Qu Yanning had completely succumbed to the charms of hotpot, lost in the sheer deliciousness of the meal.
After adding ingredients twice more, the two of them finally collapsed onto the couch, clutching their stuffed stomachs.
The table was piled high with empty bowls and plates.
Despite their delicate appearances, both of them had quite the appetite.
“Burp~ Let’s rest a bit before leaving…” Qu Yanning let out a satisfied burp, rubbing his belly with a look of sheer exhaustion.
Chu Zhou wasn’t doing much better—he was sprawled on the couch like Ge You, eyes half-closed in contentment.
After a long break, Qu Yanning finally rang for the waiter to bring the bill.
Worried that Chu Zhou would try to beat him to it again, he deliberately said, “My treat today.”
Chu Zhou lazily touched up his makeup in the mirror.
Hearing that, he deliberately pinched his voice into a flirtatious tone. “Alright, alright~ Whatever you say~”
After paying the bill, the two wobbled out the door and rode their little three-wheeler home.
The ride was bumpy all the way back.
By the time they got home, Qu Yanning felt like all the food in his stomach had been jostled up to his throat.
He took a few deep breaths, forcing down the urge to throw up.
Chu Zhou burst into laughter at the sight of him looking so pathetic. “Seriously? You can’t even handle hotpot without—hic!” He’d laughed too hard. His sentence was cut off by a hiccup, and then another, and another.
Qu Yanning stifled his laughter as he patted Chu Zhou’s back, and the two of them giggled and joked their way upstairs.
*******
Ever since he started running a night market stall, Qu Yanning’s life had become increasingly structured.
During the day, he and Chu Zhou would take turns manning customer service.
At 9 PM sharp, he’d head to the night market to set up his stall. In response to customer requests, he had added a few fresh new dishes.
Business was booming, and he was starting to become somewhat well-known along the night market street.
That afternoon, Chu Zhou wasn’t home.
Qu Yanning was lying on the couch, sipping soda through a straw while watching a drama.
Suddenly, the “ding-dong” sound of a message came from the chat icon in the corner of the screen.
He clicked open the chat window.
The ID looked very familiar—it was that rich girl from last time who had bought ten boxes of foundation in one go.
This time, the rich girl wasn’t buying foundation.
She wanted concealer—the most expensive and best-selling kind in the shop.
Qu Yanning was used to it by now and calmly replied, “Hi there~ How many would you like this time?”
“Eight.”
“Got it~ I’ll send you the usual coupons and samples, is that okay?”
The rich girl agreed, and Qu Yanning slurped his cola while quickly confirming the order with her.
Once the order was finalized, she didn’t send any more messages, so Qu Yanning switched back to watching his drama.
About half an hour later, the chat window lit up again.
The rich girl said: “Can I ask you for a favor?”
“Sure~ What do you need help with?” he replied.
The typing indicator kept flickering. After a long pause, she finally sent her message:
“I have a dog. He’s been sick lately, and I might have to leave for a while. Could I trouble you to take care of him for a bit?”
Qu Yanning froze.
The straw in his mouth slipped back into the bottle as he hesitated.
He thought about it for a moment, then declined politely: “You can try boarding him at a pet shop.”
The girl quickly replied, attaching a sad emoji. “I can’t bring him there… Da Huang is very well-behaved. He won’t be any trouble.”
Qu Yanning glanced at her ID—which just so happened to be the same as the dog’s name.
It was clear she loved her pet dearly.
After a moment of indecision, he gave in.
She was rich, after all—surely not a scammer.
Maybe something really had come up.
The rich girl was very grateful, thanking him repeatedly.
Qu Yanning asked when she would bring the dog over.
She said it’d be a few more days and promised to contact him again.
For convenience, they added each other on WeChat.
Just a few minutes later, Qu Yanning noticed that the girl had gone on another shopping spree—sweeping up all the most expensive products in the store.
Smacking his lips, he stared at the screen. Rich people really do think differently…
Later that afternoon, when Chu Zhou got home, Qu Yanning told him about it.
