The three of them stared at each other, with Meng Jin and Zhao Yunzhi waiting for Long De to continue.
Long De gave Zhao Yunzhi a slight smile. “You two, one is my classmate, the other my friend, does that mean you are related to me?”
Meng Jin felt stifled; that joke was seriously cold.
Zhao Yunzhi, deflated, leaned back in his chair and let out a couple of polite laughs as a response to the cold joke.
Long De also chuckled, then answered seriously. The statute of limitations on the Lin Kun case was about to expire, and he hoped to catch the killer before that. He had helped the American police solve several cold cases, but only the Lin Kun case had hit a dead end. He jokingly claimed to have OCD, obsessing over unsolved problems until he could figure them out.
“I’ve returned to the country for another reason, which I can’t disclose for now,” Long De said, putting down his chopsticks and wiping his mouth with a napkin, his demeanor quite gentlemanly.
Meng Jin suddenly felt Long De was a stranger. The person he had dreamed of, besides his facial features, also had the shadows of his youthful days. Every action and smile was tinged with a Western style, almost completely westernized.
Everyone changes, only he remained stuck in place, brooding over his youthful setbacks.
That night, Meng Jin was almost entirely sleepless, dozing off only to dream of Long De again. In the dream, he asked Long De for help with a test paper, only for Long De to tear it up and mock him for his poor scores.
Waking from the dream, he stared at the ceiling, pondering the dream’s plot. In reality, Long De had never mocked him. It was such a strange dream.
After washing up, he received a call from Zhao Yunzhi, asking him to go directly to the hotel for a meeting, as Zhao Yunzhi had already arrived.
Meng Jin, feeling suffocated, threw his towel into the sink. Zhao Yunzhi, this traitor, had a “new love” and no longer respected his boss. They had originally agreed to meet at the bureau first and then go to the hotel together.
Arriving at the hotel, he got another call from Zhao Yunzhi, asking him to meet at the mall opposite instead.
Meng Jin was nearly furious, holding back his explosive temper to reach the mall, where Zhao Yunzhi and Long De stood side by side. Zhao Yunzhi was holding a paper bag, eating something, while Long De, with one hand in his pocket, held a cup of coffee, smiling as he watched the bustling crowd.
Once in the car, Zhao Yunzhi, sitting in the passenger seat, handed Meng Jin a piece of pastry— it was a mooncake.
Zhao Yunzhi explained that Long De hadn’t had authentic mooncakes in a long time, so he took him to buy some. Since Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, he bought extra.
They had planned to meet Guo Tiandi, but couldn’t reach him, so they decided to visit the victim of the Liu Er case, Guo Yingying, first.
Guo Yingying was thin and melancholic, appearing very listless. If not for her inherent beauty, she would seem very despondent.
A sign language teacher accompanied them as an interpreter.
Previously, Zhao Yunzhi had learned from the internet that the public was helping Guo Yingying find her family. Many couples had volunteered to recognize her, but none matched. Some volunteer organizations even started a contest, with a million reward for whoever found her first.
Guo Yingying had never appeared in the media and had refused all media interviews.
Meng Jin and the others first met with the sign language teacher, who said that Guo Yingying was not in good spirits and hoped they wouldn’t disturb her if it wasn’t necessary.
Meng Jin insisted on seeing Guo Yingying, saying the meeting could be delayed but not canceled.
“Why is Guo Yingying not in good spirits?” Meng Jin asked.
The sign language teacher vaguely mentioned a quarrel between siblings, but couldn’t specify the details.
The sign language teacher wasn’t unclear, she just didn’t want to delve into her employer’s private matters. Meng Jin tactfully did not pursue further.
After seeking Guo Yingying’s consent, the sign language teacher returned and asked Meng Jin and his companions to wait half an hour before going in.
Half an hour later, they finally met Guo Yingying, who had just put on makeup, looking quite presentable. She was more beautiful than imagined, with a refined and ethereal demeanor that made the ordinary room shine brightly.
Unfortunately, her beautiful eyes were empty and expressionless. Imagine if the Mona Lisa were blind; her beauty would be halved.
Facing this pitiful girl, even Meng Jin, typically stoic and straightforward, felt compassion. He worried that his directness might hurt Guo Yingying’s fragile spirit, letting Zhao Yunzhi talk to her instead.
The sign language teacher interpreted as they mentioned Liu Er’s name, causing Guo Yingying to suddenly vomit without warning. The sign language teacher quickly asked Meng Jin and the others to wait outside and called a nurse to clean up.
Meng Jin and Zhao Yunzhi were rattled; was Guo Yingying ill?
Long De was calm, explaining that Guo Yingying’s reaction was a psychological disorder; her fear of Liu Er had triggered a psychosomatic response, causing her to vomit.
Zhao Yunzhi, ever sympathetic, couldn’t bear to torment Guo Yingying further.
Guo Yingying was a key figure, and since she and Guo Tiandi were siblings, and Guo Tiandi seemed to be involved in the Liu Tianshi case, Meng Jin believed she couldn’t be avoided.
