Killer Nights

Ultimately, Jiang Zhengkai had no choice but to once again interrogate the people involved in the cases of Sui Dequan and Sui Zhongyi. He hoped to find some connection to Zhao Renchu in this second interrogation. Luckily, his hard work paid off. Several witnesses were able to confirm that Zhao Renchu and Sui Dequan did look alike if they were to compare them carefully. However, they were unsure of whether Zhao Renchu was truly related to Sui Dequan.

At this point, it seemed that the case had hit another dead end. As he sat in his office, Jiang Zhengkai went through the case doc.u.ments on his desk again. Although it felt like he had all the information and actual facts he needed right in front of him, he still couldn"t pierce the veil and uncover the criminal.

In Jiang Zhengkai"s mind, he was debating about whether he should let Sui Zhongyi know about these speculations. Maybe I should tell Sui Zhongyi that I suspect that Zhao Renchu is related to Sui Dequan. However, the last time I met Sui Zhongyi, he said that Zhao Renchu and Sui Dequan didn"t look alike, and that they couldn"t possibly be related. Is Sui Zhongyi telling the truth? Or is there another secret that I"m missing?

Regarding this question, Jiang Zhengkai naturally leaned towards the latter a.s.sumption. Sui Zhongyi must be lying. But why would Sui Zhongyi lie about Zhao Renchu"s true ident.i.ty? Also, why is Sui Zhongyi so eager to know how Zhao Renchu and the others died? Could there actually be another reason behind their deaths? Or could a secret have been buried forever with Zhao Renchu"s pa.s.sing?

Jiang Zhengkai went through the doc.u.ments over and over again, growing more and more restless as he flipped through the pages. He kept drumming his fingers on the surface of his desk, but was unable to come up with anything new.

At that moment, Mu Mingyuan walked into the office with his cosmetics box. “How are you doing, Jiang? I have some family matters to take care of tonight, so I want to take some time off.”

“Oh, is that so?” Raising his head, Jiang Zhengkai signalled for Mu Mingyuan to sit down in front of him. “No worries then. Just take the night off.”

“Got it! Thanks,” replied Mu Mingyuan. He pointed at the cosmetics box and remarked, “Hey! I"ll still finish my job before leaving for the night. Let me help you with your make-up.”

“Nah, it"s fine,” said Jiang Zhengkai, waving him away quickly. “I”ll go without make-up tonight,” Jiang Zhengkai said as he leaned back against his chair. “The corners of my eyes and lips have been very itchy these past two days. Is it possible that I"m allergic to the make-up?”

“Allergic?” Mu Mingyuan leaned closer and carefully inspected Jiang Zhengkai"s face. “You"re right! Your skin does look a bit irritated. Jiang, you"re lucky to have been born as a man. If you were a woman, it would be tough for you to find cosmetics products.”

“Ai, see? That"s why I"m a man,” replied Jiang Zhengkai with a helpless smile. “Well, I"ll just go to the alley without make-up tonight. I"ll also leaving the office soon since I don"t have new leads for this case today.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Mu Mingyuan agreed in a sympathetic tone and picked up his cosmetics box. “I already knew that solving this case would take a long time. Don"t push yourself too hard!” Mu Mingyuan then said goodbye to Jiang Zhengkai and left his office.

Jiang Zhengkai sat at his desk and thought about the case some more before calling Jiao. Tonight, they would still have dinner together. Their relations.h.i.+p had been very stable throughout this whole time. Although recently he had been a little irritable because of the pressure from his job, he could still pull himself together in front of Jiao. As long as he was with her, life was great.

After dinner, Jiao and Jiang Zhengkai walked out of Uncle Cai"s noodle shop. Jiang Zhengkai looked at Jiao and asked, surprised, “Honey, why did you eat so little tonight?”

Jiao told him honestly, “I don"t feel like eating. I have no appet.i.te. My body has been a bit tired these past two days. It"s as if I didn"t get enough sleep.”

