Fei Zuohua swirled his mug, but the coffee was long gone.
He set the cup down, rubbed his face, and grabbed a packet of instant coffee before heading out to get hot water.
It was nearly one in the morning. He was exhausted, but he still had to wait for the forensics team’s report—specifically, the analysis of the clothes Bai Shi had left behind. He needed those results as soon as possible, or Bai Shi’s lawyers would be hounding him, which was a headache he didn't need.
His mind was a whirlwind of stray thoughts as he walked toward the breakroom. The station was mostly empty, the hallways shrouded in darkness save for the green glow of the emergency exit sign at the far end. Too lazy to flip the hallway lights, Fei Zuohua navigated the gloom toward the breakroom.
A single light was on inside, casting a faint spill of radiance across the floor by the door.
Voices drifted from within.
"So, our 'parachuted' superior is quite something, isn't he?" It was a man's voice, his tone dripping with anything but praise.
"Why would the Deputy Director's son come to a godforsaken district like ours? Why not District A or B?"
"That’s where you’re wrong. If he doesn't 'suffer' through a stint here, how can he get that fast-track promotion later? Just watch—he’ll be transferred out within two years. In five, he’ll be in District F at least. In ten... who knows where he’ll be by then..."
The men inside chuckled.
"Sigh... must be nice to be born lucky. He’s only in his early twenties, right?"
"And from what I can see, he’s not even that capable. I heard Director Fei was already in the Eighth Squad at that age."
"Holy crap, the Eighth Squad? You think just anyone can get in there? He probably only came here because he couldn't make the cut elsewhere."
"Man, what a life. I wish I had a hero for a father."
A heavy sigh followed.
Fei Zuohua listened to the entire exchange from the doorway. He gripped his mug, turned around, and took a few steps away.
Then he stopped. He turned back, lifted his chin, and walked straight into the room. His sudden appearance cut their conversation dead.
they stared blankly at the grim-faced man who had just entered. They exchanged looks, their eyes darting nervously, waiting for someone to say something to break the suffocating awkwardness.
But Fei Zuohua simply walked past them, looking at no one. He pressed the lever on the water dispenser. Sensing the shift in the atmosphere, the others silently turned and filed out one by one. One man hesitated, opening his mouth as if to offer an excuse, but after seeing the tension in Fei Zuohua’s back as he filled his cup, he thought better of it and followed the others out.
As the sound of their footsteps faded, Fei Zuohua gritted his teeth in silent frustration.
When he returned to the office, Tu Ziyun was flipping through a transcript. The older man looked up with a smile and pointed at the mug. "What are you drinking?"
"Coffee. Do you want some, sir?"
Tu Ziyun waved him off. "I’m getting old. If I drink that stuff, I won’t sleep a wink. I’ve even quit tea."
"I see." Fei Zuohua pulled out a chair and sat down.
Tu Ziyun studied him, asking jovially, "What’s wrong? In a bad mood?"
Fei Zuohua blinked, then patted his own face. "Is it that obvious?"
Tu Ziyun nodded. "Yeah, it’s written all over your face."
"You young people..." He leaned back. "Just like that kid today."
"Are you talking about Pei Cangyu?" Fei Zuohua made the connection immediately.
Tu Ziyun turned to look at him. "You’re about the same age as him. Do you think of him as a 'kid' too?"
Fei Zuohua nodded. "He’s always been like that."
Tu Ziyun sat up straight, his fingers drumming on the desk as he recalled their encounter.
At the scene, there were two young men: one remarkably composed, the other a frantic mess. The panicked one was desperately trying to suppress his anxiety, while the calm one watched him with such intensity it was as if he were trying to synchronize his own emotions with the other's. Such a desperate desire for empathy—if it were passive, their relationship was certainly more than just friends; if it were active, then the calm one was highly suspicious.
It wasn't until they reached the light that Pei Cangyu had finally looked up at him. His appearance had left a deep impression on Tu Ziyun—not necessarily because he was handsome, but because of a certain *feeling*. The boy had a ruggedly handsome face, healthy and vibrant, with a pair of very striking eyes. They were large, upturned at the corners, with the lower lids cradling amber irises in a way that created a soft curve before meeting the upper lids. There was a fierce, burning light within them, especially evident when he was heatedly defending himself.
