Chapter Sixty-Nine: Photographic Memory

"Are you sure? Do you want to take a closer look?" Although Qin Ruonan was somewhat excited by the affirmative answer, she feared that the Fisherman Hat might have replied too hastily, making the information unreliable.

Fisherman Hat, hearing his words doubted, grew a little displeased and put on a stern expression. "You're a strange girl! Just now you were praising my memory, and now you've turned around and think it's no good?"

"No, that's not what I meant. I just want to make sure. Could you please try to recall it more carefully?" Qin Ruonan pressed her palms together at her chest, earnestly asking Fisherman Hat to think again.

Fisherman Hat was a straightforward man who spoke his mind and loved to talk. Naturally, he wouldn’t take offense at the doubts of a young girl. Seeing how anxious Qin Ruonan was, he laughed instead and waved her off. "I was just teasing you! You're really such a serious one—can't even take a joke! Anyway, I’m certain I’ve seen that little girl in the photo before. How about this, see those old fellows over there? We often hang out playing chess and chatting, unless it’s raining or windy. We spend more time outside than indoors during the day. I’ll help you ask them too?"

"That would be great!"

Fisherman Hat took the photo of Lu Anmei from Qin Ruonan’s hands and, without another word, strode over and promptly sent the chessboard flying into disarray in front of the two elders playing.

"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing, old man? Why are you causing trouble?" The one about to win was unhappy and protested loudly.

His opponent, who had been on the losing end, laughed and pointed at his nose. "Calling others old men—look at all those wrinkles on your face!"

"I don’t care—I was about to checkmate!" insisted the would-be winner.

"It’s just a chess game, nothing to get worked up about. Come, take a look at this photo, help me recognize someone!" Fisherman Hat grinned and pushed the photo over.

"I’m not looking!" The would-be winner, still holding a grudge, acted with the stubbornness of a child. "I was about to win against Old Zhang, and now you’ve ruined it. I’m in no mood to look at any photo or recognize anyone!"

His outburst left the onlookers exchanging glances, unsure if they should look at the photo Fisherman Hat offered. Not looking would be disrespectful, but they also didn’t want to provoke the anger of the nearly victorious player. The scene quickly dissolved into an awkward stalemate.

Fisherman Hat, caught in this situation, felt a bit embarrassed. He had probably only meant to have some fun, but he hadn't expected the chess winner to be so persistent. Now, in front of Qin Ruonan, he found himself losing face.

"Old Wu, you really—"

Just as he was about to try and negotiate with the chess winner, Qin Ruonan suddenly spoke up. "Sir, if I can restore the chessboard to how it was, will you calm down and help me identify the person in the photo?"

"Restore the chessboard? You think you can do that?" Old Wu looked at Qin Ruonan in disbelief. "You play chess?"

Qin Ruonan shook her head. "I don’t, but I have a good memory."

"Alright! Go ahead and try!" Old Wu didn’t sound optimistic about her proposal, but was curious to see if she could pull it off.

He stood up and made way. The others also stepped aside. Qin Ruonan walked over to the chessboard, studied it carefully for a few seconds, then crouched down and cleared all the scattered pieces. She began to select the pieces one by one and place them back on the board. Occasionally, she paused to think, but overall her movements were swift. In less than five minutes, the chessboard was restored, neat and orderly.

"I remember it looked like this, but I’m not entirely sure," Qin Ruonan said, a little sore from squatting, as she stood up and addressed Old Wu, who had been watching her restoration with a frown.

Old Wu examined the board seriously, as did the others. Even Fisherman Hat, whose displeasure had shown earlier, was now curious. The old men clustered around the board, quietly discussing.

Soon, Old Zhang, who had been about to lose, sighed and scratched his head in resignation. "Well, it seems I was doomed to lose after all! To think you could restore the game like this—today, I’ve met a true expert!"

Old Wu, after scrutinizing for a long while, realized the board was indeed as it had been and was quite surprised. He looked up at Qin Ruonan and asked, "Were you watching us play just now?"

Though he asked, even he seemed not to believe it, since all present were old friends. Had a young stranger been nearby, she would have been noticed.

Qin Ruonan shook her head and answered truthfully, "I just glanced over a few times when I walked by."

"Just a few glances and you could put it all back together? That’s not just a good memory—that’s truly remarkable, photographic even!" Old Zhang gave her a thumbs-up.

