Chapter 144

At 9:30 PM, in the heart of Nancheng with its towering skyscrapers, the grand event by the Lunjiang riverside had just concluded.

Under the pitch-black night sky, as the evening breeze blew, passersby on the street were still reminiscing about those unforgettable moments, with the scent of fireworks lingering in the air.

On the fifth floor of the Lotus Moon Tower, Song Wen and Lu Siyu stood half a meter apart in the corridor. Song Wen was taken aback by Lu Siyu’s words, “How do you plan to confirm it?”

“We only have a few testimonies right now. All our judgments are based on the descriptions of those involved, without any substantial video evidence,” Lu Siyu continued. In the quiet, spacious corridor, his cold voice echoed faintly, “I think we’ve been overly reliant on the suspects’ confessions. Some details in these testimonies don’t quite match up. I just thought of a method that might help identify who went up to the platform tonight…”

The key issue in the case was determining who had been on the platform. This was like the black box of the case; to uncover the truth, they had to decode its secrets.

Lu Siyu pointed to the ground in front of them. The floors of the Lotus Moon Tower were made of non-slip, translucent tiles resembling white marble. He then pointed to a nearby light and then to the camera in the corner. Under the reflection of the white surroundings, his handsome face appeared even paler, his lips colorless, and his long eyelashes casting shadows.

Song Wen followed the direction of his pointing but didn’t immediately understand his meaning.

Seeing Song Wen’s confusion, Lu Siyu licked his lips and further explained, “The camera’s coverage doesn’t capture who goes up to the platform. However, based on the principles of optical imaging, the lights in the corridor and the white marble tiles on the floor can reflect some shadows.”

Song Wen looked down at the floor. They had previously overlooked the environmental factors. The smooth, white marble tiles were like a giant mirror, reflecting blurry shadows.

Having a background in art, Song Wen quickly grasped the idea, “So, we can determine who passed through the corridor towards the platform by observing the shadows on the floor and the reflections on the walls.”

Lu Siyu nodded, “This is just my hypothesis. Hopefully, the video clarity is high enough to make out the details.”

If they could see clearly, what was initially supplementary surveillance could become decisive evidence indicating who went to the platform, filling the gap left by the lack of direct video evidence in this case.

“Brilliant!” Song Wen was suddenly excited, almost wanting to pick up Lu Siyu and spin him around. Glancing at Zhang Ziqi, who was standing obediently in the hallway monitoring the suspects in several rooms, he restrained himself, snapped his fingers, and said, “Let’s go, let’s check the surveillance footage with the manager!”

Since Song Wen had previously asked the manager about the surveillance videos, the manager had already pulled up several of the store’s camera feeds. When he heard they needed to review the footage for verification, he handed over the entire surveillance room to them.

Song Wen cross-referenced the times, “Based on the earlier reports, we need to focus on the footage from 6:30 to 6:50 PM, particularly the corner camera on the fifth floor.”

Lu Siyu sat in the swivel chair, taking control, and quickly identified the relevant camera feed, starting the playback.

Song Wen stood beside Lu Siyu, one hand on the back of the chair and the other resting on the table.

Lu Siyu looked up at Song Wen, catching a glimpse of his side profile from this angle. Song Wen’s face was serious, his eyes fixed intently on the monitor. The white glow from the monitor reflected off his face, giving him a ruggedly handsome look that made Lu Siyu’s heart race.

The surveillance footage began to play, the recorded electronic data forming images that continuously changed.

Lu Siyu watched intently. As the manager had mentioned, this particular footage showed the rear finance office and the logistics area, capturing scenes of waitstaff moving back and forth, retrieving items and invoices.

“Can you speed it up a bit?” Song Wen said.

Lu Siyu pressed the button to double the speed, then thought for a moment and increased it to four times speed.

Finally, a shadowy edge appeared in the corner of the video.

Lu Siyu pressed pause, and Song Wen leaned in closely to observe. “Judging by the shadow, it seems to be someone with short hair and relatively tall. This could be when Zhao Yuliang went out.”

Another minute passed in the video, and another shadow quickly flickered across the screen.

