Ma Zhenxing never imagined that he and his romantic rival had such a subtle connection from the past.

Twenty-nine years ago, his rival Tang Hongen’s sister went missing during the Tiananmen military parade. After the Tang family reported it, Officer Chen, Ma Zhenxing’s uncle, was the one in charge of the case.

Five years ago, it was naturally Tang Hongen who wanted to reinvestigate the case. Of course, at that time, Officer Chen hadn’t developed dementia yet, so Tang Hongen could communicate with him directly, without having to deal with Chief Ma Zhenxing… Otherwise, Ma Zhenxing would have met Tang Hongen five years ago.

At this moment, Ma Zhenxing had an internal struggle. Thinking about how two months ago, through an introduction, he had met a rather suitable match, he decided the past should be left behind and followed his conscience:

“Don’t hesitate to ask for help if needed, after all, this was my uncle’s case.”

“Uncle Ma, thank you. We might need your help, but Zhou Cheng and I will study it first.”

They parted ways downstairs.

Zhou Cheng, knowing that Chief Ma was his father-in-law’s former rival, would never mock the old Tang. Instead, he rather envied Tang’s luck – even his romantic rival was gracious.

Thinking of his rival… that ostentatiously flashy red sports car still parked in the yard made Zhou Cheng weary.

Grace? The surname Du probably didn’t even know what grace meant.

The sports car was meant for Xiaolan, but the attitude was meant for him, constantly reminding and irritating Zhou Cheng.

No wonder Zhou Cheng’s honeymoon was so eventful. The couple took the two notebooks from Officer Chen’s home and went back to study them together. Tang Chunlei thought they were just young people, but these two youngsters together were quite formidable.

“Wife, I’ve finished reading this one.”

Xia Xiaolan handed him the 29-year-old diary, “Let’s swap then.”

After reading both, Zhou Cheng took out paper and pen again:

“Let’s organize what we know so far.”

Officer Chen had organized the materials according to his thinking, but Xia Xiaolan and Zhou Cheng reviewed them themselves.

“Uncle Tang’s sister was called Tang Youru, born in September 1952, exactly 7 years old when she went missing, with no notable birthmarks.”

“The 1959 military parade started precisely at 10 AM, but before then, the parade route was already packed with spectators.”

“And Uncle Tang’s brother and sister-in-law only reported it around 3 PM.”

This reporting time made Zhou Cheng pause his writing.

“The report was too late!”

The timing of the report was indeed problematic.

Zhou Cheng and Xia Xiaolan had both participated in the 1984 National Day parade – Xia Xiaolan in the university ceremonial formation, Zhou Cheng among those being reviewed. Starting in the morning and ending at noon was the normal timeline.

Officer Chen’s notes preserved Tang Hongen’s brother and sister-in-law’s statement – they said little sister Tang Youru disappeared shortly after the parade began!

By 3 PM, both the parade and celebrations had long ended.

Several hours in between were wasted.

The doubts Zhou Cheng and Xia Xiaolan had, Officer Chen had too. Tang Hongen’s brother and sister-in-law explained that they were too panicked, focusing only on searching for Tang Youru in the crowd, never thinking about reporting to the police. The crowd’s cheering was too loud as they pushed through, finding nothing until noon.

After the parade ended, the two were crying at Tiananmen Square, only thinking to seek police help after kind onlookers reminded them – people in panic indeed often make wrong judgments. The first few hours of any missing person case are the golden period for solving it; once this time passes, finding the child becomes very difficult.

Not to mention in 1959 when there were no surveillance cameras – even in 2017, with cameras everywhere, there are still blind spots.

If bad people had taken the child, they could have fled Beijing in those hours – how could they be found then?

Indeed, both Zhou Cheng and Xia Xiaolan classified the so-called “getting lost” as malicious abduction.

If someone just got separated in the crowd and couldn’t find a child temporarily, kind people would later bring the child to the police station.

Officer Chen not only paid attention to his jurisdiction but also to all other areas in Beijing. From National Day 1959 to the autumn of 1960, even after the Tang family had given up hope, Officer Chen still thought about the case, using his spare time to investigate outward from Tiananmen Square as the center point, looking for little girls matching Tang Youru’s description.

For any family that suddenly had a “visiting relative” or a daughter appear out of nowhere, Officer Chen would personally investigate.

Tang Youru was 7 when she went missing, and her family said she was clever and quick-witted. Officer Chen believed she would remember her family.

Unfortunately, months of investigation yielded nothing.

Officer Chen had to reach a conclusion: whoever took Tang Youru during the parade must have taken her out of Beijing.

Once outside the city, Officer Chen naturally couldn’t find her.

There was another possibility, marked with a big “?” in Officer Chen’s notebook – that Tang Youru might have been harmed…

Xia Xiaolan felt heavy-hearted and unconsciously moved closer to Zhou Cheng.

Zhou Cheng patted her shoulder, “Feeling bad?”

“I feel bad for Uncle Tang.”

Old Tang’s journey to today hadn’t been easy.

Tang Chunlei knew to use Tang Youru’s disappearance as leverage because Tang Hongen had deeply loved Tang Youru – the siblings were especially close.

Tang Youru was the Tang family’s late-born daughter. Though not wealthy, they doted on her greatly.

After Tang Youru’s disappearance and failed search, Tang Hongen’s mother couldn’t bear the blow and passed away. From then on, Tang Hongen lived with his brother and sister-in-law… Later when they denounced him and he was sent to labor camp, Ji Ya also asked for divorce and took their son Ji Jiangyuan away. Old Tang lived alone for many years.

That’s why she could feel Old Tang’s lonely world-weariness back then.

When she invited Old Tang to spend New Year in the countryside, he agreed immediately.

It wasn’t just to pursue her mother – Old Tang himself was yearning for family…

Zhou Cheng wrapped his arm around her shoulders, “Don’t get discouraged yet, we’re just starting. Don’t think about the worst scenario of harm – let’s assume Miss Tang is still alive. In these 29 years, while Uncle Tang couldn’t find her, has she tried to find her family?”

If she had been kidnapped at two or three years old, she likely wouldn’t remember her family.

Tang Youru was already 7 when she went missing, an age when she should have memories, at least partial ones.

Xia Xiaolan perked up and analyzed Zhou Cheng’s thinking:

“Searching for family is human instinct. Even if she was taken far away, while she couldn’t make decisions as a child, now Miss Tang would be a wife and mother and should have some autonomy. Are objective conditions preventing her from searching, or is she unwilling to search?”

In particularly poor, remote places, how could one search for family? Just filling one’s stomach takes all energy – survival isn’t easy!

Though it’s 1988 now, and the country issued its fourth version of currency last year, with the highest denomination changing from the ten-yuan “Da Tuanjie” to fifty and hundred-yuan notes, showing the market’s demand for currency circulation… The economic environment was improving, but poor areas were still numerous.

“If she’s subjectively unwilling to search for her family, that reason would be interesting.”

Xia Xiaolan muttered.