Jiang Luoqing said, “Then let me ask you a question too. Do you think the place where you were born and raised is automatically your hometown forever? You have no family left there. Your family even died in the sea not far away. You once had plenty of friends there, but education changed your life, and there is no way you can keep the same friendships with the people you used to know. What attraction does a hometown like that still hold?”
Chen Zheng laughed softly. “That almost sounds reasonable.”
Jiang Luoqing continued, “Jiahui City has nothing worth remembering for me. I did consider returning to Zhuqing City or staying in Wanqing City, but as you just mentioned, I visited Zhuquan City during my second year at university. It was a trip, nothing more. I simply wanted to see some quiet small cities. The moment I arrived, I liked it. There isn’t as much pressure here as in Wanqing City. A middle-school teacher earns decent pay and can stay young forever. So why must I waste time and energy securing a graduate-school recommendation and pursuing further study?”
Chen Zheng said, “But you’re very talented. Your teachers think it was a pity.”
Jiang Luoqing put on just the right touch of arrogance. “Of course I know I’m talented. Without talent, I could never have gone from a thug to a Wanqing Tech student in such a short time. But society demands too much from young people. Why does everyone have to pursue some grand future? Is a talented person not even allowed to waste his own talent? I haven’t harmed anyone. I only want to live my own life safely and happily. If becoming a middle-school teacher counts as wasting talent, it’s hardly the only thing people waste.”
Chen Zheng could clearly see that Jiang Luoqing had begun resorting to sophistry, but the police currently had no evidence capable of piercing his lies.
Jiang Luoqing shook his head sadly. “I truly don’t understand why you suspect me. First, I was Liu Wenran’s teacher. Her grades were average, but what motive would I have to hurt her? Officer Chen, don’t forget, I was the one who told the police about her family situation. Second, Lü Ou. From what Captain Kong said, Lü Ou came to the Grade 10 building before he disappeared, and you somehow concluded he must have been following me, so I killed him to silence him. That’s absurd. And what about those dolls? I swear I had never seen one before you found Liu Wenran’s.”
He was gradually reclaiming control of the questioning. Yet in the middle of Jiang Luoqing’s impassioned speech, Chen Zheng abruptly broke his rhythm with a question that seemed completely unrelated to the case. “Where did you get that watch?”
Jiang Luoqing froze. His flood of words stopped, and his right hand once again covered his left wrist.
“The other times I saw you, I don’t remember you wearing it.” Chen Zheng smiled. “Its style doesn’t seem to match your age.”
Jiang Luoqing recovered and instinctively covered the watch. “Officer Chen really is observant. Yes, I don’t wear it often. My uncle passed it on to me.”
Chen Zheng said, “Passed it on?”
Jiang Luoqing said, “My uncle told me that when he first left home for a foreign country, he was just a poor young man. My father gave him this watch and wished him a bright future. Now that he has made something of himself abroad, he said the watch should go back where it came from. It carries my uncle’s blessing, and it’s also a keepsake from my father.”
Chen Zheng nodded. “I see.”
Jiang Luoqing shifted slightly in his seat. “Officer Chen, we’ve pretty much finished the questions, haven’t we? I handed over my phone for you to inspect, and I heard you even went to my home. Can you let me go now? The school’s teaching schedule is quite demanding. Being taken away by the police has already affected my reputation, and I want to explain things to my students as soon as possible.”
Chen Zheng said, “Sorry. Under procedure, you still need to stay here for a while. We’ll give the school an explanation.”
Jiang Luoqing’s expression darkened and his voice cooled. “Fine. I haven’t committed a crime. Please clear my name as soon as possible.”
Chen Zheng returned to the office. Kong Bing immediately asked, “What’s wrong with Jiang Luoqing’s watch?”
Chen Zheng had intended to sit quietly and sort through his thoughts, but Kong Bing’s question reminded him. He immediately pulled up the interview recording, enlarged the watch, and took a screenshot. The magnified image was not very clear, but it was enough.
“The watch looks familiar. I’ve seen it somewhere, but I’m sure it had nothing to do with the case. I just can’t remember where.” Chen Zheng said, “He claims his father gave it to his uncle, then his uncle gave it back to him. That can’t be right. If that were true, where could I possibly have seen this watch?”
Kong Bing snorted. “Ninety percent of what he just said was a lie.”
