Yuan Zhangfeng spoke of an elderly man he had met while doing business in the Southern Hemisphere. The man lived with remarkable clarity. Even in his seventies, he still paid to satisfy his physiological needs.
“Society usually begins ignoring the elderly by erasing their gender. Man or woman, once you’re old, you’re not supposed to think about those things anymore. If you do, you’re considered immoral. But who decided it has to be that way?” Yuan Zhangfeng said. “So that’s where I wanted to start: with gender. If society insists on ignoring it, then I’ll insist on making it visible.”
At first, Zheng Tian disagreed and found the entire idea difficult to understand. He repeatedly tried to persuade Yuan Zhangfeng that organizing prostitution was illegal in their country. It would be illegal even if the clients were young, let alone elderly. In the latter case, they would face not only legal judgment but moral condemnation as well.
But Yuan Zhangfeng remained resolute. “How can we know it won’t work if we don’t try? We can keep it as discreet as possible. Besides, I have other projects serving the elderly, and all of those are legal. Child, think about your grandfather. Think about those pitiful old people you saw in the hospital while you were taking care of him. Do they deserve to be ignored?”
Yuan Zhangfeng was exceptionally good at drawing people into his emotions, and Zheng Tian gradually allowed himself to be persuaded. Even so, out of caution, Zheng Tian created a set of rules for acting as an intermediary, designed specifically to avoid police investigation. Yuan Zhangfeng followed whatever he decided, never interfering with his work and never personally contacting the women Zheng Tian selected. For two years, the project ran smoothly. The only complication was Yuan Zhangfeng’s determination to let Yin Gaoqiang enjoy the service too.
Zheng Tian told him that Yin Gaoqiang was not one of their target clients and should never have been told the project existed in the first place. But Yuan Zhangfeng insisted that Old Yin was his friend. The man had lost his son and then his wife and had lived an exceptionally hard life. Yuan Zhangfeng wanted him to feel once more the happiness life was supposed to offer.
Zheng Tian feared something would go wrong and tried repeatedly to talk him out of it. Yuan Zhangfeng nevertheless decided to force the issue by sending a woman to Yin Gaoqiang, saying Old Yin would never betray him.
Yin Gaoqiang indeed told no one, but from that point onward he severed his friendship with Yuan Zhangfeng. Yuan Zhangfeng was deeply hurt and spent some time in Country B. Then, just as he was preparing to return, the noodle shop exploded.
Zheng Tian immediately realized that the police might follow the Yin Gaoqiang lead back to Yuan Zhangfeng and urged him not to return. Yuan Zhangfeng said he was no longer in contact with Yin Gaoqiang, so how could the police trace anything? Besides, he wanted to come back and mourn his friend.
With visible sadness, Zheng Tian said the project had now stopped completely. Before that, however, they had been planning to expand their services for elderly women. In his view, older women needed such services even more than men did and were even less deserving of being ignored.
In the interrogation room, Zheng Tian raised his eyes to Chen Zheng. “Officer Chen, do you know something? What you’re doing is a crime against the elderly.”
Chen Zheng raised an eyebrow. “You and Yuan Zhangfeng really do have an endless set of arguments ready.”
“Am I wrong?” Zheng Tian said. “Society hates old age. It wishes people would lose their ability to work, have every cent squeezed out of them, and then die immediately. Do elderly people have any dignity? Even having physiological needs gets demonized once they’re old. The old man and I are doing what little we can to bend that distorted thinking back in the right direction.”
He sighed. “But our strength is still too limited. Heaven didn’t help us either. Of all possible times, Uncle Yin had to get into trouble right then.”
Chen Zheng asked, “The noodle shop incident really had nothing to do with you?”
Zheng Tian raised an arm. “I swear, I wanted Uncle Yin safe even more than you police did. The old man doesn’t have many friends. Every one he loses is one fewer left.”
Chen Zheng said, “Yin Gaoqiang knew about your project. He even knew how it operated, and he refused to cooperate with you. Looked at that way, you had a motive to kill him to keep him quiet.”
Zheng Tian stared at him in shock. “You’re jumping to conclusions! Neither the old man nor I ever thought about killing anyone!”
“One more question.” Chen Zheng changed direction. “Did you investigate what happened to Yin Gaoqiang’s son?”
Zheng Tian froze. His eyes shifted away from Chen Zheng’s face, and he did not answer immediately.
