Waiting for Spring [Crime Investigation]

Detective x detective, two formidable leads

The story could also be summed up as "How a sunny, sharp-tongued, fiercely loyal puppy saves humanity."

Bottom: An extraordinary intellect, with enough emotional intelligence but no interest in using it. At first, he's all brains and no heart, with no emotional response and a deep sense of nihilism. Gradually, he gains a heart and learns to feel.

Top: A monster with an extraordinary sense of presence, top-tier speed and strength, a sharp tongue, and a warm heart. An instinctive type, with an overwhelming crush.

They say that strange signs in the heavens herald disaster.

They say that when Li Che was born, snow fell in June and the river flowed backward for a whole night.

Sure enough, Li Che grew up, and everything disaster could befall around him got caught up in it, from the hamster brought over by the niece of the old lady next door's second aunt's classmate, to fugitives pursued across provincial borders by armed police.

One anonymous celebrity had this to say:

"What a load of crap. You're the jinx! Even if he were the Grim Reaper, I'd still be throwing myself at him. Hey, wait up, Li Che! Where are you going?"

Li Che, merely passing by: "To the next crime scene."

"Quit talking nonsense. There's no crime scene around here!"

"There will be once I get there."

To those around him, Li Che's not-so-long life has been "spectacular": wherever he goes, trouble strikes, and even passing by brings misfortune.

On his first day of high school, he gets caught up in a major case: singing in the dead of night, white bones buried on the sports field. The principal even invites a shaman to perform an exorcism, cementing his reputation as a jinx.

Whether people call him a jinx or the Grim Reaper, Li Che doesn't care about their fearful or hateful looks.

He sees no meaning in people, events, or the world.

Meaningless things can't hurt someone with no heart.

Only the process of solving a mystery gives him the faintest sense of intellectual pleasure.

That's fine, then. He can just live in the shadows until he dies.

But he never expected that sunlight could find its way in so cautiously. The person who wants to dispel his nihilism doesn't see himself as a savior, but as a devout believer. With every step closer, he wants to show Li Che the world, yet fears pulling him down from his pedestal.

It's nice. At eighteen, while everyone else has a coming-of-age ceremony, he has his own kind of "coming-of-age ceremony."

At the graduation ceremony, a song sung off-key ignites the fire of youth, and everyone celebrates that the mystery hasn't been solved at an inopportune moment.

That person approaches reverently and whispers, "Li Che, I think you're starting to seem a little more human."

Later, he discovers that society and life have never been simple puzzle games.

Once he has a heart, he fails to understand someone's heart for the first time,

gets the blood of a former comrade on his hands for the first time,

sends off a sobbing child who has lost both parents for the first time,

and faces the slaughter of an entire family by a cruel murderer once more.

The villain, wearing a savage grin and a sinister smile, tells him, "Welcome to the human world."

But thankfully,

for the first time, he feels the heartbeat and breath of the person he loves,

and discovers that love and cherishing someone can transcend time.

He learns that the world is not doomed to sink into meaningless nihilism.

He has always been part of the human world. Those beside him are neither believers nor saviors, but the people he loves.

A disaster from the heavens? Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on this "person."

So he can make it through that long, empty winter,

and wait for spring to come.

Current notes:

1. The first half focuses on suspense and deduction, including the central mystery and methods, with both classic and new-wave mystery elements. The second half focuses on criminal investigations, with a social-realist bent.

2. The story spans a long period of time, and the passage of time is part of the central mystery's design.

3. I'll finish the full draft before settling into daily updates. Estimated length: 280,000 characters. I expect to finish the first draft around November, then revise it gradually before starting to post.

Theme: See the truth clearly and understand yourself.