“Officer Meng, do you have something important to deal with? If so, I can wait until you’re done,” Li Zizi suggested considerately when she saw Meng Jin staring at his phone, lost in thought.
Who sent the message? What was their purpose? Why did the American murder case in the photo resemble Liu Tianshi’s case so much? What was the connection between the two?
Countless questions swirled in Meng Jin’s mind. He wanted to call back immediately to get to the bottom of things. By nature, he was a bit impatient. In his youth, he had made mistakes because of this impatience. Since then, he had trained himself to stay calm and collected, shaping the seemingly unhurried style he had today.
But only he knew that old habits die hard. His true nature hadn’t changed. It was like a country girl, no matter how hard she worked to walk on a fashion runway, could never fully shake off her rustic roots.
Meng Jin smiled, “Just a message from a friend, nothing important. Miss Li, has anyone ever told you that you look a bit like Jennie Yang? Especially your eyes.”
Li Zizi’s lips curved into a smile, almost identical to Jennie Yang’s. “Yes, people have said that. Especially after I started seeing Liu Tianshi. My friends would joke that I looked like Jennie Yang. They’d also say some men like different women, but their basic taste never changes—almost every woman they date is the same type.”
It seemed Liu Tianshi was just that type of man with fixed preferences.
“And even your posture is very similar to Jennie Yang’s. Did you study her specifically?”
This was a sensitive question. Some women are very particular and don’t like being told they’re imitating someone else, or even being compared at all.
Meng Jin had waited until the conversation was nearly over to ask, worried that Li Zizi might get upset and become uncooperative. He remembered two actresses who looked alike—one with the surname Wang, the other with the surname Bai. The one named Wang had been very bothered when reporters mentioned the resemblance.
Li Zizi laughed heartily, completely letting down her guard. “No wonder they call you ‘Uncle Sharp-Eyes.’ You’re spot-on! I did consciously imitate her, not just her posture, but also her smile, her habits, and even her fashion sense. Liu Tianshi said he liked Jennie Yang’s style and insisted that I imitate her. I didn’t have much choice—he’s the one with the money. I was like a pet dog, learning whatever my master liked.”
She laughed freely as she spoke, but deep in her eyes, she couldn’t hide the bitterness and helplessness.
Meng Jin mentally crossed her off the list of suspects.
This girl had a clear goal—money, a house, fame—not the person.
Meng Jin suggested taking a look at Liu Tianshi’s room. There might be unexpected discoveries. Li Zizi agreed without hesitation.
The glass sunroom was connected to the villa’s main building through a closed glass corridor. Along the way, green plants hung from the glass walls, creating a vibrant, lively atmosphere.
“Was the glass conservatory something Liu Tianshi asked you to copy too?” Zhao Yunzhi asked.
Li Zizi raised her fair, slender hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. A subtle gesture, yet it exuded a captivating feminine charm.
“No, this conservatory came with the villa. Liu Tianshi even wanted to tear it down, but I insisted on keeping it. Liu Tianshi said Jennie Yang didn’t like gardening. She thought it was a waste of time and energy.” One side of Li Zizi’s mouth lifted, her tone filled with disdain and sarcasm.
Now that her financial backer was gone, she had no need to pretend anymore.
“Sometimes I wonder if Jennie Yang put some kind of spell on him, like black magic or a curse, making him so obedient. Having a man so loyal, like a dog, is every woman’s lifelong dream.”
“Being a stand-in is exhausting,” Li Zizi said as she walked, her posture and pace clearly still imitating Jennie Yang. It seemed like a habit by now—her mouth grumbling, but her body never letting up.
The villa’s interior had an American-style design, clean and bright, comfortable and cozy. The most eye-catching feature was the large, beautiful open kitchen.
The housekeeper was busy in the kitchen, cooking something that filled the air with a sweet aroma.
Li Zizi pointed to a room upstairs, which was Liu Tianshi’s bedroom, and told Meng Jin to feel free to look around. She herself sat in the living room downstairs, chatting on the phone with a girlfriend. The topic, of course, was the news about Liu Tianshi’s murder.
Meng Jin felt a tap on his arm. He turned to Zhao Yunzhi, who wasn’t looking at him but at something else. Following Zhao Yunzhi’s gaze, Meng Jin spotted an elevator, hidden behind the staircase.
He looked up at the second floor, and sure enough, there was an elevator door. The villa only had two floors, so if there was a basement, it wouldn’t be more than three or four levels. The staircase from the first to the second floor was a long spiral. Moving things up and down wouldn’t be easy, so installing an elevator made sense, especially when money wasn’t an issue.
“Is there a basement?” Meng Jin asked.
Li Zizi, still on the phone, hadn’t heard him. Meng Jin repeated the question, and she replied, “Yes. Feel free to look around. I have nothing to hide. Liu Tianshi didn’t leave much behind. Honestly, there’s not much to see. Go ahead.”
Meng Jin walked up the stairs, while Zhao Yunzhi, acting like a playful child, insisted on taking the elevator. Meng Jin shook his head, amused.
