[11/22, 10:43, Baidan Road, Haijing City]
The taxi stopped at Baidan Road. Yi Shi got out with the map and saw a female police officer with a ponytail and black-rimmed glasses standing at the intersection. Judging by her uniform, she seemed to be from a grassroots police station in Haijing.
She looked around, and when she noticed Yi Shi, her eyes lit up and she walked over: “Hello, are you a colleague from the Nanyi City Bureau?”
Yi Shi nodded. The policewoman extended her hand: “My name is Teng Xiaojun. The bureau arranged for me to assist you in investigating the area from Baidan Road to Linjia Village. Please take care of me.”
“Yi Shi.” Yi Shi introduced himself and then made a vague gesture with his hand, not even touching her slender, soft fingers before lowering it, pretending to have shaken hands.
Teng Xiaojun stared at her right hand in a daze. Did she have something dirty on her hand?
Actually, it had nothing to do with Teng Xiaojun. Yi Shi, due to personal reasons, was not used to normal physical contact with strangers—he had a strong aversion to it, though it wasn’t clinically “haphephobia.” He could move freely in public places without fear of social interactions and was even overly enthusiastic about catching criminals personally.
In short, he simply didn’t want to have much contact with others. Any polite rituals were minimized whenever possible, thus extinguishing the hopes of any appearance-conscious individuals who wanted to get close to Yi Shi right from the first step.
Teng Xiaojun followed behind Yi Shi, occasionally looking up at his tall, thin figure, feeling nervous. She had just graduated this year, and this was her first field assignment. If not for the large number of people needed for this operation, the station wouldn’t have sent a newly recruited girl. Hearing that she would be working with a colleague from Nanyi, she had encouraged herself to perform well and showcase the spirit of Haijing’s police. But just upon meeting, she was already disliked?
This man didn’t look very old, with a face that seemed straight out of a comic book. Unfortunately, he was a bit too cold, as if there was an air conditioner within three meters of his body. Following behind him, Teng Xiaojun instinctively kept her distance to avoid getting frostbite.
“Not going?”
A cold voice suddenly rang out. Startled, Teng Xiaojun realized Yi Shi had already reached the middle of the road while she was still on the median, standing motionless like a fool. She quickly caught up, rubbed her arms as she got close to Yi Shi. It wasn’t even winter yet, so why did it feel so cold?
“If you’re tired, I can go by myself.” Yi Shi didn’t look back.
Teng Xiaojun paused, shook her head: “I’m not tired. We just got started.”
Yi Shi didn’t say anything, just lightly nodded, acknowledging he had heard.
Teng Xiaojun tilted her head slightly, thinking. Did Yi Shi mean he thought she was standing still because she was tired, so he offered to go alone and let her rest?
With this thought, Teng Xiaojun’s heart warmed, and she moved a little closer to Yi Shi, the initial disappointment and frustration fading away.
The investigation went surprisingly smoothly. In Haijing, where Teng Xiaojun was supposed to lead the way as a local, Yi Shi navigated the streets with a map, seemingly more familiar with the area than she was. She could only follow behind, knocking on doors one by one.
But Yi Shi wasn’t omnipotent. His face seemed frozen in one expression, and when encountering difficult people, it was Teng Xiaojun’s smiling face that had to handle them. Eventually, it became: Yi Shi leading the way, Teng Xiaojun asking questions; Yi Shi finding clues, Teng Xiaojun taking notes. Their coordination gradually became more seamless.
The sky remained gray, looking like it was about to rain heavily but never did, keeping everyone on edge. Yi Shi and Teng Xiaojun took a break on the flowerbed edge in a small park. Teng Xiaojun bought two bottles of water and handed one to Yi Shi.
“You really don’t talk much, do you?”
Teng Xiaojun was a lively girl. Once she opened up, she shed her restraints, chatting away even to a taciturn person like Yi Shi, happily talking to herself.
She twisted the cap of the water bottle, her palm turning red without managing to open it. It wasn’t a lack of strength but her right hand being sore from writing so much. She placed the bottle aside. At this moment, a well-defined hand picked up the bottle, easily twisted it open, and placed it back.
Teng Xiaojun smiled. Through her careful observation, she found that although Yi Shi was cold, he wasn’t unpleasant. On the contrary, he was quite considerate towards girls, with a touch of warmth beneath his cold exterior.
“I thought you were quite scary at first, but now I feel like you’re not.” Teng Xiaojun took a sip of water and said, “You shouldn’t keep such a cold expression all the time. Smile more, and it’ll be even better.”