Chen Zheng silently stared at the evidence wall. Yes, Jiang Luoqing was lying. The story he had invented was built around clues the police had already revealed. He was not the real Jiang Luoqing. But right now the police had no new evidence that could disprove his account.
Kong Bing muttered, “Is Lü Ou still alive?”
Chen Zheng’s gaze darkened. Lü Ou had definitely discovered something, or Jiang Luoqing believed he had, and that was why someone acted against him. Lü Ou’s disappearance was different from Liu Wenran’s and Yu Zhenxiao’s. It had happened outside the suspects’ expectations. Xu Xinghao’s suicide had also erupted on the twenty-ninth, and the suspects might not have had enough time to devise a careful plan to kill Lü Ou. That made it more likely he was still alive.
“There’s a large organization behind Jiang Luoqing,” Chen Zheng said. “He may only be one link in its machinery. Follow this far enough and it also involves Yin Gaoqiang and Yin Jingliu.” As he spoke, something seemed to flash through his mind again.
Seeing him suddenly stop, Kong Bing called, “Teacher Chen? Teacher Chen!”
Chen Zheng pinched the space between his brows. “It’s nothing. I’m a little tired. For now, keep people searching for Lü Ou. Also look into the disappearance of his mother, Xu Hetang. That case has been unresolved all this time, and it’s part of why Lü Ou doesn’t trust the police. Jiang Luoqing’s personal communications need deeper examination too. I’m very interested in that watch. Find a way to trace where it came from. It doesn’t have to be exact yet. As for Ming Han… I’ll call him.”
What Ming Han heard on Linping Street and at Jiahui No. 1 Middle School was strikingly consistent: Jiang Luoqing had been stupid and vicious, and the whole Jiang family had been much the same. Someone like that could not possibly have produced excellent exam results only a year later.
Yet at the Jiahui City education bureau, Ming Han confirmed that Jiang Luoqing really had sat the college entrance exam through Jiahui No. 1 Middle School, and the scores were genuine. Wanqing Tech also sent word that, according to its preliminary verification, nothing was wrong with Jiang Luoqing’s admission.
*How could there possibly be nothing wrong?*
When Chen Zheng called, Ming Han was eating seafood mixed rice outside Jiahui No. 1 Middle School. As he ate, Chen Zheng described the questioning of Jiang Luoqing. Ming Han snorted. “I don’t think his dream was to become a middle-school teacher. He should’ve been writing novels.”
Chen Zheng laughed too. “What are you eating? You sound like you’re really enjoying it.”
“We’re by the sea. Of course I’m eating seafood. Want me to bring some back for you?”
Chen Zheng said, “Just eat. I can practically smell it through the phone. What are you planning to investigate next?”
Ming Han finished his last few bites, paid, and looked toward the gate of Jiahui No. 1 Middle School across the street. “If we can find a relative, DNA can tell us whether Jiang Luoqing is really Jiang Luoqing. We also need to investigate that uncle of his, Jiang Ming. The old photograph at No. 1 Middle School looks nothing like the man we have now, though he could always explain that away by saying he grew into his features or had plastic surgery. He’s smart. He even went to Zhuqing City for Grade 12. I’ll visit Zhuqing No. 1 Middle School tomorrow.”
Chen Zheng said, “If he took the college entrance exam normally and was admitted through normal procedures, someone at the school must have helped manipulate something along the way. We should be able to identify that person.”
Ming Han said, “Add that to the list.” Silence fell on Chen Zheng’s end. Ming Han called, “Bro? You still there?”
Chen Zheng said, “That’s a lot. Can you handle all of it by yourself?”
Ming Han laughed. “If I say I don’t have three heads and six arms, are you coming over to help?”
Chen Zheng really had been considering whether he could fly over. But the situation in Zhuquan City was tangled and complicated. He vaguely felt the truth was already close, and not knowing whether Lü Ou was alive or dead held him there too. “I…”
“Leave it to me.” Ming Han’s tone suddenly became reassuringly dependable. “It sounds like a lot, but really it’s just scattered work. For Brother Bird of the Mobile Unit, this is nothing.”
Chen Zheng smiled. “Then get me answers as soon as you can.”
Ming Han did not wait until the next day. He discovered there was one final high-speed train from Jiahui City to Zhuqing City and left immediately. By the time he arrived, however, it was already the early hours of December 1, so the investigation would have to wait until daylight.
