April 1st, clear skies, light breeze at level one.
At Marta's Chinese Cuisine, Lu Chuan and Forensic Doctor Shen are having a date.
The lighting is a bit dim, casting a glow on the faces of the guests around, clearly indicating it's a high-end dining place.
Lu Chuan and Shen Yan sit in a corner, dressed in casual clothes, with smiles on Forensic Doctor Shen's face, showing they were having a pleasant conversation.
Fortunately, they were seated in a corner, not too close to the tables nearby, and since they spoke softly, outsiders couldn't hear what they were discussing.
Otherwise, it's likely few people would be willing to dine with them.
"My college mentor specializes in parasitic eggs on corpses, my knowledge in this area is mostly theoretical."
Forensic Doctor Shen picked up a piece of tender fugu sashimi, indicating her research on decaying corpses wasn't extensive.
Moreover, the forensic entomology Lu Chuan mentioned is a rather niche field even within forensic science.
Not many people engage in this research, and Shen Yan hadn't encountered such bodies since graduation.
Additionally, it's imaginable that the old forensic expert in the team, Wang Changjiang, despite his long tenure, probably didn't have much experience in this area either.
In recent years, the so-called Chinese cuisine has become popular in Haizhou City.
From Lu Chuan's perspective, it's mainly eating raw fish slices, raw cabbage, and anything else previously unknown if it could be eaten raw.
Compared to the Japanese cuisine trend of a few years ago, the plates for serving sashimi have just changed to Chinese-style ones.
Restaurant decor shifted from tatamis to pavilions and towers.
Lu Chuan also picked up a piece of tender fugu, the signature dish of this restaurant.
When it was just served, the fresh meat was still twitching.
Shen Yan's eyes lit up upon seeing the meat.
She even estimated the time of death as no more than half an hour ago.
In Forensic Doctor's terms, death doesn't mean all life activities cease, as humans, being carbon-based lifeforms, are still driven by electrical signals.
For example, sounds we hear, images we see, and stimuli we feel from the environment are ultimately converted into electrical signals that neurons can receive, then analyzed by the brain.
Subsequently, the brain sends corresponding electrical signals to the neurons, which are continued through neurotransmission to react to external stimuli.
As for the irregular twitching of the fugu on the table, to Lu Chuan, it merely signified freshness.
"I've been reading some books on this lately and did some research, especially on determining the hatching time of corpse eggs; it's quite interesting."
Forensic Doctor Shen looked at him with a surprised gaze.
Having known Lu Chuan for this half a year, Forensic Doctor Shen gained some remarkable perspectives on her police career.
For example, achievements.
In college, Shen Yan often heard about senior students achieving notable accomplishments, becoming disabled, or even sacrificing themselves.
However, she'd never heard of someone like Lu Chuan, who within just over half a year of joining the police force, had already earned two first-class personal merits.
Clearly, this is inseparable from Lu Chuan's habit of loving to learn.
He's wealthy, handsome, studious, and treats her well, making Forensic Doctor Shen very happy.
Almost a week has passed since the provincial fingerprint battle.
Upon returning to the Criminal Investigation Team in Haizhou City, Lu Chuan received a warm welcome.
Heroes with first-class merits are rare everywhere, and living ones, even more so.
Today is April Fools' Day, so they felt like going out for a meal to celebrate.
As for drinking, neither of them did. They had work the next day, chatted a bit about work, and then Lu Chuan took Forensic Doctor Shen home.
By the window on the eleventh floor of a residential block.
"Old Shen, our daughter is back."
Old Shen responded with a sound, not even lifting his butt off the sofa.
Shen Yan's mother walked over to Old Shen, snatching away the newspaper in his hand.
"Wasn't it you who used to wait by the window every day when our daughter came back? How come you haven't been as eager these past few days?"
Old Shen, silently and calmly, quietly took back the newspaper from his wife's hand.
Shen Yan's mother was slightly taken aback by his words.
Who could know her husband's temper better than she did?
In his younger days, Old Shen was known for his hot temper.
Of course, his abilities were even more famous than his temper.
Old Shen had worked undercover when he was young, and back then, he was assigned to anti-narcotics police only.
During his first undercover mission, he earned a second-class personal merit, becoming the youngest decorated officer in the Haizhou City Public Security Bureau at the time.
Of course, that record was later broken as Lu Chuan did it at an even younger age.
Later, Old Shen successfully operated across various lines with notable achievements, accumulating so many medals that they could fill half his chest over his career.
He earned first-class personal merits twice.
If it weren't for his poor temper, inability to socialize well, and many people he'd offended, Old Shen would have been promoted long ago given his experience and accolades.
Of course, not getting promoted also had its perks. He and Wang Kai from the bureau, one overseeing anti-drug police, the other in charge of criminal investigation, were the two most powerful vice-chiefs.
Moreover, within the Haizhou City Public Security Bureau, having practical experience gave him considerable say.
In Haizhou City Public Security Bureau, there aren't many young people who could earn such praise from Old Shen.
Shen Yan's mother's lips curled slightly as she got up to open the door for her daughter.
Lu Chuan picked Shen Yan up at the usual time as they headed to the Criminal Investigation Team.
Even though the weather had warmed and the roads were free of ice, making driving much safer.
Still, Lu Chuan thought it just made sense to swing by and pick up Forensic Doctor Shen since it was on the way from his place to the office.
The flamingo-lily in the Crime Scene Investigation Office seemed even more radiant.
Perhaps Lu Chuan's care was excellent, causing the flamingo-lily to thrive, its green leaves even greener than a green turtle's moss, its tender heart looking as if it would release water with the slightest touch.
"Brother Bai, Brother Yang, good morning!"
Yang Sen and Old Bai arrived right on the dot shoulder-to-shoulder.
Spring had come, bringing everything back to life, and Old Bai, recently, for some reason, had adopted a stray cat.
Every day, he'd bring some food over from home.
"Brother Bai, it looks like your stray cat brought a friend over this morning, waiting in the back yard."
Lu Chuan noticed the stray, orange-colored and quite plump cat as he was parking.
Today, it brought along a similarly chunky black cat, likely having invited a friend knowing there was good food around.
"Really, I'll go check it out."
Old Bai couldn't even bother having tea and went straight to feed the cats.
"Brother Yang, did the mentor say there's a case in the Water District this morning that needs us?"
Yang Sen nodded: "Last night, a murder happened over in the Water District, but the perpetrator turned themselves in the same night."
"The Crime Scene Investigation was completed yesterday night, but during the overnight analysis, someone had a sudden pancreatitis attack and was sent to the hospital."