Chapter One

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RTRP – Chapter One

At the airport arrival terminal, Du Jing saw a young man with thick gla.s.ses, and wearing the name tag, Li Huai Ren. Li Huai Ren was holding up a sign, ‘Du Jing’.

Du Jing walked past the women gossiping about him, put on his sungla.s.ses, and made his way toward Li Huai Ren.

‘Sir, are you Du Jing?’ Li Huai Ren asked, sounding starstruck. ‘Chief asked me to be your chauffeur. Big brother Du Jing, are you hungry?’

‘Key,’ Du Jing said, holding out his hand. ‘I don’t need a chauffeur. Tell Chief, I’ll see him soon.’

Li Huai Ren pa.s.sed the rental car key to Du Jing, and he watched Du Jing follow the crowd outside the airport.

‘Indeed, idols like Du Jing are in a league of their own,’ Li Huai Ren murmured.

At a car wash cafe, Du Jing ordered a coffee at the counter.

‘Do you offer valet services too?’ Du Jing asked the cashier.

‘Yes sir,’ the cashier replied in a wary tone, fidgeting an expensive ring on his left hand. ‘All you need to do is fill out a consent form.’

Du Jing accepted the consent form, and he filled out the form using an alias name.

‘Looks like you have a lot of regulars,’ Du Jing said.

‘Yes sir,’ the cashier said, filing the signed consent form.

Du Jing walked outside, and he called the police headquarters’ direct line.

‘h.e.l.lo, how can I help you?’ Xiao Zhang asked.

‘I’m Du Jing,’ Du Jing said. ‘I’m at the car wash at 23 Dung Hua Road. Tell Chief to dispatch his crew here. I found the criminal responsible for the homicide, and rape crimes committed six months ago. I’m leaving in fifteen minutes.’

At the police headquarters, Xiao Zhang heard the phone line disconnect before he could ask Du Jing for further details.

‘Does anyone know who Du Jing is?’ Xiao Zhang asked his team.

‘Du Jing?’ a cop asked. ‘He’s a famous criminal psychologist. Chief invited him to fly here to solve the homicide cold case.’

‘Du Jing just called,’ Xiao Zhang said. ‘He claims he found the criminal, and he wants Chief to dispatch a team to a car wash location.’

‘You should hurry up and tell Chief,’ the cop said.

Xiao Zhang went to inform Chief, and Chief dispatched his crew immediately.

Less than fifteen minutes later, three police cars arrived at the car wash. The cops walked into the car wash cafe, and they a.s.sumed the tall man wearing sungla.s.ses, and drinking coffee was Du Jing.

‘h.e.l.lo, are you Du Jing?’ a cop asked.

‘Go arrest the criminal in the storeroom,’ Du Jing said. ‘Right now, he’s alone, and unarmed.’

‘What if-’ the cop said.

‘I a.s.sume Chief instructed everyone to follow my orders,’ Du Jing said. ‘Go arrest the criminal.’

The cops listened to Du Jing’s order, and they arrested the criminal.

‘What now?’ another cop asked.

‘Search the storeroom for evidence,’ Du Jing said.

Two cops dragged the handcuffed criminal outside, and the remaining cops searched the storeroom.

Inside the storeroom, hidden under a mattress was a trap door leading to the bas.e.m.e.nt. They found graphic photos of the murdered victims, and the camera used to film the murdered victims’ a.s.saults.

Five minutes later, Chief arrived at the car wash, and he supervised his crew bagging the evidence.

Du Jing nodded his head, acknowledging Chief, and he left.

‘Chief, what’s Du Jing’s background?’ a cop asked.

‘He’s a smarta.s.s,’ Chief said. ‘His IQ is over 180. At fifteen, he became a member of Mensa International. He’s an internationally renowned criminal psychologist. I asked him to solve the homicide case. I can’t believe he just arrived, and cracked the homicide case already.’

At Bi Hai Hotel, one of the Du Household’s employees greeted Du Jing.

‘Where are they?’ Du Jing asked.

‘Master and Mistress Du are upstairs waiting for Young Master Du to dine with them,’ the employee said.

Du Jing took the lift to the twentieth floor, waiting for him behind his apartment door were his parents. His parents’ combined age was over one hundred, but they wanted to scare him like children.

‘Mother, father,’ Du Jing said in an exasperated tone. ‘Can’t any of you think of a new tactic to surprise me?’

‘I gave birth to a spoilsport,’ Mrs. Du said, linking arms with Du Jing toward the dining room. ‘Why can’t you be more fun like your father?’

Mr. Du patted Du Jing’s shoulder. ‘Son, are you planning to stay for good?’

‘I’m going with the flow,’ Du Jing said, sitting at the dining table.

‘I reserved the twentieth floor for you,’ Mrs. Du said. ‘Is it peaceful enough for you? Your father, and I are staying on the nineteenth floor. Why are you such a miserable killjoy?’

‘Mother, what games do you want me to play?’ Du Jing asked sarcastically.

‘Son, try the fresh crab dish,’ Mr. Du diverted. ‘What’s your schedule?’

‘Tomorrow, I’m interviewing suspects for an investigation,’ Du Jing said.

‘Xiao Jing, you’re a twenty-six-year-old bachelor,’ Mr. Du said. ‘Your mother, and I don’t mind if you date a foreigner as long as you like her.’

Du Jing was used to Mr. Du’s random train of thoughts.

‘Father, take a good look at me,’ Du Jing said. ‘Apart from mother, what woman can put up with me?’

‘Du Jing, don’t try to escape this time,’ Mrs. Du interrupted. ‘Your Aunt Hua went out of her way to set you up on a blind date with a traditional young woman who knows how to take care of a man.’

‘Mother, it’s my choice to choose who I want to date,’ Du Jing said.

‘If you don’t meet the young woman,’ Mrs. Du said firmly, ‘I’ll cut ties with you.’

‘If I go,’ Du Jing said, standing up, ‘it’s you, and father who’ll regret it.’

Later at a restaurant, Du Jing showed up to meet his blind date.

‘h.e.l.lo, I’m Huang Zhen Zhen,’ Huang Zhen Zhen greeted shyly. ‘I’m a student at College Q.’

‘Um, I see,’ Du Jing said, scanning his surroundings. ‘Now can I leave?’

‘But… we haven’t had dinner yet,’ Huang Zhen Zhen said.

‘I’m sorry,’ Du Jing said. ‘This restaurant is giving me stomach cramps.’

‘Oh,’ Huang Zhen Zhen said. ‘Do you need to go to the hospital-’

Huang Zhen Zhen watched Du Jing casually leave the restaurant, and she understood what he meant by ‘stomach cramps’.

Mrs. Hua called Mrs. Du to recount how Du Jing treated Huang Zhen Zhen rudely, and Mrs. Du chastised Du Jing. Du Jing listened dutifully, and hung up.

After a shower, Du Jing’s jetlag set in, and he realized catching a criminal, and going on a blind date was a tiring combination.

Du Jing looked out the window at the city view. He wasn’t appreciating the city view. Instead he wondered how many gruesome crimes were taking place in the city that night. He wasn’t misled by the peaceful city lights that concealed the chaos inside cruel human hearts.

End of Chapter One

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