*Those eyes,* Tu Ziyun thought with a frown, *would probably look more at home on a woman.*
Tu Ziyun looked up at Bai Shi. Bai Shi wasn't looking at him.
*Are they gay?*
He watched the two of them.
While Fei Zuohua had been talking to them, Tu Ziyun had gone into the alley to take a look. The forensics team told him the scene had been almost entirely compromised; traces of those two were everywhere. A mixed footprint had caught their attention, and they were going to track it.
Tu Ziyun had crouched on the ground, staring at the face of the dead man, then looked up. In an alley this dark, how close would one have to be to see a face clearly? He had the forensics team help him measure the distance for clear identification; it was roughly 1.1 meters.
The damp alley was a mess of footprints. Even with shoe covers, it was easy to leave marks on the wet ground. Consequently, the two officers taking photos were lightweight women who were currently working hard.
Tu Ziyun called out, and one of the female officers walked over.
"Can you tell how many types of footprints there are yet?"
"Yes, sir."
The officer handed him a set of numbered photos. There were eight distinct, identifiable footprints of varying depths. "These are the ones most likely left within the last three hours," she explained. "The others are much older."
Tu Ziyun nodded. "Which one is the most frequent?"
The officer pointed. "Number one."
Tu Ziyun handed the photos back with a smile. "Great, thank you. Good work."
"No problem," she replied, taking them back.
Tu Ziyun had walked back and climbed into the car with the others. After only a few sentences with Pei Cangyu, Tu Ziyun already had a general idea of the boy. Pei Cangyu didn't seem particularly bright. And after the boy had practically snatched the orange from his hand, Tu Ziyun realized he also seemed like someone who was easily manipulated.
If that was the case, wouldn't a simple question reveal if they were gay?
But then Pei Cangyu had turned toward Bai Shi with that indecipherable look. What was that? Had they not coordinated their stories?
Tu Ziyun snapped out of his memories and looked at Fei Zuohua. "They were your middle school classmates. Were they close back then?"
Fei Zuohua was taken aback, unsure why the question had come up so suddenly, but he answered regardless. "Their relationship..." He suddenly realized something. "Are you suggesting they conspired at the scene?"
Tu Ziyun chuckled and patted his shoulder, telling him not to be tense. "In that fifteen-minute window before they called the police, they must have discussed *something*. It’s not hard to guess what they came up with—they told us exactly that. What I’m interested in now is the nature of their relationship, because that determines whether they had a motive to conspire."
"...What do you mean?"
"When average acquaintances run into an old classmate at a murder scene, even if they’re desperate to avoid trouble, they wouldn't immediately think to plot a strategy with that classmate before calling the police. A normal person has two choices: one, flee the scene and pretend they saw nothing; or two, call the police immediately since they can provide each other with an alibi. So why did they need to deliberate? It implies one of two things: either their reason for being at the scene cannot be made public, or they had a disagreement. Of course, this is all based on the assumption that they aren't the killers." Tu Ziyun looked at Fei Zuohua. "The question is, what kind of relationship must two classmates who haven't seen each other in years have to be able to conspire over something this significant?"
Fei Zuohua nodded slowly. "In that case... well, let's start with Pei Cangyu."
"I’ve known Pei Cangyu since elementary school. We were in the same class throughout middle school. He was a fairly famous delinquent in our grade. We didn't run in the same circles, but we were on good terms. To be honest, I think he’s a decent guy. At least, he never looked for trouble with anyone in class. I don't know much about his fights outside of school. The only time it got really big was in eighth grade, when some upperclassmen from the Seventh Middle School came to our school to corner two girls. Pei Cangyu and a few others fought them off. It was quite a scene; a whole crowd was cheering for them. Looking back, it was a bit stupid, but at the time, it felt pretty heroic...
