The heavy night fell like a dark gray curtain, pressing down upon the city and swallowing the last sliver of light among the clouds.
The world beneath the canopy was obscured by massive skyscrapers. The streets resembled a network of dark veins, pulsing with the blurred roar of traffic. Across the road, the water station—which usually presented a perpetually closed rolling shutter to the world—stood in isolation, its narrow frame shielded by a line of neatly parked police cars.
Police lights cast flickering glares, and the air was thick with tension.
Several male officers in uniform were loudly dispersing the crowd of onlookers outside the cordon, while nearby, a young female officer patiently questioned local residents. The half-open shutter and countless water jugs blocked most of the prying eyes of the curious.
Inside the cramped space of the water station’s second floor, three officers were conducting a preliminary investigation.
Zhang Kaiyang was one of them. Held in his gloved hand was a dialysis tube, speckled with stray spots of blood. Aside from the bloodstains on the floor and various objects, what concerned him most was this makeshift dialysis setup.
Ten minutes ago, the Dashanguan Police Station had received an anonymous tip claiming a murder had occurred at the water station. Before the dispatcher could ask further questions, the caller hung up.
The sound of creaking floorboards rose from the stairs; Old Wu had arrived.
Wearing shoe covers, he carefully navigated around the clutter on the floor and stood beside Zhang Kaiyang.
"What’s the situation?"
"No victim found, only some bloodstains. Based on the location and distribution, it’s impossible to tell if a struggle took place here," Zhang Kaiyang said. "Has the station tracked down the caller?"
"The call came from a public roadside phone." Old Wu shook his head. "I’ve already contacted the Criminal Investigation Division. Organize the information we have so far and hand it over to them when they arrive."
If a murder had truly occurred, the technical resources of a local police station would hardly be enough to uncover useful leads. Fingerprint lifting and DNA extraction fell under the jurisdiction of the CID. The local station could only handle scene preservation.
Soon, the tiny water station became even more crowded and bustling. All the local officers retreated outside, leaving the CID team to investigate and collect evidence.
The owner of the water station arrived in a hurry. Zhang Kaiyang led him to a police car to isolate him for questioning.
However, the owner knew nothing of what had transpired inside. A year ago, he had sublet the station long-term to a young man, with rent paid annually.
"Were you aware the water station has been closed for a long time?"
"I didn't know! How would I know how he’s been running it this past year? Officer, look, as long as he pays me upfront every year according to the contract, why would I care about his business?"
"Did you bring the contract? Let me see it."
The owner had anticipated this and brought the sublease agreement with him.
However, the contract had not been notarized. There wasn't even a photocopy of an ID—only a solitary, thin signature.
"Oh, I saw his ID at the time! It was definitely this person, this name. He said he didn't want to go through the hassle of making copies, so I just let it go—who knew something like this would happen!" the owner said, filled with regret.
Zhang Kaiyang frowned, gripping the edge of the contract. Just ahead of his thumb was a scrawled signature.
*Tan Mengyan.*
It was a familiar name.
When Zhang Kaiyang had investigated all the staff at the OCEAN Art Center, only this man and Zheng Tianxin had information that could not be verified in the household registration archives. Like Zheng Tianxin, there were no assets or bank cards under this name; wages were settled in cash.
He couldn't help but look up.
Through the glass window of the police car, he stared at the forest of high-rises across the street.
The pitch-black night sky weighed heavily upon the city. The surrounding windows were like countless pieces of amber embedded in the darkness, each light blooming with a sense of warmth and tranquility. Yet, amidst those countless glowing rectangles, there was one wide, floor-to-ceiling window that remained as dark as a corner forgotten by the world.
It was silent and isolated, forming a sharp contrast with the surrounding brightness—like a gaping maw, wordlessly swallowing all light in the night.
Zhang Kaiyang stared straight at that patch of darkness, as if he could see a pair of eyes peeping from the shadows.
***
Ji Qikun stood frozen by the window, a chill crawling up his spine like frost. The streetlights flickered, their red and blue glows resembling mysterious eyes peering into this silent building. His vision pierced through the glass, staring at the chaotic scene below, while his heart seemed to still echo with the violent thudding he felt when he saw Weng Xiuyue’s corpse.
To report it? Or not?
The question remained coiled in his heart, yielding no perfect answer. And as time slipped away, his room for choice grew smaller.
He was no longer that twenty-two-year-old youth. He had more things to consider now, and for that, certain pleasures had to be sacrificed. He had always balanced things well; nothing like the Mei Man incident had ever happened again.
He could not, and would never willingly, fall off a cliff when he was only one step away from the corporate throne.
*Click.* A warm, dim yellow light flickered on behind him. Ji Qikun’s shadow was cast onto the glass. A light tune drifted through the void like a demon’s whisper, forcing him to turn slowly.
The light above the kitchen island was on.
Under the cozy glow, Wei Zhi wore a pink apron. She was humming a song while leisurely slicing okra.
The chaos outside seemed to have no effect on her whatsoever.
Her hands had been washed clean of blood, but a faint flush remained on her forearms. The blade slid rhythmically across the cutting board with a steady *patter-patter*. The slime from the okra slid slowly down the edge of the knife, leaving a sticky trail.
How did she do it?
Whether it was Ji Teng or Mei Man, Ji Qikun had only acted once he was certain he wouldn't be caught. Because he knew he was untouchable, he could remain calm and composed before anyone.
But what about Wei Zhi?
The slight upturn of her lips, the airy tune in her throat, and the leisure to cook—where did her fearlessness come from?
Knowing her method of murder was crude and foolish, and that she could be caught at any moment, she remained unafraid. What was her leverage?
