Chapter Twenty-Four: Laying the Cards on the Table

An Changpu didn’t take long to complete the request for assistance. When he hurried back, he learned that Qin Ruonan had already gone downstairs and was waiting in the car.

“I’d better get down there quickly! She’d better not beat me to it while I’m not looking!” An Changpu slapped his thigh and turned to dash out.

Tian Mi and Tian Yang watched as An Changpu rushed away, exchanging a glance before both bursting into knowing laughter.

“This is interesting. I’ve known An Changpu for so long, and I’ve rarely seen him so flustered by someone! Looks like we’re in for a show!” Tian Yang winked at Tian Mi.

An Changpu thundered down the stairs, circled around the police station courtyard, but didn’t see the car he and Qin Ruonan usually used. He felt a surge of irritation. Ever since Qin Ruonan joined the Major Crimes Unit, he’d gone out of his way to be courteous, never offending or slighting her. Despite her coldness and indifference, as if he were carrying some contagious disease, he’d let it pass. But today, she’d openly mocked him in front of Tian Mi, making him lose face completely, and now she’d left him behind and run off alone. How could he not be annoyed?

After searching in vain, An Changpu had no choice but to head outside to hail a taxi, hoping to catch up with her. The moment he stepped through the gate, he spotted Qin Ruonan sitting in the car, parked right across the street from the police station.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” An Changpu crossed the road, opened the passenger door, and climbed in. He was already sweating from his hurried dash, and as he wiped his brow, he asked with a hint of reproach.

Despite his earlier irritation, when he finally spoke to Qin Ruonan, he couldn’t help but temper his tone, mindful that she was, after all, a young woman.

Qin Ruonan glanced at him in confusion, apparently seeing nothing amiss in her actions.

“Didn’t you say you’d wait for me downstairs? Exactly what is your problem with me? If I’ve offended you in some way, tell me—I can apologize. But don’t keep acting so contrary, and don’t bring your emotions into our work,” An Changpu said sternly, his face serious and his voice as even as he could make it, hoping for a straightforward conversation.

After he finished, Qin Ruonan looked at him, half-smiling, half-baffled. “So you think I’m bringing my emotions into work? I said I’d wait for you downstairs—am I parked upstairs right now? Who says waiting for you means standing right in the most obvious spot at the front door? You think this is kindergarten pickup? As a detective, even if ‘eyes in all directions and ears to the wind’ is a bit exaggerated, your observation skills shouldn’t be this poor. If you can’t find me just because I parked across the street, that’s on your own professional shortcomings.”

Qin Ruonan expected him to be annoyed by her rapid-fire retort, but instead, An Changpu looked at her and suddenly laughed.

“Before I came down, you were sitting in the car rehearsing what you’d say to me, weren’t you?” An Changpu regarded her with amusement; his earlier anger and resentment melted into curiosity. He wanted to know just what grudge this young woman held against him, to be so determined to spar with him. “I must’ve offended you somehow, I’m sure of it now. Otherwise, you wouldn’t bother.”

Qin Ruonan’s expression hardened. She said nothing more, started the engine swiftly, and drove toward Lu Anmei’s workplace.

According to the information provided by Ding Mulan, Lu Anmei was working at a chain supermarket. Qin Ruonan drove straight there. Before they even entered, through the large storefront window, they spotted Lu Anmei’s frail figure.

She wore the store’s standard uniform, the shirt emblazoned with the supermarket’s name hanging loosely on her thin frame. In her hands she gripped a dirty broom and dustpan, crouched on the floor cleaning up what appeared to be someone’s vomit. The people around her kept their mouths and noses covered, faces twisted in disgust as they edged away.

Qin Ruonan immediately opened the door and went inside, An Changpu close behind.

A woman who looked to be a junior manager, not much older than Lu Anmei herself, stalked over with an air of authority, wrinkling her nose as she said, “Can’t you move a little faster? Clean that mess up and then mop the floor! This smell is disgusting—our customers can’t stand it!”

Lu Anmei said nothing, only nodded and quickened her movements.

“Just don’t get sloppy! Don’t splash that filth on anyone else!” the manager added with another sharp barb.

All the while, Lu Anmei remained silent, quietly going about her task.

“Lu Anmei,” Qin Ruonan stepped forward, helping her up from her squat. “You remember us, don’t you? We’d like to speak with you.”

At the sight of Qin Ruonan and An Changpu, Lu Anmei froze, her face turning even paler than when she’d been cleaning up the vomit.

“I’m working right now. As for my father, you should ask my sister—she knows everything. I don’t know anything,” she said, gently trying to pull her arm free. But with a dustpan full of vomit in her hand, she didn’t dare make any sudden moves.

Before Lu Anmei could react, the manager bristled. “Hey, who are you people? The supermarket is open for business—you here to shop or to find someone? If you want to talk to her, come back after her shift!”

Without a word, An Changpu turned, flashed his badge, and said, “Are you the manager here? We’re detectives from the Major Crimes Unit of C City Police. Lu Anmei’s family has been the victim of a crime, and we need her assistance with our investigation. If this causes any inconvenience to your work, we ask for your understanding.”

The woman, taken aback, could only nod and glance past An Changpu to Lu Anmei. “I don’t care if you help them or not, but you’d better clean up that mess before you go.”

“I see you have plenty of staff,” Qin Ruonan observed the crowd of young employees in uniform who’d gathered to watch. “Let them handle it. Our time is valuable, and we can’t afford to waste it on a puddle of vomit.”

No sooner had she spoken than the onlookers melted away.

The manager rolled her eyes, then pointed toward a door at the far end of the row of cash registers. “Fine, talk in there. But be quick—Lu Anmei still has to work.”