The next morning, Lin Shuyue drove directly to the address Huang Qiang had sent her.

It was a small fishing village by the sea in Huicheng. Lin Shuyue left home at six in the morning and didn’t reach her destination until nine-thirty.

As soon as she got out of the car, Lin Shuyue’s gaze fell on the distant, incredibly blue sea. The sea breeze was exceptionally gentle, bringing coolness and the salty, humid smell of the ocean.

With the development of tourism, this small fishing village has also welcomed many tourists. Lin Shuyue wore a sun hat, had delicate makeup on, and used a large white shirt as a sun protection jacket over her clothes. Her slender legs were encased in blue jeans, and she wore a pair of gray sneakers on her feet.

She strolled along the beach like countless other tourists in this small fishing village, occasionally stopping to enjoy the sea breeze and scenery, and sometimes chatting with other tourists nearby.

Her phone played a familiar tune. Lin Shuyue casually answered it. It was a call from Hang Jiabai. They chatted briefly, and Lin Shuyue hung up. Putting her phone back in her pocket, she continued walking forward, slowly turning into a small alley.

Lin Shuyue knew the purpose of Hang Jiabai’s call. Perhaps Hang Jiabai had obtained new evidence last night. And this evidence had led him to call her this morning.

The information conveyed by this call was also very clear. Continuing to investigate this case would put her in danger. And this danger was so significant that Hang Jiabai had personally called to warn her.

Lin Shuyue wasn’t afraid of danger. When she was little, she asked her parents why they still became police officers despite so many bad people in the world. Weren’t they afraid of bad people? Weren’t they afraid of danger?

At that time, her mother hadn’t sacrificed herself yet. Her mother stroked her head and told her, “Knowing there are tigers in the mountains, yet still venturing towards them, is the motto of the police. And this world needs those who go against the current; otherwise, how terrible would this world be?”

Lin Shuyue had always remembered what her mother said. She wanted to be a police officer, not only because she wanted to reactivate her parents’ badge numbers but also to uphold her parents’ beliefs. Now, that belief had also become her own.

The sun beat down on the ground, making the tenacious green grass growing by the wall wilt. At the end of the alley was the Ancestral Temple. In front of the Ancestral Temple was a large banyan tree that took two people to fully encircle. Many red silk ribbons hung from the tree. Lin Shuyue walked to the left of the Ancestral Temple, went to the second house, raised her hand, and knocked on the door.

After a short while, footsteps approached, and then the door was opened.

The person who opened the door was Wang Guiquan, who was also the owner of the village store in Zheng Village back then. Compared to the photo of him that Huang Qiang had sent to Lin Shuyue, the Wang Guiquan in front of her looked much older. The information said that Wang Guiquan was thirty-four years old this year, but he looked like he was forty-five or forty-six.

He was taken aback when he saw Lin Shuyue, a stranger. “Pretty girl, the shop isn’t open today.”

Because the tourism industry in the small fishing village had flourished in the past two years, Wang Guiquan had also opened a small seafood processing restaurant. But whether it was open for business depended entirely on him.

Lin Shuyue looked at him and said, “Mr. Wang, hello. I’m a reporter from Pengcheng Metropolis Daily. I…”

Before Lin Shuyue could finish speaking, Wang Guiquan interrupted her. “Pretty girl, we’re really not open today.”

Wang Guiquan was about to close the door when a weak voice sounded, “Ah Quan, Ah Sheng and the others brought back two groupers yesterday. Why don’t you cook them for this pretty girl? It’s not easy for a young girl to travel all this way for a vacation.”

Wang Guiquan’s force in closing the door lessened. After a moment, he stepped aside, and Lin Shuyue walked into the courtyard.

Lin Shuyue saw that when Wang Guiquan let her in, his gaze instinctively fell on the courtyard next door. Then he said in a muffled voice, “Pretty girl, we’ve agreed on the price. Forty-five yuan per catty for one fish. If you think it’s too expensive, I won’t cook it.”

Wang Guiquan’s behavior made Lin Shuyue even more certain that someone was watching their family.

“Then, boss, pick a smaller one. I’m here alone. I can’t eat too much. Besides grouper, do you have any other seafood? Just eating grouper is too monotonous. Boss, I heard that your seafood is very authentic. I came here specifically for it.” Lin Shuyue’s voice was slightly different from before.

Her original voice had a hint of coldness, but now her words carried a touch of sweetness and coquettishness, like an innocent and lively young woman. This was the girlish voice that Lin Shuyue had just learned from Teacher Liu yesterday.

Wang Guiquan looked at her more closely and then said, “There’s some more. It’s all by the kitchen door. Come and take a look.”

Wang Guiquan led Lin Shuyue towards the kitchen. There was a tin shed at the kitchen door, and several wooden crates were placed under the shed, filled with seafood and clear seawater.

Lin Shuyue glanced around. This was a single-story house that had been there for many years. A magenta bougainvillea, a plant almost every household in Guangdong Province would grow, was planted in the corner of the wall.

A clothesline was strung up in a corner of the yard, with three or four pieces of clothing hanging on it.

