Chapter 30: That’s your ge’s boyfriend

Translator: Abo Dammen

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Case Two: Dance of the Night Charm

They had returned late the previous night, leaving no time for exercise. So, early the next morning, He Yixun went for a few laps of his morning run. When he returned, Xu Pei was still fast asleep.

Passing by the sofa, he saw someone had slept into the shape of a the “dog” radical ⺨. The blanket was wedged between his legs, one leg bent and exposed, the pajama pants ridden up a section, revealing a pale ankle.

So thin it seemed one hand could encircle it. 

He looked frail and lacking exercise at a glance.

If, He Yixun meant if, Xu Pei still hadn’t returned by the time the case was wrapped up, he would take him running. Research personnel should improve their physical fitness too.

“Time to get up, Professor Xu.”

Luo En’s funeral was open to the public. When He Yixun brought Xu Pei, the morning mist hadn’t yet dispersed, but a long queue had already formed at the estate gates. 

The black line of people snaked for kilometers. Each citizen held a white chrysanthemum, silently waiting to enter the grounds. In the queue were plainly dressed ordinary people, soldiers in uniform, and even people with tattoos who looked like they might have served time. They were all silent, their expressions either sorrowful or reverent. The air was filled with the faint scent of flowers and the aura of tears.

No matter how convincingly the tabloids wrote their conspiracy theories, they were no match for the Chief Justice’s standing in people’s hearts.

Guards stopped He Yixun’s car, only allowing them through after verifying their identities. Driving along the cobblestone path towards the main house, the line of mourners stretched continuously along the roadside all the way to the building. Privilege truly exists in any world. Ordinary citizens could only inch forward with the queue, while Xu Pei could walk directly into the mourning hall with He Yixun, offering their flower bouquet ahead of others.

Of course, they didn’t take up much time. They symbolically bowed three times, and the ritual was over in just a few seconds. 

The family section to the side only had three people. Lin Mei wasn’t wearing her signature rose red, but had changed into a black formal dress. A veil covered half her face, making her resemble a silent statue.

Beside her was a young man, around 25 years old, with slightly curly hair and freckles on his face. His vibrant demeanor didn’t quite fit the funeral’s atmosphere. Standing behind them was an elderly woman with her hair meticulously combed. Judging by her rough hands and efficient appearance, she was likely the estate’s housekeeper.

“Yixun-ge!” Before He Yixun could get closer, the young man couldn’t help but call out to him, drawing looks from the queuing citizens.

Lin Mei quietly reminded him, forcing the young man to suppress his excitement. Only when He Yixun walked up to him did he say, “Long time no see!” 

“Long time no see,” He Yixun said, looking the other person up and down. “You’ve grown taller.”

Xu Pei had seen this person when looking up Luo En’s bio and knew he was Luo En’s grandson, Luo You. He estimated Luo You was a bit taller than him, probably around 1.8 meters, but his face looked as small as a palm—completely different from Luo En’s pumpkin-shaped face. He must have taken after his father, giving off a youthful, almost boyish feeling.

“Still not as tall as you,” Luo You rose on his toes slightly, then gave up comparing heights with He Yixun. He turned his attention to Xu Pei beside him and asked, “And this is…?”

“Xu Pei, Professor Xu,” He Yixun introduced him briefly, then slightly tilted his head towards Xu Pei’s ear and told him Luo You’s identity. 

“What kind of professor are you?” Luo You asked curiously.

Xu Pei said succinctly, “Biology-related.”

Luo You nodded slowly, his gaze shifting back and forth between the two men. “Why is a biology-related professor with Yixun-ge?”

That was a long story, and it wasn’t Xu Pei’s place to explain. He just heard He Yixun say, “Colleague.” 

“Why would a biology-related professor be colleagues with Yixun-ge?

“Is it researching things like fingerprints or irises?

“Why did Yixun-ge bring a colleague to my grandfather’s funeral?”

He really was a persistent young man, just as hard to fob off as He Yixun. 

Perhaps not wanting Luo You to keep chatting incessantly at this solemn occasion, Lin Mei said in a low voice, “That’s your ge’s boyfriend.”

“Huh?” Luo You exclaimed, drawing more looks. He covered his mouth with both hands as if he’d made a mistake. Once the looks subsided, he asked incredulously, “Yixun-ge is actually capable of dating?”

