Chapter Eighty-Eight: Flash and Frills and Ominous Signs

Belief in superstition largely comes from the fact that people believe only what they want to believe. There is no such thing as a perfect lie in this world, only people who believe lies completely.

Zhang Xiaoman had told a lie. He had never actually consulted the old almanac, and there was naturally no omen of disaster in the northwest. But everyone else believed him, and they became even more alert.

Zhang Yunxi had also told a lie. She was not a television reporter, and her name was not Li Tiezhu. So when Ribbon Auntie called her “Li Tiezhu” three times in a row, she only then realized the role she was supposed to be playing at the moment. Seeing the suspicion in Ribbon Auntie’s eyes, Zhang Yunxi had no choice but to throw out another lie. “Sorry, I’ve been working overtime for several days in a row, and I was a little distracted just now. What did you say?”

Sun Tiantian pinched Zhang Yunxi’s waist lightly and kept smiling. “Auntie was asking what our program is called and which station it’s from, so she can look up today’s interview later.”

Zhang Yunxi gave a dry laugh, blinking with a drifting gaze. “The Green Vine City Economic Channel. Our program name hasn’t been decided yet; we’re still in the material-gathering stage, so the broadcast time hasn’t been set either.”

Ribbon Auntie looked at Zhang Yunxi half-believingly, half-doubtingly, then brought over two cups of hot water and set them on the coffee table. “Then when the program airs, make sure you tell me. I can also hold my head a little higher in front of my relatives and friends... There’s nothing much at home to treat you with, so have some hot water. I’ll go help you find those photos right away...”

Zhang Yunxi nodded awkwardly, lifted the cup to hide her face, and said with her head bowed, “Certainly, certainly...”

Once Ribbon Auntie had received Zhang Yunxi’s promise, she turned away with delight and went to the TV cabinet, crouching down to rummage through boxes and drawers for the photographs. As she searched, she muttered, “Don’t mind Auntie being too talkative, but you should really change your name as soon as possible. You’re someone who shows your face in public, and you’re quite handsome too, so why use such an ungainly name? Tiezhu, honestly...”

Zhang Yunxi choked, almost spitting out the hot water, and for a moment had no idea how to respond.

Sitting beside her, Sun Tiantian covered her mouth and laughed. “I actually think the name is pretty good. It suits her perfectly. She’s usually so stiff and hard; it really matches the person. Hard as nails!”

“What do you mean, hard? A young lady shouldn’t say such things. Women should be gentle; it’s men who ought to be hard...” Ribbon Auntie pursed her lips, pulled an album from the very bottom drawer, flipped through it twice, and then turned back to hand it to Zhang Yunxi. “Here, these are the photos taken in the park those years. They’re all in here.”

Zhang Yunxi eagerly took the album and leafed through it quickly. Most of the photos were scenery shots of the neighborhood park, along with group photos of Ribbon Auntie’s family. Just as she was about to reach the end, she still had not found what she wanted, and disappointment began to rise in her. Then, on the third page from the end, she suddenly noticed two familiar figures in the background of a park photo. Looking more closely, they were exactly the teenage boy and girl from her phone.

Sun Tiantian had also been staring at the album without blinking. She pointed beside the place where Zhang Yunxi’s gaze had stopped and said excitedly, “Look here—truly, after turning back suddenly, the person is actually there in the dimming lights...”

Following Sun Tiantian’s finger, Zhang Yunxi indeed saw that at the edge of the photograph a middle-aged man had turned back suddenly, capturing half a face in blurry profile.

Ribbon Auntie glanced over and said with a pout, “Ah, that’s just how it is sometimes. Whenever you take a picture, some random person always wanders in and steals the shot. I noticed that when we were still developing photos back then. I wanted to throw it away, but it seemed such a pity, so I put it on the last few pages of the album.”

