At hearing this, the short policeman beside Zhou Jiaxing immediately wore a slightly frozen expression. He pulled a small recorder from his pocket and switched it on, then fished out a small notebook and a pen, looking steadily at Cheng Yun as he said, "A black man, one meter nine in height. He came to your place wanting a room?"
"Yeah, obviously," Cheng Yun said.
"And you let him check in?"
"No." Cheng Yun shook his head and replied, "My place doesn't have foreign-guest credentials."
"Then he left?" The policeman's questions were somewhat rigid, as if he were long accustomed to a certain routine.
"Yes." Cheng Yun nodded honestly.
At this, Zhou Jiaxing suddenly frowned and said, "From what I understand, there are plenty of international students at the university nearby, and there are only so many hotels around here with foreign-guest credentials. Ordinarily, regular inns don't follow the rules that strictly; when they run into international students coming to get a room, they mostly just log it and be done with it... So I hope you can tell us the truth. We're criminal police, and even if you broke the rules, it's not our department, nor do we care to bother."
"That's right. That Black man's visa expired long ago, and he committed... a very serious matter. We really need your cooperation." The short officer raised his head to glance at the front desk's surveillance camera, seeming to remind Cheng Yun of something.
"I know," Cheng Yun nodded. "But I just opened this place and don't want to take risks. Besides, the summer vacation has arrived recently, business is pretty good too, and I'm not short of just this one room."
"Oh." Zhou Jiaxing nodded; this issue wasn't worth him dwelling on too much. "Then where did he go?"
"Where did he go..." Cheng Yun frowned and thought carefully. "He should have gone to look for other lodgings. After all, it was raining so hard."
"..." Zhou Jiaxing fell silent. This answer was practically no different from nothing.
At that moment, a voice suddenly came from upstairs, "He walked to the left."
Everyone turned their heads and saw Heroine Yin walking down step by step wearing shorts and slippers, her legs and feet pure white.
"Huh?" Zhou Jiaxing was momentarily stunned, looking at Cheng Yun. "Who is this young lady?"
"She's the cleaner at my shop. She was there that day too." As Cheng Yun spoke, he looked back at Heroine Yin, feeling a bit doubtful about her intelligence, and asked, "How do you know he walked to the left?"
"I saw it, duh!"
"You remember?"
"Of course." Heroine Yin felt somewhat aggrieved. "That guy was as black as a piece of charcoal, how could I not remember!"
"Which side is the left?"
"This side... Hey, Station Master, what do you mean? Do you think I can't even tell left from right?"
"No, no, no," Cheng Yun hurriedly denied.
"Ahem, we are currently trying to understand the situation from you very seriously, so please be serious as well." As Zhou Jiaxing spoke, he sized up Heroine Yin, who had just walked down from upstairs, and asked Cheng Yun, "Can you pull up the surveillance footage?"
"Yes."
Yu Dian immediately got up from her seat, hugging her laptop to make way. A few of them gathered around the front desk, and Cheng Yun quickly pulled up the surveillance footage.
"That's him, wearing the exact same clothes as in the surveillance," Zhou Jiaxing pointed at the screen and pressed fast-forward. "Sure enough, he went out and turned left."
"There are a lot of cheap motels over that way," Cheng Yun said. "Though if he really committed some crime, by now he's probably long gone without a trace, seeing as today is already the second."
"Not necessarily. In any case, we'll pursue multiple lines of inquiry, striving not to miss a single chance. The sooner we find him, the sooner we're done." Zhou Jiaxing sighed as he spoke, then asked, "Regarding him, do you know any other characteristics?"
"Not really." Cheng Yun frowned. "Right, his spoken Chinese is pretty good. He has no trouble communicating with people."
"He's been here for several years."
"He's been here for several years? Did no one deport him even after his visa expired?"
"Hmph!" Zhou Jiaxing let out a light sneer. "There are plenty of Black people lingering in China. Every time we try to deport them, either we can't find them or they play tricks on us. If we use forced deportation, they make a collective fuss. After a few times, it just fizzles out."
"Is that so?" Cheng Yun nodded. He had heard that even more Black people overstayed in Guangdong, and the government was helpless there too.
