“I heard there’s going to be fireworks at 8 PM tonight. We can watch them after dinner before heading back!” Meng Lan said with a face full of anticipation. “Fireworks over the sea must be especially beautiful. The sea surface can reflect the outline of the fireworks, making it look like they’re blooming in the sea!”

Wang Yue: “Meng Lan, did you choose the wrong major?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s a pity you didn’t become a poet.”

Meng Lan rolled her eyes at Wang Yue: “You’re the one who chose the wrong major!”

“How did I choose the wrong major? With my physique and IQ, I’m made to be a criminal police officer!”

Meng Lan: “I think you should be working at a construction site.”

“Why at a construction site?”

“To argue.”

Wang Yue: ……

Li Meng: “Meng Lan, that was a good one. My brother Yue is famous for lifting steel bars!”

Gu Yuan didn’t understand the conversation between the three and found it a bit baffling: “Lifting steel bars, for what?”

Mo Lin laughed and said: “Maybe to build a house underground…”

Wang Yue: “You’re underestimating me. If I build, I’ll build an underground palace, with a room for each of you, so we can play mahjong together…”

Gu Yuan: ……

Mo Lin: “You guys can play mahjong. Gu Yuan and I will stay behind to burn some living expenses for you.”

Wang Yue: “That won’t work, we need one more for mahjong…”

Li Meng: “Isn’t there still the captain?”

Meng Lan: “Speak of the devil!”

Just then, Xiao Ze walked over wearing a black leather jacket, holding up his phone and chatting on video: “A gathering with a few colleagues… four guys and one girl.” Xiao Ze switched the camera to show the five people across from him: “See, I’m not lying.”

After exchanging a few words, he hung up the video call. Seeing an empty seat next to Meng Lan, he walked over and sat down.

As soon as he sat down, he glanced at the table full of delicious dishes and felt something was off: “Wang Yue… when did you become so generous? Is something going on?”

“Captain, what could be going on with me? But you, lately I hardly see you after work. Is something going on with you?” Wang Yue seized the opportunity to tease.

Originally, he just wanted to tease Xiao Ze a bit, but unexpectedly, Xiao Ze’s expression changed noticeably: “I started dating a girl from a blind date. Everything’s great, except she likes to video call and check on me. I’m in the criminal police team, what’s there to check?”

“Being suspicious is a woman’s nature. I wish I had someone to check on me.”

After Wang Yue said that, he glanced at Meng Lan, who was drinking a beverage and accidentally choked, wetting her collar with the drink.

Meng Lan: “I’m going to the restroom.”

When Meng Lan returned, she felt a bit hot, so she took off her coat and draped it over the back of her chair. Suddenly, she noticed a small amount of yellow sand on her sleeve and patted it off: “I got brushed against by someone in the restroom.”

Li Meng laughed, his mouth splitting open to reveal a row of neat teeth, which looked even whiter against his tanned skin: “No worries, let Wang Yue wash it for you!”

Meng Lan tucked her short hair behind her ear: “What are you talking about?”

Wang Yue furrowed his brows slightly: “Are you sure you got brushed against and didn’t fall?”

“There was a man with sand all over his coat and shoes. He bumped into me when I came out of the restroom. Just look at my sleeve, and you can tell how dirty he was!”

Xiao Ze: “Is there something wrong with this person?”

Gu Yuan: “What do you mean?”

Xiao Ze: “Would you wear leather shoes to the beach?”

Li Meng: “Maybe he was called over suddenly and didn’t have time to change shoes.”

Mo Lin: “Not having time to change shoes is understandable, but there’s no need to keep wearing a dirty coat. The temperature here isn’t low; one layer is enough.”

“Hey, are you guys here to eat or solve a case? We finally have some free time, and you can’t let go of work?” Wang Yue raised his champagne glass: “Come on, let’s have a toast to my birthday!”

The six of them had no choice but to raise their glasses in celebration, the clinking of the glasses making a crisp sound…

Because Mo Lin’s right hand wasn’t very convenient, he only picked simple things that didn’t require much effort to eat. Meng Lan directly placed a plate in front of him: “Mr. Mo, since your hand isn’t convenient, I’ve peeled these for you. Just let me know if you want anything.”

Mo Lin smiled: “Thank you, how could I let a lady do this?”

Wang Yue: “Girls are attentive. Meng Lan, peel a couple for me too!”

Meng Lan: “Peel them yourself!”

Gu Yuan quietly ate his food. Occasionally, Li Meng’s elbow would bump into him, causing him to move his chair outward, making Mo Lin feel more and more cramped until their seats were almost touching.

“Whoosh~ Bang!”

Suddenly, a few loud bangs came from the sky, and huge fireworks bloomed over the bay. Mo Lin raised his hand to check his watch; it was exactly 8 o’clock.

The six of them put down their utensils and watched the fireworks outside the window. Meng Lan took out her phone to record a video, looking particularly excited.

Wang Yue’s right hand lingered on the back of Meng Lan’s chair for a long time. Just as he was about to muster the courage to place it on her shoulder, a scream came from downstairs!

