Seeing Crime Scenes in My Sleep

The man in the lead pointed a large blade at the leader of the opposing group.

Yu Huannian glanced at the baseball bat in his hand, then looked around.

Jiang Li watched Yu Huannian get pushed to the front. ’The kid really looks the part just standing there,’ she thought. ’No wonder he’s always mistaken for the real deal.’

"Brothers! Fuck them up!"

The two groups tightened their grip on their weapons, ready to fight. The next second, a crowd of police officers suddenly emerged from the shadows and surrounded them.

"Hands on your heads! Nobody move!"

Both sides were dumbfounded. The Qinglong Gang pointed at them and cursed, "Fuck, you dared to call the cops!"

"No, we didn’t!" The leader looked frantically at Yu Huannian. "Brother Yu, where are the guys you called?"

Yu Huannian looked at the police officers appearing all around them. "These are the guys. Pretty solid backup, huh?"

"Fuck, you little shit! You dare to trick us!"

The man was seething with rage. He raised his fist, ready to teach Yu Huannian a good lesson.

Yu Huannian frowned and sent the man flying with a single kick. The rest were pinned down by the arriving police officers.

Zhao Shuo came forward and patted Yu Huannian’s shoulder. "You little rascal." ’He really is Jiang Li’s brother, alright.’

Zhao Shuo took them back to the station. The stubborn ones were treated to a taste of the baton.

Jiang Li hurried forward. "Xiao Nian, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I’m fine." Yu Huannian glanced at the group being held down. ’What a bunch of idiots.’

The Green Dragon Association was furious. If they had known their opponents were so devious, they never would have shown up.

Lu Xingye walked over to Jiang Li, a smile creeping onto his face as he looked at her slightly round cheeks.

Jiang Li looked over, confused. "What are you smiling at?"

"Ahem, it’s nothing. Xiao Nian needs to come back to the station with us. Do you want to come along?"

Jiang Li nodded, got in a car, and followed them back to the police station.

"The Green Dragon Association case is a bit complicated. If you and Wu Ming get tired, you can go sleep in the break room," Ji Qinghe said, walking over with a file.

Jiang Li nodded. "Right, Officer Ji, what’s the story with Chen Jiayi?"

Ji Qinghe sighed.

"Liang Huka asked Su Mei to teach him how to knit a scarf. Chen Jiayi saw someone post a photo of the two of them on the campus website and, in a fit of rage, dragged Su Mei into the bathroom. The tangled yarn was already difficult to remove, and even more so once it was wet. As a result, Su Mei suffocated."

"Su Mei’s parents are in an even worse financial situation than Du Xueqing’s. They only want compensation; they don’t care about anything else."

After hearing the story, Jiang Li leaned back in her chair.

"I have to get back to work. You two just hang tight, and call us if you need anything." Ji Qinghe sighed again and got up to continue her work.

’Besides these major cases, there were also all sorts of minor ones. A couple came in today to file a report about their next-door neighbor, who hadn’t been back in half a month. I’ll have to go check it out first thing tomorrow morning.’

Jiang Li and Wu Ming chatted idly. Yu Huannian was out pretty quickly.

"Jiang Li, I finally get why you live so close to the station," Wu Ming said, looking at Jiang Li with a wry smile. "If you lived any farther, you’d run your legs off coming here all the time."

Lu Xingye came in carrying a bunch of food. Seeing that they were about to leave, he said, "It’s late. Have something to eat before you go."

Wu Ming plopped right back down and unceremoniously took the stir-fried rice noodles from his hand.

"Lu Xingye, wherever you bought this, it’s delicious," Wu Ming said, giving him a thumbs-up while eating.

Lu Xingye smiled and handed out portions to the others.

"Jiang Li, there’s pork rib soup, too." Lu Xingye opened a container, ladled some soup out, and handed it to her.

"Thanks." Jiang Li took the bowl and had a sip. It was fragrant and not too salty.

Only after they had eaten and drunk their fill did the group leave the police station and head home.

Back home, Jiang Li took a hot shower and went to sleep.

SMACK!

WAAAH!

The sharp sound of a slap was followed by a faint cry, and then a torrent of vulgar curses.

"You little bastard! How long has it been since your grandmother sent a letter? She’s not sending any money, either! I’m so fucking pissed!"

Hearing the commotion, Jiang Li’s eyes flew open. She was still taken aback by the scene before her.

In a small, cluttered, and musty room, a woman was gripping a child of about one year old. The child was in so much pain its cries had lost all strength, turning into soft whimpers.

Jiang Li took note of her surroundings. The place was well-hidden. Other than a dim light, there wasn’t a single window.

"Alright, stop hitting him. If you actually beat him to death, how are we supposed to collect the allowance?" Another woman’s voice, sounding younger, came from the doorway.

’There’s another person!’

"You’re lucky, you little bastard. Sis, go get him something to eat. Don’t let him starve to death. That’s a five thousand a month allowance, you know."

Jiang Li’s gaze followed the woman toward the door. A beam of light shone in, revealing another woman standing in the doorway, holding some food.