"Mom, what Ah-Zhou means is that this person might not necessarily be very close to the little girl's parents."
"But he’s likely working in the same system as them, like the coal mining system."
Every industry had its own set of work schedules and shifts back then.
If they were in the same system, finding out someone’s business trip schedule wouldn’t be difficult.
But after thinking about it, something still felt off.
Seeing her with downcast eyes, silent for a long while, her hair still damp and half-dry,
Huo Tingzhou asked Mother Huo for a clean towel and wrapped her hair in it.
"Mom, I’ll head back to the room first."
"Go ahead, go ahead. Make sure to dry your hair properly before sleeping, or you’ll have a headache tomorrow."
"Got it, Mom."
Just as the two were about to step out the door, Mother Huo suddenly remembered something and grabbed Huo Tingzhou’s arm.
Jiang Si could guess what her mother-in-law wanted to say, so she smiled and went upstairs first.
About five minutes later, Huo Tingzhou returned to their room.
He took the towel from Jiang Si’s hands and had her lie down on the bed.
While drying her hair, he also gave her a brief massage.
Jiang Si was so relaxed she didn’t want to lift her head. After a while, she murmured, "What did Mom want?"
At this, Huo Tingzhou could only sigh helplessly, recalling Mother Huo’s words:
"You can stay at the Western Hills compound, but you need to be careful when… you know."
"My daughter-in-law is delicate—she can’t handle too much. And she’s busy with work now. As a man, you should be more considerate of her…"
He had quickly cut her off with an excuse.
Otherwise, she might’ve even suggested they sleep in separate rooms.
"She didn’t say much, just told me to be more considerate of you."
After a brief exchange, Huo Tingzhou changed the subject. "What were you thinking about earlier? Did something come to mind?"
Jiang Si nodded.
During the half-hour massage, she had gone over many things—especially her earlier conversations with the two eyewitnesses.
"I feel like the first case is different in nature from the ones that followed."
Huo Tingzhou had sensed it too, but he loved listening to his wife’s thoughts, so he prompted her.
"How so?"
Jiang Si pursed her lips. "In the first case, after killing, the perpetrator didn’t leave. Instead, he stayed in the victim’s home."
"To me, that behavior feels more like a provocation or revenge."
Considering the fact that the man’s nasal bone had once been fractured, Jiang Si had a bold theory.
She usually despised the idea of victim-blaming.
But in this case, she couldn’t shake the feeling that his first murder was somehow connected to his injury.
As for the later cases, they clearly weren’t crimes of passion—more like acts to satisfy some twisted desire.
Of course, these were just deductions based on crime dramas she’d seen in her past life. The real conclusions would depend on the police’s final report.
As they talked, time slipped by.
Ever since transmigrating into this novel, Jiang Si’s energy plummeted like clockwork by 8 PM, leaving her in a near-comatose state.
Seeing her struggling to keep her eyes open, Huo Tingzhou couldn’t bear to disturb her further.
After a quick shower, he joined her in bed.
Perhaps because they’d already shared a bed before, the moment he lay down, he instinctively pulled Jiang Si into his arms.
She mumbled something but didn’t push him away.
Though the house had heating, it was nothing compared to modern standards.
With this human-shaped heater beside her, Jiang Si slept soundly through the night.
The same couldn’t be said for a certain someone.
With his soft, fragrant wife right there—so close yet untouchable—
Huo Tingzhou endured six hours of torment before exhaustion finally overtook him past 2 AM.
Having slept so late, he woke up looking far more haggard than the day before.
As he came downstairs, Old Fourth studied him for a long moment.
"Third Brother, didn’t sleep well last night?"
Second Brother Huo, following behind, couldn’t resist patting his shoulder with a smirk. "Fourth Brother, since you and Fourth Sister-in-law go to work together every day, you wouldn’t understand the saying ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder.’"
"Still, Third Brother, you’re slacking. Better ask Mom to make you some tonics…"
Mother Huo stepped out of the kitchen just in time to hear this. "Tonics for what?"
Second Brother Huo had been about to tease further, but one look at Huo Tingzhou’s stony expression made him clamp his mouth shut.
"Mom, I’ve got things to do. Gotta run."
With that, he bolted out the door in three quick strides.
Old Fourth had matters at the research institute too. "Mom, Third Brother, I’m off as well."
