Fang Rui and Xiao Zhang arrived at the square early in the morning.
There were many elderly people out for their morning exercise, the atmosphere lively and noisy. But despite the crowd, Fang Rui quickly spotted Mu Mian among them.
She was still wrapped in a thick scarf, huddled within it, staring absentmindedly at the greenery in the flowerbed.
Xiao Zhang followed Fang Rui's gaze and saw Mu Mian as well.
"Medical Examiner Mu, what are you doing standing here? Are you out for morning exercise?" Xiao Zhang asked, somewhat surprised, as Mu Mian didn't seem like someone who enjoyed exercising.
"I'm waiting for a car."
"This place doesn't allow parking, so how could you wait for a car here? You should wait by the roadside."
Mu Mian glanced at Fang Rui, then looked away. "I've already waited."
Xiao Zhang was confused. "Where's the car? I don't see one."
"You can wait in the car," Fang Rui handed Mu Mian the keys. "Xiao Zhang and I have a task to handle."
Xiao Zhang suddenly understood—Mu Mian wanted to hitch a ride with them. But how did she know they would be here this morning? No, how did Fang Rui know she was waiting for them?
Xiao Zhang felt suddenly left out.
Mu Mian didn't take the keys. "I'll go with you to investigate. I'm familiar with this area. When I first moved here, I would inspect the surroundings every day. Though now I've reduced it to once a week, it shouldn't be a problem."
Xiao Zhang was stunned, thinking, was Mu Mian a former agent? Or had she offended someone? Why else would she need to inspect her surroundings every day?
Fang Rui, who had recently brushed up on some information about autism, wasn't surprised. Many people with autism are uncomfortable in unfamiliar environments and need repeated exposure to feel comfortable.
"So, do you know anyone who's familiar with the stray cats around here?"
"Her," Mu Mian pointed to a girl squatting by the grass, "Based on my observations, she feeds the strays here the most frequently."
The girl was young, with a sweet appearance, surrounded by several frail kittens at her feet.
"Hello, I'm Officer Zhang Qiang from the City Bureau. We'd like to ask you to cooperate with our investigation." Xiao Zhang showed his badge. "Have you seen this cat before?" He showed the girl the photo.
The girl's name was Bai Jing, a recent university graduate and a social worker in the neighborhood. She first looked at Mu Mian with some surprise before taking the photo and examining it carefully. "Yes, I recognize this cat. I used to feed it."
She pointed to the ear in the photo, "See, it's missing a small chunk. I used to feed it ham. But I haven't seen it around lately."
"How long has it been since you last saw it?"
"About four or five days."
"Are there many people feeding cats around here?"
"Quite a few. There's a university town nearby, and many students come here to feed the cats. A lot of people from our neighborhood also occasionally feed them."
"Do you all know each other?"
"Yes, most of us who feed the cats know each other. We have a group chat, with a lot of fellow cat lovers like me."
"Could you add us to the group?"
"Sure." Bai Jing took out her phone and added both Fang Rui and Xiao Zhang to the group. "It's mostly for discussing cat care tips, nothing special."
"Has anyone been acting strangely lately?"
"Not really. We mostly just talk when we feed the cats, but we don't know each other very well. Oh, I remember now, there's someone who comes every morning to feed the cats. He feeds them really expensive cat food, so I remember him well. His name is Zhu..."
Bai Jing seemed to forget his full name, but immediately called over a passing delivery man. "Chen Hui, come here."
The delivery man, named Chen Hui, stopped his delivery vehicle. He was tall, slightly plump, with fair skin, wearing stiff black-frame glasses, and a smile on his face.
"Bai Jing, what's up?"
"Do you remember the guy who used to feed the cats with us? The one who liked feeding them imported cat food? The one named Zhu, always wearing a blue shirt?"
"Zhu Yaming," Chen Hui immediately recalled.
Xiao Zhang quickly noted down the name.
Fang Rui asked if they knew a woman named Li Yan.
Upon hearing the name, both Bai Jing and Chen Hui showed expressions of distaste. Bai Jing angrily said, "She's a crazy woman, always causing trouble and picking fights with anyone she meets!"
