1 Episode
In a quaint cake shop filled with the light scent of cream, Emily stretched lazily after serving a customer. She squinted at the setting sun outside the spotless window and took a deep breath.
The sweet smell in the cake shop made her feel revitalized and happy.
However, this feeling didn't last long as her colleague informed her that there was a call for her. Emily didn't know many people, and there were only two who would call her: Captain Johnson from the city police department or her uncle, with the former being more likely.
With a worried expression, Emily handed over her shift to her colleague and went to the office to take the call. It was shift change time in the evening, so the office was empty. She sat down and picked up the phone, softly saying, "Hello." When the person on the other end spoke, she knew she had guessed right.
The call was indeed from Captain Johnson, but it was about her uncle.
Emily's uncle had died. He was found this morning, his body already stiff, discarded in a wasteland with many wounds. He had been taken to the mortuary. Given her uncle's special status as an undercover agent for the police in the Trinity Organization, the cause of death was not hard to determine—his identity had been discovered, and he was beaten and tortured to death.
Emily was stunned, holding the phone in a daze. After a moment of silence, Captain Johnson asked, "Do you want to see him? Or should I arrange for an embalmer to handle Mr. Howard's cremation first?"
Emily pressed her lips together and asked, "Have you finished collecting evidence?"
"Yes," Captain Johnson replied after a pause. "My condolences. Given Mr. Howard's special case, I'll help you apply for funeral expense assistance from the department."
"Thank you, Captain Johnson," Emily said slowly. "You've helped me so much over the years. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have grown up safely. Please find an embalmer for me. I'll take a taxi to the mortuary now."
After hanging up, Emily called her boss to explain her need for leave and requested a three-month salary advance.
Holding less than four thousand yuan from the front desk, Emily sighed, changed out of her work clothes, and hurried out. Her colleagues watched her slender figure, puzzled by the constant gloom on her face.
Emily didn't want to look so glum all the time, but she couldn't help it. When she was eight, her parents died in a gang conflict. In a sense, she was a "second-generation criminal," though she had always been a law-abiding citizen.
Her parents died horribly and tragically. Her father had been retired from the underworld for a long time but was still hunted down, nearly wiping out their family. The one responsible was William, the current leader of Ocean City's largest gang, the Trinity Organization.
Emily survived because her uncle happened to take her out to buy fruit at the time.
Her uncle, Howard, was her only remaining relative after her parents' deaths. He disappeared after their funeral and rarely contacted her, sometimes sending things through Captain Johnson. She remembered her uncle's firm promise to avenge her parents and his request to be buried with them if he died.
These memories weighed heavily on Emily. She had lived alone, dropped out of high school to work, and completed college courses through self-study. At twenty-five, she hadn't even bought a phone, finding it unnecessary since no one would contact her.
Financial issues forced Emily to face reality. Rent was due soon, and her three-month advance barely covered her uncle's funeral expenses.
Working at the cake shop was just one of her many part-time jobs. Despite self-studying college courses, she had no diploma, barring her from many good jobs. She got this cake shop job because the owner was a friend of Captain Johnson.
Captain Johnson had helped her tremendously over the years. He initially handled her parents' case, but his support had extended far beyond that.
As if to match Emily's bleak mood, the weather turned gloomy, and large raindrops began to fall. Waiting at the bus stop, Emily looked at her watch, then at the crowded station, and decided to splurge on a taxi.
Although she could save some money by taking the bus partway, time was tight, and she couldn't keep the embalmer waiting.
In the taxi, the driver kindly suggested, "Miss, it's going to rain for a while. Do you want to buy an umbrella at the convenience store?"
Emily shook her head. "No, please take me directly to the city mortuary."
"The mortuary, huh?" The driver frowned, glancing at his watch. He sighed, turning on the heater. "Alright, but it's a long way. I'll drop you off at the entrance; I can't take you in. Driving back with an empty car from there isn't ideal."
Emily nodded understandingly. Driving to the mortuary and back with an empty car was considered unlucky in their line of work.
Thus, Emily's journey to the mortuary began. The cold autumn rain pelted the windows, making a "ping, ping, ping" sound. The driver’s considerate use of the heater warmed Emily, whose face gradually regained some color.
Despite the driver’s usual talkativeness, the thought of Emily’s destination made him fall silent.
Emily was dropped off at the mortuary's entrance around nine at night. The night was dark, and the rain continued. Emily opened the car door, testing the rain with her hand. It was a drizzle, manageable.
"How much is it?" she asked, taking out her wallet.
The driver tore off the fare slip and handed it to her. "Two hundred will do."
Emily saw the 25 bulks fare, frowning slightly as she handed over the exact amount. "You've been kind. Here's the full fare. Drive safely, goodbye." She quickly said, closing the door and running towards the mortuary entrance.
The rain had soaked Emily's clothes, and she was freezing.
She ran up the steps and pushed open the mortuary hall's door, unbuttoning her wet coat and carrying it in one hand. She wiped her face and neck with her other hand, revealing her delicate eyebrows and beautiful almond-shaped eyes.
A white handkerchief was offered to her by a slender, pale hand. Emily looked up, surprised, seeing a young man with a black umbrella, wearing glasses and a suit.
"Thank you," Emily said politely, taking the handkerchief to dry off. She felt embarrassed and planned to put her coat back on without thoroughly observing the man.
As she was about to put on her cold coat, the man offered her a clean black suit jacket. Emily looked at him in astonishment. He stepped closer, and she could see his face clearly in the light.
He had pale skin, thin lips, and an academic look with an air of aloofness. His gaze was direct and clean. His white hand was almost translucent, showing blue veins, and his slender fingers were well-defined. He had a lean, upright frame, exuding a sense of serene elegance as if he had lost interest in the world.
"If you wear that coat again, you'll catch a cold. You'll need to be well for Mr. Howard's send-off at midnight," the man said in a melodious voice, like the sound of a cello, with a silky, cool quality.
Emily instinctively took his suit jacket. Did he know her uncle? Emily draped the warm jacket over her shoulders, inhaling the faint soap scent. After a moment's thought, she bit her lip and thanked him again.
The man nodded and took a card from his white shirt pocket, slipping it into the jacket's pocket. Emily was startled and quickly took it out. The white card had two lines of text: his name and profession, and his phone number.
Understanding dawned on Emily. No wonder he knew her uncle’s surname and met her at this rarely visited place. He must have come specifically to meet her.
The card read: Michael, Mortician.