"In middle school, Pei Cangyu had this shock of bright yellow hair—like, shimmering gold. He’d smoke in the bathrooms during breaks; I ran into him a few times, and he even offered me a cigarette. His grades were terrible. How should I put it? I think he was just the type who couldn't learn. But you wouldn't believe it—he almost never skipped class. The math teacher hated him, but the homeroom teacher was good to him. I heard his parents were gone, but I don't know the specifics."
Tu Ziyun interrupted him. "Was he violent?"
"Not really. He was very popular. He even kept the remote for the classroom air conditioner. It wasn't an official position or anything, but he insisted on holding onto it, saying whether it was on or off was up to him. He was pretty bossy about it. But he was surprisingly easy to talk to. If someone asked him to turn it on, he’d turn it on; if they wanted it off, he’d turn it off. He never refused. So it just looked like he was in charge of the AC. Later on, though, the remote was given to the class monitor."
"Is that so?" Tu Ziyun rubbed his chin. "Why was it given to the monitor? Did he stop managing the AC?"
"No, it went to Bai Shi first, and *then* to the monitor."
"Oh?"
"That brings us to Bai Shi. Bai Shi transferred in during ninth grade, around September. It caused a huge stir in the whole school. He arrived during a break, and people from the entire floor were pressed against our classroom windows trying to get a look. The teachers had to chase them back when class started. At the time, we didn't know he was from *that* Bai family; we just thought he was incredibly good-looking.
"I think the main thing was that he was very pale—almost unnaturally so, like he’d never seen the sun. Anyway, the girls loved him, but he didn't seem to talk much. There was an empty seat next to Pei Cangyu, so he became Pei Cangyu’s desk mate. They sat together until he transferred away the following April or May.
"We never imagined Bai Shi was part of that famous Bai family, mostly because we figured people like that would go to private schools. His clothes and everything were actually quite plain. Don't get me wrong, they were definitely more expensive than ours, but he wasn't what I expected a 'Bai' to be like. Around that time, the Bai family was being very high-profile about some corporate restructuring. The whole family was on TV constantly. There was that Bai Hai who did a reality show called *Foundation of Wealth* or something, talking about how he chose investment targets. He was only in his early twenties then, and he was already so successful. I watched an episode where they filmed his house, and he said he’d only worn custom-made clothes since he was a kid and never bought anything that wasn't a limited edition. I thought it was too pretentious and stopped watching.
"But compared to him, Bai Shi was very low-key. Everyone else in the family was famous, while he was just quietly attending middle school. Bai Yinhua was around his age and was doing some acting for fun back then before eventually taking over Yaoguang Media. It seems she loved the entertainment industry from the start."
Tu Ziyun frowned. "Who is Bai Shi’s mother?"
"I figured you’d ask that. It’s Yan Baihua, the only daughter of Yan Ting."
Tu Ziyun froze. "Yan Ting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs?"
"Exactly."
Tu Ziyun rubbed his chin. "Yan Ting is highly prestigious."
Fei Zuohua spread his hands. "Right. So he’s definitely not some illegitimate son. He was mentioned in the news, but that was about it. Logically, it was pretty strange for him to show up at our school, but he transferred out quickly anyway—probably back to a private school. Maybe he just wanted to experience how the other half lives."
"They were desk mates. Were they close?"
"It’s hard to say. I don't know about Bai Shi, but I’ve seen Pei Cangyu at a few class reunions since then. Some girls asked if he was still in touch with Bai Shi or if Bai Shi had a girlfriend. Pei Cangyu said they hadn't spoken since Bai Shi transferred. But back then... as far as Bai Shi was concerned, no one was closer to him than Pei Cangyu. My memory might be a bit fuzzy, so take it with a grain of salt."
Tu Ziyun waved a hand dismissively. "I’m not talking about that kind of 'closeness.' I mean, is it possible they were a couple?"
Fei Zuohua blinked, clearly uncomfortable with the topic, but he gave it serious thought before answering firmly, "No. I don't think so."
"Is that so?" Tu Ziyun stroked his chin. During those fifteen minutes of hesitation, what exactly were they hesitating about? What secret did they share—was it a mutual one, or did it belong to only one of them?
Perhaps...
He should find an easier point to break through.
***
