Seeing Crime Scenes in My Sleep

Chapter 21: Chapter 21: The Miraculous Lychee Wine

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li immediately stood up. "Then let’s head over now."

Lu Xingye watched Jiang Li, her behavior so erratic he couldn’t make sense of it.

The two of them arrived at the police station. Zhao Shuo’s eyes widened in shock as he saw Jiang Li walk in. "Miss Jiang, you’re here too? We were just saying we’d contact you after we had confirmation."

"I’ve moved to the area, so I stopped by since it was on the way," Jiang Li replied, looking at him with a placid expression.

’That was incredibly fast.’

"Follow me."

Zhao Shuo led the two of them inside. "Miss Jiang, based on the information you provided, we’ve found five videos so far.

They were all posted this afternoon."

Jiang Li looked at the videos Zhao Shuo indicated. The people in them were all young women.

"Hey everyone! Guess what incredible hidden gem I’ve discovered!"

The young woman in the video held up an exquisite cup. A few lychees floated in the milky-white liquid inside.

"Lychee wine. The first sip is a burst of fresh lychee sweetness with a faint, fruity aroma, fine-tuned for a gentle buzz..."

Jiang Li moved on to the next video before the woman had even finished her pitch. After watching all five, she looked at Zhao Shuo. "Is that all?"

"That’s it."

Lu Xingye handed her his tablet. "The person on camera won’t necessarily be a young woman. Besides, old coots love to drink, so the target audience can’t be young people. The most likely demographic is middle-aged and older adults. And based on Jiang Li’s description, this lychee wine isn’t as innocent as it looks."

As he spoke, Lu Xingye scanned the search results, quickly scrolling through the videos. He liked and saved a few, then filtered them down before showing his selection to Jiang Li.

"Roll up, roll up, everyone! Come and see the boss’s exclusive, secret recipe lychee wine! Kids who drink it get smarter and healthier! Men who drink it will have a happy and blissful love life! And seniors who drink it will live to be ninety-nine!"

In the video, a man held a small, stainless steel mug, which made it difficult to see the liquid inside clearly.

After speaking, the man took a sip and smacked his lips. "Ahh! This is absolutely heavenly!"

Jiang Li scrolled through the comment section.

Tranquility Reaches Far: [I know this guy. His family’s lychee wine is really different from everyone else’s. I felt so much more energetic after drinking it.]

Blossoming Fortune: [My grandson drank it and scored a perfect 100 on his final exams!]

AAAAA Building Materials CEO: [One cup has the kick of two!]

The corners of Jiang Li’s mouth twitched as she read the comments. ’This is just too ridiculous.’

"We should look into this. It’s highly suspicious."

"Alright."

After Jiang Li left the police station with Lu Xingye, a message from Qiao Siyuan popped up on her phone.

[Lili, are you all packed? How about we head out tomorrow? I’ll pick you up downstairs at your place at nine tomorrow morning.]

Jiang Li saw the message and simply ignored it.

"Xiao Ye, Jiang Li, you’re back! Perfect timing. I’ve made dinner, come eat with us."

Lu Xingchen called out as soon as she heard the door open and looked toward the entrance.

Jiang Li instantly felt awkward. "I shouldn’t..."

"It’s fine. Eat with us. You can go back and finish unpacking after dinner."

Lu Xingye turned his head to look at Jiang Li.

Jiang Li looked up to meet Lu Xingchen’s expectant gaze and finally nodded.

"Thank you, Officer Lu. Once I’m settled, I’ll treat you all to a meal."

Jiang Li stood up stiffly. Looking at Lu Xingchen, she spoke slowly, her voice trembling slightly.

"It’s no problem. I’ll call you Xiao Li from now on, okay? And you don’t have to call me Officer Lu anymore. Just call me Sister Lu."

Lu Xingye got up on his own and began to clear the dishes.

Jiang Li shot to her feet. "I-I’ll get it."

"Don’t worry about it. You just sit and relax for a bit. There are only a few dishes, let Xiao Ye handle it."

Hearing Lu Xingchen’s words, Jiang Li froze on the spot, unsure of what to do. The next second, she picked up a cloth and started wiping the table.

"Hey, go sit on the sofa with my sister," Lu Xingye quickly intervened.

Jiang Li’s eyes landed on the broom in the corner, and she moved to start sweeping.

Lu Xingchen paused for a moment, then stood up, came to her side, and pulled her down to sit. "Xiao Li, have some fruit."

Jiang Li stared at the orange in her hand, a wave of anxiety washing over her. Her eyes darted around as she nervously clutched the fabric of her pants.

’If I don’t help, will that be bad? After I leave, will Xingye and Sister Lu say I’m inconsiderate and clueless behind my back...?’

"O-Officer Lu, I’m going to head back now." After bidding a hasty farewell to Lu Xingchen, Jiang Li abruptly stood up and fled back to her new home as if escaping.

The moment she closed the door, she felt like she could finally breathe again.

Jiang Li slid down, her back against the door, and hugged herself tightly. When she was twelve, she’d made her first friend, who had excitedly invited her over to play.

She sat there awkwardly, but that simple act had caused a disaster. Her friend’s father had loudly berated her, saying he’d never seen such a rude child who just sat there, not even greeting the many relatives in the house with a simple "uncle" or "auntie."

She had fled, but she didn’t know the way, and it took her an entire day of wandering to find the road back to town. It was late by the time she got home.

That day, she lost the first friend she ever had. After that, she never made another one and grew even worse at navigating social situations.

Jiang Li anxiously ran her hands through her hair and bit the soft flesh between her thumb and forefinger, repeatedly replaying her time at the Lu Family’s apartment, trying to convince herself she hadn’t done anything wrong.

After a long while, she finally got up from the floor and started to unpack.

Next door, Lu Xingchen and Lu Xingye heard the door shut and were stunned for a good while.

"She’s probably just shy. That’s normal," Lu Xingchen said with a smile.

Lu Xingye lowered his head and continued washing the dishes.

Jiang Li sat on her bed, gazing at the nightscape outside, once again slipping into a daze.

As sleepiness overcame her, she drew the curtains, switched on a small night-light, and lay back down to sleep. To one side, her forgotten phone screen lit up, went dark, then lit up again.

A bone-chilling cold washed over her. She heard the sound of raindrops hitting plastic and something heavy being dragged along the ground.

A few seconds later, as her mind cleared a little, she found herself wearing a black plastic raincoat, moving through the pouring rain. She was dragging something, she didn’t know what, that occasionally stirred and made a noise.

Jiang Li committed the surroundings to memory as she moved, soon arriving before a rust-spotted iron gate.

CLANG!

The grating sound of the gate opening was especially eerie in the rainy night. She pushed the heavy gate open and walked in, her steps familiar and sure as her hand felt for the switch on the wall.

CLICK.

A weak light illuminated the entire warehouse, and Jiang Li’s eyes widened. ’Isn’t this the pig butchering place I dreamed about yesterday?’

’So, does that mean the thing I’m dragging... is the diseased pig from that place?’

She didn’t rush to open the bag. Instead, she picked up a nearby knife and began to sharpen it. The bag beside her stirred with movement.

Growing annoyed with the noise, she threw the knife onto the wooden table with a CLATTER. The bag was instantly startled into silence.

She stepped forward and began to untie the rope on the bag. Then, under the light, Jiang Li clearly saw what was inside...