The silver rolling shutter door clattered upward with a harsh metallic ring. Behind it stood Tan Mengyan, dressed in a white tank top and black athletic pants, squinting at her.
Wei Zhi stepped from the brilliant sunshine outside into the dim, cluttered interior of the water station.
A cobweb-covered lightbulb hung listlessly in a corner. Dancing dust motes, like excited, ignorant children, jostled to crowd into the single beam of natural light.
Wei Zhi climbed the decaying wooden stairs, her footsteps drawing groans from the wood as she ascended to the small second-floor loft.
Tan Mengyan followed behind her and moved to stand before the loft’s only small window. His broad shoulders blocked most of the light, plunging the room into deep shadow. His sharp-featured face was lost in the silhouette, and his overly long bangs fell forward, obscuring his eyes.
Zheng Tianxin was still seated at the wooden table, a stainless steel lunchbox set before her. Her smile, bisected by the harsh line of light and shadow, looked exceptionally grotesque—as if two completely different images had been stitched together.
On the side illuminated by the sun, her fleshy cheek glowed with a greasy sheen. Smile lines appeared as if etched by invisible fingers, and her upturned lips revealed a row of neat but slightly crowded teeth—a look of almost pathological cheer. Meanwhile, the half shrouded in shadow was submerged in gloom, leaving only a blurred outline and a deep eye socket. There, the smile became illegible, like a mask concealing all genuine emotion.
This half-light, half-dark smile twisted in the interplay of light and shadow, sending a chill down Wei Zhi’s spine.
“Xiao Wei, I specifically brought you my specialty, braised tofu, and some braised pork with potatoes... all your favorites.”
Two greasy, thick hands pressed down on the stainless steel lunchbox, slowly pushing it toward Wei Zhi. The box scraped against the uneven wooden table with a piercing screech, like a knife dragging across rough human skin.
Wood shavings flew up briefly like splatters of blood before falling back down, powerless.
Wei Zhi sat down across from Zheng Tianxin and watched as she opened the lunchbox, revealing the still-steaming food inside.
“Eat while it’s hot,” Zheng Tianxin urged with a smile.
“I found this on Ji Qikun’s computer.”
Wei Zhi didn’t touch the food. Instead, she pulled out Wei Lai’s old phone and pulled up a video—a mere tip of the iceberg she had hurriedly recorded from Ji Qikun’s computer—and showed it to Zheng Tianxin.
At first, Zheng Tianxin didn’t realize what she was looking at. It wasn't until a woman’s naked body appeared on the screen that it clicked. Instantly, the mask-like smile vanished, replaced by a look of sheer, terrifying ferocity.
“Where did you find this?”
As Zheng Tianxin spoke, she reached out to grab the phone. Wei Zhi pulled her hand back in that same heartbeat, her ten unadorned fingers gripping the device tightly.
Zheng Tianxin’s hand met empty air. She looked at Wei Zhi in surprise.
“What do you plan to do once you have this?” Wei Zhi asked.
“Investigate these women one by one, of course. Find evidence that Ji Qikun forced them to film these videos.” Zheng Tianxin withdrew her hand, the smile sliding back onto her face.
“And if you can’t find any?”
Zheng Tianxin froze.
“If there are no witnesses, a judge can only determine if coercion existed based on the footage itself.”
Wei Zhi had already forced herself to watch all the videos. Even if she hadn't, she knew—Ji Qikun didn't need violent coercion.
He had a hundred ways to make a woman "willingly" film such things with him. Just as Mei Man had ultimately used her own two legs to leap from the rooftop.
“In the absence of violent coercion, distribution, or profit-seeking, even surreptitious filming is merely an illegal act; it doesn't reach the level of a crime,” Wei Zhi said. “I remember you saying that to extend the statute of limitations, we must find evidence of him committing another crime within the last ten years.”
“...That is true.” Zheng Tianxin leaned back against her chair, smiling. “I’m just trying to explore every possibility and every path. What if one of them *was* violently forced into it?”
