Human beings have a tendency to consider things high above to be holy and sanctified, which is why we worship people and things that are so high above us as to be out of reach. This is also why people like to use the word "high" to positively describe an individual's characteristics, hence terms like high born, high class, and high fashion. According to that logic, the holiest place in the world should be Mt. Everest, even though the air is thin and the temperature quite cold.
The Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, located at the foot of the Drolmari Mountain in Shigatse, Tibet, hosted the annual Buddha Festival. Millions of Buddhist pilgrims congregated here with their holy hada cloths in hand. They came here on this holy day to offer to their holy Buddha their holy hada cloths. They then prayed for protection from evil and peace for all mankind.
"Zema, kherang ga rey choe doe duk?" warmly greeted a middle-aged Tibetan lady. (Translation: "Girl, what would you like to eat?")
"Umm… thenthuk! Ani ma… I mean, ma'am," A-Jiao awkwardly replied in broken Tibetan.
"Hehe, you're a Han girl, aren't you?" laughed the lady after hearing A-Jiao's attempt at speaking Tibetan. Dressed in traditional Tibetan garb, A-Jiao certainly could pass for a real Tibetan girl. (Translator's note: the Han are the dominant ethnicity in China and are usually what foreigners think of when they describe someone as "Chinese," although strictly speaking, such usage is incorrect as the term "Chinese" does not denote an ethnicity, but rather a nationality that is composed of 56 distinct ethnicities including the Han.)
"Yes, ma'am, I'm Han. Could you bring me a bowl of thenthuk, a plate of mixed cow tongue, and a cup of milk tea?" A-Jiao happily placed her order with a smile on her face.
"Wait a moment. I'll bring out your order shortly." The Tibetan lady yelled something incomprehensible to the kitchen and then proceeded to serve other customers. Shigatse was always busiest during the Buddha Festival. The streets are filled with an unending stream of people. If you didn't take time to notice the unique Tibetan architecture, you could easily mistake this place for one of China's many megacities.
Shortly thereafter, a waiter brought out A-Jiao's food. She looked at the chili powder on the table and immediately felt it beckoning to her taste buds. However, when her hand grabbed a hold of the chili powder shaker, she could hear Dr. Wang whispering in her ears, "A-Jiao, make sure to get plenty of rest after you've been discharged. And don't eat any spicy food." She vigorously shook her head, as if she to shake Dr. Wang's voice out of her head, but just as soon as Dr. Wang left, another face appeared, "No way! You body can't handle spicy food right now!"
"Damn cop!" A-Jiao cursed with pouted lips, but she did pull her hand away from the shaker. Ai, I wonder what that Uncle Policeman is up to these days…
Today was Wei Xin's turn to stand night watch in the alley again. She came by Jiang Zhengkai's office to see if he had any specific instructions for the evening and then departed for the alley. Through the efforts of the police and the fact that no new murders have occurred recently, this secluded little alley showed signs of a gradual recovery.
The alley pimp A-Shun was fully cooperating with the police, so he knew which of the girls worked for him and which ones were undercover police officers. He was given free reign by the police to handle his business in the alley, which meant that if one of his girls came across a particularly troublesome john, he would have to step in and set him straight. This wasn't especially difficult for A-Shun. After all, his purpose in this alley was to provide security. He liked to think of himself as a kind of "law enforcement officer" in his own way.
Those documents Jiang Zhengkai requested on A-Jiao had all come back. The post office was able to verify that the recipient of A-Jiao's wire transfer was indeed Lu Xiaomei's family in Sichuan. The only difference was that Xiaomei normally wired 2,000 yuan to her family, while A-Jiao wired them 3,000 yuan. After several twists and turns, the Housing Bureau was able to track down the ownership history of A-Jiao's condo. The owner of the condo is a woman by the name of Lin Fangyun, but she committed suicide two years ago. Before that, the condo belong to a man named Ren Pengfei. According to sources that knew him, he appeared to have emigrated abroad. Sometimes, the truth is only a small step away, yet taking that step may require all the effort you could muster.
Jiang Zhengkai looked at the two documents in his hands. He shook his head in frustration. There was still no way to confirm A-Jiao's identity, although he could confirm from these documents that A-Jiao was not the same person as Xiaomei. He was able to pull up Xiaomei's personal records from her hometown, and after A-Shun and others identified Xiaomei from a copy of her photo ID, they concluded that it was indeed Xiaomei who had died in the first murder.
However, these two documents made Jiang Zhengkai feel somewhat gratified and excited. First of all, they showed that even though A-Jiao worked in an unseemly profession, she was not a bad woman at heart. She wired money to Xiaomei's family, that much was already certain. And she also technically did not lie when she said that the condo's former owner had moved abroad. Nevertheless, that does beg the question of why she hid the truth of the current owner's suicide. What was her relationship with Lin Fangyun? Was she Lin Fangyun's live-in maid? No, that's not it, since she's most likely a native. Then was she Lin Fangyun's relative or even her daughter? But Lin Fangyun's personal records showed that she was unmarried. Furthermore, her personal records showed that her parents died during the Cultural Revolution, which meant she had no surviving next of kin.
Thus, A-Jiao's true identity was still a mystery.
In the middle of the night, Wei Xin and a few of her female colleagues stood on the street corner. A few steps away were a group of real prostitutes. Tonight was an especially cold night, so her colleagues were soon whisked away by their husbands, leaving Wei Xin all by herself in this alley.
Wei Xin let out a yawn. She imagined Jiang Zhengkai coming by this alley this very instant, walking up to her, and softly saying, "Come on, let's go inside." She imagined she would definitely nod in delight, and then the two of them would walk inside one of the buildings. At the thought of this imagined scenario, her face turned bright red.
Still, this really was a very cold night. Wei Xin stood there for a while longer but soon felt the need to use the bathroom. Using the bathroom in one of the apartment units rented by the sub-bureau might be a bit awkward since those married dual-police couples were probably all getting busy right now. She couldn't really blame them as they were in fact engaged in the official performance of their duties, since the one thing they knew about the killer was that this person only attacked couples engaged in sexual intercourse. Being in the same apartment with people having sex was surely going to make her feel embarrassed, so she eventually decided to use the public restroom located in one of the apartment buildings' courtyards. Before she left, she found the nearest surveillance camera and traced out the letters "WC" with her finger. On the other side of the surveillance camera were several pairs of eyes nervously watching her every movement. Those eyes, of course, belonged to Zhang Nan's police surveillance team.
