S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 6 Chapter 92

The Culinary Murderer 44 – Who's Not Normal?

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Zhan Zhao was listening as Shi Yanshuo described his fiancée's "strange" behaviour to Bai Jintang over the phone, when Shi Yanshuo's two ex-girlfriends arrived.

Zhan Zhao was stretched too thin to be anywhere but paced anxiously in the adjacent break room – So busy, so busy!

Bai Yutang stepped out to greet the two ex-girlfriends, inviting them to wait in the neighbouring break room.

Qi Le and Chen Jiayi made a beeline for their loved ones when they arrived at the office, while Chen Yu accompanied the two ex-girlfriends into the break room.

Bai Yutang greeted Shi Yanshuo's ex-girlfriends and asked them to wait a moment.

It was rather amusing... Usually women were quite fond of Bai Yutang.

On the one hand, he was handsome; on the other, as SCI's captain, he inspired a sense of security...

Bai Yutang always found it easy to converse with women, he was upright in character and good-looking, after all, and everyone loved a handsome man.

Yet today, in speaking with Shi Yanshuo's ex-girlfriends, Bai Yutang felt an unmistakable distance, the two girls didn't meet his gaze, as if they were afraid of him.

Experiencing being feared by a girl for the first time, Captain Bai was a bit at a loss for words and looked around – Where's Cat?

Chen Yu, who had come in with them, didn't seem to notice. She put down the large bag she carried on her back and unpacked a heap of items. Bai Yutang glanced at it and didn't know whether to laugh or cry, it was all diapers, baby formula, tiny clothes and shoes... 

Xiao Yumi was still at the food city, and Xu Lie was likely to be busy soon too, so they left the child in Chen Yu's care.

Chen Yu had also bought a small blender and was studying the instruction manual. The two ex-girlfriends, eyeing the spread, appeared somewhat more relaxed and gave Bai Yutang a nod in greeting.

Bai Yutang tried to appear as harmless as possible, then quickly went outside to see how things were going with Zhan Zhao.

......

Zhan Zhao and Fei Mu were still in the next break room listening to the call.

Once Shi Yanshuo had finished, he asked whether Bai Jintang could consult Zhan Zhao on his behalf.

Big Brother Bai said he would ask when he got home that evening, and that he would ask Zhan Zhao to call him afterwards.

Shi Yanshuo thanked him repeatedly and said that if treatment was possible, he hoped Zhan Zhao would offer some professional advice. Bai Jintang nodded in acknowledgement.

At that moment, there was another knock at the door.

The door opened, and Xu Lie rushed in with a baby stroller.

Bai Jintang looked on in puzzlement as Xu Lie pushed the stroller right up to him. Xu Lie seemed to be in quite a rush, he dropped a large bag and dashed off. "Big Brother, look after her for me, I've got to record the live stream."

With that, Xu Lie shot out like a gust of wind and even pulled the door shut behind him.

Inside the room, both Bai Jintang and Shi Yanshuo were left stunned. They turned in unison to look at the stroller.

Inside, Xiao Yumi was wide-eyed, glancing about. She clearly recognised Bai Jintang and stretched out her tiny arms, babbling as though greeting Big Brother Bai.

Big Brother Bai glanced at the large bag Xu Lie had left on the coffee table. Inside was a toy that looked a lot like Dunbu. He took it out and gave it a little shake in front of Xiao Yumi.

Immediately, Xiao Yumi began shouting "Dunbu, Dunbu!" and Bai Jintang handed it to her.

On the other end of the line, Zhan Zhao and Fei Mu tilted their heads in unison – A sudden shift in tone!

Xiao Yumi turned out to be quite the chatterbox. She held her Dunbu toy and kept babbling away, grinning at Bai Jintang, looking like she was in a great mood.

Bai Jintang poked her plump little cheeks, wondering how on earth a baby could get so chubby just from drinking milk.

After being poked twice, the baby started reaching out with a string of "mm mm mm" sounds, asking to be picked up. Bai Jintang lifted Xiao Yumi, but felt he might be holding her wrong, she squirmed uncomfortably, looking like she might burst into tears.

Over the phone, Zhan Zhao and Fei Mu were getting anxious, Hold the baby properly! She's going to cry!

Bai Jintang set her on his lap, and the baby pouted. He put her on the sofa, and she frowned. Finally, he placed her back in the stroller, and Xiao Yumi let out a loud wail.

