Gan Ling tracked down Lu Jinshi without any fancy tricks.
After switching to a new phone, the photo quality shot up, and the details in a single picture were enough for her to follow the clues straight to him.
In the photo, Lu Jinshi was coming out of a hotpot restaurant. He lived nearby, and this Sichuan restaurant wasn’t far either. Gan Ling haunted the area, circling around a couple times, peeking into shop after shop. And wouldn’t you know it, when I arrived, I was sitting right across from Lu Jinshi, facing the door, so Gan Ling spotted me.
I glared at Gan Ling, not backing down an inch. Gan Ling didn’t glare back on purpose; she just looked over calmly, with this effortless authority that didn’t need to try, plus her no-holds-barred style. That one look slashed half my HP, so I reached for the beer bottle again.
Lu Jinshi had that good-friend-to-everyone face on, reading the room instantly. “You two know each other? Then come sit over here—come on, come on—”
Without waiting, he started moving a chair, but Gan Ling stood up, not taking the bait. She pressed down on the chair, shook her head, scrutinized Lu Jinshi carefully, and asked outright without any politeness: “I want to ask, about that murder at Plum Kindergarten seven years ago—how much do you know?”
The boss chimed in: “I know about it. Tsk, really scary. But I didn’t see it myself. Truly heartless, not even sparing kids. No idea what the kindergarten teachers were doing.”
Lu Jinshi suddenly raised his voice: “We’ve got an extra person now—add a bowl of winter melon meatball soup!”
I rubbed my face, swallowing my words along with the booze.
Lu Jinshi seemed to have figured out the woman’s identity too and stopped pulling at the chair. Our table already had four chairs. He pointed to the one next to me: “Have a seat and talk.”
Unlike me, Lu Jinshi always took control of the conversation’s pace, no matter the time or place. Everywhere was his home turf. In just a few words, he’d arranged everything clearly, like a massive storm. Gan Ling held the initiative too, but more like a rubber band slowly snapping back—emphasizing resilience.
But Gan Ling didn’t sit. She snatched the beer bottle right out of my hand: “Alcohol makes your face flare up like an allergy—it’s red like a monkey’s ass.”
My tolerance was trash. I leaned against the wall and said nothing. Gan Ling set the bottle on an empty table nearby and was about to speak when a few customers came in. The boss hurried out to greet them.
They noisily ordered, one guy asking about the signature dishes. The boss launched into how his place was authentic Sichuan and started yapping away. The chatter was right in our ears, too grating for any deep talk.
Food arrived. Lu Jinshi grabbed his chopsticks: “Eat up, eat up. Dinner first—it’s on me.”
I still had a shred of reason left not to owe my ex any favors. I shook my head: “No, I’ll get it. You’re doing me a solid—I’m paying.”
The aroma of mapo tofu hit me, but I had zero appetite, chopsticks in hand.
Gan Ling, on the other hand, calmly reached for the chopstick holder, pulled out a pair, flipped the big ends out, ordered a bowl of rice, and started chewing away.
The next table ordered a ton of booze—seemed like an old classmates’ reunion, laughing their heads off. I tried a few times to kick off the conversation but failed. I barely ate anything.
Lu Jinshi grabbed an extra spoon, scooped some winter melon meatball soup, and put it in front of me: “Try some of this. You like bland stuff.”
I glanced awkwardly at Gan Ling. Accepting food from my ex in front of someone else felt off, like Lu Jinshi and I had something going. But Gan Ling ate without looking sideways, like she was just here for a free meal.
From the racket next door, they’d be yapping through two more rounds of ours. Our bowls were nearly empty. Gan Ling set down her chopsticks, reached across me for a napkin to wipe her mouth. Lu Jinshi rubbed the stubble on his lip, seemingly pondering how to start. My bowl had six slices of winter melon, four meatballs, and the soup was gone. No wonder Gan Ling could pick me up like a chick.
Gan Ling said: “I’ll get straight to it. Let me introduce myself. In the Plum Kindergarten murder seven years ago, I’m the mom of the kid who died. Back then, only Teacher Xiao Jiang was on site. She saw the killer and testified—knows his name, looks, clothes, habits. But she won’t tell me. I figure, since you two are together now, maybe you can tell me something.”
“Murder’s a crime. Court sentenced him, he did time. What else can you do? If it’s unfair, you should’ve come sooner—catch that ride. Missed it, opportunity gone.” I spoke fast, beating Lu Jinshi to it, laying out my stance first.
Lu Jinshi laughed: “Whoa, sis, murder means death penalty—it’s only right. I get it.”
“I don’t.” That bit of alcohol fermented like yeast in my brain. My tone turned aggressive, just like back when I was dumping Lu Jinshi—firm, shooting out swords, absolute and unyielding.
Lu Jinshi whipped his head around: “You’re a witness, it’s relevant. You shouldn’t say anything. If you do, that’s disrespecting our national laws. We don’t encourage private grudges, okay?”
This guy was like split personality. I shot an annoyed glance at Gan Ling. She didn’t budge, calmly dodging a round of rock-paper-scissors from the next table before saying evenly: “Whether you get it or not is irrelevant to me. I’m doing this.”