Zhang Yunxi coughed lightly. “It’s fortunate you didn’t throw it away. These are all part of the local flavor of the time...” She took out her phone, pretended to select a few images, and snapped them. Then she pulled out several landscape photos and the one with the half face, and asked Ribbon Auntie hopefully, “Auntie, may I take these photos with me? We can give you a little compensation, as if buying the material from you...”

Ribbon Auntie waved her hand. “A few broken photos—if you want them, just take them. No need to pay... These are to be shown on the program, right?” She pointed at several photos of herself from her youth, smiling softly with a flower in hand. “Why not consider these few? They turned out so well. Back then I was the factory belle, and so many men were forever pining after me...”

The corner of Zhang Yunxi’s eye twitched. She forced a smile. “We’ve already taken pictures of them. These photos all include you, and they’re precious records of your youth, so it wouldn’t be proper for us to take them directly. It’s enough to photograph them with the phone. Thank you for your help. We won’t disturb you any longer; we’ll head back to the station to organize the material and try to get the program aired as soon as possible.”

With that, Zhang Yunxi exchanged a look with Sun Tiantian. The two of them stood up together, waved goodbye to Ribbon Auntie, and walked toward the door.

When Ribbon Auntie heard the latter half of Zhang Yunxi’s words, especially “try to get the program aired as soon as possible,” her face broke into a radiant smile as she saw them off. “Remember to call me when the program airs! From today on, I’m only watching programs on the Economic Channel. I’ll be supporting you two all the way...”

By the time Zhang Yunxi and Sun Tiantian’s figures disappeared inside the elevator, Han Yuan emerged from the corner at the far end of the corridor and walked leisurely up to Ribbon Auntie, saying expressionlessly, “Did you give the photos to them? You didn’t expose anything, did you?”

Ribbon Auntie lifted her chest proudly. “Don’t worry. Those two little girls are so foolish; they really thought I believed they were television reporters. They even kept up the act for quite a while. And who would ever call a female reporter Li Tiezhu? They really take me for an idiot.”

Han Yuan pulled several red banknotes from his pocket and handed them into Ribbon Auntie’s hands. “Get that camera destroyed as soon as possible. And you’ve never seen me either, understand?”

“Understood.” Ribbon Auntie winked at Han Yuan, wearing the look of someone who knew perfectly well what was going on. As she counted the bills in her hands, she grinned and said, “If there’s something this good again next time, remember to come find me. But Auntie should also give you some heartfelt advice: if you’re chasing a girl, you need to do it openly and aboveboard. Sneaking around makes it easy to miss your chance. She doesn’t even know you’ve done so much or put in so much thought to make her happy. If one day she ends up with someone else, how regrettable would that be? Don’t you think?”

When she looked up again, Han Yuan was already gone without a trace. Ribbon Auntie curled her lip, carefully tucked the money into her trouser pocket, and went back inside. At the coffee table, she picked up the camera and was just about to toss it into the trash when she hesitated, then took it back. Smacking her lips, she placed the camera into the drawer beneath the TV cabinet and hummed a little tune as she happily went into the kitchen to cook. “That boy keeps talking about wanting to buy a camera. Now I’ve saved him the trouble. I’ll give him a surprise when he gets home from school...”

Han Yuan strolled out of the residential building and glanced toward the direction of Ribbon Auntie’s kitchen. Seeing a thin wisp of smoke drift out, he finally felt at ease. He then looked once more at Zhang Yunxi and Sun Tiantian, who had returned to the Wuling van, and let out a long sigh. “Zhang Xiaoman, this is all I can do for you. The rest depends on how you play this game...” Lowering his head, he glanced at the phone screen that had suddenly lit up. “Fate has never been decreed by heaven. It is made by man.”

“It may not be so. Although things are indeed made by man, there are times when fate really is determined by heaven.”

Zhang Xiaoman pinched the bridge of his nose and said to Nie Yi and Li Jun with a weary expression, “We strive to do something not because effort guarantees reward, but because effort is the only thing we can do. More often than not, effort brings no reward. It’s like chasing a girl: you pour in all your heart and soul, only for her in the end to choose someone else. So does that mean that the next time we meet a girl we like, we should stop trying to win her over?”

