That evening, Shen Zhicheng finally pushed open the front door.
The moment the door swung open, his steps unconsciously faltered.
The aroma of cooking drifted from the kitchen — Fang Jie was busy. The long-missed smell of a proper meal made him pause for a moment.
Walking into the living room, he saw Shen Chongnian and Li Heng sitting side by side on the sofa.
It wasn’t really a surprise — just that his grandfather’s efficiency was alarmingly high.
“I used to think it’d be nice to have twins who didn’t look alike — identical ones seemed so boring.”
“Now I think otherwise. Since you two don’t look alike, even if I ran into you on the street, I wouldn’t have recognized you, Grandfather.”
A lazy voice came from behind: “Grandfather, so who do you think is better looking?”
“You little brat.” Shen Chongnian’s cane swung vaguely in the air.
“Hitting people on a happy occasion?” Shen Zhicheng dodged behind Li Heng. “Aren’t you afraid your granddaughter will think you’re unreasonable?”
Everyone laughed.
A faint smile also crept into Li Heng’s eyes.
This sudden sense of family — warm yet carrying a strange, careful unfamiliarity — she felt it deeply.
At dinner, the table was laden with dishes.
Fang Jie was a skilled cook — in just two hours, she’d prepared a lavish feast, each dish beautifully plated, each with its own auspicious meaning.
Shen Chongnian didn’t take his usual seat at the head of the table. Instead, he sat next to Li Heng and Shen Zhicheng.
Shen Zhicheng had rarely seen him smile like this growing up.
It was clear — the old man was truly happy.
As the meal began, Shen Chongnian looked at Li Heng and said, word by word: “Zhining, welcome home.”
Uncle Cheung expected the young master to make some flippant joke at his grandfather’s old-fashioned sentimentality.
But Shen Zhicheng was silent for a long time, then said the same thing: “Welcome home.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Shen Zhicheng knew — this was too sentimental.
So he deliberately made a face at his grandfather: “You’re so cheesy it’s ridiculous!”
Then he tilted his chin toward Li Heng, as if boasting.
She squinted at him: “Shen Zhicheng, you’re just as cheesy.”
“Hey!” Shen Zhicheng protested.
The smile never left Shen Chongnian’s lips as he used his chopsticks to heap food onto his grandchildren’s bowls.
“Zhining, eat more.”
“Zhicheng, you too.”
The bowls piled high with food, and Li Heng ate bite by bite.
Every time she looked up, she saw Shen Chongnian and Shen Zhicheng smiling at her.
Just like that — she suddenly had a family.
…
After dinner, Shen Chongnian brought up the idea of taking her back to Repulse Bay to live with him.
Li Heng didn’t respond right away.
Truthfully, maybe she had once held on to a longing for family — but that was in childhood.
“The master is worried about you living alone out there with no one to take care of you,” Uncle Cheung said. “It’s better at home — the chef can make you something different every day.”
Shen Zhicheng cut in: “Grandfather, are you kidding? If anything, she should come live with me.”
Li Heng turned her gaze to him — it was clear he was stepping in to help her out.
Fate seemed to have its own design, gently pushing things along. In just one month, she and Shen Zhicheng’s paths had kept intersecting, overlapping with her dreams, until finally leading to this reunion.
The DNA match had come without warning. Li Heng had thought — they were both adults, each capable of walking their own path. A test result was just proof of blood relation.
But the two people before her were genuinely welcoming her home.
“Who’d want to live with an old man anyway? You’re so fussy — if I stay up a few minutes late, your cane’s already banging on my door.” Shen Zhicheng said lightly.
Picking up his cue, Li Heng declined politely: “I’m used to living alone.”
Shen Zhicheng glanced silently at Shen Chongnian — clearly, the old man was a little disappointed.
He knew his grandfather’s temperament too well — strict, stubborn, never tolerating contradiction.
He was about to smooth things over when he heard Shen Chongnian speak with a smile.
“Children grow up and have their own ideas. Grandfather respects that.”
The words Shen Zhicheng had been about to say died in his throat. He pursed his lips.
The difference in treatment between granddaughter and grandson was enormous.
“It’s getting late — I’ll head back first.” Shen Chongnian rose. “Zhicheng, take Zhining home.”
Shen Zhicheng nodded casually, and the two siblings walked the old man to the door.