Xu Pei thought to himself, ‘What are you thinking? Have you ever seen a robot date?’

He Yixun also denied it. “No.” 

Lin Mei let out a very soft “Heh.” “Aren’t you two cohabitating?”

Xu Pei: ….

It seemed this biological mother had already looked into him.

But there was no helping it. Who told him he had no ID and couldn’t stay in a hotel? 

He Yixun also seemed to realize it was hard to explain, so he simply changed the subject, asking Luo You, “When are you going back?”

“After handling my grandfather’s estate, I suppose,” Luo You responded. Then, he narrowed his eyes and frowned, putting on an expression of having been betrayed. “So you are really dating.”

“I said no,” He Yixun exhaled. “He’s just staying over temporarily.”

“Then why didn’t you agree when I said I wanted to stay at your place when I came back to visit?” 

“Your house is so big, why do you need to stay at mine?”

“I didn’t want to live with Grandpa!”

“He’s dead now. Show some respect.”

Luo You crossed his arms, accusingly saying, “You didn’t even tell me about something as big as dating. You clearly don’t consider me a friend.” 

“You two.” A vein seemed to bulge faintly on her forehead behind the veil. Lin Mei kept her lips still, speaking through gritted teeth, “Read the room.”

Luo You was very obedient to Lin Mei. He turned his head away and fell silent. He Yixun finally found an opportunity to say to Lin Mei, “I have questions for you.”

Unlike his casual tone with Luo You, he switched to a businesslike manner, clearly treating Lin Mei as an interrogation subject. Hearing this, Lin Mei’s gaze darkened, as if she had already anticipated what He Yixun would ask. She turned and walked deeper into the hallway.

The heavy oak door of the study closed silently behind them, isolating them from all outside disturbances. The dark floor was spotless, reflecting shadows in the morning light. The leather sofa emitted a faint scent of wax. On the full-wall bookshelf, the gilded book spines appeared and disappeared as the viewing angle changed. 

Lin Mei walked straight to the floor-to-ceiling window, opened the window grid a crack, took out a cigarette case, and lit a cigarette. “What do you want to ask?”

“Who killed Si Lei?” He Yixun’s approach was too blunt, making Xu Pei think to himself, Would Lin Mei actually tell them?

Sure enough, Lin Mei let out a mocking laugh and flicked her ash onto the window frame. “How would I know?”

He Yixun, unconvinced, asked again, “You don’t know who killed Si Lei?” 

Lin Mei retorted, “Why would you think I know?”

“So you do know who Si Lei is.”

It had to be said, He Yixun’s years as a policeman weren’t wasted; he was quite skilled at drawing out information.

If Lin Mei were unrelated to this matter, she should have asked who Si Lei was. 

However, judging by her unflustered demeanor, she didn’t seem to be deliberately hiding this point, almost conveying an attitude of “So what if I know?”

She held one arm across her waist, supporting the elbow of the other arm, casually holding the cigarette. “I heard you’re investigating the Zhen Li case. How’s that going?”

This was tantamount to a direct provocation.

Xu Pei really wanted to say, ‘You’re being way too obvious. Are you so sure that after twenty years, nothing can be uncovered?’ 

But he kept it to himself. Given that he had offended Lin Mei over the Ma Jing matter before, he didn’t dare provoke her again.

“We visited the scene and found some new clues,” He Yixun responded.

Lin Mei’s smoking motion paused. “New clues?”

She was clearly aware of He Yixun’s capabilities. Her relaxed expression instantly became guarded. This further convinced Xu Pei that Lin Mei knew the inside story of the Zhen Li case. 

“The killer moved the coffee table in Zhen Li’s home to hang Si Lei’s body from the ceiling fan,” He Yixun stated only this much before stopping to observe Lin Mei’s reaction.

Lin Mei urged impatiently, “So?”

He Yixun leaned back against the sofa chair and continued unhurriedly, “That coffee table is very heavy. There were no scratch marks on the floor, indicating the killer moved it by lifting, not dragging.

“But the table is very wide. It’s awkward to get leverage no matter which side you stand on. It doesn’t seem like something that could be lifted easily. 

“So how exactly did the killer move the coffee table?

