It was Xu Chuan’s first work trip, so some nervousness was inevitable. Even back in Zhuquan City, he had thought how useful it would be if he could meet Xiang Yu, the murderer in Zhao Shuihe’s case, and on the drive to Yafu City he had imagined several ways of getting access to him. But once Ming Han dropped him at the municipal bureau, Xu Chuan still could not bring himself to be forceful enough to demand that Yafu police take him straight to the detention center.
After learning that he wanted to review Zhao Shuihe’s case, the local officers gave him some materials and politely told him to ask if he needed anything. Xu Chuan was easygoing. Since they had given him files, he truly settled down in a small meeting room and began studying them seriously.
The investigation reports sent to the research institute from different jurisdictions were detailed, but they did not contain every piece of material. During the early canvassing stage, police inevitably cast a very wide net, and many lines of inquiry proved useless in hindsight. There was no need to send that portion to the institute, nor was there any reason for researchers to waste energy on it. That was exactly what Xu Chuan was reading now: complicated, mostly meaningless material. But at least it was new to him, and he became so absorbed that he barely noticed anything around him.
Suddenly, he saw a familiar place name: Bajiao Street. It had not appeared in the earlier reports, yet he was certain he had heard it today.
Ming Han had mentioned it. Ming Han had gone to Bajiao Street, and someone connected to Zhuquan City’s difficult case had grown up there.
Xu Chuan’s heartbeat abruptly quickened. What did it mean? He had no idea. Zhao Shuihe’s case seemed completely unrelated to the Zhuquan case, yet both Zhao Shuihe and Wu Lianshan had once lived on Bajiao Street. Holding his breath, he recorded this impossible-to-ignore coincidence and continued reading.
The advertising company Zhao Shuihe founded with a partner was called Yihe Advertising. Before she turned thirty, her life was far from glamorous. Even feeding and housing herself had been a struggle. She had little formal education and spent years working for others, taking on every kind of exhausting and unpleasant job. She owned no home, either living in company-provided dormitories or sharing very poor housing with other people.
She moved to Bajiao Street around the time she founded Yihe Advertising. Every bit of her money had gone into the company, leaving her nearly penniless. But as the boss, she could not let her employees think she lived too miserably, so she rented a place on Bajiao Street. The houses there were old, but the rent was low enough that she could afford a unit by herself instead of sharing a roof with others.
Nothing seemed to have happened while Zhao Shuihe lived on Bajiao Street. One year later, as the company gradually got onto stable footing, she moved into a better residential complex. Later she bought her own home and finally established herself in the city.
Xu Chuan frowned deeply. He had read this section back and forth three times and still could not find any connection between Zhao Shuihe and the Zhuquan case. Was he being oversensitive? Was this really nothing more than a useless coincidence?
Whatever. Better to report it first. With that thought, he immediately called Ming Han. Ming Han’s reaction gave him a burst of confidence, and Xu Chuan gave an embarrassed, foolish little laugh before muttering to himself, “I’m actually pretty useful.”
By the time Ming Han arrived at Yafu Municipal Bureau, Xu Chuan had nearly finished the files and was chatting with a detective who had participated in the investigation. Seeing Xu Chuan so interested in Zhao Shuihe’s old address on Bajiao Street only reinforced the detective’s stereotype of the psychology research institute: people who had left frontline work, had no view of the larger case, and knew only how to seize on useless details and spin elaborate theories, with victory apparently going to whoever spun the most original one.
The detective said, “Zhao Shuihe lived on Bajiao Street eight years ago. Back then she threw herself completely into work. To her, that place was just a bed. A lot of the time she didn’t even go home.”
Xu Chuan failed to hear the rejection in his tone and kept asking, “What kind of jobs was Yihe taking back then?”
The detective sighed. He did not want to offend a researcher, so he patiently answered, “Odds and ends. Jobs other advertising companies couldn’t be bothered with, or scraps split off from projects other companies couldn’t finish.”
Xu Chuan thought about it. “Zhao Shuihe’s life must’ve been difficult then.”
“Difficult? She was practically going insane,” the detective said. “They had barely any employees and couldn’t keep the ones they hired. It was basically just her and Old Wen, her partner, working themselves to death.”
Xu Chuan put himself in her position. “Under those circumstances, the emotional pressure must’ve been severe, right? I saw in the report you sent us that Zhao Shuihe’s temper was unstable and she could be very emotional, especially toward young men. But earlier in her life she seemed fairly normal. Did that personality change happen during the startup period?”
