Chapter 97: Grilled Fish

Chapter 97: The Grilled Fish Lead

By the time they arrived at the station, it was already past eight. Most of their colleagues had left for the day, with only the lights in Major Case Team One's office still glowing.

The two pushed the door open to find Captain Yang and the others each holding a bowl of instant noodles, scowling over their meals as they discussed the case.

“You're back?” Captain Yang turned at the sound, looking over eagerly. “You’re back so late—did you find a lead?”

Yue Lingchuan smiled, meeting the hopeful gazes of Captain Yang and Li Mingliang before casually saying, “We did.”

Captain Yang’s face brightened, and he immediately set his noodles aside. Yue Lingchuan added, “Captain, could you give Lao Niu a call and ask him to come back to the station? We’ve got a potential suspect.”

The team quickly gathered around. Captain Yang asked, “Why do we need Lao Niu for this suspect?”

Shen Qingye placed the letter on the table and went over what they’d found that day. Captain Yang let out a booming laugh upon hearing this, pounding the table. “Good, good! I’ll call Lao Niu right away!”

Without waiting for Shen Qingye and Yue Lingchuan to react, he immediately dialed the number.

Li Mingliang picked up the letter, making a face as he read. “This thing… seriously messed up.”

Lao Huang remarked quietly, “But it’s the most crucial lead we have right now.”

Shen Qingye couldn’t help but ask, “Any luck with Zhou Yuanfeng?”

Li Mingliang leaned against the table and shook his head. “If there were any leads, Captain Yang wouldn’t be this excited.” He gestured toward Captain Yang with his chin. “We’ve swept all of Zhou Yuanfeng’s and his parents’ properties, shops, and any places connected to them, but there’s still no trace of Qin Jiayu. We even questioned the hotel staff on duty that night, but they couldn’t say for sure if Zhou Yuanfeng left.”

The investigation into Zhou Yuanfeng had hit a dead end. With Qin Jiayu’s life hanging in the balance and the Linzhou police waiting for updates, it was no wonder Captain Yang was so thrilled to hear about the new lead.

Shen Qingye massaged her forehead as she stared at the letter. “Let’s hope this letter gives us something…”

Lao Huang said, “Say what you want about Lao Niu, but his handwriting analysis is top-notch.”

Li Mingliang, however, shook his head skeptically. “If it’s all written with the same hand, fine. But if it’s written with the left hand… that’ll be a nightmare.”

What’s more, they didn’t even have a specific suspect in mind. Picking out the suspicious handwriting from dozens of samples would undoubtedly be a painstaking task.

Captain Yang, having finished his call, walked over and patted Li Mingliang on the shoulder. “At least we have a lead now. Better than shooting in the dark.”

He then turned to Shen Qingye with a smile. “Xiao Shen [Little Shen], you’ve been busy all day—must be tired. Had dinner yet? There are a couple of instant noodles left if you want to grab a quick bite.”

Shen Qingye was about to say she wasn’t hungry when her stomach let out a loud growl. She froze for a second before meeting the smirks of her seniors, her face flushing red.

Captain Yang laughed heartily and was about to grab her noodles when Yue Lingchuan spoke up first. “No need. Xiao Shen and I will grab something outside.”

He checked the time. “Lao Niu will take a while to get here from home, and Teacher He will be even later coming from the school. Since there’s nothing urgent right now, we might as well go fill our stomachs.”

Captain Yang thought for a moment. “Fair enough.”

They already knew the details, and with neither Teacher He nor Lao Niu present yet, staying there wouldn’t help much.

Shen Qingye had initially thought she could just tough it out with instant noodles like the others, but Yue Lingchuan seemed to read her mind. Leaning against the table with a grin, he said, “I know an awesome night-market spot—legit delicious stuff.”

Shen Qingye looked up at him.

Yue Lingchuan added, “Captain Yang can vouch for it.”

Captain Yang, standing nearby, waved a hand in exasperation. “Yeah, yeah, I vouch for it. Legit delicious.”

He looked at Shen Qingye and couldn't help laughing again: "Go ahead, there's nothing to do here anyway. When Old Niu arrives, we'll handle things."

Only then did Shen Qingye agree with a smile, "Since Captain Yang says so, I’ll have to try how good it really is."

Captain Yang laughed, "I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!"

·

By a little past eight in the evening, the sky had completely darkened. Offices and residential areas had long quieted down, but a snack street not far from the city team remained brightly lit and bustling with activity.