Yi Shi was looking down at the map, completely ignoring her.
Teng Xiaojun shrugged, took a napkin from her pocket, and removed her glasses to wipe the lenses. She turned her head inadvertently and suddenly found Yi Shi’s pitch-black eyes staring straight at her.
They were deep like the sea, with a layer of ripples lightly swaying at the bottom, like small whirlpools in the black ocean. Teng Xiaojun met his gaze for a few seconds, her ears visibly turning red, holding her glasses legs nervously, her heart pounding, a little deer running wildly inside.
Yi Shi, on the other hand, was carefully observing her facial features, his brow furrowing slightly like lightning—yes, it was her, the mother of that child.
Although her hairstyle had changed, her facial features and face shape were extremely similar, the transition from a young woman to a middle-aged woman quite natural. Teng Xiaojun had just graduated and was in her twenties, while Miaomiao’s mother looked nearly forty. There was the possibility of them being sisters or other relatives, but it was more likely they were the same person.
Teng Xiaojun’s breathing became rapid with nervousness. Hey, hey, hey, can you stop staring at me like that? I’m a face con, and I have zero resistance to handsome guys! Especially such a seemingly submissive(?) yet cold handsome guy!
Finally, Yi Shi spoke: “Are you an only child?”
Teng Xiaojun nodded.
“Do you have any cousins?”
“No sisters, only male cousins. I’m the only girl in my family.”
“How old is your mother?”
“Um, 53.” Teng Xiaojun’s face turned red, “Why, why are you asking so many questions? Checking the household registry or something?”
Yi Shi didn’t notice the girl’s shy, blushing cheeks at all. He thought for a moment and cautiously spoke: “Do you know… Lin Heyu?”
Teng Xiaojun was taken aback: “Who is that? Your boyfriend?”
After saying this, Teng Xiaojun felt a sense of social death, her fujoshi nature completely exposed.
Unexpectedly, Yi Shi nodded.
“Mm. A friend, a guy. Do you know him?”
Teng Xiaojun didn’t know Lin Heyu; she hadn’t even heard the name.
Yi Shi had already anticipated this outcome, a trace of disappointment flashing in his eyes. Adhering to the principle of rigorous investigation and eliminating all possibilities, he asked: “Do you have children?”
Teng Xiaojun held her apple-red cheeks, pushed Yi Shi, and said: “Oh, you’re so annoying! I’m only 22! I don’t even have a boyfriend, where would I get a child from!”
Yi Shi: “…”
Teng Xiaojun looked at her hand, smiled awkwardly, and apologized to Yi Shi. She couldn’t help but be quick with her hands. She was interested in this “male friend” Yi Shi mentioned. Don’t blame her for being so curious. From the first moment she saw Yi Shi, she felt that such a refined and beautiful young man should be so cold that he had no friends, naturally insulated from others.
“How old is your friend?”
Yi Shi was silent.
“Where is he from? A local?”
Yi Shi said nothing.
“Do you have any other information? School he graduated from, work unit, etc.”
“…I don’t know.”
“…Are you really friends? Even though we’ve only known each other for a few hours, I already know your basic information like your name, Yi Shi, 28 years old, a local from Nanyi.”
Yi Shi didn’t speak, his beautifully shaped eyebrows tightly furrowed, making his already expressionless handsome face even colder.
“Also, why did you ask if I knew him? Your personality doesn’t seem like someone who would randomly ask people questions.”
Yi Shi’s eyes lifted slightly. Teng Xiaojun seemed simple, lively, and carefree, but when encountering problems, she grasped the key points well. He still didn’t answer, his lips tightly pressed like a clam. He couldn’t possibly say, “Because you’re very familiar with Lin Heyu, and you have a son, who is also a chatterbox like you,” such an unbelievable thing, right? He might be considered a lunatic.
Teng Xiaojun had gotten used to his habit of killing the conversation, her eyes rolled, and she changed direction: “So you’re looking for him now? Is he missing?”
“In a way.”
“Eh? Why did he disappear? Did you two have a fight?”
After three minutes, there was still no answer. Yi Shi’s eyes were downcast, his thick, long eyelashes were quite striking. Teng Xiaojun stared at him in a daze, the words “eyelash spirit” popping into her mind.
“He knows me, but I don’t remember him,” Yi Shi finally spoke. “From the way he talks, we’ve known each other for a long time. I’m the one who forgot him.”
