“She got quite a few injuries at the time because she was saving me. There were blood marks from the reef on her arm and calf, yet she did not make a single sound the whole time. I asked her what her name was and which family she belonged to, but she just shook her head and refused to answer.”
“Then she asked me why I was there. I explained the conflict I was having with my father, so she slipped a shell bracelet strung on a red cord off her wrist and stuffed it into my hand.”
“She said: I made this myself. I have two. This one is for you. Be careful from now on. Don’t come to the seaside alone.”
“After saying that, she turned and ran. I wanted to chase her, but my legs were so weak I could not stand up. I could only watch her run far away behind the reef, and I never saw her again after that.”
Shen Detective recorded quickly, then raised his head.
Behind his lenses, his gaze was calm and sharp.
“Let me confirm the key point. You later relied on this bracelet to recognize a woman many years afterward. The other party claimed that she was the one, that she saved you back then, and that this bracelet was hers from childhood, correct?”
“Correct,” Su Qinghan’s voice turned a degree colder.
“Jiang Muyun. Three years ago, at the art exhibition opening, I saw an identical shell bracelet hanging on her bag, the same shells, the same red cord, the same chip. She admitted it herself, that she was the one who saved me back then. For these past few years, I have believed it without a doubt.”
“But now, you need to verify the truth.”
Shen Detective paused slightly.
“That’s right.”
Su Qinghan looked straight at him.
“I want you to investigate two things. First, go back to the time period of the Jinsha Bay incident that year. Did Jiang Muyun and her family have any records of being present, staying nearby, or any spending, transportation, or lodging records that prove she really appeared at Jinsha Bay at that time.”
Shen Detective raised an eyebrow.
“And the second?”
Su Qinghan was silent for two seconds, as if unwilling to overturn years of belief, yet still slowly spoke.
“Second, check whether, during that period of time, in the same beach area, there were other girls of the same age who matched the appearance in my memory, appearing alone or with family in that sea area.”
Focus the investigation on local fishing village residents, or families temporarily visiting relatives or friends.
She once said the bracelet was handmade, not a souvenir bought somewhere, which shows that she or someone around her was skilled at handmade shell stringing.
“It is very likely she was a local, and this can serve as a secondary clue.”
Shen Detective tapped the paper lightly with the pen cap while recording.
“The existing physical bracelet, photos, or the original item you kept, can you hand them to us for micro-trace comparison?”
“Yes.”
Su Qinghan took a small velvet box from a hidden pocket in her bag and gently opened it.
Inside the box lay quietly that pale pink shell bracelet, smoothed warm over the years by time.
The red cord had slightly faded, and that shell with the chip was still clear and striking.
She carefully pushed the box over, her movements solemn, as if handing over a heavy past.
Shen Detective lowered his eyes and glanced at it.
He did not touch the physical item and only took photos for the file, then nodded.
“Understood.”
He closed the tablet and lifted his eyes to Su Qinghan, his tone carrying a rare certainty, almost a solemn promise.
“Miss Su, for this kind of field investigation into an old case, we will advance along three clues at the same time: character profiling, surviving images of tourists from the same period, and interviews with nearby residents.”
“Although it has been many years, if the person who saved you back then truly existed, whether or not it was Jiang Muyun, we will do our best to find traces.”
Su Qinghan lowered her eyes and looked at the empty velvet box, silent for a long time, then gave a low response.
“Mm.”
“Don’t alarm my father, and don’t let Jiang Muyun or anyone connected to the Su Family notice this matter,” she added.
“That’s the rule in this line of work, Miss Su.”
Shen Detective gave a slight nod, stood, and packed up his equipment.
“Within fourteen days I will give you a preliminary investigation report. If there are clues, I will contact you immediately.”
She watched the investigator leave the private room, and the isolated door closed again.
Su Qinghan sat alone in the dim yellow light, her slender fingers slowly clenching tight, then slowly loosening.
She thought of these years, every time Jiang Muyun mentioned that midsummer, the perfectly measured gentle smile in her eyes; she thought of how she, relying on this “ironclad” matching token, had given her trust without reservation and rushed toward sincerity.
But the person who had reached out in the surging waves that year and pulled her back, those hands that had held her life, if…from beginning to end, they had never belonged to Jiang Muyun… She slowly closed her eyes.
She wanted the truth.
Even if this truth would completely destroy the obsession she had maintained for more than ten years.
…..
The bar lights were hazy, the music deafening, and the air filled with the scent of alcohol and hormones.
In the corner booth, Dai Feng, for once, did not have a deeply bitter and hateful look.
She leaned lazily on the velvet sofa, her fingertips pinching a glass filled with amber liquid, the corner of her mouth carrying a curve she could not suppress no matter what, even letting out a low laugh from time to time.
This was too abnormal.
Beside her, A Yue held her glass and secretly glanced at the person beside her several times, full of suspicion.
Strange.
In the past, when Dai Feng came to the bar, was it not always to drown her sorrows and drink herself into a stupor?
Why this time… did it seem like she was drinking to add to the mood?
AA Yue leaned a little closer, wanting to see what was going on.
She saw Dai Feng staring at the phone screen, her fingertips rapidly tapping on the screen, gentle beyond words.
Where was there any trace of her usual cold pride and hostility?
A Yue’s curiosity had just risen, and she tried to lean closer to see clearly who the other person in the chat was, but Dai Feng seemed to have eyes on the back of her head, suddenly turning sideways and covering the phone screen tightly.
Tsk, this young miss guarded against peeking so strictly.
It seemed she was not chatting with just anyone.
A Yue shrank back resentfully and raised her glass to cover her embarrassment.
Forget it.
As long as this ancestor is in a good mood, that’s enough.
She did not want to invite trouble.
At this moment, in Dai Feng’s world, there was only that small glowing screen.
Dai Feng: How is it over there today? Is Miss Ruo’s injury okay? Nothing serious, right?
Yan Yu: Mm, much better already. Thank you for your concern. I applied medicine for her. She is asleep now.
Dai Feng: That’s good. What about you? You weren’t hurt, were you?
Yan Yu: I’m fine too. Don’t worry.Seeing the reply, the stone in Dai Feng’s heart finally landed.
She sipped her drink, the smile in her eyes deepening, her fingers lingering on the keyboard for a while before she sent a sticker of a little bear holding a heart.
Just then, another message came from Yan Yu.
Yan Yu: By the way, A Feng, it’s really all thanks to you about Xiao Zhen’s matter. Another day I still want to give you a gift as thanks. What gift do you want?
The other side of the screen paused for a moment.
Dai Feng looked at this line of text, and that little smugness in her heart began to stir again.
She bit her lower lip, a trace of expectation flashing in her eyes.
Her finger hovered over the screen for half a second, and finally, as if she had made up her mind about something, she firmly pressed send.
Dai Feng: Actually… about the thank-you gift, Yan Yu, I have an unreasonable request.
Yan Yu: Hm? Miss Dai, go ahead, as long as I can do it.
Dai Feng: Can I ask for a photo of you?
The moment the message was sent, Dai Feng’s face turned red with a whoosh, even the roots of her ears stained with pink.
She frantically pressed the phone against her chest, her heart seeming about to burst out of her ribcage, madly pounding against it.
Ah, Dai Feng, you were too impulsive!
Sending a message like that, to Yan Yu, would it not seem like harassment?
She cursed herself inwardly, yet the corner of her mouth rose uncontrollably and wildly.