“Xiaohui won’t tell you. If you say it and she passes the info, then goes with you to kill—what does that make her? An accomplice!”
Thump. Lu Jinshi jabbed his finger on the table, the wooden beads on his wrist rattling. “Now I know you’re gonna kill too. Why should I tell you?”
Gan Ling: “So you do know?”
Lu Jinshi: “I know nothing, okay? I’m just laying out facts and reason—”
Gan Ling clearly wasn’t here for reason. She stood up: “Privately, I’m begging you two. But bluntly, right now I’m a rabid dog—I’ll bite whoever I grab. If I don’t get what I want, if I can’t think of other ways, I’ll come torment you. I’ll keep finding you.”
I knew it’d end like this.
What Gan Ling was doing wouldn’t get her detained. Everyone’s gone nuts—she’s a mom without a kid. Emotionally, legally, you can’t lock her up. Even if you did, a few days later she’s out, still crazy. Even if she does nothing, just staring from downstairs every day is enough to give you goosebumps.
They say, not afraid of thieves stealing, but thieves remembering you.
Same for me. I wasn’t scared of Gan Ling knifing me or smashing my door, dragging me out the fifth-floor window. I was scared of her grinding me down—coming every day, in private time. While I’m at work, she’d hurl stones at kids without a bottom line. No normal person does that.
Lu Jinshi read the room and quickly called for a bottle of Beijing Erguotou: “Sis, let’s talk nice. Don’t win all at once—we gotta take it step by step. We have concerns too. You can’t say we’re scared of you but not the country, right? Talk slow.”
He got Gan Ling to sit, poured her a cup. I passed her the glass. Lu Jinshi was about to grab hot water, but I shook my head.
Lu Jinshi: “Whoa, six years no see, you’ve got balls now. Not scared you’ll get drunk and spill everything?”
I knew he was warning me. I thought it over, got myself a bottle of orange juice. By the time I got back, those two had downed their first cups.
Gan Ling looked like a regular drinker. One cup down, she flipped hers over, no chase. Her scar-covered hands interlocked on the table. She raised a brow and smiled: “You seem like… a salesman… selling houses?”
“Wholesale furniture, side gig doing renovations.” Lu Jinshi knocked back half a cup of Erguotou, took a deep breath. “Sis, truth be told, your thing—it’s sudden, but not impossible to talk about.”
“You say.”
“We won’t drag Xiaohui into it, okay? She’s law-abiding—can’t say means can’t. We follow rules, right? Unless you say you’re not out for revenge or murder, then we talk separate.”
“Her business is hers.” Gan Ling said.
Lu Jinshi chuckled down at the table: “True that. I’m even married now… Hey, Jiang Xiaohui, you still single?”
Suddenly pulling me in. I didn’t wanna talk, but I was at the center. Whether they sparred moves or just swung weapons to show off, I had to bring my own.
“Whether I break the law or not is one thing… I just think, seven years ago, you didn’t watch your kid—that’s on you. The kid died under my nose—that’s on me. You want the killer? Whole Neng County, I’m the only living soul who knows what he looks like. If we’re throwing down, between us—you can bribe, threaten, seduce, whatever. Just don’t drag others in.”
Words out, I wanted to chug my glass heroically, but remembered it was orange juice. Momentum dropped from gangster to cartoon bear. Kindergarten teacher, gotta be this childish? Pissed at myself, I reached for the Erguotou. Lu Jinshi yanked the bottle up high. Gan Ling: “Exploding again.”
I felt like a kid who’d wandered into the booze table. Clearly the center, but they kept hinting I belonged at the kids’ table.
“Yeah, I think no. Who are you? What right do you have to make others your accomplices in murder? If you were a responsible mom, maybe out of guilt I’d break the law once. But you’re not—what makes you so entitled to mess with other people’s lives? Just cuz you’re crazy and throwing fits? I can too—I’m great at going nuts!”
Booze must’ve hit. Weirdly, no shakes, no tears—clear words, cussing Gan Ling out.
Lu Jinshi said, “Hey hey, the people next to you are watching. What are you saying?”
Then he flashed a teasing smile at the few guys beside him, like that winking exchange between men carried some secret code. I could read it—it meant “She’s going crazy again, you get it,” and they’d smile knowingly, brushing off my serious declaration as a joke.
Gan Ling said, “Go on then, show me you losing it.”
I really couldn’t stand this woman provoking me. I grabbed the beer bottle in a fury, ready to smash it on the ground and let the crisp crash prove my “craziness” to Gan Ling.
But in the end, I didn’t. I just slammed the beer bottle down on the table.
Lu Jinshi was ultimately on my side. “Aren’t you just thinking Xiaohui’s an easy target? This world runs on bullying the weak and fearing the strong—and you look like someone who doesn’t give a damn about her own life. I don’t know the details, but the moment I saw it today, I could tell you were forcing her. She doesn’t want to talk. I’m getting involved in this today. Jiang Xiaohui, if this woman did anything to you, just call me directly.”
I turned to go settle the bill, but Lu Jinshi rushed over to pay instead. By the time we’d argued it out and he’d won, Gan Ling had already vanished.
