Chapter 34: The Death Photography Studio (3)

The new photo appeared to be from an advertisement. The young woman looked to be about twenty-one or twenty-two years old, wearing a distinct blue uniform, likely as an employee of a company.

She had a slender face, a delicate oval shape, and her hair was tied back. Her bright, crescent-shaped eyes and warm smile gave her an unforgettable sweetness.

One of her arms was raised in a standard guiding gesture, pointing toward a set of advertisement text. Meng Siqi took a closer look and saw that it was ‘Shangyin Shopping Mall.’

“Shangyin Shopping Mall,” Zhao Leiting clarified.

Meng Siqi was taken aback. Shangyin Shopping Mall was the very business run by her father, Meng Hui, and her brother, Meng Tingzhe. How was this girl connected to their mall? She looked up at Zhao Leiting, silently questioning him.

He explained, “It really is your family’s mall. I saw this advertisement at the entrance and found the girl’s face oddly familiar, so I took a picture of it. What do you think?”

Meng Siqi picked up both photographs for a closer comparison. Although the deathly makeup in the “corpse” photo created an unsettling effect, distorting the person’s natural appearance slightly, the facial structure, nose shape, and the width of the eyebrows were all strikingly similar. The two images were either of the same person or at least of two very similar-looking individuals.

She nodded. “They do look alike.”

“Should we go to the mall and ask around?” Zhao Leiting’s tone carried a hint of hesitation.

Meng Siqi understood his concern. Since it was her family’s business, Zhao Leiting was probably worried about causing trouble. But that didn’t matter to her. She agreed without hesitation.

After arriving at the Shangyin Shopping Mall, Meng Siqi realized it was bigger than she had imagined. It was her first time here. The building was a two-story square structure, allowing entry from all four sides. However, the main entrance was the liveliest, decorated with a large arch of balloons.

Above the entrance, the bold characters ‘Shangyin Shopping Mall’ stood proudly, exuding grandeur.

As they followed the crowd inside, the sight before them was dazzling—aisles filled with merchandise, shops displaying colorful goods, and miniature green pine trees decorated with glittering ornaments and ribbons. Children ran around laughing and playing.

It was only then that Meng Siqi remembered that today was New Year’s Day. The year had quietly transitioned to 1994, marking a fresh start. The shoppers’ faces were filled with joy and anticipation, and the mall was bustling with excitement.

Spotting a security guard, Zhao Leiting asked for directions to the mall’s administrative office. The two then weaved through the crowd, heading for the staircase that led to the second floor.

Meng Siqi rarely went shopping, but as she glanced around, she couldn’t help but admire the rows of clothing stores filled with vibrant outfits. She enjoyed dressing up but hadn’t bought herself new clothes in a long time.

As she refocused her gaze, she suddenly spotted a familiar figure walking toward them—her brother, Meng Tingzhe. Behind him followed three to five men, all dressed in sharp suits.

Meng Tingzhe, looking distinguished in a well-tailored suit and a red tie, exuded authority as he spoke loudly to the men beside him.

Their eyes met instantly. Meng Tingzhe paused, quickly shifting from his stern demeanor to a warm smile. He raised a hand and waved.

“Sister, what brings you here?”

They stopped a few steps apart. Meng Siqi smiled. “Just here to handle something.”

“Shopping for clothes?” Meng Tingzhe placed his hands in his pockets, his expression kind and approachable. “Come on, I’ll help you pick out a few. Is this your friend? He’s welcome to join us!”

“Actually—” Meng Siqi quickly interrupted, “We’re here because of a missing person case. We suspect the missing woman may have worked at your mall, so we need to ask a few questions.”

Meng Tingzhe’s brows furrowed slightly, and he turned to the people around him in a questioning manner. “Has anyone from our mall gone missing recently?”

A middle-aged man immediately stepped forward. “No, Mr. Meng. Daily attendance has been normal.”

“You see? He’s our logistics manager, and he says no one’s missing!” Meng Tingzhe’s voice carried an air of authority.

Meng Siqi replied, “Still, this is part of our investigation, and I hope—”

“You just got promoted, and are already handling a missing person case?” Meng Tingzhe interrupted loudly, a mocking tone creeping into his voice. “Impressive. Even managed to track it back to the family business.”

His lips curled slightly as if he was implying something deeper. “Today is an important day for our mall. I suggest you come back another time.”

He emphasized the word “family,” making his meaning crystal clear.

Meng Siqi hadn’t realized today was a key business day for the mall. It was indeed a major holiday, which could affect sales. However, that didn’t make her feel her job was unjustified.

Zhao Leiting looked at her and said hesitantly: “Maybe, Siqi, we should—”

Before he could finish, Meng Siqi reached into her pocket and pulled out her police badge. Holding it with perfect form, she displayed it directly in front of Meng Tingzhe.

Her expression was now serious, completely different from before.

