Chapter Twenty-Six: The Man with the Black Mole

Qian Yuling was someone An Changpu had dealt with far less often than Qin Ruonan had, so he knew her nowhere near as well. When Fang Da suddenly shifted the blame toward Qian Yuling’s boyfriend, a man An Changpu had never heard of or seen before, he instinctively turned to Qin Ruonan, hoping she would respond.

Qin Ruonan was just as taken aback. Qian Yuling had told her more than once that she had been living a hard, lonely life ever since her divorce, and had even accused Fang Da of one law for the rulers and another for the ruled: he remarried a younger wife and lived in comfort, yet went out of his way to block his ex-wife from finding new happiness, even sabotaging people who had tried to introduce men to Qian Yuling.

Through several meetings and conversations, Qian Yuling had never once mentioned having a boyfriend she was close to. So what exactly was the man Fang Da was talking about?

“Does Qian Yuling have a boyfriend?” Qin Ruonan asked directly.

Fang Da gave a contemptuous snort. “If you asked her straight out, she’d never admit it. But I’m telling you, those two are definitely involved. I’m almost forty now, and after living this long, I know the slightest bit of flirtation between a man and a woman when I see it. If I can’t even tell that much, then I might as well have been wasting my life!”

“What was his surname, his name, what did he do for work? Do you know any of that?”

“No, I don’t. I only saw him two or three times. He was about Qian Yuling’s age, and he didn’t look like any decent sort of man. Thick, brutish face, all muscle and no refinement. You could tell at a glance he was nothing but a roughneck. I don’t know what he did for a living, but I do know he had a driver’s license. One time I happened to see him at Qian Yuling’s place. It was late at night, just the two of them alone, and when he saw me coming, he jumped up in a hurry. His license fell out of his trouser pocket, and I caught sight of it. I only saw the holder, though, not the actual card inside.”

After hearing this, Qin Ruonan and An Changpu were both torn between amusement and helplessness. He had said so much, and yet in effect said nothing at all. In all of City C, men of the right age who had a driver’s license were as plentiful as fish in the sea. To try to find someone from clues like that was no different from trying to fish a needle out of the ocean.

Before they could ask for more details about this man, Xia Ying, who had been quietly pressed against Fang Da’s chest and had only just stopped crying, suddenly raised her head from his arms and stared at him warily.

“What were you doing going to your ex-wife’s house in the middle of the night? When did this happen? Why didn’t you ever tell me before?”

Her barrage of questions made Fang Da’s face shift from anger to embarrassment. He lifted a hand and pushed her head back down toward his chest, muttering, “Don’t interrupt. Let me talk to the officers about the serious matter first.”

“I didn’t say anything unserious!” Xia Ying slapped his hand away and sat up straight, refusing to let it go. “When was it? What exactly were you doing there?”

“What else would I be doing there? Of course I went to bring Fang Wan back! What else do you think I was doing at Qian Yuling’s place?”

As he said this, Fang Da’s eyes flickered. Qin Ruonan could clearly see the lack of confidence and guilty unease beneath his words.

Xia Ying was not a police officer, but a woman’s natural intuition was sharp, and she did not miss Fang Da’s panic. That only made her angrier. She shoved him hard and exposed his lie on the spot.

“Nonsense! Who are you trying to fool? Didn’t you just say it yourself? ‘Late at night, just the two of them alone.’ Your son is already one year old! He’s not a baby. If he’s there, standing around like a huge lamp in the room, how can you still call it just the two of them alone?”

“Can you stop making trouble?! Is picking apart my words at a time like this really necessary?! Haven’t I already explained everything? You must be tired, right? Then go back to the room and lie down!” Fang Da, unable to think of a way to cover himself, grew irritated out of shame and embarrassment. While trying to brush her off, he hurriedly motioned for Xia Ying to leave, both hands on her waist and back, trying to pry her up from the sofa.

“What are you doing? Don’t push me! I’m not tired! Since the police are here today, you need to say everything clearly! Didn’t I already tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?” Xia Ying insisted stubbornly.

“Fine! If you want to listen, then listen! I’m not going to stuff your ears with mule hair! Listen if you want. Suit yourself!” Fang Da was angry now too. He simply adopted a reckless, give-up expression and stopped paying attention to Xia Ying.

This couple, sitting in front of them, was clearly not as harmonious and sweet as they had first appeared. They seemed to hide things from each other constantly, and there was a glaring lack of even the most basic communication.

Qin Ruonan quietly drew that conclusion. Of course, she had no interest in analyzing or mediating domestic quarrels. What concerned her now was only the part related to the case. The condition of Fang Da and Xia Ying’s marriage mattered only insofar as it might connect to Fang Wan’s home situation. That was the sole reason she was observing and assessing the pair.

