Chapter 53

Chapter 53 4. The Game-08

The double homicide in the greenbelt was soon fully solved by the police.

The male victim was named Tang Yuanning, the female victim was named Mai Zi; they had once been married.

Both Tang and Mai were originally from L Province. A year ago, relatives introduced them, and they married in the neighboring Y City.

Shortly after the marriage, the husband became addicted to drugs. After squandering the little savings they had, he not only began selling off property but also targeted his wife and her family for money. If he couldn’t get money, he would beat his wife. Once, during a drug craving, he pushed his wife down, causing her forehead to hit a table corner, resulting in a wound that required four stitches.

At that time, Mai Zi was already pregnant. To protect her unborn child, she chose to secretly use the last twenty thousand yuan she had to secure her freedom.

After the divorce, penniless, Mai Zi left Y City and moved to Xinhai City. She survived by doing hand embroidery and weaving work, earning a meager income, and rented a small single room in a self-built house at the entrance of a city village with three female colleagues from her factory.

Two months ago, Mai Zi carried to full term, but due to the baby’s position, she labored for a whole day and night without being able to deliver naturally. Her roommates and a few kind senior women from the factory pooled money for her surgery, and she finally delivered a five-and-a-half-pound boy via cesarean.

Because the city village she rented in was scheduled for demolition, her three roommates returned to their hometown early for the New Year and gradually left about a week ago. But Mai Zi had just finished her postpartum recovery, was still physically weak, and had to care for her baby while living on a tight budget, so she decided to stay in her small unit alone until the end of the month before moving elsewhere.

However, with only four days left before her planned move, Mai Zi’s ex-husband Tang Yuanning, through a fellow townsman, found her residence.

On the afternoon of the day of the murder, Tang Yuanning had broken into Mai Zi’s home, rifled through her room, stole some cash and her phone, and threatened to take her two-month-old son. Terrified, Mai Zi packed her belongings overnight and asked a friend to borrow her a tricycle, planning to move the next morning.

What Mai Zi did not anticipate was that Tang Yuanning returned late at night, climbing through the window into her home.

At the time, Tang Yuanning wielded a long knife, clearly in a state of extreme agitation and excitement from drug withdrawal. Panicked, Mai Zi could only clutch her infant and flee, hoping to reach the main road for help.

A traffic camera on the street facing the city village entrance captured Mai Zi carrying her baby while fleeing, with Tang Yuanning chasing her with a knife.

Unfortunately, the village was far from the station. According to police speculation, midway through her escape, seeing Tang Yuanning getting closer, she must have realized she might not survive and was in utter despair.

In extreme desperation, her only thought was to protect the infant in her arms.

So Mai Zi hid her son under a bench and ran in the opposite direction, attempting to draw Tang Yuanning away.

Eventually, Mai Zi was caught on the lawn in the greenbelt, stabbed seventeen times. One stab hit her left chest, entering diagonally between the seventh and eighth ribs and piercing the heart, killing her instantly.

After killing Mai Zi, Tang Yuanning, under the dual effects of drug withdrawal and the extreme emotion following murder, slit his own neck and died under a small ficus tree.

…

Based on surveillance footage, the murder occurred around 2:30 a.m.

On that day, Mai Zi’s 57-day-old infant had been outdoors in near-freezing, damp conditions for nearly four hours before being found by Liu Yi and others—almost freezing to death.

In the first week of February, four days before the Lunar New Year holiday, Qi Shanyu swapped shifts with his partner An Pingdong and took a half-day off in the afternoon.

At 2:20 p.m., ten minutes ahead of his scheduled time with Liu Yi, he waited in front of the pediatric outpatient building of Xinhai City Women and Children’s Medical Center.

The clinic was busiest at the start of the afternoon.

Qi Shanyu observed many parents with children entering and leaving.

Sick children were irritable and cried loudly, making parents equally anxious. The clinic lobby was noisy, like a bustling market.

