A fine drizzle fell from the leaden-gray sky. Pedestrians on the street hurried along, and the occasional car hissed past. Wei Zhi walked into the gates of the Dashanguan Police Station, furling her umbrella and shaking the droplets from its canopy.
Zhang Kaiyang led her through the glass doors.
“Did you just get back from patrol, Officer Zhang?” Wei Zhi asked with a faint smile.
Zhang Kaiyang paused, visibly startled.
“There are wet patches on your shoulders. It probably wasn’t raining yet when you left, right?”
Zhang Kaiyang touched his damp shoulder and managed a strained smile. “Yeah, the rain started out of nowhere.”
“That’s autumn for you,” Wei Zhi remarked.
The two entered an empty office. Zhang Kaiyang gestured for Wei Zhi to sit, then looked around for a paper cup to pour her some tea.
“No need, Officer Zhang,” Wei Zhi said, sitting on the weathered leather sofa. “Please, speak freely. My husband doesn’t like me being out for too long. Have you found my brother?”
“...No.” Zhang Kaiyang didn’t insist on the tea. He sat across from her instead. After a moment of silence, he looked up with a solemn expression. “Early this morning, we received a report. Wei Shan died in an underground casino.”
Wei Zhi looked at him blankly, as if she hadn't processed the words. Then, a look of shocking confusion and a few flickers of grief surfaced on her face.
“Dead?”
“Yes. By the time Wei Shan was brought to the hospital, he had been dead for over an hour. To determine the exact cause of death, we need to perform an autopsy. Do you give your consent?”
Wei Zhi nodded numbly.
Zhang Kaiyang let out a breath of relief. “Before this, did Wei Shan show any signs of abnormality?”
Wei Zhi shook her head. “I haven't seen him since that day.”
“He didn't contact you?”
“He must have received the settlement money. He didn't ask for any more.”
Zhang Kaiyang took notes personally. After recording her statement, he asked, “The night you last met, what did you talk about? Try to recount your conversation as completely as possible.”
Wei Zhi began to recall the dialogue from that night. Following Zhang Kaiyang’s request, she did her best to reconstruct every sentence.
“...I told him he wasn’t young anymore and shouldn't waste his time on small-stakes mahjong. I suggested he start a small business so he wouldn't just sit around and exhaust his savings. My father got very impatient. He said he’d eaten more rice than I’d eaten salt, and told me to mind my own business.”
“So I retorted that if he insisted on playing mahjong, it was better to play big than small—that playing big might actually give him a chance to turn his life around in one go.”
Zhang Kaiyang stopped writing. He looked up, his eyes fixed on Wei Zhi. “What did he say to that?”
“He said he thought so too. He said once his project started and he got the money, he’d go to Macau to play for high stakes,” Wei Zhi said honestly.
“What project money?”
“I don’t know... He didn't even have ten thousand yuan to his name, but he always claimed he was involved in some multi-billion yuan project. He said once construction began, he’d get paid. He’s been saying things like that for decades. We all thought he was being scammed.”
Zhang Kaiyang noted this down, intending to verify it later.
“Had he gambled before?”
“You mean mahjong? He played every day.”
“Not the kind in mahjong parlors. Illegal underground gambling. Had he done that before?”
“I’m not sure.”
Zhang Kaiyang asked again, “What else did you talk about?”
Wei Zhi told him everything she remembered.
Zhang Kaiyang nodded. “Did Wei Shan have any prior health issues?”
“He never went to the hospital. I don’t know.”
Zhang Kaiyang remembered how Wei Shan had thrown a tantrum at the station last time; he had indeed shown a strong aversion to hospitals.
“Please sign here.”
Zhang Kaiyang produced the autopsy consent form and handed it to Wei Zhi. She cooperatively signed her name. Just as she finished the last stroke, she heard Zhang Kaiyang’s voice from above.
“Three people close to you have passed away in just two months.”
She looked up in surprise, finding him watching her with a complex expression.
“Officer Zhang, what do you mean by that?”
“I want to know what you’re thinking.”
“I don’t know what I should be thinking, Officer.” Wei Zhi met his gaze directly. “Right now, I just feel sad. He wasn't a good man, but he was still my father. And though he was my father, he never saw me as a daughter. I don’t know what to think—that I can feel grief and a sense of relief at the same time.”
Wei Zhi’s eyes brimmed with tears, and her voice trembled slightly.
“Am I a sinner, Officer Zhang?”
“...I shouldn't have asked that.” Zhang Kaiyang tucked the consent form away and stood up. “Thank you for your cooperation. I’ll see you out.”
At the entrance of the Dashanguan Police Station, Zhang Kaiyang watched Wei Zhi descend the steps under her umbrella. Her silhouette, shrouded in the cold autumn rain, sent a sudden chill through his heart.
She turned back abruptly, gave him a polite nod, and then walked away.
Zhang Kaiyang’s phone rang in his pocket. He answered it as he walked back inside.
“The autopsy results are out,” the steady voice of Xiao Wang, the forensic pathologist, came through the line.
“Cause of death?”
“Sudden cardiac death. If the deceased had gone to the hospital when he first felt unwell, he might have been saved. But he just took two painkillers and tried to keep gambling. By the time the people around him realized something was wrong, the body was already stiff.”