Lu Siyu paused and captured a few frames. Song Wen squinted at the images, “It’s not very clear, this shape…”

Lu Siyu pondered, “Could it be two people, like Zhang Dongmei and Tan Shan walking together?”

Song Wen frowned, “Let’s look further ahead.” This shadowy image was too vague to make any definitive conclusions. They hoped the later footage would be clearer.

The surveillance continued to play.

“There!” Song Wen’s sharp eyes caught it this time and he hurriedly pressed the pause button. He suddenly leaned down very close to Lu Siyu, who could almost hear Song Wen’s breathing, making him nervously lick his lips. Song Wen, however, didn’t notice, focusing instead on the keyboard as he zoomed in on the image.

Lu Siyu followed Song Wen’s gaze. In the corner of the frame, a tiny blue light was visible. If not for Song Wen’s keen observation, it would have been easy to miss.

Song Wen said, “This is probably when Tan Shan mentioned she came down from the rooftop.”

Today, Tan Shan was wearing a blue outfit, a light blue color that could easily be overlooked if not carefully observed, but fortunately, Song Wen’s observational skills were exceptional.

Now, it was time to verify whether Tan Shan was lying.

The play button clicked back into action, and both men held their breath, staring at the surveillance screen.

Time ticked by, and just when they were about to conclude that Tan Shan was the murderer, a red light suddenly appeared on the white floor in the frame.

Red stood out much more prominently against white compared to blue or other colors, even if it was just a corner.

The red light lingered briefly in the surveillance area, then seemed to hesitantly move toward the rooftop.

Song Wen and Lu Siyu continued watching, slowing the video to normal speed. Half a minute later, the red light flashed by again, moving quickly as if running.

Following the red light, another shadow passed by, which was likely when Zhao Yuliang descended from the rooftop. Based on the current surveillance time, Zhang Dongmei should have already been dead, lying beneath the Lotus Moon Tower!

Among the suspects, only Ji Meiyun had been wearing a red coat!

She was the last person to ascend to the rooftop. Ji Meiyun had lied earlier, and according to the store’s staff, she was the first to rush down to the scene, with Tan Shan following close behind. It was highly possible that, as Tan Shan claimed, Zhang Dongmei was still alive when she descended from the platform.

Zhao Yuliang and Ji Meiyun’s suspicion levels suddenly increased. Ji Meiyun had consistently claimed she never went up to the platform, making her lie even more suspicious.

But why would Ji Meiyun want to kill her teacher?

She was a bride-to-be, and at this time, both emotionally and logically, she shouldn’t be doing something so filled with murderous intent.

But the surveillance footage didn’t lie…

Lu Siyu continued to bite his nails, deeply focused, his long eyelashes lowered: “Ji Meiyun lied just now. She kept saying she never went up to the rooftop…”

No matter what, they had uncovered Ji Meiyun’s lie. She must have said that to cover something up, which could be their breakthrough point.

“But according to Zhao Yuliang’s testimony…” Song Wen began to say, then suddenly realized, “Wait, no. Earlier, Tan Shan said that when they first played Truth or Dare, Zhao Yuliang said he liked Ji Meiyun, so his testimony might be unreliable too.”

The noise from Zhang Dongmei’s fall wouldn’t have been small. Zhao Yuliang, being on the rooftop, undoubtedly saw or heard something. He might also be lying, possibly even a co-conspirator.

Song Wen straightened up, muttering to himself, “But what could Ji Meiyun’s motive for murder be… Was it anger over blackmail, or revenge for her past?”

Lu Siyu thought for a moment, licked his lips, and said, “Did you notice that Ji Meiyun’s account earlier had some issues?”

“What issues?” Song Wen asked.

Lu Siyu frowned, his eyelashes trembling slightly, as he tried to articulate the feeling: “It’s just… it seems like she also disliked Zhang Dongmei, but the things she described weren’t as strong as what others said… When she talked about Zhang Dongmei, there was a feeling I can’t quite describe.”

Song Wen, who hadn’t been able to figure out the problem earlier, realized it too when Lu Siyu mentioned it. Ji Meiyun’s story was supposed to be very sad, but her description was somewhat understated.

