Forensic Forensic - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Qi Ming had a hunch when Luo Jianan suddenly asked to sleep on the living room sofa again. Considering Luo Jianan’s expression, reaction, and the preceding events, he quickly concluded—Luo Jianan had lost his keys, and he suspected they’d been left in his room, specifically, near the sofa.

Qi Ming’s inference was confirmed by Luo Jianan’s actions after entering the room. He first pretended to tie his shoelaces and looked under the sofa and coffee table, even lifting the carpet underneath, but found nothing. He then tried the crack in the wall behind the sofa, but that seemed to yield no results. Now, Luo Jianan, while jokingly jokingly shoving his hand into the gap between the backrest and the seat cushion, felt around.

Seeing Luo Jianan’s eyebrows raise, Qi Ming thought he’d found something, but the next second, a coin appeared on the coffee table. Then, Luo Jianan pulled out a well-wrapped condom from the crack in the sofa and quickly tossed it into the trash can with a look of horror. Just as Qi Ming was about to speak up to stop him, he saw Luo Jianan’s lips curl up, and he pulled his hand out and shoved it into his pocket.

“Don’t poke me! It’s almost two o’clock, go to bed.” Luo Jianan took off his coat and draped it over the sofa, then lay down, resting his head on the armrest and closing his eyes. “Please turn off the lights for me. Do you have a blanket? I’ll give you one.”

Taking a blanket from the bedroom closet and throwing it over Luo Jianan, Qi Ming turned off the lights and returned to the bedroom. Drunk and full of worries, he fell into a deep sleep.

Luo Jianan was a light sleeper, easily awakened by the slightest noise, a habit he’d developed while undercover. So when he heard voices in the bedroom, he snapped his eyes open. Listening closely, it sounded like Qi Ming talking in his sleep—and it didn’t sound like a good dream. Short, repeated words like “no,” “run,” and “don’t” echoed over and over again.

Under normal circumstances, Luo Jianan would have ignored such a trivial matter, but today, Qi Ming had been drinking, and if he remained trapped in a nightmare and couldn’t wake up, he might choke on his vomit. Rising from the darkness, he walked to the bedroom door and turned the doorknob. Qi Ming had locked the door, but the lock wouldn’t stop Luo Jianan. He pulled a card from his wallet, slipped it into the crack, pressed it against the latch, and the lock popped open. Turning on the bedroom light, he saw Qi Ming’s brow furrowed, his eyeballs trembling violently beneath his lids, his body tense, his face covered in sweat, and he mumbled incoherently. He rushed over and shook him awake.

Qi Ming, startled awake, momentarily confused between dream and reality, raised his hand and slapped Luo Jianan in the face. The blow left half of Luo Jianan’s face numb. Ignoring the burning pain, he pressed down hard on Qi Ming’s arm, shouting, “Wake up! Qi Ming! It’s me!”

Qi Ming was now fully awake, breathing heavily, his eyes squinting in the bright light. Luo Jianan let go, rubbing his face and complaining, “You’re quite strong, kid! That slap almost made me bleed!”

Covering his eyes with his hands, Qi Ming took a deep breath and said calmly—

“Get out!”

——————

A dog biting Lu Dongbin, ignoring a kind heart.

Rubbing his jaw, which had nearly been dislocated by the blow, angrily, Luo Jianan called the front desk and asked room service to bring up an ice bucket. If he’d known he’d get hit and kicked out, I wouldn’t have cared if he’d lived or died! Luo Jianan’s teeth were gnashing with anger. If he hadn’t seen correctly, there were traces of water on Qi Ming’s face.

Cried? Could it be saliva?

Luo Jianan was about to laugh when the pain at the corner of his mouth forced a hissing gasp. He wrapped an ice cube in a towel, applied it to his face, and lay back on the sofa. He fished Qi Ming’s apartment key from his pocket, squinted at it against the light, and after a moment, pulled his car keys from his pocket and put them on his wrist.

Okay, I won’t lose it now.

He slept soundly until dawn. While brushing his teeth, Luo Jianan looked in the mirror again and again—the part of his face where Qi Ming had hit him looked like a scene of domestic violence. Although it wasn’t swollen much, the fingerprints were clearly visible. Shao Chen’s eyes widened in surprise when he saw the wound on his face. “Officer Luo, are you hurt?”

“Ah, I got beaten by a psychopath.” Luo Jianan glanced at Qi Ming, who was paying the movers.

Qi Ming’s hand paused. He remembered that he had hit Luo Jianan, and he should have apologized, but it was rude for him to sneak into his room in the middle of the night. He didn’t want anyone to see him crying. Even if it was a nightmare, it would be too embarrassing. Fortunately, Luo Jianan’s heart was bigger than the ozone hole, so he didn’t intend to dwell on it. Since he was helping someone move, he should deliver on his promise. He rolled up his sleeves and cut the furniture’s packaging with a utility knife. He unfolded the blueprints and assembled the furniture according to the instructions.

The house Shao Chen had rented for Qi Ming was practically empty, a two-story duplex, simply decorated and unfurnished. Luo Jianan had assembled a wardrobe and was proudly admiring the finished product when he heard Qi Ming say from behind, “This will go on the second floor.”

Fvck you.

