The tailor shop had only one owner—a bearded man busy measuring garments on a rack with a wooden ruler.
"Hello! How can I help you, sir?" The boss had blond hair, blue eyes, clearly a foreigner, glasses perched on his nose as he sized up Alex.
Alex didn't speak right away. Instead, he wandered the shop, taking everything in.
Moments later, Captain Lane and Luo Weiwei arrived. They'd parked nearby and stepped inside, immediately looking to Alex.
He gave them a subtle glance—meaning: this guy could be the one who handmade the Lolita dress!
Gothic Lolita originated in medieval Europe, a style tied to mystery and darkness, favored by nobility. A Westerner like this should be intimately familiar with that culture.
And sure enough, Alex spotted dark medieval European gowns hanging in the shop.
This owner was a strong suspect!
Luo Weiwei's face lit up with excitement. She walked straight up to him and cut to the chase: "Did you make this dress?"
She pulled up the photo of the dress on her phone.
The boss didn't deny it. He kept measuring while answering: "Yeah, I made it. Is there a problem?"
Hearing that, Lane got excited too. He flashed his badge: "Captain Marcus Lane, Riverside PD Homicide. We need your cooperation in an investigation!"
The foreign boss startled, then asked nervously what was going on.
Lane didn't reveal details. He just asked: "Did you make this dress on your own initiative, or was it a custom order?"
"Custom order!"
The bearded boss pulled out his ledger and pointed to a name: "Qin Bufan."
This Qin Bufan was generous—loved Gothic style, specifically commissioned a Gothic Lolita dress. Down payment ten grand, balance eighty—no haggling.
"Damn, you're raking it in," Luo Weiwei couldn't help but mutter enviously.
The boss scoffed: "That's nothing. Back in Europe, I charged by the hour."
His real name was Jerry. He'd been creative director at a high-end luxury brand in France but fell in love with Eastern aesthetics, so he moved to Riverside to explore Chinese lines and artistry.
Lane glanced at Alex. Alex shook his head—his Cave-Seeing Eye confirmed the boss wasn't lying.
Once they ruled him out, Lane took down his full details and warned him not to leave the city.
Outside, they headed straight to nearby Lee's Dumplings.
Bai Yidao was already waiting. He'd ordered several trays of dumplings and even got Luo Weiwei a bowl of hot-and-sour noodles.
"Hey, the shop's surveillance was down—too busy to fix it. But I got footage from the neighbors. I'll have tech go over it when we get back—might spot something."
Bai Yidao sighed, then couldn't resist praising Alex again.
Alex ate his dumplings but kept his eyes glued to his phone.
"When did you turn into a screen addict?" Bai Yidao waved a hand in front of him.
Alex finally looked up and closed his phone. "I was just checking Qin Bufan."
"Qin Bufan?" Bai Yidao echoed, confused.
Luo Weiwei quickly explained: on the way over, they'd tracked down the tailor who made the Lolita dress. The client's name was Qin Bufan.
"Qin Bufan's a well-known painter in Riverside. According to the news, he's currently holding an exhibition called 'Maiden'—all about youth themes. Runs Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., last entry 5:30."
Alex pulled up the article and showed them. The group instantly perked up: "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
They packed up the unfinished dumplings to eat on the road.
They couldn't believe a case that had dragged on this long was suddenly clearing up.
Was Lily watching over them from somewhere? Or did Alex just have eyes that could follow the thinnest thread straight to the truth?
But just as they piled into the car, Alex dialed Sophia: "Honey, want to go on a date?"
Her reply was instant: "Where? Send the address!"
"Citizen Song—no need to rub it in," Luo Weiwei said with an exasperated look.
Alex grinned, unapologetic: "I'm not gonna be your third wheel. If we're hitting an art show, I'm bringing my wife."
On the drive, Alex explained the literary origin of "Lolita." The word comes from Vladimir Nabokov's novel *Lolita*—a middle-aged man's obsessive, twisted relationship with a young girl named Dolores Haze, whose nickname in Spanish pronunciation became "Lolita."
In literature, "Lolita" came to symbolize innocent, beautiful underage girls.
So Qin Bufan's "Maiden" theme was… interesting.
The exhibition was on the third floor of Huai River Road Art Gallery. When Alex and the team arrived, Sophia was already waiting at the entrance. She'd done light makeup, dressed stylishly in a long black skirt that made her skin look even paler.
Around her neck hung a red agate peach pendant—Alex's gift for their third wedding anniversary.
"I bought the tickets. Let's go in." Spotting Alex, Sophia waved enthusiastically and ran over, linking arms with him in a teasing tone: "Finally stepping up—asking me to an art show."
"Sister Sophia, actually we're here to—"
Luo Weiwei started to explain they were on a case.
But Sophia ignored her completely, tickets in hand, pulling Alex inside—leaving Luo Weiwei and the others to queue up for their own.
"Sister Sophia really thinks Detective Song's here for a date?" Luo Weiwei asked Lane, puzzled.
Lane seemed to understand Sophia's intent. He answered: "From here on, we handle our end. Give them some alone time. We've taken up enough of Alex's time—it's only fair to give him back to Sophia."
"But…" Luo Weiwei wasn't ready to let go.
Bai Yidao suddenly got it. He tugged her toward the ticket line: "But nothing—let's go!"