HH Chapter 26

Cheng Ye and Pei Qinghuai exchanged a glance but didn’t speak. Li Xiaoyan, with her eyelids lowered, seemed to relax entirely.

“It’s all that vixen’s fault,” Li Xiaoyan said through gritted teeth. “If it weren’t for her, Tian Mingwei wouldn’t be dead.”

“Ever since Tian Mingwei found out my address, he kept coming to see me,” Li Xiaoyan scoffed. “Have you ever seen a man act so shamelessly? He would self-harm and break things in front of me until I agreed to lure Tian Yunxin out for him.”

Seeing Cheng Ye’s changing expression, Li Xiaoyan laughed. “You don’t believe me? I didn’t believe there were such people in the world before I met Tian Mingwei.”

She took a deep breath. “It’s simple. I couldn’t stand it anymore. I wanted to send both of them to hell. They ruined my life!”

Li Xiaoyan gasped. “I lured Tian Mingwei to the back mountain and stabbed him several times. Seeing him lying at my feet, I felt everything was finally over. Decades of torment had ended. But who would have thought, the bastard survived.”

“Then you finished him off by hitting him?” Cheng Ye asked.

“Yes!” Li Xiaoyan replied. “He glared at me and said he was going to kill me. How could I wait for him to do that?”

She leaned back in her chair, her expression calm. “It’s good that he’s dead. Now I can have peace.”

---

“The case is closed,” Cheng Ye said as he closed the interrogation room door.

Pei Qinghuai turned around, smiling at Cheng Ye. “Still planning to kick me out?”

Cheng Ye’s smiling mouth twitched slightly, and he glanced aside awkwardly. “How could I? Teacher Pei, you are a highly recommended capable assistant by Director Zhang.” He emphasized the words ‘capable assistant.’

Pei Qinghuai pressed his lips together, shrugged, and retracted his smile. “Let’s go.”

Outside, Fang Yuan and the others were gathered in a group.

“She really did it, huh? Treating her own daughter like that,” Jiang Fei said, slapping his face and frowning.

“These days, you see all kinds of people. Tian Mingwei wasn’t any good either,” Chen Xiaonuan rolled her eyes.

Zhang Yibao, shaking his chair, sighed. “It’s just a pity for Tian Yunxin, such a good girl.”

Cheng Ye put the materials in his hand on the table and asked, “What about Tian Yunxin? Did she go home?”

“No~” Fang Yuan replied. “She’s sitting outside.”

Pei Qinghuai handed Cheng Ye some items. “I’ll go check on her.” With that, he walked out.

“Teacher Pei is really handsome,” Zhang Yibao said, starry-eyed, as he watched Pei Qinghuai’s back. Chen Xiaonuan, sitting next to him, shuddered and felt like she could shed ten pounds of goosebumps.

---

“What are you thinking about?” Pei Qinghuai sat next to Tian Yunxin and asked softly.

Tian Yunxin didn’t speak, her ears plugged with earphones, and her hands tightly gripping her phone. Pei Qinghuai wasn’t in a hurry. He looked up at the clearing sky, then spoke after a long while.

“Let me tell you a story. See that mountain over there?” Pei Qinghuai paused, waiting for Tian Yunxin to look up before continuing. “That mountain was half-barren due to a fire years ago. For a long time, no new trees grew.”

Tian Yunxin looked into the distance. “Artificially planted?”

Pei Qinghuai smiled. “No, they planned to replant it, but the surveyors found a few seedlings in an inconspicuous spot, so they gave up the replanting. The half-wild, half-full mountain became a tourist attraction.”

Tian Yunxin snorted. “I grew up in Beilin, and I’ve never heard that story about the mountain. Did you make it up?”

“Yes,” Pei Qinghuai admitted with a smile. “I made it up.”

Tian Yunxin took off her earphones and laughed, holding her stomach. “I really thought you were telling the truth. You admitted it so easily when I called you out.”

Pei Qinghuai laughed with her and casually asked, “What were you listening to?”

She froze, then her expression turned indifferent. “Not a song. I bought a phone for my grandmother. She can’t type, so she sends voice messages. I was listening to those.”

She stood up, looking at Pei Qinghuai. “It’s okay, you don’t need to comfort me. I’m fine now. I have a class this afternoon, so I have to go.”

Before Pei Qinghuai could stop her, Tian Yunxin disappeared. Pei Qinghuai stood up, looking at the now fully clear sky, and after a long time, he went back inside.

Tian Yunxin walked slowly down the steps, putting her earphones back in. As she stepped off the last step, she played one of the voice messages. The voice inside laughed happily, sounding very excited.

“Yunyun, I’m waiting for you to come back.”

