Chapter 113 Travel

Chapter 113: Trip

After the college entrance exams ended, Pingjiang, which had been lively for a short while, returned to its usual calm.

The team hadn’t received any new cases for a while, and while everyone enjoyed the rare downtime, it also felt somewhat surreal—as if such leisurely days weren’t meant for them. They felt both jittery and apprehensive but ultimately couldn’t help feeling relieved.

This year’s weather had been unbelievably hot. It was only June, yet temperatures had already hit the mid-30s Celsius, even reaching 37 or 38 on some days. With this kind of heat, no one wanted to run around under the scorching sun handling cases.

As the temperature continued to climb, Ms. Bai's vacation spot selection shifted from scenic beauty to somewhere cool. After thinking it over, the whole family finally settled on Shiliang Town in Ankou City, Wuchuan Province, in northern China.

Wuchuan Province, with its high latitude and mountainous surroundings, enjoyed a pleasantly cool climate, with summer temperatures rarely exceeding 30 degrees. Shiliang Town, a recently developed town, was known for its beautiful scenery and refreshing coolness.

Ms. Bai hadn’t initially considered this place, thinking that since it was rare for the family to travel together, they should opt for more popular destinations. But with the recent extreme heat, their original choices were crossed off the list. Plus, a colleague from her workplace had raved about Shiliang Town—there were mountains, rivers, lakes, and few tourists. After much deliberation, Ms. Bai finally decided on it.

—Our family here didn’t include Gao Zhengming, but rather Bai Xiuyu, her son, and Shen Linyue.

Despite the lack of recent cases, as the Municipal Bureau chief, Gao Zhengming still had tons of paperwork. Bai Xiuyu had taken annual leave, planning to enjoy a real vacation, but Gao Zhengming’s position made it complicated—leaving the province required reporting, and even then, he wouldn’t have much time to relax. So, he let his wife and son go without him.

Shen Qingye hadn’t planned to go either. As a detective, she could be called back for a case at any moment, making trips out of province tricky. But Bai Xiuyu kept persuading her, insisting she deserved a break, even if just for a couple of days. When Gao Zhengming found out, he urged her too to take her annual leave while the team was relatively idle, warning that she’d be buried in work before she knew it.

Shen Qingye was ultimately tempted by the rare chance to travel with her mother. After two days of hesitation, she agreed.

That afternoon, she went to Detachment Leader Song to request leave. He seemed surprised by her request but, after some thought, gave his okay. “You’ve come at the right time. Things have been slow—a getaway would be good for you.”

Shen Qingye nodded. “That’s the plan. It’s a rare opportunity to spend time with family.”

Song Lianfeng chuckled before approving her application. He reminded her to stay reachable at all times, as a case could come up anytime, requiring her immediate return.

As a detective, Shen Qingye understood that cases took precedence over everything else. She assured him that Pingjiang had direct flights to Ankou, so she could return the same day if needed. Only then did Song Lianfeng relax.

Leaving his office, Shen Qingye felt relieved. Just as she was about to head back to her own office, she ran into Yue Lingchuan at the stairwell.

He paused at the sight of her, eyebrows lifting slightly. “Were you just with Detachment Leader Song?”

Shen Qingye hesitated before replying, “…Yeah.”

Yue Lingchuan asked casually, “What for?”

She studied him for a moment without answering.

Only then did he sense something off. He lowered his gaze. “Hmm?”

He smiled, softening his tone. “What’s wrong?”

Shen Qingye pressed her lips together, trying to sound casual. “Nothing much.”

“Just requested annual leave.”

Yue Lingchuan fell silent for a beat, then slowly grinned. “Annual leave?”

Shen Qingye gave a confirming ‘mm’. “Since there aren’t any cases right now, I figured I’d take the chance to go on a short trip with my family.”

Yue Lingchuan crossed his arms, lounging against the wall. His dark eyes fixed on her as he murmured, “If you go, what about me?”

Shen Qingye froze, her face instantly heating up. “W-what do you mean, ‘what about you’?”

She blinked, her gaze darting away as she muttered, “I’ll only be gone for a couple of days. It’s not like the team will fall apart without me…”

Yue Lingchuan cut straight to the point. “The team'll manage, but I won’t.”

Shen Qingye's voice cut off abruptly.

She fell silent for a moment, then leaned back lightly against the wall. Her dark, bright eyes lifted slightly with a faint trace of amusement, and she sighed with feigned helplessness: "Then what should we do?"

Yue Lingchuan tilted his head, pondering for a while before saying, "Come to think of it... I haven't taken my annual leave this year yet."

He looked at Shen Qingye and asked, "Officer Shen, mind if I tag along?"

·

When Yue Lingchuan went to Song Lianfeng to request leave, the latter, who seemed surprised, mumbled something about everyone picking the same time. Yue Lingchuan merely smiled without responding, dodging the question casually.