“I told you, if I find out you’ve lied to me, I’ll pull out at any time,” Wei Zhi said.
Zheng Tianxin replied unhurriedly, “I remember, of course. Xiao Wei, I haven't lied to you.”
“You didn't lie to me. You simply misled me.”
“What are you talking about?” Zheng Tianxin’s smile shifted slightly.
“Given Ji Qikun’s personality, the probability of him suddenly confessing to his crimes is nearly zero. What you are truly looking for—and what you are certain you can find—” Wei Zhi stood up from the wooden chair, her eyes locked onto Zheng Tianxin’s, “—is evidence of Ji Qikun committing domestic violence against me.”
The smile on Zheng Tianxin’s face gradually morphed into something else entirely.
“That’s why you went to such lengths to help me hide my debts, helped me marry into the Ji family, and made me a legal member of his household,” Wei Zhi said. “Even before that, you started helping me catch his attention. All because I was the most suitable bait you could find after careful selection.”
“What evidence do you have? This is all speculation, Xiao Wei. Saying things based entirely on guesswork will only destroy the trust between us,” Zheng Tianxin laughed.
“Ji Qikun’s ex-girlfriends—Mei Man and Tan Jingyan—both had one thing in common,” Wei Zhi said.
She had once wondered what Zheng Tianxin’s criteria for choosing a partner were.
One had to know her true objective to understand her screening process. If the goal was to attract Ji Qikun’s attention and make him bite the hook, the answer was obvious.
“They both came from broken homes. Perhaps they both carried internal trauma,” she said. “Tan Jingyan’s parents died when she was three. Her relatives refused to adopt a girl and gave her to a couple in the city. Mei Man was raised by a single mother, a career woman.”
“And me—I have a repressive family background and have been on antidepressants for a long time.”
“What Ji Qikun loves are women with flawed family backgrounds. They lack love, so they crave it even more,” she said softly, “...recklessly so.”
“You chose me from many candidates and created opportunity after opportunity for me to be with Ji Qikun, all just to deliver me to his blade.”
After a long silence, the corners of Zheng Tianxin’s mouth curled up, and a faint sneer escaped her throat. Tan Mengyan remained leaning against the window, his silhouette melting into the halo of light.
Zheng Tianxin picked up a pair of disposable chopsticks, her somewhat clumsy fingers appearing exceptionally thick in the light. She took the lunchbox Wei Zhi hadn't touched and shoveled a piece of tofu into her mouth.
“Look at what you’re saying, Xiao Wei—”
Large chunks of tofu were fed into her mouth in quick succession. Zheng Tianxin’s cheeks bulged visibly, as if some soft force were slowly surging inside. With every chew, her jaw moved rhythmically up and down. Occasionally, her lips would press together to catch the juices attempting to escape, while her gaze remained fixed on Wei Zhi with an eerie calmness.
“...Wasn't it you who wanted to climb the social ladder, using all those little tricks to seduce Ji Qikun? I only gave things a little push,” she said deliberately.
“Was being hurt by Ji Qikun like Tan Jingyan and Mei Man also something I wanted?” Wei Zhi asked.
Zheng Tianxin picked up a rib and bit down hard. Wei Zhi could almost hear the sound of bone colliding with teeth.
“Xiao Wei, you’re an adult. You can’t expect to reap the benefits without paying the price, can you?”
“...Do you still remember your real name?”
Zheng Tianxin’s smile vanished, replaced by a terrifying coldness. In her peripheral vision, Wei Zhi saw Tan Mengyan lift his head, revealing eyes that were naturally cold and sharply defined.
She looked at Zheng Tianxin without flinching.
There was no concealment in her gaze, no tenderness—only pure, unadorned scrutiny.
This stare made Zheng Tianxin feel an indescribable unease, as if all her secrets were being exposed to the sun.
***
At the same time, at the Dashanguan Police Station, Zhang Kaiyang took a stack of documents from his junior colleague.
“It’s the same as last year,” the junior said.
