Hu Jun returned over ten minutes later than expected after stepping out to take a phone call, but instead of bringing back one child, he came back with three—two of whom looked strikingly similar, with identical heights, clearly twins.
However, one of the girls appeared frail, her face pale as if she wasn’t in the best health, while the other looked lively and robust.
Standing slightly behind Hu Jun was a tall, lanky boy with sun-darkened skin. Unfazed by the room full of police officers, he greeted them with an easy familiarity, "Good afternoon, Officer Uncles and Aunties!"
The address drew chuckles from everyone present. Hu Jun gave the boy an affectionate pat on the shoulder. "Kid, why call us 'uncles' but them 'aunties'? I don’t mind, but some of them are barely older than you. You’re messing up the generations here."
"Because they’re pretty and look younger," the boy replied matter-of-factly. Though his words bordered on cheeky, his youth made it more endearing than irritating.
The lighthearted exchange eased the tension, and the two girls behind him relaxed visibly. Soon, all three settled in to eat.
For Guan Xia, it was her first time sharing a private dining room with so many people, and she initially felt out of place. Fortunately, Pang Le sat to her right and Xu Nian to her left—both familiar faces—so her discomfort faded quickly.
Pang Le kept his attention on Guan Xia throughout the meal, occasionally adding dishes he thought were tasty to her bowl. At first, Guan Xia stole glances at the three children, but she soon abandoned that in favor of tackling the growing mountain of food Pang Le had piled onto her plate.
The meal wrapped up in half an hour. The boy handed napkins to the two girls beside him before turning to Xu Nian with curiosity. "What did you want to ask us about? I haven’t heard of any cases in our area lately."
He frowned, as if double-checking, and glanced at the frail girl. "Right, Ning Ning?"
Ning Ning didn’t hesitate. Setting down her napkin, she lifted her pale face and answered with certainty, "If you mean anything serious enough to involve the police, then no. But the usual daily fights and arguments are still happening."
Clearly, such minor conflicts were nothing noteworthy to them. The boy nodded confidently. "If Ning Ning says there’s nothing, then there’s nothing. She’s sharp and never forgets anything once a kid tells her about it."
It seemed the real standout among the three wasn’t the boy, but the girl. Guan Xia shot her a surprised look and exchanged a glance with Pang Le.
Pang Le, equally intrigued, shifted his gaze from the boy to Ning Ning.
Xu Nian studied the girl for a moment longer before pulling a photo from his pocket and sliding it over. "Take a look at this figure. Did any of you see this person in the early hours of June 11, 2022?"
"2022?" The boy muttered, his face scrunching up in thought—the timeframe was further back than he’d expected.
The two girls, however, showed no such hesitation. They leaned in, all three scrutinizing the photo.
The image wasn’t a casual snapshot of Yuan Yue but a surveillance still—a figure bundled head-to-toe, only their eyes visible.
After several minutes of careful examination, the boy shook his head. "I don’t remember."
He instinctively turned to Ning Ning. "What about you? Any recollection?"
Ning Ning frowned in concentration. "Wait, let me check."
Guan Xia wondered what she meant—until Ning Ning pulled out a small but thick, well-worn notebook from her backpack on the chair behind her. The cover was frayed, edges curled from long use.
As Ning Ning set the notebook down, the other girl swiftly cleared the table, pushing dishes aside and wiping the surface clean with a few practiced motions.
Ning Ning flipped through the pages and found the relevant entry in no time. Looking up at the boy, she said, "Around 3 a.m. that night, a stranger came in through the side path near the fitness square. Brother Yu spotted them and trailed them for a bit, thinking they were a thief."
The revelation sparked quiet excitement among the group, their expressions carefully neutral but eyes alight.
"Did you see which building they entered?" Xu Nian pressed.
The so-called "urban village" was a maze of tightly packed, four- or five-story self-built houses, their narrow alleys barely three or four meters wide. With minimal surveillance coverage, pinpointing Yuan Yue’s hideout without eyewitnesses would require either cooperation from Sha Junhao’s friends or a massive manpower sweep.
Ning Ning consulted her notebook again. "They went into Wu Junzhe’s building. Left around noon—12 p.m., give or take."
The precise departure time surprised Guan Xia, and she exchanged another glance with Pang Le. Her curiosity about Ning Ning—and that notebook—grew even stronger.
"Wu Junzhe’s a classmate of mine," the boy explained. "Their building’s way in the back. Not many tenants because it’s such a hike, so no cameras either."
Just knowing the building was a stroke of luck; the lack of cameras didn’t dampen their spirits.
Pang Le couldn’t resist asking Ning Ning, "How’d you know when they left? Did you keep watch the whole time?"
Ning Ning tucked the notebook back into her bag calmly. "Since we suspected they were a thief, we told Wu Junzhe to keep an eye out. That way, we didn’t have to watch them directly—he’d notice if anything went missing."
"Smart," Pang Le said, giving her an approving look before turning to Guan Xia with an exaggerated eyebrow wiggle, clearly bursting with unspoken thoughts.
After finally sending the three children back to the school across the street, Pang Le couldn't wait to pull Guan Xia to the back of the group and whisper, "I've been dying to talk freely. Did you notice it too? On the surface, the boy seems to be the one calling the shots among the three, but in reality, he checks everything with the girl named Ning Ning. I’m starting to wonder if his dealings with those underground mahjong parlor operators years ago were even his own idea—maybe it was all Ning Ning’s plan, and he was just the one executing it."
Guan Xia shared the same suspicion. Based on her observations, the boy appeared relatively mature, but that maturity seemed forged by unusual circumstances. In contrast, the girl named Ning Ning, though quiet and reserved, never wasted a word—everything she said carried weight. Judging by the notebook she carried, she was meticulous and had her own way of thinking.
