The whole week after we got back, I was in a daze. I couldn't focus during meals, I spaced out in class, and even at night I tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Wang Dali asked if I was feeling overwhelmed from solving case after case, and if I wanted to buy an old hen soup to replenish my strength. Honestly, my mind was full of Huang Xiaotao, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him.
Sometimes I would send Huang Xiaotao a message on WeChat—usually pointless stuff like "What are you doing?" or "Are you asleep yet?" I've never had any romantic experience in my life, not even a crush, so suddenly trying to be all sweet and charming was completely unrealistic. Huang Xiaotao, on the other hand, seemed super busy with work. Often she wouldn't reply, and when she did, her answers were brief and clipped.
But even if she just sent back a single smiling emoji, it could brighten my whole day. I found myself checking my phone every few minutes like some kind of obsessive compulsive...
People say love makes you foolish—I never truly understood that until now.
One day, Huang Xiaotao called and asked Wang Dali and me to meet her for dinner at a restaurant. When we arrived, she was waiting in the lobby on the first floor. She wore a simple T-shirt and jeans, with a pair of sunglasses pushed up on her forehead, looking effortlessly cool. I'd noticed she never wore skirts—guess it's just her personality.
With her confident posture, even plain clothes gave her a stunning silhouette. Wang Dali immediately ogled her and said with a grin, "Xiaotao, you look so beautiful today, I'm about to nosebleed!"
"You're still such a pest after only a few days apart," Huang Xiaotao teased, raising a fist threateningly.
"Ah, Xiaotao, go easy on me," he pleaded.
Watching them joke around, I suddenly felt a pang of jealousy—but I kept my face calm. Huang Xiaotao glanced at me and said lightly, "Song Yang, Sun Laohu is waiting for you upstairs."
"Why the sudden dinner invite?" I asked.
"Forgot? Sun Laohu said he'd throw a welcome-back dinner for us when we returned," she explained.
We followed Huang Xiaotao to a private room on the fourth floor. Wang Yuanchao was already there, sipping liquor and cracking sunflower seeds before the meal even started. That guy's a tough one—I'd heard stories of people who could drink a whole jug on just a peanut. Wang Yuanchao wasn't far from that level.
Sun Laohu sat on the other side, playing solitaire by himself. Both were familiar faces from the police station—no need for formalities.
As soon as we entered, Sun Laohu stood up and greeted me warmly, "Big nephew, you're here. And this must be your assistant, Wang."
"Hello, Director Sun," Wang Dali said respectfully.
"Don't be so formal. Just call me Uncle Sun. Have a seat. Xiaotao, have the waiter bring the food," Sun Laohu waved them off.
Once seated, Sun Laohu apologized, explaining he meant to host the welcome dinner as soon as we got back but was tied up at the bureau. Also, the aftermath of the Du Cai "Spirit Cat" case was still ongoing, and something unexpected happened—the suspect Yu Jun had committed suicide in the detention center.
I was a little shocked. "How did he die?"
"That kid used a bedsheet twisted into a rope to hang himself from the iron bars of his cell. When they found him the next morning, he was already cold... but the death was really strange. He was nearly 1.8 meters tall, and the iron bars are about that height too. Though he was hanging, his feet were touching the ground. It's baffling. The cellmates smelled a foul stench that morning and discovered Yu Jun stiff and hanging there, which terrified them," Sun Laohu frowned.
"Hanging while standing?" Wang Dali widened his eyes in disbelief.
I pictured the scene in my mind—the pale dawn light, a man rigidly standing, his tongue hanging out bright red, urine and feces staining his pants. Weird, to say the least.
My first thought: maybe the "Spirit Cat" he'd mistreated took revenge.
Sun Laohu poured me some tea and said, "Big nephew, even the medical examiners in Wuqiu City are stumped. No one understands how he could have hanged himself like that. Got any ideas?"
I shook my head. "I wouldn't want to speculate. It'd be best to see the scene in person."
"No, no. Just chatting. Going all the way to Wuqiu for this isn't worth it."
I thought for a moment. "There are two possible explanations. First, a curse killing—Yu Jun was avenged by the Spirit Cat."
Sun Laohu said, "That's what we suspect too, but that kind of thing can't really go into official reports…"
"The other is more scientific. Wuqiu is by the sea, so it's humid. The rope, initially tight enough to lift Yu Jun off the ground, stretched when morning dew dampened it. Add to that the slight elongation of the spine after hanging, and that explains what the inmates saw that morning."
Sun Laohu's eyes widened and he slapped his thigh. "Ah! Such a simple explanation—why didn't I think of that? Big nephew, you're a genius!"
I shrugged modestly. "You flatter me."
"No, not at all. When I worked cases with your grandfather, he always amazed me with insights that woke me from a daze. Now I'm just as impressed by you," Sun Laohu gave me a thumbs up.
"I'm just a bit lucky. Still far behind my grandfather," I replied.
At that moment, Huang Xiaotao walked in, smiling. "Director Sun, why are you talking about cases again?"
Sun Laohu laughed heartily. "Old habit—can't go three sentences without mentioning work. If not cases, what else is there to talk about?"
We chatted casually for a while. Sun Laohu told me about his life these past two years and mentioned his daughter, Sun Bingxin, who was studying forensic medicine in Nanjiang City. Bingxin was his pride and joy and close to my age. I'd even spent some time at their house during summer between middle school and high school. Though we weren't exactly childhood sweethearts, we were old friends.
Curious, I asked, "Uncle Sun, didn't you want her to be a cop? How come she's studying forensics?"
Sun Laohu sighed. "Don't remind me. She's been spoiled since she was little. When she applied for college, she secretly changed her major without telling me. She gave up Political Science to study forensic medicine. I was furious, but I can't scold her—she's my soft spot. If she cries once, I immediately give in. So I just let it be."
The thought of this fierce bureau chief being powerless over his daughter amused me.
Sun Laohu continued, "Bingxin keeps asking about you—why you never come home during breaks. She'll work at the police station after graduation, and since you're in your senior year, you two will meet soon."
I said, "She was cute as a kid. She must be really beautiful now."
"You bet. My daughter's perfect—no one looks better!" Sun Laohu laughed proudly. Then he sighed, "When she was in school, the class was all boys. I worried sick, picking her up and dropping her off every day. Afraid some little bastard would try anything. Luckily, she only cared about studying and ignored everything else, which saved me a lot of trouble."
I said, "Bingxin's lucky to have such a good father. I envy her."
"Yeah. I can admit that at least. I've already failed her enough with the divorce, so I try to make up for it," he said remorsefully.
Suddenly, I noticed Huang Xiaotao shooting me a sharp look, but she quickly looked away. Was it just my imagination?