Mu Mian noticed that Chen Xue had been acting strangely these past few days, constantly arguing with thin air and displaying an ever-changing array of expressions.
Zhang had been sporting dark circles under his eyes lately. He'd been sleeping in the police station dormitory, where the bed was rock-hard and he had to endure his colleagues' snoring. To make matters worse, Chen Xue wasn't speaking to him, which made it even harder for him to sleep.
During lunch, Mu Mian and Fang Rui sat in the middle of the cafeteria, while Chen Xue sat in the upper left corner and Zhang in the lower right corner, forming a perfect diagonal line. Mu Mian and Fang Rui were positioned exactly in the middle of this line, maintaining an equal distance from both parties – a perfect balance.
Fang Rui thought this couldn't continue, or else he'd have to spend half of every day helping Mu Mian find the perfect seating position.
Mu Mian felt it was time for her to step in.
That evening after work, Fang Rui found Mu Mian frantically typing away at her computer.
"Mu Mian, there's no case right now. What are you writing?"
When Fang Rui tried to peek, Mu Mian quickly blocked the computer screen with her body. "I haven't finished yet, don't look."
"I already saw the bold title: '100 Benefits of Marrying a Female Forensic Pathologist.' Mu Mian, you're not writing this to convince me to marry you, are you?"
"Of course not. You already know the benefits of marrying a forensic pathologist," Mu Mian tilted her head back slightly, speaking with pride. "I can help you solve cases, and you'll never have to worry about dying mysteriously."
"...Then who are you writing this for?"
"Zhang's mother. I want to make her fall in love with the forensic pathologist profession, so Chen Xue won't have to quit her job to be with Officer Zhang."
"..."
Mu Mian ruffled her hair in frustration, "This is so hard to write. I've been thinking for ages and only came up with 49 reasons. My brain is about to short-circuit."
Fang Rui suggested, "You could change the title to '49 Benefits of Marrying a Female Forensic Pathologist.'"
Mu Mian stared at Fang Rui with wide eyes, wondering how she hadn't thought of such a brilliantly legitimate way to cut corners.
"Fang Rui, you're a genius. Now that my report is done, we can leave work." After changing the title, Mu Mian suddenly thought of something and said to Fang Rui, "Could you look it over? From a normal person's perspective, would this be convincing?"
Fang Rui seriously read through Mu Mian's 49 benefits:
One: Forensic pathology is the most interesting profession in the world, allowing legal access to various corpses and the study of human anatomy. If you marry a forensic pathologist, you get free education about human anatomy.
Two: You'll never have to worry about your murder going unsolved. With a forensic pathologist in the family, you'll never have to worry about any family member dying under mysterious circumstances.
...
"Fang Rui, would this convince you?" Mu Mian asked, tilting her head.
"Yes. Every single point is convincing."
Mu Mian was overjoyed and was about to print it when Fang Rui added, "But if Zhang's mother reads this, she might think forensic pathology is the most terrifying profession in the world."
Mu Mian's head drooped in disappointment. "Then what should we do? I don't want Chen Xue and Officer Zhang to be unhappy."
"I'll help you revise it."
"Okay."
Mu Mian immediately stood up and gave her seat to Fang Rui. She stood watching for a while until her legs got tired, then brought over Chen Xue's chair and sat next to Fang Rui.
"Fang Rui, why did you delete the first point? I wrote it so well! And what's this you've written? It doesn't highlight the unique advantages of being a forensic pathologist at all... Oh, can we keep the second point? Please? Alright, I'll let you move it to the end."
Mu Mian kept leaning closer until she was practically resting her head on Fang Rui's shoulder while looking at the computer screen.
Feeling Mu Mian's head against him, Fang Rui's typing fingers froze.
"Fang Rui, why did you stop? That last part was really good, very much my style. Keep writing!"
"Mm."
A little while later, Mu Mian clutched her stomach and complained, "Fang Rui, I'm so hungry. But we've only written 22 points. We still need 27 more. When will we ever finish? Should we just stuff my original points in the middle to make up the numbers? People only really read the beginning and end of documents anyway, they just skim the middle."
Fang Rui went back to the title bar and changed "49 Benefits of Marrying a Female Forensic Pathologist" to "22 Benefits of Marrying a Female Forensic Pathologist."
"Fang Rui, I must say, you have a real talent for cutting corners."
"...Let's go eat now."
"I want the wonton skin from that place we went last time."
After making some final adjustments to the wording, Mu Mian printed the document and tucked it into a folder. Tomorrow was their day off, and she decided to visit Zhang's mother to educate her about the benefits of marrying a forensic pathologist.
Fang Rui and Mu Mian walked to the wonton shop in the next street over from the police station. The shop was small with only a few tables, but it was spotlessly clean and the food was excellent.
After ordering, Fang Rui and Mu Mian sat facing each other.
"Fang Rui, can you come with me tomorrow? Chen Xue says Zhang's mother can be a bit fierce. I'm afraid that when I try to correct her cognitive errors, she might experience cognitive dissonance and hit me to save face."
Fang Rui couldn't help but laugh, "You're such a scaredy-cat! Then why do you still want to go see Zhang's mother?"
"Chen Xue and Zhang are my friends, and I don't want them to be unhappy," Mu Mian said. "I want them to make up so we can all eat together again. It's exhausting having to calculate midpoints every day."
"Alright, I suppose I'll have to accompany you tomorrow."
"Fang Rui, you're such a good person."
"...Choose a different compliment." Being called a "good person" by Mu Mian wasn't exactly positive. Everyone who had received her "good person card" tended to end up committing crimes.
"Fang Rui, you're so handsome." Mu Mian remembered that Zhang always seemed happy when Chen Xue complimented him like this.
"..."
When the wontons arrived, Mu Mian first broke them open and scooped out the meat filling, placing it in Fang Rui's bowl. Fang Rui then put the wonton skins in Mu Mian's bowl. Their movements were well-practiced, and soon there was a small bowl of meat filling and a large bowl of wonton skins on the table.
Fang Rui had also ordered a bowl of beef noodles. When the owner brought it over, he was amazed by their operation. He looked at Mu Mian and said, "Young lady, if you just want wonton skins, you can tell me directly, and I'll make you a bowl with just the skins."
"But then it would just be noodle skin. I like wonton skins, not noodle skins. They taste different," Mu Mian corrected the owner.
"I could add some ground meat, and it would be the same."
Mu Mian shook her head, "It's not the same. That would be noodle skin with ground meat."
The owner looked at Fang Rui, then at Mu Mian, and suddenly understood – he was being nosy. This was clearly just a couple's special way of sharing food.
The taste was indeed different – that bowl of wonton skins probably contained the flavor of love.
"Fang Rui, can that owner change faces? He just showed several different emotions within one minute," Mu Mian gossiped quietly to Fang Rui.
"Want some beef?"
"I don't eat it when it's diced... but you have so much beef in your bowl, you definitely can't finish it all. I suppose I'll have to help you eat some of it."
"How does it taste?"
"Really good. I'll have another piece."