Zhuqing No. 1 Middle School truly deserved its reputation as one of the province’s top key high schools. Neither its campus nor its atmosphere could be compared with Jiahui No. 1. Ming Han had already explained his purpose to the Zhuqing municipal bureau, and an officer from the Criminal Investigation Detachment accompanied him to the school. The administration cooperated and brought in the homeroom teacher who had once taught Jiang Luoqing. His impression of Jiang was completely different from that of the teachers in Jiahui.
He said that although Jiang Luoqing had come from a small city as a temporary student, he had never struggled to keep up. Mathematics was his strongest subject. His other subjects lagged at first, but through the efforts of both his teachers and himself, he caught up in less than half a semester. His mathematical advantage was beyond what most classmates could match, so his overall ranking generally remained within the top fifty of his grade.
At Zhuqing No. 1, placing in the top fifty of a grade was an excellent result, more than enough to get into Wanqing Tech. The homeroom teacher still found one thing regrettable: half a month before the college entrance exam, Jiang Luoqing returned to his place of registration, so the teacher had not been able to personally see him into the examination hall.
“Was this kind of temporary enrollment common?” Ming Han asked. “What conditions did someone have to meet to attend No. 1 this way?”
The question made both the homeroom teacher and school administrators uncomfortable. The teacher kept looking toward the administrators, knowing this was not something he should explain. With a municipal-bureau officer standing beside Ming Han, the administrators had no choice. They said that because No. 1 had such strong teaching resources, some families used every possible connection to get their children in temporarily. The school had eventually opened a very small number of places. They knew it occupied a gray area, so the quota remained limited, and nothing had ever gone wrong before.
Ming Han said, “Then let’s talk specifically about Jiang Luoqing. How did he get one of those places?”
One administrator wiped sweat from his forehead and said someone had introduced a relative of Jiang Luoqing to the school, a wealthy businessman from Country A. He could no longer remember the man’s name.
Ming Han said, “Jiang Ming?”
“Yes, yes, that was it, Jiang Ming.” The administrator continued that Jiang Ming had given the school one hundred thousand yuan and asked them to let Jiang Luoqing attend temporarily. But No. 1 did not accept students based simply on who paid the most. One hundred thousand yuan meant little to the school. So many families wanted temporary places each year that the students ultimately accepted were those with exceptional strength in at least one subject. Jiang Luoqing, whose mathematics was outstanding, fit their standard perfectly. The administrator emphasized that the entire “sponsorship fee” had gone toward school construction and that no individual had pocketed any of it.
Ming Han asked who had introduced Jiang Ming. The administrators looked at one another and said they could not remember. They explained that he had been referred by a parent whose child had previously attended temporarily. The school’s insistence that temporary students be strong in at least one subject was also about protecting its reputation, so referrals would continue. There had simply been too many parents over the years for them to remember which one had introduced Jiang Ming.
Ming Han separately asked the former homeroom teacher and mathematics teacher several more questions. Both remembered Jiang Luoqing very well and did not believe he could previously have been an ignorant thug. The mathematics teacher in particular said, “His foundation was excellent. Maybe he just didn’t like studying much before, but if you tell me he used to be some street thug, that’s impossible.”
Ming Han showed them a current photograph of Jiang Luoqing. They both nodded and said this was the Jiang Luoqing they had known.
On the high-speed train back to Jiahui City, Ming Han sifted through the information again and again. At least nine years ago, the person using Jiang Luoqing’s name had already been replaced. That part was easy enough to understand. The real Jiang Luoqing was probably long dead. But why did the current Jiang Luoqing insist on attending school and taking the college entrance exam? Did he have some obsession with education? And then there was the mysterious Jiang Ming. If Jiang Ming truly was a relative of the real Jiang Luoqing, why would he help the man who had taken his identity?
Fog surged before Ming Han’s mind like damp sea air. Stay in that dampness long enough and even every breath seemed to carry the taste of rust.
To investigate the questions surrounding Jiang Luoqing’s college entrance exam, Ming Han needed help from the Jiahui City police. He contacted his captain, Cao Qiong, who mocked him. “I sent you away to reform yourself, and now you’ve started ordering me around?”
