Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Nan Mu couldn’t actually think of any places where Wen Xin used to frequent. After all, Wen Xin hadn’t been particularly fond of him back then. But at this point, his only option was to head to A University of Science and Technology first.

Qiu Ziyu couldn’t accompany him due to official business, so Nan Mu drove to A University of Science and Technology alone.

It had been ten years. Since Wen Miao’s death, he had never dared to step foot here again. He hadn’t expected that one day, he would return for a reason like this.

Many photos were hanging on the wall of fame at the entrance; even his own name was prominently displayed in the distinguished alumni section.

It was last year, he recalled, that his former mentor had asked if he wanted to return to the school to give a speech. He had declined at the time. A University of Science and Technology was a breeding ground for the country’s scientific researchers; for a businessman like him, it was better to pass. In his heart, the person who truly deserved to be a role model for their juniors should have been someone like Wen Miao.

He scanned the display board, only to find that Wen Miao’s photo-which used to hang in the most prominent position-had been removed at some point.

Why? Was it because they were afraid her photo would remind people of that murder case?

Back then, the name Wen Miao was the pride of so many people. Yet, at some point, this bright pearl had been covered in dust, never to be mentioned again. She was clearly the victim; why should her light be obscured because of it?

A University of Science and Technology had changed a lot. The Chongjing Building, the original scene of Wen Miao’s murder, had already been demolished and replaced by a stadium.

Watching the students running around inside, full of youthful vitality, Nan Mu felt a sense of trance-like disorientation. This place was so beautiful, it was as if a homicide had never occurred. Time had erased people’s memories. Generation after generation of students came and went on this campus; aside from him, no one remembered, and no one cared about that girl’s death.

Nan Mu withdrew his gaze and left the stadium.

He didn’t remember Wen Xin’s old dormitory. The classrooms used for lectures were all shared on a rotating basis, and he had no recollection of Wen Xin having a preference for any particular room. If there was one place where the four of them used to meet up frequently, it was only the cafeteria.

He looked down at the key in his hand. He didn’t think the place Wen Xin wanted him to go would be a cafeteria.

Just then, someone suddenly bumped into him from behind. Nan Mu lost his grip on the key, and it went flying.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” a middle-aged security guard in uniform apologized, nodding repeatedly in embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to bump into you.”

The guard looked down and saw the key nearby. He quickly picked it up, wiped it with his sleeve, and handed it to Nan Mu. “Your key. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

Nan Mu took the key calmly and was about to leave. Then, he suddenly remembered something. He turned his head and asked, “Have you seen a key like this before? Are there any doors in the school that use this kind of key?”

The guard frowned and thought for a long time. “Classrooms in the teaching buildings aren’t usually locked. The lab buildings were rebuilt eight or nine years ago and all use electronic access control. This kind of key is probably only used for utility closets or storage rooms. Eh? Why are you asking about this?”

Nan Mu put the key away and offered a perfunctory excuse. “A friend of mine is a professor at A University of Science and Technology. He asked me to help him pick something up, but I couldn’t find the place. He’s on a plane right now and I can’t reach his phone, so I thought I’d try to find it myself.”

“Which professor?” the guard asked, somewhat suspicious.

Nan Mu didn’t panic. Several of his former classmates had stayed at the school to become professors. After a moment’s thought, he gave Wang Zheng’s name.

Among that group, Wang Zheng was the most socially adept and had the biggest reputation.

“Professor Wang Zheng from the Biology Department!” The guard recognized the name as expected and immediately adopted a more respectful attitude. “Please come with me to the duty room at the school gate. I’ll help you look into it.”
The security guard led Nan Mu to the school gate.

There was a duty room right at the entrance, and behind it was an internal mailroom specifically for student packages and documents.

The guard used his access card to open the door and greeted a woman standing by the window handing out packages to students. He then led Nan Mu inside, chatting incessantly as they went.

Holding Nan Mu’s key, he opened a wooden box on the wall. It was filled with keys, each with an address label attached. He began comparing the key in his hand against them one by one.

Just then, the woman suddenly turned to the guard and said, “Have you heard? Professor Wen Xin is dead.”

“Huh? Wasn’t he sent to the hospital for emergency treatment? How did he die?”

“They couldn’t save him.”

“Oh, what a shame. Professor Wen was actually a pretty good person.”

“Isn’t that the truth? The internet says he’s a murderer, but I don’t believe it for a second.” The woman paused. “A registered letter he sent out earlier was returned. What do you think we should do with it? Now that he’s gone, should we keep it for him?”

“Just leave it there for now. In case someone comes to collect his belongings.”

“I heard Professor Wen was an orphan who grew up in an orphanage…”

Nan Mu stepped forward. “Excuse me. Could I take a look at that registered letter?”

The two of them froze simultaneously. The woman asked hesitantly, “And you are?”

“Please. I won’t take it, I just want to look at it.” Nan Mu didn’t explain further but glanced at the security guard. The guard probably thought it was strange, but then he remembered this man was a friend of Professor Wang. Since he only wanted to look, it didn’t seem like a big deal, so he nodded to the woman.

The woman picked up an A4-sized postal envelope from the corner of the desk and handed it to him.

Nan Mu took the envelope. On it was a string of sender information written in black: Wen Xin, 133****9688, No. 110 Lijiangbei Street, Lin’an District, City A. The recipient’s address was a string of characters for an overseas location.

Lijiangbei Street… that seemed to be an urban village in City A. With Wen Xin’s financial status, why would he live there?

Nan Mu thought for a moment, his gaze falling on the keys in the guard’s hand. A thought flashed through his mind: if it was an urban village, given the conditions there, perhaps smart locks hadn’t fully covered the area yet.

***

Nan Mu didn’t dally along the way, driving straight to Lijiangbei Street in Lin’an District.

The road conditions in the urban village were poor, and the alleys were narrow; a single electric scooter or a pedestrian could block a car’s passage. He honked his horn a couple of times, only to draw a crowd of onlookers and a chorus of complaints.

Seeing no other choice, he simply found a spot by the road to leave his car and searched for the house numbers one by one. By the time he found No. 110, half an hour had passed.

No. 110 was a three-story building with its own small courtyard, which looked decent for this area. However, the peeling exterior walls and the rusted iron gate that creaked at the slightest push told everyone that this was merely an aged, old house.

A chain hung from the iron gate. It was hard to imagine anyone still using such a primitive locking mechanism in this day and age.

Nan Mu inserted the key. When he heard the clack of the key turning, his heart suddenly tightened.

In this house that Wen Xin was still concerned about in the final moments of his life, what exactly was hidden inside?