Teng Xiaojun’s mind conjured up a series of melodramatic BL stories involving car accidents, amnesia, childhood friends losing out to newcomers, and a long journey of chasing love. She shook her head, suppressing her gossipy excitement, and pretended to be calm. “Oh? Are you sure you forgot him, and it’s not just his one-sided claim?”
“No, he knows me very well.”
“What if he’s a stalker? You must have encountered such people in your cases, right?”
“…He doesn’t seem like one.”
Teng Xiaojun snapped her fingers. “Maybe it’s a trick!”
Yi Shi stared straight at her, as if waiting for her profound insight.
“It’s just a way to hit on you! Look at you, so cold. If someone asks for your number or WeChat, you wouldn’t even look at them, right?” Teng Xiaojun spoke earnestly, as if she were a seasoned pro. “So, he has to find another way to get your attention. It’s all a trick, a trick!”
Yi Shi’s gaze was inscrutable. This woman’s thought process was truly baffling, making him admit defeat. Listening to her talk felt like wasting ten years of study.
He didn’t want to argue with Teng Xiaojun anymore. He looked at the sky, folded up the map, and stood up. Teng Xiaojun had rested enough, so she took out her small notebook and flipped to the last page. Her eyes lit up. “Up ahead is Linjia Village! Isn’t the person you’re looking for named Lin? Let’s go check it out.”
Linjia Village was spread out along the foot of Southern Cheng’an Mountain. According to the household registration system, there were 529 registered households, with a permanent population of 1,136 people. The village had good economic development, and young laborers were willing to stay and build their homes. Most of the villagers were surnamed Lin, with few outsiders. Following the Qingshui River upstream, there was an ancient, elegant gate with green tiles and white walls, which was the ancestral hall of the Lin family in Linjia Village.
Generally speaking, ancestral halls are more common in the south, while family temples are prevalent in the north. Haijing, being located in the north, rarely has surname ancestral halls, making this sight quite unusual.
“I heard that Linjia Village was originally from the south, but that was before the founding of the country. In all of Haijing and Dengchang, there’s only this one ancestral hall. Isn’t that strange?” Teng Xiaojun blinked, then suddenly remembered that Yi Shi came from Nanyi, and her expression turned awkward. “Uh… I know you probably don’t find it strange, since you’ve seen many.”
Yi Shi looked up at the gate, but what flashed in his mind were scenes of broken walls and ruins, not green mountains and clear waters, but only howling cold wind and flickering bonfires.
“Lin Heyu?” The elderly clan leader, already past his eighties, wet his finger and turned the pages of the clan genealogy that recorded hundreds of years of history. “I don’t have an impression of this name. From ancient times to now, there’s no ‘He’ character in the generational ranks. If he’s in Linjia Village, he must be a junior from the post-millennium generation…”
Teng Xiaojun blinked and asked, “Clan Leader Lin, are all the people surnamed Lin in Haijing originally from Linjia Village?”
“The old man can’t say for sure. Those around Southern Cheng’an, both north and south, are from Linjia Village, but there are too many outsiders in the city. Linjia Village isn’t the only one in Haijing.”
The clan leader’s dry, withered hands closed the genealogy book, mumbling, “The character ‘He’ is not good. Insatiable desires, like a bottomless pit. A person’s heart is not easily like a gully, but their desires are deeper than a gully…”
Yi Shi was stunned. How could this name be bad? To him, the name had a great meaning and was unique, showing that the parents were thoughtful.
Thinking this, the old man’s voice overlapped with another familiar yet unfamiliar voice in his memory.
“The big clan has many rules. They didn’t like the name my mom gave me, saying it meant insatiable desires and was prone to greed, insisting I change it to be included in the genealogy.” Lin Heyu’s low laughter echoed, “Maybe they’re right. I am a bit greedy, wanting to take you back in this situation.”
“You head east, past the paddy field paintings, there’s a funny, paint-peeled big wooden disk. That’s my home. That big disk is a clock I made with the village carpenter during school. Can’t tell, right?”
“You go alone. If they ask about me, don’t say anything…”
Yi Shi’s pupils contracted suddenly, and he turned and strode out of the ancestral hall. Teng Xiaojun chased after him, only to see him quickly climb a persimmon tree, parting the branches with withered yellow leaves, and looking out to see the entire picturesque Linjia Village.
There were no paddy field paintings or wooden disks in the east, only rows of neatly arranged houses and a turtle pond.
“Hey! Yi Shi! Why did you climb up there?”
Leaning against the tree trunk, Yi Shi’s mind was full of doubts. Lin Heyu was like an unsolvable mystery. Was he simply not here, or had he not arrived yet?
