Yan Qing walked over and greeted him with a polite, composed smile. “You must be Mr. Shen. Hello.”

Shen Liang had noticed her the moment she stepped through the door. She looked much the same as she had in the photo — her face unadorned, her clothes clean and understated, like a gentle shaft of light on a winter’s day.

After the two of them sat down, Shen Liang said courteously, “What would you like to eat, Miss Yan?”

“I had a meal before coming.”

“Then at least have something to drink.”

Yan Qing smiled. “Sparkling water.”

Shen Liang called a server over, ordered sparkling water for Yan Qing, and a coffee for himself.

“What kind of work do you do, Miss Yan?”

“Forensics.”

“Forensics?” Shen Liang seemed somewhat taken aback.

“That’s right — working with bodies every day. Cutting them open, then sewing them back up.”

Yan Qing finished saying it and was a little surprised herself, because Shen Liang didn’t appear to register any discomfort whatsoever. Instead, a faint, easy smile crossed his face. “I’m a lawyer — I’ve worked with many forensic examiners before. A female forensic examiner, though, this is a first.”

Yan Qing thought to herself that Shen Liang, being a lawyer, was a man of wide experience. The title of forensic examiner clearly wasn’t enough to rattle him.

Just as she was quietly thinking through what excuse she might use to leave, a familiar voice suddenly broke through. “Yan Qing.”

Yan Qing turned her head, and her eyes widened slightly at the sight of Shi Ting standing beside her. “Shi—”

The word “leader” hadn’t even made it off her tongue before Shi Ting had already settled into the seat beside her. “Done talking with your friend?” he said. “Don’t forget the film at one o’clock.”

His tone was so utterly natural and unhurried — like a boyfriend reminding his girlfriend — that across the table, Shen Liang’s gaze sharpened with quiet attentiveness.

Yan Qing processed it for a beat, then smoothly picked up the thread. “Of course I remember. This is Lawyer Shen — my Second Aunt’s old classmate’s son.”

“Hello, Lawyer Shen.” Shi Ting looked across at the other man. “No need for a formal introduction, I take it.”

“The renowned Team Leader Shi — how could I not know you.” Shen Liang returned a courteous smile. “We’ve actually dealt with each other a few times before.”

“You two know each other?” Yan Qing was a little surprised.

Shi Ting offered a brief explanation. “Before my transfer to Pujiang, Lawyer Shen and I crossed paths on a few occasions.”

He checked his watch. “There’s nowhere to park outside — my car’s on the side of the road. I could get a ticket any minute.”

Yan Qing immediately looked apologetic. “Lawyer Shen, I’m sorry to cut this short.”

“Not at all — if you have somewhere to be, please go ahead.”

“Then let’s go.” Shi Ting rose to his feet, and as he did, reached over and picked up the shoulder bag she had left on the sofa beside her. After they’d walked a few steps, he let his hand fall naturally to take hold of hers.

Yan Qing’s mind went blank.

That warm, dry palm closing around her hand made her whole body go still. She stared up at the tall figure beside her, her thoughts gone entirely.

Yan Qing was thus led by Shi Ting all the way to his car, and it was only when she came to her senses that she tried to pull her hand free.

“Shen Liang is watching,” Shi Ting said quietly.

Yan Qing glanced back and saw Shen Liang sitting by the window, his gaze seemingly directed toward where the two of them stood.

Her hand gave one small pull — and then she gave up.

Only once they were inside the car did Shi Ting release her hand. “An improvised measure — don’t take it to heart, Teacher Yan.”

Yan Qing understood, of course. Shi Ting had been trying to help her close the chapter on this blind date, putting on a show for Shen Liang’s benefit.

“I don’t at all — if anything, I should be thanking you, Team Leader Shi.”

“Still want to see that film this afternoon?”

“There’s actually a film?”

Shi Ting produced two movie tickets with a magician’s flourish. “Of course. I told you — I never say anything I don’t mean.”

Yan Qing fell silent.

“How did you know I was there?” she asked, as the soft music played inside the car.

“I was passing by.”

Yan Qing laughed. “And you think I’ll believe that?”

“All right.” He adopted a tone of surrender. “That day I came to the forensics room to get some documents, I accidentally overheard your conversation with your Second Aunt. I figured you’d be looking for a way to get through another one of these blind dates, so I took it upon myself to come and help.”

Shi Ting glanced over at her carefully, half-expecting her to be unhappy. “I acted a little presumptuously just now — only because I wanted it to look convincing. I apologize if I overstepped.”

He waited. After a moment, Yan Qing said, “You did it out of kindness. How could I be annoyed at you?”

“So — are we still seeing the film?”

“Of course. It would be a waste otherwise.”

When the two of them walked out after the film, Shi Ting asked, “What do you make of Lawyer Shen?”

“You know him, don’t you?”

“Just an acquaintance — no real connection. He’s only been back in the country a short while and has already won two notable cases. Made quite a name for himself.”

“Is he a criminal defense lawyer?”

“He is.” Shi Ting said. “There was a case involving the assault of a minor that resulted in death. He served as defense counsel for the perpetrator. The accused was ultimately acquitted on insufficient evidence.”

“Insufficient evidence?”

“The perpetrator came from a wealthy family. Two witnesses were paid to give false testimony.”

