As Fang Rui returned home from fieldwork, it was almost dark. He had just parked his car in the parking lot and was about to open the door when he saw a woman holding it shut, trapping him inside.
"Mom, why are you here again?" Fang Rui felt a headache coming on.
As a slightly older unmarried young man, he faced the same intense pressure to get married as all single youth. His pressure mainly came from his mother, Mrs. Lu Jianhua.
Fang Rui currently had no plans to marry, as he disliked complications. He felt that if he got married, he'd have to deal with a bunch of trivial family matters and wouldn't be able to focus properly on his work. He was at the age where he should be concentrating on his career.
"What do you mean 'again'? Do you dislike seeing me that much?" Lu Jianhua wore a fashionable coat, her hair permed into small curls. When she got angry, the curls seemed to quiver along with her.
"How could I dare to dislike you? Come on, let's go upstairs and sit. I'll order some takeout for you." Fang Rui took the fruit from Lu Jianhua's hands. "Mom, you know I don't like fruit. Why did you buy so much? It must have been heavy to carry."
Mrs. Lu glared at Fang Rui, "Who said this was for you? It's for the female colleagues at your bureau!"
"..."
Lu Jianhua scolded him, exasperated, "Just look at yourself! There are so many pretty girls at your bureau, how come you can't find a girlfriend? What a waste of the good looks I gave you, all show and no substance! Look at young Zhang, he's got a girlfriend at such a young age. And look at you, almost thirty and still single! I'm worried sick about you."
Fang Rui had always been a worry-free child. When his classmates were having puppy love affairs and getting into fights, Fang Rui studied hard, only occasionally getting into fights, which he always managed to win.
In high school, he suddenly decided he wanted to be a police officer and threw himself into physical training. After graduating from the police academy, he worked at a local police station for two years before quickly being transferred to the City Police Bureau. Lu Jianhua had always thought her son was quite outstanding, until Fang Rui was almost thirty and had never been in a relationship.
In her circle of mothers, having a son without a girlfriend was something to be ashamed of.
"Lin Sen is over thirty and doesn't have a girlfriend either. Why don't you pressure him to find one? You're his godmother after all. Go find one for him first," Fang Rui decided to throw Lin Sen under the bus to divert the conflict.
"What kind of job does Lin Sen have? He's a criminal psychology expert, how impressive. What about your job? With your work intensity, it's already not bad if you can find anyone at all. How can you compare yourself to Lin Sen? He's single because he chooses to be, not because he can't find anyone..."
Fang Rui decided to remain silent.
As they reached the elevator, he saw Mu Mian waiting there, holding a large stack of delivery boxes. The boxes were piled so high that they obscured her face.
He wanted to help Mu Mian carry some, but she turned her head to look at the numbers on the elevator, pretending not to know him.
"This weekend, you must go on a blind date! Don't tell me you have an unsolved case. Even if it's raining knives, you have to go." Mrs. Lu finally revealed her true purpose.
Mu Mian heard this and was somewhat surprised. She glanced at Fang Rui, then averted her gaze and continued watching the changing numbers on the elevator.
Suddenly, Mu Mian thought of a terrifying possibility: if Fang Rui got married, even if she had a body donation agreement, she might not be able to get his body. His spouse would certainly not want to give his body to her.
"Mom, I'm really not lying to you. We're dealing with a big case right now." Fang Rui took out his phone and showed Lu Jianhua the news. "See? The 'Couple Butcher,' specifically targeting couples. I'm busy with the case, how could I have time for blind dates?"
"That girl saw your photo and she's quite satisfied with you. You just need to squeeze out a tiny bit of time. If it really doesn't work, I'll bring her to your office and you can have the date after you finish work."
Fang Rui was speechless. He guessed that Zhang's lovey-dovey posts on social media must have stimulated his mother. She had never been this forceful before.
After they got into the elevator, seeing that Fang Rui didn't respond, Lu Jianhua scolded again, "Fang Rui, did you hear me?"
"I won't go! Because—"
Fang Rui took most of the delivery boxes from Mu Mian's hands. He gave Mu Mian a meaningful look, then said to Lu Jianhua, "I already have a girlfriend!"
"Impossible, how could you possibly find a girlfriend on your own?" Lu Jianhua was shocked. Although she liked to pressure him about marriage, she was just following the usual routine. She wasn't mentally prepared for Fang Rui to actually have a girlfriend.
Fang Rui pointed at Mu Mian, "Mom, this is my girlfriend, Mu Mian."
Mu Mian finally deciphered Fang Rui's eye signal.
Originally, she had no experience in pretending to be a couple, but recently Zhang and Chen Xue had been constantly displaying affection in front of her, so her knowledge in this area had improved dramatically.
"Yes, I am Fang Rui's girlfriend. Auntie, it's nice to meet you for the first time," Mu Mian smiled at Lu Jianhua.
"Hmm, hello."