Luo Jianan was itching to drill a hole for Qi Ming with his electric drill. If it was going to go on the second floor, why hadn’t he told him earlier? Why had he waited until he was finished? Now he was supposed to carry a 200-pound cabinet up there?

Seeing Luo Jianan looking at him with a look of deep resentment, Qi Ming stood by the cabinet, rolled up his shirt sleeves, tilted his head, and raised his chin at him. “Don’t just stand there, let’s move together.”

Shao Chen also came to help. The three of them struggled to move the cabinet up the circular staircase to the second floor. However, when they placed it next to the bed, there was a gap between the wall and the cabinet, making it impossible to fit in. Seeing Qi Ming looking downstairs, Luo Jianan quickly raised his hand to stop him. “Stop it! Don’t even think about asking me to move downstairs anymore! I won’t help you!”

Qi Ming ignored Luo Jianan and turned to Shao Chen, saying, “You measured the wrong size.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Brother Ming. How about you return it and order another one?” Shao Chen wiped his sweat, his face full of apology.

Looking around, Qi Ming shook his head. “No, Luo Jianan, move the computer desk down to the balcony.”

“Fvck you—”

Luo Jianan had barely uttered a curse word when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. It was Chen Fei calling, saying the technical department had tracked down the credit card spending records of the deceased Wang Xinji’s mistress, Wu Ge, at the mall and asking him to work overtime and quickly stop her.

“Work’s coming up! I have to go!” Luo Jianan waved his phone at Qi Ming.

“About the case?” Qi Ming asked.

“Yes.”

“I’ll go with you. Shao Chen, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

Now it was Shao Chen’s turn to look bitter and resentful.

——————

When Wu Ge was stopped at the mall entrance by Luo Jianan, flashing her police badge, she dropped the items she was carrying. Seeing her stagger, Qi Ming immediately reached out to support her arm. “Ms. Wu, let’s sit down and talk.” He tilted his head toward the cafe near the mall entrance.

As soon as she sat down, Wu Ge began to wipe away her tears. Luo Jianan dreaded seeing a woman cry. He searched his body but couldn’t find a tissue. Just as he was about to ask the waiter for one, Qi Ming pulled out a black handkerchief and handed it to him.

Qi Ming asked, “Do you know why we’re here?”

Wu Ge took the handkerchief, pressed it to her lips, and nodded. The woman was delicate, with a pair of soulful almond-shaped eyes, and even more endearing when she cried. Although Luo Jianan didn’t think infidelity was something to be forgiven, thinking about Bai Yuemei’s shrewish behavior—she only cared about money after hearing her ex-husband had died—he could understand Wang Xinji. But the age difference between the two was too great. Wang Xinji could have been Wu Ge’s father. But then again, if Wang Xinji already had a little shrew like Wu Ge, why would he bother looking for a partner at a matchmaking agency?

“Uncle Wang’s in trouble, right?” Wu Ge sniffled. “I haven’t heard from him in almost a month. I went to his house, but he wasn’t there, and the phone wasn’t working.”

Pushing the glass of lemonade toward her, Qi Ming retorted, “Since you knew he was missing, why didn’t you call the police?”

“He and I aren’t even related…” Wu Ge’s tone was tinged with resignation. “I thought he’d gone home. Last month, he said his son came to see him and asked for money to buy a house.”

This made Luo Jianan frown. Wang Xinji’s son, Wang Mingqi, had previously sworn he hadn’t contacted his father, but now it seemed clear he was lying. He immediately messaged Miao Hong to inform her of the situation.

“Uncle Wang said he had no money, and his son pushed him and he fell.” Wu Ge sighed. “That Wang Mingqi isn’t doing his job properly. He just drinks and plays cards, and he doesn’t work properly. When his girlfriend broke up with him, he blamed Uncle Wang for not buying him a wedding house. When Uncle Wang divorced, he didn’t get a penny of his property, and they’re still not satisfied.”

“You know a lot about their family,” Luo Jianan said, studying Wu Ge’s expression.

Wu Ge smiled wryly and explained, “Everyone at the shipyard said I was Uncle Wang’s mistress, but it was actually a misunderstanding. There’s nothing wrong between Uncle Wang and me. He took care of me because my parents were his college classmates. My parents went to Africa to help with construction when I was very young and died in an accident there. I grew up with my grandmother and later started working at the shipyard. When Uncle Wang found out, he took good care of me and even helped me study for the college entrance exam. I quit because I got into college, not because I was trying to destroy Uncle Wang’s family, as the factory people said.”

“University? Which one?” Luo Jianan remembered that Wang Xinji worked as a janitor at a university.

“College of Urban Architecture.”

This was the school where Wang Xinji worked. Luo Jianan was a little confused. Even if Wang Xinji wanted to take care of his classmate’s orphan, wasn’t it a bit too much to follow him to work at the university? Qi Ming nudged him with his elbow, indicating that he had something to say.

Excusing himself for a smoke, Luo Jianan stopped at the entrance of the café with Qi Ming and asked, “What’s on your mind?”

“Based on the deceased’s photo and Wu Ge’s facial bones, and judging from genetics, I think they might be father and daughter.”

Qi Ming glanced back at Wu Ge, who was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window.

“Once we get the handkerchief back, I’ll have Old Han do a DNA comparison.”