She pointed to a nearby patch of grass. "Right there—she almost kicked a stray cat to death just because it rubbed up against her. A woman like her deserves bad karma."
"What happened to the kitten?"
"A kind person took it to a pet hospital and had it treated. Later, that person even adopted it. Ah, I think it was Zhu Yaming who did that."
Fang Rui asked, "Was this widely known?"
"Quite a few people saw it. It was a weekend, and many people saw her abusing the cat. Someone even recorded it and posted the video online."
"Thank you for your cooperation." After asking all the questions, Fang Rui was about to leave when he noticed Mu Mian staring intently at Chen Hui.
Chen Hui, sensing her gaze, scratched his head awkwardly. "Miss Mu, there's no international package from your sister today. If there is, I'll contact you immediately."
Mu Mian's expression was slightly forlorn. "She used to send me the medical magazines I asked for on time. She wouldn't forget."
Xiao Zhang said, "Why don't you just call your sister and ask?"
Mu Mian lowered her head and said nothing.
Chen Hui offered an explanation, "Miss Mu had a falling out with her sister, so she refuses to contact her first."
Fang Rui was a little surprised—Chen Hui seemed to know Mu Mian quite well.
Once they got into the car, Fang Rui couldn't help but ask curiously, "Are you close with that Chen Hui?"
"Not really. He's a good person because he was the first one to smile at me when I moved here," Mu Mian replied.
"Are you friends with him?"
"No, I don't have friends," Mu Mian's voice was still downcast. "I'm a burden, and no one wants to be my friend."
Her sister had been her therapist, one of the few people who accepted her unconditionally. But now, it seemed like her sister had abandoned her.
Mu Mian felt a bit defeated and regretted the argument with her sister.
At the bureau, Fang Rui immediately instructed Xiao Zhang to investigate Zhu Yaming.
In less than half a day, Xiao Zhang had gathered information about him: "Boss, Zhu Yaming works at a foreign trade company. He had decent financial stability, but in recent years, he lost a lot of money through stock trading. His wife divorced him, and he had to sell his house and move back in with his parents. He's known for being petty and has a poor reputation in the neighborhood, though he hasn't committed any crimes. Neighbors say he seems to have recently come into some money and is living more lavishly."
Xiao Zhang paused before adding, "Oh, and he's a pet blogger. He's the one who uploaded the video of Li Yan abusing the cat, which made him a bit famous."
"Let's go talk to him."
Fang Rui and Xiao Zhang arrived at Zhu Yaming's house, and when his parents saw the police, they became immediately flustered. Mr. Zhu whispered, "Officers, are you here because of something illegal that our son has done?"
Xiao Zhang tried to reassure them, "Don't worry, we're just here to ask a few questions. Please just answer honestly."
"We'll cooperate fully," Mr. Zhu quickly signaled to Mrs. Zhu, then urgently added, "Old woman, why aren't you making tea? Go, bring the red tea that Yaming brought back from abroad to serve the officers."
Xiao Zhang quickly waved his hand, "Uncle, there's no need for the tea. We're just looking for Zhu Yaming. He should be getting off work soon, right?"
Mrs. Zhu froze, unsure of what to do. The situation felt awkward.
Seeing this, Mr. Zhu snapped at her, "You useless old woman, you can't even make tea! I'll go get the tea leaves! Useless thing!" He then stormed into a room on the left.
Fang Rui and Xiao Zhang exchanged glances. They both found the behavior of the elderly couple rather strange.
Fang Rui smiled lightly, pretending to joke, "I've only ever heard that coffee from abroad is good. I wonder if the tea leaves from abroad are better than domestic ones."
Mrs. Zhu, who had been preparing a fruit plate, froze, and the plate fell from her hands.
Realizing something was off, Fang Rui and Xiao Zhang immediately rushed into the room, where they found Mr. Zhu pouring water over a laptop.
A bottle of mineral water was emptied onto the laptop, effectively ruining it.
Just then, Mrs. Zhu shouted from outside, "Yaming, run! There are police in the house!"
Fang Rui and Xiao Zhang immediately chased after her, and soon caught up with a middle-aged man in the stairwell. He was wearing a shirt, glasses, and looked quite scholarly.