第一章

Everyone in Qingshi Town knew the Shen family. Their house was not far from Qingshi Middle School. People passing by often quickened their pace. Children were also afraid of that door, but couldn't help betting with each other on who dared to run over and touch it.

Five years ago, Bai Anning disappeared. Later, Shen Rui's brother Shen Ran was considered the murderer. After Shen Ran died, Bai Anning's body was never found. The Shen family was not convicted, but they were always ostracized by the townspeople.

Someone wrote ugly words on their wall, and someone smashed their windows. Lin Xiaoman never understood why the Shen family still stayed in Qingshi Town.

That morning, Xiaoman stood at the Shen family's door. She knew she probably shouldn't come, but she still pushed open the iron gate, walked to the door, and knocked three times. The door opened. Shen Rui stood behind the door, opening it only halfway. "Hello?" he said.

Xiaoman didn't speak. Shen Rui looked very much like Shen Ran in the news photos—the same black hair, the same deep-set eyes. "Hello, Shen Rui," Xiaoman said. "My name is Lin Xiaoman. I also went to Qingshi Middle School, a few grades below you."

Shen Rui didn't let her in. Xiaoman said, "I'm doing a school project, and I want to investigate the case of Bai Anning's disappearance five years ago." Shen Rui's face immediately changed. "Why?" he asked. Xiaoman knew that the Shen family had heard too much gossip.

She couldn't beat around the bush. "Because I don't think your brother did it," she said. "I want to prove that." Shen Rui didn't answer immediately. After a moment, he said he wasn't free to talk today, but he could give her some time on Friday afternoon.

When Xiaoman left the Shen house, she was still very nervous. She didn't know if Shen Rui would believe her, nor whether she could find out the truth. But she had decided to continue investigating.

After returning home, Xiaoman began to look at old news. Bai Anning was seventeen when she disappeared. That night, she drove away from home, took her phone, but didn't take any clothes. Her family said this was unlike her usual behavior. Xiaoman put several pieces of information together.

On the night of April 20, 2012, around 10:30 p. m. , Bai Anning's younger sister Bai Beibei saw her at home for the last time. About ten minutes later, surveillance footage from outside the old street bank captured Bai Anning's car leaving the vicinity of her home. Bai Anning was supposed to pick up her parents at 12:45 a. m.

, but she didn't show up and didn't answer her phone. At 3 a. m. , Bai Anning's father Bai Jianguo reported her missing. Looking at this, the time of Bai Anning's incident was likely between 10:40 p.

m. and 12:45 a. m. Xiaoman also contacted An Jie from the Missing Persons Office. An Jie told her that if a seventeen-year-old girl suddenly disappears, the police usually investigate quickly. They would ask where she was last seen, what she was wearing, whether she was driving, and also contact people close to her: family, friends, neighbors, and her boyfriend.

Xiaoman thought of Shen Ran. If the police had investigated normally, Shen Ran should have been questioned early on—where he was that night, who he was with, what time he left, the police should have checked all that. But five years later, the townspeople only remembered one conclusion: Shen Ran killed Bai Anning. Xiaoman felt something was wrong. Bai Anning's body hadn't been found.

Shen Ran hadn't been put on trial. The case shouldn't have ended so simply. The townspeople all said the case was long over. But Xiaoman felt that maybe it was just beginning.