Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, Second Division

“Where’s the eyewitness who found the body?” Gu Zhiyuan, dressed in a crisp olive-green police uniform, strode into the public security bureau’s main hall.

Xiao Liu came up to meet him. “In Office No. 2.”

“Has the identity of the deceased been confirmed?”

“Preliminarily, yes. It’s Zhang Kexin, the deputy director of the cotton quilt factory, who was reported missing a few days ago. Her family has been notified to come identify the body.”

“Time of death?”

“The medical examiner estimates it’s been two days. There are three blunt force wounds to the head. Homicide and body disposal can’t be ruled out,” Xiao Liu reported thoroughly.

Gu Zhiyuan nodded. “I’ll go question the eyewitness.”

Li Shuping held a warm enamel cup in her hands, which were still trembling uncontrollably.

When she found the body by the riverbank, she had been utterly terrified.

Once she calmed down, she quickly found a public phone to report it.

The police told her to stay at the scene.

After the officers located her, she led them to the site where she discovered the body.

Once the corpse was retrieved, she was brought back to the station for questioning.

She had taken a glance at the corpse when it was pulled from the water.

It was a young girl, but swollen and deformed from being submerged for who knew how long.

The officers said it was likely a case of murder and body dumping.

Who could be so heartless to kill such a young girl?

She just hoped the killer would be caught and brought to justice soon.

Footsteps echoed nearby, pulling Li Shuping out of her thoughts.

She looked up and saw a middle-aged man in an olive-green police uniform, with thick hair neatly parted, sharp brows, phoenix eyes, a high nose bridge, a rectangular face, and a tall, commanding presence sitting across from her.

“Hello, I’m Gu Zhiyuan, captain of the Criminal Investigation Team from the Second Division.”

The surname Gu was rare—probably had ancestors who were important people.

“I—I’m Li Shuping,” she stammered.

The captain had such a commanding presence, she felt nervous.

Gu Zhiyuan’s pupils contracted almost imperceptibly. “Comrade Li Shuping, please tell me in detail how you found the body.”

Details… Li Shuping fluttered her eyelashes, wondering where to start.

After thinking it over, she decided to begin from the very beginning.

“I woke up from my afternoon nap and saw that the weather was nice. This season is just right for shepherd’s purse, so I thought I’d go dig some by the river to make dumplings with eggs. I walked and walked until I got to the riverbank. There was a lot of shepherd’s purse there, so I squatted down and started picking.”

Li Shuping was so nervous that she mimicked digging motions as she spoke.

Gu Zhiyuan lowered his head slightly and pressed his lips together, watching her as he listened.

“When I got to the reeds, I saw something red—it looked like a piece of clothing. It looked new, so I thought someone’s laundry might’ve fallen into the river. I tried to fish it out with a long tree branch. But instead of pulling up clothes, I turned over a swollen hand. That’s when I realized it was a body. It scared me to death. Then, then…”

“Then I ran to find a public phone and called the police. Your officers arrived, and that’s everything that happened.”

After telling her story, Li Shuping finally relaxed her tense shoulders.

“Did you notice anything suspicious nearby?” Gu Zhiyuan asked.

Li Shuping tilted her head, trying hard to recall, then shook her head. “No, I was focused on picking greens.”

“Alright. Thank you for your cooperation—and thank you for finding the body and reporting it in time,” Gu Zhiyuan said as he stood up.

Li Shuping also stood and waved her hands. “No need to thank me. I didn’t do much. Um, Captain…”

“Gu,” he interrupted.

Li Shuping paused, then continued, “Captain Gu, please be sure to catch the killer and bring them to justice.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll do everything we can to solve the case and arrest the killer as soon as possible.”

With that, Li Shuping was allowed to leave.

Gu Zhiyuan walked her to the door.

Just as they reached the entrance, Zhang Kexin’s family arrived—a dozen or so people crying and rushing into the station.

They nearly bumped into Li Shuping.

Gu Zhiyuan pulled her back and shielded her with his body.

The Zhang family burst into the station.

An elderly relative collapsed to the floor, pounding their chest and wailing, “Kexin! Oh, Kexin!”

Li Shuping couldn’t bear the sight.

Her eyes turned red, and tears began to fall.

Gu Zhiyuan turned and saw her silently crying behind him.

Li Shuping noticed his gaze and quickly wiped her tears with both hands, explaining, “I cry easily. I’m leaving now.”

She turned and walked out, glancing back several times.

If something like this happened to her daughter Xiaoyu, she didn’t know how she’d go on living.

At that moment, she desperately wanted to see her daughter.

It was nearly Xiaoyu’s school dismissal time, so Li Shuping took the bus straight to her school to pick her up.

Just as she stepped off the bus, the school bell rang.

She waited at the school gate, watching energetic children walk out laughing and chatting.

Seeing their youthful joy lifted her spirits a little.

Before long, she spotted her daughter, Xiaoyu. Just as she was about to wave, she noticed a boy in a navy-striped sailor shirt chasing after Xiaoyu, sticking close to her, talking nonstop.

If that wasn’t Zhang Tiejun, who else could it be?

Li Shuping’s face darkened.

That little brat Zhang Tiejun was already pestering her daughter?

“Come on, I’ll treat you to soda,” Zhang Tiejun coaxed.

“I already said no! I have homework to do!” Xiaoyu frowned, annoyed.

“Homework is boring. That place even has movies!” Zhang Tiejun tried to grab her backpack, but she dodged.

“Lin Xiaoyu!”

Was that her mom’s voice?

Xiaoyu looked up and spotted her mother standing under a utility pole.

What was Mom doing here?

She glanced at Zhang Tiejun beside her, bit her lip, and quickly ran over.

“Hey! Lin Xiaoyu!” Zhang Tiejun called after her.

“Mom, what are you doing here? Did you come to pick me up?” Xiaoyu sounded guilty, worried her mom had misunderstood her and Zhang Tiejun.

When Zhang Tiejun heard her call out “Mom,” he stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned to walk the other way.

Li Shuping’s face was serious.

She looked at Zhang Tiejun’s retreating figure and asked, “What’s going on with that boy?”

“He’s… just a classmate,” Xiaoyu muttered, fiddling with her fingers.

Classmate, my foot! If that were true, how could they end up married in the past life?

Just as she was about to lecture her daughter, Li Shuping suddenly remembered something she’d seen on TV.

Experts had said that when dealing with adolescent issues like early romantic relationships, parents should be gentle, act like friends, and understand their children instead of scolding and forbidding them. Otherwise, it might backfire.

Li Shuping took a deep breath, smiled, and linked arms with her daughter. “Oh, just a regular classmate, huh? Let’s go home together then.”