Volume 2 "Vampire" Visit Chapter 1 Murder at the Banquet

  Yangming Mountain is located on the north side of W City's suburbs, adjacent to Linjiang which runs through the city. The eastern mountain is steep and dangerous, while the other three slopes are relatively gentle, with beautiful scenery and lush vegetation. In the early 1990s, the leaders of W City developed Yangming Mountain Villas, over 100 modern three-story villas scattered among the mountains, making Yangming Mountain a gathering place for the city's elite, similar to Beverly Hills in Los Angeles.

  Night falls, and the lights come on.

  A villa on the waist of Yangming Mountain was brightly lit, with cups and plates clinking together, and the fragrance of clothes and hair.

  After smiling and sending away a few people who had approached her, Xu Nu retreated to the corner and quietly rotated her ankle, secretly annoyed. Having been a police officer for so long, she was no longer used to wearing high heels.

  It's been over a month since I started working at the fourth detective team. The last murder case was solved, and my colleagues have acknowledged my abilities, so our relationship has eased up a bit, not as tense as it was in the beginning. Last week, our team took on a car theft gang case, and we were extremely busy, not getting a good night's sleep for several days. Finally, we caught the car thieves in one fell swoop. Exhausted, I returned home, only to be dragged by my dad to attend this banquet, and up until now, I still don't know who the host is.

  Xu Nuo was listlessly thinking while sipping champagne from his hand.

  "Xiao Nuo, come here for a moment." A middle-aged man called out to her from a short distance away.

  She hastily pressed down her impatience in her heart, piled up a smile on her face, and walked over with quick steps, holding onto the man's arm: "Dad, you called me."

  "Xiao Nuo, let me introduce you, this is He Xinkai, a young and rising star in the business world."

  "Director Xu, you're overpraising me. I'm just relying on my family's reputation and the support of my seniors to achieve some minor accomplishments. I don't deserve your praise." He Xinkai held his wine glass, speaking humbly with a self-satisfied expression on his face.

  Xu Nuo didn't like the self-satisfied glint in He Xinkai's eyes, but still had to say polite words: "Mr. He, nice to meet you, it's an honor to know you." Meanwhile, he was thinking of ways to slip away.

  "Xiao He, it's rare to see young people as humble as you these days! By the way, I remember your major was Business Administration, wasn't it? Xiao Nu also studied that. You young people must have a lot to talk about, so...” Xu Nu pinched her father's arm hard, interrupting his nearly identical excuses at the dinner party, and he smiled awkwardly with half of what he wanted to say left unsaid.

  At this moment, the appearance of a middle-aged woman relieved some strange atmosphere: "A Kui, you are here! Your uncle is looking for you and asks you to go to his study."

  He Xinkai apologized to Xu Nuofu and then walked towards the stairs. The middle-aged woman smiled at Xu Nuofu's father and said, "Jin Hong, sorry about that. Our old man is really lazy, he organized a dinner party but still hid in his study to deal with official business."

  Xu Jinhong burst out laughing: "Ru Mei, you're being too polite, after all these years of friendship, don't I know that Old Yan is a workaholic?"

  Xu Nuo took a glance at the woman, seeing that she was wearing a white evening dress with an elegant and dignified style, lightly made up, with clear and elegant eyebrows and eyes. It seemed that she must have been a beauty in her youth. Looking at how familiar she was with his father, he himself had no impression of her.

  "This must be Xiao Nu, your daughter with Qingyan. She's grown up so much and looks just like her mother when she was young!" The woman said, her eyes reddening as she quickly laughed to cover up her emotional moment.

  Xu Jinhong also looked lost for a while, nodded and then said to Xu Nu, "Little Nu, this is my and your mother's university classmate, as well as your mother's best friend back in the day, Liu Rumei. She is also the wife of Yan Xun, the host of today's banquet. You should call her Auntie Yan..."