Thus, when Shen Qingye and her group of four boarded the plane and settled into their seats, the tall, handsome man sitting in front of them removed his sunglasses and blurted out in genuine surprise, "Aunt Shen? Little Shen?"

He looked genuinely surprised, and Shen Linyue was equally surprised. She stepped forward to greet him, asking, "Xiao Yue, are you here for work or heading home?"

Yue Lingchuan replied, "Neither. I took annual leave to go on a trip."

Shen Linyue hesitated, keeping her smile warm. "Where are you planning to go?"

Yue Lingchuan grinned brightly. "Shiliang Town." He then asked in return, "And where are you heading, Auntie?"

Shen Linyue: "..."

Hah.

At first, she had thought it might genuinely be a coincidence. But after hearing his response, Shen Linyue immediately understood what was really going on.

She shot a look at her daughter and, sure enough, saw her making a show of organizing her luggage, avoiding eye contact.

Shen Linyue subtly rolled her eyes, and she eyed Yue Lingchuan with growing disapproval.

Bai Xiuyu also knew Yue Lingchuan and understood Shen Linyue well. Sensing her friend's mood, she had an inkling of what was going on but kept her expression neutral, smiling as she said, "What a coincidence! We're also going to Shiliang."

"Really?" Yue Lingchuan exclaimed with delight. "Then we can keep each other company."

Bai Xiuyu made small talk with him for a bit more until the flight attendant instructed everyone to take their seats, and she finally took her seat.

Before leaving, Shen Qingye couldn't help but throw Yue Lingchuan a sidelong glare.

Though she had known he would follow, she hadn’t expected him to do it this way.

Unbelievable...

Yue Lingchuan cleared his throat and rubbed his nose.

In the back, Bai Xiuyu and Shen Linyue sat together. Catching their silent exchange, Bai Xiuyu elbowed her friend and whispered, "This Xiao Yue... is he...?"

She didn’t finish her sentence, but Shen Linyue, having known her for so many years, understood perfectly. She sighed helplessly, "Don't jump to conclusions."

While she wanted her daughter to relax and not be too hard on herself—to date and socialize normally—seeing Yue Lingchuan now inevitably made her unhappy.

After raising her daughter for so many years, who could be happy seeing someone trying to sweep her off her feet?

Bai Xiuyu had to laugh. "Xiao Feng is grown up now. It’s normal for her to date. Besides, as a detective, she has her own judgment when it comes to people. She's got good judgment, so don’t worry too much."

Shen Linyue pursed her lips, grumbling, "How can I not worry?"

Bai Xiuyu smiled and let it drop.

Turning her head to look at Shen Qingye sitting next to Gao Ruiyang by the aisle, she paused for a moment. Indeed, it was understandable—no one would be happy to see their precious daughter being pursued by some guy.

On the other side, after settling in, Gao Ruiyang realized Yue Lingchuan was sitting in front of him and, excited, leaned over to chat away excitedly with him.

Gao Ruiyang intended to apply for forensic medicine and had always been deeply interested in related cases. Whenever Gao Zhengming had time at home, he would share cases from his work with Gao Ruiyang. However, due to his busy schedule and years away from fieldwork, his knowledge of current forensic techniques was limited. Now that he had met Yue Lingchuan, he naturally fired off questions.

Yue Lingchuan patiently recounted a few cases from his work, especially those where forensic findings played a crucial role, leaving the kid wide-eyed with excitement.

Beside them, Shen Qingye acted aloof, looking everywhere but at them, but she couldn’t help being drawn into the cases he described, listening without realizing it.

As Yue Lingchuan spoke, he suddenly remarked, "Your sister was involved in this case too. Honestly, it was thanks to her."

Gao Ruiyang immediately turned to Shen Qingye, caught off guard, meeting Yue Lingchuan’s amused gaze. Her cheeks flushed, and she coughed lightly. "Just luck, really."

Yue Lingchuan was referring to the Cai Chengyong case.

Gao Ruiyang had some impression of it—the case had made headlines, and his father had been troubled by it for a long time, occasionally mentioning it at home. When it was finally solved, he had sighed in relief.

However, at the time, Shen Qingye hadn’t officially become a detective yet, and Gao Ruiyang was often at school, so he didn’t know much about it. This was the first time he learned his sister had played a part in it.

Shen Qingye had no choice but to give him the short version. Yue Lingchuan, however, wouldn’t drop it, expanding on the details one by one, his tone straightforward but gushing, making Shen Qingye squirm. To make matters worse, he kept asking for her input:

"Did I get that right?"

"Pretty sure it went like this, right?"

"Hold on, what happened there?"

Even Gao Ruiyang began to sense something odd.

Shen Qingye endured it until most passengers had boarded and finally cut him off, "Alright, we’re about to take off. Stop talking."