"What’s with these two, talking in riddles? Third Son—"
When Mother Huo turned and saw Huo Tingzhou’s face, she immediately fell silent.
No wonder Second Brother mentioned tonics.
How could he not need them?
If a young man like him was all looks and no stamina, wouldn’t her daughter-in-law suffer?
The thought spurred Mother Huo into action.
Just as Jiang Si and Huo Tingzhou were about to leave for the stadium, Mother Huo shoved a thermos—half-filled with goji berries—into his hands.
At the time, Huo Tingzhou didn’t think much of it.
But when they returned that evening to a dinner spread featuring lamb, chives, rehydrated sea cucumbers, and oysters, his face darkened.
He opened his mouth to explain—he was just tired lately, that’s all.
Didn’t he know his own capabilities?
Mother Huo gave him a knowing look. "I know, I know. I just thought everyone could use some nourishment lately. Don’t overthink it, Third Son…"
Before he could respond, noises from outside drew Mother Huo away.
She hurried to the door.
Moments later, she returned arm-in-arm with a woman sporting a neat bob and dressed in a yellow-green Lenin-style coat.
Behind them trailed two men, two women, and four children.
Seeing the gifts in their hands,
Old Master chided lightly, "You didn’t have to bring anything."
"Dad, it’s only proper. Since Big Brother and Sister-in-law are the ones usually looking after you, it’d be shameful to come empty-handed," Fourth Aunt Huo replied cheerfully.
The four younger adults set their things down and greeted Old Master.
"Grandpa—"
"Grandma—"
The little ones followed suit, lining up in a row and chorusing:
"Great-Grandpa~~ Great-Grandma~~"
Old Master’s eyes crinkled into happy slits as he handed each child a handful of candies.
"Good, good. Everyone, take a seat."
With so many guests, Mother Huo had hauled out the large round table and stools from storage early that morning.
Once everyone settled in, Mother Huo introduced Jiang Si around.
"This is Fourth Aunt Huo, a forensic examiner at the Beijing Public Security Bureau."
"And these are your eldest cousin and his wife—both engineers at the Petrochemical Plant."
"These are your cousins. One of them works at the National Newspaper, and the other is an announcer at the Jing City Broadcasting Bureau."
After listening to her mother - in - law's introduction, while greeting them, Jiang Si couldn't help sighing inwardly that the younger generation of the Huo family was truly full of talented people.
It really lived up to what she had said before: when they gathered, they were like a blazing fire; when they scattered, they were like stars in the sky.
And everyone had heard about Jiang Si's recent work of drawing templates for the facial feature library for the Jing City Public Security Bureau.
So, during this first meeting, the politeness was genuine, and the mutual admiration was also real.
At this time, the Old Master asked, "Where is the Old Fourth?"
Hearing the urgency in the Old Master's tone, Fourth Aunt Huo explained on behalf of her husband.
"Dad, Zhenbei went out after receiving a phone call last night and hasn't come back yet."
"However, I told him to come back if he could."
The Old Master didn't say much but just showed a bit of disappointment.
He had planned to take a family photo after the meal while everyone was here.
He would wash a large - sized one to hang in the living room and send a few copies to his eldest grandson and his wife.
Grandma Huo comforted him, "It's okay. Anyway, it's still early. Let's wait a bit more. Maybe the Old Fourth will come later."
Everyone chatted while waiting, from 4 p.m. until around 7 p.m.
Seeing that it was getting darker and knowing that everyone had to go to work early the next morning, the Old Master directly said, "The kids are hungry. Let's start the meal."
Fourth Aunt Huo felt a bit embarrassed and quickly said, "Yes, yes. Don't wait for him. It's quite common for him to not come home for days when he's busy."
After saying that, she looked at Mother Huo somewhat sheepishly and said, "Sister - in - law, I'm really sorry."
Mother Huo patted her gently, not allowing her to be so polite.
"There are no outsiders today. Sit wherever you like. I won't play the host. Help yourselves to whatever you want."
Just as everyone took their seats and was about to pick up their chopsticks, Huo's fourth uncle rushed in just in time for this family dinner.
Seeing the slight curve of his lips and an uncontrollable look of excitement on his face.
Everyone forgot about eating. After Huo's fourth uncle caught his breath,
they quickly asked, "Well, was the serial killer caught?"