A woman about the same age as Wang Guiquan also walked over. She looked Lin Shuyue up and down and said to Wang Guiquan, “Ah Quan, you go and get the things out.”

Wang Guiquan’s expression instantly changed when he heard the woman’s words. He whispered angrily, “Ah Qin!!”

The woman called Ah Qin closed her eyes and then opened them again. Her voice was choked with sobs and hoarse, still kept to a minimum. “Ah Quan, you’ve always told me to wait a little longer, just a little longer. I’m forty this year. I’ve waited ten years. I don’t want to wait anymore. If you don’t take the things out today, then I’ll take that thing to Pengcheng. If the Pengcheng Public Security Bureau doesn’t receive me, I’ll go to Yangcheng. If Yangcheng doesn’t work, I’ll go to the Capital.”

After Ah Qin said this, she covered her chest and coughed. Wang Guiquan immediately went over to pat her back. After about a minute, she finally stopped coughing. She raised her head and looked stubbornly at Wang Guiquan. Wang Guiquan met her gaze for a long time, and finally, he sighed and walked into the house.

She looked calmly at Lin Shuyue. At this moment, inspiration struck Lin Shuyue. “Sister-in-law, excuse me, is there a restroom?”

“Yes, it’s inside. Come with me.”

Ah Qin walked ahead, and Lin Shuyue followed her through the kitchen towards the private residence at the back.

This living room was very small, only about 20 square meters. It wasn’t spacious or bright enough. Several photos hung on the somewhat faded walls. The largest one was a family portrait of Wang Guiquan’s family.

In the photo, Wang Guiquan and Ah Qin were very young. They looked at the camera with smiles on their faces. A four or five-year-old girl stood in front of Wang Guiquan, and Ah Qin held a boy who was a little over a year old in her arms.

Lin Shuyue looked at all the photos. There were no pictures of the two children after they had grown up. Her heart sank.

Ah Qin saw Lin Shuyue looking at the photos and coughed twice before pulling out a bamboo chair and sitting down. “This is my daughter and my son.”

Ah Qin’s gaze fell on the photo, her expression gentle and sad.

Lin Shuyue seemed to have a premonition. She turned her head to look at Ah Qin, who reached out and wiped away tears that had appeared without her noticing. “Ten years ago, they left.”

Even though she had a premonition, Lin Shuyue wasn’t too shocked when she heard these words.

Ah Qin didn’t wait for Lin Shuyue’s reply and continued, “Ten years ago, not long after the woman across the street, Liang Haihui, died, my daughter Nana was taken from kindergarten. We searched for a long time but couldn’t find anything. When we came back home after searching for our child that night, the phone rang. After answering it, the person on the other end said that if we wanted our daughter to return safely, we had to keep our mouths shut, Ah Quan and I.”

“That morning, Ah Quan had just returned from the Public Security Bureau after being questioned. He had said that after Zhengjun left, Liang Haihui came out to close the door.”

“We didn’t sleep that night, staying awake in the store until dawn.”

“When the sun came out, the police came again. This time, Ah Quan changed his statement. He said he couldn’t remember for sure whether Liang Haihui had come out to close the door or not. Because Liang Haihui had always been the one to close the door before, he might have misremembered.”

“By noon, the kindergarten called us to pick up our child from school. After bringing Nana back, we said we couldn’t stay in Pengcheng anymore. We transferred the shop as quickly as possible. We thought that as long as we left Pengcheng and didn’t get involved in that mess, we would be fine.”

“But those people still wouldn’t let us go. Just as we left Pengcheng, a truck crashed into us.”

“My two children died on the spot. Ah Quan and I were trapped under the front of the truck. He lost half of his leg. Only I was still somewhat conscious.”

Ah Qin’s thoughts seemed to return to that day ten years ago.

“The person who hit us didn’t leave. He got out of the car and walked to our vehicle. He first checked Ah Quan’s injuries, then the two children’s injuries. When it was my turn, I held my breath, closed my eyes, and avoided his inspection. Then, I heard that person making a phone call. I struggled and pressed the play button on the Walkman in my bag.”

“That Walkman was bought by Ah Quan to record and play music for Nana. My Nana loved to dance. Before the accident, we had already enrolled her in the Children’s Palace. She liked ballet.”

Speaking of her daughter’s interests, a smile appeared on Ah Qin’s face. She seemed to see her Nana again, wearing the new clothes her father had bought, standing in front of her and dancing gracefully.

Even though she hadn’t learned to dance formally, she could imitate the dancers on TV with remarkable skill. Even the ballet teacher at the Children’s Palace said that her Nana had a real talent for dancing, the kind of person who was naturally gifted.

Wang Guiquan came over at some point. Seeing his wife like this, his eyes were full of sorrow.

Ah Qin also saw him. She reached out to Wang Guiquan, who placed a small black canvas bag in her palm. Ah Qin gasped for breath and waved Lin Shuyue over.

She placed the Walkman carefully and solemnly in Lin Shuyue’s hands. “Your surname is Lin, right?”