At this, Heroine Yin hesitated for a moment, then chimed in out of nowhere, "That charcoal man had scratches on his neck and elbows. Judging by the marks, they should have been made by fingernails, only they were very shallow and invisible unless you looked closely."
"Hmm?" The short policeman immediately looked at Heroine Yin, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Cheng Yun was also stunned. "You even know that?"
"Instinct, a reflexive reaction." Heroine Yin modestly waved her hand. "I'm used to subconsciously paying attention to these things."
The short policeman's gaze grew even stranger.
Normally, even if Heroine Yin had a knife scar on her face, it wouldn't easily draw people's attention, given that her petite, one-meter-fifty-five loli build was simply too deceptive. Moreover, her facial features were naturally alluring; if she didn't deliberately radiate hostility, she looked entirely like a next-door neighbor girl with a facial blemish. But right now, using his professional intuition, the short policeman seemed to sense something amiss...
Yet he quickly lowered his head, minded his own business, silently noted down Heroine Yin's words, and made an uncertain mark, preparing to confirm it with the forensics department.
"Is there any other information about him you can provide us with?" the short policeman continued to ask.
"None," Cheng Yun looked at Heroine Yin.
"I don't have any either," Heroine Yin consciously shook her head.
"Then if you think of anything, feel free to contact us at any time. If you spot his whereabouts again, please also dial the police hotline in a timely manner." The short policeman shook hands with Cheng Yun. "My surname is Chen."
"Alright, Officer Chen," Cheng Yun said.
"Then we won't disturb you any further." Officer Chen cast one last frowning glance at Heroine Yin, then packed up his things and strode away in a whirlwind.
Heroine Yin looked at his back, feeling somewhat perplexed. "Why did he glance at me at the end? Was it my appearance that made him suspicious?"
"I don't know." Cheng Yun shook his head, feeling somewhat helpless. "Anyway, you'd better watch out."
"Dim sum? What dim sum?" Heroine Yin's eyes lit up.
"..."
"Oh, oh, my bad," Heroine Yin said, then asked, "Were those two the government runners of your world? Wearing clothes similar to the people on... TV yesterday."
"Yeah, they're called policemen."
"How come they didn't carry those bang-bang guns?"
"Who carries a gun around for no reason? Police aren't allowed to fire casually either!" Cheng Yun was somewhat speechless, picking up a cold steamed bun to bite into.
Before he had even taken two bites, he felt something was off. Glancing to the side, he discovered that Heroine Yin was staring blankly right at him. This heroine immediately averted her gaze the moment their eyes met.
Cheng Yun stared at her in astonishment. "Do you want to eat?"
"No, no, no, not eating."
"Sure?"
"Not eating," Heroine Yin said resolutely, then glanced at him again and asked weakly, "What flavor is it?"
"Soy-sauce pork, probably. Want a bite?"
"No, no, no. I ate breakfast, but you haven't eaten yet."
"It'll be lunchtime soon, it doesn't matter."
"Then I'll just eat one." Heroine Yin swallowed a mouthful of saliva, staring fixedly at the remaining bun in his hand.
"..."
In the afternoon, on the rooftop terrace, it was still completely desolate.
Heroine Yin stood at the edge of the railing like some otherworldly master, gazing into the distance. She only turned back upon hearing Cheng Yun's footsteps. "You're here?"
"I'm here," Cheng Yun said.
"Then let's begin." Heroine Yin suddenly flicked her hand, her expression turning serious accordingly. "Today I'm still teaching you how to throw a punch. Half the time will train your punching form, and the other half will teach you the angles of your strikes. It'll be like this for at least a month going forward."
"No problem," Cheng Yun cupped his fists. "Sorry for the trouble and hard work, Teacher Yin."
He didn't come down from the rooftop until he had practiced until five o'clock. After eating dinner, he started his shift, incidentally adding some content to his WeChat official account—even though the account didn't have many followers yet.
A day passed just like that.
The next day, after finishing lunch and taking a midday nap, Heroine Yin dragged him outside for physical training.
Cheng Yan sat on the front desk sofa reading a book while quietly chatting with Yu Dian about something. Most of the time, though, it was she asking or talking, with Yu Dian responding in soft tones.
Seeing Cheng Yun come downstairs with Heroine Yin, dressed in tight running gear, she paused slightly before asking, "Going out for a run again?"
