Chapter 5

Chapter 5

After the killings, I rested in my apartment for a full week.

I didn’t reopen the bakery until the weather turned a bit warmer.

A female customer wearing silver-rimmed glasses arrived very early, waiting at the door in a beautiful, light sweater.

She ordered a slice of cheesecake and sat quietly in the corner with a sketchbook, drawing.

Just as the third batch of fresh red bean toast came out of the oven, several police officers pushed open the door.

“Welcome.”

At that moment, I was roasting coffee. This batch of Brazilian beans had just arrived the night previous; they were low-acid, smooth, and possessed a nutty aroma.

The man leading them was a middle-aged man nearly 1.9 meters tall-their captain.

Captain Shen scanned the shop meticulously before producing a document.

“Jiangcheng Police Department. We’re investigating a case; please cooperate.”

“Xue Qiang. He went missing on a rainy night a week ago. Street surveillance nearby last caught him walking in this direction. Have you seen him?”

Attached to the document was a photo showing the distorted, gaunt face of the raincoat Exhibitionist.

Oh, so his name was Xue Qiang.

I spent two minutes identifying him with a serious, earnest expression before shaking my head honestly.

“I haven’t seen him, Officer.”

Captain Shen didn’t say anything. He casually ordered several items and sat down in the shop.

I sliced the red bean toast and the cheese pork chop buns, serving them with coffee.

It was only then that I realized the female customer in the corner was actually with them.

Her name was Xu Yi, a very famous criminal profiler.

She was a top graduate from Jiangcheng Criminal Investigation University and was a year or two older than me.

Xu Yi tied up her soft, long hair and took a sip of black tea, lost in thought. On her sketchbook, a silhouette strikingly similar to my own figure was gradually taking shape.

“The red bean toast smells great. You replaced your oven last week? Why?”

Captain Shen possessed an unusually sharp intuition when it came to cases; he seemed to have a sense about me.

“The old one didn’t work well anymore.”

I hung the “Closed” sign on the door and sat across from him, my back stiff and formal.

Lying is such a chore. I really wanted to tell him-

Because a man’s head exploded inside it while I was roasting him, and it felt gross to keep using it.

“The bakery wasn’t open this week. Why?”

He took a sip of coffee, then suddenly leaned toward the wall and sniffed carefully.

That night, when I sawed open the man’s head, blood had splattered onto the wall, so I had sprayed it with disinfectant.

“I was tired and wanted to rest.”

Killing three people in one night is indeed very exhausting.

I marveled at his investigative mindset; he cut straight into every detail with absolute precision.

Captain Shen lowered his head to focus on his bread, asking questions every now and then. His style was quite unique.

It was just a shame that someone so capable couldn’t catch those men who committed such heinous crimes.

Why was that?

“Welcome!”

The bakery door was pushed open as another team hurried in.

“Captain Shen, the girl who was followed and knocked unconscious in the alley at Lane 289, Changping Road has woken up.”

After hearing the report, Captain Shen stuffed the last bite of bread into his mouth and stood up.

“Run blood tests on the floor, the walls, the kitchen, and that old oven. Be thorough.”

He instructed the forensic team that had just arrived to collect evidence in the bakery, gave me a faint glance, and left.

I gave a polite smile and cleared the plates.

Xu Yi, who hadn’t finished her profile yet, also stood up and softly bid me goodbye.

“The cheesecake was delicious.”

I liked her quite a bit, so I bowed to her with a beaming smile.

“Big sister, please come again!”