The records of the fight Zeng Yan had participated in did not mention Yin Jingliu, but the timing was so close that it was difficult not to make a connection. Chen Zheng asked whether Yin Jingliu had actually been involved. The officer hurriedly made a phone call and found the officer who had handled the questioning back then. After thinking for a long time, the man finally remembered.
“Yes, Yin Jingliu was there, but his situation was different. He went over to stop the fight. Neither he nor his family wanted his name appearing in something like this, so we left it out.”
The fight had taken place in the alley diagonally behind Old Yin Noodle Shop. Both sides had brought steel pipes and knives. The atmosphere at No. 2 Middle School more than ten years earlier had been even worse than it was now. Nearby vendors generally turned a blind eye to things like this because no one wanted trouble brought down on themselves.
Yin Jingliu was in his senior year and his grades were stable. Getting into a top university in the provincial capital would have been easy for him, and with a little more effort, he might even have made it into a better university in another province. But he was a filial son. He did not want to be too far from his parents, nor did he want them to work too hard—attending university in another province would mean higher living expenses. So while most people considered senior year the final sprint toward the college entrance exam, he remained relatively relaxed.
On the day of the fight, Yin Jingliu left school early, intending to go to a bookstore in the city center to buy some past exam papers. As he passed the alley, however, he saw students in No. 2 uniforms fighting students from another school. His blood ran hot, and he immediately rushed over, trying to pull the two groups apart. But delinquents were hardly people who listened to persuasion. He failed to stop the fight and ended up taking several punches himself.
Fortunately, a teacher had already called the police before he entered the fray, so by the time officers arrived, Yin Jingliu had not been injured by any of the weapons.
The delinquents were taken to the police station. Since Yin Jingliu had been caught up in the incident, he went as well. He cooperated fully with police questioning, but Yin Gaoqiang and his homeroom teacher arrived soon afterward in an extremely agitated state, repeatedly emphasizing that Yin Jingliu was No. 2 Middle School’s best student, that he was about to sit the college entrance exam, and that there was absolutely no possibility he had participated in the fight.
Their meaning was clear. The station could deal with the other delinquents however it wanted, but Yin Jingliu’s name could not appear in the record. Whether he had gone there to stop the fight or not, anyone who did not know the circumstances would assume he had been mixed up with a group of delinquents, and that would be bad for him.
The officers knew what No. 2 Middle School was like and understood how rare it was for the school to produce someone like Yin Jingliu. Since Yin Jingliu had not been seriously injured and had not injured anyone else, they ultimately let the matter go.
The moment he finished listening, Chen Zheng pointed to what Yin Gaoqiang had said after Yin Jingliu disappeared. “Then what was this about Yin Jingliu feeling unwell after the fight?”
“Well…” The officer had no answer. “We don’t know. Before his homeroom teacher took him away, I repeatedly asked whether anything hurt and whether he needed to go to the hospital. He said he was completely fine.”
There were only so many clues available at Hele Subdistrict Police Station. By the time Chen Zheng returned to the noodle shop, it was already dark. The students had gone back to their classrooms for evening study, and the shop’s business for the day was essentially over.
The shop assistant had already gone home. Yin Gaoqiang was the only person left inside, cleaning. Chen Zheng walked over. Yin Gaoqiang looked up, showed a little surprise, then smiled gently. “That’s three times you’ve come today.”
Chen Zheng helped lift a stool. “Uncle Yin, I came because of Yin Jingliu.”
Yin Gaoqiang’s hands froze. He straightened with some difficulty, fear and hope mingling in his eyes. His lips trembled violently. He seemed to want to speak, yet did not dare, as though afraid of hearing a particular answer.
Chen Zheng showed him his identification. “I don’t have any news about him. But another case I’m investigating may involve him, and possibly… his disappearance.”
When he heard “I don’t have any news,” Yin Gaoqiang’s hunched shoulders sagged. It looked partly like relief and partly like disappointment. He nodded. “What case?”
“Do you remember Zeng Yan?”
Yin Gaoqiang frowned and thought for a while. “I can’t remember. Who is she?”
There was no trace of pretense in his reaction. He genuinely had no impression of the name, which meant that when Yin Jingliu disappeared, he had never suspected Zeng Yan, and that even if Yin Jingliu had felt unwell after the fight, he had never proactively mentioned her.
“Do you remember the fight Yin Jingliu got caught up in during senior year?” Chen Zheng took out Zeng Yan’s photograph from No. 2 Middle School’s student records. “She was one of the people fighting.”
Yin Gaoqiang’s brows trembled, and his emotions stirred with them. “Right, that time. Xiao Liu went over to stop them… This girl, I—I think I’ve seen her. They were saying today that a female student had been murdered. Was it her?”
“Yes. I came to No. 2 this morning to investigate her school years.” Chen Zheng briefly explained how the investigation into Zeng Yan had led him to Yin Jingliu’s disappearance and the fight. Yin Gaoqiang slowly absorbed the information. There was no anger whatsoever on his face, only regret that a life had ended.
“One thing caught my attention,” Chen Zheng said. “In the missing-person report, you mentioned that Yin Jingliu felt unwell after the fight. What exactly did you mean by unwell?”
