Chapter 19

Chu Wanning pulled open a drawer and helped search for medication, but Wan Yi shook her head and declined. Chu Wanning poured a cup of warm water, and Wan Yi took the pills with it. Severely decomposed bodies were the last thing any forensic examiner wanted to face. During her time in a lab abroad, Wan Yi and a colleague named Piter had performed an autopsy on a heavily decomposed body, and neither could eat properly for two days afterward.

Tonight, she’d handled two in one go. On the surface, Wan Yi appeared unflappable, but only she knew how many times she’d had to steel herself internally. There were eight million ways to die, and each was a mirror. Some of those mirrors could reveal the beast within people. She had to be the one to wipe those mirrors clean so the beasts could hide no longer.

She coughed twice, stood, and gave Chu Wanning a faint smile. “I’m fine. Go change.”

Nie Fanxin had sharp eyes. She watched Wan Yi’s breathing gradually steady and then stepped forward, tapping lightly on the door frame. “It’s 3:30. Let’s go home.”

Wan Yi walked toward her, unzipping the protective suit as she went. “I want to shower before we head back. Tomorrow morning I’ll rest, and I’ll organize the report in the afternoon.”

Nie Fanxin was puzzled. “Don’t you usually shower at home?”

Wan Yi pressed her lips together, a slight frown forming. “Today’s an exception. I smell.”

“Seems like it. How many showers does the institute have?” Nie Fanxin began peeling off her own gear.

“Two for women. Why?”

Nie Fanxin said offhand, “Sister Wanning takes one, and I’ll share with you.” No response came. She folded her suit and placed it in the waste bin, continuing, “Not like we never bathed together as kids. Or would you rather shower with Sister Wanning?” A sudden sense of release washed over her. If her suspicion was right, having someone who knew her inside and out looking after her sister was better than constantly worrying she’d end up with the wrong person.

Still, the teasing words left a sour ache in her chest. She smiled as if at ease, though the corners of her lips were unmistakably bitter.

Chu Wanning had already stripped off her gear and was washing her hands at the corridor sink. “I’ll shower at home. Fanxin, keep an eye on Xiaoyu. She shouldn’t stay in too long.”

In the end, Nie Fanxin and Wan Yi showered in separate stalls with a divider between them. Nie Fanxin chatted with her on and off.

“So what’s the principle behind that lung test you mentioned?”

“The lung float test. If the fetus dies before birth, it hasn’t breathed, so the lungs contain no air and sink in water. If it dies after birth, the lungs have filled with air and float.”

Nie Fanxin rinsed off the suds, still puzzled. “So babies don’t breathe in the womb?”

“They rely on the mother’s placenta and umbilical cord for oxygen. The alveoli don’t expand.”

“So the baby keeps drawing nutrients from the mother. No wonder Old Gu’s skin isn’t as good as Auntie’s and Old Nie’s, even though she’s younger.” Even as she said it, thinking of Gu Bei softened her heart.

“If Aunt Gu heard that, she’d call you ungrateful.”

“She won’t hear it, and you won’t tattle.” Nie Fanxin paused, then asked a question even she hadn’t expected: “What about you? Ever thought about having kids?”

The stall to the left fell silent. Nie Fanxin nearly knocked on the door in worry. She tapped the divider. “Hey?”

“Fanxin, I’m getting dressed.” Wan Yi’s voice paused, then continued slowly, “Probably not. Asthma is hereditary. I don’t want a child to suffer.” Wan Yi had learned from her grandmother in Hucheng that she’d inherited the condition from her biological mother, though Zhao Guoying and the others had taken such good care of her in early childhood that it never flared up.

Nie Fanxin normally despised nosy people, but she found herself asking, “Oh, but there aren’t many guys who want to be DINKs these days.”

“We’ll see when I meet the right person. A woman would be fine too, wouldn’t it?”

“Ah, yes. Very fine. We have four role models at home.” Nie Fanxin’s mind filled with images of Chu Wanning and Wan Yi together, and she blurted out, “If your future partner wants children, try to have them early. It gets risky with age.”

“Mm, ideally before thirty.”

“Huh?”

“What?” Wan Yi pushed open the bathroom door just as Nie Fanxin emerged. Perhaps it was the steam and the enclosed space, but her face showed a visible flush.

“Nothing. Let’s get home fast. I’ve only got two hours to sleep before I’m up again.”

Wan Yi nodded and went upstairs to check whether Wei Lan had closed the door after leaving. Downstairs, Nie Fanxin clutched the steering wheel, snapping out of her daze when she heard the car door close. A soft voice reached her.

“Fanxin, is something on your mind?”

“No.” She’d never been good at hiding things, and Wan Yi always found out. Three years ago, while Wan Yi was abroad, Nie Fanxin had kept the confession under wraps, worried it would be awkward given how close the three were. So Wan Yi was unaware.

“Your ears are red.”

Nie Fanxin covered her burning ear with one hand, pouting, “Wan Xiaoyu.”