Before turning away, Shen Chongnian looked at his granddaughter once more.
Throughout the afternoon, Li Heng had spoken little.
Shen Chongnian had seen countless people in his life, but he refused to view this child — who had spent over twenty years outside the family — with even a trace of arrogance. She had endured too much hardship; it was only natural that she found it hard to let down her guard and kept a cool distance.
There wasn’t much he could do right now — but he knew he couldn’t force things. All he could do was make it up to her.
“Go on back in.” Shen Chongnian was helped into the car.
But just as the car door was about to close, he heard a soft farewell.
“Grandfather, take care.”
Shen Chongnian froze completely, turning to look at Uncle Cheung.
Uncle Cheung smiled: “The eldest young lady is calling you.”
Shen Chongnian gazed at Li Heng, standing not far away, his voice thick with emotion: “Good, good…”
The car drove toward Repulse Bay.
Throughout the journey, Shen Chongnian was in excellent spirits.
Uncle Cheung remembered the application form and teased: “I forgot to sneak into the young master’s room earlier and tear up his application form.”
Shen Chongnian snorted: “Tear what? I’ll just give a call to the police higher-ups another day and make that kid back off on his own.”
“That would be even easier — just ask the eldest young lady, wouldn’t it?”
Shen Chongnian was momentarily at a loss for words. He shot Uncle Cheung a sideways glance and turned his face away.
Talk about bringing up the wrong subject.
Just the other day, he’d said the Shen family had never produced a police officer in generations — and now suddenly there was one.
“What’s so good about being a police officer anyway? So dangerous.”
“Master, the eldest young lady is an Inspector!”
“An Inspector isn’t dangerous? Better to be a Superintendent — sit in the office drinking tea all day.”
…
Life gradually settled back into a routine.
Li Heng occasionally ran into Shen Zhicheng, but most of the time, she was focused on her work at the station.
In her spare time, she would go to the archives to look through old case files. Many cases remained unsolved — she jotted down the loose ends in her notebook, revisiting them repeatedly, hoping to find a breakthrough.
The text in the case files was cold, but behind each one were real lives. The dead couldn’t speak — it was up to the police to investigate carefully and speak for them.
The CID room had lost its former tension, replaced by more laughter and chatter.
After working on their first case with Li Heng, everyone could see how hard this young boss pushed herself — she worked overtime completely on her own initiative. It was clear that life from now on wouldn’t be easy.
But for Team A officers, the hardest thing to adjust to was still the afternoon tea situation.
“Team B is having good stuff again — the smell of egg tarts is drifting over here.” Lin Jiacong looked up at the ceiling with a mournful expression. “Madam really isn’t going to treat us to afternoon tea?”
“If you want egg tarts, go buy them yourself.” Old You rolled up a stack of papers and tapped him on the head. “Don’t gossip about people in broad daylight.”
Gao Zijie poked his head out from another desk: “Old You, you can’t gossip at night either!”
They glanced at the clock — nearly quitting time — and huddled together to discuss evening plans.
“Another day safely passed — almost five! How about spicy crab in Lai Chi Kok? My mom got a coupon yesterday — twenty percent off!”
“How about dim sum for supper instead? Spicy crab’s too greasy—”
“The weather’s bad today — do you think it’ll rain tonight?”
“Just bring an umbrella, don’t overthink it.”
“What about hotpot? I know a place in Yau Ma Tei called ‘Auntie’s Seafood Hotpot’ — all the ingredients come straight from the fish market. The fish slices are so fresh they’re still twitching when they hit the table!”
The discussion grew more animated, voices rising with excitement, then dropping again as they glanced furtively toward Li Heng’s office.
“We were talking pretty loud — Madam definitely heard us.”
“Is it bad if we don’t invite her?”
“Zijie, you go ask.”
“You go…”
In the end, Lin Jiacong was pushed forward.
He knocked on the Inspector’s office door, scratching his head: “Madam, want to join us for hotpot tonight? Just to unwind?”
Li Heng looked up from her case files and declined flatly.
When Lin Jiacong returned to the CID room, the answer was predictably the same.
Everyone understood — Madam kept her distance. Their relationship was cordial at best. Even when they ran into each other in the station canteen with trays in hand, she wouldn’t sit at the same table. The kind of camaraderie other teams had was basically out of the question.