“No, we still have to try again, and then accept how things may not go our way.” Zhang Xiaoman paused, then continued, “It’s not just about chasing girls; it’s the same with work and life. It’s even more true when solving a case. We rack our brains to uncover the truth, we exhaust every thought to set a trap and catch the killer, but sometimes the result may not be good. Yet we still have to work hard, because only through our effort can we bring even a little new hope to justice and righteousness in this world.”

Li Jun shook his head. “Uncle, I was just asking whether you think we can catch the beekeeper this time. Why are you bringing up chasing girls... I understand all the reasoning. You’ve said it countless times. But don’t we live for a little hope? If I know effort still won’t change anything, then why bother? I might as well just lie flat on the ground.”

Zhang Xiaoman slapped the back of Li Jun’s head. “If you keep thinking like that, your life really will start looking more and more like a criminal case. Three years minimum!”

Nie Yi coughed lightly and pointed out the window toward the rooftop of a nearby building, cutting in to change the subject. “Master, they’re here!”

Zhang Xiaoman immediately straightened up and looked out at the two figures leaping between the buildings. His spirits lifted. He fiddled with the chess pieces and said, “Li Ba Shan He and Police Dog, listen up. The guests are at the door—prepare to shut the door and release the dogs! Ming Cha Qiu Hao, get to Position Ten at once and stand by in case the guests try to bolt.”

Ming Cha Qiu Hao lowered his head and walked to a newsstand at the corner of the intersection, pretending to browse magazines. In unison with He Wei, who was guarding the alley exit, and Li Ba Shan He, who had crushed out his cigarette butt beneath a pipe, he answered, “Yes!”

Liuxing Ganyue watched the black shadow drawing near in front of him. He crossed over a gas pipe more than a meter high on the rooftop and chuckled, “Boss, we don’t need your shut-the-door-and-release-the-dogs plan at all. In a moment I’ll just bring this little bastard to see you myself...”

The black shadow swept a glance over his shoulder at Liuxing Ganyue, then let out a cold laugh and once again leaped from the edge of one rooftop to another. This time, however, he did not hurry onward. Instead, he stood upright with leisurely composure, his gaze fierce as he watched Liuxing Ganyue, who sprang up right behind him, spun one and a half turns in midair, and was about to land on the rooftop. With a vicious kick of his right foot, he struck Liuxing Ganyue hard in the stomach and muttered, “Showy nonsense!”

Liuxing Ganyue was mid-flip in the air, carefree and graceful, with no time to dodge. His body jolted to a halt between the two buildings, and with a cry he plunged straight down from dozens of meters above.

Zhang Xiaoman got out of the car at once. As he hurried toward the last known position of Liuxing Ganyue, he asked urgently, “What happened?”

Halfway through his fall, Liuxing Ganyue struggled to adjust his body and, by a hair’s breadth, managed to grab hold of an air-conditioning unit mounted on the outer wall of a fourth-floor apartment. He let out a long breath, looked down at Zhang Xiaoman, and said sheepishly, “Nothing... I just slipped myself...”

Zhang Xiaoman rolled his eyes and was about to say something when a howl of agony burst from Li Ba Shan He in the Bluetooth earpiece. Zhang Xiaoman immediately turned and ran toward Li Ba Shan He’s direction. “You slipped too, damn it?”

Before Li Ba Shan He could answer, He Wei’s voice came through the earpiece. “Uncle Man, you were right—there really is a bad omen in the northwest!”

Zhang Xiaoman’s anxiety flared even more. Panting hard, he ran to the pipe area and looked at Li Ba Shan He sprawled flat on his back on the ground. He picked up a pink woman’s brassiere that had been covering Li Ba Shan He’s face. His expression twitched as he stared in bewilderment. “That really is quite a big ‘bad omen’!”