Wei Xin's high heel shoes made a tap, tap noise as she walked across the pavement towards the public restroom. Just as she was about to enter, a woman's scream pierced the evening sky…
"We've got another homicide!" The officers in the surveillance room, the undercover officers in the alley, and the officers who had been getting busy in bed just a second ago all reacted to this latest incident. They all rushed to the balcony, to the alley, and to grab their pants. "Quick! It came from the 6th floor of building 7!" someone yelled into the night. The police then all immediately rushed towards building 7.
The numerous prostitutes and johns in the alley all froze as they watched in amazement the scene unfolding before them. So this quiet little alley wasn't so quiet after all. At that moment, a person hid in the shadows and quietly observed everything from afar. He was located right across from the street corner where Wei Xin had been standing.
Wei Xin was probably the last police officer to react to this latest emergency. Perhaps standing too long in the cold weather had given her an upset stomach. By the time she ran out of the courtyard in her high heels, all of her colleagues had rushed into the building where the scream had come from. She looked at the boisterous scene on the other side of the alley before stepping foot into the alley herself, but by the time she entered the alley, a shadow was already waiting for her there.
Bang! A heavy object struck Wei Xin's head while a large hand simultaneously covered her mouth. Wei Xin's body went limp, and she immediately lost consciousness. But unlike that time with A-Jiao, this shadow assailant didn't plan on finishing off Wei Xin right here right now. Instead, he stuffed a gag into her mouth and tied her hands with rope. He then placed a large burlap sack over her head and pulled it down so it covered her entire body.
The shadow assailant vigilantly looked in all directions, and when he was certain that nobody had seen him, he picked up burlap sack with Wei Xin inside and carried it on his shoulder. He then walked towards a cycle rickshaw parked at the entrance of the alley.
Wei Xin arrived at the police sub-bureau only after lunch. She saw Jiang Zhengkai in his office, so she walked over and knocked on the door. "Inspector Jiang, can I come in?"
Jiang Zhengkai opened his eyes after hearing someone knock on the door. When he saw it was Wei Xin, he warmly welcomed her in. "Hey! What's up, Wei? Come on in! You probably worked all night. Why are you here so early?"
"Inspector Jiang, I wasn't sleeping in this morning, you know!" said Wei Xin as she covered a yawn. "I went to the hospital this morning. When I tried to find A-Shun last night, residents in the alley said that his child was sick, so I went to the hospital to try and find him first thing in the morning."
"Really? I had no idea you had such a kind heart," Jiang Zhengkai teased her. "So, any progress?"
"Progress? Of course! But I'll only tell you if you agree to take me out to dinner," Wei Xin coyly replied. My shift hasn't officially started anyway, so what if I play around with you for a bit? You're not technically my boss since I'm off the clock right now.
"Deal! Give me what you got, so I know how expensive of a dinner to buy you," said Jiang Zhengkai as he leaned back into his chair. He had somewhat of a 'resting funny face', so Wei Xin and her colleagues all liked to joke around with him during off-work hours.
"According to A-Shun, A-Jiao is a native of this city. She was originally introduced to the alley by A-Xiu," said Wei Xin.
"A-Jiao is from here?" Jiang Zhengkai sat up in his chair as soon as the words left Wei Xin's mouth.
"Yup! From what A-Shun said, A-Xiu brought A-Jiao to the alley around two years ago. She seemed to have mentioned at the time that she was a native, although she never brought that topic up again afterwards. As for her real name, A-Shun doesn't know either. He said A-Jiao was pretty reticent when it came to answering those types of questions," Wei Xin seriously explained.
Jiang Zhengkai plopped back in his chair. "Well, it looks like I owe you a nice dinner tonight. What are you in the mood for? Just don't say Taiwanese ramen!"
"I know of a nice Fujianese noodle shop nearby." Wei Xin toyed with Jiang Zhengkai by purposely suggesting the closest thing to a Taiwanese noodle shop.
"Okay, let me rephrase: no more noodles! How about… hot pot?" Jiang Zhengkai paused mid-sentence as the thought of hot pot made him think of A-Jiao again.
Figuring out A-Jiao's true identity was the key to cracking this case, but where to find her became the $64,000 question. As of right now, A-Jiao's "part-time" status created somewhat of an awkward situation. Since she had never been caught in a vice sweep, she had no criminal record, which meant the police didn't have her mugshot, fingerprints, or any other personally identifiable information. If the Chinese could be a bit more progressive, like say the Dutch, and hand out government-issued licenses to prostitutes, then dealing with A-Jiao's situation would be a piece of cake.
Seeing no alternative, Jiang Zhengkai once again made a call to External Affairs. "Li Weidong, I need your help with something. Could you go to the Housing Bureau and find the records to Ju'an Estates' Building #5, Unit 302?"
"You got it, Inspector Jiang," Li Weidong politely agreed over the phone. "Shouldn't be a problem. Oh, right, that business with the post office you told me about yesterday. I've already talked to them. The minute something comes up, I'll contact you."
"Thank you, buddy. I really appreciate it," Jiang Zhengkai said as he hung up the phone. Division of labor was a wonderful thing. On the one hand, Jiang Zhengkai and his team didn't have to run around everywhere doing the tedious business of collecting paper evidence. On the other hand, having specialized personnel who had existing relationships with the various governmental entities in the city gather paper evidence was less likely to alert suspects of the fact that the authorities were on to them.
Since he had agreed to go on a date with Wei Xin, Jiang Zhengkai knew full well he couldn't back out. The two of them ended up going to the same Hot Pot City that he and A-Jiao had gone to before. As luck would have it, Wei Xin chose to sit down at the same table that A-Jiao had last time. Soon after they sat down, a waiter came over to take their order.
Jiang Zhengkai flipped through the menu and then plainly asked Wei Xin, "What do you feel like eating?" His memory wasn't great, but it was good enough to remember most of what was on the menu from the last time he'd been here.
"Oh, let's get the split spicy-mild pot! I can't really handle spicy food. How about you?" Wei Xin asked him after looking through the menu.
"I can eat a little bit of spicy food. Let's go ahead and get the split pot then," Jiang Zhengkai replied.
"Okay, and let's get a plate of beef, a plate of lamb, and a mixed seafood platter…" said Wei Xin as she ordered a whole pile of food for the hot pot. "Did you want anything else, Inspector Jiang?"
