After the Cursed Piano Case ended, Huang Xiaotao excitedly called me a week later to tell me that the department had given her a first-class merit and a generous bonus for solving the case.
In the report Huang Xiaotao submitted, she didn't forget to praise my superb autopsy skills everywhere, so I also got a bonus. Since I wasn't actually a police officer, she applied for a special consultant title for me, which sounded quite impressive.
After that, 18,000 yuan was deposited into my account. For a poor student like me, it was indeed a huge sum of money. I split it fifty-fifty with Wang Dali, but he felt undeserving and said, "Yangzi, I didn't really contribute much, it doesn't seem right for me to take so much of the reward money."
"Anyway, it was unexpected money, sharing it is better than keeping it to myself. Oh right, let me first withdraw 1,000 yuan of it as payment for Xiaoye." I said.
"No, no no, I'll pay him myself! You did so much of the work, yet got less money than me, how can that be justified? Don't argue with me, I'm going to withdraw the money for him right now." Wang Dali insisted.
Since he felt so strongly about it, I didn't argue further. Soon after, Wang Dali came back and said, "Xiaoye scolded you for being ungenerous."
I laughed and asked, "What's wrong, he's not happy with the money?"
"He said if he had known earlier he would have worked with you too, then he could have gotten a bigger cut," Wang Dali replied.
"That greedy brat, solving cases isn't about chasing some reward money..." I shook my head speechlessly.
9,000 yuan wasn't a small sum, but it was enough for me to buy some materials I might need later, saving me trouble when the time came.
I bought a bunch of Chinese medicinal herbs, borrowed a lab from a professor in the Chemistry Department, and spent a whole day brewing up some secret potions. After all was said and done, it seemed I didn't earn much by cracking this case.
But of course that's not the right way to calculate it - solving cases is my hobby!
Being able to use my lifelong learning to exonerate the dead, while also gaining practical experience, makes me feel very fulfilled.
Two nights later, Huang Xiaotao suddenly called me up late at night and asked, "Song Yang, can you come over now? We have an extremely bizarre case that we are at a loss about, we urgently need your help."
"Now? It's already 11pm, there are no buses running anywhere near campus this late." I was surprised Huang Xiaotao was in such a rush.
"Don't worry, I'll send a policeman to pick you up from campus right away, just wait at the school gate in half an hour." With that, she hung up.
I splashed some cold water on my face to sober up, then went to shake Wang Dali awake in his bed. After pushing for a while, something felt off - I pulled back the covers to find a pillow underneath. I cursed under my breath, this brat was getting cocky with some money and went out partying again.
I got dressed and packed some things I might need into a bag, then snuck out of the dorm building.
Sure enough, I found the rascal at his usual internet cafe, wearing headphones and chatting up some girl, grinning ear to ear with a lecherous look. There were piles of used skewers and drink bottles in front of him.
I tapped him on the shoulder. When Wang Dali saw it was me, he took off his headphones in surprise and said, "Bro, what are you doing here? Can't sleep so came to surf the net? Come on, open up a station and let me teach you how to play Demacian Greatsword."
"Teach your grandpa, the dorm supervisor is doing a night check!" I said sternly.
"What? It's almost midnight, is he crazy?" Wang Dali was shocked.
"That's why it's a surprise inspection. Come back with me, I heard those caught might get expelled this time..."
Wang Dali hurriedly paid his tab and logged off. As we headed back, he kept muttering how to explain things to the supervisor. When we got to the school gates, I saw a black Mercedes parked there, with a middle-aged man leaning against it, a cigarette glowing dimly in his mouth.
This was surely the cop sent to pick me up. I grabbed Wang Dali's arm and said, "Get in the car!"
"What car? Aren't we going back to the dorms?" Wang Dali was puzzled.
"Kidding, there's a new case, you wouldn't have come out otherwise."
"Damn, that's just cruel, I left without explaining to that girl online. No way, I gotta log back in to tell her." He took out his phone to log into QQ.
We approached the car. I realized this middle-aged cop looked around 40 years old, with a lit cigarette dangling from his mouth. He had a sturdy build like a boxer! His face was cold and chiseled like cut from a knife, with stubble all over his chin that wasn't cleanly shaved. But his eyes were sharply piercing, clearly someone who had seen bloodshed.
If I didn't already know he was a cop, I might have mistaken him for a gangster out for a late night stroll.
Seeing this guy, Wang Dali shivered instinctively and hid behind me.
"You're Song Yang?" The man spoke in a low, gravelly voice.
"Yes." I replied softly.
I didn't quite dare look him in the eyes. Those eyes were like knives, I figured any suspect with slightly weaker nerves interrogated by them would crack in seconds.
"Chief Huang asked me to pick you up, get in the car." With that, he flicked away the cigarette butt, sending sparks flying in the darkness, then reached to open the car door.
Just as I was about to get in, Wang Dali suddenly grabbed my arm and whispered, "Bro, are you sure this guy is really a cop? He doesn't seem like one at all. Check out his badge before getting in, what if he's a murderer here to get revenge on us?"
I laughed. "We've only cracked one case, Deng Chao was just a college student, how could he send someone to get back at us? You're overthinking it, let's just get in."
Wang Dali reluctantly got in with me. The man glanced at us in the rearview mirror, then silently started the car.
I asked, "What should we call you?"
"Surname's Wang."
"Officer Wang, could you give us a rough idea of the case? It'd help to know some details since you called us out so late," I said.
"Yeah, it must be a huge case to haul us out in the middle of the night." Wang Dali chimed in eagerly.
The man answered flatly, "You'll know when we get there..."
He didn't say another word for the rest of the ride. I thought to myself, isn't this guy way too taciturn? Not just Wang Dali, for a moment even I started doubting whether this man was really a cop, he seemed nothing like one.
Half an hour later, we arrived at a street lined with closed shops, their metal shutters plastered with little ads everywhere. I saw signboards for 'Adult Massage,' 'Adult Toys' and such, with trash strewn all over the street and sewage flowing openly in the drains. My first impression was that it was a dirty, chaotic place.
The car turned into an alley, with many small hotels' signs lighting up its depths. Several police cars with flashing lights were parked under one sign reading 'Yue Lai Hotel', gathered around a small crowd.
"You been here before?" Wang Dali nudged me.
I shook my head, saying I rarely went out since I was studying here, so this area was unfamiliar.
"I heard this is..." Wang Dali lowered his voice, "the red light district!"
"How do you know that? Don't tell me you've been here before?" I looked at him suspiciously.
"Bro, how could I possibly be that kind of person? Sun Xiaopang who lives on our floor mentioned it, you know how shady that guy is."
"I never talk to people like him!" I said with a wry smile.
When Wang Dali mentioned the red light district, I remembered that there indeed was a lawless corner near the bus station in Nanjiang City, attracting all kinds of riffraff. Fights and brawls were common, sometimes fatal. There were also scammers luring naive out-of-town girls here under the pretext of high-paying jobs, only to force them into prostitution.
The man parked the car. As we got out, Huang Xiaotao rushed over, "Song Yang, thank heavens you're here! I'm completely stumped."
"What exactly happened?" I asked.
"A girl's corpse was found under the bed in a hotel room!" Huang Xiaotao explained, "Her cause of death is a bit hard to describe."
(Guess how she died?)