Qin Ruonan smiled faintly, saying nothing more. She had heard those words—"photographic memory"—since her school days. She had little else to boast about, but her astonishing memory had always set her apart among friends and classmates.

Seeing the chessboard restored, Old Wu had nothing more to say and reached out his hand. "A gentleman’s word is his bond. Since the board’s restored, let me see the photo!"

Fisherman Hat handed over the photo, his earlier sour expression fading. As the others crowded around Old Wu to look at the picture, he whispered to Qin Ruonan, "Among us, Old Wu is the eldest and a chess fanatic. Aside from eating and sleeping, he’s here all day, either playing or watching chess. If anyone strange has been around, even if the others missed it, he’d almost certainly know."

Old Wu’s reaction was just as quick. After glancing at Lu Anmei’s photo, he quickly gave the same conclusion: "I’ve seen this person before."

"When did you see her?"

"About two or three weeks ago, let me think... yes, about three weeks."

Qin Ruonan made a mental note of the dates. If Old Wu’s memory was correct, he had seen Lu Anmei just days before Lu Min’s death.

But this was only Old Wu’s rough recollection. It wasn’t certain enough, so Qin Ruonan pressed further, "Are you sure it was her? Where did you see her?"

"Right around here!" another elder who had been watching the game answered eagerly. "I saw her too! She’s definitely not from around here—I only saw her that once, never again after that."

As he finished, the others nodded in agreement.

"You’ve only seen her once—why does everyone remember her so clearly?" Qin Ruonan was puzzled.

No one hurried to answer this. Instead, Old Wu, as their representative, raised a question they all seemed to share. "Who are you? Why are you asking about this girl?"

Some eyes turned to Fisherman Hat, since he had brought Qin Ruonan over in the first place. But Fisherman Hat was just as curious, so all waited for Qin Ruonan’s reply.

She hesitated. Trying to come up with a cover story on the spot was not her strength. She secretly wished An Changpu were here—he’d surely think of a suitable excuse.

But then she realized that since covering up wasn’t her strength, it would be better to be honest, as long as she didn’t bring unnecessary attention to Xie Leming.

She took out her police ID and handed it to Old Wu. "Here’s the situation: this girl is the daughter of a victim in a case we’re investigating. She’s been working away from home for years and rarely contacts her family, so we can’t find her. We want to locate her to learn more about her family."

"So you’re the police, looking for someone!" Old Wu suddenly understood. Before returning her police ID, he even rubbed the badge as if to check its authenticity.

With their doubts cleared, Fisherman Hat had a new question. "So why did you and your colleague come here looking for Xie Leming? Was he involved somehow?"

As soon as they heard a familiar name, the old men’s attention turned to Qin Ruonan. She quickly shook her head at Fisherman Hat. "Actually, we weren’t looking for Xie Leming himself, but for his girlfriend—the woman he was dating is this girl’s aunt. We hoped to find her and, through her, locate this girl."

"I see! You were using a diversion—pretending to look for Old Xie so you wouldn’t raise suspicion about his girlfriend!" Fisherman Hat summed it up himself, which suited Qin Ruonan perfectly.

Now that her identity and purpose were clear, the elders all wanted to help. They began animatedly discussing when they’d seen the girl in the photo, and from their tone, it seemed most had seen Lu Anmei at some point.

Qin Ruonan carefully recorded the time and place each of them had seen Lu Anmei. Their accounts came in a jumble, and she simply noted everything, leaving the sorting of times for later.

These elders, who must have been passionate youths in their day, were now energized by the prospect of helping the police, regretting only that they couldn’t provide more useful information.

After finishing her notes, Qin Ruonan glanced over them and found that the earliest sighting had been around seven or eight in the morning, while the latest was at dusk. Though it was autumn, daylight still lasted until around seven in the evening. This meant that Lu Anmei had lingered near Xie Leming’s residence in T County for an entire day, yet Xie Leming claimed never to have seen her.

Was Xie Leming lying? And what was Lu Anmei’s purpose for coming here?

[Today is New Year's Eve. Wishing everyone a happy Spring Festival, family happiness, all the best, and peace! PS: With so many family gatherings and activities during the holiday, I’ll try to update daily, but timing may be irregular. Please enjoy the festivities, and catch up on the story after the new year! Much love!]