The officer had come to call Ming Han. Ming Han stubbed out the cigarette he had barely smoked, took a step, then remembered Chen Zheng. “Bro, coming with me?”
The officer froze at the form of address. “Bro?”
The first time they had met in the snack alley, Ming Han had called him Bro, and the address had never changed. Street vendors tended to have sweet tongues when doing business. Chen Zheng had not corrected him the first time, and afterward there seemed even less reason to. Only now, seeing the astonishment all over the officer’s face, did he realize that Ming Han calling him Bro over and over was perhaps not very appropriate. “You should probably call me…”
Ming Han did not let him finish. “Director Zhang is still waiting in the conference room. Come on.”
Director Zhang was the deputy director in charge of criminal investigations at the Nanshan Municipal Public Security Bureau and had dealt with Chen Zheng at the Provincial Public Security Department several years earlier. Chen Zheng had not wanted to participate in this kind of meeting, where superiors assigned tasks and imposed targets on subordinates, but Ming Han stood ahead waiting for him with an air that said if Chen Zheng did not go, neither would he. Chen Zheng was speechless. He felt as though he had been put on the spot—whether he wanted to go or not, he had no choice.
On the way, Chen Zheng could not help thinking of the first time he had bought iced porridge. This guy had maneuvered him into it then too; otherwise, he never would have bought something that cloyingly sweet.
Unlike the conference room they had used the previous night, this one was the largest in the entire sub-bureau. It was packed with people, and one glance was enough to tell that all the senior leaders had come. The Zeng Yan case was clearly being taken very seriously. Chen Zheng had experienced far too many occasions like this. As soon as he entered, he headed straight for a corner, with Ming Han following closely behind.
Chen Zheng could not help asking, “Why are you following me? You’re the expert they invited. Go sit up front.”
Ming Han grinned. “I’m the same as you. I don’t like mobilization meetings either. Let me hide.”
When Ming Han said hide, Chen Zheng almost laughed. The man was so tall, had such a conspicuous face, and on top of that came from the Mobile Unit, whose name was famous—and practically “overbearing”—throughout the province’s police system. Hide? How? Where exactly was he supposed to hide?
Chen Zheng found a seat and, in a rarely relaxed tone, said, “You really think you can hide?” To his surprise, Ming Han circled around behind him and forced himself into the narrow space against the wall, hunching his back. “See? Hidden.”
Ming Han’s breath brushed across the back of Chen Zheng’s neck as he spoke. Chen Zheng instinctively straightened his back until he was practically sitting at attention. Seen from directly ahead, Ming Han’s enormous frame really had disappeared behind him.
A very low laugh came from behind. Ming Han spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear. “Bro, don’t move, or I’ll be exposed.”
Everyone had arrived, and the leaders began speaking, moving from the big picture down to the details and urging the Beiye Sub-bureau to solve the case as quickly as possible. When Chen Zheng had been in Luocheng, he had openly and quietly shielded his subordinates from many meetings like this. He knew how heavy the burden on Major Crimes investigators already was. Rather than make them sit through a meeting, it was better to send them back to sleep for another hour. So he attended all the meetings himself, seemingly taking the pressure from above with effortless ease.
His gaze wandered around the room and landed on Kong Bing, whose face was livid, one hand clenched into a fist on the table. The deputy captain and other key officers beside him also looked grim. Compared with listening to the leaders speak, Chen Zheng was far more interested in guessing what they were thinking.
He did not know Kong Bing very well and did not even understand why the man harbored such peculiar hostility toward him, but after spending the past two days together, Chen Zheng could tell that Kong Bing was proud and reasonably capable. The deeper they investigated the Zeng Yan case, the thicker the fog became, and it was gradually turning into something a single sub-bureau could no longer handle. Kong Bing, however, surely wanted to solve it with his own men. Instead, his superiors had not only reported the case upward but had also called in someone from the Mobile Unit.
Putting himself in Kong Bing’s shoes, Chen Zheng could see why the blow would sting. Especially when the Mobile Unit member they had sent was someone who had committed some unknown offense and been “exiled” here. He wondered whether Kong Bing knew that Ming Han’s official job at the moment was training dogs.
Just as he was thinking about Ming Han, he heard Director Zhang call his name. “…To make the most of our time and solve the case quickly, we’ve requested a Mobile Unit member from the Provincial Public Security Department. Ming Han, Captain Ming—where is Captain Ming?”