Although Chu Zhou wasn’t thrilled that he had so casually agreed to help a stranger, Qu Yanning showed him the rich girl’s WeChat Moments—filled with everyday posts, most of which were about her dog, Da Huang.
—She didn’t seem like a scammer.
Chu Zhou couldn’t find a solid reason to object.
After struggling for a bit, he simply said, “When the time comes, we’ll go pick up the dog together.”
Qu Yanning happily agreed.
It was just a small episode, and after that, the girl didn’t message again for several days.
So Qu Yanning stopped thinking about it.
What did catch his attention, however, was another big news story in Shen City—this time, right in the urban village next to his apartment complex.
Following two earlier murder-and-dismemberment cases, another young woman had been found dead.
The news report was vague.
Most of the details had been blurred out, and even the image only showed a stretcher with a white sheet faintly revealing the shape of a body.
But wait… Didn’t the news say the victim was dismembered?
Just as the thought passed through Qu Yanning’s mind, the doorbell rang.
Snapped out of his thoughts, he turned off the news and went to open the door.
Standing outside the security door were three uniformed police officers.
Qu Yanning opened the door halfway and looked at them warily.
One of them knocked on the metal gate and held up his badge. “Hello, I’m Wang Li from the Criminal Investigation Unit. Badge number 125806. We have a case we need your assistance with.”
Wang Li, as he introduced himself, had a stern expression.
As someone without legal identity documents, Qu Yanning instinctively felt uneasy at the sight of police.
But then he thought about all the elaborate scams going around these days and tried to stand a little taller.
He cleared his throat.
“Can I see the other officers’ badges?”
The two behind him cooperated fully, holding their badges up against the security door for him to inspect.
Qu Yanning examined them carefully, feeling increasingly unsure.
They looked legit—but what kind of case could he be involved in?
These days, even scammers went all-out with their disguises.
Thinking of all the anti-scam tips he’d seen online, Qu Yanning tilted his chin slightly and asked deliberately, “Which police station are you from?”
Wang Li, seemingly the leader of the three, answered calmly, “Qinghu District Public Security Bureau, Criminal Investigation Unit. If you have doubts, you can call the bureau to verify.”
That sounded reasonable enough to Qu Yanning.
“Alright, wait here. I’ll make a call to confirm.” With that, he slammed the door shut.
The three officers outside: “…”
Qu Yanning searched online for the Qinghu District PSB number and called.
The officer on the other end verified the situation and confirmed that it was real.
Now thoroughly stunned, Qu Yanning rushed back and flung the door open, finally letting in the three officers who had been left standing outside all that time.
All four of them sat down on the couch.
Wang Li subtly scanned the living room before beginning the routine questioning.
He pulled out his phone, opened a Taobao shop page, and handed it to Qu Yanning. “Are you the owner of this shop?”
Qu Yanning glanced at the screen—it was Chu Zhou’s Taobao store.
His heart immediately sank.
He looked up nervously.
“Yes, I am. Did something happen?”
Wang Li placed several sheets of paper on the coffee table.
Seeing Qu Yanning’s unease, he added reassuringly, “Don’t be nervous. We just need your help to confirm some things.”
He pointed at the topmost page. “Do you remember this customer?”
Qu Yanning leaned in.
The paper had printed chat logs, which looked very familiar.
Then he glanced at the ID.
Sure enough—it was the rich girl, Da Huang.
He tensed up even more. “Yes, I remember her.”
Wang Li paused before saying, “Are you aware of the recent serial murders?”
Qu Yanning nodded. “Yeah, I was just watching the news about it.”
Wang Li’s expression grew heavier, a deep furrow appearing between his brows.
He tapped the table and said gravely, “This case is complicated. Please try not to panic once you hear the details.”
Qu Yanning immediately gulped, clearly nervous.
Wang Li continued, “The Taobao account named ‘Da Huang’ belonged to the victim, Li Xiaohong. She was murdered twenty days ago, but her body wasn’t discovered until yesterday by the landlord. However… we found chat logs from just a week ago—between her and you—on her computer.”
“…”
Qu Yanning stared blankly for a moment before shivering violently, “You… you’ve got to be joking…”
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