Li Zizi noticed this and was amused by Zhao Yunzhi’s fascination, her face showing pride and satisfaction, as if reveling in the luxuries of the rich.
Taking the stairs wasn’t any slower than the elevator. The two of them reached the second floor at almost the same time.
There were five rooms upstairs—three bedrooms, a game room, and a walk-in closet. The first room on the right after the stairs was Liu Tianshi’s bedroom.
There were hardly any personal belongings in the bedroom. A phone charger was plugged into the socket above the bedside table. Other than that, the room was as tidy as a hotel room.
Clearly, the housekeeper cleaned the room daily. They didn’t expect to find much, but still opened drawers and cabinets to take a look. As expected, there was almost nothing inside—just a few keys, some supermarket receipts, and business cards.
Meng Jin picked up a business card and looked at it. It belonged to a manager of a large shopping mall. In the top left corner, there was a brown stain, like coffee. He brought the card to his nose and sniffed—it wasn’t coffee, but herbal medicine.
He passed the card to Zhao Yunzhi, who also thought it smelled like herbal medicine.
“Who was drinking this herbal medicine? What was it for?” Zhao Yunzhi’s round eyes curved mischievously as he grinned. “Could it be that Liu Tianshi couldn’t perform?”
Meng Jin frowned. “That can’t be it. He’s barely over fifty. He might be slowing down, but he can’t have hit rock bottom already.”
“The housekeeper wouldn’t be drinking medicine in the master’s room, so it must have been for Li Zizi. But she’s so young—what kind of illness could she have? Still, this doesn’t seem related to the case. I don’t think Li Zizi is the killer.” Zhao Yunzhi casually tossed the card back into the drawer.
“People who seem harmless are often the most dangerous. You can form your own opinions, but you need solid evidence to back them up. Until you have enough proof, be ready to overturn your conclusions at any moment. Aside from Li Zizi lacking a motive, do you have any other evidence?”
Though Meng Jin agreed with Zhao Yunzhi’s assessment, as a senior officer, it was his responsibility to remind his junior not to rely too much on feelings or intuition.
The two of them left the room, one after the other. As Meng Jin was closing the door, he suddenly noticed something familiar under the bed. Squinting, he took a closer look, becoming more certain the longer he looked.
He grabbed Zhao Yunzhi, motioning for him to pick it up.
Zhao Yunzhi squatted down and reached under the bed.
“Put on gloves,” Meng Jin reminded him, annoyed. This was basic procedure when investigating a scene. What had Zhao Yunzhi learned in police school if he didn’t even know that?
Zhao Yunzhi put on gloves and pulled out the object from under the bed. When he saw what it was, he gagged, throwing it away reflexively.
It was a used condom.
Zhao Yunzhi looked at Meng Jin, terrified.
A frontline detective has to deal with all sorts of dirty work. If necessary, they even have to pick up something as gross as a used condom—or even a spit wad.
This was covered on the very first day of police school, complete with vivid video demonstrations. The lesson had scared a few faint-hearted female classmates into dropping out immediately.
“Pick it up and bag it as evidence,” Meng Jin ordered sternly, though the corners of his lips twitched, holding back a laugh.
Suppressing his disgust, Zhao Yunzhi picked it up again, grumbling about Liu Tianshi’s bad habit of littering and the housekeeper’s lack of professionalism.
Then something occurred to him. He stood up quickly. “Wait a minute, Captain Meng, this doesn’t make sense. Li Zizi said Liu Tianshi was with her to have children. How could they have children with this thing? It’s not that effective at blocking everything.”
Meng Jin chuckled, having already thought of this issue. “That’s why we need to take it back for testing, to see if Liu Tianshi used it. Also, the room was spotlessly clean, not a speck of dust under the bed, so why was this trash missed? Was the housekeeper doing it on purpose?”
Zhao Yunzhi had an epiphany. “You mean, Li Zizi was cheating on Liu Tianshi, and the housekeeper was trying to tip him off. If that’s the case, then Li Zizi would have a motive for murder. If Liu Tianshi discovered her betrayal and wanted to take back the villa, Li Zizi might have killed him.”
Meng Jin smiled knowingly, patting Zhao Yunzhi on the shoulder. “Let’s go. Liu Tianshi’s death isn’t that simple. I’ll show you something in a moment—a crucial clue.”
The two of them descended the stairs nonchalantly. Li Zizi was applying a face mask and video chatting with a friend. When she saw them coming downstairs, she waved at them, then hurriedly ended the call.
Meng Jin sniffed. “Why does it smell like herbal medicine in here? Who’s taking it?”
Li Zizi, her face covered by the mask, couldn’t show her expression. “It’s me. I’m trying to get my body in better condition to get pregnant soon,” she said, speaking carefully, her mouth opening and closing in small, stiff movements, like a poorly made short video effect.
Leaving the main building of the villa, Meng Jin quickened his pace, crossing the yard as large as a soccer field, eagerly pulling out his phone to check the messages. He was desperate to find out who had sent the message.
It was a number from the USA. He couldn’t remember having any relatives or friends there who could be linked to a criminal case.
