Silent Testimony - Chapter 18

At 7:30 a.m., the four or five breakfast shops opposite Pucheng Municipal Affairs Center were bustling with people. Noodles, rice vermicelli, steamed buns, mantou, guokui (flatbreads)—every variety you could name was available. However, Li Hewei bypassed these shops, leading them to a nearly deserted morning tea restaurant named Chun Gui Xuan at the end of the street.

Chun Gui Xuan was elegantly decorated, with a spacious, bright, and open indoor space. The three of them sat at a window table. Cheng Yingqiu was clearly sleepy, resting her head on her left hand as she looked through the menu, unable to resist complaining: “Sister, you’re too extravagant.”

“Go ahead and order. You don’t have to pay,” Li Hewei replied. She had no other major expenses since arriving here, only occasionally upgrading their meals or buying daily necessities. She deposited the salary she earned into a different bank account, using the original owner’s savings to cover the mortgage, taking not a penny more.

“Then I won’t be polite, will I?” Cheng Yingqiu checked off items with a pen. “Do you guys want Wanzaichi (imitation shark fin soup)?”

“Order for yourself. Don’t worry about us.” Li Hewei asked Tao Ling, who sat facing her, “What would you like to eat?”

Cheng Yingqiu and Tao Ling answered in unison: “Anything is fine.” The person who had ordered Wanzaichi and steamed chicken feet chuckled: “I knew it! She definitely said ‘anything is fine.'”

Tao Ling subtly pursed her lips, then admitted candidly: “Sister Wei, you decide. I haven’t had Cantonese morning tea before.”

Li Hewei acknowledged her, ordering a bowl of Tingzai porridge, one serving of rice noodle rolls (changfen), one serving of the signature crystal shrimp dumplings (har gow), and one serving of soup-filled mini steamed buns (xiaolongbao).

“Sister, why did you suddenly want morning tea?” Cheng Yingqiu knew her cousin usually ate at the canteen for breakfast or had beef rice vermicelli at the shop behind the community gate, a routine that never changed.

Li Hewei checked her group messages, calmly replying: “To change things up.”

“Alright.”

In a short while, the waiter brought the steaming Wanzaichi and Tingzai porridge. Li Hewei pushed the Tingzai porridge toward Tao Ling: “Try this.”

“Okay.” Tao Ling picked up her spoon, scooped up a large mouthful, blew on it, and slowly ate it. The texture was fresh, smooth, tender, and thick. The warmth soothed her stomach. She smiled gracefully: “It’s delicious.”

The dim sum gradually arrived. Li Hewei used the serving chopsticks to place a shrimp dumpling onto the small plate beside Tao Ling: “Try this one too.”

Cheng Yingqiu, chewing a chicken foot, grumbled: “Sister, you’re playing favorites. Why don’t you give me one?”

Li Hewei gave her a look: “Aren’t you eating chicken feet?”

“I can eat shrimp dumplings too.”

“Who was it this morning who weighed herself and complained about gaining two jin (one kilogram) since July?” Li Hewei clipped a shrimp dumpling for her. “Eat it. Gain another half a jin.”

Cheng Yingqiu was exasperated, puffing out her cheeks: “Hmph, Sister, if I get fat, I’ll exercise in the living room every day and disturb your peace.”

“I’d be thankful if you could wake up on time,” Li Hewei said, picking up a piece of rice noodle roll, chewing slowly. Although it wasn’t as good as Hongli Village’s changfen, the long-missed taste still easily brought back memories.

Tao Ling surprisingly initiated a topic: “Yingqiu, you’re not fat. You don’t need to lose weight.”

Li Hewei chimed in to support her: “Tao Ling is right. 160 centimeters, 51 kilograms. A very standard figure.”

“160.2!” Cheng Yingqiu had met the 160-centimeter height requirement when applying for the broadcasting major. However, when she applied for a hosting position at the TV station after graduation, her height became the first hurdle during the interview, forcing her to settle for a reporter position first.

“And exercising doesn’t have much effect. It’s better to use machines at the gym.”

Cheng Yingqiu rested her chin on her hand: “Sister, is your annual gym membership about to expire? How many times did you go?”

“Do I have a gym card?” Li Hewei actually had plans to exercise.

“Yes! Last year, a women’s gym opened on the third floor of Jiahe Supermarket, and you got an annual card when you bought personal training sessions. I think you bought fifty sessions. I even said you were silly with your money, knowing you couldn’t spare the time to work out.”

Li Hewei searched her contacts and indeed found the gym coach’s WeChat. Reviewing the records, only five sessions had been used since October last year.

“There are forty-five sessions left. You go,” Li Hewei offered. She had plans to exercise intermittently and didn’t need personal coaching.

“What about you?” Cheng Yingqiu wasn’t interested in fitness and politely declined: “I’ve been busy recently, often working overtime.”

Tao Ling chimed in at the right moment: “Sister Wei, the Logistics Department plans to build a police camp gym. I heard it might be operational when the weather warms up next spring.”

Cheng Yingqiu tried to push the gym card away, arguing: “It will definitely be occupied by male colleagues. A gym specifically for women is much better.”

“Bad news. The gym closed down, and the members were taken over by another studio.” Li Hewei had just contacted the gym coach and was informed of the automatic transfer.

“Isn’t this swindling people? Can I get a refund?”

Li Hewei enunciated clearly, word by word: “Good news. The membership was transferred to MG Street Dance Studio.”

“No need for a refund. I’ll go.” Cheng Yingqiu finished the last chicken foot, wiped her mouth with a napkin, her eyes filled with smiles.