Director Zhang could not find Ming Han, and the entire conference room began looking left and right. Chen Zheng inwardly thought, This is bad. Sure enough, the dense mass of gazes gradually converged on the remote corner he had deliberately chosen. When he looked up, he caught the unwillingness in Kong Bing’s eyes. The instant Kong Bing saw him, his gaze became several degrees more hostile. Director Zhang spotted him as well and showed a flicker of surprise before immediately returning to normal.
“Here, here!” Ming Han finally stood up smiling after being “called for a thousand times.” “Hello, leaders, hello. I’m not a captain. Just call me Xiao Ming.”
Director Zhang probably had not expected the Mobile Unit to send someone so young, someone who looked more like an ordinary “foot soldier” than an elite. He seemed displeased for a moment but did not show what he was thinking on his face. Instead, he beckoned. “Why are you sitting all the way back there? You’re the expert. Come, come up front and tell us your thoughts.”
Ming Han did not move forward. Chen Zheng felt the back of his chair grow heavier and glanced sideways to find Ming Han bracing both hands against it.
“Director Zhang, I only just got here. No one’s even fully explained the case to me yet, so I really don’t have any thoughts.” Ming Han considered it. “How about I make up a few lines on the spot?”
Director Zhang laughed. “People from the Mobile Unit have seen plenty of big situations. Even at a time like this, you can still say something to help everyone relax.”
Ming Han shook his head. “I’m unfamiliar with both the people and the place. It wouldn’t be appropriate to offer opinions rashly. Why don’t I start by helping Captain Kong and his team? Next time we have a meeting, Director Zhang, you can ask me again.”
That gave everyone a graceful way out. Chen Zheng found it somewhat surprising; he had not expected Ming Han to be so adept at handling an occasion like this. He glanced at Kong Bing. The man had been full of anger not long ago, but now he was staring at Ming Han in astonishment.
After that little interruption, a meeting that otherwise would have dragged on for another hour came to a respectable end. Kong Bing took the initiative to greet Ming Han, while Chen Zheng left the conference room alone. To his surprise, Director Zhang had not left and was waiting for him in the corridor. “Captain Chen.”
Chen Zheng stopped and sighed inwardly. There was no escaping these pleasantries after all. He walked over with a smile. “Director Zhang, long time no see.”
“It has been. You’ve been in Zhuquan all this time and still refused to come see me.” Director Zhang said, “Your bureau director asked me just last month how you were doing over here. I couldn’t even answer.”
Chen Zheng said, “The next time I go back on leave, I’ll report to him personally.”
Director Zhang sighed and seemed to want to say more, but when he met Chen Zheng’s placid gaze, he ultimately swallowed the words. “All right. Having you help with this case makes me feel more at ease too.”
Ming Han finished talking to Kong Bing and came out just in time to encounter Chen Zheng. Chen Zheng turned and walked in the opposite direction. Ming Han caught up in several long strides. “Bro, don’t tell me you saw me come out and deliberately started walking this way?”
“I’m going to the restroom.”
“Me too.”
Chen Zheng washed his hands and left without any intention of waiting for Ming Han. Ming Han followed behind him. “Bro, are you angry?”
Chen Zheng found that amusing. Angry? What did he have to be angry about?
“I hid behind you and made you the center of attention for a while.” Ming Han generously admitted his fault. “I was wrong.”
With his head drooping like that, he looked completely different from the man who had spoken so smoothly in the conference room moments earlier. Chen Zheng could not help looking at him for another moment. “You’re overthinking it. I just have something else to do.”
“What?”
“The case.” Whenever Chen Zheng talked about a case, his gaze unconsciously grew a little colder. “Captain Kong should have told you about the major suspicious points already, especially the DNA mismatch and the Zhu mother and daughter from Miaoping Street. I went to No. 2 Middle School this morning and found that Zeng Yan suddenly stopped contacting her high-school friends, and Zeng Qun personally handled the withdrawal paperwork for a Zeng Yan who had already been switched… All of that still needs investigating.”
Ming Han nodded. “Then I’ll come with you.”
It was only when they reached downstairs and the autumn afternoon sunlight filled his eyes that Chen Zheng belatedly turned to Ming Han. “No, Captain Ming…”
“I’m really not Captain Ming. Call me Xiao—”
Those who interrupted other people were bound to be interrupted themselves sooner or later. Several officers from the sub-bureau happened to walk past at that moment, and one said, “Ming is such a rare surname. Just now I almost read it as niao—Bird—and called him Captain Bird.”