The scream of a woman was filled with shock and fear, as if she had encountered a demon. One scream followed another, sending chills down everyone’s spine.

Some guests leaned out to look down from the window, following the direction of the screams. People on the beach were gathering in one spot.

“What happened?”

“Not sure, but it looks like there’s someone lying on the shore.”

“What’s going on, why are so many people watching?”

“Could it be a dead body?”

As soon as they heard the words “dead body,” the six-member criminal investigation team immediately went into action.

Xiao Ze: “You guys keep eating, I’ll go down and check it out.”

Xiao Ze took his phone and went downstairs. After a while, a call came through to Li Meng’s phone.

Xiao Ze: “There’s a dead body, everyone come down!”

Wang Yue went to the front desk to pay, only to be told that a gentleman in a suit had already settled the bill.

Wang Yue guessed it must have been Mo Lin who paid. Just as he was about to ask him, he received a text message on his phone.

Mo Lin: [Keep it low-key.]

Wang Yue immediately understood Mo Lin’s intention. He didn’t want Gu Yuan to know that Mo Lin had treated them, which might lead to thinking about the lost key incident today.

Wang Yue: [Got it.]

Xiao Ze stood by the corpse, took out his criminal police badge, and asked everyone to step aside to protect the scene.

Thanks to the searchlights, the scene was still quite bright, allowing them to spot the body washed ashore immediately. There were many onlookers, packed layer upon layer.

Gu Yuan looked at the dense crowd and felt the scene before him becoming blurry and dizzy. Then a buzzing sound filled his ears…

His social anxiety seemed to be acting up again!

He suddenly stopped in his tracks. At that moment, Mo Lin came up behind him and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Gu Yuan barely heard what he was saying. In the past, when this happened, he wouldn’t tell anyone and would just find a place to hide. But today, for some reason, he managed to say two words: “So noisy…”

His world was almost entirely filled with the sound of tinnitus.

Mo Lin frowned slightly, raised his hands, and gently covered Gu Yuan’s ears with his palms: “Does this help?”

Gu Yuan’s ears were gently covered, and his eyes gradually lost focus. Strangely, the annoying tinnitus slowly disappeared!

Mo Lin noticed Gu Yuan seemed to be in a daze: “Feeling better?”

Gu Yuan reached out to pull Mo Lin’s hands away from his ears, which turned bright red after being uncovered.

Feeling his heart pounding fiercely, Gu Yuan thought he should distance himself from Mo Lin, so he moved through the crowd and approached the body.

The deceased was an obese male, wearing only swimming trunks, appearing to be around 40 years old. Someone had found him washed ashore by the sea, already dead.

Gu Yuan took out a pack of disposable rubber gloves from his pocket, something he always carried for emergencies.

After putting on the gloves, he carefully examined the deceased’s head, finding no obvious external injuries. He lifted the deceased’s eyelids, noticing significant petechiae on the conjunctiva and cyanosis under the fingernails, clear signs of asphyxiation.

The deceased had not yet developed rigor mortis, and despite being soaked in water, the skin still retained some warmth. Gu Yuan moved the deceased’s mouth and nose aside, while Li Meng used his phone’s flashlight for additional lighting.

There was obvious foam around the deceased’s mouth and nose, with traces of aquatic plants found in the mouth. The oral mucosa showed no signs of injury, and there were no pressure marks on the neck. After ruling out mechanical asphyxiation caused by violence, Gu Yuan concluded: “He drowned, and the time of death is less than an hour ago.”

Li Meng scratched his head, puzzled: “How could someone who just died float?”

Gu Yuan placed the second joint of his left middle finger around the deceased’s navel and tapped it a few times with his right hand, producing a “thud thud thud” drum sound from the deceased’s abdominal cavity.

Gu Yuan: “The deceased’s abdomen is distended, and percussion reveals a large area of tympanic sound, indicating a large amount of gas in the intestines. With the high fat content in the deceased’s body and the high density of seawater, floating is normal.”

Xiao Ze: “Is it a criminal case?”

Gu Yuan continued to examine the body with a furrowed brow. There were no other fatal injuries, but he found a bruise under the deceased’s armpit. The color of the bruised area was abnormal, darker than the normal skin tone.

Based on his experience, this appeared to be a subcutaneous hemorrhage.

In a normal person, subcutaneous hemorrhage would first cause redness and swelling. Over time, the hemosiderin from the capillaries would change from a purplish-blue to yellow, eventually disappearing.

So, judging by the color of this subcutaneous hemorrhage, it likely occurred while the person was alive and not long before death.

“The armpit is a vulnerable area with many nerves and blood vessels passing through. It’s difficult to injure the armpit through normal activities. Even if there was a collision, it should occur on the shoulder or elbow… This subcutaneous hemorrhage might have been caused by the perpetrator dragging the body before death.”

Xiao Ze: “Are you saying this is a criminal case?”

Gu Yuan: “That’s right.”

Author’s Note: Here it is, haha. Looks like everyone’s on holiday~