"No, I'm good. As long as you're happy." Jiang Zhengkai smiled at Wei Xin. He wasn't so old that he didn't know how to make a girl happy, so he knew just what to say to them and when to say it. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but think that A-Jiao would have liked everything Wei Xin had just ordered.
"Inspector Jiang, do my clothes look pretty tonight?" Wei Xin longingly asked Jiang Zhengkai after the waiter had left.
"Yeah, not bad!" Jiang Zhengkai replied as he shifted his attention from the window back to Wei Xin. To be honest, he didn't think Wei Xin was as fashionable as A-Jiao, but then again that was completely understandable. A policewoman who wore a uniform to work everyday could hardly be blamed for being less fashion-conscious than a woman whose line of work consisted primarily of attracting men.
"Really?" Wei Xin was overjoyed at Jiang Zhengkai's modest complement. She went on to tell him stories of her days as a student. He pretended to listen attentively, but his mind had started wandering a long time ago. If only A-Jiao had talked more about her past, then perhaps he would've made much more progress on the case.
Once the waiter brought out all of the dishes, Jiang Zhengkai proceeded to do most of the work cooking the food in the hot pot. In that regard, he took care of Wei Xin the way he took care of A-Jiao. The way Jiang Zhengkai saw it, this was something a man should do for a woman. It didn't feel right to him for a woman to care of a man when the two went out to eat. It was downright ungentlemanly, and unless a man was fabulously wealthy, being ungentlemanly was a surefire way of staying single forever. Plus, Wei Xin was also a beautiful woman, not at all a "flatboard" as A-Jiao liked to call her, although her bust-waist-hip ratio… Bang! As this thought entered his mind, Jiang Zhengkai suddenly slapped himself upside the head. Damn that A-Jiao for corrupting my mind!
"You got a headache, Inspector Jiang?" a startled Wei Xin asked. She reached out her hand to rub his head.
"No, it was just a mosquito." Jiang Zhengkai cleverly leaned his body back into his chair in order to keep out of reach of Wei Xin's hand. He turned his head towards the window and said, "What a beautiful night!"
"Ah, yeah!" Wei Xin replied as she pulled back her hand. Even though she was a little disappointed, Jiang Zhengkai's smooth moves made the situation less awkward than it could've been.
"Hard to believe such a beautiful night could kill," he said, as he turned his head back towards the table and gulped down the entire glass of water in front of him.
"Don't worry, Inspector Jiang, we will definitely crack that case," Wei Xin very seriously said.
"Hehe, alright, enough talk about work. Let's eat! Looks like the shrimp is already done." Jiang Zhengkai blew what Wei Xin had said. In his eyes, Wei Xin was a very nice girl, but she was too stiff, not at all like the carefree A-Jiao. As a colleague, Wei Xin's great, but if we're talking as a life partner, then A-Jiao… Wait, why am I thinking like this? Jiang Zhengkai shook his head to clear his mind of these thoughts. Was it possible that he has really fallen in love with a prostitute?
After dinner, Jiang Zhengkai fell back into his routine. He dropped Wei Xin off at the police barracks, then drove to Ju'an Estates to smoke a cigarette before going home for the night.
"Honey, I'm home," Jiang Zhengkai said as he entered the apartment. He headed straight to the bathroom without turning on the lights. He knew exactly where everything was in this apartment, so there was no need to turn on the lights. Besides, he was afraid of what he might find in his apartment should he actually turn on the lights. In any case, he was already used to moving around in the dark when he came home at night.
After brushing his teeth, he came out of the bathroom and sat on the living room couch. He faced the wall and murmured, "Honey, I'm in love with another woman, a woman I'm not supposed to fall in love with. Tell me, what should I do?" He zoned out for a while sitting on the couch, before finally standing up. "Forget about it! I'm going to sleep now. Good night, Honey!" He walked into one of the two bedrooms in the apartment and went to bed.
That same night, Wei Xin was suffering from a bout of insomnia as well, but unlike Jiang Zhengkai, hers was caused by a sense of excitement. She'd said so many things to him, and this was also the first time she'd worn such revealing clothes while on a date with him. It looked like Jiang Zhengkai had rather liked the way she'd been dressed. She thought to herself, The next time I stand watch in the alley, I'll make sure to pay attention to what all the women there are wearing. As she lost herself in her fantasies, Wei Xin unknowingly fell asleep clutching her teddy bear.
None of the officers on scene had noticed that Wei Xin had gone missing. Jiang Zhengkai had also been called to the scene. The crime scene was still the same, no blood splatters, no signs of a struggle, just a male and female skeleton on a bed locked in a sex position.
"Was the victim a prostitute or a local resident?" an expressionless Jiang Zhengkai asked Zhang Nan after he had inspected the crime scene.
"Prostitute," replied Zhang Nan, "We're still confirming her identity. I estimate we should know by tomorrow morning."
"Thank God it was a prostitute," Jiang Zhengkai let out a sigh of relief. These days, he has seriously lowered his standards. He no longer cared that these murders continued to mount as long as the victims weren't local residents. He again inspected the temperatures of the apartment units above and beneath the scene of the crime, but he was still unable to find the sensation he had experienced on that one night. Whatever, there was no point in looking further. He went to find Zhang Nan again and told him, "Zhang, call me once you've confirmed the identity of the victim tomorrow morning, ok? Oh, and tell everyone to get some rest. There shouldn't be another murder in the next couple days or so." He then left the building and drove away.
Wei Xin was still trapped inside the burlap sack as the cycle rickshaw carrying her turned left and right, taking her to an unknown location. In the middle of ride, Wei Xin gradually regained consciousness, but she could not get herself out of the tightly-closed burlap sack. She strenuously twisted her bound hands as her gagged mouth only had the ability to make incoherent groaning sounds.
The rickshaw finally stopped. "Bitch, you woke up pretty fast," a man's voice came from beside her, "Behave yourself, or I'll give you another beating!"
"Mmph… mmph!" Wei Xin paid no attention to the man's warning and continued to struggle inside the burlap sack.
Bam! Bam! Using the bat in his hand, the man viciously struck Wei Xin's body twice. "Mmph…" Wei Xin let out a wretched scream but stopped struggling.
"Fuck! You had to learn the hard way, huh?" After he finished speaking, the man threw the bat to one side, picked up Wei Xin, and carried her towards a dilapidated shack. This place was obviously an unfinished construction zone. Because demolition of the old buildings had already started, there weren't any residents nearby, and because construction hasn't yet started, there weren't any construction workers nearby either. The only things here were old buildings that had been half-torn down.
