Old Qian worked in tourism services and had seen hundreds if not thousands of different clients. Some he forgot immediately, others left lasting impressions.
Nie Jiuluo belonged to the latter category, but truthfully, with 99.9% of these people, it was a one-time encounter in life, so after a few days, memories would fade and life would move on.
But he hadn’t expected there would be more to this story.
About two weeks after Nie Jiuluo’s trip ended, Old Qian had finished his driving duties and was planning to head home for dinner when his wife called to say she was getting facials with her friends and couldn’t cook, telling him to find somewhere to eat in town.
Old Qian went into a roadside restaurant for dumplings. Eating alone can be lonely, but fortunately, he had his phone for the company—his work required him to join many local groups like “Food & Fun in Shihe” and “Tourism Drivers Family.” He muted notifications during busy times but actively participated in discussions when free, finding some entertainment there.
While eating, one of the groups exploded with messages. When he checked, group members were excitedly flooding the screen with the same message: “Let me earn these 2000!”
What was going on? Old Qian scrolled up several pages to find the source: someone had posted a photo, saying the person in it had gone missing in the Shihe area. The family was offering a 2000 yuan reward for anyone who had seen him and could describe basic features, with additional rewards for useful information.
Old Qian wanted to earn that 2000 yuan too.
He opened the photo and was so startled he dropped his dumpling into the vinegar dish, splashing drops onto his face.
The man in the photo—wasn’t he that… that person working in illegal services, that male escort?
Gone missing—though not surprising, given that line of work carried high risks regardless of gender.
A contact number was listed at the bottom of the photo. Old Qian’s heart was pounding: he didn’t know how Yan Tuo had disappeared and couldn’t provide leads, so the extra reward was out of reach, but 2000 was secure!
Never having earned money this way before, Old Qian was nervous. He left his half-finished bowl of dumplings, quickly paid, and went out. Once in his car, he closed the windows to create a relatively quiet environment, took a deep breath, and dialed the number.
He felt as nervous as if he were interviewing for a job.
Someone answered quickly, a man with an indifferent tone: “Who is this?”
Old Qian spoke clearly and formally: “It’s like this, I saw that you’re looking for someone…”
Before he could finish, the other person snickered dismissively: “You’ve seen him, right? I get two hundred calls a day, all claiming they’ve seen him. Okay then, since you’ve seen him, tell me what brand was his sedan?”
Old Qian was stunned, suddenly unsure: “Sedan? Wasn’t he driving an SUV? A big one.”
The other person was silent for a second or two, and when he spoke again, his tone was less flippant: “Brother, just for that answer, you’ve secured the base reward. I was testing you earlier, don’t blame me—there are too many scammers.”
Old Qian hurried to say: “I understand, I understand.”
“That SUV of his, what color was it?”
“White.”
The other person made an affirmative sound: “Did this car have any distinctive features or decorations? Can you name one?”
Old Qian didn’t think there were any special features—wasn’t it just an expensive car? As for decorations…
A light bulb went off: “He had a duck in his car, like a toy one.”
He almost added it was an occupational symbol but held back, worried it might offend—after all, it wasn’t something to be proud of.
The other person made another affirmative sound, and when he spoke again, his tone was somewhat excited: “When did you see him?”
Old Qian calculated the dates: “The 18th, yes, the 18th of last month.”
The other person was straightforward: “Alright, come collect your money.”
Two thousand yuan just for talking? Old Qian grew cautious, worried the other person might be a scammer, but when he heard the meeting location, he relaxed—a café on the first floor of the downtown department store, a busy place with a police station right across the street, completely safe.
***
In a corner booth at the café, Old Qian met the person waiting for him.
It was a young woman of medium height and thin build, with unremarkable features and poor health—pale complexion and yellowish hair. The only noteworthy feature about her was her hands: slender fingers, white and lustrous like spring onion roots.
She must have known her hands were beautiful, as she’d made her biggest investment there: nails polished to a translucent pink smoothness, decorated with silver scattered gold nail art, a delicate gold chain on her wrist made of tiny, irregular gold particles strung together. Because the particles were so small and multi-faceted, the chain sparkled subtly, as if a ring of starlight danced on her wrist.
