Chapter 19

Just as they were about to ask what had happened, following Ren Xian’s line of sight, Ruan Mingxi let out an even louder cry: “Where’s my car!”

Jiang Xuzhou: “…”

They had parked such a big vehicle by the roadside — how could it be gone?

While the two were still stunned, Jiang Xuzhou pulled out his phone. Sure enough, he saw a ticket for illegal parking.

And then came the text message: the car, parked by the roadside, had been hit in the rear by a passing electric tricycle and was towed away by the traffic police.

Ruan Mingxi was just about to ask if the car had been stolen and whether they should call the police, when he noticed Jiang Xuzhou’s tightly furrowed brows.

“What happened?” Ruan Mingxi, worried something serious had occurred, quickly leaned over — and saw the text message.

Ruan Mingxi: “…”

Only a few hours earlier, he had promised in Director Feng’s office that he wouldn’t get another ticket this month. The words weren’t even cold yet, and now here came the fine.

Ruan Mingxi laughed bitterly at his own bad luck.

His own car getting ticketed was one thing, but now even driving Jiang Xuzhou’s car had ended up with a fine.

Seeing Jiang Xuzhou still frowning, Ruan Mingxi clapped a hand on his shoulder and grinned mischievously: “Sure, you lost a car bumper, but at least no one was hurt. And since it’s your car that got the ticket, that’s a blessing in disguise.”

Jiang Xuzhou suddenly felt a lump of frustration stuck in his throat, unable to go up or down. The two stared at each other for a long moment before both broke into laughter.

Ren Xian: “???”

Watching from the side, Ren Xian noticed Jiang Xuzhou’s odd look at Ruan Mingxi and couldn’t understand what they meant by “car bumper.”

Seeing Jiang Xuzhou laugh, Ruan Mingxi laughed even harder.

Jiang Xuzhou gave a short snort: “Yes, I lost a bumper and got a parking ticket. But since you were the one who parked it, and it was for your official business, you’ll be paying the fine.”

Ruan Mingxi’s smile froze. After a beat, his mind caught up, and he quickly replied with another cheeky grin: “Fine, I’ll pay the ticket and cover the repair costs. But can you at least be the one to go pay it?”

Jiang shot him a glance: “Why should I?”

Ruan Mingxi was caught off guard, not expecting such a blunt reply.

“Our relationship…”

Jiang Xuzhou: “Not close.”

Ruan Mingxi burst out laughing in exasperation: “All this over 200 yuan? You’d cut ties with me for that? Jiang Xuzhou, do you even have a conscience?”

Jiang Xuzhou’s lips curved slightly. “You don’t have any to begin with.”

Ruan Mingxi clicked his tongue. “Always picking up the bad habits. Why don’t you learn some of my good qualities instead?”

Jiang gave him a slow once‑over, his eyes playful. “Those good qualities aren’t showing very clearly right now.”

Ruan Mingxi: “…”

Alright then, the kid’s grown up — now he’s starting to dislike him.

The two bantered back and forth naturally, completely unaware of Ren Xian’s shocked expression beside them.

Ren Xian thought: The captain really has no shame.

The film crew’s location was rather remote, and no ride‑hailing apps were accepting their requests.

Just then, a phone call came in. The caller told Ruan Mingxi that they had returned from the site, and confirmed there was no e-sports team there — the other side had given them a fake address.

“Where are you guys?”

Ruan Mingxi suddenly tossed out a question that seemed completely unrelated, catching Ying Shi off guard.

After reporting their location and estimating the distance, Ying Shi realized they weren’t too far away.

“Perfect, come pick us up.”

Ying Shi was stunned. “What about your car?”

Ruan Mingxi immediately hushed him:

“A sensible deputy shouldn’t be asking anything right now. He should just come pick up his captain.”

Ying Shi: “…”

Ren Xian gave a look of utter disbelief. Even though he knew how shameless his captain could be, he was still taken aback.

Jiang Xuzhou’s eyes carried a trace of amusement — clearly used to someone who never played by the rules.

The three of them waited by the roadside for nearly twenty minutes before Ying Shi finally came to pick them up.

Once they got in the car, the others chatted freely, but Jiang Xuzhou stayed silent.

Ying Shi noticed and deliberately slowed the car, thinking Jiang might be carsick.

“Consultant Jiang, I’ll drive slower. If you feel uncomfortable, just let me know.”

Jiang’s expression stiffened slightly. “Alright.”

Ying Shi added:

“The back of a police car isn’t very comfortable. It’s normal if you’re not used to it the first time.”

Ruan Mingxi turned his head, saw Jiang’s awkward look, and couldn’t hold back his laughter.

In the back seat sat Jiang Xuzhou, Ruan Mingxi, and Ren Xian. Jiang Xuzhou was stuck in the middle, flanked by two policemen. If Ruan Mingxi and Ren Xian had been in uniform, Jiang might have thought he was being taken in for questioning.

Ruan Mingxi teased:

“This kind of experience once is more than enough. No need to repeat it.”

Jiang shot him a warning glance, and Ruan Mingxi quickly suppressed his grin.

But though the smile on his lips faded, the amusement in his eyes was impossible to hide.