The man untied the burlap sack and poured Wei Xin directly onto the ground. When Wei Xin hit the floor, her body immediately started moving. It was obvious that she was struggling to stand up, but the man wasn't about to give her the opportunity to do so. With a loud bang, he struck her leg with the bat. Wei Xin lost her balance, while the man pushed her so fell over. Immediately, the man rushed over and pinned Wei Xin down with his body as he tied her up like A-Jiao had been last time. The difference was that this time a thin wax string was used instead of silk stockings.
"Fucking bitch, why aren't you moving anymore, huh?" the man said as he mercilessly slapped Wei Xin twice in the face. Wei Xin could only use a low groan and fiery eyes as a means of resistance.
"Haha, you little bitch, got quite a temper, huh?" the man said as he unsheathed a dagger he had been carrying. He used the dagger to cut up Wei Xin's clothes and then proceeded to tear them off with his bare hands. "Look, isn't it so much cooler now?" the man said as he placed his hand on the still-struggling Wei Xin's body. He ran his fingers across Wei Xin's body for a while before he suddenly stopped and looked at Wei Xin in astonishment. He then pulled back Wei Xin's head and said, "Haha, you're still a virgin?"
"Unh… mmph… unh-unh…" Having heard what the man just said, Wei Xin struggled more vigorously than ever before. She knew what he had in mind.
"Alright then, let big brother love you a long time!" The man then eagerly took off his own clothes and proceeded to mount Wei Xin.
The next day, Wei Xin did not report to work at the sub-bureau, but nobody felt surprised by her absence. They all assumed she had slept in because she had been on the night shift. Plus, Jiang Zhengkai had ordered everyone last night to catch up on their sleep, so even he didn't think Wei Xin's absence was unusual, despite the fact that he should've been the one most aware of it. Besides, there was another reason why he didn't realize Wei Xin was missing: he was currently in the commissioner's office getting the asschewing of a lifetime from Old Man Yao.
At around noon, Jiang Zhengkai finally left Yao Tianyu's office. He eardrums were still ringing from all the yelling he had just received from Yao Tianyu. He knew Yao Tianyu was worried about the case. So many people had died in this city, but there was no progress whatsoever in cracking the case. This was a first not just for Jiang Zhengkai, but for Yao Tianyu as well. These were two men with an immense sense of pride and honor, so it goes without saying that this level of professional failure was completely unacceptable to them.
Jiang Zhengkai left municipal bureau headquarters and returned to his car. Once inside, he lit a cigarette and quietly smoked it. He needed to calm his emotions. Even though he wasn't mad at Yao Tianyu for yelling at him, he nevertheless needed some quiet time to cool down. At the end, he decided not to return to the his office but rather to visit the crime scene instead. He wanted to see if he could find something new, but he knew chances were slim.
At the airport, a girl clad in traditional Tibetan garb stepped off the airplane. A-Jiao concluded her traveling adventures and returned to this familiar city. A taxi dropped her off at the main entrance of the hospital since she was due for a check-up today.
"Dr. Wang!" A-Jiao exclaimed as she appeared in Dr. Wang's office, "This is for you. Thank you for taking care of me while I was in the hospital." As she spoke, A-Jiao took out a stick of Chinese caterpillar fungus and handed it to Dr. Wang.
"You are…" Dr. Wang was speechless as she looked at the girl in front of her. She felt there was something familiar about this girl, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"What? You've already forgotten about me?" A-Jiao tilted her head and asked as she looked at Dr. Wang with a mischievous gaze. It was as if she were saying, "Are you old? Is your memory failing?"
"Ahem…" Dr. Wang coughed once. She definitely did not recognize A-Jiao, but medical reports don't lie. She glanced at the name written on the medical report and then raised her head towards A-Jiao, "Are you really A-Jiao?"
"Of course! If I'm not A-Jiao, then who is?" A-Jiao said as she sat down next to Dr. Wang, "You definitely instructed me to come back for my regular checkups, and to not eat spicy food, or salty food either! I've followed your instructions to a t, only for you to not recognize me… pretty disappointing, I must say." She then lowered her head and pretended to be all dejected.
"Hehe, you silly girl! Look at you, dressed like a Tibetan. You gave me quite the scare, you know? I thought you were some kind of a Tibetan medicine vendor!" Since Dr. Wang now knew it was A-Jiao, she proceeded to engage in playful banter, "How are you these days? Does it still hurt down there?" If Dr. Wang had felt any ill will towards A-Jiao when she was discharged, it was all gone now. Perhaps the change of heart began when she saw A-Jiao paying her own medical bills.
"It doesn't hurt anymore!" A-Jiao said playfully while sitting on the chair, "If you don't believe me, I can do the worm dance for you."
"Oh stop it, you crazy girl! Now go lie down on the exam bed! You're just like that Jiang boy." Dr. Wang didn't know why her thoughts drifted to Jiang Zhengkai. Perhaps it was because Jiang Zhengkai was similarly crazy when he was a young man?
Dr. Wang completed her examinations and told A-Jiao, "I'm happy to tell you that you've recovered quite well, but you still need to take care of yourself. If you're ever thinking about having children one day, you need to change your profession right now."
"Is it really that serious?" A-Jiao looked at Dr. Wang with disappointment in her eyes as she stroked her hair with her hands.
"Yes! It's in your hands now!" Dr. Wang was angered by A-Jiao's response. Once a prostitute, always a prostitute!
"Alright, Grandma Wang! Don't be mad anymore, ok? I promise to find a real job, no matter how little money I make," A-Jiao said as she placed her face close to Dr. Wang's in order to cheer her up.
"Whatever. It's your health we're talking about, not mine," Dr. Wang replied disdainfully. However, she had a warm and fuzzy feeling deep down in her heart. If A-Jiao could really change for the better, then perhaps I could ask Jiang Zhengkai how he felt about her.
"Dr. Wang… I… I want to ask…" Seeing Dr. Wang taking notes in her medical record, A-Jiao suddenly became tongue-tied, "Officer… Officer Jiang… how is he?"
"Him? Pretty good," Dr. Wang looked up from her reading glasses, "Why? You miss him?"
"No way!" said A-Jiao as she quickly broke eye contact with Dr. Wang, "I'm just curious, that's all."
"Oh, I see. Here, hold on to your medical record. Make sure to come back again a month from now for your next check-up," Dr. Wang said before adding, "Don't worry! No one else wants that bum Jiang Zhengkai!" She let out a chuckle as A-Jiao walked out of her office.