The detective paused. He had not expected Xu Chuan to know the report so well. The young man had clearly put real effort into it, and the detective’s attitude became more serious. “Her partner and some older employees mentioned that too. Old Wen handled the company’s internal, concrete work and rarely dealt with outsiders, so his environment was relatively simple. His exhaustion was mostly physical. Zhao Shuihe handled outside contacts. Dealing with so many people probably put enormous mental pressure on her. She often cursed people out in the office back then and had an awful temper.”
Xu Chuan asked, “Worse than the way she treated Xiang Yu?”
The detective said, “Yes. By the time Xiang Yu joined Yihe, it was already one of the best advertising companies in the city. Zhao Shuihe had to restrain what she said and did to some extent.”
Xu Chuan fell into thought. Ming Han walked over to the table. “Let me see the part about Zhao Shuihe living on Bajiao Street.”
Xu Chuan immediately found it for him. Ming Han had expected the materials to contain more about Zhao Shuihe’s time on Bajiao Street, but in fact it was mentioned only in passing. Local police had considered it nothing more than an irrelevant rental address and merely sent someone to verify that Zhao Shuihe had indeed lived there.
Ming Han pointed at the partner’s name. “Do we have contact information for Wen Bin?”
Xu Chuan asked, “We’re going to see him?”
Ming Han nodded. “Just have a chat.”
Wen Bin was five years older than Zhao Shuihe and was now forty-three. He had once been Zhao Shuihe’s supervisor when she worked at another company, and later the two founded a company together.
After Zhao Shuihe’s death, Yihe Advertising had largely come to a standstill, and Wen Bin no longer managed the business. Xu Chuan reached him by phone. After a moment of silence, Wen Bin gave them the address of a café.
The café was near Wen Bin’s home and had a pleasant atmosphere. Wen Bin looked like a refined, scholarly middle-aged man. He said he had retired and did not intend to return to advertising. From now on, he planned to live off his investments.
When Ming Han brought up Zhao Shuihe, Wen Bin’s expression dimmed slightly, and he began recounting fragments of their many years together.
More than ten years ago, Zhao Shuihe had practically forced her way into Wen Bin’s company. She said she could start as a cleaner and that the company only needed to provide lodging and three meals a day. During recruitment, the boss had asked every applicant to write a marketing plan for a project. Zhao Shuihe’s was the best, but because of her lack of credentials, the boss had not wanted to hire her. When she offered to come in as a cleaner, the boss had been delighted.
Wen Bin saw all of this. He was practical to the point of rigidity, did not participate in office politics, and focused only on his own projects. He had read Zhao Shuihe’s plan and given it the highest score. When the boss asked his opinion of her, Wen Bin said that in advertising, talent and passion mattered more than a diploma. The boss was pleased and assigned Zhao Shuihe to his team.
From then on, Zhao Shuihe worked under him. She had to clean while also writing proposals and often stayed in the office all night. Her efficiency exceeded that of many people already on his team. Six months later, Wen Bin personally asked the boss to make her a regular employee. The boss had also seen her ability and cheerfully signed off.
That was Zhao Shuihe’s starting point in the industry.
After accumulating experience and contacts, Zhao Shuihe switched jobs without hesitation. Because the original company’s boss lacked vision, the company remained middle-of-the-pack in the industry, never starving but never becoming successful either. Zhao Shuihe was still young and naturally longed for a larger stage. Before she left, she asked Wen Bin whether he wanted to go with her. Wen Bin refused without hesitation.
Zhao Shuihe smiled. “Because I’m still not attractive enough to you. Brother Wen, give me a few more years.”
Over the next few years, Wen Bin and Zhao Shuihe had little contact. Wen Bin continued doing his work by the book, occasionally hearing that Zhao Shuihe had changed companies again or completed another outstanding project. He envied her. This woman younger than him possessed an energy he did not have.
Time flew. Zhao Shuihe left another job and appeared before him again, this time inviting him to start a business with her. Wen Bin had grown tired of monotonous work repeating day after day and wanted a new environment. Starting his own company, however, had never really been part of his plans.
He asked Zhao Shuihe, “Why me? You should be able to find a better partner.”
Zhao Shuihe said, “Because you were the one who gave me a chance back then, Brother Wen.”
“So you’re repaying a favor?”
“No. You’re practical, and so am I. Of everyone I’ve worked with, your professional ability is the strongest. You just don’t like dealing with people. That’s fine. I do.”
