Silent Testimony - Chapter 33

“Girls are meticulous, thoughtful in all matters, and very reliable, but they also have a headache-inducing side—they tend to overthink things,” Cheng Yingqiu analyzed the pros and cons of dating the same sex, adding bluntly, “So, when I have an issue, I just talk about it; I never guess wildly.”

Li Hewei disagreed with her view and retorted, “Yingqiu, where is perfection to be found? When two people are together, they can mutually adapt and improve.”

“That’s also true. In short, a girl’s virtues are too many to count on both hands.”

Tao Ling, to her right, was watching the constantly receding streetscape outside the window, still dwelling on the word “outsider.” Hearing the discussion about overthinking, she naturally applied it to herself and began to self-examine. Reviewing their interactions over the past few days, she confirmed that what Li Hewei had blurted out during breakfast was not an excuse: she truly regarded her as a younger sister, one as important as Yingqiu.

“Sister Tao Ling, are you listening?”

“I am,” Tao Ling turned around, composed herself, and forced a small smile. “I also think it’s best not to overthink things; it only causes mental exhaustion and sadness.”

“See, you support me too.”

Cheng Yingqiu was chatting away when Li Hewei suddenly signaled a right turn and pulled over. She leaned back against the headrest, took a sharp breath, and frowned more deeply. “Yingqiu, you drive.”

“Sis, what’s wrong?” Cheng Yingqiu looked at her scratching her arm, worried.

“It’s itchy, probably an alcohol allergy.” Li Hewei opened the door, got out, and moved to the back seat next to Tao Ling. She had only had a small sip of wine, and nearly two hours had passed—it didn’t even count as drunk driving—yet she unexpectedly had an allergic reaction.

“Should we go to the hospital?” Cheng Yingqiu remembered that Li Hewei needed an IV drip for her allergies, and she became instantly anxious.

“No need, it’s just a minor thing. You find a clinic, and I’ll go buy some medicine.” The words were still on her tongue, but before she could react, Tao Ling pushed open the right-side car door, closed it quietly, and ran toward a pharmacy not far away.

“Ah? Does she know what medicine to buy?”

“Even though she’s a forensic doctor, she has to study basic medicine.” Li Hewei’s gaze followed Tao Ling’s retreating figure. Her heart felt instantly struck, and its rhythm became chaotic again. She had excellent eyesight and clearly watched the other girl enter the pharmacy, take out her health insurance card from her wallet and hand it to the owner, enter her password, then grab a bottle of water from a nearby cabinet, pay with change, and finally walk out of the store with two bags, running towards the car.

Li Hewei bit her lower lip, trying to conceal her unusual thoughts, but her composure crumbled when she saw the unmasked tension in Tao Ling’s eyes.

Tao Ling broke off a pill and placed it in her palm. “Sister Wei, I bought Loratadine. Take this first.”

“Thank you.” Li Hewei put the pill in her mouth and looked up to drink the water.

“I’ll use a cold compress for you, too. That should make you feel better.”

Tao Ling gently took hold of her wrist. Li Hewei instinctively wanted to pull back but let out a gasp the moment the ice water touched her skin.

“Hiss…”

Tao Ling spoke softly, “It must be a little cold. Bear with it for a moment.”

Li Hewei was healthy and rarely got sick. She had endured two severe colds on her own, taking a couple of pills and sleeping through them. Now, being thoughtfully cared for by Tao Ling, she felt uneasy yet extraordinarily warm in a part of her heart.

It should be okay to rely on her just this once, right?

She closed her eyes, trying her best not to feel the other girl’s tenderness. Time passed minute by minute, and sleepiness rushed over her like a tide.

Back home, Li Hewei went to her room to shower and then fell into a groggy sleep. Cheng Yingqiu was editing a video in the living room. Tao Ling sat next to her, drinking tea, intending to have a deeper chat. “Yingqiu, your family doesn’t know you like girls, do they?”

“No, I’ll tell them when the time is right.” Cheng Yingqiu was typing on the keyboard, replying to a colleague’s message without looking up.

Tao Ling pondered, “Will they agree?”

“I’ll just inform them. Whether they agree or not is up to them.” Cheng Yingqiu turned her head and looked at her curiously. “Sister Tao Ling, why are you asking? Are you thinking of getting a girlfriend and checking things out first?”

“I’m worried that Aunt Cheng and Uncle Wu will prevent you from dating girls, and I heard coming out is especially difficult.”

Cheng Yingqiu was surprised. “You even know the term ‘coming out’?”

Tao Ling nodded. “I found out through Baidu search.” She had been studious since childhood and would spend time observing and exploring anything she was interested in but didn’t know about.

“Oh? Have you ever had a crush on a guy?” Cheng Yingqiu was dedicated to finding kindred spirits. She had once analyzed two friends’ sexual orientations, guessing they liked girls, but half a year later, both friends started dating, and both were with same-sex partners.

“No.” Tao Ling was still single and had never met anyone who made her heart flutter.

“What about girls?”

Tao Ling shook her head. She wasn’t good at making friends proactively and preferred to be alone in her spare time.

“This…” Cheng Yingqiu found it tricky.

“However, compared to boys, I prefer interacting with girls. It used to be Aunt Zhang’s daughter, and now it’s you and Sister Wei.”

