44 Red Roses

The early autumn chill has begun to sweep across Hong Kong Island, its silvery rays dispersing much of the oppressive heat. The sea is calm, the blue sky meeting the white waves.

On the open-air balcony on the third floor of the villa, Fang Chengjin sat in a rocking chair, focused on the drawing board in his hand. With his left hand, he held a sketching pen and drew on the white paper. Between the black and white, a blurry human face appeared on the white paper.

The glasses, nose, and mouth were not drawn; the area was completely blank.

He stopped what he was doing, his brow furrowed slightly, and then he shuddered and suddenly sneezed.

Fang Chengjin quickly put down the drawing board, grabbed a tissue from the side and covered his nose. Behind his clear glasses, his sharp eyes showed a hint of weariness.

Even with his nose covered, he could still smell the faint stench in the air, which made his already uncomfortable nose even more uncomfortable.

Just as Zhou Yun was about to push open the door and come in, Fang Chengjin immediately stopped her, saying, "Don't come in."

On the balcony, Zhou Yun's hand had just touched the doorknob when she heard the sound outside, so she stopped moving.

"You can't eat strong-flavored junk food here." Fang Chengjin's tone wasn't very friendly.

Zhou Yun couldn't help but secretly roll her eyes, thinking: This nose is incredibly sensitive. But the durian Lin Long sent was Grade A, imported from Malaysia. She couldn't afford it in Hong Kong. So she couldn't refuse to eat it. But after eating, she rinsed her mouth and smelled it herself—there was no smell anymore.

She secretly breathed on her palm and smelled it again.

It doesn't taste like anything anymore...

Standing a distance away, Zhou Yun could only smile and make a sign in sign language without opening her mouth, thinking that Fang Chengjin should be able to understand.

Today is Monday. As usual, Zhou Yun is coming to Fang Chengjin's villa to help him organize the case files from the previous cases.

Fang Chengjin doesn't attend classes often; sometimes he's lucky if he can go back to school once a week. Since he's currently only supervising one graduate student, Zhou Yun's teaching style is flexible and varied, mainly focusing on practical crime-solving. Zhou Yun, on the other hand, has become something like his assistant.

After Zhou Yun finished signing, she saw Fang Chengjin coldly covering his nose with a cold face, so she simply turned around and left.

Fang Chengjin shivered again, a chill seeping into his back from all directions. If he didn't put on clothes soon, he would probably catch a cold.

Fang Cheng returned to the room from the balcony and opened the balcony door wide, allowing the durian smell to quickly dissipate from inside.

He casually grabbed a long-sleeved dark blue shirt from the sofa, put it on quickly, and then turned on the TV, switching to the news channel.

At this point, the television screen suddenly flashed across the waters off Hong Kong Island.

Fang Chengjin raised an eyebrow slightly, his gaze falling on a familiar figure appearing on the television screen.

Suddenly, the cell phone rang.

Fang Cheng glanced at it and saw that it was Lin Long calling.

The call connected, and before we could even exchange pleasantries, a serious yet somewhat impatient voice immediately came through the other end.

"Old Fang, you've seen the news, haven't you...?"

**

One day ago.

At five o'clock in the morning, the sky was as gray as scorched rocks, and a thin layer of mist appeared where the sea and sky met.

A fishing boat slowly sailed towards the waters surrounding Donglin Island. A fisherman wearing a straw hat cast his fishing net into the sea. After waiting for half an hour, the net suddenly moved, and the fisherman hurriedly grabbed it.

She had a beautiful face, but her complexion was pale. She was wearing a snow-white silk nightgown, and a slash on her neck was shocking.

The fisherman gasped, his ankle twisted and he collapsed to the ground, nearly jumping into the sea.

**

Lin Long arrived at the scene at six o'clock in the morning. It takes at least an hour to get from his home in the city to the beach. After getting out of the car, he walked briskly towards the shore. He was wearing a police uniform, and the slight wrinkles on the sleeves showed that he had left early this morning and hadn't had time to iron his shirt.

"Captain Lin!" The police officers who had come early to handle their business greeted Lin Long.

Lin Long approached the body covered with a white sheet and asked Pan Xia, who was conducting a preliminary autopsy, "What is the current condition?"

Pan Xia stood up from the ground, her bare face showing signs of exhaustion. "Based on the body temperature, the preliminary time of death was determined to be around midnight last night. However, because the seawater is cold, it has a cooling effect, slowing down the body's temperature, so the time of death would have been earlier. Therefore, the final time of death should be around 11 PM. As for the cause of death, the most fatal wound on the body was a stab wound to the neck. The body died from excessive blood loss. The murder weapon... was a knife, with a sharp blade, but according to the investigators, the murder weapon has not been found in the sea area at the scene."

