S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 6 Chapter 61

The Culinary Murderer 13 – Buy a Bag

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Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were certainly not superstitious people, but at that moment, as the two of them stood before a suitcase full of white bones that suddenly appeared before their eyes, they found themselves deep in thought and profound doubt.

Could there really be such coincidences in this world?

Over the past few days, from Zhang Wei to Guan Xiaohong, from Fang Beibei to Tan Wen... a case that had gone completely cold for over ten years, could it really be such a "coincidence" that they had suddenly found the remains?

"Just having a student ID isn't enough to confirm the identity of the deceased." Gongsun took the bones out one by one and assembled them into a skeleton, asking Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang as he worked, "Isn't she suspected to be your old classmate? Can you find a direct relative to do a DNA test?"

Zhan Zhao thought back, just now Wen Xiaorou mentioned that Tan Wen's family ran a noodle shop, and that besides her parents, she also had a younger brother.

Bai Yutang nudged Zhan Zhao, signalling to him – Cat, this is the criminal investigation team's case.

Zhan Zhao rubbed his chin – True... poking around without permission will get us scolded by Bao Sir.

"But still..." Bai Yutang pointed to the three suitcases. "If these three consecutively numbered boxes were bought by the same person..."

"Ah..." Zhan Zhao clapped his hands – Then it could be a serial murder case!

Bai Yutang nodded with a smile – So the first step is to investigate the suitcases, then have a word with Bao Sir to see if they can take over the case.

The two of them left the forensic lab and returned to the SCI office, asking, "Who knows the nearby pedestrian street well?"

Zhao Hu immediately raised his hand.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at him in confusion – Why would you know it well?

Zhao Hu thumped his chest proudly – I'm a fashionista!

Ma Han, off to the side, muttered, "You just go there to eat noodles."

Zhao Hu grinned at once, "Hehehe, my healing egg noodles are there!"

"Healing egg noodles?" Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were puzzled. "What kind of noodles? Just instant noodles with an egg in them?"

Hu Zi protested, "You two are not allowed to insult my soul egg noodles!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both waved him over, "Alright, alright. You know that area, right? Do you know where the M-brand luggage shop is?"

Zhao Hu nodded.

Bai Yutang tilted his head – Lead the way!

Zhao Hu dashed out, and Ma Han followed as well, saying that since they hadn't had lunch yet, he might as well go and have a bowl of noodles too.

Zhao Hu said he might as well go and have some beef noodles too.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at him – Wasn't it supposed to be soul egg noodles?

Hu Zi let out a "hmph". "Egg noodles are for major events, eating them on a regular day would be disrespecting gourmet food!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were both intrigued by this and decided they'd give it a try later, just what kind of egg noodles could be that impressive?

......

The four of them left the police station. The pedestrian street was very close, just across the road.

Because this pedestrian street was usually very crowded, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang rarely came this way, and even when they passed by occasionally, they never really paid attention to what kinds of shops were inside.

Now that they were actually looking, they saw that most of the shops sold clothes, luggage, and shoes, with quite a few brand names. The street was full of young people too, all dressed in stylish and carefully chosen outfits.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang walked along, glancing at the advertisement boards on either side, and noticed a lot of Xu Lie's adverts. There were also quite a few promotional posters for Qi Le and the others' concert tour, as well as many advertisements related to the food competition.

The twins really knew how to create a buzz, the contestants were either beautiful women or handsome men, and the dishes they made were all fast and simple meals. It seemed like a good blend of tradition and modern flair.

Zhao Hu was clearly quite familiar with the area. After walking for a bit, he pointed at a shop up ahead and said, "Over there."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang glanced over, "Is that a noodle shop?"

Zhao Hu nodded.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang each reached out to pinch his ear, "All you think about is noodles, we're looking for the M-brand shop!"

Hu Zi had genuinely forgotten, the real task was finding the shop. Covering his ears, he led them around the corner onto another street.

Not far down, Zhao Hu pointed at an all-black building ahead and said, "That one."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked over and saw that the shop did look very high-end, exactly the kind of place that would sell such expensive luggage. But why didn't it have a front door? Where was the entrance?

The four of them walked up to the front of the shop and saw a small door to the side that looked just like one you'd find in a residential building.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both looked at Zhao Hu – This is the way in?

Hu Zi spread, saying that he'd never been inside.

Bai Yutang walked over and gave the door a push, and it actually opened.

The main hall was unusually spacious. A few display stands showcased a handful of suitcases and bags, spaced even farther apart than museum exhibits. Counting them, there seemed to be only about a dozen bags in the entire showroom, and all of them were black, they all looked practically identical.

As the four of them stepped through the door, a sales assistant dressed in a black suit and wearing immaculate makeup came out to greet them, politely asking what they were looking to purchase.

Bai Yutang took out his ID and showed it to her. As he glanced around, he noticed there weren't any suitcases matching the one they had in mind. He recalled Xiao Wang saying it had been discontinued, it turned out to be true.

After glancing at the ID, the shop assistant returned it to Bai Yutang, looking somewhat puzzled, and asked, "Has something happened?"

Zhan Zhao reassured her that there was no need to be nervous, they just wanted to check some information about a few suitcases.

He took out his phone and pulled up the photo of the label Ma Xin had taken earlier, along with a picture of the full suitcase, and showed it to the assistant.

Bai Yutang asked, "This suitcase is from your brand, right?"

"Yes! It's a classic old model. The designer passed away, so they stopped producing it, it's a limited edition to commemorate him."

Zhan Zhao pointed at the numbers on the three labels and asked, "Would you be able to trace the buyers?"