“Since you say you only saw that man two or three times, and you don’t know his name, his real age, or even where he works, why did you think he was suspicious? Was he really suspicious, or was that just an excuse to get back at Qian Yuling?” Qin Ruonan asked sharply.

Fang Da’s face instantly flushed red. He glared at her in irritation and embarrassment. After holding back for a long while, he still did not say anything truly harsh, only replied resentfully, “I’m not that bored! If I wanted to deal with Qian Yuling, I wouldn’t need to use such underhanded tactics! And I’m a grown man. Why would I bully a woman for no reason? I’m saying this because I have solid grounds!

“One Sunday, I went to Qian Yuling’s place to pick up my son. I hadn’t even gotten there yet when I saw that man dragging my son along the roadside. My boy looked like he clearly didn’t want to go with him. I shouted, ‘What are you doing, grabbing my son?’ When Fang Wan saw me, he immediately shouted, ‘Dad!’ That man let go of my son at once and ran off in a hurry. Later I asked Fang Wan who the man was, and he said he didn’t know him, said he was a lunatic.”

“Are you certain this happened exactly as you say?”

“Of course! I’d stake my character on it!”

Whether Fang Da’s character could really guarantee the truth of the matter was something Qin Ruonan could not say. If they wanted to verify it, the first step would still be to find this supposed boyfriend of Qian Yuling’s.

“Can you describe what that man looks like?” An Changpu asked the question Qin Ruonan had just been about to raise.

Fang Da thought for a moment, uncertain yet unwilling to give up. After searching his memory, he said that although his recollection was not especially clear and describing it was difficult, if he saw the man himself or even a photograph, he would definitely recognize him at once.

From what he remembered, the man was fairly tall and powerfully built, with dark skin and a ruddy face. His eyebrows were thick and heavy, like two little brooms. His hair was naturally curly. There seemed to be faint freckles on his face, though he could not be certain. The most obvious feature was a black mole at his throat.

Leaving aside the exaggeration and deliberate ugliness that came from Fang Da’s poor impression of the man, it could at least be concluded that this was a sturdy, fully grown man in his prime, perhaps someone who worked outdoors or in some other line of work that exposed him to the sun often. It was also possible that he simply had a naturally dark complexion.

“You really do care a lot about your ex-wife’s boyfriend,” Xia Ying said coolly from the side.

Fang Da pretended not to hear the strange, cutting tone in his wife’s voice and, without looking at her, said to Qin Ruonan, “Officer, I’m serious. I really think this man is suspicious. I’m not trying to settle old scores or waste your time. I hope you’ll take this seriously. Even if you hadn’t come today to ask Xia Ying about the laxatives, once my emotions settled down in a few days, I was going to report this to you myself.”

An Changpu nodded at him. “Understood. If there’s time, I’d like to ask you to come to the public security bureau with us later. We’ll have our sketch artist draw the man you described, and you can help us judge how close it is. That will also make it easier for us to look for him.”

“No problem! Absolutely no problem!” Fang Da agreed at once.

By this point, the conversation had nothing to do with Xia Ying anymore, yet she showed no intention of leaving. Her hands were still clenching the pillow in her lap, though she no longer looked frightened or uneasy. Now she looked angry.

Qin Ruonan glanced at her a few times. She had tried several times to ask Fang Da something, but each time hesitated. She asked tentatively whether Xia Ying’s rest was being disturbed. If so, they could consider inviting Fang Da to the public security bureau later for a more detailed discussion. Before Fang Da could even answer, Xia Ying hurriedly declared that she was not tired, did not need rest, and would remain with her husband while he was questioned. She would even go to the bureau to help with the sketch.

With no other choice, Qin Ruonan could only brace herself and ask Fang Da, “We heard that whenever Qian Yuling was introduced to a man as a potential second husband, you would always interfere. Is that true?”

If Xia Ying’s expression had held a trace of grievance before, then after this question was asked, the way she looked at Fang Da became sharp as a blade.

Fang Da felt her stare and grew uneasy. Glancing at Qin Ruonan and An Changpu, he finally lowered his head, took out a cigarette and lighter from his pocket, lit it, and smoked in sullen silence.

Acting on a pregnant woman’s instinct, Xia Ying immediately stood up and moved away from the thick secondhand smoke. She pointed at Fang Da, angry. “Fang Da, what do you mean by this? Were you really tangled up with your ex-wife all this time? How many things have you been hiding from me?”

“Mind your own business! Take care of yourself!” Fang Da snapped, waving her off impatiently.

Xia Ying stamped her foot, jabbed a finger straight at Fang Da’s nose, and cursed him with a sharp, “Just you wait.” Then, fuming, she snatched up her coat and stormed out of the house alone.