Who pulled the trigger 3 "Not dizzy?" "Just...

"Wait..." Xun Yin had only taken two steps when Pei Qingyu suddenly braced himself against his arm and raised his head, signaling for him to wait. "No hospital."

"Captain, you only got discharged today. If your heart's bothering you, you should go back and get it checked." Even the usually good-tempered Lin Shichu was growing anxious as he tried to persuade him.

"With this body of mine, I'll have plenty of chances to go to the hospital." Pei Qingyu spoke carelessly, then suddenly felt the arms holding him tighten. He hastily changed the subject. "I'm fine. It was just too cold back there, and I felt a little unwell. I'm a doctor myself. My own diagnosis counts too."

"A forensic pathologist." Ignoring his captain, Xun Yin kept carrying him outside. After a moment's thought, he added, "You diagnose dead people."

"The kid's grown up and won't listen to his captain anymore." Momentarily at a loss for words, Pei Qingyu coughed lightly and muttered before continuing, "I don't want to go to the hospital. Didn't you want to know what was going on with that water? I've figured it out."

Xun Yin ignored him and kept walking. Helpless, frustrated, and anxious, Pei Qingyu couldn't help coughing again. "Don't walk so fast. All this jostling is making me dizzy."

That worked. Xun Yin immediately slowed down and looked down at him with a frown. Pei Qingyu was still pale, but he looked considerably better than before. Seeing Xun Yin looking down at him, he suddenly looped an arm around his neck and leaned close to his ear. "If you don't take me to the hospital, I'll tell you."

Pei Qingyu's breathing was still a little short, each breath brushing Xun Yin's ear and making it feel faintly hot. "Let go first."

"Promise me, and I'll let go." Pei Qingyu tilted his head, then sighed softly. "A-Xun, you know my body's already this badly damaged. My heart's going to act up often from now on. You can't take me to the hospital every single time. I know my limits. You need to... try to accept your captain like this too."

Xun Yin was silent for a long while. Pei Qingyu really was in poor health now; the arm around his neck was trembling slightly, yet his eyes remained fixed on him without blinking. In the end, Xun Yin relented. "Next time, you're going to the hospital."

"Of course, of course." Pei Qingyu agreed offhandedly, instantly relaxing his arm and dropping back into Xun Yin's embrace. He tipped his head back to signal for him to look up. "There. Look over there."

Xun Yin looked up at his words, his gaze pausing. "Central air conditioning?"

"Mm." Pei Qingyu was truly exhausted now. The moment he closed his eyes, he couldn't keep himself from drifting off, and his voice was barely audible. "That's why the water appeared there... but probably not the whole reason."

Special Case Team office, Municipal Public Security Bureau.

"The victim's social connections were very simple." Song Ranran opened the slideshow and delivered her report briskly. "Both his parents died while he was at university. He supported himself on scholarships for all four years and was hired by this company straight after graduation. He had practically no friends-a typical IT guy. His only hobby was probably... eating. No enemies, no conflicts. He wasn't close to his coworkers either. Our only lead-"

"Check the restaurants he went to most often," Xun Yin finished for Song Ranran.

"Whoa, that's a lot." Wang Yu clattered away at his keyboard for a while, and over a dozen restaurants instantly appeared on the slideshow. "Even with a frequency filter, there are still this many."

"All right. Lin, take Song Ranran. Wang Yu, go get Su Xiaochen. Go visit these restaurants." Xun Yin tapped his fingers lightly against the table. "And give me his home address."

No friends, no enemies... what could have made someone insist on ending his life in such a drastic way as shooting him?

Forensic pathology room.

The moment Xun Yin stepped out of the elevator, he saw Pei Qingyu leaning against the wall with one hand pressed to his chest, his eyes fixed on the autopsy room. Only when Xun Yin reached him did he slowly turn his head.

"It's too cold inside. I'm watching Xiaochen perform the autopsy from out here." Pei Qingyu spoke slowly, then suddenly curved his lips. "Xiaochen's improved so much in the six months and more I've been ill. He hardly needs me anymore."

"He does." Xun Yin took Pei Qingyu's hand. Pei Qingyu tried gently to pull free, but Xun Yin only held on tighter. "Xiaochen needs your guidance. The Special Case Team needs your leadership. Everyone needs you."

"It just takes time to accept..." Pei Qingyu shook his head and spoke quietly.

"No." Xun Yin interrupted him. Pei Qingyu's smile faded, and he turned to look at him.

"I don't want to accept the captain you are now." Xun Yin drew a deep breath. "...Because in my eyes, you've never changed."

"Captain Pei, the test results are back." The door to the trace evidence department beside them suddenly opened, and a report was handed over.

"You guessed right. There really was something in that water-sodium chloride."

Pei Qingyu took the report, frowning slightly.

Chapter 3: Who pulled the trigger 3 "Not dizzy?" "Just...

"Salt?"

After saying all that, Xun Yin's face had begun to burn. Not daring to look at Pei Qingyu's expression, he stepped forward and took the test report.

"In other words, the killer wanted to disguise salt water as condensation dripping from the air conditioner, but slipped up on the timing."

Pei Qingyu gave the "perfectly serious" Xun Yin an amused look. Rather than stepping forward, he remained leaning against the wall and stretched out a hand like a lazy cat. "A-Xun, come here and let me have a look."

Xun Yin paused. Though Pei Qingyu was the captain, he was usually childlike at heart and always enjoyed teasing him. Xun Yin wasn't sure whether his words just now had let Pei Qingyu notice anything unusual, but he could only take a deep breath and hand over the report. Whether out of sheer laziness or because he felt unwell, Pei Qingyu remained against the wall without moving a step, merely reaching out farther for it.

Their fingertips touched. Pei Qingyu's fingers were icy from his poor health. It was clearly just an ordinary touch, yet Xun Yin still snatched his hand back as though he had been shocked.

At last, Pei Qingyu raised his head and gave him a puzzled look. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Captain, keep an eye on the autopsy for now. I'll go investigate around Lin Zhou's home."

"What, you're not even taking your captain along on fieldwork anymore?" Pei Qingyu chuckled, asking the question as he lowered his head to read the test report.