Lady's Home

Chapter 3

Following the map's directions, Jian Dongping drove across the river for nearly 45 minutes before finally arriving at Jinsheng Road, a desolate and overgrown road on both sides.

To Jian Dongping's surprise, the road was a wasteland from beginning to end, and he reached the end in less than 5 minutes.

“Something’s not right, Jian Dongping. Is this the only section of Jinsheng Road? Are you sure you haven’t got it wrong?” Ling Ge asked, looking around. “Did your lady in the cheongsam give you a fake address?”

Jian Dongping remained silent, his brows furrowing slightly.

This attitude suggests that he agrees with her guess.

"Why did she give you a fake address? Did she say anything special when she gave you the address?" Ling Ge couldn't help but become curious.

“She said she spends most of her time here. I took that to mean she lives here.” He looked thoughtfully at the wasteland around the car and said, “Looks like I misunderstood.”

So what are your plans now?

"Go back, what else can we do?"

Ling Ge felt that something was wrong.

"You asked me to check her file. Could her name be fake too?" she asked. Seeing that Jian Dongping remained silent, she continued, "If the name is fake, the address is fake, and she deliberately dressed strangely to meet you, could she have done something shameful in her hometown?"

"Something shameful? What do you mean?" Jian Dongping seemed intrigued by her guess.

"Could she be a wanted criminal? Perhaps she committed some crime in her hometown, forcing her to leave and make a living elsewhere? Usually, only fugitives would deliberately conceal their identities," Ling Ge guessed. Suddenly, she felt a surge of excitement. Imagine if she caught a wanted criminal—wouldn't that be enough to redeem herself and return to the criminal investigation team?

Jian Dongping thought for a moment and smiled, "What you said makes sense. Then please check the wanted poster as well."

"Yes, I will." Ling Ge nodded emphatically, and seeing him turn the car around, asked, "Where to now?"

"Let's head back home. I need to go back to the magazine office. Where are you going? I'll take you."

"I have nowhere to go." It's still early, and Ling Ge doesn't want to go home or back to work. Everyone heard her being scolded by her boss this morning, and she doesn't want to appear in front of her colleagues so soon—that would be too embarrassing!

Jian Dongping seemed to have read her mind.

“How about we go hiking together?” Jian Dongping said.

"Hiking?"

"Would you be interested in a hiking trip around our magazine office, starting from our headquarters?"

"Is he just bored?" Ling Ge glanced at him sideways. Knowing him as she did, she was certain he had a reason for doing something so foolish, but he just wasn't willing to tell her. But this time, she was determined to make him talk, because she had plenty of time to play games with him; she was incredibly bored.

“Jian Dongping, I want to know your reasons for doing this. I know you won’t tell me, but I just want to know your reasons, reasons, reasons, reasons, reasons, I need to know your reasons!” she said repeatedly, feeling like a cassette tape recorder, unable to help but want to laugh.

Jian Dongping frowned in pain, like Sun Wukong who had just heard the spell of the golden headband.

"Go on, go on, go on," she continued, reciting the tape.

"Ling Ge, if you keep nagging, I'm going to speed!" he said coldly. "Do you know why I don't want to get married? It's because even the cutest woman will eventually turn into a croaking frog. You, this tadpole, are about to develop into that too."

"Hey, I'm not interested in your reasons for being single. What I want to know is why you're circling around the magazine office. What are you hiding?" she retorted irritably.

Jian Dongping was silent for a moment, then said:

“Zhou Jin said that when she first came to the weekly magazine to see me, she took a 5-stop bus ride, walked 4 corners, and crossed 2 crossroads. I was going to start from the magazine office and try to find her route back, maybe I could find out where she started from.”

Wow! He said it! That's really rare, she thought.

“This is too time-consuming, I think you should…” He seemed to be changing his mind and no longer wanted to take her on the “trip”.

“I’ve already been suspended, what could possibly happen to me? I’ll go with you,” she said immediately.

Ling Ge felt depressed when she thought about her predicament. She felt that instead of going home to reflect on her mistakes and write self-criticisms, she would rather go on an adventure with Jian Dongping. She believed that a physically demanding hiking trip would definitely help her vent her frustration. Besides, she was now very interested in Zhou Jin's affairs.

"Hey, I want to ask you something," she said.

"Ask away."

"Do you think Zhou Jin might really be a wanted criminal?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know, but I hope she isn't," Jian Dongping said uneasily, then suddenly turned to look at her. "Ling Ge, are you hoping she is? Do you want to redeem yourself and return to the criminal investigation team?"

Ling Ge felt his face getting hot.

"Jian Dongping, I didn't, I was just guessing..." She tried to defend herself, but he immediately interrupted her.

"I'll help you," Jian Dongping said with a smile.

Ling Ge rolled her eyes at him and said nothing.

4. The last contact person

Two days later, on Saturday, Jian Dongping received a call from Ling Ge early in the morning.

"Hey! Are you awake?" Ling Ge asked abruptly.

"I got up early this morning and started working. Have you made any progress on your end?" Jian Dongping was sitting in front of his computer, drinking coffee and looking at the chat history between Zhou Jin and him.