Human beings have a tendency to consider things high above to be holy and sanctified, which is why we worship people and things that are so high above us as to be out of reach. This is also why people like to use the word "high" to positively describe an individual's characteristics, hence terms like high born, high class, and high fashion. According to that logic, the holiest place in the world should be Mt. Everest, even though the air is thin and the temperature quite cold.
The Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, located at the foot of the Drolmari Mountain in Shigatse, Tibet, hosted the annual Buddha Festival. Millions of Buddhist pilgrims congregated here with their holy hada cloths in hand. They came here on this holy day to offer to their holy Buddha their holy hada cloths. They then prayed for protection from evil and peace for all mankind.
"Zema, kherang ga rey choe doe duk?" warmly greeted a middle-aged Tibetan lady. (Translation: "Girl, what would you like to eat?")
"Umm… thenthuk! Ani ma… I mean, ma'am," A-Jiao awkwardly replied in broken Tibetan.
"Hehe, you're a Han girl, aren't you?" laughed the lady after hearing A-Jiao's attempt at speaking Tibetan. Dressed in traditional Tibetan garb, A-Jiao certainly could pass for a real Tibetan girl. (Translator's note: the Han are the dominant ethnicity in China and are usually what foreigners think of when they describe someone as "Chinese," although strictly speaking, such usage is incorrect as the term "Chinese" does not denote an ethnicity, but rather a nationality that is composed of 56 distinct ethnicities including the Han.)
"Yes, ma'am, I'm Han. Could you bring me a bowl of thenthuk, a plate of mixed cow tongue, and a cup of milk tea?" A-Jiao happily placed her order with a smile on her face.
"Wait a moment. I'll bring out your order shortly." The Tibetan lady yelled something incomprehensible to the kitchen and then proceeded to serve other customers. Shigatse was always busiest during the Buddha Festival. The streets are filled with an unending stream of people. If you didn't take time to notice the unique Tibetan architecture, you could easily mistake this place for one of China's many megacities.
Shortly thereafter, a waiter brought out A-Jiao's food. She looked at the chili powder on the table and immediately felt it beckoning to her taste buds. However, when her hand grabbed a hold of the chili powder shaker, she could hear Dr. Wang whispering in her ears, "A-Jiao, make sure to get plenty of rest after you've been discharged. And don't eat any spicy food." She vigorously shook her head, as if she to shake Dr. Wang's voice out of her head, but just as soon as Dr. Wang left, another face appeared, "No way! You body can't handle spicy food right now!"
"Damn cop!" A-Jiao cursed with pouted lips, but she did pull her hand away from the shaker. Ai, I wonder what that Uncle Policeman is up to these days…
Today was Wei Xin's turn to stand night watch in the alley again. She came by Jiang Zhengkai's office to see if he had any specific instructions for the evening and then departed for the alley. Through the efforts of the police and the fact that no new murders have occurred recently, this secluded little alley showed signs of a gradual recovery.
The alley pimp A-Shun was fully cooperating with the police, so he knew which of the girls worked for him and which ones were undercover police officers. He was given free reign by the police to handle his business in the alley, which meant that if one of his girls came across a particularly troublesome john, he would have to step in and set him straight. This wasn't especially difficult for A-Shun. After all, his purpose in this alley was to provide security. He liked to think of himself as a kind of "law enforcement officer" in his own way.
Those documents Jiang Zhengkai requested on A-Jiao had all come back. The post office was able to verify that the recipient of A-Jiao's wire transfer was indeed Lu Xiaomei's family in Sichuan. The only difference was that Xiaomei normally wired 2,000 yuan to her family, while A-Jiao wired them 3,000 yuan. After several twists and turns, the Housing Bureau was able to track down the ownership history of A-Jiao's condo. The owner of the condo is a woman by the name of Lin Fangyun, but she committed suicide two years ago. Before that, the condo belong to a man named Ren Pengfei. According to sources that knew him, he appeared to have emigrated abroad. Sometimes, the truth is only a small step away, yet taking that step may require all the effort you could muster.
Jiang Zhengkai looked at the two documents in his hands. He shook his head in frustration. There was still no way to confirm A-Jiao's identity, although he could confirm from these documents that A-Jiao was not the same person as Xiaomei. He was able to pull up Xiaomei's personal records from her hometown, and after A-Shun and others identified Xiaomei from a copy of her photo ID, they concluded that it was indeed Xiaomei who had died in the first murder.
However, these two documents made Jiang Zhengkai feel somewhat gratified and excited. First of all, they showed that even though A-Jiao worked in an unseemly profession, she was not a bad woman at heart. She wired money to Xiaomei's family, that much was already certain. And she also technically did not lie when she said that the condo's former owner had moved abroad. Nevertheless, that does beg the question of why she hid the truth of the current owner's suicide. What was her relationship with Lin Fangyun? Was she Lin Fangyun's live-in maid? No, that's not it, since she's most likely a native. Then was she Lin Fangyun's relative or even her daughter? But Lin Fangyun's personal records showed that she was unmarried. Furthermore, her personal records showed that her parents died during the Cultural Revolution, which meant she had no surviving next of kin.
Thus, A-Jiao's true identity was still a mystery.
In the middle of the night, Wei Xin and a few of her female colleagues stood on the street corner. A few steps away were a group of real prostitutes. Tonight was an especially cold night, so her colleagues were soon whisked away by their husbands, leaving Wei Xin all by herself in this alley.
Wei Xin let out a yawn. She imagined Jiang Zhengkai coming by this alley this very instant, walking up to her, and softly saying, "Come on, let's go inside." She imagined she would definitely nod in delight, and then the two of them would walk inside one of the buildings. At the thought of this imagined scenario, her face turned bright red.
Still, this really was a very cold night. Wei Xin stood there for a while longer but soon felt the need to use the bathroom. Using the bathroom in one of the apartment units rented by the sub-bureau might be a bit awkward since those married dual-police couples were probably all getting busy right now. She couldn't really blame them as they were in fact engaged in the official performance of their duties, since the one thing they knew about the killer was that this person only attacked couples engaged in sexual intercourse. Being in the same apartment with people having sex was surely going to make her feel embarrassed, so she eventually decided to use the public restroom located in one of the apartment buildings' courtyards. Before she left, she found the nearest surveillance camera and traced out the letters "WC" with her finger. On the other side of the surveillance camera were several pairs of eyes nervously watching her every movement. Those eyes, of course, belonged to Zhang Nan's police surveillance team.
