Silent Testimony - Chapter 6

Sichuan Province’s (Shuzhou) terrain is low in the center and high on the perimeter, resembling a massive basin. Puchen is situated in the northwest of this basin, surrounded by mountains, making it difficult for heat to dissipate, often leaving it stiflingly hot. During the middle of the “dog days” of summer, it was still 30∘C even at midnight. Li Hewei walked home after getting out of the car. In the five-minute walk, she was already covered in sweat.

She pushed open the apartment door. The warm light in the living room was bright. Cheng Yingqiu was hunched over the sofa rushing a manuscript. Hearing the sound, she tossed her laptop aside and enthusiastically greeted, “Sister, you kept me waiting.”

Li Hewei sat on a low stool to change her shoes, looking up to answer her, “Why didn’t you wait for me when I worked overtime last week? Do you have something of your own to talk about tonight?”

“I ate too much and got drowsy. It’s commonly known as a carb coma.” Cheng Yingqiu propped up her soft body, shuffling into the kitchen in her slippers. She lazily took a bottle of soda water from the fridge and handed it to Li Hewei as she passed by. “Sister, have some water.”

“Mm, thank you.” Li Hewei took the bottle, twisted open the cap, and tilted her head to take small sips.

“Tsk, what a pity. How can she be straight?” Cheng Yingqiu was unrestrained in front of her, speaking exactly what she thought.

“Hmm?” Li Hewei pursed her slightly dry, thin lips. She didn’t feel offended; instead, she signaled for her to continue.

“That whole abstinence-style yujie (mature woman) look you’re wearing. If I post your picture on the lesbian forum, it’s guaranteed to go viral.”

Today, Li Hewei was wearing silver-rimmed non-prescription glasses and a mist-gray Tencel shirt, the hem tucked into dark Western-style trousers. Her long hair was pulled back into a bun, with a few wisps hanging by her ears, giving her a strong Hong Kong-style professional look.

“You’re just being glib.” Li Hewei didn’t frequent forums. Before transmigrating into the book, she occasionally scrolled through short videos, mostly related to food and travel.

Cheng Yingqiu wore a hearty smile, teasing her, “After the divorce, are you considering a change in your gender role? A successful sister like you—high-value, thirty years old, with an apartment and a car, and a flourishing career—is the dream ‘zero’ for countless younger women.”

Li Hewei pondered her words and couldn’t help but ask, “Why not a ‘one’?”

Cheng Yingqiu was surprised. “Sister! You actually understand this!”

“I’m twenty-nine, not forty-nine,” Li Hewei said unhurriedly as she walked into the bedroom.

Cheng Yingqiu became interested and chattered like a bird, giving her a popular science lesson right by her ear. “Oh, actually, we girls don’t really divide it that way. You can be a ‘one’ or a ‘zero,’ you can switch roles.”

Li Hewei, who had awakened to her sexuality in high school, of course understood, but she ignored Cheng Yingqiu and took out her pajamas from the wardrobe.

“Or should I introduce someone to you?” Cheng Yingqiu majored in broadcast hosting in college, a true arts student, and she had many friends of the same orientation in her circle.

“Go on, mind your own business. You’re single your entire life, but you’re acting as a matchmaker.” Li Hewei pushed her toward the door. “Go to sleep.”

Cheng Yingqiu pouted. “Sister, you’re looking down on me.”

“I’m taking a shower.” Li Hewei closed the door and locked it. Out of habit, she always made sure the door was locked every night when she lived alone in Shenzhen.

Five kilometers away, after her shower, Tao Ling washed her clothes and hung them on the outdoor balcony. She returned to the living room, feeling damp on her back. She wiped it down with a warm towel, then pushed the air cooler into her bedroom.

In 40∘C weather, Tao Ling’s room was the only one of the three bedrooms without air conditioning. The air cooler was something she had purchased online for 368 yuan.

She had considered paying for an air conditioner herself, but given her plan to improve her life, she could only put it off for the time being. Her salary during the probationary period was 4,800 yuan. After deducting the 2,000 yuan she gave to her family each month and her daily expenses of 300 yuan, she could still save 2,500 yuan. With allowances, subsidies, and other income, she should have a savings of 40,000 yuan in the first year. Her goal was to save enough for a down payment on a one-bedroom apartment in three years—just enough space for herself.

Tao Ling lay sideways on her not-too-spacious single bed, flipping through her ledger, a satisfied smile curving her lips. She usually checked her work group chat before bed to confirm any new messages. As soon as she tapped in, Li Hewei’s avatar flashed: [See you at 9 AM tomorrow. Get some extra sleep.]

Zhao Xiaoting: [Okay~]

An Yu: [Received.]

Tao Ling: [Alright.]

Li Hewei was holding the hairdryer and blowing her hair, her right fingertip tapping the screen: [None of you are asleep yet?]

An Yu: [Just lay down.]

Zhao Xiaoting: [Me too.]

They wished each other good night. Tao Ling held her phone, gently biting her lip. After much deliberation, she typed: [Sister Wei, do you have any other plans tomorrow?]

She deleted and re-wrote the message several times before finally sending it.

[No.] Li Hewei stared at the WeChat interface. The four words “is typing…” remained on the screen for over ten seconds, but not a single word popped up. Why does she look like a little quail? Li Hewei rolled her eyes and asked: [What is it?]

[It’s my dad’s fiftieth birthday, and we’re planning to host a banquet back in the hometown. We’re having birthday noodles tomorrow evening.]