Only then did Yue Lingchuan let it go, though clearly wanting to say more.

Shen Qingye turned away, rubbing her face and letting out a quiet sigh.

Was he always this insufferable?

·

In the last two minutes before boarding closed, a commotion broke out in the aisle. Turning her head, she saw a family of four hurrying down the aisle, lugging their bags.

The woman at the front looked to be in her fifties, followed by a younger woman who appeared under thirty. A young father trailed behind, carrying a little girl.

Following the flight attendant’s directions, they hurried to their seats. The older woman complained while arranging their luggage, "This is on you! Always dragging your feet till the last second. Now look—we almost missed the flight!"

The younger mother stood on tiptoe to stuff a bag into the overhead compartment and replied flatly, "But we made it, didn’t we?"

The older woman grew even angrier. "Don’t you sass me! We had to run all the way here. Look at how worn out Qu Peiyun is, carrying Jing Jing!"

At this, the onlookers who had been eavesdropping with interest were surprised. They had assumed the two women were mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but now it seemed they were mother and daughter.

Shen Qingye took a closer look and indeed noticed some resemblance between them.

The younger woman said coolly, "Jing Jing’s barely a feather. He’s a grown man—carrying her for a bit is nothing."

The older woman choked on her anger, but Qu Peiyun quickly interjected, "Mom, it’s fine. Runing’s right. Jing Jing only weighs about thirty pounds—it’s nothing."

He chuckled and said, "Please take a rest after settling your luggage. You look worn out."

Only then did Song's mother's expression soften slightly, but she couldn't help chiding her daughter, "Look at you! Only Peiyun would put up with you—who else could? It's always work, work, work, as if nothing else matters!"

After saying this, she turned to Qu Peiyun with a smile, "Alright, Jingjing, come to Grandma. Let Daddy rest for a while, okay?"

The little girl clung tightly to her father and shook her head, "Nooo, I won't!"

Song's mother coaxed gently, "Daddy is tired..."

Jingjing buried her face in her father's neck, "No, no, no!"

Qu Peiyun, holding his daughter, was about to say something when Song Runing spoke sternly, "Song Zhiyi, come here!"

Jingjing flinched before reluctantly lifting her head. Meeting her mother’s stern gaze, she pouted with puppy-dog eyes and fell silent.

Song Runing repeated, "Come here."

With a pitiful expression, Jingjing patted her father’s arm and trudged over to her mother in small steps.

Song Runing looked down at her and said, "Daddy has been holding you for so long—he’s tired. You should be considerate, right?"

Jingjing glanced at the sweat on her father’s forehead, pouted, and dragged out her reply, "Yeeeah..."

Seeing the little one upset, Song's mother quickly tried to cheer her up, "Mommy just cares about Daddy. Come here, Jingjing. Didn’t you want to see the clouds outside? Grandma’s seat is by the window—you’ll get a better view."

Her face lit up at that and she scrambled over.

With that settled, order was restored in the cabin. Shen Qingye withdrew her gaze and paid no further attention.

But the little girl was clearly still excited, babbling nonstop. Shen Qingye wasn’t particularly fond of children, but she didn’t dislike them either. Understanding that everything was new and fascinating to kids, she tuned her out without much thought.

However, some passengers nearby clearly felt differently. Though Shen Qingye was farther away, she could faintly hear grumbles.

She heard it, and naturally, so did the girl’s mother, who immediately said, "Alright, Jingjing, quiet down. This is a public place—no unnecessary noise."

"Oh..." The girl lowered her voice but still couldn’t sit still, squirming around in her seat and looking left and right. Unexpectedly, her gaze met Shen Qingye’s.

They both froze, then Shen Qingye flashed her a smile, which the little girl returned with a big grin of her own.

"Sister!" the girl whispered, "You're really pretty!"

"You’re the prettiest sister I’ve ever seen!"

Shen Qingye was surprised, then her eyes crinkled with a smile as she replied softly, "Thank you. You’re also the prettiest little girl I’ve ever seen!"

Jingjing covered her face, giggling shyly, her tiny body squirming with glee.

Her mother, noticing the interaction, turned and apologized to Shen Qingye, "Sorry, she gets too chummy with strangers."

Shen Qingye smiled warmly, "It’s fine. She’s adorable."

Song Runing reeled her daughter in and bopped her on the head, "You—do you even know her before striking up a conversation?"

Jingjing declared, "No, but she’s really pretty!"

Song Runing was at a loss for words, then couldn’t help getting jealous, "Oh, so she’s the prettiest? What about Mommy?"

Song Zhiyi thought for a second, then threw her arms around her, "I was wrong just now. Mommy is the prettiest in my heart!"

At these words, the surrounding tourists couldn't help but laugh.

Song Runing also felt a bit embarrassed and held her daughter to keep her from fidgeting.

