The adviser had said Wu Ye skipped class often, so Chen Zheng assumed he might not find him in the classroom. He went to the teaching building simply to try his luck. Wu Ye’s class was currently attending a large lecture together with two other classes in a tiered lecture hall, the sort of class students who liked cutting lessons were even more likely to skip. Chen Zheng entered through the rear door and sat near it. Sweeping his gaze across the room, he spotted someone by the window who looked very much like Wu Ye. Chen Zheng swiped through his phone, pulled up every photograph of Wu Ye he already had, and compared them repeatedly. It really was him.
Chen Zheng raised an eyebrow. The man had actually shown up for a large lecture.
Looking more closely, however, Wu Ye was not quite like the other students. Those who had genuinely come to learn sat toward the front, pens in hand, taking notes seriously. Those merely killing time sat in the back, either playing on their phones with their heads lowered or simply sleeping. Wu Ye was in the third row from the back, firmly within the time-killing camp, yet he sat upright like an excellent student. There was no pen in his hand, though, and his textbook had not even been opened. He was like a statue going through the motions with remarkable dedication.
Chen Zheng was curious what this “statue” was thinking about.
Perhaps Chen Zheng’s gaze was too noticeable, because Wu Ye suddenly looked toward the rear door and met his eyes. At least, Chen Zheng experienced it as meeting his eyes. Wu Ye’s bangs were long enough to cover them, leaving only his face visible, paler than that of most boys.
Chen Zheng now understood what the adviser had meant. Wu Ye had a delicate, refined kind of face. It had not been as obvious in photographs, but in person, the gloomy air hanging over him made that delicacy stand out even more. Most people of the older generation disliked boys with this appearance, thinking they looked weak and unreliable, but it was hardly strange that younger girls liked them.
Wu Lianshan, however, was no longer a teenage girl. What had drawn her to Wu Ye?
While Chen Zheng was thinking, Wu Ye had already turned back and resumed staring at the blackboard like a statue. Chen Zheng had expected that brief exchange of looks to stir some emotion in him, but Wu Ye remained calm from beginning to end, without even changing his posture.
Class ended. The teacher left several questions behind. The studious students surrounded the podium, while those who had only been killing time yawned and left in twos and threes. Wu Ye slowly began putting away his things—though there was not actually much to put away. None of his classmates greeted him. Before long, he was the only person left in his row.
After he finished, he did not stand. Instead, he looked toward Chen Zheng again. If their first exchange of looks had been accidental, this one carried an obvious invitation. Chen Zheng’s thoughts turned. Wu Ye already knew who he was.
The area around the podium was filled with academic discussion, but only Chen Zheng and Wu Ye remained in the rear half of the lecture hall. Chen Zheng walked to the third row from the back and sat two seats away from him. “You seem to be waiting for me.”
Wu Ye nodded. His voice had the same gloomy quality as the impression he gave. “You’re police. You came looking for me. I can’t refuse to cooperate.”
“How do you know I’m police?” Chen Zheng asked.
Wu Ye did not answer directly. “Someone was killed in the snack alley near Fengshu Residential Complex. Sister Shan said it might have been a friend of hers. If it really was, the police would definitely come to her. Maybe they’d come to me too.”
“You’re smart,” Chen Zheng said.
Only then did Wu Ye turn his face toward him. “So the person who died really was Sister Shan’s friend?”
“You call your girlfriend ‘Sister’?”
“She’s older than me and better than me. What’s wrong with calling her Sister?”
“Nothing. I was just curious.”
At that moment, the teacher surrounded by students needed to hurry to another class, and everyone began leaving. Wu Ye said, “Don’t worry. There’s no class in this room afterward. What do you want to ask?”
Chen Zheng gave Wu Ye another once-over. The man himself differed from what Chen Zheng had imagined, far too calm for someone dealing with police for the first time.
“There are some rumors about Wu Lianshan at the health college,” Chen Zheng said. “How did you two meet?”
“Rumors?” Wu Ye’s tone was airy. “That I’m not good enough for her and held back her future?”
“You should know she used to be very enthusiastic about public-welfare work,” Chen Zheng said.
