In addition to the traces of the car accident, bloodstains, and Ning Xin's damaged and powered-off phone, the investigating police also discovered Ning Xin's abandoned vehicle on the roadside about 7 kilometers from the crash site.
After forensic and traffic police examinations, the vehicle was found to have been tampered with. However, no other traces were found inside the car. The biological samples collected only contained DNA from Ning Xin, Ning Ping'an, and their live-in housemaid—no fourth individual was detected.
Based on these clues, the police speculated that Ning Xin, while driving home with Ning Ping'an, noticed a malfunction in the vehicle and pulled over. Since there were no signs of forced entry on the windows or locks, and apart from Ning Xin's own fingerprints, no other clear prints were found, it was likely that she exited the car voluntarily. For unknown reasons, she did not wait for roadside assistance but instead entered a vehicle driven by criminals disguised as passersby.
Reading this, Guan Xia overturned her previous assumptions and hesitantly remarked, "The car was sabotaged, and she got into a vehicle driven by criminals—this seems like a premeditated kidnapping. Didn’t Ning Xin’s parents receive any strange calls or messages? Something about this case feels off, almost surreal."
Pang Le scratched his cheek and agreed, "I feel the same way. Most kidnappings are opportunistic, right? From what I’ve seen in documentaries, human traffickers rarely go to such lengths to target someone. But if this was a kidnapping, why did the trail go cold later? Revenge by drug dealers also seems unlikely. What exactly were these criminals after—Ning Xin, Ning Ping'an, or both?"
He then dismissed his own speculation, "No, if both were targets, Ning Xin wouldn’t have died. So, the real target must have been Ning Ping'an?"
Pang Le’s frown deepened, his confusion almost palpable.
Ji An interjected, "Both the original investigative team and my own follow-up inquiries repeatedly questioned Ning Xin’s parents, but their answer remained consistent—they received no suspicious contact. To verify this, we even pulled their phone records from the month before and after the incident, and nothing stood out."
Guan Xia pressed further, "How was Ning Xin’s relationship with her parents?"
She wasn’t distrustful of human nature, but after watching countless crime dramas and documentaries, she knew there were parents capable of harming their own children.
Ning Xin wasn’t just her parents’ daughter—she was also a brilliant, financially independent success. Though Guan Xia didn’t yet know the specifics of her wealth, the term "financially free" suggested her assets and savings combined would be a staggering sum, enough to tempt most people.
Ji An understood the implication but remained unfazed. "We considered that angle too and spent a long time conducting thorough interviews. Ning Xin’s parents were definitively ruled out as suspects."
He set the tone before elaborating, "From our interviews, Ning Xin and her younger sister—my classmate Ning Yue—had a very close relationship with their parents. Ning Xin’s poor health was congenital; she’d been frequently ill since birth. Yet her parents never gave up on her. Later, because her condition limited her physical activities and left her with few playmates, they had Ning Yue when Ning Xin was seven, hoping she’d have companionship. In doing so, they even lost their respectable jobs."
Guan Xia and Pang Le listened intently. Pang Le couldn’t help but murmur, "From the sound of it, Ning Xin’s parents truly cared for her. But Ning Yue..."
Guan Xia stayed silent but agreed with Pang Le’s unspoken thought: Ning Yue’s existence seemed unfairly burdened from the start. No one should be born with a predetermined purpose.
Ji An picked up on their hesitation and shook his head. "I’ve met Ning Yue’s parents many times and heard her talk about her family often. Though she was initially born for Ning Xin’s sake, she received no less love. In fact, because Ning Xin had no other companions, Ning Yue was cherished even more. Ning Yue told me repeatedly how Ning Xin doted on her like a treasure. Despite her own poor health, Ning Xin never failed to care for her sister. Once, when Ning Yue was bullied, Ning Xin—already in college—took an overnight train home upon hearing and fiercely confronted the bully’s parents, nearly getting into a fight."
Guan Xia and Pang Le’s expressions softened.
Guan Xia conceded, "With that kind of bond, it’s impossible to imagine Ning Xin’s parents harming her."
Pang Le’s focus shifted elsewhere. He sighed, "What a tragedy. Such a loving family of five, now reduced to two elderly parents."
Before delving into the case, Guan Xia hadn’t felt much, but after seeing photos of Ning Xin and Ning Ping'an and hearing Ji An recount the sisters’ past, a pang of sorrow struck her.
Yes, these two remarkable sisters, so full of love, and little four-year-old Ning Ping'an—too young to understand—now gone or missing, leaving only the elderly behind. She couldn’t fathom how they endured each day.
After a few minutes of melancholy, Guan Xia forcefully shook off her wandering thoughts and refocused on the case files.
The following sections detailed the clues uncovered by the police and Ji An’s team over their five-year investigation.
First was the immediate pursuit of the criminals’ whereabouts after the report.
Through surveillance footage, the police traced the suspects’ vehicle to a T-junction where a provincial highway met a rural road.
The village was largely populated by left-behind elderly and children, as most working-age adults had migrated for jobs. The streetlights and surveillance cameras, installed years prior, were barely functional—the lights still worked, but the cameras had long since failed. Though the village wasn’t remote, its internal roads connected to neighboring villages, making it a web of possible escape routes. The trail went cold there.
