Chapter 10

“I knew it! I was wondering why she suddenly started spending money so extravagantly these past two months. She used to wince for days just ordering a simple spicy hotpot for lunch, and now she just casually buys a gold bracelet worth over ten thousand!” the technician said, half envious, half jealous, though her hands remained professionally steady.

“Turns out she must’ve extorted money from the police by making a scene! I’m telling you, this society has become too soft—if you’re unreasonable and shameless enough, there’s always a way to get by.”

Upon hearing that, Luo Jingyao subtly furrowed her brows. This answer wasn’t quite what she had expected.

She already knew that the copycat case related to the 6/13 serial murders had only surfaced last week, and Huang Guifen had only started causing a stir in the past couple of days. Since the Public Security Bureau had confirmed that there were no procedural errors in Huang Guojun’s case, there was no way they would’ve compensated her in any form.

Still, the information wasn’t entirely useless. Huang Guifen held the lowest-level position at this establishment, and her income was typically fixed—just a base salary and attendance bonus.
So the real question was: under what circumstances would someone who had always lived frugally suddenly be able to afford such extravagant spending?

Could this also have something to do with her causing a scene at the Public Security Bureau?

For a moment, Luo Jingyao’s thoughts raced wildly, though she kept a calm exterior and continued chatting casually with the technician.

But even by the end of the service, she hadn’t uncovered anything new.

After sending off the very satisfied beauty consultant, Sister Fang, Luo Jingyao began organizing her thoughts while changing into the bathrobe provided by the spa. Then, under the staff’s guidance, she took the elevator upstairs.

The layout of the second floor was open and spacious at a glance, with no major obstructions. Various green plant partitions divided the space into a public lounge, a recreational area, and a dining area.

The moment she stepped out of the elevator, she spotted Pang Guangbuyi leaning against an arcade machine, watching intently. He seemed unusually absorbed in what he was doing, so much so that he didn’t even notice her walking up behind him.

Two minutes later, as the familiar “game over” tune played from the machine, the little boy who had been hogging the game finally ran out of tokens. Hanging his head, he walked away slowly, reluctantly glancing back every few steps.

Could this have something to do with her causing a scene at the police station?

For a moment, Luo Jingyao’s thoughts were spinning wildly, though she maintained a calm exterior while continuing to chat with the technician.

But even by the time the service ended, she had discovered nothing new.

After seeing off the satisfied beauty consultant, Sister Fang, Luo Jingyao collected her thoughts while changing into the bathrobe provided by the spa. Guided by a staff member, she then took the elevator upstairs.

The layout of the second floor was wide and open, with no major obstructions. Various partitions made of greenery divided the space into a public lounge, a recreation area, and a dining area.

As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, she saw Pang Guangbuyi leaning against an arcade machine, watching intently. He seemed unusually focused, so much so that he didn’t even notice her approaching from behind.

Two minutes later, as the arcade machine played a familiar game-over tune, the little boy who had been hogging the game finally ran out of tokens. Head hanging, he reluctantly walked away, glancing back every few steps.

Immediately after, Pang Guangbuyi dashed to the machine, excitement all over his face. He fished a pitiful handful of tokens out of his bathrobe pants pocket and unhesitatingly inserted two into the slot.

Then he gripped the joystick and began playing, though to Luo Jingyao, his movements and expression seemed far too casual.

Just as she was starting to wonder about this, the familiar game-over music played again. But instead of stopping, Pang Guangbuyi, even more energized, inserted another two tokens and started the game again.

Same half-hearted movements and attitude—only now, for some reason, his long face gradually turned a deep shade of red.

Ding ding ding ding ding!

Without warning, a slightly shrill bell rang out. The entire arcade machine lit up with dazzling lights from top to bottom, immediately drawing the attention of everyone nearby.

A flood of tokens spilled out from the bottom of the machine. Pang Guangbuyi, thrilled, danced with joy and used his bathrobe to carefully scoop up the winnings. Grinning ear to ear, he headed to the prize counter.

Along the way, he ran into the same little boy who had been playing earlier and smugly made a face at him.

The little boy burst into tears on the spot, leaving Luo Jingyao stunned.

“All these arcade machines are pre-configured by the shop,” came Lin Jiafan’s voice from behind her. She hadn’t even realized when he arrived. “Pang Guangbuyi is particularly skilled at these kinds of probability algorithms. Just watching for a bit is enough for him to figure out how they’re set up.”

“He’s toned it down now because of his job, but back in school, he was blacklisted from every arcade in the city. Got ambushed and ‘educated’ in alleys by angry shop owners more than once.”

“He was the stubborn type—if a store banned him, the more determined he was to sneak back in. And every time he did, the beatings got worse.”

Luo Jingyao twitched her lips, then half-jokingly commented, “Well, Officer Pang really is a rare and gifted talent. Everyone needs a quirky way to relieve stress. Understandable.”

Lin Jiafan simply let out a soft snort of laughter.

Not long after, Pang Guangbuyi returned, carrying a giant polar bear plushie in his arms and beaming as he walked over. “Finally! Coach Luo’s here. Boss, now can we go relax a bit?”