“She got tired. Every day she had to deal with people who couldn’t manage their own lives, people who’d been hurt all over yet still couldn’t make up their minds, people who accepted help without a trace of gratitude toward the volunteers… Spend enough time around people like that and the negative emotions pile up. Eventually they reach a point where they suddenly explode and you don’t want to do it anymore. Isn’t that normal?”
“I see. That explains it.”
Chen Zheng accepted the explanation so easily that Wu Ye showed surprise for the first time. Chen Zheng said, “Hm?”
Wu Ye looked away, slightly self-conscious. “You came to ask about the murder victim, right?”
Chen Zheng nodded. “Yes. Did Wu Lianshan ever tell you how they met?”
Wu Ye’s answer differed very little from Wu Lianshan’s.
“And you knew that after Wu Lianshan fought with you, she went to ‘Zeng Yan’ to vent?” Chen Zheng asked.
“Sister Shan apologized to me. She said she shouldn’t have impulsively run out of the house and then bad-mouthed me to someone she barely knew.”
“What did you fight about?”
Wu Ye thought for a while and said it had been about Wu Lianshan’s work. In fact, after she stopped doing public-welfare work, Wu Lianshan was not as carefree and happy as she appeared. Sometimes she complained that she had lost many opportunities, but whenever she thought about going back to volunteer work and once again facing all the trivial problems she no longer wanted to deal with, she would complain for a while and then let it go.
That summer, many of her classmates had already settled their employment, while Wu Lianshan still could not find anything suitable. She was aiming too high for some positions and unwilling to settle for others, and her mood became worse and worse. Unable to vent at outsiders, she took it out on her boyfriend instead. Nothing he did looked right to her, and even food she normally enjoyed suddenly tasted bad. Wu Ye understood what she was going through and usually placated her, but after enough time, he could not endure it anymore. When Wu Lianshan exploded, he exploded too. One thing led to another until they were arguing about breaking up. In a rage, Wu Lianshan stormed downstairs. Wu Ye did not follow and had no idea where she went that night.
The next day, Wu Ye grew increasingly worried. He knew everything they had said the previous night had been spoken in anger, so he called Wu Lianshan. He expected her not to answer, but as soon as she picked up, she began crying and said she still wanted them to make things work. Wu Ye met her near the snack alley, and the two apologized to each other. When Wu Lianshan mentioned “Zeng Yan,” she sounded somewhat unhappy because “Zeng Yan” had kept urging her to break up.
“What did you think of ‘Zeng Yan’?” Chen Zheng asked.
“Me? I didn’t care. She was a stranger.” Wu Ye said, “I was grateful that she took Sister Shan in. Sister Shan was angry at the time and could have said anything. From the perspective of Sister Shan’s friend, it was normal for her to curse me out.”
“Did you have anything to do with Wu Lianshan not seeing her afterward?”
“Not really. Sister Shan got busy later. She genuinely didn’t have much time.” Wu Ye’s expression turned serious. “If you suspect Sister Shan, you’re completely wrong. She had absolutely no reason to hurt someone who helped her.”
Chen Zheng smiled. “We’re only checking interpersonal relationships. Don’t be nervous. This case is complicated. If you or Wu Lianshan remember any suspicious people around ‘Zeng Yan,’ or anything strange she ever said, contact me anytime.”
Wu Ye nodded. “Of course.”
Chen Zheng left the lecture hall, then turned back halfway down the corridor. Wu Ye stopped behind him. Chen Zheng said, “I just remembered one more thing.”
Wu Ye frowned slightly. “What?”
“Where are you going after this?”
Wu Ye did not answer. “What else do you want to ask?”
Chen Zheng laughed. “If you’re going home, I’ll come with you. We found a hair in ‘Zeng Yan’s’ home. I need to collect a biological sample from Sister Shan. If the DNA doesn’t match, we’ll have to keep looking for the owner of that hair.”
Wu Ye was silent for a while. “Then come with me.”
The apartment Wu Ye rented was very close to the health college. There was no elevator, and several lights in the stairwell were broken, making it look gloomy even in broad daylight. Suddenly, a black shadow flashed ahead and lunged toward them. Even Chen Zheng froze for an instant, but Wu Ye calmly reached out and scooped it up. It was a black cat.