Her voice was firm and unwavering. “I am Meng Siqi, a criminal investigator with the Jinyang City Public Security Bureau. There is an ongoing missing person case connected to your shopping mall. I expect full cooperation in this investigation!”

Meng Tingzhe’s expression darkened instantly. The second floor was crowded with people, and Meng Siqi’s actions quickly attracted onlookers. A murmur spread through the crowd.

“What are the police doing here?”

“Did something happen?”

Clenching his back teeth tightly, Meng Tingzhe suppressed his anger and shouted, “Manager Ma, take these two officers to look into the matter immediately.”

“Yes, yes.” Manager Ma quickly responded.

As Meng Siqi walked away, Meng Tingzhe clenched his fists, shoved them into his pockets, turned around, and glared at his subordinates with a dark expression. He cursed, “If they find out that someone has gone missing from the mall, you’re all going to pay for it!”

*

The mall was bustling with noise. On the way to the office, Zhao Leiting leaned toward Meng Siqi and whispered, “Actually, there’s no need to do this.”

Meng Siqi understood that he was worried about her causing a rift with her family. After all, the case was still under investigation and hadn’t even been officially filed yet. There was no need to make such a big deal out of it.

But she didn’t feel she had done anything wrong. She pursed her lips and remained silent.

Inside the office, Manager Ma from the logistics department had someone bring tea for them. He spoke politely, “Officer Meng, please ask whatever you need. As the mall’s logistics manager, I will be completely transparent.”

Meng Siqi glanced at Zhao Leiting, who immediately took out the photo of the bright and charming young woman and handed it to Manager Ma.

Meng Siqi asked, “Manager Ma, do you recognize this girl? Is she still working here?”

Manager Ma studied the photo for a moment before looking up. “Yes, I know her. Her name is Hu Dingxiang. She used to work as a sales assistant in one of our clothing stores. She was outstanding at her job and quite beautiful, so we had her featured in one of our advertisements. Of course, we compensated her for it.”

Listening carefully, Meng Siqi asked, “You said ‘used to’—does that mean she no longer works here?”

Manager Ma nodded. “She resigned three months ago.”

“She quit?” Zhao Leiting’s expression changed slightly.

“Yes, she said she was moving out of town with her boyfriend for work.”

Meng Siqi thought for a moment and asked, “Did she tell you this in person? Do you know her boyfriend?”

“I don’t. I only handle their attendance records—I don’t get involved in their personal lives.”

“What else did she say when she resigned?” Meng Siqi pressed on.

“Hold on a moment.” Manager Ma stood up, pulled a letter from a drawer, and handed it to Meng Siqi. “This is her resignation letter. It was mailed to me from Henan.”

Meng Siqi took the letter and examined the postmark, which indeed showed Henan as the sending location. However, there was no specific address.

“May I open it?”

“Of course.”

She unfolded the letter. The handwriting was slightly uneven but legible. The content was simple—Hu Dingxiang mentioned that she was moving to her boyfriend’s hometown to start a new life and expressed gratitude toward the mall.

Meng Siqi handed the letter to Zhao Leiting. Something about it felt off, but she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what.

Zhao Leiting looked it over and asked, “Manager Ma, are you certain she wrote this herself?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any other samples of her handwriting?”

“I do.” Manager Ma retrieved a logbook, flipped through a few pages, and pointed to a signature.

It was the attendance register, and the name “Hu Dingxiang” in the signature field looked almost identical to the writing in the letter.

Meng Siqi asked, “Did she have any close colleagues here that we could talk to?”

“Yes, she worked in the clothing store with another colleague. But she’s probably busy right now—I’ll go find her.”

Seeing Manager Ma stand up, Meng Siqi quickly stopped him. “Let’s wait for her to finish her shift. We don’t want to disrupt her work.”

“The mall is really busy today. How about this—you two have lunch here, and I’ll ask her to come to the office during her break at noon.”

“That works,” Meng Siqi agreed immediately. “But we’ll take care of our own lunch. Manager Ma, we appreciate your help.”

“You’re too polite. You’re the younger sister of Mr. Meng. At noon, I’ll arrange something for you.”

Meng Siqi gave a faint smile. “That really won’t be necessary. I have other matters to attend to. Let’s meet back here at twelve.” She stood up decisively.

Manager Ma also stood up, looking slightly awkward. “I wouldn’t want to seem inhospitable—I should call Mr. Meng.”

“There’s no need to trouble him,” Meng Siqi replied. “Can we take the resignation letter and her attendance record with us?”

“Of course.” Manager Ma quickly placed them in a folder.

Near the mall, at a street food stall, Zhao Leiting held a pancake in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. “Is this really enough for lunch?”

“What, you want to eat at a fancy restaurant? I can’t afford that,” Meng Siqi said seriously, taking a bite of her pancake.

Zhao Leiting chuckled. “You know, you’re really dedicated to your work, but sometimes you should also consider your family’s feelings.”

