Animal Detective

It was almost seven in the evening by the time they arrived at Jinzhu Vegetable Market.

The market was mostly empty.

Across the road, to the west of the market, there was a small park.

It wasn’t large—just a small plaza with some fitness equipment. It was one of the few green spaces in the area.

This area was called Tingyang Old Street, and it was dominated by old residential buildings, narrow lanes, and crowded houses, leaving no room for larger green areas.

So, it got very lively here at night.

When he found Ding Yuwei and her companion, the two of them were sitting in a corner of the plaza, bored out of their minds as they watched a group of aunties square dancing.

"Da Mei."

Shen Xin called out.

Da Mei, who had been dozing next to Ding Yuwei, quickly lifted her head. Seeing it was Shen Xin, she immediately rushed over and leaped, but only managed to catch his belt.

She had been fed into a round ball by Zeng Wenxi and couldn’t really jump anymore.

Shen Xin had told his mom to feed her less.

With Evil Bully also getting that fat, anyone who didn’t know better would think they were raising two pigs.

But Zeng Wenxi had her excuses, saying she couldn’t bear it when Da Mei chased after her, begging for food.

Shen Xin reached down and scooped Da Mei into his arms.

She was still closest to Shen Xin, constantly rubbing her head against him before looking up and meowing twice.

’The bird?’

She was asking where Teddy was.

The cat and the bird had met, and it hadn’t been a pleasant encounter.

Birds were one of a cat’s prey, but Da Mei had never seen a bird this big.

As for Teddy, he only had eyes for Shen Xin. Besides, he was a bird of prey and had seen plenty of wild animals on the grasslands; he couldn’t care less about a little small fry like Da Mei.

Ding Yuwei also came over and asked, "Where’s the falcon?"

"Sleeping in the car."

It was dark, so Teddy needed to rest. This gave Shen Xin a bit of a break, as he didn’t have to carry him around constantly.

Otherwise, walking all the way here with a Hunting Falcon on his shoulder would have been way too eye-catching.

Shen Xin asked about the situation.

This was a vegetable market, so naturally, it was a gathering place for stray cats and dogs.

The dogs formed packs, while the cats were solitary.

Cats were also timid and preferred the park area, where the greenbelts offered places to hide.

Besides, some of the nearby residents fed them here.

Ding Yuwei said, "Anyway, someone reported seeing that tabby recently, but they weren’t sure if it was the one Guo Jinhua and his wife kept. I figure if it’s still alive, it must be around the park."

They were talking about a tabby cat.

Guo Jinhua hadn’t actually adopted it intentionally. He ran a shop nearby and would occasionally see the cat and feed it some leftovers.

After a while, the cat just stuck around and wouldn’t leave.

So the couple started treating it as their own, though they didn’t really manage it. It roamed everywhere and they never brought it into their home.

Shen Xin said, "Let’s eat first."

The square dancing music was blaring over here, so even if there were stray cats around, they wouldn’t dare show themselves.

But as Shen Xin, holding Da Mei, was about to leave, two more cats emerged from the nearby greenbelt.

A white cat and a tuxedo cat.

They didn’t dare get close, just followed from a distance, staring intently at Da Mei in Shen Xin’s arms.

"Your charm is as strong as ever," Shen Xin said, scratching Da Mei’s head.

Da Mei gave a haughty meow.

’Of course.’

Even though she was fat, she’d only gone from a Xishi to a Yang Guifei. Her charm was still intact.

Shen Xin asked Zhao Tianxing if he had any food on him.

Since they were out looking for a cat, Zhao Tianxing was prepared. He pulled half a sausage from his pocket and handed it over, saying, "Those two were just wandering around nearby. They’re smart. I tried to feed them, but they wouldn’t eat."

Shen Xin said, "That’s because it was you."

He then crouched down and made a couple of soft clicking sounds.

The two cats paused for a moment, then slowly approached.

Shen Xin broke off a piece of the sausage and tossed it to them.

The white cat seemed bolder. It quickly scurried forward and ate the whole piece.

The tuxedo cat paid it no mind, its eyes fixed solely on Da Mei.

A single twitch of Da Mei’s feather-duster-like tail was enough to mesmerize it completely.

"Come here."

Shen Xin beckoned with his finger, and the white cat immediately came closer, gently bumping its head against Shen Xin’s hand.

Zhao Tianxing couldn’t help but complain, "Shen Xin, do you think we look different in a cat’s eyes? Why are they so nice to you?"

’I have to rely on rabies shots to get by, while all Shen Xin has to do is beckon with his finger and they come right over.’

"Where’s the photo?" Shen Xin asked.

Ding Yuwei quickly took out a photograph.

They’d gotten it from Guo Jinhua’s home.

The photo was taken in May 2013, right in front of their noodle house. The short, slender woman in it was Fu Lanting, wearing an apron.

She had ordinary looks, not particularly pretty, but in the photo she was smiling brightly, looking at the girl beside her.

This girl was Guo Meijing, the daughter of Guo Jinhua and his ex-wife.

When the photo was taken, she hadn’t yet had her 7th birthday and was in the first grade of elementary school.

