was right—the killer had wanted the body to be found soon.