"It should be possible," the assistant asked them to wait a moment before heading to the computer to begin checking.

Zhao Hu, ever curious and outgoing, leaned over to watch and struck up a conversation with the assistant. "When did your brand open a shop in S City? It's been over ten years, hasn't it?"

"That's right," the assistant nodded. "The first overseas shop of our brand was opened here in S City, it's been nearly twenty years."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang naturally understood that Zhao Hu wasn't just making small talk – if this shop had been operating in S City for so long, it was highly likely that the buyer had purchased the suitcase locally.

"You didn't have a store here before, did you?" Hu Zi continued chatting, "I don't think I've seen it before."

"We moved here about three years ago, we used to be located in the west of the city. This brand only does high-end luggage, so we don't rely on street visibility, most of our clients are returning customers who order bespoke pieces..."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were still confused, questioning their own aesthetic judgement – Is this suitcase really that good-looking?

"I've found it," the assistant said, after some searching on the computer. She pulled up the name and address of the customer who had made the order.

"Even the address?" Hu Zi was surprised at how smoothly it was going.

"That suitcase was purchased fifteen years ago. Back then, we didn't have any workshops within China, it was all sent directly from overseas workshops to the client's home."

Zhan Zhao took the printout from the assistant, showing the client corresponding to the numbers. As expected, it was the same person, and the purchase had been made at the same time.

"Wang Zhen..." Zhan Zhao glanced at the address again, it was in a villa district in the west of the city.

"Madam Wang is one of our SVIP clients," the assistant said. "She buys almost every single product we release, and often in large quantities."

Zhao Hu and Ma Han instinctively glanced at the suitcases placed around the room.

Ma Han was a sniper, so his eyesight was good enough, but even he couldn't help feeling that all the bags looked exactly the same...

Jiayi also had a large collection of bags – brightly coloured, lining an entire wall. At least with those, their high price tags made sense: the colours, the materials, the craftsmanship all looked like they should be expensive. But these suitcases... no matter how you looked at them, how could one put it...

"Ordinary."

Ma Han was just thinking that when Zhan Zhao said it aloud.

Zhan Zhao posed a very practical question to the assistant: "Why are these bags so expensive? They look really ordinary. Do a lot of people actually buy them?"

Rather than taking offence, the shop assistant actually laughed and looked visibly more at ease. She lowered her voice and said, "They really are expensive and ugly, aren't they?"

The four of them didn't know whether to laugh or cry – Careful what you say, you still work here, you know.

The shop assistant waved it off and said, "I only came to understand it after I started working here. Before this, I used to work at the luggage store just across the road, in the mall. The manager of this place poached me. The pay was nearly ten times higher than over there, so I accepted the offer. When I first started, I honestly thought I'd been scammed, was this some kind of illegal operation? Selling these bags for hundreds of thousands? And people actually buy them?!"

The four all nodded – Exactly!

"Later, I couldn't resist and asked the manager. The manager asked me: why do you think people carry bags?"

All four replied in unison – To carry things.

The shop assistant nodded, "Exactly. Some people carry bags to hold their belongings; some match them with their outfits. Those people choose based on function, colour, or appearance. But there are others who buy bags to show off their wealth."

All four nodded – Fair enough.

"Nice bags, fancy cars, designer clothes, luxury watches... Some people will even borrow money just to afford them. It's not only to satisfy a bit of vanity, but also to show their wealth and status... The shop across the road also sells bags worth hundreds of thousands. Anyone can buy them. One person might pay in instalments over ten months for a single bag and carry it every day, while someone else might buy ten at once and rotate them daily. To outsiders, there's no difference."

The four of them felt as though they had stepped into a previously unexplored realm.

The shop assistant pointed at the door. "Why do you think the door is so small? Opening wide doors is meant to welcome guests from all directions, but the truth is, we don't need that many customers."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both tilted their heads – It was the first time they'd heard a shop say they didn't need customers.

The assistant smiled and gave them a playful wink. "People may be equal, but everyone carries their own sense of self-worth. Take handbags, for example. Many rich ladies don't want to carry the same ones as celebrities, and celebrities don't want to be seen with the same ones as influencers... It's all layers upon layers of comparison. That's exactly the purpose of our brand, that's our target clientele! These bags are not only expensive, they're ugly! And they're hard to get, placing an order means waiting, and you can only get in if you're introduced by an existing client. Not only will you never bump into someone with the same bag, but if someone doesn't recognise it, you can even mock them for being a nouveau riche upstart... Carrying this bag, dragging this suitcase, it says 'I come from serious money, not just wealth, but old money, generations of it! I'm nothing like you overnight millionaires!'"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were utterly stunned, while Hu Zi clapped his hands – Brilliant! Brilliant!

Ma Han, on the other hand, felt the scene was oddly familiar. A few times, when Jiayi had come back from certain business dinners, she'd storm into the living room, throwing cushions around, and muttering things like, "You're the nouveau riche, your whole family struck gold overnight! Swanning around with some greasy old pig, acting like you're something, please! I'm sleeping with a proper stunner! My husband's body fat is only eleven per cent!"

Zhan Zhao thought the shop assistant, cooped up here every day with barely any customers, might be feeling a bit repressed. A little venting probably did her good.

"So who is this Wang Zhen?" Zhan Zhao asked curiously. Since she was an SVIP, surely she was the type the assistant had just described, serious old money, generations of wealth?

"Oh, her family's definitely been rich for ages. Her son's quite well-known too, one of the top diamond bachelors in S City, actually. His name's Shi Yanshuo."

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: May 19, 2025 by Angel

Edited: August 11, 2025 by Soojin