Chapter 18

Chapter 18 2. Eden Lake-09

Because Liu Yi’s cold symptoms were severe yesterday, with dizziness and headache, he didn’t drive home, leaving his car at the institute parking lot. So today, he generously lent the car to Qi Shanyu, who was about to go to Science Island, saving him the trouble of taking the subway.

Originally, Qi Shanyu had been silently embarrassed after Liu Yi caught him arguing with Li Jin, just wanting to leave quickly, not intending to accept Liu Yi’s offer to drive. But somehow, after being looked at by Liu Yi’s teasing, smiling eyes for a moment, he unexpectedly nodded and agreed to have lunch together and discuss the case.

As for the flustered, blushing, and angry young intern Li Jin, he was completely out of Liu Yi’s consideration. Using “case confidentiality” as a pretext, Liu Yi sent her off immediately.

Twenty minutes later, Qi Shanyu parked the flashy BMW in front of a high-end Cantonese restaurant near the apartment building, then got out with Liu Yi.

“I don’t know what you like to eat, but I have no appetite right now. I want something light, so just go along with it,” Liu Yi said.

Qi Shanyu nonchalantly “hmmed,” indicating he wasn’t picky.

In fact, Officer Qi loved spicy food, but now he didn’t care. Sitting properly across from Liu Yi, head down, eyes focused on his plate, he just wanted to finish the meal quickly and disappear from in front of the chief forensic doctor.

“I’ll get the signature platter, Buddha’s delight, steamed ribs in black bean sauce, spinach in superior broth, and finally, the top scholar congee.”

Liu Yi flipped through the menu quickly, ordered smoothly, then looked up at Qi Shanyu, who was sitting like a silent, beautiful statue.

“Anything else you want?”

Qi Shanyu shook his head, indicating it was all fine.

Seeing Officer Qi looking wilted like a frostbitten eggplant, Liu Yi found it secretly amusing.

He knew the other was embarrassed because Liu Yi had caught him arguing with Li Jin earlier.

Because Liu Yi had arrived late, he only heard the end of the argument, unaware that Qi Shanyu’s dispute with Li Jin was actually about him, and had only silently thought the world was small—turns out the ex-boyfriend of a student intern was the young officer he worked with.

But Liu Yi thought, in this small circle, it wasn’t so surprising.

This field was tight-knit; among forensic doctors, whether gay or straight, it was hard to find partners. Most suitable partners were either police or doctors.

Plus, Li Jin and Qi Shanyu were of similar age, overlapping social circles, and their appearances clearly matched “top and bottom” roles. It was natural they ended up together.

Liu Yi couldn’t help feeling a little regretful.

Unfortunately, his aesthetic never favored petite, delicate, soft boys like Li Jin, easy to inspire pity at first glance. Otherwise, someone as handsome, wealthy, and charming as Liu Yi would not still be single, losing out to a blunt, straightforward person like Qi Shanyu.

But…

Liu Yi smiled.

Even if Qi Shanyu had been one step ahead before, now he was single too, back in the single line.

Liu Yi cheerfully poured Qi Shanyu a cup of tea, thinking that youth was indeed tender, always full of drama, prone to tantrums, and unable to retain even a bit of dignity.

Forget they were broken up, still tangled over who was right or wrong, who owed whom. And honest, clumsy Qi Shanyu wouldn’t even entertain advances at a bar. Liu Yi doubted there was anyone else he could have gone to.

However, Liu Yi had no interest in shallow chit-chat about Qi Shanyu and Li Jin’s messy past.

Seeing Qi Shanyu’s embarrassed, wish-he-could-hide expression, Liu Yi felt a rare pang of sympathy and decided to pretend he hadn’t seen the elevator scene and never bring it up again.

Soon, the platter and congee arrived. Liu Yi smiled at Qi Shanyu, signaling him to start eating, then took a spoonful of congee himself, savoring it with crispy roast suckling pig.

“About the Su Ruirui case, I’ve made some discoveries I want to discuss with you.”