When Pei Qinghuai returned, Zhang Yibao immediately approached, smiling. “The case is closed. I’ll treat everyone to lunch this afternoon, Teacher Pei, you’re invited too.”

“Erbao, I’ve never seen you this generous before,” Fang Yuan teased, giving Zhang Yibao a playful slap.

Zhang Yibao didn’t take it. He retorted, “Why are you being so snide? If you don’t want to eat, then don’t.”

“I do, I do.” Fang Yuan hugged Zhang Yibao. “I can’t miss out, right, Chen Xiaonuan?”

Chen Xiaonuan pouted but said nothing, focusing on organizing her files.

A hot pot was the obvious choice for the gathering. Even Yan Ya, who usually skipped such events, attended this time. Cheng Ye stood up, holding his tea cup. “Let’s toast with tea instead of wine. First, to celebrate solving another case, and second…” He paused, looking at Pei Qinghuai.

“Second, to celebrate adding a new member to our team!”

Everyone applauded, the atmosphere reaching a peak. As they were about to say ‘let’s eat,’ an urgent phone ring cut through like a death knell.

Cheng Ye frowned slightly and answered the call. “Director Zhang, what’s the matter?”

“Where are you?”

“On Wencheng Road,” Cheng Ye replied.

“We’ve received a report of a homicide at the snack city ahead. I’ve sent people over. You get there quickly,” the voice on the other end said urgently.

Cheng Ye glanced around. “Got it.”

He hung up and stood up. “We have a case.”

Everyone responded promptly, with Yan Ya taking the lead. “I’ll go back and get the equipment.”

“Good,” Cheng Ye nodded. “The rest, follow me.”

Wencheng Road was the busiest street, and the snack city was even more crowded. By the time they arrived, the road was packed, making it impossible to see ahead. Cheng Ye tried to squeeze through several times but was rebuffed and cursed at.

“What are you pushing for? Can’t you see I was here first?” someone complained.

Before Cheng Ye could respond, Fang Yuan stepped forward, showing his badge in the person’s face. “Police business, move aside!”

The crowd fell silent for a few seconds, then quickly parted to let Cheng Ye and his team through. Zhang Erbao and Chen Xiaonuan stayed behind to manage the crowd.

“Stop looking, go home,” Zhang Erbao urged.

“Don’t take photos! It’s illegal!” Chen Xiaonuan shouted.

As they got closer, a foul stench hit Cheng Ye. He spotted a trash can in the distance and moved closer, the smell intensifying. He endured the discomfort and asked, “What’s going on?”

“The body was found in the trash can. It’s a child,” the responder said, shaking his head. “This doesn’t seem to be the primary crime scene.”

“Has the identity been confirmed?” Cheng Ye asked.

“Yes, her name is Chen Yuxin, a high school senior. We’ve contacted her family.”

“Good, thanks,” Cheng Ye replied, frowning at the body being placed in a bag. “This scene is quite…” He paused. “Thanks.”

“No problem, I’ve seen worse. Let’s get the body back. We don’t want to cause a public outcry.”

“Understood,” Cheng Ye nodded.

On the way back, Cheng Ye explained to Pei Qinghuai, “She’s just a student. This monster really did it.”

“A cowardly monster,” Pei Qinghuai agreed.

Back at the station, they were greeted by heart-wrenching cries.

“Why did you leave, Xiaoyu? Open your eyes and look at Mom! Didn’t you say you’d come home for my cooking? Wake up! Xiaoyu, look at Mom. Mom is here!”

“Auntie…” Yan Ya said softly. “Please calm down. We’ll find the killer.”

“The killer?” The woman, her eyes swollen from crying, trembled as she grabbed Yan Ya’s arm. “Who is the killer? I’ll kill him! That beast will die a horrible death!”

She screamed, nearly collapsing. Yan Ya supported her, worried she’d hurt herself. “Auntie, please calm down.”

“Calm down? How can I? I only had one daughter… How can I calm down!” She suddenly fainted.

“Auntie!” Yan Ya cried, catching her and looking at Cheng Ye. “The victim’s mother fainted.”

“Take her to the hospital,” Cheng Ye ordered, frowning.

Fang Yuan and Jiang Fei escorted her out. Cheng Ye approached the body, and Yan Ya, usually composed, spoke with a trembling voice. “The victim endured prolonged torture before death. Her body is covered in both new and old wounds. We’ll need a full autopsy to determine the exact time of death.”

Cheng Ye looked at Chen Yuxin’s body, his expression complex. “What a scum.”

“Captain Cheng,” Yan Ya said. “I’ll handle the rest.”

Cheng Ye nodded and stepped out, closing the door behind him. Seeing Pei Qinghuai outside, he said, “We’ll visit the high school tomorrow to investigate.”

“Okay,” Pei Qinghuai agreed.