Pedestrians came and went around them. Shen Qingye sidestepped left and right before Yue Lingchuan shielded her behind him, guiding her through twists and turns until they finally arrived at a seemingly plain and unremarkable shop.

The place looked ordinary, but both inside and outside, tables were packed full. It was packed wall-to-wall, bustling and loud—at a glance, there was hardly an empty seat in sight.

The owner, bare-chested with a round belly, had a towel draped over his neck and was carrying a large plate in his hands. Spotting them, he greeted heartily, "Hey, Xiao Yue! Pick any spot you like!"

This surprised her. "You’re pretty familiar with the owner?"

She was taken aback. She had assumed someone like Yue Lingchuan, a rich kid, would only frequent high-end hotels or, at the very least, private restaurants—something evident from his usual dining preferences. She never expected him to be so at ease in a roadside food stall like this. And judging by the looks of it, this wasn’t his first time here.

Yue Lingchuan smoothly led her to an empty table and chuckled, "Once I got to know the place, Captain Yang brought me here a few times. Later on, when I didn’t feel like eating elsewhere, I’d come here for a quick bite."

As he spoke, he cleared the table, wiped it down with a napkin, and even wiped down the stools.

He looked up and motioned to Shen Qingye, "Sit."

Watching his familiar motions, Shen Qingye’s expression grew even more astonished.

Yue Lingchuan paused. "What, this place too rough for you?"

"...It’s fine," Shen Qingye replied. She was mainly surprised that he could handle such tasks so adeptly.

Sitting down on the plastic stool as instructed, she glanced around at the noisy, lively surroundings with a sense of novelty.

Yue Lingchuan watched her from across the table. "Never been to a place like this before?"

Shen Qingye shook her head honestly.

Before her father passed away, she'd been treated like a princess at home. After he was gone, her mother resigned from her position as a factory manager and started her own company that kept growing—she'd never let Shen Qingye want for anything.

Not that Shen Qingye was spoiled, but she had grown up in a well-off environment. A place like this… she'd never been to before.

Noticing her hesitation, Yue Lingchuan looked slightly regretful and stood up. "If you really don’t like it, we can go somewhere else."

Shen Qingye quickly said, "No, it’s fine."

She couldn’t help but smile. "Young Master Yue has been to every kind of high-end hotel, yet he still recommends this place so highly. That says something about how good the food must be."

Only then did Yue Lingchuan relax slightly and sit back down. "This place uses fresh ingredients, and the taste is great—it holds its own against those fancy places."

He picked up the menu from the table and handed it to her. "See what you’d like to eat?"

Shen Qingye scanned the menu—stir-fried dishes, kebabs, grilled fish… even whole lamb roast.

She raised an eyebrow and looked up at him. Yue Lingchuan seemed to read her thoughts and said lightly, "Their grilled fish is excellent—tender with few bones. The roasted lamb is good too. Not sure where the owner sources the meat, but it doesn’t have the usual muttony taste."

Shen Qingye said, "A whole lamb roast is too much."

She suggested, "Let’s get a grilled fish. As for the whole lamb roast, we'll save that for next time when we come with Brother Qiming (Qiming) and the others."

Yue Lingchuan agreed and added a few dishes based on his experience before calling the owner over.

The owner took the menu with a hearty laugh, telling them it would be ready in no time.

The June heat was brutal during the day, with temperatures soaring above thirty degrees, but by night, the night breeze made it more bearable.

Seated across from each other, Shen Qingye cradled her paper cup in both hands, at a loss for words when facing Yue Lingchuan.

She had never been much of a conversationalist.

During cases, she could hold her own in conversation—but that was with a purpose. Now, with no case to discuss, an awkward silence settled between them.

After locking eyes for what felt like ages, they spoke at the same time: "About today’s case—"

Both paused, then couldn’t help but laugh.

Yue Lingchuan massaged his temple and sighed. "We rarely get time off—let’s not talk about cases."

They had already covered everything worth discussing. Making small talk now would only make things more uncomfortable.

Shen Qingye regarded Yue Lingchuan with a small smile. That little exchange had relaxed her, and she finally voiced a question that had long intrigued her: "Captain Yue, why did you decide to become a detective?"

The Yue family of the provincial capital, with their powerhouse Yue Group, was influential not just in Huaiyang but across the country. For a scion of such a family to choose law enforcement was indeed surprising.

Yue Lingchuan replied, "My grandfather was a soldier. Growing up around that, I always wanted to carry a firearm. Later, I became interested in solving cases, so after gaokao, I naturally enrolled in the police academy."