Wei Xin's high heel shoes made a tap, tap noise as she walked across the pavement towards the public restroom. Just as she was about to enter, a woman's scream pierced the evening sky…
"We've got another homicide!" The officers in the surveillance room, the undercover officers in the alley, and the officers who had been getting busy in bed just a second ago all reacted to this latest incident. They all rushed to the balcony, to the alley, and to grab their pants. "Quick! It came from the 6th floor of building 7!" someone yelled into the night. The police then all immediately rushed towards building 7.
The numerous prostitutes and johns in the alley all froze as they watched in amazement the scene unfolding before them. So this quiet little alley wasn't so quiet after all. At that moment, a person hid in the shadows and quietly observed everything from afar. He was located right across from the street corner where Wei Xin had been standing.
Wei Xin was probably the last police officer to react to this latest emergency. Perhaps standing too long in the cold weather had given her an upset stomach. By the time she ran out of the courtyard in her high heels, all of her colleagues had rushed into the building where the scream had come from. She looked at the boisterous scene on the other side of the alley before stepping foot into the alley herself, but by the time she entered the alley, a shadow was already waiting for her there.
Bang! A heavy object struck Wei Xin's head while a large hand simultaneously covered her mouth. Wei Xin's body went limp, and she immediately lost consciousness. But unlike that time with A-Jiao, this shadow assailant didn't plan on finishing off Wei Xin right here right now. Instead, he stuffed a gag into her mouth and tied her hands with rope. He then placed a large burlap sack over her head and pulled it down so it covered her entire body.
The shadow assailant vigilantly looked in all directions, and when he was certain that nobody had seen him, he picked up burlap sack with Wei Xin inside and carried it on his shoulder. He then walked towards a cycle rickshaw parked at the entrance of the alley.
Wei Xin arrived at the police sub-bureau only after lunch. She saw Jiang Zhengkai in his office, so she walked over and knocked on the door. "Inspector Jiang, can I come in?"
Jiang Zhengkai opened his eyes after hearing someone knock on the door. When he saw it was Wei Xin, he warmly welcomed her in. "Hey! What's up, Wei? Come on in! You probably worked all night. Why are you here so early?"
"Inspector Jiang, I wasn't sleeping in this morning, you know!" said Wei Xin as she covered a yawn. "I went to the hospital this morning. When I tried to find A-Shun last night, residents in the alley said that his child was sick, so I went to the hospital to try and find him first thing in the morning."
"Really? I had no idea you had such a kind heart," Jiang Zhengkai teased her. "So, any progress?"
"Progress? Of course! But I'll only tell you if you agree to take me out to dinner," Wei Xin coyly replied. My shift hasn't officially started anyway, so what if I play around with you for a bit? You're not technically my boss since I'm off the clock right now.
"Deal! Give me what you got, so I know how expensive of a dinner to buy you," said Jiang Zhengkai as he leaned back into his chair. He had somewhat of a 'resting funny face', so Wei Xin and her colleagues all liked to joke around with him during off-work hours.
"According to A-Shun, A-Jiao is a native of this city. She was originally introduced to the alley by A-Xiu," said Wei Xin.
"A-Jiao is from here?" Jiang Zhengkai sat up in his chair as soon as the words left Wei Xin's mouth.
"Yup! From what A-Shun said, A-Xiu brought A-Jiao to the alley around two years ago. She seemed to have mentioned at the time that she was a native, although she never brought that topic up again afterwards. As for her real name, A-Shun doesn't know either. He said A-Jiao was pretty reticent when it came to answering those types of questions," Wei Xin seriously explained.
Jiang Zhengkai plopped back in his chair. "Well, it looks like I owe you a nice dinner tonight. What are you in the mood for? Just don't say Taiwanese ramen!"
"I know of a nice Fujianese noodle shop nearby." Wei Xin toyed with Jiang Zhengkai by purposely suggesting the closest thing to a Taiwanese noodle shop.
"Okay, let me rephrase: no more noodles! How about… hot pot?" Jiang Zhengkai paused mid-sentence as the thought of hot pot made him think of A-Jiao again.
Figuring out A-Jiao's true identity was the key to cracking this case, but where to find her became the $64,000 question. As of right now, A-Jiao's "part-time" status created somewhat of an awkward situation. Since she had never been caught in a vice sweep, she had no criminal record, which meant the police didn't have her mugshot, fingerprints, or any other personally identifiable information. If the Chinese could be a bit more progressive, like say the Dutch, and hand out government-issued licenses to prostitutes, then dealing with A-Jiao's situation would be a piece of cake.
Seeing no alternative, Jiang Zhengkai once again made a call to External Affairs. "Li Weidong, I need your help with something. Could you go to the Housing Bureau and find the records to Ju'an Estates' Building #5, Unit 302?"
"You got it, Inspector Jiang," Li Weidong politely agreed over the phone. "Shouldn't be a problem. Oh, right, that business with the post office you told me about yesterday. I've already talked to them. The minute something comes up, I'll contact you."
"Thank you, buddy. I really appreciate it," Jiang Zhengkai said as he hung up the phone. Division of labor was a wonderful thing. On the one hand, Jiang Zhengkai and his team didn't have to run around everywhere doing the tedious business of collecting paper evidence. On the other hand, having specialized personnel who had existing relationships with the various governmental entities in the city gather paper evidence was less likely to alert suspects of the fact that the authorities were on to them.
Since he had agreed to go on a date with Wei Xin, Jiang Zhengkai knew full well he couldn't back out. The two of them ended up going to the same Hot Pot City that he and A-Jiao had gone to before. As luck would have it, Wei Xin chose to sit down at the same table that A-Jiao had last time. Soon after they sat down, a waiter came over to take their order.
Jiang Zhengkai flipped through the menu and then plainly asked Wei Xin, "What do you feel like eating?" His memory wasn't great, but it was good enough to remember most of what was on the menu from the last time he'd been here.
"Oh, let's get the split spicy-mild pot! I can't really handle spicy food. How about you?" Wei Xin asked him after looking through the menu.
"I can eat a little bit of spicy food. Let's go ahead and get the split pot then," Jiang Zhengkai replied.
"Okay, and let's get a plate of beef, a plate of lamb, and a mixed seafood platter…" said Wei Xin as she ordered a whole pile of food for the hot pot. "Did you want anything else, Inspector Jiang?"