Cheng Yun nodded. "Yeah."
Cheng Yan glanced faintly at Heroine Yin again and frowned. Immediately feeling that Heroine Yin dragging Cheng Yun out to run was good for his health, she didn't say anything further.
"Cheng Yun, you're starting the day shift tomorrow, right?"
"That's right."
"Will you switch to running at night then?"
"Probably."
"Running at night is better; it's good for your health, and it's cooler." Cheng Yan nodded. "I'll go with you when the time comes."
"Uh... I suppose that's fine."
"Huh?" Cheng Yan's eyes instantly narrowed.
"Great! Having someone to run with is naturally more comfortable than running by myself!" Cheng Yun broke into a smile, though he hesitated and added, "It's just that my running spots aren't fixed. It could be the Yida sports field, it could be by the river, or it could be a suburban highway, and I might get a gym membership later on. Plus, your running speed definitely can't match mine; women are naturally hard-pressed to compare with men in physical stamina."
"Tch!" Cheng Yan sneered. "Don't underestimate me, my long-distance running champion award certificate is still at home. And I happen to want to practice more and run a marathon next year."
"A heroine among women!" Cheng Yun said as he pushed open the door and went outside.
Naturally, Heroine Yin followed right behind him.
"The weather's pretty good today, not as hot as the past two days." Cheng Yun felt the blowing breeze, looked up at the somewhat overcast sky, and then looked down at the flat-soled sandals on Heroine Yin's feet. "Let's go! I'll buy you a pair of running shoes, consider it my apprenticeship gift for learning martial arts from you! Though I didn't actually apprentice."
"How can I let you do that!" Heroine Yin hurriedly waved her hands in refusal while speaking bluntly, "Besides, when did you learn any martial arts from me? You're just spouting nonsense!"
"..."
Walking to a crossroad, Cheng Yun recalled the route and turned right. "I remember there's a mall over this way that seems to have an Asics counter. Cheng Yan's shoes were bought there."
Considering Heroine Yin's formidable athletic abilities, Cheng Yun felt it was extremely necessary to buy her a good pair of athletic shoes. Otherwise, ordinary shoes might be fine for her usual walking, but if she really started running, they would probably fall apart in no time. Rather than that, it was better to spend a few hundred extra yuan right from the start and save himself the trouble later.
A short while later, Cheng Yun stood by the roadside, pointed at the pedestrian traffic light across the way, and looked down at Heroine Yin. "See that light?"
"I see it." Heroine Yin nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
"What color is it?"
"It's... it's red!"
"Do you walk when it's red?"
"No."
"What color lets you walk?"
"Green means go."
"Right, correct answer!" Cheng Yun nodded at Heroine Yin, then asked, "And how are you supposed to walk when you cross?"
"You have to walk on this... this stripey line."
"What line?"
"The white striped line." The heroine swallowed a mouthful of saliva, recalling the soy-sauce pork bun once more—bite down on the soft skin and it was all meat inside, plus oil!
"What line?"
"I... I forgot." The heroine lowered her head.
"A zebra crossing!" Cheng Yun sighed. "I've taught you such a simple term three times already."
"Why's it called a zebra crossing anyway?"
"A zebra is a kind of horse with white stripes!"
"Then why isn't it called a white-stripe crossing?"
"Isn't zebra crossing sound better?"
"Soy-sauce pork filling sounds better."
"What crossing?"
"N—nothing." Heroine Yin pointed at the green light across the street. "It's turned green now, can we go?"
"Sigh, let's go, let's go."
"My fault, I suppose," Heroine Yin muttered softly. "If it has white stripes it's called a zebra crossing, then why don't they call red lights monkey-butt lights..."
A few children—carrying school bags and wearing school uniforms, unsure if they were primary or middle schoolers—waited for the traffic light and crossed the street together with them. Hearing their conversation along the way, the kids couldn't help but secretly glance at Heroine Yin, only to be startled by the knife scar on her face.
Cheng Yun was stunned to discover that Heroine Yin... was actually about the same height as this group of kids.
(A gleaming sword points straight at you) "Those with book lists, add the book list! Hear that? Are you adding it or not!"
(The sword blade presses close) "Are you adding it or not!"
(Kneels down with a thud) "Are you adding it or not!"
Before you continue