On the other end of the call, Zhan Zhao and Fei Mu both held their heads in their hands.

Bai Jintang panicked too. He turned to Shi Yanshuo, intending to ask whether he had a younger sister or any experience with children.

But the moment he looked, he saw Shi Yanshuo frowning and staring at Xiao Yumi. The look in his eyes, how to describe it... a mix of agitation, tinged with disgust.

Big Brother Bai could clearly sense his hostility toward the child, and a strange displeasure rose within him. He reached out and scooped Xiao Yumi back into his arms.

Strangely enough, the moment she was in Bai Jintang's embrace and no longer facing Shi Yanshuo, Xiao Yumi stopped crying immediately. Hugging her Dunbu toy, she rested her chin on his shoulder and let out soft little grunts.

On the phone, Zhan Zhao and Fei Mu scratched their heads nonstop – So hard to make sense of.

At that moment, Shi Yanshuo stood up. The irritation on his face had faded slightly, and he asked Bai Jintang, "Could we go over and watch their live broadcast?"

Bai Jintang raised an indifferent eyebrow – Suit yourself.

Shi Yanshuo left with a smile, though it was a stiff one, clearly forced.

As he watched him hurry out and shut the door behind him, Bai Jintang lifted Xiao Yumi, who was resting against his shoulder, and held her up in front of him.

After Shi Yanshuo left, Xiao Yumi’s mood had also stabilised. Bai Jintang recalled the situation just now, she hadn't started crying until she was put back into the stroller... He moved to the angle where the stroller had been positioned and saw that it had directly faced Shi Yanshuo.

That struck Big Brother Bai as odd. Still holding the child in one arm, he reached under the coffee table with the other and retrieved his phone, he wanted to ask Zhan Zhao what he thought.

But after calling out several times, he got no reply.

Bai Jintang glanced at his phone in confusion.

In the break room, the phone lay all alone on the table. The moment they'd heard Shi Yanshuo was leaving, Zhan Zhao and Fei Mu had dashed next door...

Just as Bai Jintang was staring in confusion at the phone, he heard a burst of hurried footsteps.

Then came Bai Yutang's voice: "Big Brother, talk later!"

And with that, the call ended with a series of "beep beep" tones.

Bai Yutang had hung up and run next door.

Bai Jintang quietly clicked his tongue, phone in one hand, Xiao Yumi in the other, and turned back to the livestream.

When Xiao Yumi saw Xu Lie appear on the big screen, she happily shouted, "Dunbu, Dunbu!"

Bai Jintang nodded – Indeed, Xu Lie and Dunbu clearly held equal status in that household...

......

After finishing the call, Zhan Zhao and Fei Mu joined Bai Yutang in the other break room to meet Shi Yanshuo's two ex-girlfriends.

The two women were chatting with Chen Yu, and the atmosphere in the room seemed quite pleasant.

Zhan Zhao wasn't sure whether it was due to how advanced makeup had become or whether the two had had cosmetic work done, but they looked somewhat different from their photos. While it was possible to match each of them to their picture... their overall temperament was completely different. Neither of them had the short hair seen in the photos, nor did they seem like the obedient, fragile types. On the contrary, both had long hair, one dyed bright blonde, the other tied up in a ponytail, and dressed fashionably. They also looked like they exercised regularly, far from being skinny, they looked healthy and fit. One had a tattoo on her hand, the other had a row of piercings along her ear... Altogether, the feel they gave off was nothing like the pictures.

Bai Yutang noticed that compared to earlier, when he'd met them alone, the two seemed far less anxious, even a bit more at ease, with none of that subtle fear from before.

For the first time in his life, Captain Bai began to doubt himself – Could it be that I actually look terrifying?

Chen Yu helped make the introductions. The blonde one was called Xiao Ai, and the dark-haired one was Nana.

Chen Yu used their nicknames, and both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang knew their real names, but given the nature of the upcoming conversation, nicknames seemed more appropriate.

Both women had originally worked as models but had since changed careers, one was now studying, and the other worked in jewellery design.

Bai Yutang and Fei Mu stayed silent, waiting for Zhan Zhao to ask the questions.

Zhan Zhao glanced at the half-open door of the break room and asked, "Can we close the door?"

Xiao Ai and Nana exchanged a look. Off to the side, Chen Yu shook her head vigorously at Zhan Zhao – No way! They're both claustrophobic!