Since becoming a reporter, Lin Shuyue had found that her ability to empathize had become exceptionally strong. Right now, listening to Ah Qin recount her past, looking at Wang Guiquan and Ah Qin, two people who were still alive but seemed like living corpses, she felt a stinging sensation in her nose and a swelling in her throat.

“Yes, my surname is Lin. My name is Lin Shuyue.”

“Okay, Reporter Lin.” She was still sitting, still gasping for breath. “Reporter Lin, many reporters have come to find us in these ten years. Originally, we didn’t want to give these things to anyone because we didn’t trust you.”

“But I don’t have much time left. I’m sick. I won’t live much longer. Before I die, I want to see the bad guys brought to justice. To comfort my son and daughter who died tragically.”

She placed the Walkman in Lin Shuyue’s hand. “Reporter Lin, this is the evidence I recorded back then. Now, I’m giving it to you. I hope you can use it to seek justice for my tragically deceased children and Liang Haihui.”

She didn’t let go, holding Lin Shuyue’s hand tightly with surprising strength. She stared at Lin Shuyue and said, word by word, “You’ve taken our evidence. You must help us clear our names, or else, even as a ghost, I won’t let you go.”

Lin Shuyue solemnly promised, “Ah Qin, rest assured!”

Ah Qin released her hand.

Lin Shuyue put the Walkman into her bag, and it instantly transferred to the interior of her space.

“I will!” Lin Shuyue promised her.

Ah Qin looked at Lin Shuyue’s face for a long while before closing her eyes.

Wang Guiquan, seeing that his wife was very tired, called Lin Shuyue outside.

Lin Shuyue stood up and glanced at Ah Qin. Ah Qin didn’t open her eyes. Lin Shuyue followed Wang Guiquan outside.

When they were almost to the front yard, Lin Shuyue took out a palm-sized notebook and a black ballpoint pen from her pocket. She quickly wrote down her phone number on it. Just as she was about to tear off the paper, she wrote down another string of numbers.

“Mr. Wang, this is my phone number. The other one is the phone number of Hang Jiabai, the squad leader of the Pengcheng Criminal Police Brigade. If you encounter anything, just call us.”

Wang Guiquan looked at Lin Shuyue for two seconds, reached out and took the piece of paper, said “okay,” in a stiff tone, and pointed to a table outside the tin shed. “You can sit there and wait. The food will be ready soon.”

Lin Shuyue did as she was told and sat down on the plastic chair. Her gaze fell next door. Lin Shuyue had seen Wang Guiquan look over there more than once.

It was a two-story house. The window on the second floor next to Wang Guiquan’s house was open. A woman in her forties was wiping the window with a rag, but she kept glancing towards Wang Guiquan’s house from time to time.

Lin Shuyue had already noticed them earlier, leaning over the table, pretending to be very tired and resting.

Wang Guiquan quickly brought over the steamed grouper. “One catty and eight taels of grouper.”

After saying that, he turned and left. After a while, he brought over a salt-baked mantis shrimp and spicy crab.

These dishes looked and smelled delicious. Lin Shuyue had only eaten two buns when she left home in the morning, and she was already very hungry.

The woman next door, who was pretending to wipe the glass, kept looking over here. Lin Shuyue picked up her chopsticks and started eating.

She had a good appetite and was naturally fond of seafood. She finished all three dishes on the table, except for the scallions used for garnish and flavor.

She also ate a large bowl of rice. When she left, she paid according to the market price.

Lin Shuyue wasn’t in a hurry to leave. She wandered around the small fishing village for a while and even specifically found a photo studio that took pictures for tourists and took several photos by the sea.

Throughout the day, she acted like an ordinary tourist. And throughout the afternoon, Lin Shuyue could always see a boy of about ten years old behind her.

When she came out of the photo studio after changing clothes, there were traces of her bag having been rummaged through. Lin Shuyue pretended not to notice. In the evening, she casually checked into a room at a small hotel in the fishing village.

Early the next morning, after eating a local specialty breakfast and buying some local products, she drove away.

Once she left the area of the small fishing village, she headed towards Huicheng. After circling around the urban area of Huicheng several times, she finally drove towards Pengcheng.

At the same time, she played the Walkman Ah Qin had given her in the system.

When she was halfway through, she suddenly slammed on the brakes and pulled the car over to the side of the road. She buried her head in the steering wheel for a long time before restarting the car.

When she entered Pengcheng city, she called Hang Jiabai.

Hang Jiabai was visiting his elders one by one. When his phone rang, he immediately took it out to look. After seeing that the caller was Lin Shuyue, he smiled apologetically at the elder, answered the phone, and walked outside.

When he returned, his elder asked him with a smile, “Was that a call from your girlfriend?”

Hang Jiabai denied with a smile on his face, “No, it was a call from one of my grandmother’s students. Uncle He, I’ll leave now. I’ll come visit you again in a couple of days.”

Uncle He waved his hand at Hang Jiabai.

Hang Jiabai turned and went out.

Uncle He waited until he was far away, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared. When his wife came out with a plate of sliced fruit, he poured himself a cup of authentic Wuyi Mountain black tea. In the rising tea fragrance, he said out of nowhere, “Some people, ah, are going to have a fall from grace in their later years.”