"The death of Ye Jian probably has nothing to do with Zhou Rong. The two of them were publicly known as close brothers. Logically speaking, one was the wealthiest man in Three Rivers Estuary—a big boss rumored to have underworld connections—and the other was a public servant, the captain of the Criminal Police Brigade. These two should have kept their distance to avoid suspicion. But Ye Jian never cared about that. He often attended Zhou Rong's dinner parties, and this open relationship had an extremely negative influence. In the past, someone anonymously reported him, and the unit leaders talked to him about it. Director Lu repeatedly warned him in front of us, but he refused to back down and even argued with Director Lu." Zhang Yi'ang and his team walked through the residential complex where Ye Jian had lived, while Wang Ruijun briefed him on Ye Jian's relationship with Zhou Rong.
"Did Ye Jian ever help Zhou Rong cover up any criminal cases?" Zhang Yi'ang asked.
"No, not that. In the past, someone anonymously accused Ye Jian of being Zhou Rong's protector. The higher-ups in the public security bureau even sent a special team to investigate, but after digging around, they found no professional dealings between Ye Jian and Zhou Rong, nor any financial impropriety. The higher-ups could only advise him that his profession wasn’t suited for getting too close to businessmen. Even though he didn’t directly intervene to help in professional matters, having a friend like Ye Jian still gave Zhou Rong certain conveniences."
Zhang Yi'ang knew that these so-called conveniences were about influence. If the captain of the Criminal Police Brigade was openly your sworn brother, even if he didn’t directly help you settle trouble, who in the underworld would dare mess with you? On the legitimate side, Zhou Rong had money to pave the way and an uncle who was a deputy director of the provincial public security department, so of course, things went smoothly for him.
Li Qian asked curiously, "How did Ye Jian and Zhou Rong become so close?"
"They were old classmates, grew up playing together since childhood. Oh, and Lu Yibo and Lang Bowen were also their old classmates. Ye Jian often said the four of them were brothers forged in iron."
Zhang Yi'ang stopped walking and asked, "Who’s Lang Bowen?"
"He’s—"
"I know, I know!" Li Qian blurted out. The case had been discussed mostly by the veteran detectives, and now she finally had a chance to contribute with some background information. She couldn’t resist jumping in. "Lang Bowen is the boss of Auto Company. His parents originally founded it—they were both English teachers who went into business in the '90s, first doing foreign trade and later opening an auto parts factory named Auto. Supposedly, his parents initially left the entire factory to his younger brother to manage, while Lang Bowen partnered with Zhou Rong to do business elsewhere. But within a few years, his brother ran the factory poorly, racked up huge debts, and was even arrested for export tax fraud. The factory was about to be auctioned off. So Lang Bowen came back to take over, ran it for a few years, and then expanded into real estate. He grew quickly, and now Auto Company is the second-largest property developer in Three Rivers Estuary. They often collaborate with Zhou Rong’s Rongcheng Group on investment projects."
Zhang Yi'ang frowned. "His parents were both English teachers… The older brother is Lang Bowen, so his younger brother wouldn’t happen to be named Lang Botu, would he?"
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"Do they also have a sister named Lang Bocui?"
"No, just the two brothers. Do you know their family?"
"No." Zhang Yi'ang snorted, finally understanding why Lang Bowen’s parents had quit their jobs to go into business in the '90s. With that accent, what else could English teachers like them do but resign?At this moment, Song Xing spoke up: "Chief, the dinner Ye Jian attended the night before last was a property launch banquet hosted by Auto Company. Zhou Rong, Lang Bowen, and Lu Yibo were all present."
Zhang Yi'ang nodded and instructed him to thoroughly review all surveillance footage from inside and outside the hotel, as well as nearby roads before the incident. They needed to quickly determine what had happened to Ye Jian before his death and why he had gone alone to the riverside late at night.
Soon, the team arrived at Ye Jian's home. The door was already open, and forensic technicians were examining the interior with family consent and supervision, hoping to find clues about Ye Jian's activities in the days leading up to his death.
After putting on shoe covers, the group entered. The forensic team reported that Ye Jian's home appeared largely undisturbed, with no obvious signs of tampering.
Zhang Yi'ang surveyed the modest seventy-square-meter old apartment, which could be seen entirely from the doorway. The small living room had a greasy leather sofa, a cluttered coffee table with scattered cigarettes and miscellaneous items, and a dusty television that seemed more like decoration. To the left was a kitchen with a range hood so caked with grease it resembled stalactites. To the right were a bathroom and two small rooms—a bedroom and a study.
After finding nothing noteworthy in the main areas, Zhang Yi'ang entered the study.
Though called a study, the bookshelf held few books, mostly newspapers and random items—certainly no scholarly implements, as Ye Jian wasn't that type. Against the back wall was a desk with an old computer, a seemingly new printer, and haphazardly stacked documents. Donning gloves, Zhang Yi'ang sifted through the files, most of which were routine work materials with nothing suspicious. Then he noticed a blank sheet of paper beneath a stack of folders.
He pulled out the paper, which bore the name "Luo Ziyue," along with a phone number and a residential address in a certain neighborhood.
"Luo Ziyue, the mayor of Three Rivers Estuary?" Zhang Yi'ang pondered. Though new to the area, he knew the names of key government officials.