Zhan Zhao stroked his chin – Claustrophobic? They clearly took the elevator up just now.

After a moment's thought, Zhan Zhao asked the two, "If someone left the room, would you be able to close the door?"

The two looked up and glanced across at the three of them sitting opposite.

All three were suddenly reminded of what Zhao Hu had said earlier – You men...

Zhan Zhao understood. "So it's not a fear of enclosed spaces, it's a fear of being in an enclosed space with men, is that right?"

Both nodded.

Chen Yu's eyes widened as she pointed to the three opposite. "Even when they're this handsome?"

The two women actually looked them over for a moment, seemingly agreeing they were indeed handsome, but still shook their heads.

Bai Yutang suddenly felt relieved – So it's not that they hate me, they hate all men...

Zhan Zhao pointed at himself, Bai Yutang, and Fei Mu, and curiously asked the two, "Out of the three of us, which one are you most afraid of?"

Without even thinking, both women raised a hand and pointed straight at Bai Yutang.

Zhan Zhao and Fei Mu turned to look at Bai Yutang.

Captain Bai's fragile sense of reassurance crumbled once more – So I am the scariest after all?

"How odd..." Chen Yu rested her chin on her hand, eyeing the three men opposite. "Out of the three, isn't Captain Bai usually the most popular?"

Zhan Zhao and Fei Mu turned to look at Chen Yu.

Chen Yu leaned in between the two and whispered, "That's the boss's younger brother! Handsome and rich. Have you seen the video of him beating up a zombie? I know quite a few expectant moms who use it as part of their prenatal education."

Fei Mu was intrigued. "Does it work?"

Chen Yu said they'd have to wait and see after the babies were born...

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both looked at Fei Mu and wondered why he'd asked that.

Fei Mu smiled sweetly. "Mwah Mwah's about old enough to start matchmaking."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang speechlessly looked at the sky – You were talking about prenatal education for a dog...

Zhan Zhao observed Xiao Ai and Nana's expressions carefully, then pointed to Bai Yutang and asked, "Is what you don't like about him the fact that he's rich and violent?"

Both women thought for a moment, then nodded.

Zhan Zhao understood and got straight to the point. "So what did Shi Yanshuo do to you both while you were dating him?"

In fact, before they came, Jiayi had already spoken to them about the purpose of the visit. Since they had agreed to come, it meant they were mentally prepared. But now that the question had been asked, it still brought back unpleasant memories.

"Shi Yanshuo is a lunatic, not just him, his mom's crazy too, that whole family isn't normal!"

The three men sitting opposite were stunned at this statement.

They had already imagined quite a few possibilities, such as domestic violence, peculiar fetishes, psychological abuse...

But this? Not just Shi Yanshuo, his mother was involved too? What kind of ethical farce is this? Is it really that explicit?

Xiao Ai pointed to her temple. "I suspect there's some kind of hereditary mental illness in that family. He seems perfectly normal during the day, but once he falls asleep at night, he suddenly changes into a completely different person. Killing cats and dogs in front of us wasn't enough, he even chased me around with a knife!"

Nana nodded. "There was one time I woke up in the middle of the night and saw Shi Yanshuo covered in blood, just sitting at the edge of my bed, staring at me. My little dog had been chopped into pieces and thrown in the bathtub. I was terrified and ran out of the room, ran straight into his mother. I was going to ask her to check on him, but she was holding a bloody knife herself and tried to drag me into her room."

"But the next morning, both of them were acting like nothing had happened, as if I'd just had a nightmare."

"But I found a bloodstained nightdress under the bed!"

Zhan Zhao, Bai Yutang, and Fei Mu all looked at one another, all a bit puzzled – There is a definite sense of déjà vu. Isn't this exactly what Shi Yanshuo had described to Big Brother about Yu Hui's condition?

"The worst part was, he used to lock me in a dark tunnel."

"And he wouldn't make a sound, he'd just chase me from behind. I'd run like mad, screaming in terror, and he'd be delighted!"

"He even sat there in the tunnel eating cake while watching me scream, absolute psycho!"

......

"A dark tunnel?"

Hearing that, both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang sat up straight and asked in unison, "Was there the sound of dripping water?"

"Yes!"

‿︵‿︵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: July 11, 2025 by Angel

Edited: October 10, 2025 by Angel