"No, I'm good. As long as you're happy." Jiang Zhengkai smiled at Wei Xin. He wasn't so old that he didn't know how to make a girl happy, so he knew just what to say to them and when to say it. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but think that A-Jiao would have liked everything Wei Xin had just ordered.
"Inspector Jiang, do my clothes look pretty tonight?" Wei Xin longingly asked Jiang Zhengkai after the waiter had left.
"Yeah, not bad!" Jiang Zhengkai replied as he shifted his attention from the window back to Wei Xin. To be honest, he didn't think Wei Xin was as fashionable as A-Jiao, but then again that was completely understandable. A policewoman who wore a uniform to work everyday could hardly be blamed for being less fashion-conscious than a woman whose line of work consisted primarily of attracting men.
"Really?" Wei Xin was overjoyed at Jiang Zhengkai's modest complement. She went on to tell him stories of her days as a student. He pretended to listen attentively, but his mind had started wandering a long time ago. If only A-Jiao had talked more about her past, then perhaps he would've made much more progress on the case.
Once the waiter brought out all of the dishes, Jiang Zhengkai proceeded to do most of the work cooking the food in the hot pot. In that regard, he took care of Wei Xin the way he took care of A-Jiao. The way Jiang Zhengkai saw it, this was something a man should do for a woman. It didn't feel right to him for a woman to care of a man when the two went out to eat. It was downright ungentlemanly, and unless a man was fabulously wealthy, being ungentlemanly was a surefire way of staying single forever. Plus, Wei Xin was also a beautiful woman, not at all a "flatboard" as A-Jiao liked to call her, although her bust-waist-hip ratio… Bang! As this thought entered his mind, Jiang Zhengkai suddenly slapped himself upside the head. Damn that A-Jiao for corrupting my mind!
"You got a headache, Inspector Jiang?" a startled Wei Xin asked. She reached out her hand to rub his head.
"No, it was just a mosquito." Jiang Zhengkai cleverly leaned his body back into his chair in order to keep out of reach of Wei Xin's hand. He turned his head towards the window and said, "What a beautiful night!"
"Ah, yeah!" Wei Xin replied as she pulled back her hand. Even though she was a little disappointed, Jiang Zhengkai's smooth moves made the situation less awkward than it could've been.
"Hard to believe such a beautiful night could kill," he said, as he turned his head back towards the table and gulped down the entire glass of water in front of him.
"Don't worry, Inspector Jiang, we will definitely crack that case," Wei Xin very seriously said.
"Hehe, alright, enough talk about work. Let's eat! Looks like the shrimp is already done." Jiang Zhengkai blew what Wei Xin had said. In his eyes, Wei Xin was a very nice girl, but she was too stiff, not at all like the carefree A-Jiao. As a colleague, Wei Xin's great, but if we're talking as a life partner, then A-Jiao… Wait, why am I thinking like this? Jiang Zhengkai shook his head to clear his mind of these thoughts. Was it possible that he has really fallen in love with a prostitute?
After dinner, Jiang Zhengkai fell back into his routine. He dropped Wei Xin off at the police barracks, then drove to Ju'an Estates to smoke a cigarette before going home for the night.
"Honey, I'm home," Jiang Zhengkai said as he entered the apartment. He headed straight to the bathroom without turning on the lights. He knew exactly where everything was in this apartment, so there was no need to turn on the lights. Besides, he was afraid of what he might find in his apartment should he actually turn on the lights. In any case, he was already used to moving around in the dark when he came home at night.
After brushing his teeth, he came out of the bathroom and sat on the living room couch. He faced the wall and murmured, "Honey, I'm in love with another woman, a woman I'm not supposed to fall in love with. Tell me, what should I do?" He zoned out for a while sitting on the couch, before finally standing up. "Forget about it! I'm going to sleep now. Good night, Honey!" He walked into one of the two bedrooms in the apartment and went to bed.
That same night, Wei Xin was suffering from a bout of insomnia as well, but unlike Jiang Zhengkai, hers was caused by a sense of excitement. She'd said so many things to him, and this was also the first time she'd worn such revealing clothes while on a date with him. It looked like Jiang Zhengkai had rather liked the way she'd been dressed. She thought to herself, The next time I stand watch in the alley, I'll make sure to pay attention to what all the women there are wearing. As she lost herself in her fantasies, Wei Xin unknowingly fell asleep clutching her teddy bear.
None of the officers on scene had noticed that Wei Xin had gone missing. Jiang Zhengkai had also been called to the scene. The crime scene was still the same, no blood splatters, no signs of a struggle, just a male and female skeleton on a bed locked in a sex position.
"Was the victim a prostitute or a local resident?" an expressionless Jiang Zhengkai asked Zhang Nan after he had inspected the crime scene.
"Prostitute," replied Zhang Nan, "We're still confirming her identity. I estimate we should know by tomorrow morning."
"Thank God it was a prostitute," Jiang Zhengkai let out a sigh of relief. These days, he has seriously lowered his standards. He no longer cared that these murders continued to mount as long as the victims weren't local residents. He again inspected the temperatures of the apartment units above and beneath the scene of the crime, but he was still unable to find the sensation he had experienced on that one night. Whatever, there was no point in looking further. He went to find Zhang Nan again and told him, "Zhang, call me once you've confirmed the identity of the victim tomorrow morning, ok? Oh, and tell everyone to get some rest. There shouldn't be another murder in the next couple days or so." He then left the building and drove away.
Wei Xin was still trapped inside the burlap sack as the cycle rickshaw carrying her turned left and right, taking her to an unknown location. In the middle of ride, Wei Xin gradually regained consciousness, but she could not get herself out of the tightly-closed burlap sack. She strenuously twisted her bound hands as her gagged mouth only had the ability to make incoherent groaning sounds.
The rickshaw finally stopped. "Bitch, you woke up pretty fast," a man's voice came from beside her, "Behave yourself, or I'll give you another beating!"
"Mmph… mmph!" Wei Xin paid no attention to the man's warning and continued to struggle inside the burlap sack.
Bam! Bam! Using the bat in his hand, the man viciously struck Wei Xin's body twice. "Mmph…" Wei Xin let out a wretched scream but stopped struggling.
"Fuck! You had to learn the hard way, huh?" After he finished speaking, the man threw the bat to one side, picked up Wei Xin, and carried her towards a dilapidated shack. This place was obviously an unfinished construction zone. Because demolition of the old buildings had already started, there weren't any residents nearby, and because construction hasn't yet started, there weren't any construction workers nearby either. The only things here were old buildings that had been half-torn down.