His calmness was born of logic, but Wei Zhi’s pleasure—the kind of pleasure that made his skin crawl—
It was because she was insane.
She was mad. Perhaps she had been driven mad, or perhaps she had never been normal from the start.
Cold sweat seeped from Ji Qikun’s palms, and his heart hammered in his chest. Looking at Wei Zhi, who had just killed someone yet displayed an expression of happiness and ease, he realized one thing with absolute clarity—
The wife he had personally selected had become an out-of-control bomb.
Compared to the predictable risks outside, the threat by his side was far more lethal.
*Calm down and think,* Ji Qikun told himself.
The most important thing now was to figure out if Wei Zhi had left any evidence during this operation that the police could trace back to them. Weng Xiuyue had transformed herself into Zheng Tianxin; even her identity was fake. Now that the body had vanished, if her accomplice was too spooked to call the police, this matter might truly fade into nothingness over time.
"What do you plan to do next?"
He walked to the front of the kitchen island, letting the cold, hard marble serve as a barrier between them. Ji Qikun stared intently at Wei Zhi’s face, trying to catch even the slightest hint of unease or fear.
Wei Zhi looked up at him, her dark eyes curving into crescents.
"Next, I’m going to stir-fry some sliced meat. I’m in a bit of a rush, otherwise I would have made ribs. Oh, right, there’s a head of cabbage in the fridge; let’s have that too."
"I’m asking about what’s in the trunk—" Ji Qikun whispered, suppressing his agitation.
"You don't want to eat this? How about we order takeout?" Wei Zhi said with a smile. "That sushi place you ordered from last time was pretty good. Order from them again."
"Wei Zhi!"
"If you don't want to order, I will?" Wei Zhi put down the kitchen knife and made a move to take her phone from her apron pocket.
To Ji Qikun, this was an incredibly familiar scene—so familiar it felt absurd. The only difference was that this time, he was no longer the one in control.
"...I'll order," he forced the words out of his parched throat.
Until he got the answers he wanted, he had to keep Wei Zhi stable.
Half an hour later, an exquisite sushi platter and a plate of steaming stir-fried okra were served on the dining table.
Wei Zhi popped a piece of tuna sushi into her wide-open mouth. Her white teeth chewed the tender fish meat vigorously, a look of bliss on her face.
Ji Qikun couldn't swallow a thing.
"Tell me exactly how you did it."
Wei Zhi swallowed the sushi and said intimately, "Hubby, are you worried about things coming to light? Don't be afraid. I was careful with the cleanup."
The word "Hubby," which once symbolized her submission, now felt like a fishbone stuck in Ji Qikun’s throat—he couldn't swallow it, and he couldn't spit it out.
"...How did you clean up?"
"I wore shoe covers and didn't leave any bloody fingerprints," Wei Zhi said. "After I was done, I wiped down everywhere the suitcase wheels rolled. I brought back all the tissues I used to wipe the blood in the suitcase and flushed them down the toilet."
"How can you be sure no one saw you? What about the man with Weng Xiuyue?"
"Because I arranged to meet Weng Xiuyue alone, and I left via the stairs at the back of the water station's second floor." Wei Zhi’s expression held a hint of pride. "There are surveillance cameras on the street outside the main entrance, but the back stairs lead directly to a small alley. There are no cameras in the alley. I scouted all of this in advance."
"As for Tan Mengyan, he won't call the police," Wei Zhi said decisively. "He forged ID documents, engaged in illegal surveillance, and used violent coercion—plus, he’s in the late stages of uremia. Calling the police is turning himself in, and turning himself in is suicide."
"Then what about the thing in the trunk? How will you handle it?" Ji Qikun asked.
"I’ve already picked out a place to dump the body, but now isn't the time." She spoke in a flat tone. "Hubby, why aren't you eating?"
Ji Qikun rapidly weighed the pros and cons in his mind.
If he reported it, given how many times he had opposed Ji Zhongyong’s demands for him to break up with her, it would be seen as the self-inflicted consequence of being "love-brained." Without a doubt, he would lose Ji Zhongyong’s favor.
Furthermore, Wei Zhi had seen the contents of his computer. If he reported her, she might maliciously broadcast those things. Even if the police didn't view him as the instigator of the murder, the social reputation and image he had painstakingly built would suffer a devastating blow.
At the same time, he lacked a convincing explanation for why he hadn't called the police the moment he saw the body. This would be a mountain he could never climb when trying to prove his innocence.
If he didn't report it, there were no witnesses, no surveillance footage, and no body.
His heart began to stir with the possibility.
"Besides Tan Mengyan, does anyone else know you were in close contact with Weng Xiuyue?" he asked.
"Only Zhang Kaiyang knows," Wei Zhi said.
The choice that required no sacrifice tempted him intensely.
"Do you know how to handle the bloodstains in the suitcase?" he asked.
Wei Zhi looked up. "Rinse them with water?"
"Do we have hydrogen peroxide and baking soda at home?"
"Yes."
Ji Qikun said calmly:
"Get them ready for me."
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
大山关派出所 | Dashanguan Police Station | The local police precinct.
老吴 | Old Wu | A veteran police officer.
刑侦大队 | Criminal Investigation Division (CID) | Higher-level police unit for serious crimes.
谭孟彦 | Tan Mengyan | An alias/identity used by the man working with Weng Xiuyue.
中岛 | Kitchen island | The central counter in the kitchen.
双氧水 | Hydrogen peroxide | Used for cleaning bloodstains.
小苏打 | Baking soda | Used for cleaning bloodstains.
