It was no coincidence that he could remember this particular detail.
During the investigation, that old colleague had suspected this woman might be engaged in prostitution, and had planned to tip off the vice squad so they could look into it — which was why the impression had stayed with him.
After receiving this information, the vice squad had indeed sent people to investigate.
But by the time they arrived, the woman had already moved out long ago, without leaving behind even a single photograph. On top of that, the landlord had never signed a proper rental agreement when leasing the place, and without a contract, it was very difficult for the police to trace the woman’s real identity.
As for the twins — the landlord had only caught a glimpse of that detail when he came to read the utility meters, noticing a photograph sitting on the living room table.
In the photograph were two identical little boys.
There was no substantive evidence whatsoever. The only sources of information were the one-sided accounts of the landlord and the neighbors.
In the end, the vice squad had no choice but to let the matter drop.
---
And now, Wang Pengzhe was relaying this lead to Jiang Hansheng and Zhou Jin. It was like clouds parting to reveal sunlight — as though every question that had lingered before this moment finally had an answer, yet at the same time, it seemed as though even more mysteries were waiting to be unraveled.
Twenty-five years had passed since the Huaisha serial murder case. Throughout those twenty-five years, Qi Yan’s family background had always been the missing piece of the puzzle.
Zhou Jin had a faint, instinctive feeling: if they could just fill in that missing piece, perhaps the truth of the entire matter would become clear.
But where should they even begin?
Zhou Jin thought it over, then said to Wang Pengzhe: “I’ll make another trip to the sub-bureau tomorrow. I’ll have them look up the birth certificates.”
If they really were twins, the scope of the search shouldn’t be too large.
Wang Pengzhe sighed. “I had someone look into that before I came. Nothing matched the criminal profile.”
Jiang Hansheng was silent for a long moment, then asked: “Do you have the address where that woman rented?”
Wang Pengzhe: “I do.”
Jiang Hansheng said: “If we can’t find the child, we start from the mother.”
---
…
The hotel. From the bathroom came the sound of running water.
The wound on Zhou Jin’s shoulder hadn’t had its stitches removed yet — she couldn’t shower, and even washing her hair required Jiang Hansheng’s help.
At this moment, Zhou Jin was bent over with her head lowered toward the sink. Jiang Hansheng stood beside her, pulling the shower head over and testing the water temperature with his hand.
He splashed a little water through her hair, and asked quietly: “Is the temperature all right?”
Zhou Jin made a soft sound of assent, closed her eyes, and let herself feel the sensation of Jiang Hansheng’s long fingers threading through her hair, working in gentle circles.
Head still bowed, she thought about how Jiang Hansheng had asked for that woman’s rental address. Assuming he meant to go back to the landlord, she raised a question: “Would that landlord be any use? Didn’t Teacher Wang say the vice squad never managed to find out that woman’s real identity back then?”
Jiang Hansheng replied: “We’re not going to the landlord. We’re going to look for the pimps who operated in that area.”
“Oh!” Zhou Jin understood at once.
The so-called “red-light districts” hidden within a city each had their own territory to avoid conflicts between competitors, and generally stayed out of one another’s affairs.
If that woman had indeed been involved in prostitution, then even if she didn’t need a middleman, the pimps in that area would have quickly found out who had been taking their business.
If Zhou Jin could get her hands on a pimp, she might be able to pry something out of them.
Having worked out this line of investigation, Zhou Jin said with a hint of satisfaction: “That’s right in my wheelhouse. Though it’s too late tonight — tomorrow, after dinner, you head back to the hotel and I’ll go patrol that area on my own.”
In other respects Zhou Jin wouldn’t dare boast, but when it came to vice surveillance and stakeouts, she had plenty of experience. Places like KTVs and nightclubs — send her in for a stroll and she could sniff out whether there was any illicit business going on.
“…”
Jiang Hansheng let out a quiet sigh.
The moment the investigation came up, Zhou Jin truly had boundless energy. Her shoulder wound hadn’t even fully healed, yet here she was, ready to go patrol that area alone.
Hearing him sigh, Zhou Jin was puzzled. “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Hansheng decided to take a more indirect approach, and asked: “If you go, who will protect me?”
Zhou Jin was caught somewhere between laughter and exasperation. “…Are you serious?”
She turned her head to look at Jiang Hansheng’s expression. He lightly pressed a hand to the back of her neck, avoiding her gaze, and said with perfect composure, neither blushing nor flinching: “Serious.”
Zhou Jin quickly settled down and let him continue working the lather through her hair.
She said: “Well then — what if you come with me?”
“All right.”
When the hair-washing was done, Jiang Hansheng carefully dried her hair for her, and the final step was gently blotting the water droplets from Zhou Jin’s earlobes with a towel.
“It tickles.” Zhou Jin tucked in her neck and shifted away from the towel, not letting Jiang Hansheng continue.
She stood up, scrubbing her clean, dry short hair with her hands in a haphazard way, and let out a satisfied breath. Catching Jiang Hansheng’s gaze in the mirror, Zhou Jin’s eyes curved into a smile. “Thank you.”
She turned around — and the sudden, pressing closeness made her take a step back. Jiang Hansheng’s tall figure loomed over her, and the distance between them collapsed in an instant, leaving them nearly pressed together.
He had his sleeves rolled up, his long and well-proportioned arms braced against the edge of the sink, caging Zhou Jin against him.
“Wh— what is it?”