Chapter Nineteen: Identity Confirmed

Why was it considered Ding Mulan’s fault? She never explained. She simply left, worry etched across her face, and politely refused An Changpu’s offer to accompany her home. No one pursued the matter further. The immediate priority remained the DNA comparison between the deceased and Lu Min’s three direct relatives. Meanwhile, the police had not given up their search and dredging efforts for the missing head.

Half a month slipped by. The head was still nowhere to be found, and the Major Crimes Unit received no new reports of dismembered remains. Their only hope, the DNA analysis, finally yielded a result: based on the degree of similarity, the headless, halved corpse could be identified as Lu Min.

With this conclusion, An Changpu made a call to Ding Mulan. After hearing the news, she was silent for so long that An Changpu almost thought the line had been disconnected. Only then did she speak, saying she would leave immediately for the Public Security Bureau.

After hanging up, An Changpu informed Qin Ruonan that Ding Mulan would arrive soon. Qin Ruonan let out a heavy sigh, speaking as much to An Changpu as to herself: “Lu Min is dead. For Ding Mulan, I don’t know if that’s a tragedy or a release.”

“You seem especially concerned about Ding Mulan,” An Changpu remarked, his tone certain. He’d noticed this before, but over the past days everyone had been anxiously awaiting the DNA results, busy searching for the victim’s head and collecting other clues, leaving no time to question Qin Ruonan about it. “Do you sympathize with the weak?”

“She’s not weak—just a pitiful woman.” Qin Ruonan seemed to take issue with the term “weak,” but didn’t bother arguing further. She stood, straightened the files on her desk, and instructed, “I’m going to get the report from Forensic Doctor Zhao. You’d better plan which questions to ask Ding Mulan. Don’t get flustered and forget the essentials when the time comes.”

With that, she strode out. At the doorway, she ran into Tian Yang returning from outside. Qin Ruonan nodded politely and offered a faint smile before leaving.

“Brother, I have to say, if I didn’t know you for years, I’d have thought she was your superior and you some green rookie! That woman’s much more assertive than you,” Tian Yang teased, giving An Changpu a playful punch in the chest.

An Changpu forced a smile and brushed Tian Yang’s hand away. “Don’t give me a hard time! I must’ve offended her in a past life. Did you notice? She’s friendly enough to everyone else, but when it comes to me, her face looks like she’s wearing a cement mask! For no reason, she goes to the boss and says she can’t work with me. Tell me, what did I do to deserve this?”

Tian Yang scratched his head, puzzled. “I heard you two are from the same graduating class. Maybe there’s some old grudge?”

“What? We’re in the same year?” An Changpu was stunned. “Seriously? I had no idea!”

“Well, if you don’t even remember being classmates, then there’s probably no past grievance,” Tian Yang chuckled, realizing An Changpu was just venting. There was no real friction between him and Qin Ruonan—just some harmless banter. Soon, Tian Yang went off to his own work.

An Changpu quickly organized the questions he needed to ask Ding Mulan; he’d already anticipated this, so it didn’t take long. With a spare moment, he tried to recall if he had any memories of Qin Ruonan, but nothing came to mind.

When Qin Ruonan returned, An Changpu almost wanted to ask her directly if they’d really been classmates. But considering how distant and indifferent she’d been lately, he thought better of it. There were others he could ask.

Soon after, chaotic footsteps echoed in the corridor, followed by a hurried knock. The Major Crimes Unit office door swung open. Lu Min’s son-in-law, Lu Ji, entered first, followed by Lu Anju, and at the rear, head bowed, was Ding Mulan. Except for Lu Jun and Lu Anmei, nearly all the Lu family members who’d come for DNA sampling half a month earlier were present.

It was surprising that Lu Anju and Lu Ji had come too. Even more unexpected was the change in Lu Anju—previously sharp-tongued and aggressive, now subdued like a scolded daughter-in-law, her eyes swollen nearly shut from crying, sniffling as she followed behind Lu Ji.

An Changpu signaled Qin Ruonan to bring the materials for the record, and ushered the three into the meeting room. As soon as Lu Anju sat down, her tears began to fall again. Lu Ji hurried to pull tissues from his pocket, quietly comforting her. In contrast, Ding Mulan showed no tear stains, her eyes unpuffed, but her whole being was listless, as if her soul had fled.

“Your youngest daughter didn’t come today?” An Changpu handed each of them a glass of water and asked.

Only then did Ding Mulan look up at An Changpu and Qin Ruonan, her expression awkward.

“She wouldn’t come. That girl only cares about herself—she doesn’t care at all about Dad’s death!” Lu Anju exclaimed indignantly, then broke down in sobs again. This time, her tears flowed freely, soaking the tissue Lu Ji handed her and leaving a damp stain on her pants.

Seeing her cry, Qin Ruonan seemed even more at a loss than An Changpu, who was supposedly the one who feared women’s tears the most. She looked as if she wanted to comfort Lu Anju, but given their earlier antagonism, she hesitated. Seeing Lu Ji already consoling her, Qin Ruonan gave up.

Instead, her first question was directed at Ding Mulan: “Do you know about Lu Min’s social life?”

Ding Mulan sat in a daze for a moment. Only when Lu Ji reached past Lu Anju to tap her did she snap back to attention. Qin Ruonan repeated the question.

This time, Ding Mulan understood. She pressed her lips together, unsure how to answer. After a long pause, her voice came out hoarse, much rougher than when she’d answered the phone: “He used to have a few friends he played cards and mahjong with. But after he had… after he had that surgery, they stopped inviting him. I haven’t heard him mention spending time with anyone else since. I don’t think he had much contact with people.”

No sooner had she finished than Lu Ji interjected, dissatisfied: “Mom, why aren’t you telling the police the truth? Dad owed a lot of money to loan sharks. If you hide that, you’re just making trouble for the living!”