Yan Qing couldn’t help but feel a quiet sorrow at that. Beyond the reach of the law, there were always those who sought to place themselves above it — human will, the power of money.

“Was there ever a retrial?”

Shi Ting shook his head.

Even if everyone knew who had committed the crime — even when the perpetrator, after being released, openly taunted the victim’s family — as long as the evidence was insufficient, the law could only follow the evidence, not intuition.

“I want to show you something.” Shi Ting said.

The car moved steadily along the road, and as the surroundings grew more and more familiar, Yan Qing began to piece together where he was taking her.

Her expression gradually grew heavier, her gaze complicated.

“We’re here.” Shi Ting pulled up to the side of the road. “The paths inside are too narrow — let’s walk.”

It was an alleyway, barely wide enough for a single small car to pass through. Shi Ting’s vehicle was too large and would inevitably scrape against the objects stacked along the sides.

The two of them got out of the car and walked inward along the alley.

On either side stood old, worn buildings. Overhead, a tangle of cables and wires crisscrossed in all directions. A few cats and dogs lay sprawled lazily along the roadside or on top of low walls, casting indifferent glances at the people passing by.

It was an aging residential neighborhood, long waiting to be redeveloped — but that news had never come, not in all these years. The younger residents had nearly all moved away. What remained were mostly middle-aged and elderly people.

“How long has it been since you were last here?” Shi Ting sidestepped a small dog that came bounding toward them, and reached back to pull Yan Qing out of the way.

“Not since I was old enough to remember.”

“Does any of it feel familiar?”

Yan Qing shook her head. “Nothing comes back. It feels very foreign — and yet there’s something I can’t quite name.”

She looked ahead at the old alleyway. “When I was small, Second Uncle never spoke to me about my parents. When I grew older and asked, they told me my parents had gone abroad and lost touch. By the time I entered this field, Second Uncle knew there was no use keeping it from me any longer — so he told me everything about that case, start to finish.”

“Have you ever thought about investigating it yourself?”

“Of course.” Yan Qing exhaled softly. “They were my parents. I’ve always wanted to find whoever killed them. But that case falls outside Pujiang’s jurisdiction — I have no authority to access the case files or take part in the investigation. Qianhu Tower came to me once, but I had no memory at all of what happened back then, and in the end it all came to nothing. Now that the Qianhu Tower case has been transferred under Pujiang’s jurisdiction, I believe it was fated to happen.”

As they spoke, the two of them arrived in front of a residential block. The other buildings nearby were full of the warm, lived-in noise of everyday life. This one was eerily quiet.

Shi Ting said, “Based on my investigation, after the homicide occurred here years ago, the residents of this building gradually moved away one by one. Because the apartment was associated with a murder, no one would buy it either. The people living here now are mostly those with nowhere else to go.”

They went up to the third floor. Along the corridor, the door to one apartment had a police seal across it — the seal had aged considerably, tattered and barely clinging on.

Shi Ting stepped forward and removed the seal, then produced a key and unlocked the door. When the case files were transferred, these had come along with them.

The door had not been opened in a very long time. A musty, stale smell rushed out to meet them.

Shi Ting stepped inside and took in the apartment before him.

It was a standard two-bedroom layout. A thick layer of dust had settled over everything, and on the floor of the main room, two human outlines marked in white were nearly buried beneath it.

The case was twenty years old. How many times this place had been searched since then, he couldn’t say — whatever traces could be found had likely been discovered long ago.

Yan Qing stood looking at this room that felt like a stranger to her, when a series of images suddenly flashed through her mind.

They slipped by too quickly — sharp as needles, each one pricking across her nerves before vanishing.

She pressed a hand abruptly to her head, her expression twisting with pain.

“What’s wrong?” Shi Ting came quickly to her side and took hold of her. “Are you feeling unwell?”

Yan Qing shook her head. “It’s like something came back to me — but it was too fast. I couldn’t hold onto it.”

“Come and sit down.” Shi Ting found a chair, wiped away the dust with a tissue, and guided her to it. “Here, sit.”

As Yan Qing settled into the chair, something outside on the balcony briefly caught her eye — a dark shape sweeping past the window.

A swallow.

“There’s a swallow out there,” she said. “Outside the window.”

Shi Ting walked to the window. Beyond the glass was a narrow balcony — roughly half a meter wide and a meter long. In the corner where the balcony met the eaves, there was a swallow’s nest. The ground beneath it was encrusted with droppings, accumulated over so many years that they had built up into a thick, hardened layer.

“Yes — it’s a barn swallow,” Shi Ting said. “They’re very fond of nesting under the eaves of houses.”

Yan Qing knocked gently at the side of her own head and closed her eyes. “Team Leader Shi, I think there’s something coming back to me — something connected to a swallow.”

“Connected to a swallow?” Shi Ting frowned.

“Yes. The image in my mind — it’s of a swallow.” Yan Qing strained to reach further, to pull out more, but nothing more came.

Then something sparked in Shi Ting’s mind. The next moment, he pushed open the balcony door. With the movement, the swallow was startled and took flight into the open sky.

He turned and brought over a chair, and under Yan Qing’s astonished gaze, stepped up onto it.

With the added height of the chair, Shi Ting could comfortably reach the swallow’s nest. His hand felt around inside the nest for a moment — and his fingers closed around something metallic.