If she were an adult, it wouldn’t have been so surprising. The real shock was that the girl was still in high school. Working backward, three or four years ago, she would have been only eleven or twelve. At such a young age, she already possessed such sharp thinking and logical behavior—Guan Xia couldn’t help but wonder if she might be another protagonist in the making.
"One thing I’m sure of," Guan Xia said, "is that this girl is exceptionally intelligent."
"Eleven or twelve years old, three or four years ago…" Pang Le sighed. "What was I doing at that age? Throwing tantrums because my grandfather dictated my life and wouldn’t let me wear skirts. It’s true—you can’t compare people, especially when it comes to intelligence."
Recalling Ning Ning’s every move in the private room earlier, Guan Xia nodded in agreement. "I’m genuinely curious now—what kind of life will she have? It feels like she could succeed at anything she sets her mind to."
"Same here," Pang Le said. "We should keep an eye on her in the future."
After confirming Yuan Yue’s exact whereabouts on the night of the incident, the group left the school and followed Hu Jun and another young officer to the home of Wu Junzhe, as Ning Ning had mentioned.
On the way, Hu Jun explained, "Wu Junzhe’s family consists of three people—a couple and their child. Simple household. They run a mahjong parlor, so money isn’t a major concern, which is why they don’t fuss much about renting out their property. Usually, the couple stays at the parlor, and rent collection is handled via WeChat. However, about five years ago, their home was burglarized, so they’ve been extra cautious about security ever since."
While Hu Jun described the situation, Guan Xia glanced around. The deeper they went into the neighborhood, the fewer people they saw outside. In contrast, mahjong parlors became more frequent—almost one every ten meters. Through the open doors, she could see crowded rooms filled with smoke and the occasional burst of cursing, giving the area a somewhat chaotic atmosphere.
After another ten minutes of walking, Hu Jun led them to a five-story self-built house. A short, plump middle-aged woman was already waiting outside, her face etched with impatience. But the moment she saw the size of their group, her expression shifted, and she forced a smile. "Officer Hu, what’s with all the police? Did something major happen in this building?"
The woman seemed startled by her own assumption, her face twisting with fear as she instinctively looked back at the building.
Compared to Xu Nian’s serious demeanor, Hu Jun was far more relaxed. He smiled and said, "Nothing major. We’re just here to ask about someone. On the night of June 10, 2022, or early morning on the 11th, a stranger entered this building. Gu Ning mentioned that your son, Wu Junzhe, suspected the person was a thief. Do you remember anything about that?"
Relieved that it was just a routine inquiry, the woman exhaled. "Oh, is that all? 2022…"
She thought for a long moment before answering, "I think there was something like that, but it’s been too long. I only vaguely remember my son mentioning it while I was cooking—said there was a suspicious person staying in the building the night before, maybe a thief. But later, nothing went missing."
Xu Nian asked, "That month—did anyone approach you about a short-term rental?"
The woman shook her head. "No way. I never do short-term rentals, only long-term. It’s too much hassle showing the place over and over. I’d rather spend that time minding my shop."
In other words, Yuan Yue hadn’t rented the place—she had stayed there as a guest.
Xu Nian pulled out a photo and asked, "Have you seen this person?"
Guan Xia, standing beside him, glanced at the picture. It wasn’t Yuan Yue—it was Sha Junhao.
This time, the woman recognized the face almost immediately after taking the photo. "Oh, him? Yeah, I’ve seen him before. He used to visit one of the tenants often, but I haven’t seen him in years."
The group perked up. Xu Nian pressed further, "Do you remember which tenant he was visiting?"
"Of course. A woman in 402," the woman said with a dismissive wave. "Always out at night and back at dawn—who knows what she was up to. Actually, you’re in luck. She usually sleeps in at this hour. I’ve got the keys—I’ll let you in."
She started toward the building, but Hu Jun stopped her. "No need for the keys if she’s home."
Disappointed, the woman pocketed the keys but still followed them upstairs.
Everything went smoother than Guan Xia expected. Xu Nian only knocked a few times before a young woman answered the door, clearly still half-asleep. She wore a nightgown with a thin cardigan draped over it, yawning impatiently—until she saw the police. Her expression froze.
Even a rookie like Guan Xia could see the flicker of panic in the woman’s eyes. She knew something.
Sure enough, after Xu Nian asked just two basic questions, the woman took a deep breath, crossed her arms tightly over her chest—a defensive posture—and said, "I know what you’re here for. On the night of June 10, 2022, I did let someone stay in my place. But I never met them or spoke to them. Sha Junhao just told me he had a friend coming to town for something, but their ID was lost, so they couldn’t check into a hotel. He asked if they could crash here for a night. He’d helped me out before, so I figured it wasn’t a big deal. Then, a few days later, I heard his father was killed—murdered."
The woman lowered her head uncomfortably before continuing, "I got suspicious, but I brushed it off. Sha Junhao had talked about wanting his father dead for years—if he’d really done it, he’d have done it himself. But then he got taken in by the police and later released… that’s when I started feeling like something was really off."
The young woman rummaged through a box in the corner and, after a moment, pulled out a small sealed plastic bag containing a few strands of hair.
She hesitated briefly but then handed the bag over, taking a deep breath before saying, "Just to be safe, I turned the entire place upside down that night after returning home. That’s when I found these hairs tucked in the seams of the headboard. I had long hair back then, but it was freshly permed—these strands clearly weren’t mine."
Xu Nian took the bag, while Hu Jun asked with a complicated expression, "If you felt something was off back then, why didn’t you report it to the police?"
The young woman gave a faint, sardonic smile and murmured, "It might sound inappropriate now that he’s dead, but I’ve always thought Sha Junhao’s father wasn’t even human. He deserved to die a long time ago."