Ming Han said, “Zhuquan is under Han Province anyway. If Zhuquan can’t solve the case, you’re the one who’ll end up busy.”
Cao Qiong laughed and cursed at him. “I’ll get it issued right now. You never give me a day of peace…”
Ming Han got the provincial request for investigative assistance he wanted. Jiahui City naturally took it seriously and immediately assigned personnel to him. But the farther Ming Han dug, the more a sinister chill seemed to rise from beneath his feet.
First there was Jiang Ming, the supposed uncle. He had actually been smuggled into Country A when he was no more than twenty. Later he achieved modest success there, returned to China to bring his immediate family over, and this time completed regular immigration procedures. For many years afterward, Jiang Ming never returned. Nine years ago, when Jiang Luoqing’s parents supposedly died while being smuggled abroad, Jiang Ming did have one recorded trip back to China that same year. But whether he had contacted the current Jiang Luoqing or helped arrange his temporary schooling was unknown.
There was no one left in the Jiang family now, which meant there was no one available for DNA comparison. Nor could anyone contact Jiang Ming in Country A. That line of investigation was effectively blocked.
Jiang Luoqing had indeed taken the college entrance exam, apparently through Jiahui No. 1 Middle School. That meant some teacher at the school must have helped. Ming Han searched for a long time and found no such teacher.
*No one there now. But what about before?* He changed his approach and investigated teachers who had left Jiahui No. 1 over the years, including those who had since died. He really did find one person whose death could be called “strange.”
Wang Mai had once been a vice principal at Jiahui No. 1 and was also the year director for Jiang Luoqing’s cohort, which put him in charge of matters related to the college entrance exam. Rumors had circulated at the time that he accepted money from parents. During Jiang Luoqing’s first year at university, Wang Mai died in a traffic accident when his car drove straight off a bridge and into a river. His wife and son were in the car with him. The autopsy confirmed he had been driving under the influence of drugs. Where those drugs came from, however, died with him.
The case was unresolved, yet in another sense it was not. The cause of death was perfectly clear. Wang Mai’s usual conduct did not make drug use implausible, and both his wife and son had terrible relationships with the people around them. Apart from elderly relatives on both sides of the family, almost no one mourned their fate. The unresolved piece was the source of the drugs. Police investigated for a time and found nothing.
Ming Han stared at two photographs that could not possibly be mistaken for the same person: the original Jiang Luoqing and the current one. His brow gradually tightened. He had not expected this opponent to be so difficult. It was almost as though they could see the future. Wherever the police tried to advance, someone had already blocked the road.
Everyone in the Jiang family was dead except Jiang Ming, who supposedly remained abroad and could not be contacted. The teachers at Zhuqing No. 1 recognized the current Jiang Luoqing, which might have been exactly why he had transferred to a different city for high school. He needed outsiders to testify to his identity. The neighbors on Linping Street said Jiang Luoqing had died at sea while being smuggled abroad, but that was ultimately only rumor. The teachers at Jiahui No. 1 did not recognize the current Jiang Luoqing. And Wang Mai, the only person who had helped with Jiang Luoqing’s identity switch, had vanished into a river with whatever secrets he carried.
Jiang Luoqing had taken the identity of a thug, transformed into a brilliant top student, and finally come to Zhuquan City as a teacher, where he appeared connected to the series of recent cases. In Ming Han’s mind, it was like seeing an island. Some of its features were sharply defined, but there was no road leading to it.
Police work was not a murder-mystery game. Police needed solid evidence.
Back in Zhuquan City, Chen Zheng was reading the file on the disappearance of Lü Ou’s mother, Xu Hetang. Missing-person cases were far too common, and Xu Hetang herself was an ordinary person. The case had remained at the local police-station level and never been transferred to the sub-bureau.
Xu Hetang had married into the Lü family, and her married life seemed unhappy. Lü Ou’s father was a Zhuquan local with a high-school education. He had once worked as a proofreader at a newspaper. After the paper restructured, he went into the agricultural-products business with several former colleagues. Xu Hetang had a university degree from Luocheng University and, before disappearing, had been a middle manager at a real-estate company.
She and Lü Ou’s father were said to have fallen in love at first sight, but love eventually lost to the grind of daily life. As her own career flourished, she increasingly looked down on her husband, who was still working as a proofreader, and arguments frequently erupted at home. Lü Ou’s father was relatively timid and did not know how to repair the marriage.