Li Hewei remembered that the logo in the upper right corner of the street dance video compilation from last night was MG. She knew exactly why Cheng Yingqiu had suddenly changed her mind. She pushed the studio coach’s WeChat contact to her and went to the cashier to pay the bill.

“How much was it?” Cheng Yingqiu asked casually as the three walked out of the morning tea restaurant.

“Eighty-seven.”

“Eight-yuan-a-bowl beef rice vermicelli is still more affordable.”

They parted ways at the intersection. Li Hewei and Tao Ling turned left. Passing a convenience store, Li Hewei picked up a pack of Wrigley’s Doublemint gum, instinctively pulling out her phone to scan the code. The owner quickly said, “No WeChat Pay.”

She casually handed over the ten yuan change from the morning tea, received six yuan back, and then noticed two unread messages on her phone screen. Li Hewei clicked into WeChat, and her eyes suddenly darkened.

Tao Ling: 【Transferred 30 yuan.】 【Sister Wei, the morning tea was delicious. Thank you for letting me experience it.】

The same old formality.

Li Hewei’s expression completely sank. She neither accepted the transfer nor replied to the message, simply shoving the phone back into her bag. She strode forward, her long legs moving quickly like the wind. Tao Ling, confused, could only jog to keep up.

From 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Li Hewei buried herself in work, maintaining a blank expression. Even An Yu, usually the most oblivious, noticed.

They ate lunch at the canteen. An Yu curiously asked, “Sister He, who angered Sister Wei today? Why is she so stiff-faced and silent?”

“Probably stress. It’s the fourth day, and the case has made no progress. Sun Hao also has an alibi.”

Tao Ling sat next to He Ying, with a window open to her left, letting in a little post-rain cool breeze. She lowered her head, her fingers slowly tapping the screen: 【Sister Wei, is the meeting over? I got food for you: steamed fish with fermented black beans, blanched shrimp, and dry-fried string beans.】

In the conference room on the third floor of the integrated building, Director Liu was emphasizing the urgency of time, to be followed by Qiu Wan’s summary. Li Hewei sat upright in the second-to-last row, pen in hand, seemingly focused. However, a closer look revealed that while the first page of her notes meticulously recorded the meeting content, the second page showed four simple cartoon pigs, with the name “Tao Ling” written next to them.

So dense! We clearly agreed she didn’t need to pay.

Her phone lay quietly to the right of her teacup. Her peripheral vision casually caught Tao Ling’s message, and her expression slightly softened.

【Not over yet. It should be about ten more minutes.】 She belatedly realized her reaction was too strong. Tao Ling chose to split the bill out of politeness, which was perfectly reasonable.

After thinking it over, she did not accept Tao Ling’s transfer, patiently explaining: 【My treat. Since you are both my sisters, your treatment must be the same as Yingqiu’s.】 After clicking send, Li Hewei watched the screen. The words “is typing” next to the memo stayed there for a long time. Stubborn! She’s still hesitating.

After a while, when she put her phone aside and focused on Qiu Wan’s summary, four words appeared in the dialogue box: 【Thank you, Sister Wei.】 Followed by a WeChat built-in emoji.

She actually sent an emoji. That’s progress. Li Hewei watched Tao Ling’s message, a faint curve unconsciously forming on her lips.

After the lunch break, Li Hewei distributed the videos Qiu Wan had sent her to her available colleagues.

【Surveillance footage around Sun Hao’s residence from the 20th to the 27th. Everyone, please help take a look.】

He Ying looked up and asked her: “Xiao Li, should we still focus on Sun Hao? Doesn’t he have an alibi?”

Li Hewei unscrewed the jar holding the roses and replied: “The person who provided his alibi is a gambler who was heavily in debt and suddenly repaid tens of thousands recently. Doesn’t that sound suspicious to you?”

He Ying sighed with emotion: “Even such details were caught by the Serious Crime Squad?”

“Captain Qiu noticed his shifty eyes and vague answers during the statement, so they checked his bank transactions and credit report, and sure enough, they found a flaw.” Li Hewei took six roses and placed them in her teacup. She walked to the door to get water. The dispenser was heating water, so she sat in the empty seat next to Tao Ling to wait.

“Ayyo, there must be a problem.” Zhao Xiaoting held her mouse and clicked open one of the surveillance videos.

Tao Ling, sitting next to Li Hewei, was responsible for the surveillance footage of the parking lot exit. She focused intently, even taking notes on draft paper.

July 20, 7:31 a.m., Shu AHW218, Mercedes-Benz, driver male, passenger female.

July 20, 7:49 a.m., Shu AP8G16, Audi Q5, driver female, no passenger.

As the saying goes, “The writing reflects the person.” Neat, standard block characters suggest a humble and cautious writer, while elegant, flowing cursive implies a free and uninhibited personality. However, Tao Ling’s penmanship was a highly refined running-standard script (xingkai), characterized by its fluid grace and strength that seemed to penetrate the paper, quite contrary to her personality. Li Hewei looked at it with undisguised admiration, unable to stop herself from asking: “Have you practiced calligraphy?”

“Yes, since the third grade of primary school.”

“It’s beautiful.” Li Hewei subconsciously believed that people with beautiful handwriting must have beautiful features, or at least great temperament. She had envied her deskmate’s excellent handwriting since childhood.

“Sister Wei, the water is boiled.” Zhao Xiaoting, who was planning to brew bitter buckwheat tea, reminded her to get the water first.

“Thank you.” Li Hewei filled a large portion of her cup with hot water, sat back down at her desk, and then announced loudly, “Everyone’s hard work will pay off. Captain Qiu says that after the case is solved, Director Liu is treating us.”