Animal Detective

「Early one morning, at Guo’s Noodle House.」

"A bowl of noodles, please."

Shen Xin walked into the noodle shop, glanced at the menu on the wall, and said, "Pickled vegetable and shredded pork. Add a side of pork intestines."

"Coming right up."

A reply came from the kitchen. Then Guo Kaitai poked his head out, saw them, and froze for a second before hurrying to say, "Officer Shen, what brings you here?"

He quickly put down the strainer in his hand and walked out.

"Is your wife not here?" Shen Xin glanced toward the back kitchen, not seeing Guo Jinhua’s mother.

Guo Kaitai quickly wiped his hands on a towel, then came forward to shake hands with Shen Xin and Yang Zeran. "She took him to the hospital for his dialysis," he explained, then eagerly asked, "Is there any progress on the case?"

His face was filled with anticipation.

Shen Xin’s expression remained unchanged as he nodded. "That’s right. There has been some progress on the case."

Guo Kaitai was overjoyed.

But then he asked hesitantly, "Officer Shen, you’re not just telling me that, are you?"

For the past two-plus years, whenever he went to the station to ask, the answer was always the same: it was under investigation, with no results yet.

"No," Shen Xin said, shaking his head.

’There is progress, it’s just that the progress is our theory that your son is the killer.’

Shen Xin said, "Sir, we just came by today because we wanted to see your son again for a chat. Don’t overthink it. We’re still actively investigating the case."

After offering that reassurance, Shen Xin turned to ask Yang Zeran what he wanted to eat.

Yang Zeran glanced at the menu and said he’d have the same.

Guo Kaitai nodded and hurried off to cook the noodles.

When he came out to ladle on the toppings, he also tried to add fried gluten and a large pork chop, but Shen Xin stopped him, saying they couldn’t eat that much in the morning.

"You’re running all over the place, it’s tough work. Eat more. It’s on the house."

Guo Kaitai didn’t stop.

Seeing he couldn’t be dissuaded, Shen Xin gave up. ’I’ll just make sure to pay the full price later anyway.’

But when he picked up a piece of the pork intestine and took a bite, his expression flickered.

Across the table, Yang Zeran also looked up and shot Shen Xin a quick glance.

’Careless.’

’These intestines were definitely made yesterday. The taste is off.’

His business wasn’t doing well, so he hadn’t sold all the intestines he’d prepared. Unwilling to throw them out, he’d just reheated them today.

Shen Xin glanced at the pile of toppings on the table, sighed internally, and continued eating as if nothing was wrong, making small talk with Guo Kaitai.

Across from him, Yang Zeran proactively pushed the two bowls of toppings closer to Shen Xin and silently ate his noodles.

The conversation was mainly about the relationship between Guo Jinhua and his wife, which Shen Xin then steered toward Guo Meijing.

At the mention of Guo Meijing, Guo Kaitai’s eyes started to redden. Sniffling, he said the child was so pitiful, and that he wished he could have traded his life for hers.

He also said that out of the whole family, the two most useless ones who most deserved to die were the only ones left alive.

"Sir, don’t say that."

Shen Xin advised.

The small talk yielded nothing of value.

In Guo Kaitai’s eyes, Guo Jinhua and his wife, Fu Lanting, were a loving couple, and he was exceptionally pleased with his daughter-in-law. He only had good things to say.

It all felt genuine.

After finishing his noodles, Shen Xin stood up and quickly paid by scanning the QR code.

"Sir, we’ll head straight to the hospital then. We can give your wife and son a ride back later, save them the bus trip."

The Yunlin Branch couldn’t perform dialysis, so they had to go to the more distant Tingyang Hospital.

They didn’t have a car. The old woman had to push the wheelchair onto the bus.

Guo Kaitai chased after them, thanking them repeatedly. He watched them get into their car, reluctant to go back inside.

Yang Zeran said, "When he finds out you’ve listed his son as a suspect, who knows how badly he’ll curse you out."

Shen Xin retorted, "As if you had nothing to do with it."

It was an idea they’d come up with together and had already gone over.

"You’re the leader," Yang Zeran huffed, expertly digging a Norfloxacin tablet out of his backpack and asking Shen Xin if he wanted one.

Shen Xin said, "At least the noodles were fresh, right?"

Yang Zeran was noncommittal, only saying faintly, "I don’t think the pickled vegetables tasted right either."

Shen Xin sighed softly and held out his hand for two.

On the way to Tingyang Hospital, Yang Zeran said, "It’s been almost three years. I think he’s long been mentally prepared. What’s the point of going to see him again now?"

With Guo Jinhua as the suspect, they split up their tasks.

Ding Yuwei and her team were investigating the motive.

Shen Xin had also personally visited Liu Jie and the others to ask for help.

No one refused.

It wasn’t just because they owed Shen Xin a favor, but also because of the kind of person Shen Xin was.

In Liu Jie’s view, Shen Xin wasn’t an ordinary detective, but one with a special talent.

’Can you guarantee you’ll never encounter a case involving animals, or one that requires tracking, or even a police dog?’