“What’s all the excitement about?” Pan Liqin walked in, pushing the door open. “No cases means no work to do?”
“Sir Pan.” Old You stood up. “Last time Team B transferred Ah Lik away, you said we’d get a replacement. It’s been days now.”
Lin Jiacong and Gao Zijie immediately chimed in.
“We’re short-staffed and you keep pushing for clearance rates…”
“After that Haddon House case, every one of us lost weight.”
“I know, I know — every team is short-staffed. Tell me where there are enough people?” Pan Liqin waved off the complaints. “The application’s been approved. We’re getting officers from the Auxiliary Police Force to fill in temporarily. The process is slow — should be in a few days.”
“Really?”
“Sir Pan, don’t mess with us!”
The clock finally struck five. Everyone was grabbing their things, chattering excitedly, ready to head straight to Yau Ma Tei for hotpot.
Just then, the phone in the CID room rang sharply.
Wen Jie picked up the phone: “This is West Kowloon Regional Headquarters, Major Crime Unit. How can I help?”
“Understood.”
“Location confirmed. Dispatching officers to the scene immediately.”
Everyone’s movements — grabbing their things to leave — froze instantly.
Wen Jie hung up and called out loudly: “A body has been found floating in Ngong Shuen Chau!”
…
Li Heng led the team, and the officers from Team A quickly drove to the scene.
At the waterfront in Ngong Shuen Chau, patrol officers had already set up a cordon.
Standing nearby was a cleaner auntie, her face pale, clutching a piece of cardboard in her hand, her expression somber.
Fang Zhishan realized she’d forgotten her ID when she got out of the car. After rummaging for a while, she put it on and hurried to catch up with her colleagues: “Senior, what’s the Auxiliary Police Force that Sir Pan mentioned?”
“The Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force — it recruits from the public. Anyone can apply, but they have to undergo training before they can officially serve.”
“So it’s pretty much the same as our police academy?”
“Of course not. Training at Wong Chuk Hang Academy takes a full thirty-six weeks. For the Auxiliary Police, you only need to complete three hundred and seventy hours of basic training before you can start.”
Fang Zhishan caught on: “So they’re like probationary officers?”
What Fang Zhishan was really thinking was — if a probationary officer showed up, then she wouldn’t be the rookie anymore.
Lin Jiacong, however, just felt a headache coming on. A newbie would be more of a hindrance than help.
“I haven’t received any paperwork yet, so I don’t know if it’s true,” Li Heng said. “Let’s get to work first.”
The Marine Police had just pulled the body out of the water. The forensic examiner hadn’t arrived yet.
Li Heng’s gaze swept quickly over the body to confirm the scene was stable, then turned to the still-trembling cleaner auntie.
“Auntie, I’m just going to ask you a few questions — no need to be nervous.” She opened her notebook. “Were you the first to discover the body?”
The auntie nodded repeatedly, staring at the sea — even in the sweltering heat, she shivered.
“Yes… yes, I saw it first. I was here collecting cardboard when I saw something dark floating on the water. I thought it was a large piece of trash and wanted to hook it in to sell.”
She pointed to the iron hook lying nearby: “I used this garbage hook to try to pull it closer. But as I was pulling, the thing flipped over — it was a person!”
Li Heng pressed on: “Aside from that, did you notice anything else?”
The cleaner auntie steadied herself, thinking carefully for a moment: “I think I’ve seen her before.”
“You’ve seen the victim?”
“I was nearby last night collecting beer cans and waste paper — I saw her then. She was wearing this same red dress.”
As she spoke, Li Heng caught a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye.
He moved briskly, his expression bold and carefree, looking like he was in an excellent mood.
Li Heng frowned slightly.
What was Shen Zhicheng doing here?
Shen Zhicheng walked closer, looking full of himself.
Until he heard the cleaner auntie’s trembling voice drift over.
“Late last night, she wasn’t on the phone — there was no one else around. She was just muttering to herself facing the sea — it was terrifying.”
Shen Zhicheng’s steps suddenly faltered. There was nowhere to hide.
Was being a cop this creepy?
The cleaner auntie turned her gaze.
The weather was already overcast, the water’s surface shrouded in a haze that even the wind couldn’t dispel.
The auntie’s voice quivered as she murmured: “The fourteenth of the seventh month — the gates of hell are open. A wronged soul has come to claim a life.”
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