Two shadows streaked through the long alley in a frantic chase. Liu Huisheng ran with a desperate intensity, but the figure ahead was incredibly fast. Every time she rounded a corner, the black-clad back was already vanishing into the next turn.
“What’s going on?”
Zhao Yu quickly overtook her. Thanks to years of rigorous training, her pace was far superior to Huisheng’s.
Liu Huisheng didn’t stop, pointing toward the shadow: “The one in black! Up ahead! That’s him!”
Zhao Yu accelerated, lunging forward like a leopard. By the fourth turn, she caught him. She delivered a sharp kick to his back, driving him into the ground before wrenching his arms behind him in a professional restraint.
“Gah! Ow, ow—easy, easy!”
The man in black was a young male, howling as Zhao Yu twisted his arm.
“I’ll give it back! I’ll give it back, okay!”
“Keep still!”
Zhao Yu increased the pressure, pinning him against the brick wall like a nail.
Huisheng caught up, panting heavily. She stared into the man’s eyes and demanded, “Why were you following me?”
The man looked bewildered. “Following? I wasn’t—ow!” He winced as Zhao Yu tightened her grip. “Miss, I wasn’t following you. I just swiped a wallet, and you guys caught me red-handed! I’ll give it back right now!”
“A wallet?” Huisheng froze.
“Yeah, yeah.” The man gritted his teeth in pain. “I swear it’s my first time. Be a pal, don’t call the cops!”
The two women exchanged a look. Zhao Yu reached into the man’s jacket pocket and pulled out a leather wallet. Inside were IDs, two bank cards, and a few hundred yuan in cash.
***************************************
Hehai Branch Police Station
After finishing her paperwork, Zhao Yu walked down the station steps and climbed into her car.
“Ran his prints. He’s a career petty thief with a record. Was detained just six months ago. During the time you were on the phone at the tube building, he was caught on mall security cameras miles away.”
In the passenger seat, Liu Huisheng sat in silence. She had already guessed this outcome. The moment the wallet appeared, she knew they had chased the wrong man. She stared out the windshield, her eyes hollow—like a glass hourglass where the sand has run out, leaving only a thin layer of dust to prove anything had ever been there.
“I see. Thanks for checking.”
Zhao Yu turned to look at her. The yellow streetlights filtered through the glass, casting a cold, lonely filter over Huisheng’s features.
“Is it possible you saw wrong that day? Maybe there wasn’t anyone at the window.”
Huisheng’s lips twitched. She wanted to summon her usual effortless smile, but the energy wasn’t there. Her lips formed an ambiguous curve, and her voice was a dry rasp:
“My eyes do not make mistakes.”
That statement planted a thorn in Zhao Yu’s heart. Not a sharp, external thorn, but a hangnail—the kind that grows into the tender flesh, irritating, uncomfortable, and impossible to remove.
*****************************
The Celebration
With the arson case closed, the Major Crimes Unit finally let their guard down for a celebratory dinner. Chen Doudou suggested hot pot, but Zhao Yu vetoed it—too hot for the peak of summer. They ended up at a charcoal grill place recommended by Brother Zhong.
“Cheers—!”
Nine glass mugs clinked together like wind chimes. Those not driving drank beer; the designated drivers stuck to soda.
“Liu Huisheng.”
After a few rounds of food, Qin Song stood up, looking at her with his characteristic bluntness.
“We owe this one to you. I don’t get that ‘profiling’ stuff, but you’re the real deal. I said some things before without thinking—I’m here to apologize.”
Huisheng stood up as well, raising her beer glass with a slight bow.
“You’re too kind, Vice-Captain. We’re all on the same team. Don’t worry about it.”
“No, a man’s word is his bond. We had a bet—if you solved it first, I’d owe you milk tea. I didn’t know your flavor, so I got you a gift card. Take it.” He pulled a rectangular card with ‘200’ printed on it from his pocket and handed it over.
Huisheng accepted the sincere gesture with both hands. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. But I gotta say—even though profiling worked this time, I still find it a bit… mystical. So, I’m still gonna stick to my own methods in the future. Nothing against you, just everyone has their own habits, right?”
“Of course. Profiling is just a tool; catching people still requires hard evidence. I have a lot to learn from you in that regard, Vice-Captain. Please, guide me in the future.”
“Haha, no problem! We’ll learn from each other!”
She enjoyed the company of straightforward people. As Zhao Yu had said, Huisheng’s methods were perhaps too “frontier” for a place like Wengcheng, but after this first victory, the veterans were beginning to see the magic in it.
The drinking continued until 11:00 PM. Chen Doudou leaned in, eager to become Huisheng’s apprentice, even offering a handmade brooch as a “tuition fee.”
“Sheng-jie, you have to teach me! I promise I’ll work hard!”
Huisheng smiled faintly. “This field requires more than just hard work.”
“What else?”
“Talent.”
“I have that!”
Huisheng pulled out her phone and opened an album titled Expressions. She pulled up a photo of five different people and handed it to Doudou.
“Tell me: out of these five, who is actually happy?”
Doudou’s mouth went flat as she studied the five portraits. All five appeared to be smiling.
The whole team crowded around. Xiaofei, who wasn’t wearing his glasses, practically pressed his face into the screen until Doudou slapped the back of his head.
“A, right? She looks like a refined lady, smiling without showing teeth.”
“She said find ‘happy,’ not ‘pretty.’”
“D? He’s smiling the hardest, he must be thrilled.”
“I think it’s B. Lost in her own world, truly happy.”
“E looks weird, but I can’t put my finger on why. Let’s go with E—usually the one that looks the least right is the answer in these tests.”
After much debate, Doudou stuck with the detective-novel logic. “I choose E.”
Huisheng’s expression remained neutral.
“Mhm. You picked the one furthest from the truth.”
“Agh!” Doudou clutched her head.
“E is a classic ‘frog mouth.’ It usually appearing during embarrassment, awkwardness, or when a lie has been exposed.”
“What about D?” Xiaofei insisted. “He’s grinning so wide.”
“D’s eye muscles are strained, and his brows are slightly pressed down. Despite the wide mouth, that’s a ‘sneer.’ He looks like he’s laughing, but inside he’s feeling anger, impatience, or resentment.”
As she analyzed, the team re-examined the photos. Brother Zhong, the most experienced of the lot, asked tentatively:
“Huisheng, is there even a ‘happy’ person in here?”
Huisheng arched an eyebrow. “C is the one.”
“What?” Doudou protested. “But she’s not even showing her teeth! I ruled her out first!”
Huisheng shrugged. “Hence, the lack of talent.”
“Does that mean you’re rejecting me? Don’t be like that! I’ll be so good, I promise!”
“Wait until you can distinguish basic expressions on your own. Then I’ll teach you.”
“Fine, fine… but even if you won’t be my master yet, tell me—how do you tell someone is truly happy?”
Huisheng was about to decline. It was late, and she wanted to avoid a never-ending lecture.
However, Zhao Yu, who had been silent the whole time, adjusted her cap and leaned in.
“Actually, I want to know too.”
How did you know, back on my 19th birthday, that my smile was a lie?
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