Something like that, being forced to have an abortion, would be a significant trauma for a woman, something deeply imprinted in her memory…

But Ji Meiyun’s description sounded like that of a bystander.

Lu Siyu’s frown deepened, and then he suddenly said, “I think I understand! Perhaps the person in front of us is not the girl from back then!”

Song Wen also considered a possibility, frowning as he said, “You mean, the person who attended the gathering tonight isn’t Ji Meiyun, but her sister?!”

Given today’s special timing and place, with destroyed evidence and an impossible forensic autopsy, they could only conduct a somewhat informal pre-trial examination here, skipping many procedures.

This type of interrogation relied more on the suspects’ statements. Those statements and testimonies could provide more information, helping to outline the relationships between the characters, but they could also mislead them.

From the start, they were misled by the statements about the teacher-student relationship, naturally falling into the assumption that these people were classmates!

But memories can be flawed, people can lie, and the reality might not match what they see.

If Ji Meiyun wasn’t a student from this class and was the real killer, she was clearly using this point to hide her identity.

Lu Siyu thought for a moment and shook his head: “IDs don’t lie. Zhang Ziqi verified her ID earlier. It’s likely that Ji Meiyun is the sister’s name.”

Song Wen asked, “Then why didn’t any of the other classmates point this out?”

Lu Siyu said softly, “Because she and her sister are blood-related, they look very similar. These people haven’t seen each other for many years, and throughout, they kept calling her ‘Meiren’…” That simple nickname had long replaced her sister’s tongue-twisting name.

Song Wen opened the previous records to verify. The list contained basic information about each person, including name, age, gender, phone number, ID number, and address. These were filled out by each person after the incident, and since Ji Meiyun’s information was the last entry, no one noticed the anomaly, or if someone did, they didn’t expose her.

From the moment they took on this case, they had subjectively locked the suspects within these few individuals. After quickly checking their basic information and finding no criminal records, they didn’t dig deeper.

“What should her sister’s name be…” Song Wen hurriedly dialed Zhu Xiao’s number, “Zhu Xiao, check the list of students from Nancheng No. 1 Middle School who graduated ten years ago from Zhang Dongmei’s class.”

“Got it!” Zhu Xiao, who had been on standby in front of the computer tonight, immediately started typing rapidly. The student roster wasn’t classified information, and with electronic records, it was easy to find.

In just two minutes, a list was sent to Song Wen’s phone.

Song Wen held the phone up to Lu Siyu, and the two of them began to go through the names one by one.

Tan Shan, Zhao Yuliang, Qian Jiang, Meng Tiantian… These were the people they had met and interrogated tonight. They had originally been strangers to these names, but after tonight, they had become intimately familiar with them.

“Ji Meiyu…” Song Wen pointed to a name on the list, “The sister’s name is Ji Meiyu.”

He thought for a moment and then sent a voice message on WeChat: “Zhu Xiao, please check the identification photos of Ji Meiyu and Ji Meiyun. Get their ID photos from when they were in junior high and their adult ID photos.”

Soon, several photos were sent over. The two sisters did indeed look very similar. Song Wen enlarged the photos of both and carefully examined them, concluding, “The one who came today is indeed Ji Meiyun. There’s no mistake about that. On the right corner of Ji Meiyu’s eye, there’s a beauty mark, her forehead is slightly wider than her sister’s, and her chin is a bit shorter. However, these features might not be discernible to classmates who haven’t seen them in many years.”

Time can fade everything, memories can blur, and appearances can change slowly.

At reunions in college or high school, people might still have an impression of each other, but for elementary or junior high school… As time passes, many names are forgotten.

It’s a terrifying thought: Can you really be sure, during a class reunion, that the person sitting next to you, smiling, is truly a classmate from your past?

Moreover, Ji Meiyun and Ji Meiyu were sisters from the same school. They were like two bright flowers, born from the same stem, looking alike, and they would likely confide in each other late at night.

This might also be why Lu Siyu felt something was off about Ji Meiyun, because in her descriptions, she was talking about her sister’s experiences.

