Chapter 49

Chapter 49 4. The Game-04

Liu Yi walked to Qi Shanyu with his hands in his sleeves, smiling at him: “What, you won’t let me taste it first?”

Qi Shanyu was taken aback.

He didn’t know that chefs sometimes ask guests to taste the seasoning while cooking.

“I already tried it.”

Qi Shanyu held up the small dish with a bit of sauce left, “You’re not going to just…”

His words stopped abruptly.

Liu Yi suddenly reached out, grabbed the wrist of Qi Shanyu holding the dish, and in that position, leaned down to taste the sauce.

“Not bad, quite tasty.” Liu Yi licked his lips, giving an honest evaluation.

“You…”

Qi Shanyu felt both exasperated and amused, “Aren’t you forensic doctors supposed to have a bit of OCD? How can you stand sharing the same dish with someone else?”

“Where on earth did you get such a strange idea?”

Liu Yi instead gave him a look that said, “Are you teasing me?” “Think about what we deal with every day. If a forensic doctor had OCD, better change careers early!”

…He had a point that left Qi Shanyu speechless.

“Alright, keep at it, cook more.”

Liu Yi glanced at the kitchen counter, “I can eat way more than your sister, so this little bit might not be enough, right?”

After saying that, he slapped Qi Shanyu’s firm butt with one hand, had his fun, wiped some grease, and happily strolled out again.

Qi Shanyu, face burning red, stood in front of the bubbling pot, dazed for a full minute, then hurried to the fridge and dug out some more ingredients to whip up a plate of green pepper stir-fried shredded pork.

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After dinner, Qi Shanyu came out after clearing the dishes and saw Liu Yi lounging lazily on the couch like a potato grown into the cushions, showing no intention of leaving.

As Qi Shanyu struggled with whether he should subtly hint at departure, Liu Yi looked up, patted the couch, and said, “Come, sit with me?”

Qi Shanyu had no choice but to sit next to him.

After a day like this, he realized he was completely at Liu Yi’s mercy, unable to refuse his requests.

Since Liu Yi didn’t want to leave, and Qi Shanyu couldn’t kick him out, he had to figure out a way to pass the time. He remembered a few DVDs he had bought but never watched and suggested watching a movie together.

Liu Yi raised an eyebrow, smiling at him with an expression full of unspoken meaning.

Qi Shanyu felt a shiver run through him and thought carefully, “…Wait, don’t misunderstand! I don’t mean ‘that kind’ of movie!”

“Fine.”

Liu Yi shrugged, looking a bit disappointed.

“Really, guys just watching movies together as friends is normal.”

He leaned closer to Qi Shanyu, placed his hand gently on his thigh, fingers together, tapped his knee lightly, lowering his voice with a mischievous smile: “Besides, I’m pretty skilled… if you get ‘excited,’ I can help…”

“I said no! Really no!”

Qi Shanyu was losing count of how many times today Liu Yi had made him blush and heartbeat faster.

He angrily pushed Liu Yi’s hand off his thigh and hauled him upright: “It’s just a normal movie. Watch it or not!”

“Alright, alright, a normal movie works too!”

Seeing even a patient person like Qi Shanyu get flustered, Liu Yi quickly appeased him, “Then let’s watch a normal movie!”

The Blu-ray player was connected to Qi Shanyu’s computer, so they moved from the living room to his room.

Liu Yi had noticed earlier that the house had three rooms. Qi Shanyu’s room was the smallest, just enough for a single bed, wardrobe, and a desk with chair.

The master bedroom belonged to Qi Zhenzhen, and the remaining room was the study, filled with the siblings’ books and materials.

According to Qi Shanyu, the girl’s stuff took more space, so a bigger room suited her. Anyway, as a grown man, he could sleep anywhere—he had shared a cramped dorm in the Police University with eight people before. Home was far better.

Qi Shanyu’s room had no extra chair, so Liu Yi took off his coat and sat on the single bed, propping himself up comfortably with the owner’s pillow for his back.

Qi Shanyu picked a DVD from the few he hadn’t watched, selecting a domestic crime detective film with good reputation and box office performance.

When he asked Liu Yi for his opinion, Liu Yi didn’t mind. He hadn’t watched domestic films in a long time, not very interested, but casually watching to pass the time was fine.

However, they soon realized a critical fact—having a detective and a forensic doctor watch a crime film only highlighted countless plot holes.

“The body’s been dead over ten days, and they still draw blood… wouldn’t the needle clog?”

Liu Yi munched a cookie while watching, mercilessly criticizing the screen.

Qi Shanyu glanced at him, “You can’t draw blood?”

“After death, blood coagulates and separates quickly. After a while, it’s hard to draw. How long depends on how the body was preserved.”

Liu Yi watched an actress incorrectly drawing a syringe on the corpse, scoffing.

“Also, cells self-lyse. At room temperature, the body breaks down. Even if you could draw blood, you couldn’t separate serum properly.”

Seeing Qi Shanyu pause the movie and focus, Liu Yi continued, “Our forensic lab recently received a blood sample from a body of unknown death time. Two tubes were as black as ink. The sending unit still demanded a long list of tests. Yuan Lan—someone you met—had her staff run the tests anyway.”

He smiled at Qi Shanyu, “Guess what happened?”

Qi Shanyu shook his head, “I have no idea.”

“Of course, it couldn’t be done!”

Liu Yi laughed: “The next day, Yuan Lan saw the samples. One tube was ruined, the other had a note: ‘U CAN U UP’!”

“Wow…”

Qi Shanyu marveled at the lab’s sharp intellect—these scholars even dared challenge their superiors.

They resumed watching the movie.

Ten minutes later, Liu Yi spotted something more shocking.

“Wait, the killer—wasn’t he supposed to be a top domestic forensic expert with three patents?”

Liu Yi doubted his memory.

Seeing Qi Shanyu nod, he massaged his temple and continued, “Then how did he come up with the ‘genius’ idea of using a stick to push Yangzhou fried rice into the victim’s stomach to fake the time of death…”

He emphasized “genius,” clearly skeptical.

“Yeah, I think that’s probably impossible.”

Qi Shanyu, though not a forensic doctor, was a seasoned elite detective. While he couldn’t pinpoint why, such a wild trick would fail miserably in reality.

“Not probably, absolutely impossible.”

Liu Yi stated firmly.

“The esophagus isn’t a straight tube. It has curves and narrow points. Forcing a stiff stick would shred the lining.”

He paused, then added: “Plus, Yangzhou fried rice is broken into tiny grains. Pushing it in like that would probably clog the windpipe. Impossible.”

“I see!”

Qi Shanyu felt enlightened.

He asked, “So using stomach contents to fake the time of death isn’t really feasible?”

“Hmm, not exactly.”

Liu Yi nibbled a small cookie slowly, “If it were me, I’d have a way to do it.”

At that moment, the movie showed the killer stuffing all the fried rice into the victim’s stomach. Qi Shanyu paused again, “What way?”

“Better not go into details.”

Liu Yi hesitated unusually, “We just ate; I’m afraid it might make you feel disgusted…”

Qi Shanyu struggled internally.

He sensed he’d hear an answer stretching his imagination, and thinking too much would be disturbing.

But curiosity got the better of him. The more Liu Yi withheld, the more he wanted to know.

Finally, he gave in: “It’s fine, just tell me…”

Author’s note: Second update!

PS. Just a little rant, laugh it off, don’t overthink it!