When the first surveillance video began playing, Guan Xia specifically noted the timestamp in the top-left corner: July 12, 2023, 5:32 PM. Judging by the furnishings, it was a living room.
The room wasn’t large—just a sofa and a small folding coffee table that could be extended into a modest dining table seating four or five people. Several dishes were already laid out, and every ten minutes or so, Meng Lan could be seen bustling in with more food.
Guan Xia adjusted the playback speed. About half an hour later, a few more people entered the room—likely Meng Lan’s parents and younger brother, judging by their ages.
She turned up the volume and finally caught snippets of their conversation. Meng Lan tried her best to appear warm and welcoming, but her body language and expression betrayed a hint of stiffness. Her brother, on the other hand, remained silent the entire time. He plopped onto the sofa without so much as a greeting, pulled out his phone, and started gaming with an air of indifference. In contrast, Meng Lan’s parents were affectionate, chatting animatedly with her.
Another fifteen minutes passed. A woman dressed like a housekeeper—presumably hired by Meng Lan—brought out the last two dishes and mentioned that a soup was simmering in the kitchen. It needed to boil on high heat for seven or eight minutes, then simmer for another thirty, and would be ready by 6:45 PM. She reminded Meng Lan not to forget.
Meng Lan’s mother was mid-conversation, and Meng Lan only managed a distracted acknowledgment before her attention was pulled away. After that, it was as if the reminder had never been given. The other three showed no reaction either, picking up their chopsticks and digging into the meal.
Meng Lan’s father even cracked open a bottle of liquor he’d brought. After barely touching his food, he seemed overcome by a craving for alcohol, urging Meng Lan to drink with him, one cup after another. Soon, even her brother joined in, and the group quickly grew intoxicated.
Guan Xia checked the timestamp again—6:34 PM. It wasn’t yet time to turn off the stove, but the window to reduce the heat had long passed.
Though Guan Xia wasn’t much of a cook and rarely made soup, she knew that leaving a pot boiling on high heat with the lid on would cause it to boil over. By now, gas was likely filling the apartment.
A few minutes later, whether from drunkenness or something else, Meng Lan was the only one still somewhat conscious. The other three were sprawled haphazardly across the sofa. Meng Lan staggered to her feet, swaying as she glanced around. She seemed to head toward the bedroom but stopped after a few steps, as if remembering something. Shaking her head with effort, she slurred something unintelligible and stumbled toward the front door.
The camera’s angle didn’t capture the doorway, but a faint creak a minute later suggested Meng Lan had opened it.
After that, she never reappeared in the footage—just as she’d described in her statement, she’d collapsed unconscious by the door until a neighbor found her and called the police.
Pausing the video, Guan Xia remained deep in thought. The surveillance footage made everything seem perfectly normal, like a genuine accident.
Pang Le chimed in, "Forgetting something like this could be deliberate, but based on Meng Lan’s behavior in the footage, it doesn’t seem intentional. If it weren’t for your intuition, even I’d think this was just an accident."
Guan Xia stayed silent, unsure how to respond. Without a word, she clicked on the next surveillance clip.
This one showed the kitchen in sharp detail. The high-definition camera captured every movement of the housekeeper at work, even the subtlest shifts in expression.
Despite scrutinizing the footage for inconsistencies, Guan Xia found nothing amiss by the end. Meng Lan appeared in the kitchen several times, her face alight with excitement and anticipation, devoid of any negative emotions. To any observer, her body language and expressions gave no hint that she harbored murderous intent.
Guan Xia, who had always trusted her instincts, began to doubt herself after reviewing all the footage. The system’s interface hadn’t triggered—could her intuition have been wrong?
Just as the thought crossed her mind, Xu Nian, who had been quiet until now, suddenly spoke. "If we treat this 'accident' as a homicide, there are still some oddities."
Guan Xia and Pang Le perked up, pressing urgently, "Oddities? Where?"
Xu Nian reopened the first video with an awkward gesture, fast-forwarding before pausing. "Focus on how Meng Lan’s parents and brother behave."
Guan Xia had been fixated on Meng Lan earlier and hadn’t paid close attention to the others. Now, watching intently, she sensed something off—though she couldn’t immediately pinpoint it. She shot Xu Nian a questioning look.
Rewinding to the scene where Meng Lan’s father urged her to drink, Xu Nian let the footage play normally again and explained softly, "Look at how frequently her father pours her drinks. It doesn’t seem like a normal family gathering—more like he’s trying to get her drunk."