Zhang Kaiyang had seen the chaos of underground casinos before. Poor lighting, loud noise—it was impossible to react to anything immediately. If someone hadn't died this time, they wouldn't have been able to bust this small casino hidden in an old residential neighborhood so easily.
“His gambling buddies mentioned that in their statements. Wei Shan often had chest discomfort, but he always brushed it off with painkillers.”
“Some elderly people are like that. They don’t trust hospitals and think doctors are out to get them. They try to solve every pain with self-medication,” Xiao Wang sighed. “By the way, when are you bringing the consent form over?”
“A colleague is heading to the forensic center now; I’ll have him bring it.”
“Alright,” Xiao Wang said. “A meticulous guy like you, actually leaving the consent form at the station. If I didn't trust your character, I wouldn't have dared to start the autopsy without seeing the form first.”
“...Thanks. I’ll buy you dinner next time,” Zhang Kaiyang said.
***
At the Ji Group headquarters, Ji Qikun saw the incoming call from Wei Zhi. He signaled to the department manager across from him, then stepped out of the office to answer the phone in the empty corridor.
“What did they want with you?”
“...What?”
The unexpected news left Ji Qikun stunned. He glanced around, then turned toward a nearby emergency exit. Pushing open the heavy fire door, he stood in the deserted stairwell.
“How did he die?”
On the other end of the line, Wei Zhi spoke with a hint of sorrow. “I don’t know the autopsy results yet. It was probably his heart. He always complained of chest pain but refused to go to the hospital.”
“What did the police ask you to do?”
“A statement. They asked what we talked about the last time I saw him,” Wei Zhi said.
“Did you tell the police that you had severed your father-daughter relationship?”
“No.”
For a moment, a flurry of thoughts rushed through Ji Qikun’s mind. He couldn't sort them out in time, but he felt a surge of excitement and joy coursing through his chest.
“That’s good,” he said. “Where are you? I’ll come pick you up.”
After hanging up, he returned to the office and spoke to the manager and secretary who were waiting for instructions. “We’ll handle the rest tomorrow. I have an urgent matter to attend to.”
The manager and secretary stood up. Ji Qikun didn't even bother to say goodbye; he grabbed his suit jacket and hurried out of the company.
Aside from the night Mei Man jumped, his heart hadn't beaten this fast in a long time.
The black Bentayga sped through the streets, soon arriving at the road where Wei Zhi was waiting. He spotted her immediately, standing by the roadside with her umbrella. Her slender figure seemed to emit a faint glow in the rain, making his heart tremble.
A fine mist of rain drifted down from the sky. The withered yellow leaves could not be revived by the moisture. Occasionally, a gust of wind blew, and the dead leaves tumbled down.
The car slowed to a stop. Wei Zhi got into the passenger seat, furled her umbrella, shook it, and carefully placed it at her feet. As she leaned over, her raven-black hair slid off her shoulder, brushing against her face which was damp from the rain—like black pebbles at the bottom of a basin huddling around a white narcissus.
Suppressing his inner excitement, he drove forward.
In the receding streetscape outside the window, a stray cat curled up on a bench, its fur soaked, its eyes filled with a touch of confusion and helplessness. Not far away, an old man holding a blue checkered umbrella was quickly left behind on the wet sidewalk by the black Bentayga.
Inside the warm car, Ji Qikun spoke slowly.
“Didn't the police suspect you?”
Wei Zhi wiped the raindrops from her hair. “Suspect me of what?”
“Three people close to you have died already.”
Wei Zhi looked at him in disbelief, as if only now realizing what he was probing for.
“Those were all accidents.”
“For so many accidents to happen to you... it’s a bit too coincidental,” Ji Qikun said.
“What are you trying to say?”
“Wife, is there any need for secrets between us?”
Wei Zhi was silent for a long time. Then, she suddenly said:
“Stop the car.”
Ji Qikun looked at her, puzzled.
“Stop the car!”
Wei Zhi moved to jump out of the vehicle without hesitation. Ji Qikun quickly locked the doors and slowly pulled over to the curb.
“Zhi, what are you doing?”
“I’m taking you to the police station to report me,” Wei Zhi said.
“...Are you angry? I just thought it was too much of a coincidence, you...”
“Ji Qikun, those were my biological parents and my own brother.” Wei Zhi glared at him, her eyes narrowing with rage. “Don’t you think your suspicion is crossing the line?”
Ji Qikun studied her expression. After a moment, he broke into a knowing smile.
“Yes, they were all coincidences. I understand, baby.”
“I’m starting to believe even more—”
He squeezed her clenched fist, then released it to grip the steering wheel again. He stared straight ahead at the city under the veil of rain, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.
“—that we are a match made in heaven.”
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
魏杉 | Wei Shan | Wei Zhi's father.
心源性猝死 | Sudden cardiac death | The medical cause of death for Wei Shan.
添越 | Bentayga | Refers to the Bentley Bentayga, Ji Qikun's luxury SUV.
大山关派出所 | Dashanguan Police Station | The local police station where Zhang Kaiyang works.
Enjoying the story? Rate this novel:
When the Dolphin Sinks | Chapter 33 | A Match Made in Heaven | Novela.app | Novela.app