Chen Zheng said, “Looks like you did. That makes sense. Given Yuan Zhangfeng’s relationship with Yin Gaoqiang and his wife, even if Yin Gaoqiang never asked him, or even tried to stop him, he’d still take it upon himself to investigate. So what happened? What did you find?”
Zheng Tian shook his head. “The police investigated for ten years and never found a single lead. What could people like us uncover by poking around on our own? The old man spent quite a lot of money on it, but he still regretted being unable to help Uncle Yin.”
Chen Zheng said, “Do you regret it?”
Zheng Tian did not understand. “What?”
“Becoming Yuan Zhangfeng’s adopted son. Failing to stop his insane project. Failing to go abroad with him to lie low.” Chen Zheng paused suddenly and smiled. “You seem to have spent your whole life being pushed forward by Yuan Zhangfeng. You say you tried to persuade him, but you’ve never successfully persuaded him out of a single thing.”
For a moment, Zheng Tian looked startled. Then his shoulders relaxed. “Officer Chen, are you trying to drive a wedge between us? You’re right. I’ve been struggling lately. Even after the old man refused to leave the country, I still wanted him to go back to Country B and hide for a while. Failing to convince him was my failure as his adopted son. But I’ll never hate him. He was the one who pulled me up when I had absolutely nothing. Without him, I might not even have been able to bury my grandfather’s ashes.”
“Last question,” Chen Zheng said. “What criteria did you use to choose the men and women?”
Zheng Tian explained that they chose people like Cao Wenmei and Luo Anxin, people who had been attractive when they were young and still knew how to present themselves well in middle age. They also needed to be willing to go through with it and have families that needed money. People like that were easier to control. As long as they were paid, most things could be negotiated. And because the clients were elderly, almost no young people were willing to do the work. “See? Discrimination against the elderly is everywhere.”
The interrogation came to a temporary end. Beiye Sub-bureau still had many details to verify regarding the statements given by Zheng Tian and Yuan Zhangfeng. Kong Bing had been shaken by their way of thinking and still had not recovered after smoking several cigarettes in succession. Chen Zheng waved the smoke away and sat with him for a while. “Go rest. Just remember that the two of them are talking nonsense.”
“That’s what bothers me,” Kong Bing said. “Some of what Zheng Tian said almost hit me right in the heart.”
Chen Zheng paused and looked at him through the smoke. Kong Bing had raked his hair up until it looked like a hedgehog. “When he talked about his grandfather dying, I thought of my own grandpa. I was even worse than him. Back then, I couldn’t even go home and spend more time with the old man!”
Chen Zheng still remembered Ming Han mentioning Kong Bing’s family. His father had spent year after year working construction jobs, and the family had very little money. No one in that household could afford to get sick because they could not afford treatment. Kong Bing’s circumstances really were similar to Zheng Tian’s, except that Kong Bing had been luckier in one respect: his parents had never become drug addicts.
Sunk into a dark mood, Kong Bing haltingly began talking about his grandfather’s final days, forgetting that the person sitting beside him was Chen Zheng.
“I’d only just become a police officer. I wanted desperately to prove myself, so I volunteered for every assignment. Even when it wasn’t my case, I’d fight to get involved. I had no time of my own and barely went home. That Spring Festival, I only went back for two days. Grandpa was already very weak then. But he was so happy when he saw me in uniform. He said a child of the Kong family ought to be a policeman, punishing evil and upholding justice.”
“I was young then. I couldn’t understand the pain of old age. I just tossed out a few comforting words, told Grandpa to rest properly and that he’d get better. But the next time I went home, it was to see him for the last time. He was in the hospital, so sick he looked completely different from the grandfather in my memory.”
“At the funeral, my mom told me a lot about what happened while Grandpa was seriously ill. That’s when I suddenly realized that growing old really can mean suffering. If someone enjoys wealth and comfort when they’re young and then suffers in old age, at least you can make some sense of it. But my grandpa worked hard his whole life. He never enjoyed a single day of good fortune, and at the end he still had to suffer even more. Why can’t elderly people just have some good days?”
Chen Zheng reached out, his hand hovering above Kong Bing’s shoulder, uncertain whether to pat him. Kong Bing’s shoulders and back trembled faintly, his eyes red. He was remembering childhood days spent riding on his grandfather’s back. His grandfather had been an honest, kind man.