Guan Xia’s eyes widened in surprise. Pang Le straightened abruptly, exclaiming, "No wonder something felt off! If you ignore their blood ties, a middle-aged man pushing alcohol on a young woman like that reeks of ill intent."
With Xu Nian’s insight and Pang Le’s input, Guan Xia realized the contradiction. Such behavior at a family dinner was indeed unusual.
Though she’d never had much experience with family—neither before nor after her "transition"—even movies and TV showed normal family gatherings as relaxed affairs with casual conversation and occasional toasts. Getting drunk, if it happened, would take hours. But Meng Lan’s father? The moment they started eating, before she’d even finished chewing her first bite of chicken, he’d eagerly uncorked his liquor and filled her glass to the brim—not with beer or wine, but hard liquor. One glass of that could knock out someone with a low tolerance.
Meng Lan’s mother also acted strangely. While she didn’t push the drinks, she kept up a cheerful chatter while busily serving Meng Lan—piling food onto her plate, refilling her glass the moment it emptied. On the surface, it looked like doting care, but from another angle, wasn’t she just enabling her husband to get their daughter drunk?
As for Meng Lan's younger brother, he seemed uninvolved in the whole affair, silently keeping his head down to eat and play on his phone throughout. However, the occasional glances he cast toward Meng Lan carried a hint of hostility—a smirk that seemed almost gleeful, as if relishing some unseen misfortune.
Once suspicion shifted to a different target, the previously ordinary surveillance footage suddenly appeared riddled with suspicious details.
Guan Xia pondered aloud, "But what was their motive for getting her drunk? Money? If I remember correctly, Meng Lan’s biological father is quite wealthy. She mentioned they own a company, live in a villa, and drive luxury cars. As for emotions..."
She trailed off mid-sentence, realizing how absurd her reasoning sounded. Even though Meng Lan had only recently reunited with her biological parents, blood ties still bound them. Besides, her mother was present too. Even if her father were truly a beast with unspeakable intentions toward his own daughter, he’d never be able to convince Meng Lan’s mother to play along.
Revenge was even less plausible. If anything, Meng Lan would be the one holding grudges against them.
Unable to land on a plausible explanation, Guan Xia finally looked up at Xu Nian and asked, "After the accident, were autopsies performed on the three deceased? Was any suspicious evidence collected from the scene?"
Xu Nian replied, "The accident resulted in three deaths and one critical injury. While Meng Lan was unconscious, her older sister consented to the autopsies. Nothing unusual was found in the reports, and no physical evidence was recovered either. When Meng Lan’s parents went to her home, all they brought were two bottles of alcohol, some personal belongings, and their IDs."
Guan Xia had initially suspected that Meng Lan’s father might have tricked her into stamping her fingerprint on some document while she was drunk. But since no paperwork was involved, that theory was quickly dismissed.
Pang Le, however, seemed to have a different idea. With a grave expression, he asked Xu Nian, "Aside from Meng Lan’s father and brother, was there a fourth person—someone they knew—present near her home that day?"
Guan Xia was momentarily confused, but after a few seconds, her eyes widened in shock as she stared at Pang Le. "Are you suggesting... her parents sold her out?"
Pang Le nodded cautiously. "It’s just a guess. I recently watched a crime drama where the killer’s motive was that her boyfriend had sold her—drugged her and delivered her to a business partner’s bed. To control her, they even filmed the whole thing."
Guan Xia was appalled. "But Meng Lan is their biological daughter. How could they do something so monstrous?"
Pang Le shrugged. "That’s why it’s just speculation. But think about it—they didn’t raise her. How deep could their bond really be? And given how easily they abandoned her in the first place, they clearly lack morals and a sense of responsibility. When profit’s involved, heartless people will stop at nothing."
Though Pang Le’s reasoning was sound, Guan Xia’s worldview still took a hit. It took her a long moment to recover. When her gaze flicked back to the surveillance footage, what had once seemed innocuous now painted Meng Lan’s parents in a sinister light.
Unlike Guan Xia’s visible shock, Xu Nian remained composed. After a brief silence, he said, "Assume boldly, verify carefully. Whether it’s true or not, we’ll find out through investigation. The case dates back to July 2023, and the surveillance footage is still within the retention period. With the right paperwork, retrieving it should be straightforward."
Guan Xia glanced between Xu Nian and Pang Le, steadying her turbulent emotions before suggesting, "Should we head to Linshan City to investigate?"
Xu Nian didn’t hesitate. Pulling out his phone, he began typing a message. "I’ll submit the request now. If all goes smoothly, we can leave as early as tomorrow."