[The hometown? How long does it take to drive back from Puchen?]

[An hour at most.]

[Understood. As long as it doesn’t conflict with work hours.] Li Hewei figured this would be the only time in the next two months. She didn’t want to make things difficult for Tao Ling and readily agreed.

Tao Ling had never expected it to go so smoothly. She stared at their dialogue box, her heart instantly felt squeezed and slightly swollen. She expressed her sincere gratitude.

[Okay, going to sleep.]

She received Tao Ling’s “Good night” but didn’t reply. She exited the chat and asked Cheng Yingqiu: [Tao Dad is turning fifty. How much should I give?]

[I remember you keep an expense ledger. Flip through it. Tao Ling’s mother is six months older than her dad; just give the same amount.]

Li Hewei opened her accounting app and scrolled up: six months, February, January. On January 27th, she saw an expense of 800 yuan, with the note (Tao Mother’s Birthday).

800 yuan. She usually treated people differently. She’d give 200 yuan for a male colleague’s wedding, but 400 yuan for a female colleague who was transferred to another unit.

She took a red envelope from the nightstand and placed it on the cabinet, preparing to withdraw cash the next day.

Having to work overtime on a Saturday, she couldn’t fight off her exhaustion any longer. She put her phone by her pillow and fell into a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, Li Hewei stepped into the office right at 8:59 AM. An Yu had already finished her experiment and handed the report for her to review.

“Chlorides?”

“Yes. Hurry and tell the serious crimes team to check all the swimming pools in Puchen.” The chloride content detected in fresh water is generally low, but swimming pools are an exception. Daily disinfection and sterilization require chlorides.

He Ying sighed. “That’s going to be difficult. I just checked: Puchen has seventeen villas with private pools, thirty-four residential complexes with shared pools, five public fitness pools, two vocational school pools, and three middle school pools.”

“Besides, the Shu River is upstream from us. What if the body simply drifted down from the Shu River? How would we ever check?”

Li Hewei pondered for a moment. “We still need to confirm the victim’s identity first.”

“Yes. How’s the serious crimes team next door doing? I heard they’re working three shifts, shining flashlights along the river all night.”

“I’ll ask.” She sent a WeChat message: [Team Leader Qiu, chlorides were detected in the deceased’s drowning fluid. This further corroborates Tao Ling’s deduction that he drowned in a pool and was then thrown into the Liufen River.]

Qiu Wan had years of experience and had accumulated general knowledge of forensics and trace evidence. She asked: [Chlorides. Are you saying he drowned in a swimming pool?]

[Yes, but the search area is too large. We still need to confirm his identity first.] The second after she pressed send, Tao Ling walked in, wearing the blue scrub suit from the lab, and said urgently, “Sister Wei, based on the degree of wear on the deceased’s teeth and the change in morphology of the pubic symphysis surface, the age is between twenty-eight and thirty.”

“Did you even boil the bones? What time did you get to the police station?” Boiling bones is a technical job that requires slow, complete separation of the deceased’s bones from the tissue without damaging the bone quality during the process.

Tao Ling blinked her eyes. “Six-thirty.”

Li Hewei’s expression darkened as she argued with her. “You got to the police station at 6:30 AM, which means you had to get up at 6:00 AM. You only slept for less than five hours?”

Is she angry? Why is she angry? Confusion flashed through Tao Ling’s mind. She mumbled in a dull voice, “Yes.”

Li Hewei didn’t speak. She left Tao Ling standing to the side, looking down to chat with Qiu Wan, informing her of the deceased’s age.

Qiu Wan: [That information came at the perfect time. Thank you.]

[Did you all find anything?]

[No. I just got back from the river and plan to rest for a bit before going back out.]

Good grief. She pulled an all-nighter. Li Hewei was speechless. Finally, she politely replied: [You’ve worked hard.]

She looked up, seeing Tao Ling standing by the desk. Li Hewei scrutinized her and noticed her lips were dry. Clearly, she had been rushing to work and hadn’t even bothered to drink water. Li Hewei’s irritation instantly dissipated. “Did you eat?”

“Yes, buns and soy milk.”

Not bad. At least she ate breakfast.

“I’m going back to the lab first.” Tao Ling unconsciously curved her lips, and her gentle, spring-breeze-like smile met Li Hewei’s eyes. Li Hewei was momentarily stunned, then nodded. “Mm.”

The girl’s eyes were bright and clear like jewels, with thick, slightly curled eyelashes. Her smile was incredibly engaging. This was the first time Li Hewei had seen her smile since transmigrating. She muttered to herself, “She acts so old for her age. I wonder how many worries she carries. She should smile more.”

Cheng Yingqiu was originally off work, but her supervisor suddenly called her relentlessly, dragging her out of bed. Having finished her business by 11:00 AM, she walked home carrying a bowl of packaged beef noodles. Overcome with thirst, she squinted her eyes and looked around, seeing a store named “Grandma Qiu’s Provisions” open for business not far across the street. Cheng Yingqiu looked left and right before crossing the road, quickened her steps, lifted the PVC plastic curtain, and went inside, looking around but seeing no one.

“Hello? Anyone here? I want to buy water.”

“Hello?”

Slippers squeaked against the wooden stairs, and a tall figure swayed into view. Cheng Yingqiu saw the person clearly, and her smile suddenly froze.

She was running into an old enemy.