Silent Witness - Chapter 18

At 7:30 a.m., the four or five breakfast shops across from the Puchen Municipal Affairs Center were bustling with activity. Noodles, rice vermicelli, steamed buns, mantou, guokui… you name it, they had it. Yet Li Hewei bypassed these crowded spots, leading them to a quiet, almost deserted early tea shop at the end of the street called Chun Gui Xuan.

Chun Gui Xuan boasted elegant decor and a spacious, airy interior. The three settled at a window-side table. Cheng Yingqiu, clearly still sleepy, propped her head with her left hand as she scanned the menu, grumbling, “Sis, you’re being so extravagant.”

“Order whatever you want. It’s on me,” Li Hewei replied. Having just arrived in Puchen City, she had few expenses beyond occasional treats and daily necessities. She deposited her wages into a separate bank card, using the original owner’s savings to cover the mortgage and keeping none of the remaining funds for herself.

“Well, if you insist…” Cheng Yingqiu circled items on the menu with a pen. “Want some wan chai wings?”

“Order what you like. Don’t worry about us,” Li Hewei said, turning to Tao Ling, who sat across from her. “What do you want?”

Cheng Yingqiu and Tao Ling said in unison, “Anything is fine.” The person who ordered the wanzai chi and steamed chicken feet chuckled, “I knew she’d say that!”

Tao Ling subtly pursed her lips before saying frankly, “Sister Wei, you decide. I’ve never had Cantonese morning tea before.”

Li Hewei nodded and ordered a bowl of congee, a plate of rice noodle rolls, a serving of signature crystal shrimp dumplings, and a basket of soup dumplings.

“Sister, why the sudden craving for morning tea?” Cheng Yingqiu asked. She knew her cousin well; Li Hewei usually ate breakfast in the company cafeteria or at the beef rice noodle shop near the back gate of their residential complex—a routine unchanged for years.

Li Hewei glanced at the group chat messages on her phone and replied calmly, “Just trying something different.”

“Alright then.”

Soon, the waiter brought steaming bowls of wanzai chi and congee. Li Hewei pushed the congee toward Tao Ling. “Try this.”

“Okay.” Tao Ling picked up a spoon, scooped up a generous portion, lowered her head to blow on it, and slowly ate it. The texture was smooth, tender, and creamy, the warmth soothing her stomach. She smiled gently. “Delicious.”

As the tea snacks arrived one by one, Li Hewei used serving chopsticks to place a shrimp dumpling on Tao Ling’s plate. “Try this too.”

Cheng Yingqiu chewed on a chicken claw, muttering, “Sis, you’re biased! Why didn’t you give me one?”

Li Hewei rolled her eyes. “Aren’t you already eating chicken claws?”

“I can eat shrimp dumplings too.”

“Who was complaining about gaining a kilogram since July this morning?” Li Hewei picked up a shrimp dumpling with her chopsticks and placed it on Cheng Yingqiu’s plate. “Here, eat it. Gain another half a kilogram.”

Cheng Yingqiu puffed out her cheeks in exasperation. “Fine, Sis! If I get fat, I’ll do aerobics in the living room every day and ruin your beauty sleep!”

“It’s a miracle you can even wake up on time,” Li Hewei retorted, picking up a piece of rice noodle roll with her chopsticks. She chewed slowly, savoring the familiar taste. Though it couldn’t compare to the rice noodle rolls from Hongli Village, the long-missed flavor easily evoked memories.

Tao Ling unexpectedly joined the conversation. “Yingqiu, you’re not fat at all. You don’t need to diet.”

Li Hewei chimed in, reinforcing Tao Ling’s point. “Tao Ling’s right. 160 centimeters and 51 kilograms—that’s a perfectly healthy weight.”

“160.2!” Cheng Yingqiu had barely met the 160-centimeter height requirement when applying for her broadcasting major. After graduation, her height became the first hurdle when applying for TV hosting positions, forcing her to settle for a reporter role instead.

“Besides, aerobics are barely effective. You’d be better off using the gym equipment.”

Cheng Yingqiu rested her chin in her hand. “Sister, is your annual gym membership about to expire? How many times have you even been?”

“Do I even have a gym membership?” Li Hewei had been meaning to start working out.

“Yeah, last year Jiahe Supermarket opened a women’s gym on the third floor. They were giving away annual memberships with personal training packages. I think you bought 50 sessions. I remember saying you were wasting your money since you’d never find the time to go.”

Li Hewei checked her contacts and found the gym trainer’s WeChat. Scrolling through the chat history, she saw that she’d only used 5 sessions since October.

“I still have 45 sessions left. You should go,” Li Hewei said. She usually went to the gym every few days and didn’t need personal training.

“What about you?” Cheng Yingqiu wasn’t interested in working out and politely declined. “I’ve been busy lately, working overtime a lot.”

Tao Ling chimed in, “Sister Wei, the logistics department is planning to build a gym at the police station. They say it should be ready by next spring.”

Cheng Yingqiu tried to pass off the gym membership, arguing, “The male officers will hog it all the time. A women’s-only gym would be much better.”

“Bad news,” Li Hewei said. “The gym closed down, and the memberships have been transferred to another studio.” She had just contacted her gym trainer and been informed of the automatic transfer.

“Isn’t that a scam? Can we get a refund?”

Li Hewei enunciated clearly, “Good news: the memberships have been transferred to MG Street Dance Studio.”

“No refund needed. I’m going,” Cheng Yingqiu said, finishing her last chicken claw. She wiped her mouth with a tissue, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

Li Hewei remembered that the icon in the upper right corner of last night’s street dance video compilation had been MG. Understanding perfectly why Cheng Yingqiu had suddenly changed her mind, she forwarded the studio trainer’s WeChat contact to her and went to pay the bill.

