Jiang Pingxin was overcome with grief and cried uncontrollably. Shao Zhixin didn't know what to do. Xu Yu went back and gently held Jiang Pingxin's shoulders, letting her lean against her while gently patting her head.
As the students finished their exercises and returned to the classroom, they noticed something was wrong and quickly quieted down. They stopped at the back of the room, whispering to each other, unsure whether they should interrupt.
Hearing the voices, Jiang Pingxin hastily wiped her face, stifling her sobs. She steadied her breathing, forcibly calming her turbulent emotions, then pushed back her chair and hurried to the restroom stall.
Shao Zhixin and Xu Yu exchanged glances but didn't follow her. Seeing the next teacher enter with teaching materials, they politely nodded and left the building together.
On the way back, both were somewhat silent. The car ride to the substation parking lot was marked by only two exchanged sentences.
Back in the office, Shao Zhixin asked, "Where’s Brother Huang?"
A colleague pointed casually, "He's in the hallway."
The end of the hallway was usually where people went to smoke because it was well-ventilated and the smoke wouldn’t linger.
Brother Huang was standing by the window, his hair tousled by the wind, squinting as he watched a couple arguing on the street below. Hearing footsteps, he turned and asked with a smile, "Any progress?"
Shao Zhixin hesitated and uncertainly said, "Sort of..."
"It's either progress or it isn't. What's 'sort of'?" Brother Huang teased, "You look so worried. Is it that bad?"
Shao Zhixin stood across from him, leaning against the white wall. After a moment, he moved closer and asked, "Brother Huang, what's the real story behind Jiang Jingcheng's case?"
Brother Huang turned his face to the window, and asked, "What did she tell you?"
Shao Zhixin briefly recounted the conversation from the classroom. Brother Huang listened expressionlessly, nodding slightly before asking, "You want to know?"
Shao Zhixin was a little scared but couldn't refuse. He opened his mouth, then muttered, "Yes."
Brother Huang pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one, and took a long drag. After a thoughtful pause, he said, "Did you know her sister didn’t have an ID?"
Shao Zhixin didn’t quite understand, "What?"
Brother Huang explained, "Jiang Jingcheng’s household registration was kept back home, and she didn't dare to go back for it. Enforcement wasn’t as strict back then, so she managed to find odd jobs to get by."
Shao Zhixin asked, "Then where was Jiang Pingxin’s registration? Didn’t the street office help them?"
Brother Huang shook his head, flicking ash from his cigarette. "No, Jiang Pingxin was too young to understand. They had no registration in City A. They were lucky to meet a kind woman while wandering in the South District. She was also from the countryside, single, with a son. Seeing their plight, she agreed to take Jiang Pingxin in. Jiang Jingcheng, being bold, forged documents with help from counterfeiters, submitted them, and the street office, feeling sorry for them, helped get Jiang Pingxin’s registration sorted so she could attend school. Otherwise, the two girls would have been sent to a welfare institution."
Shao Zhixin realized, "Oh… so that's how it was."
Brother Huang exhaled a plume of smoke out the window, though some still lingered in the stairwell.
"Jiang Pingxin was seven, and the woman’s rural registration wasn’t strictly managed. The excuse of delayed household registration due to family planning was plausible. But Jiang Jingcheng had to hide, taking illegal jobs to avoid detection."
Shao Zhixin asked, "What happened to the woman who helped them? Was she Jiang Pingxin’s legal guardian?"
Brother Huang sighed, "She’s dead too. Your team handled her aftermath and paperwork. She struggled, living near Jiang Pingxin and barely managing to help. But life was hard for her too."
Shao Zhixin, suspecting a conspiracy, asked seriously, "How did she die?"
Brother Huang sighed, "Her son got jailed, and she was drowning in debt. Losing hope, she committed suicide. The two cases aren’t connected, so don’t overthink it."
Shao Zhixin felt embarrassed, "Oh…"
Brother Huang, having been sidetracked, resumed his story after a moment.
"Jiang Pingxin said her sister was a cashier, but that wasn’t true. Jiang Jingcheng worked at a club, entertaining guests by drinking and chatting."
Shao Zhixin, shocked, said, "No way… How could that be?"
He had several thoughts flash through his mind, struggling to reconcile them, and finally expressed his confusion, "Huh?"
Brother Huang explained, "Think about it. Jiang Jingcheng barely finished middle school, didn’t know much about using a phone, and had no ID. How could she find stable work? Even if she did, a cashier’s salary wouldn’t cover tuition, living expenses, and other costs. She had to take odd jobs, but they couldn’t support her sister's education and their living expenses."
Shao Zhixin remained silent, having never faced such pressures himself.
Brother Huang, clearing his throat, said, "Jiang Jingcheng initially worked as a waitress in the club, which paid relatively well. The manager, seeing her beauty, suggested she entertain guests. She hesitated but eventually gave in. Places like that, even if you don’t want to, you get harassed. Being surrounded by such distorted values, she eventually succumbed."
Coughing from the smoke, Brother Huang continued, feeling a roughness in his throat like sand.
Jiang Jingcheng, still a minor, had fled home with her sister, laboring tirelessly just to live independently. Brave, decisive, strong, and diligent, she possessed virtues many lacked. Yet, fate did not reward her equally. The hurdles of poverty and education kept her from living with dignity.