“I checked Zhou Jin’s phone records for the last three days before she disappeared.” Her voice was filled with excitement. “You’d never guess, but her last contact was already dead!”

Jian Dongping was startled.

"Dead? Are you sure?"

“Of course, Uncle Lin is working on that case right now! That’s the information I just found out,” Ling Ge said proudly.

"Ling Ge, where are you now?" Jian Dongping asked.

"It's home."

"Come to my house. It's Saturday, I'm not working. Let's talk things over." Jian Dongping felt that some things were better discussed face-to-face. "Have lunch at my house. Sister Ping made vegetable and meat wontons today, and also pickled two pig ears and a lot of chicken feet." Jian Dongping invited while looking at his computer.

“Then I definitely have to come.” Ling Ge replied happily, and then hung up the phone with a “click.” That was her style; she never said goodbye before hanging up.

Jian Dongping knew Ling Ge wasn't interested in pig's ears, but she loved noodles, especially wontons with vegetables and meat. Once, after tasting dumplings made by Sister Ping, she remarked that they tasted like her mother's cooking, a comment that brought tears to the eyes of the usually fiery and domineering Sister Ping. Jian Dongping realized that his biggest similarity with Ling Ge so far was that they both grew up in single-parent families. Ling Ge's mother passed away when she was three, and she was raised by her father, a policeman. Five years ago, her father died in the line of duty, leaving her alone. Therefore, after they became acquainted, Jian Dongping frequently invited her to his home for meals.

“Anyway, you’re alone, so just grab something to eat at my place,” Jian Dong usually said.

“I can eat by myself.” Although she often answered him like this, he always drove to his house before inviting her, so she couldn’t refuse. She was very reserved at first, but over time, she gradually became familiar with his family. Jian Dongping discovered that his father and Sister Ping both liked this cute, simple, and somewhat scatterbrained policewoman.

Jian Dongping glanced at his watch; it was 8:30. He estimated that it would take her more than an hour to arrive after changing buses twice. He used this time to review his online chat history with Zhou Jin.

Zhou Jin wasn't a big fan of online chatting. She would only chat with him briefly after submitting her article. However, Jian Dongping noticed that although she was rarely online, her online hours were quite consistent. He checked carefully and found that she was mostly online between 10 and 11 in the morning.

As for the content of their conversation, Jian Dongping sorted it out and found that it basically involved two parts.

Part One: The Manuscript and Related Content

Typical example:

Date: March 1st

Zhou: Editor Jian, can it be published this week?

Jane: Not this week, we need to discuss it further. Don't rush me.

Zhou: That's so slow, when will it be published?

Jane: As early as next week. What do you do for a living now?

Zhou: No.

Jane: No job?

Zhou: I don't have a formal job; I'm doing odd jobs.

Jane: Can you tell me what you're doing?

Zhou: (Smiling face) Do you really need to know?

Jane: If it's inconvenient for you to say, then never mind.

Zhou: (Smiling face) I like people like Editor Jian.

Date: March 14

Jane: Where is that small town called Hongxin? You don't seem to have explained it clearly.

Zhou: It's in Sichuan, but I deliberately used a homophone for the town's name (smiley face). I don't think it's necessary to be so clear, as it might cause trouble for some people.

Jane: In your manuscript this time, you told a story about a child prostitute. Is that true?

Zhou: This kind of thing happens a lot in remote areas. To pay off their parents' debts, to go to school, or perhaps just to make a living, many girls start selling themselves at the age of twelve or thirteen. They are very miserable. Some of them have been with customers more than 50 times a day. I have seen it with my own eyes, but that's life.

Jane: In the article you said you gave her money to run away? But she didn't leave?

Zhou: Yes. 100 yuan isn't much. But she didn't leave because of the money.

Jane: Why is that?

Zhou: She had nowhere to go. Her parents died, and her uncle sold her. If she went back to her uncle's house, she would probably be beaten, and soon she would be sold again. I still have her photos, but I don't want to make them public.

Jane: You have a picture of her? (A surprised expression)

Zhou: I like taking pictures. I took these from a secluded spot. The madam didn't find me. Hehe. Aren't I clever?

Jane: Can you send me her photo?

Zhou: Haha, Editor Jian, you're really got a clear purpose. Are you planning to make some big news?

Jane: Don't get me wrong, I'm just curious.

Zhou: It's not on the computer.

Jane: Why not save it?

Zhou: ... (crying face)

Jane: Can I have a photo of you? The boss said that the next issue will feature photos of columnists.

Zhou: I don't have any either, there are no videos here.

Jane: You can take a picture with your phone and send it to me, then send it to me via your phone.

Zhou: Hmm, wait a minute.

(A few minutes later)

Zhou: Did you receive it?

Jane: Received it, not quite sure, I'll process it. Can't you really send me the girl's photo?

Zhou: I have to go, it's already 11:30. 88

Date: April 28

Jane: The holiday is coming soon, and your article seems a bit too tragic. The authorities would like something more cheerful.