Half a year before she vanished, Xu Hetang had already moved out and rented a place of her own. Around the same time, the newspaper was laying people off, and proofreaders were certain to be cut. Lü Ou’s father was extremely anxious and had no energy left for the marriage. Lü Ou did not report his mother missing until a week after she disappeared. He said he missed her, went to her rented apartment, found she was not there, and then went to her workplace, only to learn that she had resigned two months earlier.
At first, police focused on Lü Ou’s father. Too many crimes grew out of domestic conflict, particularly in marriages where the wife was stronger and the husband weaker. But after repeated investigation, they found nothing suspicious about him. His daily life followed a fixed routine, and he had not contacted Xu Hetang for six months.
When a missing-person case produced no breakthrough, there was little choice but to shelve it. This one had remained shelved ever since. Chen Zheng had spoken with Lü Ou about Xu Hetang. Although Lü Ou did not have a good relationship with his father, he also believed his father had nothing to do with his mother’s disappearance. He thought Xu Hetang might have run afoul of some group, perhaps one of the overseas gambling-scam operations people often talked about now, but neither he nor the police had found concrete evidence.
Ming Han called with the latest results from Jiahui City. The longer Chen Zheng listened, the deeper his brow furrowed. The situation was extremely difficult. After hanging up, he stepped outside for air. Zhuquan City was growing colder by the day, every breath blooming into white mist before his face.
“Teacher Chen.” Kong Bing’s voice came from behind. Chen Zheng turned and saw him running over, face red from the cold. “I actually found something about that watch of Jiang Luoqing’s.”
Chen Zheng immediately asked, “What?”
Kong Bing caught his breath. “More than twenty years ago, the education bureau ordered a batch of similar watches as awards for outstanding teachers.”
*The education bureau. Outstanding teachers?!*
Suddenly, the sea fog surging before Chen Zheng’s eyes seemed to part like curtains. He finally remembered where he had seen the watch. During the investigation into Yin Jingliu’s disappearance, Zhang Bin, a mathematics teacher at No. 2 Middle School who was nearing retirement, had told Ming Han at length about his regrets and had mentioned Hao Le.
Chen Zheng had only just obtained the lead on Hao Le at the time. While listening to Zhang Bin speak with Ming Han, he had also looked over the objects on Zhang Bin’s desk. There was a framed photograph in which a spirited young Zhang Bin wore a watch.
Zhang Bin had said the photograph was taken when he went to the education bureau to receive an award. He had been very proud then.
Why would a similar watch be on Jiang Luoqing’s wrist? Jiang Luoqing’s identity was fabricated, and the father and uncle in his story were lies layered on top. His watch could not possibly have come from that supposed uncle in Country A.
Why had Jiang Luoqing never worn the watch before? The first time he gripped it was after learning police had already gone to Jiahui City. It had been an instinctive movement in search of security. Not long afterward he calmed down and told his false story without so much as changing color. What did this watch mean to him?
Waves surged through Chen Zheng’s mind. If Jiang Luoqing’s watch really was Zhang Bin’s, it could almost explain his unusual fixation on Zhuquan City. Which meant his true identity…
Kong Bing waved a hand in front of Chen Zheng’s face. “Teacher Chen, did your soul fly off somewhere?”
Chen Zheng inhaled deeply and smacked Kong Bing hard on the shoulder. “Thanks. I think this case is about to break. I’m going out!”
Kong Bing watched Chen Zheng’s car shoot away from the sub-bureau, then rubbed the back of his head and belatedly swore. “Thanks my ass! Am I your subordinate now?”
The old residential complex where Zhang Bin lived was bustling at that hour. Elderly residents were organizing an activity and directing property-management staff to hang up slips with lantern riddles.
Zhang Bin had not gone to school that day. He was usually unsociable even within the complex, shutting himself in his study to pore over mathematics problems. His wife had finally had enough and forcibly dragged him downstairs. Even so, he remained outside the surrounding bustle, looking like an awkward spectator who had no idea what to do with his hands.
“Teacher Zhang!” Chen Zheng spotted the little old man hunched against the cold and immediately walked over. Zhang Bin recognized him and looked as though a savior had arrived. He hurriedly told his wife, “The police are here to see me! I’ll go talk to the police!”