The words had barely left his mouth when the two groups ran directly into one another. The officer reflexively blurted, “Captain Bird! Ah, sorry!”
Chen Zheng turned his back and fought desperately not to laugh.
Ming Han showed no embarrassment whatsoever and simply joked along with him. “Captain Bird isn’t even that bad. People have called me Birdman before.”
Elio’s Notes: Ming Han’s surname, 鸣 (Ming), can be visually misread as 鸟, meaning “bird,” which is the basis of the “Captain Bird/Birdman” joke.
The awkwardness dissolved. The sub-bureau officers immediately liked their new Mobile Unit “cheat code” even more, and Ming Han, naturally familiar with everyone, had already arranged to eat with them another time. After the interruption, it took Chen Zheng a while to remember what he had meant to ask. “Why are you following me instead of Kong Bing?”
Ming Han raised an eyebrow. “In my experience, you’re more likely to find a breakthrough.”
Chen Zheng did not mind having another pair of hands. As he got into the car, he merely remarked, “You’ve thrown yourself into work pretty quickly. Your Mobile Unit people are well trained.”
“Not really.” Ming Han unceremoniously buckled himself into the passenger seat. “I’ve been ‘exiled,’ haven’t I? If I don’t perform well, how are they supposed to let me go back?”
Chen Zheng drove out of the sub-bureau. “When you were talking to Kong Bing just now, he didn’t mind you coming with me?”
“You and Kong Bing have a problem with each other?”
“…Not really.” Chen Zheng thought, There’s no need to use your observational skills on things like this.
Ming Han smiled again. “Bro, you pay quite a lot of attention to me.”
Chen Zheng glanced to his right. “Oh?”
“You even noticed I was talking to Kong Bing.”
Chen Zheng fell silent. This man always managed to drag the conversation toward an angle Chen Zheng did not know how to handle. Fortunately, Ming Han did not pursue the matter further and instead began discussing the case itself. He clearly understood the art of knowing when enough was enough.
The person Chen Zheng intended to see was Feng Feng. He was one year ahead of Zeng Yan, so by the time Zeng Yan dropped out of high school, he had already graduated. Feng Feng had accumulated numerous disciplinary records while at school but had obeyed the law after entering society. His class held a reunion three years earlier, so No. 2 Middle School still had his contact information. He had become a photographer.
Following the address he had obtained from the school, Chen Zheng went to Nantian Dimension Studio in the city center, but Feng Feng was not there. The studio was small but fairly well known within Zhuquan City’s photography circles, and Feng Feng was one of its primary photographers. The owner immediately became wary when he learned Chen Zheng was a police officer and asked whether Feng Feng had done something wrong. Chen Zheng said he only wanted to ask about Feng Feng’s middle-school years; the person involved in the incident was one of his former schoolmates.
The owner relaxed and took Chen Zheng over to the photographs on the wall, speaking proudly. “Feng Feng took all of these. He’s especially good at landscapes! If he weren’t out shooting with a team, you’d have been able to meet him today!”
Feng Feng was currently doing outdoor photography at Wanjun Mountain in the north. He had left in September, before anything happened to Zeng Yan. Since there was no way to find him for the moment, Chen Zheng could only leave.
Back in the car, Ming Han asked, “Are we going to Wanjun Mountain?”
“You’re joking, right?”
Wanjun Mountain was extremely far from Zhuquan City. There were no direct flights from Zhuquan to Wanjun City, and even after making a connection and reaching Wanjun City, they would still have to find a car to take them into the mountains.
“Our Mobile Unit can go anywhere,” Ming Han said.
Chen Zheng shook his head. An investigation required consideration of all kinds of factors. There was no need yet to travel thousands of kilometers just to find Feng Feng. “I have two more people on my list. Both were delinquents from Zeng Yan’s old little circle, and like Feng Feng, both stopped contacting her.”
The car stopped outside a Country J restaurant. Ming Han looked at Chen Zheng’s notes. “This one even has a Country J name.”
Strictly speaking, Wei Youtai was not from Country J. His mother had remarried a man from Country J and changed his name to something that sounded very much like a Country J name.