“After eliminating some unrealistic possibilities, only one possibility remains: there was more than one killer.”

The corner of Lin Mei’s eye twitched almost imperceptibly. The sharp line of her lipstick visibly tightened.

“I think Luo En first had scholars familiar with Zhen Li invite him out to a gathering. Then he sent two people to Zhen Li’s home to kill Si Lei. This isn’t something one person could accomplish alone. There must be a large organization behind it, and that organization is the Progressive Society.” 

Even though the doubtful point of the door lock remained unresolved, this was likely the general sequence of the case.

The corners of Lin Mei’s mouth turned down. The black veil cast a shadow over her face. She turned to face the window, took one last drag of her cigarette, and stubbed it out on the outer window frame. “What evidence do you have?”

“Even if your deductions are all correct—yes, Si Lei was killed by people sent by the Progressive Society—what evidence will you use to overturn Zhen Li’s verdict?”

The sound of her high heels on the wooden floor was sharp. Lin Mei lifted her chin slightly, having regained her unflustered composure, and slowly walked over to He Yixun. “Don’t waste your effort.” 

With those words, she left the study directly.

“It seems that’s it,” Xu Pei said somewhat dejectedly. “It really was the Progressive Society, but we can’t touch them.”

Twenty years had passed, so any evidence was gone. Even if they could deduce the complete truth of what happened back then, they couldn’t overturn Zhen Li’s verdict just by talking.

“Let’s look for that journalist first,” He Yixun quipped. 

Actually, the witnesses from back then included both the journalist and the police. But considering Shao Hui might have warned the police or issued a gag order, they decided to start with the journalist.

Emerging from the mourning hall, the morning fog had been dispersed by the sunlight, yet the black procession still stretched as far as the eye could see.

He Yixun and Xu Pei headed towards the parking lot, unexpectedly running into He Maohu, dressed in a black suit, and a plainly made-up woman along the way.

Recently, many news reports had been covering He Maohu. Some said he was deeply devoted to Lin Mei, even changing his name from He Hu to He Maohu just to wish her career would be prosperous. Even after having He Jun with another woman, he never married her. 

Other reports said the reason He Maohu didn’t marry He Jun’s birth mother was that she was his family’s nanny, and He Maohu felt she wasn’t presentable.

There were also gossip columns claiming that after He Jun’s death, He Maohu had married the woman, likely having seen through the vanity of life and planning to formally retire from the scene.

The news was a mix of truth and falsehood; Xu Pei just took it as stories.

But if he guessed correctly, the woman beside He Maohu was He Jun’s birth mother. 

“You came too.” Seeing He Yixun, He Maohu stopped and asked, “I heard Qian Kuang died from an asthma attack, is that right?”

Remembering their parting at the dock last time, he had seemed intent on having nothing more to do with He Yixun. Now, he appeared to have recovered somewhat from the pain of losing his son.

“Yes,” He Yixun replied and continued walking.

“Wait.” He Maohu directly called He Yixun to a halt. “Was there nothing suspicious about his death?” 

Hearing this, He Yixun stopped abruptly. “No.”

He had been to the scene. There was nothing suspicious. But the fact that He Maohu would ask this was itself suspicious.

“Why do you ask?”

“I’m just reminding you that Luo En’s death might not be so simple either.” 

This time, it was He Maohu who walked away directly before He Yixun had a chance to ask further.

“Didn’t Luo En die of a heart condition?” Xu Pei frowned.

“Mm,” He Yixun confirmed. “Lin Mei specifically had an autopsy done. It was a heart condition.”

“Then why did He Maohu…” 

Before Xu Pei could finish his sentence, He Yixun’s phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Chen Zhen from the Technical Communications Unit.

“Sir He, you asked me to find that Zhu Mingfei, right?” Chen Zhen opened. “I found her, but guess what? She went missing a couple of days ago.”

“Send me her address.” After hanging up, He Yixun said to Xu Pei, “That journalist is missing.”

Xu Pei: “Missing?” 

A bad feeling rose in his heart. “She couldn’t actually have evidence and have been targeted by Lin Mei, could she?”

“Possibly,” said He Yixun. “Lin Mei was so sure we wouldn’t find any evidence. Chances are that journalist has already been killed.”