In her mind, she first had to switch identities before describing. Many things she heard weren’t her own experiences, so she couldn’t describe them as if she had lived through them.

Zhang Dongmei wasn’t her teacher, and she didn’t have much direct contact with Zhang Dongmei in the past. Her reaction didn’t match that of a student who had killed her own teacher, allowing her to pass through the layers of interrogation.

As for the name, Ji Meiyun probably used her sister’s online contacts and conversed with others. After meeting, everyone called her by her sister’s nickname—Meiran. So some people probably didn’t know she wasn’t actually a classmate.

“Do you think Zhao Yuliang knows?” Lu Siyu asked, biting his finger.

“I think Zhao Yuliang might know. He probably noticed something was off about Ji Meiyun.” Song Wen said.

“What’s your basis for that judgment?” Lu Siyu raised his head and asked.

“Have you ever had someone you liked? If you’re infatuated with someone, their features, appearance, and expressions will be etched into your mind like a knife. Even after graduation, you’d try to learn about their situation and find their photos.” Song Wen looked at Lu Siyu with intense eyes, “If he really liked Ji Meiyu back in junior high, he should be able to recognize that the person in front of him might not be his classmate. After all, Ji Meiyun doesn’t have that beauty mark in the corner of her eye.”

“So, Captain Song, did you have someone you liked back in junior high?” Lu Siyu continued to ask.

“I didn’t have anyone back in junior high.” Song Wen answered firmly, “But I do now.”

Lu Siyu regretted asking that question. His ears turned red again, and he lowered his head to steer the conversation back to the case. He said softly, “Ji Meiyun is here instead of Ji Meiyu at this class reunion, so what is Ji Meiyu doing right now?”

Song Wen also thought of this point. The two of them said in unison, “This might be her motive for murder!”

Song Wen quickly said, “Zhu Xiao, check Ji Meiyu’s big data file and try to contact her.” After a moment of thought, he added, “Get a report for the others as well and send it to me quickly.”

With the case reaching this point, Tan Shan’s suspicion had decreased, while Ji Meiyun was more likely the culprit.

Song Wen summarized all the information and didn’t forget to call Cheng Mo. The three of them called Ji Meiyun back to the temporary interrogation room.

Ji Meiyun seemed a bit puzzled why she was called again, not quite understanding the progress of the interrogation. She looked at the three people in front of her with some confusion, a hint of panic showing on her face. Then she lowered her head, ran her hand through her hair, and when she looked up again, that hint of panic was replaced by composure.

Cheng Mo hadn’t joined Song Wen’s analysis of the case just now, so he was still a bit unclear why Song Wen suddenly shifted suspicion. But he had become smarter. He looked at Ji Meiyun and didn’t say much, waiting for Song Wen to speak.

Song Wen asked, “Ji Meiyun, you lied during the interrogation just now, didn’t you? You weren’t a student in Zhang Dongmei’s class, your sister, Ji Meiyu, was.”

Ji Meiyun knew her secret had finally been discovered. She casually crossed one long leg over the other, arms folded, and said, “Yes, I attended today’s alumni gathering on behalf of my sister. I’ve been using her identity in front of everyone. I found it difficult to explain, so I lied. However, I don’t think this has anything to do with tonight’s case, so I didn’t confess earlier.”

Now facing three police officers, she finally told the truth, but her words lacked remorse or the panic of being caught in a lie.

“Do you still want to argue?” Song Wen continued, “We just checked the surveillance footage of the rooftop and found out that you were the last person to go up there. When you were on the rooftop, it was the same time Zhang Dongmei fell from the building. You’re the murderer.”

“I only reached the entrance of the rooftop, and the murder happened as I was about to go up.” Ji Meiyun’s expression remained unchanged as she deflected the question. She seemed sure that there were no cameras on the rooftop, probably because she had been there before. Or perhaps she believed that if there was such conclusive evidence, the police would have suspected her long ago.

In fact, that footage only helped clear Tan Shan of some suspicion and increased the likelihood that Ji Meiyun was the culprit, but it was not enough to definitively label her as such.