Zhao Yunzhi found a photo of Guo Yingying just after she was rescued, showing her emaciated and bruised, her eyes swollen like dough, barely able to open, and her ears covered in dried blood, one ear almost torn off, hanging by a thin strip of flesh.
A photo circulating online showed two images of Guo Yingying: one in her youthful beauty and another in her battered, unconscious state.
Liu Er was brutally ruthless; no wonder Guo Yingying was so terrified.
Meng Jin wasn’t heartless, but unlike Zhao Yunzhi, he was more rational than emotional. Despite Zhao Yunzhi’s pleas, he insisted on seeing Guo Yingying.
Zhao Yunzhi, nearly frantic, restrained his impulse to lash out at Meng Jin, relying on the last shred of respect he had for his superior. He looked to Long De for a decision, to see whose side he would take.
Long De, with a light smile, teased Zhao Yunzhi for being childish. By age, he was only two years older than Zhao Yunzhi, but much more composed and mature.
It seemed Long De supported Meng Jin, so Meng Jin kept a tacit approval of this juvenile game.
Unexpectedly, Long De casually stood by Zhao Yunzhi’s side after scratching his nose.
Meng Jin was speechless; so much for old classmate loyalty.
He had to resort to his authority as team leader to veto Zhao Yunzhi’s suggestion.
As they were stuck in this quandary, the sign language teacher came out and invited them in to continue their discussion.
Guo Yingying had changed her clothes and adjusted her demeanor, indicating she could handle it.
Each time she “heard” Liu Er’s name, her brow twitched involuntarily, but fortunately, she didn’t vomit again.
Guo Yingying recounted everything she knew about Liu Er, much of which was hazy, as if her brain was trying to reject memories of him.
Regarding the fact that Liu Er had XYY syndrome, Guo Yingying said she was unaware. When she first met him, he behaved quite cultured, much like most people who had studied in the USA—progressive, sometimes gentlemanly, sometimes wild. Things considered illegal in China, he thought were normal.
For example, smoking marijuana. Liu Er would smoke it secretly, claiming it was as common as smoking cigarettes in the USA.
“XYY syndrome, maybe. He’s not a normal person, he’s a devil,” Guo Yingying said calmly, though her teeth clenched audibly.
“What was He Saibing’s relationship with Liu Er like?” Meng Jin asked.
“I don’t know,” Guo Yingying’s face showed a flash of irritation, “Honestly, I don’t want to know anything about them, they have nothing to do with me. Ever since our falling out, I haven’t followed her.”
Her mention of a falling out referred to He Saibing.
Despite knowing she didn’t want to hear it, Meng Jin still told her about He Saibing’s pregnancy and disappearance. Her reaction was indifferent, neither sad nor pleased, showing no schadenfreude.
Zhao Yunzhi interjected, “Jennie Yang doesn’t acknowledge the child in He Saibing’s womb, she even wants her to terminate the pregnancy.”
Meng Jin looked at Zhao Yunzhi and instantly understood his ploy; he was trying to comfort Guo Yingying, as nobody wants to see their rival happy.
Unexpectedly, such a sunny person as Zhao Yunzhi harbored such dark thoughts. Meng Jin secretly lamented.
Guo Yingying suddenly paused, asking with concern, “Did she lose the baby?”
Her sudden concern surprised Meng Jin. She had just said that everything about He Saibing was irrelevant to her, even remaining unaffected by the news of her disappearance, but when she heard Jennie Yang wanted He Saibing to abort the baby, she became agitated.
Meng Jin found her reaction strange and deliberately delayed his reply, pulling out his phone to check, while observing Guo Yingying from the corner of his eye. Guo Yingying tightened her grip on the sign language teacher’s hand, waiting eagerly for the interpretation.
“No.”
Upon “hearing” this reply, Guo Yingying seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
She must know something. Meng Jin thought.
“I suddenly remembered something that might explain why Jennie Yang doesn’t acknowledge that unborn child,” Guo Yingying said.
“I suspect that Liu Er is not Jennie Yang’s biological child,” Guo Yingying’s voice was melodious, as clear as a spring.
Impossible. Meng Jin immediately dismissed her suspicion. Liu Er’s body was burnt beyond recognition, but DNA tests conducted with Jennie Yang’s samples confirmed their mother-son relationship.
Guo Yingying, an outsider, wasn’t aware of the police’s DNA tests on Liu Er and Jennie Yang, hence her far-fetched suspicion.
“Why do you have such suspicions?” Meng Jin continued, aiming to extract more information.
Guo Yingying explained, “During my brother’s imprisonment, he asked me to obtain hair samples from Jennie Yang and Liu Er and send them to a testing facility.”
At the time, she was focused on helping Guo Tiandi overturn his case and didn’t pay attention to the results. Hearing about He Saibing’s plight today suddenly connected the dots for her.
If Liu Er wasn’t Jennie Yang’s biological child, then Jennie Yang’s attitude towards He Saibing made sense. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
Suddenly, a wild thought leapt into Meng Jin’s mind.
What if, just what if, Liu Er really wasn’t Jennie Yang’s biological child, on the assumption that the body burnt beyond recognition that fell off the cliff wasn’t his?