Old Qian thought it was almost a waste for these hands to be on her, as they made her features seem even duller in comparison.
She showed her ID and business card, introducing herself as Lin Ling, an office assistant at a traditional Chinese medicine distribution company, and Yan Tuo was the legal representative of this company.
In other words, their boss had gone missing, and besides filing a police report, some employees had paused their work to help search for clues. According to her, the person who answered the phone was also a company colleague, responsible for filtering out false information and passing genuine, valuable leads to her.
As she spoke, she adjusted her phone’s stand to video mode, positioning it to ensure Old Qian’s upper body was fully in frame.
Old Qian found it incredible: “This Yan Tuo… is a company boss? He’s wealthy?”
Lin Ling said: “Isn’t that obvious? Born into money, never knew poverty.”
Old Qian understood: a second-generation rich kid and not the wasteful kind.
“Then why did he do that?”
Lin Ling glanced at him: “Do what?”
Old Qian hesitated, wanting to save face for the company boss, but then thought—the person’s missing, what face is there to save? Better tell the truth.
He tried to put it delicately: “You know, that adult entertainment… service industry.”
Lin Ling maintained a professional face: “That’s the boss’s private matter, we don’t inquire about it. Just tell me in detail about when you saw him, and besides the 2000, we’ll consider additional payment.”
With the possibility of earning more, Old Qian got excited. Knowing he was being recorded, he sat up straight, trying to maintain proper comportment as he began his story.
Being a tour driver required good speaking skills, and he told the story clearly and comprehensively. Lin Ling listened carefully, barely interrupting, only asking at the end: “This is Miss Nie, do you have her contact information or basic details?”
Old Qian said: “You know her name, you can search for her online. She’s quite famous, has held exhibitions, and been in magazines.”
Having asked enough questions, Lin Ling was efficient, asking him to show his Alipay payment code and immediately transferring him 5000 yuan.
When Old Qian left the café, it felt unreal. He checked his phone several times to make sure the money was still there.
He’d have to keep this money secret from his wife, or she’d spend it on facials; and from his friends, or they’d pressure him to treat them to meals—eating out wasn’t cheap these days, easily costing three or four hundred.
***
After sending Old Qian off, Lin Ling put on headphones and fast-forwarded through the video once more before gathering her things and heading straight to the fifth floor.
The fifth floor was the dining area, with a bustling food court, well-reviewed affordable restaurants, and high-end establishments with deep entrances that suggested expensive prices.
Lin Ling walked into the most impressive-looking one.
Due to the high prices, there were only a few scattered dining customers in the restaurant, all seated far apart under warm, ambiguous lighting. Lin Ling walked to a table in the back and called out: “Aunt Lin.”
The woman browsing the menu responded with a “Mm” sound: “Sit down.”
Lin Ling sat directly across from her, glancing over to see several young waiters in white shirts and bow ties stealing looks in their direction. When their eyes met hers, they quickly looked away, embarrassed.
Lin Ling smiled, knowing full well: that these people certainly weren’t looking at her.
They were looking at Aunt Lin, Lin Xirong.
She called her “aunt,” but judging by appearance alone, they looked about the same age. What made her even more envious was that Lin Xirong possessed stunning beauty and a charm in her expressions that could captivate anyone—a mix of Hong Kong retro and French elegance. She wore an avocado green floral V-neck ruffle-hemmed fitted tea-length dress with gathered sleeves. On herself, Lin Ling knew this dress would look awkward and dated, but on Lin Xirong, it fit as naturally as a second skin.
In front of her, Lin Ling always felt inferior, thinking that when heaven created people, it had poured its heart and soul into Lin Xirong, but when it came to herself, it must have been in a hurry to use the bathroom and just quickly pinched together a human shape to get it over with.
She pulled up the video page and pushed the phone with its connected earphones toward Lin Xirong.
Lin Xirong said: “No rush, tell me first, I’ll watch it tonight.”
Lin Ling organized her thoughts: “The driver we met today was quite valuable. We lost contact with Yan Tuo on the 19th, and this person saw him on the 18th, and said that when they parted ways, Yan Tuo had a beautiful woman surnamed Nie in his car.”