Chen Zheng sighed and gently patted Kong Bing’s shoulder. “There really is still a great deal more we should be doing for elderly people.”
But not in Yuan Zhangfeng’s way.
The touch on his shoulder pulled Kong Bing back to reality. The moment he saw Chen Zheng, he froze, and the words You wouldn’t understand stuck in his throat. Chen Zheng gave his shoulder a firm thump. “Still haven’t snapped out of it?”
Kong Bing shot to his feet. “Who’s not snapped out of it?”
“If you’re awake, go wash your face. Those two have confessed to plenty, but there are still a lot of suspicious points around them, and Liu Wenran’s case isn’t solved either.” Chen Zheng said, “Captain Kong, you aren’t getting a break anytime soon.”
Zheng Tian had simply gotten into Kong Bing’s head. Guilt over his grandfather and the strain of working at high intensity for so long had piled on top of each other until he nearly could not bear it. But Chen Zheng happened to appear at precisely that delicate moment and knocked him awake again.
“Teacher Chen, quit lecturing me.” Kong Bing wiped his face as he spoke. “I’m the captain here.”
Chen Zheng nodded. “Yes, yes. I’m just the ringer.”
Kong Bing pulled himself together and left. Chen Zheng also needed to loosen the tension in his head, so he decided to stand alone by the balcony for a while. His hand had barely touched the railing when a familiar voice sounded behind him. “Director Chen, don’t do it.”
The words themselves sounded urgent, but the tone carried no urgency whatsoever. Chen Zheng turned and saw the hint of a smile hanging on Ming Han’s face. Nine times out of ten, Ming Han seemed to be smiling, yet when the act of smiling appeared on Ming Han, it seemed to carry meanings far more complicated than simple happiness. It was almost merely a habitual movement, only loosely related to amusement.
Ming Han strolled over lazily. “I’ll come up to the roof too. Keep you company.”
Chen Zheng: “…”
The late-autumn wind had already turned cold. After interrogating the suspects, Chen Zheng did not especially feel like talking. If someone else were beside him, silence might have felt awkward, but with Ming Han there, it did not matter.
After a moment, Ming Han said, “Looks like we were both wrong before. The mastermind behind everything turned out to be a great philanthropist who wants nothing in return.”
“Not the kind of ‘philanthropist’ an ordinary person can understand,” Chen Zheng said.
When Zheng Tian’s name first appeared, they had discussed the purpose of the people behind Cao Wenmei. They arranged for middle-aged women to service elderly men and provided an almost flawless intermediary network, yet collected only a negligible cut of the money. If a person’s goal was not money, then it had to be something worth more than money. As the cases developed and elderly people began dying because of family conflicts, the hidden objective had seemed increasingly clear: destabilize society beginning with the family.
Yet the apparent truth was that Yuan Zhangfeng wanted to build a project in which elderly people would not be ignored, starting from one of humanity’s most basic, fundamental physiological needs. It was true that people only grew old. Their primal needs did not simply disappear.
“Do you think that’s really what they believe?” Ming Han asked.
“The investigation isn’t over.” Chen Zheng did not answer directly.
“Don’t be so serious, Bro. This isn’t a case conference.” Ming Han said, “Gossip with me for a minute.”
Chen Zheng said, “Our earlier theory was easier to think of and more logical. But sometimes the most logical explanation isn’t necessarily the truth.”
“So you’re saying you don’t think they’re lying now.”
“They do have a motive to do what they described, Zheng Tian especially. But as for whether they’ve lied…” Chen Zheng said, “I actually think they have.”
Ming Han looked interested. “Where?”
“Zheng Tian keeps emphasizing how cautious he is, and how Yuan Zhangfeng insisted on returning even though he knew something had happened to Yin Gaoqiang, then refused to go back to Country B to lie low even as the situation grew larger.” Chen Zheng frowned slightly. During Zheng Tian’s interrogation, a vague idea had already formed in his mind, but he had not yet organized it. Now he was thinking as he spoke, and his pace unconsciously slowed.
“On the surface, nothing seems wrong. Yuan Zhangfeng’s behavior appears to support Zheng Tian’s account. Yuan Zhangfeng is a man who follows his feelings, he’s old, and he doesn’t have much respect for the domestic justice system, so maybe he simply couldn’t be bothered hiding. But do you remember how difficult Zheng Tian was for us to investigate at the beginning?”