Lin Long instructed the cyber security personnel: "Check the surrounding surveillance footage, and find out where this body was found."

A police officer immediately replied, "Reporting to the captain, the body was pulled up by fishermen this morning, in the waters near Donglin Island."

Upon hearing this, Lin Long narrowed his eyes, his face turning frosty.

The officer continued, "We've searched the entire area, but we haven't found any knives."

Lin Long stood there, hands on his hips, glancing at the corpse on the ground with a strange look in his eyes.

Soon, the cyber security personnel replied: "Captain, we've checked. The only surveillance camera in this area is the lighthouse not far from the shore. We reviewed the video from 11 p.m. last night and saw the victim enter this area. However, she left the shore on her own family's cruise ship. There are no surveillance cameras near the area where the victim was found... so we can't find out what happened at sea."

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Long raised his hand to interrupt him.

Gu Mansheng, the heiress of the Gu Group.

Lin Long frowned slightly as his gaze fell on the white cloth.

Although the Lam family is not the richest in Hong Kong, their wealth is at least enough to place them in high society, so he knows a fair number of people in Hong Kong's wealthy circles.

Gu Mansheng is the only legitimate daughter of the Gu's Real Estate Group, and outsiders describe her as having an unruly personality.

Lin Long had never interacted with her; they had only exchanged pleasantries at one or two high-society banquets.

However, she left a deep impression because this goddess had a cold and sullen expression, as if someone owed her money.

By this time, a large crowd had gathered around the perimeter, including nearby villagers and fishermen, as well as paparazzi reporters who had come to investigate, all snapping photos of the scene.

Lin Long's eyes turned cold, and he ordered his subordinates, "After taking photos and examining the body, quickly send it back to the station."

He then turned to the cyber security personnel and said, "Take me to see the surveillance footage."

**

In the nearby riverside police station, Lin Long and several of his brothers were intently watching the video footage on the surveillance cameras, surrounded by old-fashioned desks and chairs.

The time displayed below the video: October 30th, 23:00.

In the video footage, the shore was quiet and deserted at this time, except for a yacht quietly moored on the shore. The yacht was marked with the word "Gu," which clearly indicates that it is the property of the Gu family.

Soon, a car arrived at the shore, and a long-haired woman got out.

At this point in the video, Lin Long spoke up, "Go check this taxi and ask the driver what happened when Gu Mansheng got in the car."

The officer standing nearby replied, "Yes, Captain."

The video continued playing, and the woman got out of the car, leaving only a profile in the video, but it was still possible to tell that it was Gu Mansheng's profile.

After getting out of the car, Gu Mansheng walked straight to the yacht. She walked normally, without being drunk or showing any other abnormalities. She boarded the yacht like a normal person, then started the yacht and drove away.

The video ends abruptly there.

The atmosphere in the office was silent. Lin Long rested his hands on his knees, staring thoughtfully at the closing screen.

After a long pause, he spoke: "After Gu Mansheng boarded the yacht, no matter where it went in between, one thing is certain: she definitely went to the vicinity of Donglin Island in the end, and may have even landed on the island. There was no rain or typhoon last night, and the sea was relatively calm... The body floating there could not have been too far from Donglin Island."

A cybersecurity officer standing nearby suggested, "Why don't you check out Donglin Island?"

Upon hearing this, the police station chief shook his head and frowned: "This might be difficult to investigate. Donglin Island is a private island. Hong Kong has regulations that require the employer's consent before any investigation can be conducted. Without permission, we cannot go in to investigate."

Cybersecurity personnel exclaimed in surprise: "A private island? Which tycoon owns it?"

The director shook his head.

Lin Long's eyes flashed, and he calmly said, "It belongs to Gu Mansheng's family."

Upon hearing this, everyone present was surprised.

Lin Long: "Call Gu Qianfan and ask him to grant Donglin Island access to its waters."

Soon, the police officers received a message from the station: "Captain, Gu Qianfan doesn't believe us and is unwilling to grant us access to the island."

A cybersecurity professional, a seasoned internet user, suddenly said, "It's said that Gu Qianfan, the current general manager of Gu's Group, is an illegitimate son, while Gu Mansheng is the real daughter of the Gu family. Since Gu Mansheng's father passed away three years ago, the position of chairman of Gu's Group has been vacant. Although it's generally rumored that Gu Mansheng is the heir, it seems that Gu Qianfan, as an illegitimate son, has already reached the position of general manager of the group... These two are probably not on good terms."

Lin Long got up from his chair. The coastline outside the window was still a mess, with police officers and reporters busy with the case.

Lin Long twitched the corner of his mouth: "Notify Gu Qianfan and have him come to identify the body in person. Even if she is an illegitimate child, Gu Mansheng is still his half-sister."