Yin Gaoqiang froze. So much time had passed that even he had nearly forgotten the detail. “I think that did happen. Xiao Liu wasn’t injured. The police checked him. But the next morning, when I called him to get up for breakfast, he said he didn’t feel well. He was a hardworking boy and never slept late. I asked whether he’d been hurt and said we should go to the hospital, but he said no, that he’d be fine if he slept a little longer.”
Chen Zheng’s heartbeat quickened. He realized this might be the key. “What happened afterward?”
Yin Gaoqiang shook his head. “His mother and I didn’t think much of it. Mornings were busy at the shop, so we didn’t pay attention. When he came home from school that evening, I asked again whether anything still felt wrong. He said he was fine.”
Chen Zheng fell silent. Yin Gaoqiang asked, “Officer Chen, did you find something? My son—does my son have something to do with this Zeng Yan? She’s dead, then my son…”
Chen Zheng immediately reassured him. “Don’t let your thoughts run wild. We’re still investigating the cause of Zeng Yan’s death. There’s something else I want to ask you.”
Yin Gaoqiang clasped his hands together and did his best to calm down, but his voice still trembled. “Ask. I’ll tell you anything I know!”
“After Yin Jingliu started university, did you notice any changes in him?”
Yin Gaoqiang opened his mouth but took a long time to speak, grief spilling visibly across his face. “No. He only attended university for half a year. He came home once for the National Day holiday and once for winter break. Then… then he was gone!”
“After he disappeared, did you ever go to Luocheng to meet his classmates? What I mean is, did you look into what his life was like after he started university?”
Wiping at the corners of his eyes, Yin Gaoqiang nodded. “We went. His mother went several times. Luocheng University is such a good school. We met his classmates and teachers. They were all good people. The police questioned them too. Xiao Liu hadn’t contacted any of them before he disappeared.”
“So you actually saw some of the police canvassing reports?” Chen Zheng had no choice but to put the key point plainly in front of him. “His university classmates saw him as introverted, even somewhat withdrawn. That is completely different from how he was in high school. Did you ever wonder why?”
“I…” Yin Gaoqiang was only an ordinary aging man. His thoughts were nowhere near as sharp as Chen Zheng’s. Even after Chen Zheng laid things out this clearly, he still could not react immediately. Several minutes later, he said blankly, “Maybe it was his first time living away from home and he couldn’t adjust? He was always very attached to home. He grew up with us. School was only a few minutes’ walk away…”
No. That couldn’t be the reason. Chen Zheng had already reached his own judgment. At some point, something had happened to Yin Jingliu that changed his personality. The turning point had come before university. His university classmates and teachers had never known what he had been like in high school, so it was easy for them to accept that he had simply always been withdrawn. Perhaps he was skilled at pretending, or perhaps his visits home were too brief; either way, in front of his family, he remained the same cheerful, warm Yin Jingliu.
What had caused that drastic change in personality? And exactly when had the turning point occurred?
Yin Gaoqiang had finished cleaning and was preparing to close the shop. Chen Zheng looked once more at the poster on the wall. The boy in the photograph smiled with confidence and brightness. Looking only at that image, one would think the person described by his university classmates was someone else entirely.
“Uncle Yin, where do you live?”
Yin Gaoqiang pointed toward a cluster of old buildings beneath the streetlights. “Ever since my wife passed away, I’ve lived alone. Officer Chen, thank you for still thinking about my boy. I’m not very clever, and I’m careless. There are many things I don’t notice. If you’re willing, come take a look at my home. I’ve never changed Xiao Liu’s room. I’m waiting for him to come back…” Yin Gaoqiang’s voice had already broken. With the light behind him, his face looked even older. His wife had failed to live long enough to see their child return. What about him? Would he live to see that day? Was there still such a day to wait for?
Old residential buildings in the city were all much alike. The concrete floor downstairs was uneven, the building cramped, and damp mildew floated in the air. It resembled the building where Zeng Yan had lived. Yin Gaoqiang’s home was on the sixth floor. Climbing was difficult for him, and every short stretch required a rest. Chen Zheng silently followed behind, looking at the mottled walls on either side whenever they paused.
The lights inside still used pull cords, casting a dim yellow glow over the furnishings. It was a two-bedroom apartment with a living room. Yin Gaoqiang was not good at housework, and both the living room and one bedroom were messy. Yin Jingliu’s room, however, was clean and orderly. The lamp on the desk was an eye-protection lamp, its light bright but gentle.
Yin Gaoqiang smiled bitterly and said that when his wife was alive, she had done all the cleaning and kept the home immaculate. Now that he did it himself, he could never seem to get things properly organized. Living alone, there did not seem much need to keep everything neat and respectable; getting by was enough. Only his son’s bedroom did he clean carefully. Otherwise, if his son came home one day, he might laugh at his sloppy old father. Last year, Yin Gaoqiang had accidentally broken the desk lamp while cleaning. Remembering that his son had used it every day during high school, he had been devastated. When he truly could not repair it, he finally bought a new one.