Ming Han said, “Yes. Zheng Tian is only an alias. Cao Wenmei and the others couldn’t contact him directly at all, and he used virtual numbers.”
Chen Zheng said, “Which means he and Yuan Zhangfeng were actually extremely cautious while running this project. Suppose Liu Wenran’s case had happened before Yin Gaoqiang’s. Even following the clues, we would’ve had a hard time finding them. And Yuan Zhangfeng himself gives me the impression of someone who’s weathered plenty of storms and knows when to advance and retreat. He has no reason to dig in here. Now he’s been arrested. What possible benefit does that bring him?”
A dark gleam flashed in Ming Han’s eyes. “Unless being arrested is the benefit he wanted.”
Relieved that his listener had caught up so quickly, Chen Zheng continued. “Their behavior before and after is contradictory. It makes me think Yuan Zhangfeng deliberately stayed in the country waiting for us to investigate him. Something’s wrong there. And there’s another point neither Yuan Zhangfeng nor Zheng Tian ever gave me a clear answer about.”
Ming Han had watched the entire interrogation through the monitoring system. Sometimes the observer behind the screen noticed abnormalities more easily than the person doing the questioning. “Yin Jingliu?”
Chen Zheng said, “Exactly. There’s no reason Yuan Zhangfeng wouldn’t help Yin Gaoqiang investigate Yin Jingliu. But both he and Zheng Tian reacted strangely. Either they found something or they didn’t. Finding nothing would be perfectly normal. Finding something would be the surprise. Yet whenever Yin Jingliu came up, both of them instinctively avoided the subject. When I pressed later, neither wanted to say much. That stands in sharp contrast with the way they could talk endlessly about serving elderly people. They may not even have realized they were doing it.”
“Maybe Yuan Zhangfeng discovered something but never told Yin Gaoqiang because he knew it would drag both of them into disaster?” Ming Han paused. “Remember those cushions that appeared in the noodle shop?”
Chen Zheng nodded. It was because of those cushions that the police had rapidly adjusted their thinking in Wu Lianshan’s case and caught the killer. Yet whoever had placed the cushions there had still never entered the police’s field of view.
“I showed the cushions to Yuan Zhangfeng. His reaction was worth thinking about. Yuan Zhangfeng has already realized he’s gotten involved in something he should never have touched. At this point, escaping to Country B might actually be more dangerous than staying here. Nobody dares make a move against him in Zhuquan City right now, because touching him would expose them.” Chen Zheng’s expression grew more serious. “But that means the Yin Jingliu matter is much more complicated than we thought.”
With serious incidents occurring at multiple middle schools, the schools had no choice but to open their doors to the police. Under intense police intervention, the unrest caused by the dolls was gradually coming under control. But some schools had overcorrected with excessively strict management, creating new conflicts between teachers and students instead.
As the starting point of the case, No. 10 Middle School was under comprehensive police scrutiny. Its situation was relatively stable now, and ordinary classes had mostly resumed. During breaks, however, everyone was still discussing Liu Wenran and the dolls. Many students had learned only after Liu Wenran’s disappearance that her family was nothing like the image she had presented. She was not some rich-girl goddess at all, but a poor girl living in a place like Xingwen Street, and her mother did work people considered shameful.
Zhou Xi had returned to class. Word had spread through the school that whoever made the dolls had impersonated her, and students were talking about that too.
“Xiaoxi, I honestly don’t think you should’ve come back to school yet. At least wait until the police find Wenran.”
“Exactly. Maybe she didn’t only want to steal your student ID. What if she wants to hurt you the way she hurt Wenran? What would you do then?”
Zhou Xi managed a strained smile. “I can’t stay home forever either. It feels awful. Yu Zhen… she’s missing too. The police are looking for her.”
“Hey, Xiaoxi, how did you manage to offend someone too?”
Zhou Xi had no answer. Now, whenever she thought of Yu Zhenxiao, anxiety filled her, not only because she worried about her own safety but because she suspected Yu Zhenxiao’s situation might be no better. The word missing sounded a little better than dead or murdered, but if someone was never found, wasn’t that ultimately the same thing as death?
After the long morning break came math class. Three minutes before the bell, a familiar figure appeared at the classroom door. One student exclaimed, “Teacher Jiang! Why are you here?”