Lin Xirong smiled faintly: “Not surprising, Xiao Tuo is an adult. He told me he met a friend and would be delayed for a few days—I knew it was probably a woman.”
“But on the evening of the 19th, that woman was abandoned at a remote mountain exit, and this driver drove a long way to pick her up.”
Lin Xirong shook her head: “With Xiao Tuo’s temperament, I can believe him kicking a woman out of his car, but leaving someone in such a place doesn’t seem like his style.”
Lin Ling smiled: “I thought the same—he’d leave people in busy areas, stations, or metro exits, somewhere convenient for them to get home.”
Lin Xirong pondered for a moment: “This woman surnamed Nie needs to be investigated thoroughly… Besides this, are there any other reliable leads?”
“There are two more people worth meeting in person. One is an old innkeeper who says Yan Tuo stayed at his inn on the evening of the 18th; the other is called ‘Big Head,’ who claims he saw Yan Tuo…”
At this point, she lowered her voice: “…stuffing a very ugly man into a suitcase.”
Lin Xirong frowned: “How could Xiao Tuo be so careless, letting someone see something like that? Gives me a headache…”
The words “give me a headache” weren’t just a figure of speech—she did tiredly rub her temples. Lin Ling observed her expression: “Aunt Lin if you’re not feeling well, you should go back and rest. I can handle things here.”
Lin Xirong said softly: “With no news from Xiao Tuo for so long, how could I rest? After all, I raised him.”
Lin Ling sat motionless, feeling a chill run up her back to the top of her skull.
As a child, she had idolized Lin Xirong—this aunt who had adopted her was too beautiful, more beautiful than the actresses on TV.
Later, she became afraid. When she was five, Lin Xirong looked to be in her twenties, and when she was twenty, Lin Xirong… still looked to be in her twenties.
***
October 18, 1992 / Sunday / Cloudy
Over four months pregnant now. Looking in the mirror, I feel my belly has grown a bit more prominent, and my body feels heavier. No wonder they say pregnant women are “running with a ball”—carrying such a big ball around really is tiring.
Da Shan finally settled on a name for our son. He said the character “kai” was too light and weightless, but “tuo” was different—you could hear the strength in it, suitable for mining coal and blessing the mine’s business.
Son, as long as you can bless the mine’s business, forget about mining coal.
Speaking of Da Shan…
Da Shan has been acting strange lately, but if you asked me to be specific, I couldn’t say exactly how. It’s just a feeling. I discussed this with Min Juan and Xiao Xiu, but they disagreed. Min Juan said pregnant women are too sensitive and worry too much, while Xiao Xiu never speaks without dropping bombs—she asked if Da Shan might have someone else outside.
That scared me. I said I trusted Da Shan, and that he would never do such an unethical thing. Xiao Xiu just sneered and said all men are the same, that this stage is when they’re most likely to have affairs.
I shouldn’t have listened to this talk. Once it got into my head, it took root like a thorn in my heart. Today after the prenatal check-up, I went to the mine. While Da Shan wasn’t there, I snuck around like a thief and searched his office desk inside and out.
Da Shan’s office had some new pinyin learning books, probably bought for our son (though it’s way too early), and a small mirror.
What does a man need to be pretty for? What’s the mirror for?
I got clever and loosened a button on Da Shan’s most-worn shirt—didn’t pull it off, just undid the thread so it hangs loose.
If the button falls off, it falls off, but if it gets sewn back on, that’s not good at all.
I also slipped Chang Xi ten yuan to help me keep an eye on Da Shan. Chang Xi refused to take it, saying I’ve always taken care of him, so helping with this small favor was only right. I haven’t done much for him, just occasionally giving him an apple or pear since he’s young and new to the mine.
Da Shan, if you do have a woman outside, Lin Xirong, let me tell you—don’t be weak, don’t let people think they can bully you. Just go all out: take a knife to that pair of dogs, then take sleeping pills and die—take Xiao Tuo with you too, living in this world without parents would only mean suffering.
Am I overthinking things? It’s just a small mirror. Min Juan is right, pregnant women do tend to overthink everything.
Time for bed.
—[Excerpt from Lin Xirong’s diary]