Holding the cat, Wu Ye’s expression softened. He scratched its head and murmured, “Running around again.” The cat was very affectionate with him, meowing as it rubbed against his hand.
“You raise it?” Chen Zheng asked.
Wu Ye put the cat on the ground, and it quickly ran off. “No. It’s a stray around here.”
“It likes you.”
Wu Ye laughed softly. “Maybe because I feed it sometimes.”
As they spoke, they reached the apartment. Wu Ye opened the door, and Chen Zheng went inside and looked around casually. The little home was simple, but it had been decorated with the romantic touches of a young couple. Half-eaten pastries sat on the table—Weiming again. The brand really was popular in Zhuquan City.
Wu Ye stood by the door and silently watched Chen Zheng. Chen Zheng placed the hairs he found into an evidence bag. In truth, the purpose of coming here had not been to obtain a biological sample from Wu Lianshan. Ming Han had already collected one. Chen Zheng wanted to see the environment in which Wu Ye and Wu Lianshan lived.
Wu Ye walked him downstairs. When Chen Zheng reached the intersection, he looked back. Wu Ye was not watching him. He was crouched on the ground playing with the stray cat.
Several yellowing leaves drifted down, one landing on Chen Zheng’s shoulder. He brushed it away just as Kong Bing called. “Where are you? We just got news about Feng Feng—the one you wanted to find.”
Chen Zheng returned to the Beiye Sub-bureau and handed the biological material over to the forensic pathologist. Ming Han was there too. The moment he saw Chen Zheng, he lifted a hand to shield his face as though sharing a secret and said, “Feng Feng might already be dead.”
Chen Zheng’s expression sank. “Captain Kong.”
Kong Bing turned the computer monitor toward him. “Take a look. Our contacts over there said no one has been able to find Feng Feng since September twenty-second.”
Chen Zheng had previously visited Nantian Dimension Studio, the photography studio Feng Feng was affiliated with. The studio had records of this particular assignment: an influencer team wanted to shoot an early-autumn mountain-forest expedition in Wanjun Mountain in the north. Because the job would take a long time, conditions could become difficult once they entered the mountains, and there were many variables, the pay was high. Feng Feng accepted immediately after discussing the terms.
A photographer like Feng Feng was not in a conventional employer-employee relationship with the studio. He had taken this job himself. The studio only collected a token percentage of his pay and was not responsible for what he did while working.
Feng Feng left for Weizhao County in Wanjun City on September sixteenth. He contacted the studio after arriving and said the assignment had begun, asking them to turn down any work for him before mid-October. After that, no one at the studio contacted him again.
A police squadron leader from Wanjun City led a team to Weizhao County and entered Wanjun Mountain. They confirmed that the influencer team was indeed filming there, but the moment one of the people in charge heard Feng Feng’s name, he flew into a rage and started cursing.
“What famous photographer? He has no professional integrity at all! Hiring that bastard was eight lifetimes of bad luck! Just wait. Once I’m done here, I’m suing him into the ground!”
When the squadron leader asked what had happened, he learned that during contract negotiations and planning, Feng Feng had behaved very professionally. He had also promised to meet all the team’s requirements and keep making revisions if the results were unsatisfactory.
But after they met in Weizhao County, Feng Feng’s attitude changed. Everything had to revolve around him. Any opinion anyone expressed was treated as dissatisfaction with him; he either went cold and sullen or flew into a rage. For the sake of the work, everyone endured it, thinking that artists had tempers and that as long as he could produce good material, a little arrogance did not matter.
Then, just before they were supposed to enter the mountains, Feng Feng abruptly changed his mind. He said he no longer wanted to participate in the shoot and had taken on a new job instead. Everyone was dumbfounded. They had already completed so much preparation, and now he simply said he was quitting? Feng Feng insisted on leaving. The person in charge took out the contract and threatened to complain to his company. Feng Feng pointed to one clause and said he had signed the contract himself. If he did not want to do the job, then he did not want to do it; complaining to anyone would make no difference. Furious, the person in charge threatened him with compensation. Whatever had gotten into Feng Feng, he did not even care about the penalty and told them to sue if they wanted.
