Fu Yingtаo had beеn trаppеd in a long nightmаrе whеn hе suddеnlу jolted аwake, only to reаlizе that hаlf of it wаs rеаl. Сold mеdiсinе driррed intо his body through а trаnspаrent tube. Hе felt utterlу drained, unаblе tо dо аnуthing but stаre blanklу аt the сеiling аnd the whitе hosрitаl sheets. Тhе sharр scent of disinfеctant filled his nоstrils—unmistаkаbly thе smell of a hоsрitаl. No оnе wаs bу his bеdsidе, and nо оne hаd cоme to сheсk оn him.
Нe hаdn’t rеасhed the summit. All thе effort, time, and monеy he’d spеnt along thе waу hаd beеn wasted. Was he really getting old? Was it time to step back?
After an unknown length of time, a nurse noticed he was awake and hurried out. Soon after, two middle-aged men walked in, briefcases tucked under their arms, their expressions serious. They showed him their badges and introduced themselves as police officers.
After some brief pleasantries, the two officers got straight to the point—
“When you adopted Fu Xingyue, were you aware that she had certain physical defects?”
“Why did you prevent Fu Xingyue from dating and marrying her ex-boyfriend, Han Mu? What was her reaction at the time, and did she ever mention this incident to you or anyone else afterward?”
“What was the relationship between Jiang Aohang and your late wife? Were there any conflicts? Did you ever discuss the family’s property or other assets in detail with Jiang Aohang?”
From their questions, Fu Yingtao sensed something was off. Struggling to sit up, he leaned weakly against the pillow. “What do you mean by asking me these things? Have they come back? Why aren’t they here taking care of me while I’m lying in the hospital?”
“We’re unable to answer those questions for now. Please cooperate with our work and answer us first.”
Fu Yingtao stared at them for a long moment before explaining that his cousin hadn’t told him about any defects in Fu Xingyue; otherwise, he wouldn’t have adopted a child with defects. “I adopted her to help take care of me in my old age, not out of charity to look after her for a lifetime—not even minor defects. When she was young, I took her for check-ups, and she was perfectly healthy. Our family doesn’t have any hereditary diseases either. I don’t know why you’re asking me this.”
The police had already obtained evidence that Jiang Aohang had gone to Fu Xingyue’s hometown to inquire about her biological parents. It seemed her biological parents had deliberately hidden this minor defect from Fu Yingtao, only for Jiang Aohang to accidentally discover and exploit it.
“What about Han Mu, then?” the police asked. “Tell us what you know—why didn’t you agree to him becoming your son-in-law back then? Was it because of his character or something else?”
Fu Yingtao was deeply puzzled by this question. “I’m not familiar with that person.”
“Are you aware that he never married and has maintained frequent contact with your daughter and son-in-law?”
“What?!” Fu Yingtao was shocked and furious. “What does he want? He just won’t give up! Is he trying to ruin my daughter and son-in-law’s marriage? Let me tell you, back then, he kept trying to lure my daughter to his home, preventing her from fulfilling her filial duties to me. My daughter was completely infatuated with him at the time, almost forgetting about me, her deeply indebted father! Did he come here during my daughter’s illness on the mountain and get into a fight with my son-in-law? Officers, you need to investigate this thoroughly. He seduced… no! He coerced my daughter into being with him. Xingyue would never have taken the initiative. You need to arrest him immediately!”
“So you were strongly opposed to them being together back then?”"Of course I'm opposed," Fu Yingtao said. "If my daughter marries him, she'll have to move to the city where he works. What about me? I worked so hard to raise a daughter, only for her to go and serve someone else's family? What has he ever done for my daughter? Money? Time? Nothing but a few sweet words!"
The two police officers exchanged glances and nodded, as if to say—now we have motives from both sides.
"Call my daughter and son-in-law over. I want to ask them myself," Fu Yingtao demanded, his tone still haughty despite his weakened state.
"Well... you'll have to contact them yourself."
"What kind of attitude is that? Get your supervisor here! I have connections at your provincial headquarters, you know?"
The two officers stood up, politely bid farewell, and left. Once they regrouped with the other officers who had been conducting interviews elsewhere, they shared their findings and concluded that Jiang Aohang and Han Mu were significant suspects in the case.
"Han Mu was Fu Xingyue's first love and the only man she ever had any emotional entanglement with. He studied medicine, so he understands pharmacology. Even though he's not in Golmud or near the couple, he still has the means to guide the crime remotely," one officer said.
Another added, "Fu Yingtao strongly dislikes Han Mu. According to him, he never mentioned Han Mu in front of Jiang Aohang. Only some of Fu Xingyue's close college friends knew about him. From our interviews with Jiang Aohang's friends, all his previous relationships before marriage were with men, so the possibility of a fraudulent marriage can't be ruled out. During our investigation of his phone contacts, we found someone named 'Rui Rui' who was very close to him—and this 'Rui Rui' is Han Mu."
"So what role do you think Fu Xingyue played? We need to figure that out before we can make a breakthrough with her."
This question left the other officers deep in thought. After a moment, the officer who first responded to the call said, "The key still lies with Han Mu... but ever since we started looking into him, we haven't been able to reach him."
"Did he run?"
"Regardless, he's a key figure. We'll probably need to ask our colleagues over there to help locate him."
