The 80s Female Detective's Guide to Self-Preservation [Criminal Investigation] - Chapter 29

Chapter 29

For the first time, Xia Qiuyuan felt that even a state-run restaurant could be suffocating. Several dishes sat on the table, but she didn’t feel pleased; instead, she felt like a dish herself, served up for inspection. The source of this danger wasn’t Qin Yu, but Su Wan, whom she had only just met.

Every word out of Su Wan’s mouth was sharp, probing into Qiuyuan’s family background, income, and job details. The glamorous woman, wearing light makeup, toyed with her gold bracelet and remarked dismissively, “With such a meager salary, it must be hard to even support yourself. Now that things are opening up, many are jumping into business to improve their lives. Doesn’t Officer Xia have such thoughts?”

Qiuyuan’s brow furrowed. She wasn’t an idiot; she knew why Su Wan was targeting her. She understood the world’s confusion regarding female criminal investigators, but looking into Su Wan’s almond-shaped eyes, she saw more than just mockery—she saw disdain.

Qiuyuan didn’t take it lying down. “I’m not interested. I’ll only do this job in this lifetime. Everyone wants to be ‘successful,’ but I’m not ‘everyone.’ Why try to bind me with the world’s rules the moment we meet?”

“You don’t follow the rules yourself, so you’d best hide better,” Qiuyuan continued, resting her chin on one hand and twirling a porcelain spoon. She began to dissect Su Wan. “When you lift your hand, I can see faint scratches on your back from long nails. Your own nails are rounded and short. When you paid just now, your wallet held a dried flower with a crude green ribbon—handmade, and by someone not very skilled at it.”

“Your makeup is light, but when you knelt to take the bracelet, I noticed you’ve layered powder from your right neck down to your collarbone to hide obvious red marks.” Qiuyuan met Su Wan’s eyes with a defiant smile. “The person is likely much younger than you, flamboyant, and fond of strong perfume. You didn’t come from your own home today; your clothes and hair don’t match your scent.”

“You have gas coupons in your wallet, but you don’t talk like someone from a state unit. Private cars are rare; gas coupons are mostly for state officials. Is your partner a state official? Vibrant, loves heavy perfume, and has the power to give away coupons?” Qiuyuan’s smile widened. “Would you like me to use the system to find your lover for you?”

Su Wan stiffened. She looked at Qiuyuan with cold, appraising eyes. Finally, unable to swallow her pride, she turned to Qin Yu and said with a pout, “She’s nothing like you described. Not fun at all.”

“Auntie…” Qin Yu was caught awkwardly between the two flaming tempers, looking back and forth, praying for the server to arrive and break the tension.

Su Wan wasn’t panicked. She accepted the analysis and waved a finger. “One correction: she and I are not lovers.”

“I can tell,” Qiuyuan said bluntly. “Either you broke up with her, or she broke up with you. Likely because of a personality clash, or because you aren’t her ideal marriage candidate. Or both.”

Su Wan paused, sighing. “Young lady, you shouldn’t talk so recklessly outside. It causes trouble for others.”

“I was just bluffing to bait you. You let it all out; that’s a failure of your own psychological defenses, nothing to do with me.”

“Is that so? A sharp-tongued cop must offend many people,” Su Wan said, pouring tea into Qiuyuan’s already full cup. The brown liquid overflowed, soaking the yellow tablecloth. “The hardest steel snaps easiest; the brightest wit burns out soonest. Didn’t your parents teach you that?”

“My parents died young. I was raised by the village,” Qiuyuan replied, unfazed by the hot tea spilling near her. She moved the cup aside, refusing to be lectured.

“Enough!” Qin Yu slammed the table, snatched the teapot from Su Wan, and got a fresh cup for Qiuyuan. “Can we just eat in peace?”

Qin Yu regretted her major. She should have studied early childhood education; then she’d be professionally qualified to tell these two to “shut their mouths, hold their spoons, and eat.”

The next morning, Xia Qiuyuan woke up before dawn. She put on her uniform and woke Xia Sui. “I’m heading out.”

As she walked through the hall, she caught a glimpse of the lush green trees on the balcony. She froze, then turned and marched to the balcony. With a sharp shush, she pulled the heavy curtains shut, the silver-embroidered peonies blocking out every bit of green and sunlight. Only then did she feel better.

“So annoying,” she muttered. She hadn’t slept well, and she kept dreaming of Qin Yu. She didn’t want to analyze the dreams; she just felt that staying away from Qin Yu was better for her sleep quality.

She arrived at the station early, carrying a bag of steamed buns and soybean milk. Her first stop was the detention cell. Kuang Yun was sleeping so soundly he was drooling.

Qiuyuan felt a surge of irritation. Why do I lose sleep while this brat sleeps like a log? She banged on the door. “Good morning, kid. Hope you enjoyed your stay. Clean the drool off the table, or the next suspect will have to smell your spit during their interrogation.”

A groggy Kuang Yun sat up, wiping his mouth. Finding no drool, he snapped, “Are you bored?”

“Not at all. You’re quite entertaining.” She handed him a bag of buns. “Eat. I’m interrogating you when the shift starts.”

“What’s there to interrogate…” Kuang Yun wanted to be defiant, but the grease from the meat filling had turned the dough translucent. He was starving. He took the buns.

“Why won’t you just study?” Qiuyuan asked, leaning against the table.

“It’s boring. The words know me, but I don’t know them. I’m sleepy in every season. As soon as the teacher talks, I’m out.”

“So you’d rather be a thug? A robber? What if they told you to kill someone? Would you do that too?”

“I’m not an idiot,” he grumbled. “This was an accident.”

“An accident? My notes say your cousin is coming to pick you up today.”

Kuang Yun jumped up, nearly choking on a bun. “Wait! You said you’d only call my parents!”

“Did I? I don’t recall. Eat up; it might be your last meal.”

At 9:00 AM, the office was buzzing. Qiuyuan heard a familiar sound—the scratching of dry leaves being dragged across the floor. She looked up to see a short-haired woman in a tracksuit walking in, carrying a thick, withered tree branch.

“Hello, where is Kuang Yun? I’m his family.”

Liang Guangqi glanced at the branch and knew Kuang Yun was in for it. “In the interrogation room…”

Kuang Yun’s pleas of “I’ll change!” were cut short when his cousin appeared in the doorway, branch in hand. The “interrogation” turned into a one-sided lesson. She didn’t hit his face or anywhere vital, just enough to make him howl and roll on the floor.

When she finally threw the broken branch aside, she asked calmly, “Which officer is in charge? He says he’s ready to cooperate now.”

Qiuyuan stood up slowly, clutching her notebook. As she and Liang Guangqi walked past the cousin, they both nodded with extreme politeness. They were the police, but they weren’t about to get in the way of that branch.