Liu Yi took a sip of congee, enjoying the smooth, rich texture, eyes narrowing in satisfaction.

He swallowed and slowly said, “It’s about the injuries on her body.”

Though Liu Yi’s voice wasn’t loud, the restaurant was crowded during lunchtime, and two nearby patrons seemed to catch the word “body,” glancing at him in alarm.

“cough”

Liu Yi theatrically coughed, slid the chair closer to Qi Shanyu to lower their voices, keeping the grisly topic from disturbing others.

“Hm?”

Qi Shanyu, eating plain rice, only glanced sideways at Liu Yi, then kept his head down, answering softly, “What discovery?”

He had only learned from Liu Yi’s talk with Su Ruirui’s parents that someone’s fingers had left marks on her neck, but hadn’t had a chance to understand the details.

“I found two areas with a total of three finger-pressure marks on the back of Su Ruirui’s neck. It seems her neck was held down with one hand.”

Liu Yi put down his chopsticks, demonstrating the position on the back of Qi Shanyu’s neck so he could clearly understand.

“And the person who left these marks was likely a woman.”

“You mean…”

Qi Shanyu turned to Liu Yi, staring into his eyes, “You mean Su Ruirui might not have drowned herself, but was strangled? And the perpetrator was likely female?”

“No.”

Liu Yi shook his head decisively. “First, given the position and the palm size, it would be almost impossible for a woman to strangle someone to death; second, although the autopsy hasn’t been done yet, in my experience, it’s still more likely she drowned.”

Qi Shanyu paused mid-bite, watching Liu Yi carefully, waiting for him to continue.

Though their conversation was serious and bloody, to outsiders it might look extremely intimate.

Both were strikingly handsome and tall. At a round table for four, two very good-looking young men sat shoulder-to-shoulder, leaning in to whisper. After Liu Yi touched the back of Qi Shanyu’s neck, his hand rested on the chair, making it appear to others as if they were a couple flirting even while eating.

“The Buddha’s delight, steamed ribs in black bean sauce, and spinach in superior broth…”

A young female server, in her early twenties, lowered her head to serve the dishes. Using the tray to shield herself, she glanced quickly at the two, blushing, then nudged her friend, letting out two quiet, excited squeals.

“??”

Noticing the server’s strange behavior, Qi Shanyu glanced at them curiously, but thought nothing of it and returned to the discussion with Liu Yi.

“I find it odd that the surveillance footage of her ‘suicide’ doesn’t match her injuries,” Liu Yi explained.

“You mentioned the camera was in the library, which isn’t on the direct path from the dorms to the artificial lake, right?”

“Mm.”

Qi Shanyu dipped his finger in his tea, quickly sketching a simple map on the table. “Actually, the library is to the right of the lake, near the teaching building. From the girls’ dorm main gate, it takes over ten minutes to walk there.”

“Exactly,” Liu Yi replied.

“When Su Ruirui’s body was pulled from the lake, I noticed her nose…”

He pointed to the left side of his nose near the eye socket. “It’s slightly sunken inward, while the other side protrudes slightly—typical of a nasal bone fracture.”

Skipping technical jargon, Liu Yi continued plainly: “The fracture site shows redness and bruising, indicating a pre-death injury. She broke her nose while still alive.”

He paused, then elaborated.

“Normally, two to four hours after a nasal fracture, swelling and bruising in the soft tissue increase, masking the deformity. You need palpation to pinpoint the fracture.”

He traced a timeline on the table like Qi Shanyu had done with water.

“So I estimate Su Ruirui’s nasal fracture occurred within four hours before death.”

He lightly tapped the dorm location on Qi Shanyu’s map, then pointed to the library. “A nasal fracture is very painful. For a girl just over ten, this would already be a severe injury…”

Qi Shanyu softly gasped, understanding Liu Yi’s implication. “You mean in the footage of her ‘suicide,’ Su Ruirui appears too calm?”

“Yes.”

Liu Yi was satisfied; speaking with smart people made things easy.

“For someone determined to die, calmly facing death is normal, but I don’t think it should apply to Su Ruirui.”