Jiang Pingxin was another burden. Her initial determination and resolve wore down into insignificant grains, dull and trivial, as she navigated endless hardship.
"Jiang Jingcheng’s colleagues said she was very introverted and often troubled, rarely speaking when not working. Only Jiang Pingxin thought her sister was optimistic and cheerful."
Brother Huang, losing the desire to smoke, said, "That day, Jiang Jingcheng was supposed to leave early but was forced to stay when regular customers insisted on her company. The manager didn’t want to upset them, so she drank with them until around 11 PM before leaving the club."
The scene of that night vividly appeared in his mind.
Rain mixed with a damp wind, creating muddy puddles on the soft ground. Clumps of weeds, reaching up to a person's calves, had mostly turned yellow in the autumn chill.
The woman, unwilling to spend on cab fare, had the taxi driver drop her at a corner. She opened her umbrella and stumbled her way onto a side path.
"It was raining that night, and it was pitch dark along the way. She was drunk, couldn't walk steadily, fell halfway, and a steel rod cut her leg. The wound was over ten centimeters long, bleeding profusely, and her clothes got dirty. Not far ahead was the river where she drowned. She took off her clothes, folded them neatly, placed them on the bag, and got into the water. Already drunk and injured, she struggled for a while but had no strength to climb out. She was found the next morning."
Brother Huang let out a bitter laugh, mixed with helplessness and a bit of self-mockery. "How can we respond to the clues Jiang Pingxin provided? Should we tell a middle school student that her only family, her elder sister, worked as an escort in a seedy establishment to pay for her education? If it were you, would you want to hear that?"
Shao Zhixin felt immense sorrow, resting his hands on the windowsill, watching a small black bug crawl through a crack in the outer wall, circle around, and retreat.
Brother Huang sighed, "We don't even know how to say it. Besides, it's not a criminal case, so it’s not our responsibility. It’s up to the local police station now. They probably also felt uncomfortable explaining it clearly. No one expected she could hold on for so many years."
Shao Zhixin asked, "What about the club?"
Brother Huang stubbed out his cigarette in the trash can. "It was raided in an anti-prostitution sweep later, but what difference does it make? She's already gone."
They stood in the wind for a while. Brother Huang took out a mint, chewed it, and blew into his palm to check the scent before preparing to return to work.
Shao Zhixin, suddenly enlightened, quickly called out, "Isn't it possible that Jiang Jingcheng's death wasn't a suicide but an accidental death?"
Brother Huang stopped, looking at him calmly.
Shao Zhixin gestured animatedly, "Think about it. She fell, her leg was bleeding, and her clothes were dirty. She walked for a bit, worried about scaring Jiang Pingxin, and decided to wash up by the river. Winter clothes are bulky, making movement difficult, so she took them off. But while scooping water, she lost her balance and accidentally drowned. It's possible, right?"
Brother Huang thought for a moment, meeting his gaze, and said earnestly, "Let me put it this way, Shao Zhixin. After Jiang Jingcheng's case, I went to the scene three times with Captain He, each time on a rainy night at 11 PM. We retraced her steps, walked to the river, and climbed out. We know very well whether it was an accident or not."
Shao Zhixin's initial hope faded, his eyes stinging with tears he tried to hold back.
Brother Huang continued slowly and heavily, "Leaving aside the cause of death, whether it was accidental drowning or suicide, it wasn't our criminal team's responsibility to determine. Our real challenge was deciding how to handle a 13-year-old child’s reality. Do we let her live in anger and denial, or do we shatter her reality, making her realize the burden she placed on her sister? No one could decide."
"We clearly told her there were no other footprints at the scene, so it wasn't a criminal case. Do you know why Jiang Pingxin couldn't accept her sister's suicide? Deep down, she knew she couldn't accept that she might have contributed to her sister's suffering. Even if we told her Jiang Jingcheng's death was an accident, do you think it would make a significant difference to her?"
Shao Zhixin, deep in thought, eventually said softly, "I understand."
Brother Huang remembered something and said calmly, "During a meeting, Captain He, then just an officer, sat at the end of the table. As everyone debated responsibilities, future implications, moral integrity, and ethical considerations, she suddenly stood up."
The squad leader asked her opinion, and He Chuan Zhou simply said, "Whatever."
The squad leader smiled, "What does 'whatever' mean?"
Brother Huang recounted, "She said there's no need to overthink it. Stubbornness is a way of living. There's no rush to learn to let go. When one can handle it, they can face reality. So, we decided to hide Jiang Jingcheng's profession until Jiang Pingxin finished high school. If she still wanted to know, we’d tell her then."
Shao Zhixin nodded, still dazed.
Brother Huang patted his shoulder, saying, "That responsibility is now yours."
Shao Zhixin was startled, "What?"
He tried to catch up with Brother Huang, stammering, "No, Brother Huang, I’m not good at this."
Brother Huang immediately covered his ears. Shao Zhixin shouted louder, "Brother Huang! Please reconsider!"
They returned to the office area, where Xu Yu hurriedly met them with a finger to her lips, signaling for silence.
"City Bureau officers are here! Shhh—maintain your composure!"