“That’s right, then. Take your time. When you like someone, you’ll be able to sense it yourself.” Cheng Yingqiu gave examples. “For instance, you’ll miss her when you don’t see her, and you’ll constantly hold your phone waiting for her messages…”

The next day, Sunday, Li Hewei’s rash and itching had slightly improved, but the allergy caused throat swelling, a hoarse voice, and coughing, so she had to rest at home. Coincidentally, Director Liu was on bereavement leave, and Qiu Wan was temporarily covering for her at a meeting in Shu River, so they decided to postpone the gathering.

This postponement lasted over a month. Puchen officially welcomed the “Autumn Tiger” weather, which didn’t subside completely until the end of September.

With the temperature hovering around 30 degrees Celsius, which was most comfortable, Li Hewei followed the team from north to south to the grassroots level. She specifically tackled cold cases that had been shelved for a long time, approaching them from the perspective of simulated portraiture—re-examining surveillance footage and interviewing eyewitnesses—providing many new leads to the local police.

The day before yesterday, they reached the final destination of their trip, a small county town in Lingnan. Li Hewei was staying in a north-facing room, and as the night cooled down, there was no need for air conditioning. It was nearly 9 PM. She was sitting at her desk, transcribing the key points from the afternoon’s case meeting into her notebook, when her phone on the side suddenly vibrated with a buzzing sound.

Li Hewei reached for her phone, opened WeChat, and saw the message was from Tao Ling: [Sister Wei, I just got home.] During her business trip, she had been worried about the other girl’s safety and had instructed Tao Ling to check in every night, vaguely explaining the reason by stating she should be extra cautious after the attack.

As time passed, the simple check-in evolved into a daily conversation. Tao Ling would chat with her about interesting things that happened in the technical team that day or important work matters. Li Hewei would also share what she saw and heard, and then they would exchange goodnights before bed. Every night, the two chatted on WeChat for at least forty minutes, and neither ever tired of it.

[Okay.] Li Hewei replied.

[Are you working?] Initially, Li Hewei did most of the talking, but later Tao Ling started to show initiative in her concern.

[Yes, writing the meeting minutes.]

[Alright, focus on your work. I won’t disturb you.]

[It’s fine, go ahead.] Li Hewei finished typing the message and stared blankly at the screen. She had tried her best to suppress the flutter in her heart, hoping to crush it into dust with distance. Why was she now falling deeper and deeper?

[Yingqiu is acting weird.]

[Oh? Are you starting to gossip about her now?] Li Hewei’s slightly furrowed brow relaxed a little. She decided to figure out how she and Tao Ling should interact when she returned.

[Because it’s too obvious. She’s been going to a street dance studio frequently lately.]

[That’s certainly not normal.] Li Hewei knew Cheng Yingqiu’s personality well. She knew that when her friend was off work, she’d rather lounge at home and sleep in or chat idly with friends. How could she possibly be exercising?

[But I wanted to see her dance, and she said she couldn’t.]

[She probably didn’t lie to you. Is she only watching and not dancing?] Li Hewei recalled the details and suddenly understood. [I get it.]

[Understand what?] Tao Ling was sitting in the foyer, chatting with Li Hewei. Her gaze swept past the hollow storage cabinet and saw Cheng Yingqiu scrolling through street dance videos on her phone.

[Go see who the lead dancer is in the dance she’s watching?]

[Okay.]

[Are you telling me that after more than forty days, you still don’t know who she’s paying attention to?] Li Hewei had seen slow people, but none were a tenth as oblivious as Tao Ling.

[Well, that’s her privacy.]

Tao Ling had strong boundaries and respected others’ privacy, but Li Hewei felt that boundaries needed to be properly balanced; otherwise, it would be difficult to establish deep emotional connections with friends and might even deepen feelings of loneliness. She guided the other girl. [Yingqiu won’t mind. If you just express a little curiosity, she might proactively tell you.]

[Really?] Tao Ling stood up, deliberately making a noise.

“Done with work?” Cheng Yingqiu saw her approach, asked with a smile, and then immediately went back to staring at her phone.

“Yes, I just walked in.” Seeing that the other girl wasn’t hiding anything and was openly showing affection, she asked boldly, “Yingqiu, what are you watching?”

“Here, take a look.” Cheng Yingqiu placed the phone between them. “It’s the video I recorded today.”

“Her… she’s the Autumn Team?” Tao Ling’s pupils suddenly dilated, and she asked in an incredulous tone, “I’m not mistaken?” In the video, during the fast-paced part, every one of Qiu Wan’s movements was full of explosive power and impact. After the song change, the music suddenly softened, and she adapted on the fly, showing an irresistible charm.

Starlight shone in Cheng Yingqiu’s eyes. “That’s right, it’s her. She’s my current crush.”

“Crush?” Tao Ling knew it was an internet term for a secret love.

“No, no, no. Are you overthinking it?” Seeing Tao Ling’s slightly parted lips and obvious surprise, Cheng Yingqiu rushed to explain, “Infatuation, like admiring a celebrity—pure infatuation.”

Although Tao Ling had no dating experience, she was skeptical. “Really? Can you even differentiate them like that?”

“Of course. Maybe after a while, I’ll be infatuated with someone else.”

No sooner had Cheng Yingqiu spoken than her phone rang, displaying an incoming call from Qiu Wan. Her eyes instantly curved into crescent moons, and she tapped to answer.

“Hello, Xiao Qiu. Is Tao Ling there?”

Cheng Yingqiu’s expression changed instantly. She shoved the phone to Tao Ling next to her. “She’s asking for you.”

“Xiao Tao, there’s been a murder in Wanyang Town. Head to the police station first. We’ll rush to the scene as soon as we can.”