When the time came, the plane roared into takeoff.

Shen Qingye gazed out the window in a pleasant mood. The little girl beside her whispered excited 'wows', clearly amazed by the fact they were in the sky.

The flight was smooth and uneventful.

·

The annual leave totaled five days, plus the weekend, making it a full week's vacation.

By the time they landed in Ankou City, it was already past three in the afternoon. They didn't rush straight to Shiliang Town but spent some time exploring the city and rested there for the night before setting off for their destination the next day.

Shiliang Town was a newly developed tourist destination that had received strong support from the local government. There were direct buses from the city, with a travel time of one and a half hours. The scenic route made the hour-and-a-half trip enjoyable.

Before its tourism development, Shiliang had been just a poor, backwater village. It wasn’t until its unique geographical features and picturesque landscapes were discovered by investors that it gradually flourished.

The bus arrived on schedule, and as everyone disembarked, they were met with crisp, fresh air that felt lung-cleansing, instantly rousing them from the drowsiness of the ride.

Looking ahead, they saw a vast expanse of flat land scattered with houses big and small. In the distance, emerald-green mountains wrapped around three sides, and a shimmering lake sparkled under the sunlight, that lifted their spirits just to look at.

Glancing up, the sun shone brightly without being harsh—nothing like the oppressive heat of Pingjiang. A mild breeze brought gentle relief. The sky was a clear blue, dotted with snow-white clouds.

Bai Xiuyu couldn’t help but exclaim, "This place is amazing..."

They'd definitely come to the right place.

Shen Linyue added, "It can't be more than 30 degrees (86°F) now. In the early morning or evening, we might even need long sleeves."

Bai Xiuyu chuckled, "Cooler is always better than hotter!"

After some more joking around, the group headed toward their prearranged accommodation.

Though the local tourism economy had developed, it hadn’t followed the trend of constructing towering hotels like other scenic areas. Instead, it fully embraced local characteristics, building rows of two- and three-story cottages with yards, more akin to small urban villas.

All visiting tourists stayed in these cottages.

Shen Qingye’s group had done their research beforehand and had booked a two-story house in advance, so checking in was a breeze.

Along the way, Yue Lingchuan busied himself with the luggage, his toned arms showing their strength as he carried the suitcases. Shen Qingye leaned against the doorframe, quietly watching him. When her mother wasn’t looking, she couldn’t resist asking, "Where are you staying?"

The tall man turned to look at her, putting on a serious face as he replied, "Well, I see there’s still an empty room here..."

Shen Qingye glared at him and turned to leave. Yue Lingchuan quickly caught her arm, backpedaling, "Just joking!"

She looked back at him, and he finally answered earnestly, "I’m staying nearby. I’ll just call the owner later to pick me up."

After all, they weren't officially together yet, and he had already met Shen Qingye’s mother. Crashing together would look bad.

Shen Qingye pursed her lips, aware of his large hand warming her arm. She took her time blinking before saying, "Then you should head over soon. We can manage the unpacking ourselves."

Yue Lingchuan gave her arm a gentle shake. "How about lunch together?"

She studied him for a moment, giving in with a sigh. "Don’t worry, I won’t leave you alone."

Yue Lingchuan finally looked satisfied. After helping them settle in, he took his leave.

Shen Qingye followed him to the door and didn’t head back inside until his figure was completely out of sight.

The moment she turned around, she saw Shen Linyue standing with her arms crossed, quietly observing her. Shen Qingye was startled. "Mom!"

She wasn’t sure how much her mother had seen, and her ears burned red.

Shen Linyue’s expression was calm, but her tone carried a hint of sarcasm. "He went through all that trouble for this 'chance' meeting. Aren’t you going to invite him for a meal?"

Shen Qingye cleared her throat, a little embarrassed. "We already planned to have lunch together."

Shen Linyue didn’t know what to say for a moment and turned to walk inside.

Shen Qingye leaned in closer, probing carefully. "Mom, if you don’t like him… I can just tell him not to come?"

Shen Linyue shot her a glance. "Would you really be willing to do that?"

Shen Qingye immediately replied with earnest insistence. "Of course! Mom is the most important, no question!"

Shen Linyue let out a soft scoff. "Oh please. I don’t want to end up being the wicked mother keeping lovers apart."

Shen Qingye’s ears burned crimson. "Come on, you’re so reasonable—"

Shen Linyue: "Yeah, right…"

……

The mother and daughter teased each other as they headed upstairs. By the time they finished tidying up, it was nearly lunchtime. The group excitedly headed out, ready to try some local specialties.

Just as they exited the courtyard, a familiar voice chirped: "Pretty sister!"

Shen Qingye turned in surprise and saw a little girl standing not far away, waving her little arm wildly with a bright smile. Beside her stood three adults—the same family from the plane.