To prevent another tragedy like Mei Man’s, Zhang Kaiyang had spent eight years asking his subordinates to keep an eye on Ji Qikun’s movements. Similarly, he had been tracking Weng Xiuyue’s whereabouts, worried she might do something impulsive and commit an irreversible mistake.
Ji Qikun had been relatively well-behaved, but Weng Xiuyue had never appeared once in those eight years.
The utilities at her home had long been cut off, and even the property management fees were in arrears. Her household registration hadn't moved, but her house and car were covered in thick layers of dust. Her social security payments had stopped since she resigned, and there hadn't been a single transaction on any of her credit cards or bank accounts.
It was as if she had vanished from the face of the earth.
Even when Ji Qikun returned to Jiangdu City six years later, Weng Xiuyue never showed up.
Had time smoothed over the pain? Had she let go of the past and started over?
Recalling the hatred-filled eyes Weng Xiuyue once had at the station, Zhang Kaiyang’s intuition told him this wasn't over.
The turbulent river had merely moved from the surface to the underground.
“It’s been so long, Senior. Do you really want to keep following this?” the junior urged. “Eight years of silence means it’s truly over.”
Zhang Kaiyang was not convinced. He continued, “Is there any news from the parents of Tan Jingyan and Wang Shuang?”
Tan Jingyan had aborted a child for Ji Qikun and died in a car crash due to fatigued driving after he threatened to break up with her. Wang Shuang was another of Ji Qikun’s ex-girlfriends; they had dated for a year after Mei Man. By the time they broke up, Wang Shuang suffered from severe depression. After a failed suicide attempt to make Ji Qikun stay, her parents had sent her abroad for treatment.
If Weng Xiuyue were looking for accomplices in revenge, the parents of these two would be the best choices.
“I gave them Weng Xiuyue’s physical description and showed them her photo, but Weng Xiuyue hasn't approached them over the years,” the junior said.
Zhang Kaiyang frowned and fell silent.
“Ah, but—Wang Shuang’s mother did say a woman came to see them a year ago.”
“A year ago?”
The junior quickly explained, “Because the physical description was so different from Weng Xiuyue’s, I didn't mention it to you, Senior. I figured it was just some busybody digging for gossip from Wang Shuang’s parents.”
“Do you remember the description?”
“Of course—it was very memorable,” the junior said. “The person who went to see Wang Shuang’s parents was an unkempt, obese woman, estimated to weigh over 180 pounds.”
***
“Do you still remember your real name?”
From the second Wei Zhi asked the question, time became viscous and slow. Zheng Tianxin watched expressionlessly as Wei Zhi’s lips moved, enunciating her name syllable by syllable.
Those three characters were like sludge pouring out of a poisonous swamp, gradually submerging Zheng Tianxin’s form.
Beneath the filthy, foul-smelling mud lay her true self.
“If it were you, could you forget?” she asked Wei Zhi.
Wei Zhi did not answer.
She didn't need anyone to answer, for the answer had long been etched in her heart.
Zheng Tianxin set down the disposable chopsticks and slowly stood up from the table. Her massive frame was like a heavy mountain, gradually eclipsing the light on the tabletop. The shadow she cast spread across the wood like an invisible, silent net.
Her gaze was hollow and cold, her fleshy face appearing even more sinister in the shifting light. In the silence, she was like a mute giant, her very presence a silent nightmare radiating a suffocating pressure.
Weng Xiuyue looked at Wei Zhi without blinking and said:
“I cannot, and I will never forget.”
“I am a mother who lost her daughter.”
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 郑田心 | Zheng Tianxin | The alias used by Mei Man's mother. |
| 翁秀越 | Weng Xiuyue | The real name of Mei Man's mother. |
| 王双 | Wang Shuang | Another of Ji Qikun's victims/ex-girlfriends. |
| 大山关派出所 | Dashanguan Police Station | The local police station where Zhang Kaiyang works. |
| 张开阳 | Zhang Kaiyang | The police officer investigating the case. |
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