Shen Qingye pressed further, "Then why not stay in Laiyang? Why come to Pingjiang instead?"

Though Pingjiang was decent economically, it still couldn’t compare to Laiyang, the provincial capital.

Moreover, Yue Lingchuan’s family was in Laiyang. Staying there would have given him more support.

Yue Lingchuan smiled. "If I wanted to be a detective, I wanted to solve cases. Working my way up from the bottom, step by step, felt more solid."

Then, he turned the question back to her. "What about you? Why did you choose this path?"

Shen Qingye’s smile remained, but her eyes took on a faraway look. "Me…"

Her eyes seemed to look past Yue Lingchuan, into the past—seeing herself as a child, brought by her father to his workplace, watching them train, shoot, investigate cases, and interrogate suspects.

Back then, she hadn’t consciously decided to become a detective. It was only after her father’s sacrifice that the idea took root, growing firmer with time.

She snapped back to the present, flashing a bright smile. "Why else? It’s interesting. Solving cases and catching criminals—pretty badass, right?"

Yue Lingchuan chuckled, his usually sharp features softening as he watched her silently.

After spending time together, he'd gotten a read on her personality. He didn’t believe she had chosen this career just because it seemed "cool."

During their time in the team, Zhou Qiming, Wei Zhengyi, and others had occasionally asked about Shen Qingye’s family. Once, when her father was mentioned, she had simply said he was an ordinary worker who had died in an accident when she was young. After that, Wei Zhengyi and the others never pressed further. But Yue Lingchuan had caught the hints from Song Lianfeng’s and even Gao Zhengming’s attitudes.

He had a vague sense that her father’s death wasn’t as simple as she made it sound.

Yue Lingchuan didn’t pry. Instead, he asked, "And now? Now that you’re really a detective, is it what you imagined?"

Shen Qingye thought for a moment. "Some things are definitely different. But no matter what else changes, solving cases and catching bad guys stays the same, right?"

Yue Lingchuan considered her for a beat before allowing himself a slow smile. "Damn right."

He thought, Wasn't that what they were all pursuing, after all?

As the conversation reached this point, the topic opened up, and the two exchanged words back and forth. The mood was easy and relaxed.

Before long, the owner came over carrying a huge platter and announced cheerfully, "Grilled fish, coming through!"

Shen Qingye glanced at it—the fish had just come off the grill, still steaming. The tender white flesh, bright red chili peppers, and vibrant green cilantro intertwined, making her mouth water.

Already starving, Shen Qingye couldn't wait to pick up a bite the moment the dish was served. As the fish's delicious flavor burst in her mouth, her eyes were shining. Without even swallowing, she looked at Yue Lingchuan with bright eyes:

"It's really good!"

The fish was tender and springy, aromatic but not too hot, and the complex flavors were incredibly appetizing.

Seeing how much she enjoyed it, Yue Lingchuan finally relaxed and chuckled, "See? I may not have tried every restaurant in Pingjiang, but I’ve got a pretty good grasp of the tasty spots around our unit."

Mouth too full to talk, Shen Qingye could only give him a thumbs-up, making Yue Lingchuan laugh.

With the food served, both of them were too hungry to spare any energy for conversation, focusing entirely on eating.

The chili smelled fragrant, and at first, it didn’t seem too spicy. But after a while, the spice built up slowly but hit hard. Shen Qingye kept gasping between bites, her eyes and nose turning red.

Yue Lingchuan glanced up and met her gaze—her eyes now shiny with unshed tears. His face grew hot, and he quickly looked away, suddenly unable to meet her eyes.

He blinked awkwardly, the back of his ears warming up, and absentmindedly popped a piece of fish into his mouth—

Shen Qingye: "Wait—"

Yue Lingchuan froze mid-bite.

Only then did Shen Qingye finish her sentence: "That was… a chili."

Yue Lingchuan felt the fiery sensation spreading across his tongue. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to chew or not. In the end, he could only close his eyes, take a deep breath, and power through the burning heat.

He spat the chili onto a napkin and said with fake nonchalance, "Didn’t notice that just now."

Shen Qingye looked at his flushed face, opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

Only her lips pressed together slightly, her eyes brimming with suppressed laughter.

Yue Lingchuan met her gaze, silent for a moment, before finally twitching his mouth and letting out a sharp inhale—then laughing too.

"Ow, so spicy," he said.