“How much was it?” Cheng Yingqiu asked casually as the three of them left the dim sum restaurant.

“87 yuan.”

“Beef rice noodles for eight yuan a bowl are still the best deal.”

They parted at the intersection. Li Hewei and Tao Ling turned left, passing a convenience store. Li Hewei grabbed a pack of Wrigley’s Spearmint gum and reflexively pulled out her phone to scan the QR code. The store owner quickly said, “We don’t accept WeChat Pay.”

Li Hewei handed over the 10 yuan change from the dim sum restaurant, received 6 yuan back, and only then noticed two unread messages on her phone screen. She opened WeChat, and her eyes darkened.

Tao Ling: Transferred 30 yuan. Sister Wei, the morning tea was delicious. Thank you for taking me.

As always, she was being polite.

Li Hewei’s expression darkened completely. She neither accepted the transfer nor replied to the message, instead shoving her phone back into her bag. She strode forward, her long legs moving with the speed of a gust of wind. Tao Ling, bewildered, could only jog to keep up.

From 8 AM to 11:30 AM, Li Hewei buried herself in work, her face expressionless. Even the usually oblivious Forensic Doctor An noticed her mood.

During lunch in the cafeteria, An Yu asked curiously, “Sister He, who upset Sister Wei today? Why is she so tense and silent?”

“Probably stressed,” He Ying replied. “It’s been four days with no progress on the case, and Sun Hao has an alibi.”

Tao Ling sat beside He Ying, a window to her left letting in a cool breeze after the rain. She lowered her head, her fingers slowly tapping across the screen: Sister Wei, is the meeting over? I got you lunch: steamed fish with black bean sauce, boiled shrimp, and dry-fried green beans.

In the conference room on the third floor of the main building, Director Liu was emphasizing the urgency of the situation, with Qiu Wan scheduled to give a summary later. Li Hewei sat upright in the second-to-last row, her right hand gripping a pen, seemingly focused intently. However, upon closer inspection, while the first page of her notebook contained meticulous notes from the meeting, the second page revealed four crudely drawn cartoon pigs, labeled with Tao Ling’s name.

Idiot! We clearly agreed you wouldn’t pay.

Her phone lay silently to the right of her teacup. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a message from Tao Ling, and her expression softened slightly.

Not over yet. Probably another 10 minutes.

Realizing her reaction had been too strong, Li Hewei understood that Tao Ling had only suggested splitting the bill out of politeness—a perfectly reasonable gesture.

After some deliberation, she declined Tao Ling’s transfer and patiently explained: I’m treating. As sisters, you and Yingqiu must be treated equally.

After sending the message, Li Hewei watched the screen intently. The “typing…” indicator beside Tao Ling’s name lingered for an unusually long time. Stubborn girl, still hesitating.

Finally, just as she set her phone aside to focus on Qiu Wan’s summary, four new words appeared in the chat: Thank you, Sister Wei. Followed by a WeChat sticker.

He even sent a sticker! Finally making progress. Li Hewei smiled faintly as she read Tao Ling’s message.

After lunch, Li Hewei distributed the video Qiu Wan had sent her to her colleagues who were free.

Please review the surveillance footage from around Sun Hao’s residence between July 20th and 27th.

He Ying looked up and asked, “Xiao Li, do we still need to keep an eye on Sun Hao? Doesn’t he have an alibi?”

Li Hewei twisted open the jar of roses and replied, “His alibi witness is a gambling addict with debts. Recently, he suddenly repaid tens of thousands of yuan. Doesn’t that strike you as suspicious?”

He Ying exclaimed, “The team next door caught even that detail?”

“Team Leader Qiu noticed Sun Hao’s shifty eyes and evasive answers during his statement. When we checked his bank records and credit history, we found the discrepancies.” Li Hewei grabbed six roses, placed them in her teacup, and went to the water dispenser, which was heating water. She sat in the empty seat next to Tao Ling to wait.

“Aiyo, there’s definitely something fishy going on,” Zhao Xiaoting said, clicking on one of the surveillance videos with her mouse.

Tao Ling, seated beside Li Hewei, was reviewing the footage from the parking lot exit. She kept her eyes fixed on the screen, even taking notes on a notepad.

July 20, 07:31 AM, Shu AHW218, Mercedes-Benz, male driver, female passenger.

July 20, 07:49 AM, Shu AP8G16, Audi Q5, female driver, no passengers.

As the saying goes, “seeing the writing is like seeing the person.” Neat, upright regular script often indicates a humble and cautious nature, while flowing, cursive script suggests a free-spirited and unrestrained personality. Yet Tao Ling’s hard-pen calligraphy, characterized by its elegant semi-cursive style, dynamic strokes, and forceful strokes that seemed to penetrate the paper, stood in stark contrast to her own reserved demeanor. Li Hewei observed this with undisguised admiration, unable to resist asking, “Have you practiced calligraphy?”

“Yes, I started in third grade.”

“It’s beautiful,” Li Hewei replied. Subconsciously, she believed that people with beautiful handwriting must also possess refined features. Even if they weren’t conventionally attractive, they would certainly exude an air of elegance. Since childhood, she had envied her classmates with impeccable penmanship.

“Sister Wei, the water’s boiled,” Zhao Xiaoting called out, preparing to brew buckwheat tea and reminding Li Hewei to fill her cup first.

“Thanks,” Li Hewei replied, pouring herself a generous cup of hot water before returning to her workstation. She then announced loudly, “Everyone’s working hard! Team Leader Qiu said Director Liu will treat us all after we crack the case!”