In the hospital room, Fu Yingtao kept calling Fu Xingyue and Jiang Aohang, but both phones went unanswered. Confused and agitated, he grabbed a nurse and insisted she find the police to ask about their whereabouts, threatening to pull out his IV and go search for them himself if she refused. The normally quiet hospital ward erupted into chaos with his shouting. Eventually, from the murmurs and jeers of the onlookers, he heard—
Fu Xingyue and Jiang Aohang were suspects in a criminal case, and one of their intended victims was him.
This news plunged Fu Yingtao into a prolonged silence. The duty nurse and resident doctor dispersed the crowd of patients and family members who had gathered, warning them not to spread rumors until the case was resolved.Fu Yingtao recalled the inexplicable questions the police had just asked, as well as Han Mu's recent situation. This led him to think about the months after he finally persuaded (or rather threatened) his daughter to break up with Han Mu, when someone wrote a letter to the general manager accusing him of abusing his authority and having personal conduct issues. After struggling to clear his name, he went to great lengths to trace the source of the anonymous letter, which turned out to be from the city where Han Mu lived. Although he couldn't prove it was Han Mu's doing, the likelihood seemed high.
It wasn't strange that Han Mu kept in touch with Fu Xingyue. After all, he had forced them apart, but they remained connected. However, the fact that Han Mu also maintained contact with Jiang Aohang was truly baffling.
A nurse came in to change his IV drip. Fu Yingtao suddenly grabbed the hem of her uniform, glared at her sternly, and asked nervously, "Am I really that hated? I'm the one who raised her... She should be repaying me, yet she wants to harm me? How can people's hearts be so dark? How?!"
"Sir, please focus on recovering," the nurse replied, assuming he was struggling to cope with a major shock. She didn't take offense and offered a few comforting words.
"Do you have any executive suites here?" Fu Yingtao persisted. "If you want me to recover properly, arrange one for me. The conditions here are inadequate—I can't recuperate properly. Also, tell the police to assign officers to protect my safety!"
"Sir, you..." The nurse was at a loss for words, momentarily stunned.
Sitting in the Quan'ertou Offal Shop, Bayunye drank half a bowl of lamb offal soup. Compared to yesterday's undercooked instant beef noodles, today's meal was truly satisfying. She wasn't the type to dwell on troubles for long. After a night's sleep, she seemed to have forgotten about Hippo's betrayal, even though she tried calling him twice this morning, only to find his phone still switched off.
Brother Long deliberately withheld Hippo's recent commissions from several groups of clients and canceled the year-end bonus he had promised earlier. He advised her to wait and see, finish the trips scheduled before the Spring Festival, and deal with everything after the holiday.
Bayunye rested her chin in her hands as she watched Diao Zhuo across the table. When you like someone, everything they do seems attractive—walking, eating, even breathing. He had shaved this morning, looking fresh and spirited. His black casual blazer hung over the back of his chair, and the dark blue shirt underneath stretched slightly over his sturdy frame, accentuating the muscles in his arms and chest. She couldn't help but admire him, and under the table, she extended her foot to press against his calf, gently rubbing up and down.
Though Diao Zhuo's gaze remained fixed on the news on his phone screen, his left hand reached down to grasp her ankle, his thumb affectionately stroking the back of her calf. Their subtle interaction carried an intimacy invisible to others.
Bayunye felt a ticklish sensation and deliberately put on a serious tone. "Later, I'll drop you off at that place... the compilation..."
Diao Zhuo looked up. "The Local Chronicles Compilation Committee."
"Right, the Local Chronicles Compilation Committee... I'll go to the supermarket to buy some snacks and things to bring on the road tomorrow." The bowls in the northwest were enormous, and Bayunye couldn't eat another bite, so she put down her chopsticks. "Are you sure you don't need any official approval to look up materials there? At least... bring some fruit?"
He reached out and gently tapped the tip of her nose. "Is that how you see government departments?"She shrank her neck, now as docile as a grandson, "We ordinary folks dare not trouble the government for no reason."
"When we do geological surveys, sometimes we need to check old prefecture or county records at local archives. They're clean offices—no need for approval slips or gifts. Other departments won't bother ordinary people unless..." He gestured with his chin toward her car parked at the door, "you violate traffic rules, then you just have to accept the fine."
Bayunye laughed heartily and asked, "I looked it up on Baidu last night but couldn't find anything about river diversions or Glacier monitoring stations here. Can you really find that in local records?"
He looked up at her, "You were in the mood to search Baidu last night?"
"Had something on my mind, couldn't sleep."
"Why didn't you wake me up?"
"Afraid you were dreaming of me, didn't dare disturb," she said glibly. "Do local records include years? With so many years, how do you even search?"
Diao Zhuo replied, "Rivers and lakes don't change course, disappear, or appear for no reason. If it's due to an earthquake, the magnitude should be significant; if it's a natural disaster, the damage would be enough to be recorded in history. Local records existed in various regions during the Ming and Qing dynasties, collecting information on all aspects of the area, organized by year. In modern times, they are revised every 20 years. This time, we're looking for information from the 1970s to 1990s, which we need to find in the first edition of the Golmud City Records after the founding of the People's Republic. As for the Glacier monitoring station, I'm not sure if it's recorded—depends on luck."
Bayunye clasped her hands together, "Good luck to you."
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