The man untied the burlap sack and poured Wei Xin directly onto the ground. When Wei Xin hit the floor, her body immediately started moving. It was obvious that she was struggling to stand up, but the man wasn't about to give her the opportunity to do so. With a loud bang, he struck her leg with the bat. Wei Xin lost her balance, while the man pushed her so fell over. Immediately, the man rushed over and pinned Wei Xin down with his body as he tied her up like A-Jiao had been last time. The difference was that this time a thin wax string was used instead of silk stockings.
"Fucking bitch, why aren't you moving anymore, huh?" the man said as he mercilessly slapped Wei Xin twice in the face. Wei Xin could only use a low groan and fiery eyes as a means of resistance.
"Haha, you little bitch, got quite a temper, huh?" the man said as he unsheathed a dagger he had been carrying. He used the dagger to cut up Wei Xin's clothes and then proceeded to tear them off with his bare hands. "Look, isn't it so much cooler now?" the man said as he placed his hand on the still-struggling Wei Xin's body. He ran his fingers across Wei Xin's body for a while before he suddenly stopped and looked at Wei Xin in astonishment. He then pulled back Wei Xin's head and said, "Haha, you're still a virgin?"
"Unh… mmph… unh-unh…" Having heard what the man just said, Wei Xin struggled more vigorously than ever before. She knew what he had in mind.
"Alright then, let big brother love you a long time!" The man then eagerly took off his own clothes and proceeded to mount Wei Xin.
The next day, Wei Xin did not report to work at the sub-bureau, but nobody felt surprised by her absence. They all assumed she had slept in because she had been on the night shift. Plus, Jiang Zhengkai had ordered everyone last night to catch up on their sleep, so even he didn't think Wei Xin's absence was unusual, despite the fact that he should've been the one most aware of it. Besides, there was another reason why he didn't realize Wei Xin was missing: he was currently in the commissioner's office getting the asschewing of a lifetime from Old Man Yao.
At around noon, Jiang Zhengkai finally left Yao Tianyu's office. He eardrums were still ringing from all the yelling he had just received from Yao Tianyu. He knew Yao Tianyu was worried about the case. So many people had died in this city, but there was no progress whatsoever in cracking the case. This was a first not just for Jiang Zhengkai, but for Yao Tianyu as well. These were two men with an immense sense of pride and honor, so it goes without saying that this level of professional failure was completely unacceptable to them.
Jiang Zhengkai left municipal bureau headquarters and returned to his car. Once inside, he lit a cigarette and quietly smoked it. He needed to calm his emotions. Even though he wasn't mad at Yao Tianyu for yelling at him, he nevertheless needed some quiet time to cool down. At the end, he decided not to return to the his office but rather to visit the crime scene instead. He wanted to see if he could find something new, but he knew chances were slim.
At the airport, a girl clad in traditional Tibetan garb stepped off the airplane. A-Jiao concluded her traveling adventures and returned to this familiar city. A taxi dropped her off at the main entrance of the hospital since she was due for a check-up today.
"Dr. Wang!" A-Jiao exclaimed as she appeared in Dr. Wang's office, "This is for you. Thank you for taking care of me while I was in the hospital." As she spoke, A-Jiao took out a stick of Chinese caterpillar fungus and handed it to Dr. Wang.
"You are…" Dr. Wang was speechless as she looked at the girl in front of her. She felt there was something familiar about this girl, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"What? You've already forgotten about me?" A-Jiao tilted her head and asked as she looked at Dr. Wang with a mischievous gaze. It was as if she were saying, "Are you old? Is your memory failing?"
"Ahem…" Dr. Wang coughed once. She definitely did not recognize A-Jiao, but medical reports don't lie. She glanced at the name written on the medical report and then raised her head towards A-Jiao, "Are you really A-Jiao?"
"Of course! If I'm not A-Jiao, then who is?" A-Jiao said as she sat down next to Dr. Wang, "You definitely instructed me to come back for my regular checkups, and to not eat spicy food, or salty food either! I've followed your instructions to a t, only for you to not recognize me… pretty disappointing, I must say." She then lowered her head and pretended to be all dejected.
"Hehe, you silly girl! Look at you, dressed like a Tibetan. You gave me quite the scare, you know? I thought you were some kind of a Tibetan medicine vendor!" Since Dr. Wang now knew it was A-Jiao, she proceeded to engage in playful banter, "How are you these days? Does it still hurt down there?" If Dr. Wang had felt any ill will towards A-Jiao when she was discharged, it was all gone now. Perhaps the change of heart began when she saw A-Jiao paying her own medical bills.
"It doesn't hurt anymore!" A-Jiao said playfully while sitting on the chair, "If you don't believe me, I can do the worm dance for you."
"Oh stop it, you crazy girl! Now go lie down on the exam bed! You're just like that Jiang boy." Dr. Wang didn't know why her thoughts drifted to Jiang Zhengkai. Perhaps it was because Jiang Zhengkai was similarly crazy when he was a young man?
Dr. Wang completed her examinations and told A-Jiao, "I'm happy to tell you that you've recovered quite well, but you still need to take care of yourself. If you're ever thinking about having children one day, you need to change your profession right now."
"Is it really that serious?" A-Jiao looked at Dr. Wang with disappointment in her eyes as she stroked her hair with her hands.
"Yes! It's in your hands now!" Dr. Wang was angered by A-Jiao's response. Once a prostitute, always a prostitute!
"Alright, Grandma Wang! Don't be mad anymore, ok? I promise to find a real job, no matter how little money I make," A-Jiao said as she placed her face close to Dr. Wang's in order to cheer her up.
"Whatever. It's your health we're talking about, not mine," Dr. Wang replied disdainfully. However, she had a warm and fuzzy feeling deep down in her heart. If A-Jiao could really change for the better, then perhaps I could ask Jiang Zhengkai how he felt about her.
"Dr. Wang… I… I want to ask…" Seeing Dr. Wang taking notes in her medical record, A-Jiao suddenly became tongue-tied, "Officer… Officer Jiang… how is he?"
"Him? Pretty good," Dr. Wang looked up from her reading glasses, "Why? You miss him?"
"No way!" said A-Jiao as she quickly broke eye contact with Dr. Wang, "I'm just curious, that's all."
"Oh, I see. Here, hold on to your medical record. Make sure to come back again a month from now for your next check-up," Dr. Wang said before adding, "Don't worry! No one else wants that bum Jiang Zhengkai!" She let out a chuckle as A-Jiao walked out of her office.