Lu Jianhua looked at Mu Mian, examining her closely. This girl looked quite young, with a silly and cute appearance, not very smart, probably obedient and well-behaved.
But she felt that Mu Mian and her son didn't look like a couple at all. What kind of girlfriend doesn't greet her boyfriend?
Mu Mian also realized this, so she patched up their lie, "Auntie, I had a fight with him. I don't want to talk to him right now."
"..." Then why were you two making eyes at each other in front of me? Lu Jianhua felt that these two didn't seem like a couple, but more like secret agents meeting for a rendezvous.
By this time, the elevator had reached their floor.
Lu Jianhua belatedly realized that Mu Mian lived on the same floor as Fang Rui.
"You two... you're not living together, are you?" Mrs. Lu was shocked. Fang Rui had actually brought someone to live with him? Things were moving too fast!
Mu Mian shook her head, "We're not living together. I'm his neighbor."
"Oh, then come over and chat with auntie for a bit. I happen to have some things I'd like to ask you." Mrs. Lu suspected that Fang Rui had colluded with this girl to pretend to be a couple to fool her, but she had no proof.
No matter, if they wanted to put on an act, she would play along and see who slipped up first.
Mu Mian had always been curious about Fang Rui's home, so she excitedly agreed to the invitation: "Sure."
Fang Rui's home was different from what Mu Mian had imagined. The decor was very simple, with little furniture. It wasn't particularly tidy, with instant noodles and biscuits piled on the table.
Seeing Mu Mian curiously examining the room, Lu Jianhua asked, "Little Mu, is this your first time at Fang Rui's place?"
"Yes, my sister said I shouldn't casually go to other people's homes, not even Fang Rui's."
What strict upbringing!
Lu Jianhua took out her car keys and handed them to Fang Rui, "Oh my, I think I left my phone in the car. Fang Rui, can you go get it for me?"
"Mom, don't give Mu Mian a hard time." Fang Rui could see the bulge of the phone in her pocket. But he couldn't call her out on it, so he had to take the keys and leave.
"How can you talk to me like that? You're making me sound like an evil mother-in-law."
Before leaving, Fang Rui gave Mu Mian a look, signaling her to act well and not give them away. But Fang Rui felt it was probably going to fall apart anyway.
Mu Mian confidently gave him an OK sign. Her lying skills had improved greatly, and she could easily handle something as small as pretending to be Fang Rui's girlfriend.
Fang Rui sighed. It was definitely going to fall apart!
He must have had a brain freeze earlier to ask Mu Mian to pretend to be his girlfriend. It must be because Zhang had been constantly talking about his killer-baiting plan in front of him, causing him to make this rash decision to have Mu Mian pose as his girlfriend.
Lu Jianhua took two bottles of water from the fridge, handed one to Mu Mian, and asked, "How long have you been with Fang Rui?"
"Not very long." Mu Mian hadn't coordinated this answer with Fang Rui, so she kept it vague.
"Why do you like him?"
"Because I like his corpse, no, I mean his body."
"...You mean his physique, right? Your Chinese isn't very good, is it?" Lu Jianhua thought this girl's academic performance probably wasn't great. If they had children in the future, she as the grandmother would have to take charge of their studies.
Mu Mian nodded, "Yes, I grew up abroad, so I never studied Chinese."
"Little Mu, you might not know about our family situation. I don't think you're suitable for my son." Lu Jianhua put on a stern face, playing the role of the evil mother-in-law.
Mrs. Lu had been semi-retired for several years, and with nothing to do each day, she became obsessed with watching Chinese TV dramas about mother-in-law conflicts. However, much to her dismay, Fang Rui had not yet found a partner, so she never had the chance to be a mother-in-law, let alone the villainous type often portrayed in those TV shows.
Today, she was determined to interrogate Mu Mian, and decided to put on her best "evil mother-in-law" act to intimidate her.
"Why aren't you suitable?" Mu Mian looked at her, puzzled. "I'm a forensic pathologist, he's a police officer, we make an excellent team. Besides, I'm highly accomplished. I have two doctoral degrees, a high IQ, and my sister says I'm a genius."
Feeling these reasons weren't compelling enough, Mu Mian added, "I'm also very wealthy. I have lots and lots of money. I'm not talking about my meager salary or my practically non-existent savings, but the substantial inheritance my adoptive parents left me."
Lu Jianhua was stunned for a moment. Could Fang Rui and Mu Mian actually be dating? This young woman seemed to be quite fond of her son. She even appeared desperate enough to want to lavish money on Fang Rui.
"It doesn't matter why! I won't allow you to marry my son!" Lu Jianhua, not yet satisfied with her evil mother-in-law act, continued her performance.
She wanted to know just how much Mu Mian loved her son.
"That's fine, I don't plan on getting married anyway," Mu Mian said nonchalantly. Her sister's friend had once mentioned that people with autism shouldn't get married.
"Uh... aren't you going to fight for it at all?"
It seemed she didn't love him that much after all.