Her words moved Wen Bin, and he agreed to consider it. Later, when he formally decided to start the company with her, Zhao Shuihe smiled and said, “So I’m finally attractive enough now.”
Running a startup and working for someone else were completely different things. Zhao Shuihe invested nearly all her savings, while Wen Bin also put in a substantial amount. He had more money than Zhao Shuihe and more fallback options if the business failed, so he was not anxious and simply worked at his own pace. Zhao Shuihe, however, had staked everything on it and had to succeed. Wen Bin watched her grow increasingly irritable. Sometimes he tried to advise her, but she even shouted at him. He understood the pressure she was under and did not hold it against her.
Those years were extremely difficult, but both of them endured. Yihe gradually grew until Zhao Shuihe no longer had to beg for work and the best clients came to them on their own. Zhao Shuihe shone brighter and brighter while Wen Bin’s presence receded. Some new employees did not even know Yihe had another boss. Wen Bin enjoyed being hidden behind Zhao Shuihe.
The one thing he regretted was that the suffering of the startup years had completely changed her. She became hostile toward many people, especially highly educated young people. Sometimes she deliberately concealed that hostility. At other times she unleashed it openly.
Ming Han said, “Like Xiang Yu?”
Wen Bin thought for a moment and shook his head. “Xiang Yu was only an extreme case. At least Xiang Yu was a man.”
Xu Chuan became confused. “A man? What do you mean?”
Wen Bin sighed. “I could tell Zhao Shuihe actually despised young women, especially women with good educations and excellent grades.”
Ming Han said, “But she was famous for helping women and advocating for women’s status in the workplace.”
Xu Chuan added, “Right, right. She participated in quite a few public-welfare programs related to that.”
“She was contradictory,” Wen Bin said. “On one hand, she herself represented an independent woman. Everything she achieved, she fought for step by step. On the other hand, she looked down on and felt threatened by younger women. I knew her for many years. I could see it. Society does not give women many opportunities. When resources are scarce, competition becomes fierce. Some people who reach a certain height think about how to pull other women up with them. Others think about how to protect their own position by crushing every potential competitor beneath their feet.”
After a pause, Wen Bin shook his head. “Unfortunately, she was the latter.”
Xu Chuan’s mouth fell open. He found it difficult to accept.
Ming Han said, “Then she really was an excellent advertising professional.”
Wen Bin understood immediately. “Yes. She used her talent to package herself. That’s why most people could see only the side of her that encouraged women to advance and helped women. I could even say that her suppression of Xiang Yu and others was another way of packaging her image, catering to what the outside world expected from her.”
After a brief silence, Xu Chuan looked distressed. “I didn’t expect her to be that kind of person.”
Even after leaving the café, Xu Chuan remained downcast. Ming Han patted his shoulder. “Your emotions swing this hard? You really need to learn from your Director Chen.”
Xu Chuan wiped his face. “I’m just shocked.”
Ming Han said, “Being shocked means you believed too easily.”
“Huh?”
“First you easily believed the persona Zhao Shuihe built. Now you’ve easily believed Wen Bin’s account.”
Xu Chuan thought for a while, then said excitedly, “What Wen Bin said might not be the truth. You know what he said isn’t necessarily true!”
Ming Han calmly reversed the car. “What he says and what Zhao Shuihe said are the same to me. Which is true and which is false has to be determined by further investigation.”
Xu Chuan asked, “So? Do you think Wen Bin lied?”
Ming Han returned the question. “Then tell me, what benefit would Wen Bin gain by lying to us now?”
Xu Chuan scrunched up his face and thought, muttering to himself. “Wen Bin couldn’t be the killer. He and Zhao Shuihe had no financial conflict. Yafu police already investigated that very thoroughly… If anything, Zhao Shuihe’s death hurt his career… It really does seem like he has no reason to lie.”
Ming Han said, “From his perspective, he showed us a Zhao Shuihe the public never knew.”
Xu Chuan asked, “Then what do we do next?”
Ming Han said, “Tomorrow, keep doing what you should be doing. I’ll make another trip to Bajiao Street.”
Xu Chuan also wanted to go to Bajiao Street and was arguing his case when Ming Han said, “You don’t plan to meet Xiang Yu anymore?”
Xu Chuan’s eyes widened. “What?”