He stood on the steps in a corner, watching the comings and goings.

Qi Officer had sharp eyes and soon spotted the person he was waiting for.

Liu Yi wore a dark teal double-breasted coat with a fur collar, leaving it unbuttoned to reveal a classic gray diamond-patterned vest underneath. His coat’s hem lifted slightly with each step, his gait stylish, drawing glances from young mothers.

Liu Yi was not alone.

Next to him walked a tall young man.

Qi Shanyu estimated his height similar to his own, but the man’s gym-trained muscular build made him look sturdier, possibly mixed-race, with curly chestnut hair and deep-set eyes.

The man seemed close to Liu Yi; they walked side by side, chatting and laughing. At moments of amusement, Liu Yi patted him on the shoulder casually.

As they approached, Liu Yi saw Qi Shanyu on the steps and waved.

“Alright, Michael, take care of your own business,” Liu Yi said, stepping onto the steps. “Thanks for giving me a ride.”

“What kind of relationship do we have? Why be so polite?”

Michael replied casually but didn’t leave. He examined Qi Shanyu from head to toe, then suddenly patted Liu Yi’s lower back and said, “Not bad, you’re not losing out either.”

He waved casually, said, “You go on, I’m off,” hands in pockets, and slowly left the pediatric outpatient hall.

“He’s a friend of mine,” Liu Yi said, smiling at Qi Shanyu. “Ignore him. That’s just his personality—bit unpredictable.”

“Mm.”

Qi Shanyu nodded.

He had noticed the fire opal-studded tie clip Michael wore—the same one Liu Yi had bought for him before.

Qi Shanyu felt a twinge of jealousy.

“He’s a reporter for the Sea Breeze Evening News,” Liu Yi explained casually. “My car was at the car wash, and he happened to be passing by for an interview, so I got a ride with him.”

“Mm.”

Qi Shanyu responded with a single syllable, quietly.

He didn’t want to know whether Liu Yi’s explanation implied they had lunch together or had just been on a date.

“By the way,” he suddenly interrupted, “you said you asked me here to help with something… what is it?”

“Oh, yes, there is something.”

Liu Yi, unaware of Qi Shanyu’s unusual tone, continued.

“It’s about the baby left by Mai Zi, the female victim in the greenbelt double homicide.”

He patted Qi Shanyu’s upper arm and gestured to the pediatric building. “Let’s go upstairs and talk while we walk.”

They crossed the clinic and turned into the corridor on the left, arriving at the pediatric inpatient building. They took the elevator, waiting patiently as it stopped at each floor, slowly reaching the twelfth floor, where the infant ward was.

The elevator doors opened, and they stepped out in sequence.

Qi Shanyu asked while walking, “You mean the baby might have a hearing problem?”

“Not certain yet, but it’s possible.”

Liu Yi replied: “You saw during the investigation that his mother, Mai Zi, was deaf-mute.”

He sighed deeply:

“No wonder that on the day she was murdered, the few remaining tenants nearby said they heard nothing unusual—that’s because she couldn’t call for help like a normal person.”

Qi Shanyu understood: “You mean the baby may have inherited his mother’s condition?”

“Mm.”

Liu Yi said: “My junior colleague, who is the baby’s attending physician, observed over the past few days that the baby doesn’t respond well to sound, so congenital hearing impairment is a possibility.”

He paused, then added: “I want to get him checked before the New Year. If there’s a problem, early intervention can help him live a normal life.”

“I see.”

Qi Shanyu nodded, understanding.

Although technically Liu Yi’s responsibility for the baby ended with the case, the child had special significance to him.

The baby surviving somewhat made up for Liu Yi’s previous regret and guilt over failing to rescue Liu Lingxiao in time. Even after the case was closed, he could not treat the infant as unrelated.

Coincidentally, the baby was also important to Qi Shanyu.

“So, how can I help?”

Qi Shanyu asked.

Liu Yi smiled brightly at the young officer. “Of course, it’s very important.”