As Yin Gaoqiang rambled on, Chen Zheng looked around. Yin Jingliu’s interests were unmistakable in this room. He liked soccer and basketball; seven or eight posters of sports stars hung on the walls, all superstars at the height of their fame ten years earlier. Among them was another, much less conspicuous poster: an airplane.
There was also a small airplane model in the bookcase, squeezed between books. Chen Zheng’s gaze quickly passed over the shelves. There were study guides, a small number of literary works, and a thick stack of aviation magazines.
Chen Zheng took out the stack. The airplane poster on the wall had been a free insert from one of the magazines. “Uncle Yin, did Yin Jingliu want to become a pilot?”
Yin Gaoqiang came out of his memories half a beat late. “Ah… yes. He loved airplanes. All kinds of airplanes. He said he wanted to become a pilot.”
Chen Zheng remembered very clearly that Yin Jingliu had majored in clinical medicine at university. Luocheng University did not have an aviation program.
“With grades as good as his, why become a pilot?” Pride surfaced unconsciously on Yin Gaoqiang’s face, but after speaking, he hurried to explain. “I’m not looking down on pilots. His mother and I were ordinary people. We just thought children from ordinary families ought to follow an ordinary path. If your grades are good, medicine is great. You can make money, and if someone in the family gets sick, having a doctor in the family helps at the hospital. But becoming a pilot… that’s something wealthy families choose. The child doesn’t necessarily have to be that good at school, but the family has to have money. With money, you can learn to fly.”
Chen Zheng understood Yin Gaoqiang’s mentality, but thinking again of the turning point that had changed Yin Jingliu, he asked, “Did Yin Jingliu want to study medicine? Looking at all the books in this cabinet, I think he may still have wanted to apply for an aviation program.”
“He did. We even fought about it!” Yin Gaoqiang sighed. “That boy was always obedient. This was the only thing we ever fought over.”
Holding an aviation magazine, Chen Zheng sat down and quietly listened.
From junior high onward, Yin Jingliu had talked constantly about becoming a pilot, but Yin Gaoqiang and his wife had never taken it seriously. Children always said they wanted to become scientists or astronauts when they grew up. It was only during his second year of high school, when Yin Jingliu brought home an admissions brochure from Luocheng University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, that the couple became alarmed. They took turns reasoning with him, trying to talk him out of it. But he was determined. His academic scores were dozens of points above the required threshold, he met the physical standards, and his eyesight was especially good. If he entered an aviation program, he said, he would definitely be a top student and could even earn several thousand in scholarship money.
But Yin Gaoqiang would not listen. He insisted that his son study one of the majors ordinary people considered lucrative—medicine, or finance if not that. Father and son had a huge argument, and Yin Gaoqiang even tore down the eye chart Yin Jingliu had hung on the wall.
Not long afterward, Yin Jingliu put the eye chart back up. Although he no longer argued with his parents, he continued buying aviation magazines and collecting aviation-school admissions materials. For a time, Yin Gaoqiang found it enormously frustrating. Even after Yin Jingliu entered senior year, he remained the same. Yin Gaoqiang went to his homeroom teacher and asked the teacher to help persuade him. Naturally, the homeroom teacher also hoped Yin Jingliu would apply to Luocheng University, whose admission scores were higher than those of Luocheng University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Yin Jingliu listened to everything they said but showed no sign of changing his mind.
To Yin Gaoqiang’s delight, during Spring Festival of his senior year, Yin Jingliu suddenly said he had thought it through and decided to apply for clinical medicine at Luocheng University.
Chen Zheng interrupted. “Did something happen around then?”
Yin Gaoqiang looked blank. “No. I think he just grew up and became sensible. His birthday was January twentieth. He’d turned eighteen. Maybe he finally understood how much effort his parents and teachers had put in and started thinking seriously about his own future?”
Chen Zheng shook his head inwardly. No. That wasn’t it.
Whenever people could not understand why a child had changed, they liked to reduce it to he became sensible or he grew up, unwilling to look for the root cause. Yin Jingliu had been so determined to become a pilot. Why had he suddenly abandoned that dream after turning eighteen?
Chen Zheng looked up at the posters. “You said that after the two of you fought, he put the eye chart back up. Why isn’t it here now?”
“He tore it down himself.”
“Himself?”
“Yeah. Right after he told us he’d apply for clinical medicine, he tore it down to show us he was serious.”
Clues surged through Chen Zheng’s mind: Yin Jingliu being caught up in Zeng Yan and Feng Feng’s fight on November 14 the previous year, his claim of feeling unwell afterward, his abandonment of a years-long dream of becoming a pilot around Spring Festival, his drastic personality change after entering university, then his disappearance after returning to Zhuquan City for winter break…
Seeing Chen Zheng fall silent as his expression gradually grew grave, Yin Gaoqiang panicked. The slow-thinking man seemed, in that instant, to suddenly connect everything. “Officer Chen, did we hurt Xiao Liu? He never wanted to study clinical medicine. He did it because of me and his mother… You said he changed after starting university. Was it because he couldn’t stand studying medicine? Is that why he became like that? Then when he disappeared, was it because he never wanted to see us again? He hated us, so he left on his own?”
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