Ming Han smiled. “Are you researchers really this bad at recognizing opportunities? Use the suspicious point you found today and the angle Wen Bin gave you. Try to persuade Yafu police. If you can’t manage that, don’t say you’re on Director Chen’s team. You’ll embarrass him.”
Xu Chuan’s fighting spirit ignited at once. “Yes!”
At the same time, in Zhuquan City.
Chen Zheng once again came to No. 2 Middle School. The students were in evening self-study, classroom lights glowing one after another. Only a handful of teachers who had finished work and nearby residents remained in the restaurants outside the school. Yin Gaoqiang and his employee Xiao Huang were cleaning. Standing at the doorway, Chen Zheng caught Yin Gaoqiang’s eye. The man froze. “Here for noodles?”
Chen Zheng nodded. “Do you still have ribs noodles?”
Yin Gaoqiang returned behind the stove to cook. Chen Zheng found a table and sat down. Sure enough, he saw the coaster he had noticed on his first visit. It still looked new and had probably been used only a few months. He opened the photo on his phone and compared them. Although there were slight differences in the details, they strongly resembled work made by the same person.
Yin Gaoqiang brought over the noodles. Chen Zheng pulled out the chair beside him. “Uncle Yin, sit down.”
Yin Gaoqiang wiped his hands. “I knew you weren’t here just for noodles.”
Chen Zheng smiled. “Look at this coaster. Isn’t it the same kind as yours?”
Yin Gaoqiang studied it for a while. “Looks like it. Where did you see this one?”
Chen Zheng asked, “Where did you buy the coaster in your shop?”
Yin Gaoqiang looked blank. “I honestly can’t remember.” He called Xiao Huang over. Xiao Huang scratched his head and said that in any case, he had not bought it.
Yin Gaoqiang said he had not bought it either.
That was strange. A coaster had appeared in the noodle shop, yet neither the owner nor the employee knew where it came from.
Chen Zheng said, “Think again. The person who wove this is Granny Wu. Ten years ago she had a stall near here. She remembers your noodle shop and even remembers Yin Jingliu.”
Yin Gaoqiang immediately sat straighter. “Is there news about Xiao Liu?”
Chen Zheng said, “Granny Wu counts as a clue. She did business near No. 2 Middle School back then. What I need to know now is whether you, or Yin Jingliu, ever bought one of her coasters and brought it back.”
Yin Gaoqiang’s lips trembled. After thinking for a long time, he said, “I think there was someone selling woven things, but I never bought any. And this… this is obviously new. Even if Xiao Liu bought one back then, after all these years it couldn’t possibly still look this new.”
Chen Zheng said, “Then someone put it in the shop later.”
But the shop’s surveillance footage had already been overwritten, making it impossible to determine who had placed it there.
Yin Gaoqiang seemed to figure something out. “It had to be the students!”
“Students?”
“Yes. They bring little things into my shop all the time. Look at those chili jars. They gave me those too, saying everything here looked old-fashioned and I needed something trendier.”
Chen Zheng looked at the condiment jars. They really were in a style students would like and did not match the noodle shop’s original decor.
After Chen Zheng finished his ribs noodles, Yin Gaoqiang walked him to the door. The coaster had given Yin Gaoqiang a glimpse of hope, even though he had no idea what the clue actually meant. Chen Zheng smiled as he said goodbye. But once he turned away, his brow furrowed deeply.
Granny Wu said she had never sold a coaster to Yin Gaoqiang, and Yin Gaoqiang said he had never bought one. Yet this brand-new coaster had appeared there anyway. It was precisely because of the coaster clue that Ming Han had confirmed Wu Lianshan had once come to Zhuquan City and lived near No. 2 Middle School, at exactly the period ten years ago when incident after incident occurred.
Someone had deliberately placed Granny Wu’s coaster in Yin Gaoqiang’s shop. What did they want? Were they giving police a crucial clue, or leading the police by the nose? Could Yin Gaoqiang be lying? In fact, the person with the easiest access to place a coaster there was Yin Gaoqiang himself. If it was him, had he known about the Wu Lianshan clue all along?
Early the next morning, Ming Han and Xu Chuan split up again. Bajiao Street was even livelier in the morning than in the afternoon, crowded with merchants restocking goods and tourists buying souvenirs. Ming Han made his way to Granny Wu’s stall, only to find that she had not set up for the day.
The woman at the neighboring stall was surprised too. “Is Granny Wu sick? She’s the hardest worker on this whole street.”