  Liu Ruyi pulled Xu Nuo's hand: "Still call me Aunt Liu, I and your mother were sworn sisters back then. After I got married, I followed Old Yan to the United States and only returned to China a few years ago. No wonder you don't recognize me. But who would have thought that this time, it was actually a farewell from Qingyan forever."

  Xu Nuo heard that it was her mother's good friend, called out: "Liu Auntie." Then fell silent, her mother's passing had always been a painful spot in Xu Nuo's heart that she didn't dare to touch.

  The three of them stood there, each lost in their own thoughts, and fell silent at the same time.

  Xu Nuo broke the silence first: "Dad, you haven't eaten yet, have you? I'll go get you something to eat." After that, he walked towards the self-service restaurant.

  Liu Ruyi also hastily said: "Jin Hong, I'll go call Old Yan down to keep you company." Then she headed towards the staircase.

  She picked out some food for her father and saw him chatting happily with other acquaintances. Xunuo casually picked up a few small, exquisite sushi pieces and chose a seat in the corner of the hall. She raised her hand to call over the waiter, ordering a cup of clear wine, feeling very flustered inside. Before she had time to gather her thoughts, she saw Liu Ruhong, He Xinkai, and a man in his thirties walking down the stairs together. The man was dressed in a suit, with a large briefcase tucked under his arm.

  The three of them were clearly familiar with each other, walking and whispering to each other in low voices. Liu Ruyi's expression was somewhat puzzled, while He Xinkai's face was gloomy and uncertain. The three walked to the hall where the microphones were set up and stood still, no longer speaking. Liu Ruyi kept turning her head to look towards the staircase.

  Xu Nuo held the plate, pretending to take food, and walked closer to the three people. Just then, Liu Ruying said to the other two: "Why hasn't Old Yan come down yet? I'll go up and take a look at him."

  Before long, a cry of surprise came from upstairs. Xu Nuo rushed up the stairs in three strides, and from the room on the right side of the staircase, Liu Ruyi's panicked voice was heard: "Lao Yan, what's wrong? Lao Yan?"

  Xu Nu quickly stepped into the room, only to see Liu Ruying standing in front of the desk, her face pale and one hand covering her mouth, while the other hand grasped the edge of the table, trying to steady her trembling body. A man in his 50s was lying on his side on the desk, his hands tightly gripping the edge, his face a sickly greenish color. Presumably, he was tonight's dinner host - Yan Xun.

  A police car sped along the highway on Yangming Mountain, Lv Cong gripped the steering wheel tightly, constantly stepping on the accelerator, wishing he could fly to the scene of the crime.

  Liu He sat in the back seat, tightly grasping the handle above his head, constantly groaning: "Ah, Captain Lü, slow down a bit, my stomach is almost turned upside down! Ah, Captain Lü, this is a mountain road, if you're not careful and speed up too much, we'll all end up waiting for rescue at the foot of the mountain. Ah yo!"

  Li Kexin sat in the passenger seat, also being tossed around, holding onto the armrest for balance, and retorted to Liu He: "Isn't Captain Lu also being impatient? You know as well as I do that the crime scene is in a high-end villa district on Yangming Mountain. The people living there are all high-ranking officials and business tycoons. No matter who's involved, it'll make our city's ground shake."

  Chen Chen continued Li Kexin's words, saying: "Right, don't believe me? Just watch, within an hour, the captain will receive a call from the superior, saying that we must solve the case as soon as possible, but pay attention to controlling the impact, don't cause unnecessary panic, and control public opinion. What a coincidence that it's our team on duty today! I thought we could rest for a few days after solving that car theft case. Ah!" Lu Cong slammed on the brakes, expressing his dissatisfaction. Chen Chen was shaking his head and sighing, when he accidentally bumped into the back of the front seat.

  "We've arrived at our destination. I want you all to be careful and work diligently today, speak less!" Lü Cong said with a serious face as he led the way into the gate.

  Other cars were thrown far away. Liu He looked back and forth for a long time, but didn't see any shadow, so he had to follow Lv Cong into the courtyard.