“Fine, I won’t ask.” Wan Yi withdrew her smile and gazed into the distance. “If something’s weighing on you, it’s best to say it out loud—keeping it bottled up is miserable.”

“Mm, when it gets truly unbearable, I’ll cry all over you, okay? Right now, I just want to sleep!” Nie Fanxin made a face at Wan Yi and released the handbrake.

Some things had to be worked through alone…

Nie Fanxin indeed slept only an hour and a half. The next morning, three or four people in the office sported panda eyes. Little Liang patted the back of Chen Anyou’s chair. “Were you slacking off last night?”

“Yep, ranked with friends.” Chen Anyou spun his chair over to Nie Fanxin. “What about you, Sister Xin?”

Nie Fanxin sipped her coffee without looking up. “Watched an autopsy.”

“Yikes, hardcore.” Chen Anyou clicked his tongue and scooted back to his desk. He flipped through his records and said casually, “Six pregnant women reported missing in the past year. Brother Liang and I narrowed it down to two. First, the owner of a corner store at No. 102 Tianhu Road. Second, a cardiothoracic surgery nurse at Binnan University Affiliated Hospital.”

“Nurse?” Nie Fanxin turned around, signaling him to continue.

“The store owner lived alone with her husband working out of town. On March 28 last year, her husband returned to Binnan, couldn’t find her, and reported her missing. The nurse disappeared after her evening shift ended on April 9, and her husband reported it too. Brother Liang and I plan to interview both families separately.”

“I’ll join you for the nurse.”

“What? Your gut says it’s the nurse?” Chen Anyou smirked.

Nie Fanxin rolled her eyes and asked the key question: “What does her husband do?”

“A doctor, but in nephrology. Never seen an operating table.” Chen Anyou took out a USB drive, grabbed the car keys, and winked. “Let’s go. Dr. Meng’s on the ward today. I booked half an hour.”

“Chen Anyou, can you be any greasier?” She’d known him nearly three months and rolled her eyes every single day, unable to help herself.

“Greasier? The fresh-faced guys never get dates.”

Nie Fanxin cut straight to the point: “Do you even have a girlfriend?”

“Brother Liang’s the fresh-faced one, right? Single for 32 years. I’ve at least been in two relationships!”

…

Nie Fanxin was speechless and refused to say another word.

Binnan University Affiliated Hospital had nearly a century of history. Every doctor and nurse there had been selected from thousands. At 10:15 a.m., Nie Fanxin and Chen Anyou arrived at the designated meeting room. Dr. Meng Ziqiao had just come from the ward.

He greeted them politely: “Please, sit.” His next question came quickly: “Is there news about Xiaorou?”

Chen Anyou opened his notebook and tapped the desk with his pen. “Describe your wife’s physical characteristics.”

Meng Ziqiao adjusted his glasses and settled into his chair. “You already have her height and weight. What else do you need?”

Nie Fanxin spoke: “Distinguishing features. Something unique.”

Meng Ziqiao thought for a moment. “Her little toe is longer than her fourth toe. Does that count?”

Chen Anyou wrote it down. “Uncommon. That should help.”

“Anything else?”

Meng Ziqiao frowned. “Xiaorou doesn’t have any birthmarks. I don’t remember anything else.”

“The night she disappeared, when was her last contact?”

Meng Ziqiao opened his phone and checked the call log. “12:05 a.m. Xiaorou just finished her shift. I offered to pick her up, but she said she’d already gotten a taxi.”

“And then?”

“She was texting me from the cab, saying she craved yogurt. Look.” Meng Ziqiao handed over his phone. Nie Fanxin scrolled through the messages, which showed a warm, loving relationship between Liu Xiaorou and Meng Ziqiao.

Chen Anyou repeated the key points from the call records for Meng Ziqiao to confirm in person: “The drive from the hospital to your home is about twenty minutes. At 12:48 a.m., you called the police.”

Meng Ziqiao’s expression was earnest. “Yes. I couldn’t reach Xiaorou. I was worried.” Even ten months later, Nie Fanxin could feel his anxiety.

Nie Fanxin asked the important question: “Liu Xiaorou was due on April 14. Couldn’t she have taken leave earlier?”

Meng Ziqiao was indignant. “The cardiothoracic surgery department couldn’t spare her. They only promised to stop her night shifts and said she could rest starting April 12. I argued with their leadership over it.”

Chen Anyou capped his pen. “Anything to add?”

“No. Have you found Xiaorou? She and the baby are healthy?” Meng Ziqiao’s face filled with hope.

Chen Anyou waved vaguely. “We’ll let you know.”

By the time they returned from the hospital, it was past noon. After lunch, Nie Fanxin grabbed her notebook and headed to the research institute. She knew Wan Yi was off that morning, but her sister would surely be in the lab by now. The lab was empty. Nie Fanxin turned to go upstairs when she heard faint voices from the end of the corridor. She crept closer.

“Xiaoyu, I didn’t mean to. I thought three years ago you’d already told her…”