In the photo, she was grinning from ear to ear, her eyes smiling into crescents, and she was holding a tabby cat by the scruff of its neck.

This was from when the couple had decided to adopt the tabby.

Shen Xin showed the photo to the white cat, pointed at the tabby in the picture, and said, "Take a good look. Remember what he looks like. If you see him, come and tell me."

"If you find him, I’ll let you touch her."

Shen Xin pointed at Da Mei.

Yang Zeran said, "Shen Xin, does this count as seduction?"

Shen Xin ignored him, keeping his eyes on the white cat. He held Da Mei in front of it again, completely captivating it.

It was obvious; the white cat’s eyes were glued to Da Mei, following her every move.

It meowed twice as if it truly understood, then lowered its head to look at the photo.

"Good boy. Here, I’ll let you have a touch first."

Shen Xin stroked the white cat’s head and placed Da Mei on the ground.

But Da Mei was unwilling to get close.

’Ugly.’

In the feline world, white cats were arguably the ugliest.

Shen Xin had no choice but to pick up Da Mei’s tail and brush it across the white cat’s face.

The touch was so tantalizing it made the cat crane its neck.

It let out a cry and postured as if to pounce forward.

Shen Xin quickly picked Da Mei up.

Frustrated by the unrequited affection, the white cat paced anxiously around Shen Xin’s feet, meowing constantly and pawing at his shoes.

Shen Xin showed it the photo again. "Find the cat first. We’ll talk after you find it."

Yang Zeran shivered as he watched. He called Zhao Tianxing to leave with him, unable to bear the sight any longer.

"What do you know? This is a valid way to find a cat," Shen Xin said.

Some people on the internet really did find their cats this way.

If your pet cat runs away, you can feed the strays in your neighborhood. Once you’re familiar with them, you can show them a picture of your cat and ask for their help in finding it.

Sometimes, it actually works.

With that, he waved at the tuxedo cat in the distance.

He teased it using the same method before finally sending the two cats away.

The two cats still wouldn’t leave, following them all the way to the park entrance before stopping, watching with intense longing as Shen Xin carried Da Mei away.

There was no shortage of restaurants on the Old Street. Shen Xin led the other three east along the road south of the market. After about a hundred meters, they entered a Sichuan restaurant on the left.

They didn’t go far inside, just sat at the first table by the entrance.

While Zhao Tianxing ordered, Shen Xin turned his head. Holding Da Mei, he gazed at the building diagonally opposite them.

Across the street, at the mouth of a small alley, was a small storefront of about twenty square meters.

It had a black, interlocking-panel sign with the four large words "Lao Guo’s Noodle House" written on it.

The door was still open.

Business didn’t look good; only one young man was inside eating noodles.

An old man with short hair sat at the table by the door, staring blankly at the passersby.

Beside him, Ding Yuwei began scalding the bowls and chopsticks with boiling water as she said, "That’s Guo Jinhua’s father, Guo Kaitai. He was the one who originally opened this noodle house."

"After the incident, business dried up. The old customers from the neighborhood don’t dare to eat here anymore."

"He’s 64 this year. He and his wife have no other income now. Guo Jinhua is partially paralyzed and needs long-term medication and treatment. The whole family depends on this noodle house to survive. It’s really tough."

Shen Xin nodded, his eyes fixed on Guo Kaitai.

The man looked incredibly old, and it was clear the mental blow had been immense.

Shen Xin watched him for a long time; the man didn’t move at all.

But it was understandable.

He and his wife only had one son. First, in 2014, their granddaughter died of a malignant tumor. Then, in 2015, their son and daughter-in-law were poisoned.

Hit by one tragedy after another at his age, it was no wonder he couldn’t take it.

As he watched, Shen Xin turned his head and said, "I remember the case file mentioned that Guo Kaitai used to work at the Nanjiang Rubber Factory. He was a workshop supervisor, right? He opened this noodle house after he was laid off."

"Do you think it’s possible that the poisoner’s real target wasn’t Guo Jinhua and his wife, but Guo Kaitai?"

’To make a white-haired man bury his own black-haired son, forcing him to live the rest of his life in agony—that’s even crueler than murder itself.’

Yang Zeran thought for a moment, then immediately said, "I doubt it. Guo Kaitai was laid off back in ’96. After that, he just made his own way and opened a noodle house. It’s not like he would have made any powerful enemies."

"Besides, it’s been so many years. Why wait until 2015 to act instead of doing it sooner?"

But Ding Yuwei said, "I think it’s a valid line of inquiry. We should look into it."

"Think about it. During the original investigation, Captain Sun and his team checked every relationship connected to Guo Jinhua and his wife, but they found nothing."

"Maybe the problem lies with Guo Kaitai, the one person they didn’t investigate."

Yang Zeran still shook his head, feeling the probability of that was too low.

Just then, the food they ordered arrived.

Shen Xin said, "Possible or not, we’ll know once we investigate."

There were only so many leads to check, anyway.

"Brother Xing, you make a trip tomorrow."

Zhao Tianxing grunted in agreement and focused on eating.

Shen Xin placed Da Mei on the floor, took one last look at Guo Kaitai, who was still sitting like a statue, and then averted his gaze.