Officers conducted door-to-door inquiries, but with limited evening activities and early bedtimes, villagers only vaguely recalled hearing a car pass by. No one had looked outside, leaving no leads on the vehicle’s destination.
This lead in the investigation hit a dead end, and the police later ruled out the possibility of a kidnapping after questioning Ning Xin's parents.
Subsequently, the investigators considered whether it could have been a crime of passion or revenge, but after thoroughly examining Ning Xin's social connections, they still came up empty-handed.
Although Ning Xin owned her own company, she held technical shares, and the business had other partners—all her university classmates. One of them even shared the same graduate advisor. According to the other two partners, whether in public or during private gatherings, there had never been any serious conflicts or disagreements. After all, the company's core operations relied entirely on Ning Xin's technical expertise. As they put it, "The entire company depends on Ning Xin for survival." Given her health condition, they had hardly ever argued since the partnership began.
Of course, all these statements were carefully verified by the police, and the partners were eventually cleared as suspects.
Later, the police also explored the possibility of human trafficking, but after persistent investigation, no leads emerged.
At this point, the case had reached a dead end. When there was truly nothing left to investigate, the police re-examined the surveillance footage from around the time of the incident and discovered a disguised figure near Ning Xin's residential area—a wanted drug dealer at the time. This provided a new direction for the investigation.
Unfortunately, although the fugitive drug trafficker was later apprehended, and the investigation led to the arrest of several small drug trafficking rings in collaboration with Shuangshi's narcotics team, no clues related to Ning Xin's case were uncovered.
By this point, Guan Xia had finished reviewing all the case files. Closing the folder, she turned to Ji An and asked, "Sister Ji, in the four years you've been investigating since resigning, have you found anything?"
Ji An shook her head with a somber expression. "For the first two years, I focused on human trafficking. I helped dismantle several trafficking rings, but I never found any trace of Ning Xin or Ning Ping'an—not even a whisper from the arrested traffickers. Later, I revisited angles like revenge, crimes of passion, and kidnapping, but still came up with nothing."
She paused before adding, "As for retaliation by drug dealers, I only started tentatively looking into that at the end of last year. Given the danger, I couldn’t move too aggressively. I’ve been investigating for over half a year now, but there’s still no sign of anything."
Guan Xia exhaled. "Seems like we’ll have to start with the newly discovered body. I wonder if Xu Nian will be able to access the autopsy report today."
Another key piece of evidence was the short but significant audio recording. Compared to the autopsy report, Guan Xia was more eager to hear that.
After reviewing the files and discussing for a while, the four of them split up to pack their belongings, had dinner together, and it wasn’t until nearly 10 p.m. that Xu Nian and the others returned to the hotel, looking exhausted.
When Xu Nian called, Guan Xia was sitting cross-legged on the bed, meticulously studying the sparse case files.
Pang Le, who had spent the afternoon fruitlessly analyzing the same material, had resorted to using a water bottle as a dumbbell, idly doing basic exercises out of boredom.
Hearing the phone ring, Pang Le was even more excited than Guan Xia. He sprang to her side and asked eagerly, "Is it Xu Nian? He went to the police station handling Ning Xin and her daughter’s disappearance today—he must have found something, right? That means we can start working tomorrow. I’m sick of being cooped up in this hotel; my limbs feel stiff from lack of movement."
Guan Xia glanced at the screen and confirmed it was Xu Nian. Picking up the phone, she said, "It’s him. I’m guessing he has good news."
Sure enough, as soon as she answered, Xu Nian said, "Got a minute? Come to Wang Yu’s room. We discussed the case with Shuangshi’s colleagues today, and they’ve made a new discovery."
Guan Xia practically leaped off the bed. "We’ve been waiting for you. I’ll get Sister Ji and the others—we’ll be right there."
Hanging up, she didn’t bother changing, just threw on a light jacket over her shorts and slipped into sandals before knocking on Ji An and Zhong Xiaoyu’s door. Once they were ready, they headed to Wang Yu’s room together.
By the time they arrived, Xu Nian and the others were already inside, eating instant noodles. Without waiting for questions, Xu Nian said, "The autopsy report is in, and the victim’s identity has been confirmed—it’s Ning Xin. However, despite extensive digging near her burial site, they still haven’t found Ning Ping'an. Based on the estimated time of death and wound analysis, Ning Xin likely died on the day of her disappearance, while Ning Ping'an was probably taken by the perpetrator."
This was unexpected. Guan Xia was stunned for a moment before pressing, "Sister Ji mentioned that among the evidence, there’s a crucial audio recording with the suspect’s voice. Did you manage to get a copy today? I’d like to hear it."
Xu Nian shook his head. "The case is still under investigation, so no evidence can leave the station—especially not something like an audio recording. But I checked with Shuangshi’s team, and we can go listen to it at the station tomorrow."
Guan Xia nodded. As long as she could hear it, that was enough. After all, the case was already five years old—one more day wouldn’t make a difference.