For that reason alone, Liu Jie wouldn’t say no.

He organized quite a few people, creating a 19-person group chat for Shen Xin.

It included people from Pingyu’s five districts and four counties, who would coordinate directly with Shen Xin and share any findings immediately.

Xiong Yongjian and the Lishui side did the same.

The net had now been cast wide. Whether it would yield any results was unknown.

Naturally, Shen Xin couldn’t stay idle either. He planned to go see Guo Jinhua again.

A face-to-face confrontation.

Of course, this wasn’t the kind of tactic meant to startle a suspect.

In some cases, when there are no leads, you can do that to make the suspect panic, think the police are onto them, and then make a move to destroy evidence.

That wouldn’t work with Guo Jinhua.

First, Shen Xin wouldn’t reveal any progress in the investigation. Second, even if Guo Jinhua wanted to make a move, he couldn’t.

"I just want to see him, look him in the eyes, and see if my intuition is right," Shen Xin said, pointing to his own eyes.

Before, he hadn’t considered Guo Jinhua a suspect. When he looked at him, he saw a victim.

But now, he was a suspect.

So the feeling was different.

Yang Zeran gave a wry smile. "Not bad. I’ve been on the force for four years and still haven’t developed a detective’s intuition."

He knew that some old-school detectives, the ones who’d worked cases their whole lives, had this so-called intuition thanks to their vast experience.

But Shen Xin?

He hadn’t even been on the job for two years.

"Hey, you looking down on me?"

Shen Xin huffed. ’My time on the job might be short, but I’ve worked plenty of homicide cases.’

「Before long, the two arrived at Tingyang Hospital.」

The mother and son were in the dialysis room.

Guo Jinhua lay there, completely devoid of any will to live.

His mother, Tao Yiping, stood watch by his side. Her eyes were glued to the dialysis machine, watching as his warm blood was drawn out, circulated through the system, and then infused back into his body, cold.

"Ma’am, please, have a seat."

Shen Xin politely pushed a chair toward her and started making small talk.

Naturally, the conversation turned to Guo Jinhua’s illness.

Because of the dialysis, his arm had a large, shocking bulge on it.

As for his condition, it was continuously worsening.

When they were discussing treatment options, Shen Xin tentatively brought up a kidney transplant.

At the mention of this, Guo Jinhua’s expression turned resistant, while Tao Yiping began to wipe away tears.

"We want to donate to him."

Tao Yiping sniffled and said, "He’s our only son. We’d give him one kidney, even both of our kidneys if we could. We’re willing."

"But he won’t take it."

Tears streamed down Tao Yiping’s face.

Guo Jinhua glared, struggling to speak clearly. "What’s the point? It won’t cure me. I’m still going to die."

He spoke with a sense of urgency.

Shen Xin quickly urged him not to get agitated.

Shen Xin had, of course, consulted with his attending physician about his condition.

He had learned that his parents had secretly been tested, and both were matches.

The odds were high, after all, since they were his biological parents.

But Guo Jinhua himself refused to accept a kidney transplant, for several reasons.

For example, the high cost of the surgery.

Furthermore, even with a transplant, it would only improve his quality of life, not guarantee a complete cure.

He would also have to take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of his life, which would lower his immunity. In his condition, a weakened immune system could lead to other illnesses flaring up.

Besides, his parents were older, and the risk of the transplant surgery for them was also significant.

"I already told you. You two can still live for twenty years. If you donate to me, I won’t even live for ten. So what’s the point of donating?" Guo Jinhua stared, forcing the words out one by one.

You could tell he was a filial son, unwilling to let his parents make such a huge sacrifice for him.

But to put it another way, he seemed to want nothing more than to die.

"My mistake, I shouldn’t have brought it up," Shen Xin said apologetically, then added, "Guo Jinhua, try to look on the bright side. You still have a long life ahead. Try to think about happier things."

"Oh, right. The reason we came today was to tell you there’s been a breakthrough in your case. We’re not far from the truth now. We’re about to lock onto the killer."

The moment he finished speaking, Shen Xin and Yang Zeran both turned their gazes to Guo Jinhua, observing the change in his expression.

Shen Xin had intentionally guided the conversation to get him emotional.

In that state, he would be ruled by his emotions, and his true feelings would show.

Then, the sudden attack: telling him there was progress and that they were about to identify the killer.

If he wasn’t the killer, he would be surprised, and then he should be overjoyed.

After all, his wife was dead and he had been reduced to this state. He should be filled with hate, an immense hatred for the killer.

But if he *was* the killer, in that split second, he might reveal an unnatural reaction.

For an instant, Guo Jinhua’s expression was one of stunned disbelief.

Then came joy. He instinctively raised his head, looked eagerly at Shen Xin, and opened his mouth to speak.

But speaking was already difficult for him, and now, in his excitement, he just gaped and let out a few sounds, "Ah, ah, ah," unable to form any words.

But the joy on his face was undeniably real.

In that moment, Shen Xin suddenly wavered.

’Could it be? Was I wrong? Is Guo Jinhua just a victim?’