The person in charge had wanted to argue it out to the end, but the scenery in northern forests during early autumn vanished in an instant. Lose several days, and if they wanted those breathtaking shots again, they would have to wait another year. With no other choice, the team let Feng Feng go and immediately contacted a replacement photographer. Fortunately, the replacement was extremely reliable. The shoot was now nearly finished, and everyone was very satisfied with the results.
“We got lucky after a disaster,” the person in charge told the squadron leader. “But when this is over, I’m still going after Feng Feng for compensation. What I don’t understand is this: he was perfectly normal before. Why did he suddenly back out?”
Sitting on top of a desk, Ming Han imitated the man’s tone. “I don’t understand either.”
Chen Zheng glanced at him. Ming Han raised his eyebrows.
“He didn’t take a new job. He had to leave Wanjun Mountain.” Kong Bing paced around the office with a grave expression. “Didn’t you say ‘Zeng Yan’s’ death might be connected to Yin Jingliu’s disappearance ten years ago? When ‘Zeng Yan’s’ body was found, we assumed she was the first person targeted for revenge. But actually, before her, the killer had already made contact with Feng Feng! Feng Feng realized he was in danger!”
“None of us has even worked out who this possible avenger might be. What did Feng Feng use to judge that he was in danger?” Chen Zheng felt his thoughts growing confused. “He was completely normal before leaving Zhuquan City, then received some kind of signal after arriving in Weizhao County? Under our previous theory, the avenger acts directly—the ‘Zeng Yan’ case would be the example. So why give Feng Feng a signal? Or was that signal sent by someone else entirely?”
Kong Bing sat down. “Now you’ve confused me.”
Chen Zheng thought, You’re not the only one who’s confused.
“I have an idea, but it means tearing down the logic we’ve already built.” Ming Han jumped off the desk. “Is it possible the killer in the ‘Zeng Yan’ case was actually Feng Feng? Maybe he was willing to pay the contract penalty and destroy the agreement because he needed to come back and kill ‘Zeng Yan’?”
“Why?” Kong Bing asked. “Yin Jingliu was killed by that group of them. Now someone’s avenging Yin Jingliu, so why would Feng Feng kill ‘Zeng Yan’? You’re saying he’s the avenger?”
Chen Zheng narrowed his eyes and thought for a while before shaking his head. “For some reason, he needed to observe the people who knew what happened back then. And the moment he observed ‘Zeng Yan,’ given their old relationship, he would definitely realize she wasn’t the Zeng Yan he used to know. That shock would be no smaller than having the secret exposed. Their group had suddenly acquired a stranger—a ‘ghost.’ He wouldn’t know where this person came from or where the old Zeng Yan had gone. The action he might ultimately take would be—to get rid of this person.”
“The timing is the strange part,” Ming Han said. “Feng Feng had already arranged the job. It’s as though he suddenly received a signal to act.”
Kong Bing said, “There’s someone behind him?”
Chen Zheng began playing with a pen. It was still far too early for conclusions. Feng Feng had vanished, and the killer of “Zeng Yan” remained hidden in fog. Feng Feng certainly had a motive to act. The possibility that he killed the fake Zeng Yan was stronger than the possibility that an avenger for Yin Jingliu accidentally killed the wrong person. But there was another possibility too: Feng Feng had been the killer’s first target. He might have received a threat he could not speak about and been forced to invent a reason to leave the photography team; once he was alone, the killer could easily have disposed of him.
Kong Bing asked Ming Han, “What would the Mobile Unit do in a situation like this?”
Ming Han took the pen from Chen Zheng’s hand, first rested it against his lips, then tucked it behind his ear. “Trace the communications. But usually you still can’t trace anything.”
Kong Bing clenched his fist and slammed it hard against the desk.
“But Feng Feng disappearing is also a ‘good thing,’” Ming Han added.
Kong Bing stared at him speechlessly. “What part of that is good?”
“Of the people who may have been connected to Yin Jingliu’s disappearance back then, one has been murdered and another has disappeared. We now have grounds to launch a full investigation into Yin Jingliu’s disappearance,” Chen Zheng said. “Ke Shuer, Wei Youtai, even Yin Gaoqiang—before, they were merely people connected to the matter. Now they’re key individuals connected to the case.”
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