“Really?” Jiang Zhengkai put his hand on Jiao"s forehead to gauge her temperature. “Are you feeling sick?”

“No, I"m fine.” Jiao glimpsed at Jiang Zhengkai and then mischievously teased, “I"m not sick. Don"t worry! I think it"s just because you"ve been too h.o.r.n.y lately. It"s too much for me.”

“I"m too h.o.r.n.y?” Jiang Zhengkai was momentarily confused before he realized what Jiao meant. He pinched her nose and gently replied, “Child, weren"t you the naughty one who was too h.o.r.n.y in the past?”

“Hmph! No, I wasn"t! Whatever!” Jiao lightly hit Jiang Zhengkai with her fists and leaned her body against his. “Honey, why hasn"t the killer shown up yet?”

“Why? Are you worried?” Jiang Zhengkai asked softly, stroking Jiao"s back.

“Yes! If he still doesn"t show up, I"m going to be all worn out,” Jiao murmured as her head rested on Jiang Zhengkai"s chest.

“Well, then let me give him a call and he"ll definitely come by tonight!” Jiang Zhengkai joked.

“Bad boy! Don"t jinx it! Pooh, pooh!” Jiao exclaimed, pretending to spit twice on the ground. “Never mind! Actually, the room that Zhang Nan found is quite comfortable. Could you ask Commissioner Yao to sell it to us as a gift?”

“Hahaha! That"s fine with me,” laughed Jiang Zhengkai.

Jiang Zhengkai and Jiao stood there and cuddled intimately for a while. Then they left for their respective destinations. One went to the alley and stood there pretending to be a prost.i.tute. The other went to rest in the car to kill time. Jiang Zhengkai waited in the hotel"s parking lot until it was finally time for him to go to the alley.

Step by step, Jiao walked along the stone road in the alley to the spot she had a.s.signed. On her way there, some sisters she had met before also nodded their heads to greet her. She recognized some of them. Although Jiao would not interact with them like they were friends, she did politely nod and smile back. After all, working in the alley as a faux-prost.i.tute was a mission. She would only ever serve one person now. After the case was closed, she would never come back here to the alley again.

The weather had grown colder recently. Due to the evening drizzle , the climate of the alley had turned from muggy to a bit chilly instead. However, Jiao didn"t dress more sensibly today. Standing in the alley, she could feel the nightly cold bite at her. She wrapped her arms around herself to warm herself up.

The weather has cooled down a lot. Is it almost honey"s birthday? Jiao looked at the moon, still s.h.i.+ning bright and clear. If I remember correctly, then it should be next week? I should sneak a peek at his ID card some time in these next few days. Thinking of this, Jiao s.h.i.+fted her attention to the other women in the alley. They were also s.h.i.+vering with their arms crossed and stamping their feet to stay warm.

Looks like everyone is feeling the chill tonight. Seeing this, a smile crept onto Jiao"s face. “Well! At least I"m not the only one feeling cold tonight,” thought Jiao happily.

Walking up to Jiao, Jiang Zhengkai asked, “Hey, what"s on your mind? You look so happy.” He rubbed his hands and then said to Jiao, “Let"s go! It is really cold tonight.”

“Right?” said Jiao with a smile, looking at Jiang Zhengkai. “You"re also feeling the cold, huh? Wait! Why didn"t you…”

“Oh! Mingyuan had some family matters to take care of,” Jiang Zhengkai muttered in a low voice, putting his hands around Jiao"s shoulder and walking her to the house. “He won"t be on duty tonight. I also think that I"m allergic to the liquid cosmetics or something.”

“You are?” Jiao turned around quickly to scrutinize his face. “Are you okay? You look fine here. I"ll take a closer look again when we go inside the house”

“Sure! Let"s go,” replied Jiang Zhengkai, “It feels like it"s getting colder and colder.”