Unforgivable Crime

On an early autumn weekend afternoon, the oppressive heat in W City had finally begun to ease. The sunlight was no longer blazing, a gentle autumn breeze drifted through the air, and the sky seemed boundless and clear. Most of the people strolling along the roadside were out for leisure, making the city’s usual weekday hustle seem to slow to a tranquil pace.

A taxi sped along the street. The driver, glancing at the lively stalls and the diverse crowds shopping and strolling, took another furtive look in the rearview mirror at the young woman in the back seat, who was staring out of the window, lost in thought.

What a wonderful day, he mused. So many young men and women out there, happily dating, while this young lady, barely more than a girl, was taking a taxi alone to the police bureau! She hadn’t spoken a word since getting in, and had remained in a daze, gazing outside—she must be facing something difficult. Life, truly, is unpredictable. The driver cast another sympathetic glance at his quiet passenger and sighed to himself.

But, of course, the girl in the back seat had no idea of the musings she inspired, being unable to read minds. She was still working through the flood of messages she’d received just before setting out.

Her name was Yan Xue, her appearance as delicate as her name suggested: fair-skinned, gentle and graceful, with especially large, clear eyes like a fawn’s, innocent and unguarded.

Yet, despite her fragile looks, she was in fact a bona fide detective with the city’s Criminal Investigation Unit. At this moment, she was