Human Flesh Soup Dumpling

I picked up Huang Xiaotao's satchel and called out, "I know you're hiding in the bushes. Come out!"

The bushes next to me rustled, and Huang Xiaotao poked her head out, hands behind her back, grinning and saying, "How did you know? I thought I had fooled you."

I explained my reasoning to her. First, her satchel had thin straps, so if someone had yanked it off forcibly, it wouldn't still be intact. Also, with Huang Xiaotao's agility and vigilance as a policewoman, could she really be kidnapped without putting up a fight? And most importantly...

"I smelled your scent coming from the bushes," I said.

"Scent?" Huang Xiaotao sniffed herself. "I never wear perfume. What scent?"

"Your body odor, I mean!" I explained awkwardly, not wanting her to think I was some sort of pervert.

Huang Xiaotao had played a little joke on me. We then found a place to sit and rest for a bit. Not long after sitting down, Huang Xiaotao yawned and mumbled, "This week has nearly killed me. We took down an underground workshop, and staked out suspects four nights in a row. In total, I've slept less than 20 hours this whole week."

"Detectives have to do that too?" I asked, surprised.

"What did you expect?" she replied. "We get all kinds of petty cases on a daily basis. It's not like we're cracking major cases and being heroes every day. That's a policeman's life for you. Consultants like you have it easy - you only come down from the mountain when there's a major case that needs your expertise. To be honest, when you asked me out yesterday, I just wanted to sleep for a whole day at home. But since I already promised you, here I am!"

No wonder I felt Huang Xiaotao seemed a little low-energy today. She was also wearing light makeup, probably to hide her fatigue. I felt a little bad and said, "Why don't you just go home and sleep then?"

"Idiot! You drag me out here and now you're chasing me home?" Huang Xiaotao laughed. "A guy with a bit of sense would say, why don't we get a room to rest in?"

I blushed. I knew she was just teasing me again, and didn't really mean it.

Huang Xiaotao waved her hand dismissively. "Never mind, I'll just take a nap here."

"Here? You'll catch a cold." I said.

Before I could finish, Huang Xiaotao was already lying down on the bench, with her head in my lap. I was shocked by her sudden action. "Don't take advantage!" she said with her eyes closed.

"I won't, I promise!" I stammered.

Soon Huang Xiaotao started snoring softly. She really must have been exhausted. Although she looked beautiful sleeping, my legs soon went numb from her weight. But I didn't dare move for fear of waking her. Sitting here was so boring, and I couldn't even take out my phone to play with it. All I could do was stare blankly at the scenery, appreciating the birdsong and fragrant flowers in the park.

Huang Xiaotao slept for two hours. An old man out for exercise walked by and gave me a knowing smile. I thought to myself, go to hell, old man!

After 4pm, Huang Xiaotao woke up and stretched out her arms with a yawn. "Ah, I feel so refreshed after that nap, thanks!"

"You're welcome," I replied. My legs had completely lost feeling.

Huang Xiaotao checked her clothes and laughed. "You really are a gentleman who resists temptation. You remind me of a joke."

"What's the joke?" I asked.

Huang Xiaotao said there was a man and woman sleeping in the same bed. The woman drew a line down the middle and told the man, "If you dare cross this line tonight, that makes you a beast!" The next morning when they woke up, the woman saw the man had indeed not crossed the line, and said to him, "You're not even a beast!"

I had heard this joke before, of course, and my face turned red with embarrassment. "What a case of looking a gift horse in the mouth!" I said.

"Haha, seeing how honest you are, do you want to spend the night at my place tonight? Big sis will make egg fried rice for you," Huang Xiaotao said.

I scratched my cheek. "That doesn't seem proper. I have classes tomorrow."

"Oh really? Your face is all red again. Admit it, you actually do want to come over right?" She spoke in a teasing tone, staring at my face until I couldn't meet her gaze anymore. Finally she waved her hand and said, "Alright alright, I'll stop teasing you. I'm getting hungry, let's go find someplace to eat."

Huang Xiaotao took a few steps before realizing I was still sitting there. "Let's go!" she urged.

"Just a minute, my legs are still numb!"

After my legs regained feeling, we left the park and started looking for a decent restaurant. Just then, I caught a whiff of a tempting aroma. Huang Xiaotao sniffed the air too. "Is that...steamed buns?"

Following our noses, it did seem to be the smell of pork buns. When you're hungry, everything smells delicious. Huang Xiaotao said she hadn't had buns in a long time and wanted to try them.

We tracked the smell to a small bun shop near some apartment buildings. There was only one person, the owner, working busily inside. He was a fat man wearing a greasy apron, with an oily sheen on his glowing face. He greeted us with a smile. The first batch of piping hot buns had just come out of the steamer into a large bamboo tray, and residents quickly lined up to buy them all.

"Business is booming. These buns must have a good reputation! As expected, the best foods are hidden in unassuming places. My mouth is watering!" Huang Xiaotao looked eager to try them.

I went up and told the owner we wanted 10 buns. He smiled and said "Coming up!"

After paying, Huang Xiaotao asked me, "Ten buns? Can we finish them all?"

"We can take home whatever's left for a midnight snack," I replied.

"Not bad, you seem to know how to live well," Huang Xiaotao said admiringly.

Soon the next batch of buns was ready, and the owner nimbly bagged up 10 for us, bidding us to "come again." We were ravenous and immediately started eating at a small park nearby.

These buns had thin skin and lots of juicy pork filling. With one bite, fragrant juices burst out, so delicious I nearly swallowed my tongue.

Amazingly, these tasty buns cost only 8 cents each. I thought the residents here were so fortunate to have access to such an affordable delicacy.

Huang Xiaotao was eating so heartily she could barely speak, catching the dripping soup with her other hand to avoid spilling on her clothes. "Mm...so good...most delicious buns I've had in ages," she mumbled.

"Yeah, the pork doesn't taste like normal pork..." I casually remarked, then a sense of unease hit me. I slowed down and analyzed the taste carefully. "Wait a minute!"

"Whug izzit?" Huang Xiaotao looked at me blankly, cheeks stuffed with bun.

"Don't swallow yet! Spit it out first!"

I dumped the bun filling onto the bench, heedless of burning my hands. Using my "Piercing Gaze" ability, I sifted through the minced meat carefully. It didn't take long for me to notice something amiss. "Spit it all out!" I yelled at Huang Xiaotao.

Reluctantly, she mumbled through her full mouth, "Whas wrong? Bad pork?"

"It's human flesh!"

Hearing this, Huang Xiaotao spit everything out in shock, then retched and wiped her mouth repeatedly. "Are you sure?"

I showed her the meat, which was minced very fine but still had some unmistakable traces. "See these patterns? They're the ridges found on human skin. Humans are hairless mammals, so our skin has tiny ridges for friction. This is unique to humans!"

Huang Xiaotao gasped. I was also disturbed that we had almost eaten it.

"Call the police!" I said.

Huang Xiaotao gave a wry laugh. "Well there goes my vacation."