Murder Case (2)

Lin Meijing elegantly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said softly, "Mr. Pei, are you satisfied with this place?"

Pei Shao immediately nodded. "Satisfied—more than satisfied! This place is practically paradise on earth!" Then he began regretting not bringing Castle along. Even if he'd asked it to secretly take a few pictures of him and Lin Meijing while they ate, that would have been fine. What a mistake—such a huge mistake!

Lin Meijing seemed quite confident in her own taste. Led by a waiter, she walked side by side with Pei Shao to a place she often visited. The layout here was very simple: winding garden paths surrounded them, while the dining area was a pavilion in the style of the Song Dynasty. The chairs were replicas made of century-old rosewood, and the table was pieced together from slabs of natural marble. Several Moso bamboo plants had been planted around the pavilion, their tops and bottoms joined into the shape of a heart. From afar came the faint sound of a zither and the tinkling of spring water, utterly intoxicating.

After Pei Shao and Lin Meijing took their seats, they smiled at each other. Pei Shao sighed. "Even a paradise from legend would be no better than this, right? Sister Lin, do you often come to places like this to eat?"

"Just call me Meijing from now on!" Lin Meijing's gaze drifted elsewhere, revealing a swan-like, fair, delicate neck and a flawless profile like that of a fairy in a painting.

"Oh! Then you can call me Little Pei or A-Shao!" Pei Shao looked around in the direction of her gaze as well. "You keep calling me Mr. Pei. I'm really not used to it!"

Lin Meijing turned back to look at Pei Shao. "The reason I like this place is because it's quiet!"

"I can tell that, Sister Lin—oh, no, Sister Meijing. You're the kind of girl who enjoys solitude."

"Enjoys solitude?" Lin Meijing shook her head. "Actually, I'm someone who's very afraid of being lonely. But in order to protect myself, sometimes I have no choice but to put on a disguise!"

Pei Shao nodded with deep feeling. "A beautiful woman invites trouble. A girl as beautiful as Sister Meijing naturally has to learn how to protect herself. It's just that I find one thing a little strange..."

"Are you wondering why I'm telling you what's in my heart?" With Lin Meijing's intelligence, it was naturally not difficult for her to tell what Pei Shao was thinking. She continued, "I'm usually a very good judge of people. I know that although Little Pei is also a young man, you wouldn't be like other people, who see a woman with a little beauty and then stop at nothing to get her."

You might as well say I have the desire but not the guts! Pei Shao quietly mocked himself.

"I know you won't hurt me! So it doesn't matter if I tell you a little of what's in my heart. I've always had very few friends!" Lin Meijing spoke with certainty. So much certainty that another layer of sacred yet lonely radiance appeared on her lovely face.

The atmosphere became somewhat delicate, and Pei Shao did not know what he should say at that moment. Fortunately, a hotel waiter came over just then and asked, "May we serve the dishes now?"

The two chatted as they ate. Pei Shao's stomach had already been growling with hunger, but now he had no choice but to pretend to be refined. He constantly paid attention to his words and mannerisms while taking the opportunity to steal close-up glances at the beauty before him.

Lin Meijing truly had a cherry-sized mouth when she ate. Especially the way she tucked her hair back, lowered her head slightly, and slowly brought a small piece of food to her mouth—it was so perfect that no flaw could be found. Pei Shao also noticed in particular that she made no sound at all while eating. Her slightly wrinkled nose and the black evening dress she wore that night made every gesture of hers a delight to behold, combining the elegance of a noble lady with the delicate charm of a girl from a humble home.

At that moment, Pei Shao felt his heart beating a little faster. He really wanted to shout, "That Su Yating or whatever your name is, come take a look! This kind of natural, unpretentious grace is what true charm looks like. Compared with Lin Meijing, you're not even fit to carry her shoes! And you dare pretend to be some peerless beauty?"

The more they talked, the more congenial they became. Lin Meijing also seemed to gradually lower the guard in her heart, occasionally giving Pei Shao a faint smile whenever he said something particularly interesting.

Though those smiles were fleeting, like shooting stars. But when a shooting star streaked across the sky, who could help but have their heart stirred and have that sight engraved deeply in their mind?

Pei Shao felt a little drunk despite not having had any alcohol. Yet just as he and Lin Meijing were enjoying their conversation and things were getting better and better, a wave of high-pitched cries suddenly came from nearby.

Pei Shao and Lin Meijing exchanged a glance, both feeling slightly disappointed.

Pei Shao stood up. "Sister Meijing, I... need to use the restroom!"

"Mm, go ahead!"

Following the garden paths, Pei Shao headed toward the restroom under the waiter's guidance. When he passed a spacious courtyard hall along the way, he glanced inside, because the cries from earlier had come from there.

What he saw left him greatly surprised. Three or four dozen diners were densely gathered not far ahead, all of them looking up as though they were watching something intently.

Pei Shao immediately followed their gazes and looked up. What met his eyes was nothing more than an ordinary widescreen LCD television. "What's there to watch?" Pei Shao shook his head after just one glance and was about to leave. But suddenly, his body jolted, and his eyes involuntarily turned back toward it.

Amid the sound of police sirens from the broadcast, a man's magnetic voice soon began speaking. "According to the deceased's family, when they discovered the male victim, approximately twenty-five years old, lying in the living room of his home in Ningdong District, his body had already begun to stiffen. At the same time, they heard the sound of a window violently shattering from the sun-facing bedroom. However, what puzzled the police was that there were no injuries whatsoever on the deceased's body, nor did the forensic examiner find any related chemical toxins inside the body. When they arrived at the scene, they found only a hole in the window about the size of a computer screen. Other than that, all other entrances and exits of the home showed no abnormalities and remained tightly shut. The police experts ultimately concluded that even a five-year-old child could not possibly have escaped through that hole. Moreover, the deceased lived on the twentieth floor of a high-rise building. What exactly is the truth behind this case? Did the family lie, or was the killer truly so skilled that even the police were left helpless? Please continue following S City Cable Television for live, firsthand updates on this case!"