……

After they finished confirming the situation with the local precinct, a piece of news suddenly shot to the top of the trending list, causing a huge uproar.

As soon as Ruan Mingxi got word, the group immediately rushed back.

“What on earth happened?”

Even before he stepped inside, Ruan Mingxi’s voice rang out.

When Jiang Xuzhou entered, he saw his colleagues left behind at the station all wearing troubled expressions, clearly caught off guard by the sudden development.

Yao Panpan quickly explained:

“We traced the IP address of the post. It came from the crime scene itself, but the surveillance footage shows nothing at all.”

About an hour earlier, news of a body found on Qingping Road had exploded online, accompanied by several high‑resolution photos.

From the timestamp watermark in the lower right corner of the photos, it was clear they were taken before the police arrived — even earlier than Zhao Baozhen’s discovery of the body, by about ninety minutes.

“According to our investigation, the photos were uploaded from a mobile device. We tried to track the signal from that device, but failed.”

Jiang Xuzhou’s eyes flickered with thought; the origin of these photos seemed strange.

Ying Shi asked: "Could these have been taken by the killer? If so, what’s the purpose — provocation?”

After speaking, Ying Shi glanced at Ruan Mingxi. He seemed deep in thought and didn’t respond right away, then turned his gaze toward Jiang Xuzhou.

“Or maybe it was someone before Zhao Baozhen — the real first discoverer.”

Jiang Xuzhou frowned.

“When was the last message in Yan Zhan and Fan Lingfang’s chat record?”

“The morning of the 21st, at 5:18.”

For nearly four days after that, the killer kept using his phone to send messages to his family. Was it to blur the time of death, or for some other purpose?

If the intent was to obscure the time of death, why stop sending after 5:18?

Before they could recover from the shock of the photos, a phone call made the already tense atmosphere even heavier.

A civilian had reported finding body parts near Dongping Road.

The sudden case made everyone’s hearts skip — it all came too abruptly.

Ruan Mingxi reacted quickly and immediately led the team out.

“I’ll head to the scene first. If you’re going home, grab a taxi early. I might be tied up until late and won’t be able to send you back.”

Jiang Xuzhou replied calmly: “It’s fine. You go ahead.”

Ruan Mingxi acknowledged and hurried out. The police station, noisy just moments ago, suddenly felt much emptier.

With this new discovery, it was clear to everyone: tonight would be a sleepless night.

Half an hour after Ruan Mingxi left, Jiang Xuzhou suddenly closed his laptop.

Yao Panpan saw him getting ready to leave and quickly asked:

“Consultant Jiang, are you heading home?”

Jiang Xuzhou replied:

“I have some matters to attend to. I’ll be back later.” With that, he packed up his things and walked out briskly.

He had just received a message from Professor Yan, asking about the progress of the case.

There were still many unanswered questions regarding Yan Zhan, so Jiang decided to pay a visit in person.

Professor Yan seemed to be in better condition now. Jiang Xuzhou thought that by taking this opportunity to visit, he might be able to learn more.

By evening, rush hour traffic clogged the intersections. At one stoplight, he was stuck for half an hour before getting through.

A long line of red taillights glowed ahead — if not for being trapped in traffic, the scene almost looked lively.

When Jiang Xuzhou arrived at the hospital, he was surprised to see Fan Lingfang.

Their eyes met briefly, they exchanged greetings, and then Fan Lingfang quickly found an excuse to leave, carrying a hot water bottle to fetch water.

Professor Yan, after all, was elderly and not in the best health. The doctors recommended he stay for observation for two days.

Strictly speaking, with doctors and nurses around, and since his condition wasn’t too serious, he didn’t need someone to stay overnight. But Jiang Xuzhou noticed the simple cot leaning against the wall and couldn’t help glancing at it twice.

Professor Yan looked embarrassed:

“Xuzhou, I’m sorry to trouble you to come all this way again.”

Compared to their first meeting, Professor Yan now looked several years older lying in the hospital bed.

“Professor, no need to be so polite.”

Seeing Professor Yan trying to sit up, Jiang Xuzhou quickly stepped forward to the foot of the bed and adjusted the backrest for him.

Professor Yan pointed to the chair by the bed, signaling Jiang Xuzhou to sit down.

Jiang Xuzhou placed the fruit he had brought on the table and sat beside the bed.

“Xiao Zhan, he…” Professor Yan struggled to control his emotions, but when he mentioned Yan Zhan’s name, his voice trembled uncontrollably.

Jiang Xuzhou understood what he wanted to ask and spoke first:

“The case is still under investigation. For now, the cause of death cannot be determined.”

Even though two days had passed, Professor Yan still could not accept the news that Yan Zhan was dead.

The hospital room fell into a long silence. Professor Yan’s body began to tremble slightly, and tears slid from the corners of his eyes.

“It’s all my fault. If I had noticed something wrong earlier and called the police, maybe he wouldn’t have… wouldn’t have…” His choked sobs were heartbreaking to hear.

Jiang Xuzhou could only say: “Please accept my condolences.” Beyond that, he found no words that could ease the pain of a grandfather losing his grandson.