Ming Han immediately went to the Wu home and knocked. Before long, Granny Wu’s voice came from inside. “Coming. Who is it?”
The door opened. Granny Wu looked more haggard than the day before, as though she had slept badly. “Officer Ming? Why are you back again?”
Ming Han said, “There was something I forgot to ask yesterday. Why didn’t you open your stall?”
Granny Wu sighed. “Didn’t we talk about so many old things yesterday? Afterward I kept thinking about my son and daughter-in-law and couldn’t sleep well.”
Ming Han apologized. Granny Wu hurriedly said, “It’s fine. If you still have questions, come in and talk.”
Ming Han said, “Actually, I came today to ask you about someone.”
Granny Wu poured him water again. “Who?”
“Zhao Shuihe. She lived on Bajiao Street eight years ago.”
“Zhao Shuihe? Never heard the name. What happened to her?”
Ming Han searched on his phone and handed it to Granny Wu. “Did you see this news story?”
Granny Wu looked and exclaimed, “The female boss who was killed by a male employee?”
Ming Han said, “Yes. She rented a place on Bajiao Street for about a year.”
Granny Wu tried hard to remember. “I can’t think of her.”
Ming Han found more than a dozen photos. “Take a look. Does she seem familiar?”
After flipping through several, Granny Wu’s expression gradually changed. She said softly, “It’s her?”
As expected. Ming Han asked, “You’ve seen her?”
Granny Wu handed the phone back, her expression unpleasant. “I didn’t know her name. I heard people call her Xiao He, so I thought her surname was He. When I saw the news, I never realized it was her.”
Ming Han observed Granny Wu’s reaction. Her dislike and disgust were obvious, but because Zhao Shuihe was already dead and the old woman believed the dead should be respected, she was forcing herself to hide her original feelings.
Thinking of Wen Bin’s analysis of Zhao Shuihe, Ming Han probed, “Did she offend you?”
Granny Wu waved her hand. “Not me… I don’t know how to say this. She’s already dead. For an old woman like me to gossip about her now…”
Ming Han said, “It’s all right. This helps us understand the victim too.”
Granny Wu thought for a moment. “Fine. This is what happened.”
Eight years ago, Bajiao Street had only just begun being developed into a woven-handicraft street. Management was still chaotic, and many people rented rooms there. Granny Wu had her granddaughter with her, so she naturally showed extra kindness toward young women living alone. Business was poor then, and most of the day was spent sitting idle at their stalls and chatting. Someone mentioned Xiao He, saying she was starting a business, but that everything was difficult for a woman trying to make it on her own.
Granny Wu had seen Xiao He several times. The woman was always hurrying somewhere, visibly exhausted, without even enough time to stop and browse the stalls.
When summer vacation arrived, Wu Lianshan insisted on helping at the stall. Granny Wu told her to hurry home and study, but in truth she was delighted that her sensible granddaughter wanted to keep her company. During that period, Wu Lianshan always read and did homework at the stall. Her grades were good, and she ranked first in her class on every exam. The school itself was not very strong, and her scores were only average compared with the whole city, but Granny Wu was still extremely proud.
One day, Xiao He, who normally walked past every stall without looking sideways, suddenly stopped in front of Granny Wu’s. But she was not looking at the dazzling handicrafts. She was looking at Wu Lianshan. Wu Lianshan was working on a physics problem. She looked up, met the woman’s eyes, and smiled. “Sister, are you buying something? Do you like this pendant? My grandma made it.”
Xiao He only glanced at the pendant. Her gaze fell on Wu Lianshan’s workbook, and she picked it up and studied the cover. “These are college entrance exam practice questions, but you’re not even in senior high yet.”
Wu Lianshan said, “Right. I want to start preparing early.”
Xiao He said, “Really? Which university do you want to attend?”
Wu Lianshan blushed slightly. “I want to go to Luocheng. The best universities in our province are all there.”
It was the sincere, simple wish of Wu Lianshan when she was still a young girl. She openly told a stranger that she wanted to use knowledge and hard work to build a decent life for herself and her grandmother.
Xiao He looked down at her from above. A moment later, she tossed the workbook onto the stall and burst into laughter.
Wu Lianshan froze. “Sister?”
Xiao He’s bright red lips moved as she delivered words that were cold, even vicious. “You’re just a little girl. What use are good grades? In the end you’ll still have to work for someone else. Change your fate through exams? Here’s some advice from your big sister: give up early. You’d be better off learning a craft from your grandma and running a stall like she does.”