Lu Siyu recalled that using Zhao Yuliang’s testimony to trick her once might not work a second time. Ji Meiyun probably realized by now that the police didn’t have direct evidence.

“Your explanation still doesn’t make sense,” Song Wen looked at the woman and continued, “What about your sister? Why did you attend the gathering on her behalf?”

Ji Meiyun lowered her head and remained silent.

Just then, Song Wen received a message. After checking it, he looked at her solemnly and said, “Ji Meiyun, we just confirmed that your sister passed away three days ago.”

Since it had been a short time since her death, many formalities hadn’t been completed yet. Her ID and household registration hadn’t been canceled. This was the latest information they found when they tried to contact Ji Meiyu.

The timing was too coincidental. A bride, scheduled for marriage, suddenly died. Did all of this have something to do with Zhang Dongmei? More importantly, why did Ji Meiyun hide this?

The older sister showed no signs of sadness over her sister’s death. She wasn’t dealing with her sister’s affairs at home but was here, pretending to be her sister and attending an alumni gathering…

All of this was a huge red flag.

A glint appeared in Ji Meiyun’s large eyes. She hesitated for a moment, lowered her head, and let her long hair fall over her beautiful cheeks. Then she spoke, “Officer, I admit that I attended today’s gathering in place of my deceased sister, which I shouldn’t have done.”

Song Wen thought she was about to cry, but when she raised her head, he realized that there were no tears in Ji Meiyun’s eyes. Instead, there was a hint of a cold smile on her lips. “I lied earlier, but I didn’t do anything else. As for my sister’s death, it has nothing to do with tonight’s events. I found out about this alumni gathering from her phone and decided to come here.”

Song Wen questioned, “Then why did you pretend to be your sister and not tell the truth to the other classmates?”

Ji Meiyun hesitated for a moment and said, “I didn’t intentionally hide my identity at first, but as soon as they saw me, they assumed I was Ji Meiyu. They all called me ‘Meiran’ and enthusiastically asked about our past. Later, I realized the nature of this gathering. I didn’t think it was a good time to confess. I took on my sister’s role, but I’ve been considering how to tell them the truth…”

She paused for a moment and continued, “Officer, all of this has nothing to do with tonight’s case. If you don’t have any other evidence, there’s nothing more for me to say. Besides, didn’t you say earlier that Zhao Yuliang was also on the rooftop? Is it possible that he pushed Zhang Dongmei?”

Ji Meiyun now also realized the key to the case: evidence!

The video evidence they had only proved that she was on the rooftop at the final moment. The fact that she wasn’t Ji Meiyu could only indicate that she attended the alumni gathering instead of her sister.

All of this only made her highly suspicious; it didn’t prove that she was the one who killed Zhang Dongmei.

The question of whether the fall from the high-rise was a suicide or a homicide was difficult to determine.

The police were also uncertain whether Zhao Yuliang had done anything on the rooftop.

Apart from Zhang Dongmei’s body, surveillance footage, physical evidence, and testimonies, what else could prove what happened on the rooftop at that time?

There was currently a lack of crucial direct evidence.

If they couldn’t prove it, and Ji Meiyun stuck to her testimony, it was very likely that in the end, the case would remain unsolved.

The air in the room seemed to freeze for a moment. Both the interrogators and the suspect fell silent. Even on the streets below, where people had watched the fireworks earlier, they had started to disperse.

The grand performance had ended, yet the true culprit had not been identified.

A suspect was right in front of them, yet they couldn’t conclusively prove her guilt.

It seemed like the truth was just a step away, yet they were forced to stop here.

Lu Siyu raised his head and looked at Ji Meiyun. The woman before him seemed like a blazing flame. Her tears had long dried up, and there was a hint of smugness at the corners of her eyes and lips. Then, her chin dropped slightly, burying the hint of red.

Lu Siyu’s beautiful eyes suddenly flickered with a thought. He stood up from the table, put on the evidence gloves from his pocket, and walked straight towards the woman in front of him.

Song Wen was puzzled by his actions, but he knew that Lu Siyu must have discovered something.