Lin Jiafan shot him a sidelong glance, then nodded toward a direction, signaling them to follow.

Soon, the three of them entered a guest room with two single beds placed side by side.

Before Luo Jingyao or Pang Guangbuyi could even ask what was going on, there was a knock at the door. A male and a female masseuse entered the room.

“I’ll leave these two in your capable hands,” said Lin Jiafan, arms crossed, his handsome, scholarly appearance giving off an air of innocence.

Before they knew what was happening, both Luo Jingyao and Pang Guangbuyi were being gently coaxed onto the beds by the masseuses.

Just as she was catching her breath, she heard a pig-like scream from the young man beside her. Almost simultaneously, she felt a deep, aching pressure on her shoulder blades.

But the pain was nothing to Luo Jingyao. After years of intense training, this kind of pressure-point massage was mild compared to the recovery treatments she was used to after overexertion.

While she remained expressionless, Pang Guangbuyi was in utter agony.

Barely surviving the forty-minute session, he collapsed onto the bed like a rag doll—exhausted, broken, and soul-depleted.

Once the room was quiet again, with just the three of them, Pang Guangbuyi sniffled and looked pitifully at Lin Jiafan, who was calmly sitting at the end of the bed on a rattan chair. The red corners of his eyes made him look even more pitiful.

“I knew your ‘generosity’ had strings attached!”

A trace of amusement flickered in Lin Jiafan’s eyes, but he quickly returned to his usual serious demeanor and spoke first. “Pang Guangbuyi and I asked around both upstairs and downstairs about Huang Guifen. There were no unexpected findings.”

“How was that not unexpected? Didn’t we confirm that she’s not very well-liked?” Pang Guangbuyi grumbled in dissatisfaction.

Over nearly two hours, they had spoken with no fewer than eight or ten people. Every time Huang Guifen’s name was mentioned, the reaction was strange.

Those with more outspoken personalities would gossip a bit about her “colorful past,” while the more reserved ones would display subtle, meaningful expressions.

“With a personality like hers, it’s no surprise she’s not popular,” the young man muttered, summarizing their morning’s efforts.

Lin Jiafan turned his gaze to Luo Jingyao.

Stretching her arms lazily and rolling her neck, she reported, “I didn’t see Huang Guifen myself. I didn’t want to draw attention, so I didn’t actively seek her out. But I did hear something interesting from a beauty consultant.”

“The staff said she suddenly came into money recently. Officers, do you think it might be related to her causing a scene at the police station?”

After a brief pause, Lin Jiafan slowly responded, “That possibility does exist.”

Then what was the real purpose behind someone pushing Huang Guifen to stir up trouble? Was it to distract the police or disrupt the current line of investigation?

It seemed both reasonable and questionable.

The room instantly fell into silence. Pang Guangbuyi sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed, looking deeply distressed. The crease between Lin Jiafan’s brows grew more pronounced, while Luo Jingyao looked from one to the other.

Though she genuinely wanted to help, being an outsider to police work made her unsure where to even begin.

In the end, it was a phone call from Lin Jiafan that broke the suffocating atmosphere. The call didn’t last long, but it was enough to slightly change his expression. He immediately stood up and said, “Brother Guo and the forensics team have made progress. The identity of the latest victim has also been confirmed. Let’s return to the station for now—Huang Guifen’s case will need to be handled more carefully.”

Pang Guangbuyi seemed to have no objections. Luo Jingyao, on the other hand, felt it was a bit of a pity, but she didn’t speak up or offer unsolicited advice.

She wasn’t a police officer, so naturally she didn’t know that sometimes the key to solving a case lies in a seemingly insignificant clue. That was also the fundamental reason why Lin Jiafan and Pang Guangbuyi didn’t feel disappointed.

Solving a case often means repeatedly doing a lot of seemingly pointless work before finally finding the right path to success.

Without saying much more, the three of them went their separate ways. Luo Jingyao took the elevator alone and returned to the women’s area on the first floor.

As she stepped out of the elevator—likely because there were few customers that morning—the corridor was unexpectedly quiet.

She looked around briefly to get her bearings and was about to walk back the way she came, but before she could take more than a few steps, she stopped abruptly at the sound coming from the staff lounge to her right.

She couldn’t make out what they were discussing, but every few dozen seconds, bursts of hearty laughter rang out. One of the voices mixed into the laughter sounded very familiar.

Luo Jingyao quietly moved closer to the door and listened carefully for a while. When she heard footsteps approaching from inside, she quickly hid behind a nearby marble pillar.

She had just settled into her hiding spot when the lounge door opened, and Huang Guifen came out with another staff member.

The two chatted and laughed as they walked to a fork in the hallway, then split off in opposite directions. Just then, a guest entered from the other end, and Huang Guifen quickly greeted them with a beaming smile. After checking the guest’s digital wristband, she led them to a private bath.

Afterward, she returned to a supply cabinet nearby, took a black cup, filled it with water, and brought it back into the bath.

Luo Jingyao kept a measured distance behind her the entire time, watching the whole reception process closely.

But something felt off…

Wait a second!

That cup!