“Oh, so you’re saying I should’ve let Manager Ma treat us to a feast?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Alright, hurry up and finish eating. It’s almost noon.” Meng Siqi stuffed the last bite of her pancake into her mouth, her cheeks puffed out, and took a sip of water.

“Got it.” Zhao Leiting watched her with amusement. Then, as if in response, he stuffed his own pancake into his mouth in one go, chewing like a hamster.

Back at the mall, it was exactly noon when they returned to the office. Hu Dingxiang’s colleague was already waiting inside. Manager Ma, perhaps wanting to avoid any awkwardness, excused himself, saying he needed to check on mall operations.

The woman’s name was Liu Min. She appeared to be in her thirties and wore the mall’s standard blue uniform. As soon as they entered, she stood up and greeted them.

After a round of questioning, Liu Min’s account matched Manager Ma’s—Hu Dingxiang had suddenly resigned without informing her in advance.

“So, you didn’t know she had a boyfriend either?” Meng Siqi asked.

“Yes, Dingxiang never really talked about those things with us. Since she was younger than us, she often said she wasn’t in a hurry to date. Who would have thought she’d suddenly get a boyfriend and quit her job?”

“Do you think she’s the kind of person who would just leave without warning?”

Liu Min thought for a moment before responding, “It’s hard to say. Young people think differently from us. But I remember her saying that if she ever found a rich boyfriend, she wouldn’t continue working here.”

“She really said that?” Meng Siqi asked seriously.

“Yes,” Liu Min affirmed.

“Before she resigned, did she have any conflicts with anyone? For example, did she argue with a coworker or a customer?”

“No, she had a great personality and never argued with anyone. That’s actually why she had such good sales—she was friendly and attractive.”

“Did any customers ever make things difficult for her? Any unpleasant encounters?”

“Not that I recall,” Liu Min answered quickly. Then, as if something came to mind, she added, “Well, there was one incident, though I’m not sure if it counts as unpleasant.”

“Please go on,” Meng Siqi encouraged.

“One time, a female customer tried on a lot of clothes. Dingxiang was always very patient, but when they ran out of options, she told the customer honestly. The woman got upset and accused Dingxiang of being disrespectful.”

Zhao Leiting immediately asked, “What did she look like? Did she leave a name?”

“To be honest, I don’t remember. I was busy selling clothes at the time. But I do recall that she was wearing white, had long hair, was quite tall, and very pretty. She didn’t buy anything, so we didn’t record any of her details.”

Even though this information might not be significant, it was at least a ripple in an otherwise still pool of clues.

They continued asking about Hu Dingxiang’s personal life, including where she had lived. Finally, Meng Siqi posed another question: “Did she ever mention wanting to take artistic photos?”

Liu Min shook her head. “No, never.”

“Alright, thank you very much for your help today,” Meng Siqi said. She looked at Zhao Leiting, and after confirming that he had no further questions, they both stood up to leave.

Just before stepping out, Zhao Leiting took out the “corpse” photo and asked, “Do you think this is Hu Dingxiang?”

Liu Min frowned deeply, a look of alarm crossing her face. “It doesn’t quite look like her, but at the same time, it does. Why does it look like a dead person? Dingxiang isn’t in trouble, is she?”

Zhao Leiting quickly reassured her, “We’re just investigating. Please don’t overthink it.”

After concluding their inquiries, the two of them left the mall.

Back in the car, Zhao Leiting asked, “Do you think they’re the same person?”

“Regardless, Hu Dingxiang’s sudden resignation is very suspicious.”

“So even if she went missing, no one would report it, because everything about her departure seemed normal to those around her.”

Exactly. Even if she disappeared from the world, no one would notice. Everyone she knew had been given the same story—she had left with her boyfriend for a distant place.

“Should we go to her hometown to verify?” Zhao Leiting asked.

Meng Siqi thought for a moment. “I think we’ll get the same answer. How about you contact the local police station and ask first?”

Zhao Leiting nodded. “That works. And maybe this afternoon, we should visit her former landlord.”

That afternoon, they met with the landlord who had rented the apartment to Hu Dingxiang. He said that aside from taking her ID and other important documents, she had left almost everything behind. Eventually, he had to clear out her things himself.

She hadn’t even cleaned the place before leaving, and she hadn’t paid the last half-month’s rent. Instead, she had hastily left behind a note stating that she was moving to another city.

When asked about her boyfriend, the landlord said he had no idea she was in a relationship. He didn’t pay much attention to his tenants’ personal lives. The neighbors also provided little insight—Hu Dingxiang had led a simple life, commuting between work and home without much interaction with those around her.

The next day, Zhao Leiting told Meng Siqi that Hu Dingxiang’s parents had also received a letter from her. The contents were almost identical—she had found a boyfriend and was spending the New Year with his family. She would write again once she had settled down.

The letter was postmarked from Henan, but there was no specific return address.

Her parents had assumed the letter was genuine. Though they had some complaints, they were mostly happy for their daughter, so they never thought to question it further.