The paper contained only Luo Ziyue's contact information—no other details. It was unclear whether this was a lead or simply contact details Ye Jian had obtained to seek the mayor's assistance. But soon, Zhang Yi'ang realized Luo Ziyue and Ye Jian's relationship might be more significant than that.
Beneath the paper were two photographs.
The first was a group photo of five people, encased in an old plastic sleeve with one corner peeling up. In the lower right corner of the sleeve, someone had neatly written the year and month of the photo in Chinese—sixteen years ago. The second photo showed six people, also with handwritten dates below—eleven years ago, five years after the first.In the first photo, a young man stood in the center, surrounded by four others. After careful examination, Wang Ruijun identified the four men behind him from left to right as Ye Jian, Zhou Rong, Lang Bowen, and Lu Yibo in their younger years. The man in the middle was Lang Botu, Lang Bowen's younger brother by two years. In the background was the Auto Parts Factory, with flower baskets at the entrance celebrating its relocation to a new site. It appeared to be a commemorative group photo taken during the factory's move. The five men were dressed simply, their faces lit with youthful, cheerful smiles as they grinned at Zhang Yi'ang.
The second photo, taken five years later, featured a building-like reception hall in the background, also adorned with flower baskets. This time, the banners celebrated the opening of Auto Real Estate. Besides the original five, there was an additional person in the photo, identified as Luo Ziyue. Wang Ruijun explained that at the time, Three Rivers Estuary had not yet been upgraded from a county to a city, and Luo Ziyue had served as the county Party committee office director.
The central figure in this photo had shifted from the younger brother in the previous picture to the elder brother, Lang Bowen, while Lang Botu stood at the edge, appearing somewhat forlorn. The others still encircled the center. Among the six, only Ye Jian remained dressed in a simple jacket, while the rest wore suits and ties, their youthful expressions now replaced with maturity.
Zhang Yi'ang picked up the two photos, studying them back and forth. After a moment of thought, he asked Li Qian to bring an evidence bag, placed the photos inside, and instructed, "Keep these safe. They're important clues."
Li Qian, echoing the group's confusion, asked, "What do these two photos prove?"
"Two old photos from over a decade ago suddenly appearing on Ye Jian's desk—don't you find that strange?"
"Hmm..." Li Qian casually picked up an enamel cup on the desk, which was being used as a pen holder. It bore the words "Long Live the Revolutionary Committee" with a large "Loyalty" character in the middle. Awkwardly, she asked, "What about this?"
Her implication was that an enamel cup from the Cultural Revolution era appearing on the desk was even stranger. From the layout of Ye Jian's home, it was clear he was a man who paid little attention to his surroundings. Old items were often dug out and left lying around haphazardly—even a Kangxi Tongbao coin from centuries ago had been found in the pen holder.
"You're completely overlooking the details," Zhang Yi'ang lamented, shaking his head. "The key to solving a case lies in extracting the clues truly relevant to it from a jumble of information. You must accurately distinguish between all the details!"
The group felt his words captured the essence of investigative work, yet they still couldn't grasp what these two old photos signified.
Under their puzzled gazes, Zhang Yi'ang lightly tapped the handwritten dates at the bottom of the photos and said, "Look at the dates written here—why only the year and month, but not the specific day? Normally, when people note down the time a photo was developed, they’d write the full date, right? So we can deduce these dates weren’t written back then. Ye Jian wrote them recently—he only remembered the year and month but couldn’t recall the exact day! Now, think: Why did he take out these two photos? Why did he write the dates on them?" He rapped his knuckles on the table. "That’s the key!"
After some contemplation, the group realized the chief’s analysis was indeed insightful. Only a seasoned investigator could spot such an anomaly in these seemingly insignificant dates.A white sheet of paper recording Luo Ziyue's information corresponded to two photographs, with Luo Ziyue appearing in one of them. The two photos, taken over a decade ago, had abruptly appeared on the table. The photos were marked with the year and month they were taken, but curiously, the day was missing.
Although the connection between the white paper, the two photos, and Ye Jian's death remained unclear, everyone could vaguely sense that there was some link between them.
At that moment, Li Qian suddenly picked up another document with some words written by Ye Jian. Comparing it to the photos in the evidence bag, she hesitated before saying, "The handwriting on the photos doesn't seem to be Ye Jian's."
Everyone turned to look. Ye Jian's handwriting was messy and sprawling—clearly not the work of someone skilled with a pen. The words on the photos, though merely a few Chinese characters marking the date, were elegantly written, something Ye Jian could never have managed.
Zhang Yi'ang also leaned in to compare. The handwriting indeed didn't match Ye Jian's. He snorted dismissively and said, "Since the date wasn't written by Ye Jian, that makes it even more worth investigating! But from the photos, it's clear that Ye Jian was on good terms with these people. And Luo Ziyue appears both on the paper and in the photos—that's quite suspicious. So next, we need to focus our investigation on Lu Yibo!"
"Huh?" Wang Ruijun, still processing the inconsistency in the handwriting, was suddenly steered in another direction by the chief and couldn't help but ask, "Why investigate Lu Yibo if Mayor Luo is the suspicious one?"
Zhang Yi'ang frowned in reproach. "How could you forget the VIP card hidden on Ye Jian's body? That's the most important lead right now! The grand hotel is owned by Lu Yibo, so of course we investigate him!"
Wang Ruijun inwardly protested—he hadn't forgotten! But the chief had been talking about Mayor Luo's suspicious behavior, not the grand hotel!
What hidden secrets did this Lu Yibo hold?
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