Ji Meiyun seemed surprised by the sudden move from the young police officer in front of her. Her neck slightly retracted, and her beautiful eyes looked warily at Lu Siyu.

Lu Siyu walked to the other side of Ji Meiyun, gently bent down like a gentleman, and for a moment, their eyes met.

Lu Siyu looked at Ji Meiyun’s beautiful face, her vibrant lips. If this woman before him was the murderer, then she must have exceptional mental composure. She was bold, meticulous, and had excellent acting skills, like a cunning fox.

She dared to say so because she had already confirmed that the police would have a hard time finding any evidence. She probably had thought it through beforehand. If there were no traces or witnesses, any evidence left behind would have been carefully dealt with by her…

What was the truth of tonight’s events?!

Lu Siyu blinked his eyes, suddenly extended two gloved slender fingers, grabbed the red scarf tied around Ji Meiyun’s neck, a scarf that had been there all along, matching her coat perfectly.

The scarf was fastened with a live buckle, and on the side of her neck, there was a red flower, making her look even more charming and beautiful.

As Lu Siyu’s fingers pulled, the red flower slowly moved, gradually unraveling. Finally, with his action, it was taken off, turning into a light and fluttery red square scarf.

Ji Meiyun’s gaze flickered, her face suddenly pale.

Lu Siyu held the scarf in his hand and then spoke, “When I was examining Zhang Dongmei’s body earlier, I made a discovery. The deceased fell from the building, rigor mortis had set in. Her left hand was in a half fist, while her right hand was clenched tightly. When I began examining the body, I thought she might have been holding onto something, so I reached out, but I found nothing…”

As he said this, Lu Siyu lowered his head, looking at the red scarf in his palm. “Now, I understand. Perhaps when she fell from the building, the deceased did indeed grab onto something. The killer rushed down first and took what was in her hand. This would explain why her right hand remained clenched even in death.”

“What exactly did Zhang Dongmei grab onto at that time?” Lu Siyu lowered his eyelashes and softly asked Ji Meiyun in front of him.

Ji Meiyun looked up at him, listening to Lu Siyu’s words. She tightly pursed her red lips, showing an unprecedented tension. His question was not as direct as Song Wen’s, but it pointed directly to the source of her fear…

Lu Siyu didn’t expect her answer. His gaze fell on his own right hand, his eyes showing a mixture of brightness and darkness. “I think it might be this scarf, right?”

Listening to Lu Siyu’s description, a scene appeared in Song Wen’s mind. The last person to ascend to the platform was Ji Meiyun. She hadn’t interacted much with Zhang Dongmei and angrily pushed her off the railing.

Zhang Dongmei, caught off guard, reached out her hand, trying to grab onto something. In the moment of falling, she grabbed the red scarf around Ji Meiyun’s neck. The vibrant red scarf was instantly untied, falling with Zhang Dongmei’s descent.

In panic, Ji Meiyun hurried downstairs, first reaching the body, blocking everyone’s sight. Before anyone could react, she secretly took the red scarf from the body’s hand…

That was the decisive evidence that had been hidden all along!

Lu Siyu’s calm expression remained on his delicate face as he tightened his grip on the scarf. “Zhang Dongmei fell to her death, coughing up a lot of blood before dying. Do you think this scarf, which she may have held in her hand, might have gotten some blood on it? Would the bloodstains match the pattern of splatter? This scarf is red, and you didn’t want us to notice that you were missing a scarf around your neck from before, so you tied it back on. Once we let you leave tonight, you’d probably destroy the scarf. But unfortunately…”

Ji Meiyun had considered whether to discard the scarf or wash it in the bathroom, but she felt that either way could increase suspicion on her.

She chose a bolder cover-up method and tied the scarf back on.

Perhaps she was just one step away from escaping, but the law’s net was wide, loose but not allowing escape ^[1]Original idiom:天网恢恢，疏而不漏-  lit. heaven’s net has wide meshes, but nothing escapes it (idiom, from Laozi 73); fig. the way of Heaven is fair, but the guilty will not … Continue reading…