Although they had also undergone proper preservation, the archive papers were still yellowed and aged, resembling a buried history.

Lin Chen touched the papers of the case file and flipped through them page by page.

It seemed to be an accidental incident, with a very simple sequence of events.

The deceased was a homeless man. According to the resident who reported the case, it was a very cold day, with an unprecedented cold wave in decades. When they went out in the morning to buy groceries, they saw the homeless man who had been living in their neighborhood for years lying dead in the cold rainwater outside.

The residents suspected that due to the cold and slippery conditions, the homeless man had slipped and fallen, hitting his head on the stone steps of the bridge, resulting in a skull fracture and death.

The person who reported the incident was a resident of that street. After the police arrived at the scene, they questioned many neighbors, and the results proved that the homeless man’s death was purely accidental.

Lin Chen turned to the third page, which recorded the eyewitnesses and their statements that the police had questioned at the time, including their addresses, names, and other basic information.

Chen Jianguo, residing at 3 Xiaolin Lane, stated that he did hear shouting outside his house that morning at around five, but the sound was very brief, and he turned over without paying much attention. Little did he expect that someone had actually died outside, and he regretted not getting up earlier to check.

Next, the police questioned the residents around 5, 7, and 9 Xiaolin Lane, as well as 2, 6, and 8—all of whom provided similar testimonies.

Lin Chen quickly turned to the fourth page and looked at the names recorded one by one, along with the statements signed by the interviewees. The sequence of events in the accidental death case unfolded in his mind.

....

Lin Chen’s reading became slower and slower. The pile of case files on his right side grew taller. Finally, the subtle change on Lin Chen’s calm face caught Xing Conglian’s attention.

“What did you find?” Xing Conglian asked.

Lin Chen composed himself and said, “Stop and call the people you sent over.”

Xing Conglian frowned, his gaze falling on the case file in Lin Chen’s hand. “You found it so quickly?”

Lin Chen pointed at the case file with his finger and calmly said, “It should be this one.”

Xing Conglian immediately clapped his hands, catching the attention of all the officers who were immersed in reading the case files. He announced loudly, “Everyone, stop. Organize the case files in your hands, put them back in the boxes by year, and you can leave.”

All the officers had just immersed themselves in their work for less than half an hour. The trivial and bizarre old cases seemed to pull them back to that era, leaving them with a bewildered and confused expression. Each person hoped to find some answers from Lin Chen’s expression, but Lin Chen’s gaze remained calm and thoughtful, giving no clue.

Soon, the boxes filled with case files were filled up again, and the officers exited the office one by one, then the office door closed.

Wang Chao, sitting on the sofa licking a lemon-flavored lollipop, couldn’t wait to rush over to Lin Chen’s side. Xing Conglian sat down beside Lin Chen, and Wang Chao squeezed himself between them like a little pet, crouching down to look at Lin Chen curiously. He asked, “What’s going on with this case, A’Chen Gege?”

Lin Chen handed over the case file and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes slightly.

Wang Chao actually started to look through the file on his own. Xing Conglian snatched the case file from the teenager’s hand and flicked him on the forehead. “You’re so nosy. Can you even understand what you’re reading?”

Wang Chao exclaimed, “Boss, this case file just passed from your hands!”

Xing Conglian then snatched the case file and unhesitatingly gave the troublemaker another flick.

“Wang Chao.” Lin Chen finally spoke slowly. “Can you retrieve the layout map of Xiaolin Lane from back then?”

Wang Chao snapped his fingers and said, “I’ve seen it. I can draw it for you.”

Lin Chen tilted his head and said, “Please mark the specific names of each household.”

Wang Chao got up to get some paper, but upon hearing the request, the young man couldn’t help but freeze. “I haven’t come across that yet, but I’ll mark it after I finish searching.”

“No need. I’ll tell you. Just mark it.” Lin Chen said.

Soon, the geographic map of the small bridge where the homeless man fell appeared on the paper. Lin Chen recited the house numbers of the households mentioned in the witness testimonies, and Wang Chao gradually marked them.

“Li Wanru, 8 Xiaolin Lane..”

After Lin Chen finished reciting, there was a long pause. Wang Chao still held the pen, waiting for what he would say next, because there was still one empty spot on the paper. “A’Chen Gege, what about 4?”

Lin Chen’s face remained as calm as water as he simply stared at the young man. Through the lens, the summer sun outside was bright and vibrant. Lin Chen spoke faintly, “Guess.”

Wang Chao took a sharp breath. “Shen Lian’s house?”

A homeless man had died, and the police had made a record and visited all the surrounding households except for Shen Lian’s family. It seemed like there was no problem with this omission. Maybe something had happened in Shen Lian’s household during those days, or perhaps the Shen family happened to be traveling. There were countless reasons to explain this small detail. But the more Xing Conglian looked through the record, the more he understood where Lin Chen’s certainty came from.

For example, Li Wanru’s testimony from 8 Xiaolin Lane. The homeless man had been living on their street for many years. Except for a period when the staff of the shelter, during the construction of the city, had temporarily removed this scruffy dog-like man, no one had bothered him since then. Now that he was dead, people couldn’t exactly celebrate, but they still felt a sense of relief. When asked about what happened when the homeless man died, Li Wanru also said that it was so cold outside, and she was still sleeping at that time, unaware of what was happening outside.