Jiang Luoqing smiled and lifted the lesson plan in his hand. “I’m here to teach you.”
“How is that possible? Aren’t you not teaching us anymore?”
Jiang Luoqing sighed. “Things have been so stressful lately that Teacher Luo couldn’t take it physically and asked for a few days off. Your class is in a special situation, as you all know, so the other Grade 12 teachers aren’t very willing to substitute.”
The students visibly brightened. “So you came instead! Teacher Jiang, you’re a living saint!”
“Enough nonsense. Sit down. Class is about to start.” Jiang Luoqing pressed his palms together. “Let’s hope I don’t drag down Teacher Luo’s work. You’re in Grade 12. You can’t afford delays.”
“What are you talking about? You taught us for two years. You think we don’t know how good you are? Teacher Jiang, do we really have to study? Why don’t you just chat with us instead?”
The bell rang. Jiang Luoqing said, “You’re welcome to come find me in Grade 10 for a chat. Right now, we’re having class.”
They were students at a key high school after all. Outside class they could joke freely with teachers, but once the lesson began, their attention stayed fixed on the board. Grade 12 held little new material, only endless rounds of practice problems and explanations. Jiang Luoqing focused on difficult questions and occasionally called students to the board to work through them. He had always gotten along well with his students and never harshly criticized anyone for making a mistake. Every time he commented on an answer, laughter rippled through the classroom, and the atmosphere seemed to return to their second year of high school.
The class ended quickly. As Jiang Luoqing gathered the materials on his desk, one student called, “Teacher Jiang, keep us after the bell!”
The suggestion drew a chorus of approval.
“No way. I want to get off work early too.” Jiang Luoqing checked his watch. “Your Grade 10 juniors are harder to deal with than you lot.”
“Hmph. Teacher Jiang, you never should’ve abandoned us! You’re way better than Teacher Luo!”
“Exactly! Teacher Luo’s classes aren’t as interesting as yours.”
Jiang Luoqing’s expression turned serious. “Don’t say that. Teacher Luo has put a great deal into the graduating class, and he specializes in teaching graduating classes. He has more experience than I do.”
“It’s not like you’ve never taught a graduating class before. Besides, how are you supposed to get experience if you don’t teach one? I didn’t understand the problem Teacher Luo explained earlier, but the moment you explained it, I got it.”
Jiang Luoqing laughed. “Then I’ll work hard now that I’m back in Grade 10 and try to take your juniors all the way to graduation.”
“Tch! You’re changing the subject again!”
The students truly wanted Jiang Luoqing to stay, though they also knew the school was unlikely to change the arrangement again. Jiang Luoqing left before the next class began, but everyone’s conversation continued revolving around him.
“If Wenran were still here, she would’ve been so happy during that class.” Zhou Xi pursed her lips. “What a shame.”
“Yeah. Wenran liked Teacher Jiang the most. I remember near the end of last semester, when Teacher Jiang said he wouldn’t be teaching us anymore, Wenran even cried.”
Zhou Xi remembered that too and could not help feeling even more melancholy. Who could have imagined that precisely because Liu Wenran disappeared and one incident after another followed, Teacher Jiang would end up returning to the class as Teacher Luo’s substitute?
Zhou Xi looked out the window, her thoughts drifting away. She wondered how Officer Chen’s investigation was going. Around her, the other students were still lamenting the change in math teachers.
“What kind of feudal superstition says you have to change teachers in Grade 12? Teacher Jiang teaches perfectly well!”
“Exactly. It’s pure superstition. They say Teacher Luo gets tons of students every year to outperform their usual level, like he’s some kind of good-luck charm.”
“But I heard Teacher Jiang had his own worries too. He’s still young, after all. If the class didn’t do well, people would blame him…”
After the noon dismissal, Zhou Xi went to the cafeteria with several close friends. They used to prefer eating outside school and buying milk tea along the way. But No. 10 Middle School was now strictly controlling who could enter and leave the grounds, and no one dared casually go out for food anymore.
Zhou Xi felt as though there were even more police officers around the campus than before. At first she assumed it was only because she had been away for so long that her sense of scale was off, but her classmates said the number had indeed increased over the past two days. No one knew why. It felt as though every police officer in Zhuquan City had come to No. 10 Middle School.