Wei Youtai was in the same year as Zeng Yan, though not the same class. According to records from both No. 2 Middle School and the police station, he had been even worse than Zeng Yan and repeatedly participated in serious fights. He could practically be called Feng Feng’s fiercest attack dog. If his wealthy stepfather had not given him advantages, including those that came with being a foreigner, he would have been expelled long ago.
“Welcome!” The hostess greeted them in clumsy Country J language and led Chen Zheng and Ming Han to a table by the window. It was not a peak dining hour, so the restaurant was quiet.
Chen Zheng was just about to show his identification and ask whether Wei Youtai was there when Ming Han beat him to it and began ordering food.
Chen Zheng: “…”
When the server was not looking, Ming Han blinked rapidly at him, apparently meaning: What’s the rush? Let’s act like ordinary customers first.
The server happily took the menu to the kitchen, pleased to have such good business in the middle of the afternoon. Chen Zheng sat down as well. “You’re very experienced.”
Ming Han looked completely baffled. “Experienced at what? I’m starving.”
Chen Zheng’s eyelid twitched faintly.
Ming Han immediately began complaining. He had worked hard training dogs at the police dog center all morning and was just about to eat when Tang Xiaoli, the head of the Mobile Unit, called and ordered him to report to the Beiye Sub-bureau immediately. If he dared arrive even one second late, the Mobile Unit’s doors would be permanently closed to him. Once he got there, he had been caught up discussing the case and dealing with all kinds of professional social obligations. He had not eaten a single grain of rice all day!
Chen Zheng silently listened to the entire complaint, silently stood up, then silently turned to leave.
Ming Han called after him, “Bro, where are you going?”
The first appetizer arrived just then. Chen Zheng said, “Go take care of your stomach. I saw Wei Youtai.”
Although Wei Youtai was the owner, he was also the head chef. He looked somewhat different from his No. 2 Middle School photographs. His beard was carefully trimmed, and he appeared mature and dependable, even somewhat elegant. It was hard to imagine that he had been a school bully.
“You are?” Wei Youtai set down the knife in his hand and looked Chen Zheng over in surprise.
Chen Zheng showed his identification. Wei Youtai froze, then washed his hands and calmly asked, “Officer Chen, how can I help you?”
“Do you still remember Zeng Yan?”
Wei Youtai’s eyes froze. The composure he had shown moments earlier vanished completely.
Chen Zheng continued, “She was murdered recently. Based on several clues, we believe her death may be connected to something that happened during high school. You were her friend. The police station has a record of the fight you were involved in during your second year of high school.”
Wei Youtai’s face turned deathly pale. Sweat trickled down from his carefully groomed sideburns. “I… she… I don’t know. We haven’t been in contact for a very long time!”
“Let’s speak somewhere more private.”
Distracted, Wei Youtai gave instructions to the sous-chef, then invited Chen Zheng into the restaurant’s rear courtyard. Bamboo had been planted there, giving it the atmosphere of a Country J garden. Chen Zheng looked around and noticed that Wei Youtai was drinking tea with unusual frequency.
“How long has it been since you were in contact?” Chen Zheng asked.
“Since… since graduation, I think. Everyone has their own lives. Once we grew up, we realized being delinquents back then was wrong.”
“Was it really after graduation?” Chen Zheng asked. “Wasn’t it from the time Zeng Yan dropped out?”
Tea spilled from Wei Youtai’s cup, spreading across a large patch of his pale kimono.
“Dropped out? Right, right, Zeng Yan dropped out during senior year. Honestly, by then there wasn’t much difference between dropping out and graduating. None of us were taking the college entrance exam, so we barely went to school during the second semester of senior year anyway.”
“But you didn’t all suddenly grow up at exactly that moment, did you?” Chen Zheng stared at Wei Youtai, his gaze utterly still and deep. Wei Youtai met his eyes for an instant, then jerked his gaze away as though shocked by electricity. “What do you mean?”
“Under normal circumstances, you were still friends who saw one another every day at the time. Only after entering society would you gradually reflect on what you’d done before and, as you put it, grow up and drift apart.” Chen Zheng spoke without hurry. “So why was it that the moment Zeng Yan dropped out, all of you became like strangers? You, Feng Feng, Ke Shuer—not a single one of you cared why she had left school?”
Wei Youtai’s pupils abruptly shrank to pinpoints.
Chen Zheng’s low voice seemed to descend over Wei Youtai’s nightmare. “Because something happened among you before Zeng Yan dropped out, something that forced all of you to stay away from one another. Am I right?”
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