At the end, Xing Conglian’s gaze landed on the name of the outbound officer—Bian Yuan.

He stood up, draped his police uniform over his arm, and said to the other two in the office, “Hungry? Want to eat dumplings? I’ll treat you.”

....

Lao Bian Dumplings was located just outside the city’s Criminal Investigation Division.

The Bian family name was already relatively obscure, and it was said that their ancestors had been imperial chefs, hence the inheritance of their culinary skills. Lao Bian was the one who took a different path within the family. When he was young, he worked as a police officer, and after retiring, due to his grandson’s special love for the dumplings he made, he decided to open a restaurant, catering specifically to his colleagues in the police station.

When Xing Conglian entered the restaurant, the air conditioning was already at its lowest, but because of the steaming hot dumplings and the constant flow of officers, the place felt like a steamer. Familiar officers greeted Xing Conglian, and he pretended to look at the menu posted on the wall. Wang Chao couldn’t contain his anxiety and whispered, “Boss, with such limited time, why did you bring us here to eat dumplings? Is there a clue here?”

Upon seeing the signboard of the dumpling restaurant, Lin Chen seemed to have understood everything. Therefore, he calmly said, “Three Delicacies*, no garlic in the vinegar.”

*Refers to the filling used in Chinese cuisine, particularly dumplings. The filling typically consists of a combination of three ingredients, such as minced meat (commonly pork), finely chopped vegetables (such as cabbage or chives), and sometimes shrimp or other seafood.

The one who came to tally the bill was the owner himself. Xing Conglian patted the shoulder of the officer sitting next to him and said, “Put it on my tab.”

The officer understood and immediately got up to leave.

Of course, those who operated a dumpling restaurant outside the police station were well aware of this situation. Lao Bian took a seat at the vacant spot and said, “Lao Xing, let me tell you, ever since I opened this dumpling restaurant outside the police station, it has become an information hub. If you have any questions, just ask.”

Lin Chen placed the case file on the table and pushed it towards Lao Bian. “I would like to ask you for some information regarding this case.”

Lao Bian put down his small notebook and took out reading glasses from his breast pocket. When he opened the first page, his expression changed.

Xing Conglian knew that they might be getting closer to the answer.

“This case..” Lao Bian dragged his tone and sighed. “What do you want to know?”

“Why is there no testimony recorded from the Shen family who lived at 4 Xiaolin Lane in the transcripts?” Lin Chen asked.

Lao Bian pushed his glasses up and looked at Lin Chen, saying with emotion, “Impressive, Consultant Lin. But before I answer, can you tell me what exactly happened?”

“Regarding the incident involving the little girl from the Shen family,” Lin Chen hesitated, “at that time, she was probably in junior high.”

A sharp expression flashed across Lao Bian’s face as he shook his head and said directly, “Are you talking about Shen Lian?”

The second floor of the dumpling restaurant was Lao Bian’s residence. The retired police officer led them upstairs and pulled out a stack of files from a wooden shelf, flipping through them in chronological order. He then took out a thin file and handed it over.

Lowering his head, Xing Conglian looked at it. Specifically, it seemed to be a single-page document that wasn’t included in the main file.

Lao Bian said, “The reason the Shen family didn’t provide a statement is that during those few days, they had returned to their hometown.”

“Didn’t you find it suspicious?” Xing Conglian felt the temperature in the room drop.

“Take a look at this record first.” Lao Bian avoided giving a direct answer.

On February 26, about a month and a half after the death of the homeless man, a resident from Xiaolin Lane voluntarily approached the police and provided information about the case.

The resident who provided the information refused to reveal her name, but she appeared to be a junior high student.

The junior high student told the police that her home was very close to the scene of the incident, so she was well aware of the true sequence of events. The death of the homeless man who slipped and fell on the stone bridge was not an accident but rather the result of being pushed and hitting the steps.

The junior high student provided several names, including Li Wanru, Chen Jianguo, and Li Guoqing, and described some of the events that occurred on the night of the incident.

According to the junior high student who provided the information, it was a stormy night. She witnessed a dispute between the resident, Chen Jianguo, and the homeless man as she was returning home from her evening study session. The homeless man injured Chen Jianguo by hitting him, and Chen Jianguo, in turn, pushed the homeless man, ultimately resulting in his death.

Many residents of Xiaolin Lane witnessed the tragedy, but everyone was covering up for Chen Jianguo, and no one was willing to come forward and tell the truth. The junior high student wanted to report the incident at that time but was dragged back to her hometown by her parents. Now, she mustered up the courage to come to the police.

Xing Conglian lifted his head from the file.

“Did you investigate it?” he asked.

“That girl couldn’t provide any solid or even indirect evidence. We reconstructed the crime scene based on her account, but we didn’t find any suspicious points or the bloodstains she mentioned. We conducted multiple inquiries and questioned the surrounding residents, and all their statements were consistent with no anomalies. We conducted a total of four investigations, and all the results indicated that the girl who came to us was lying.”

Xing Conglian frowned and finally asked, “Why didn’t you include this investigation record in the official main file?”