I don't know how to assess the scene before me. After Jiang Kexin's sister-in-law walked away, I asked her, "Have you ever considered telling this to your brother?"
"No!"
"Why not?"
"Have you ever heard of a political marriage?"
Of course, I had heard of political marriages, but I never imagined one would occur in Teacher Wang Ren's family.
Around the year 2000, Jiang Keyang was 24 years old, of marriageable age. Jiang Keyang didn't want to get married, but Teacher Wang Ren was anxious about her son's marital affairs and asked her husband to inquire.
A staff member at the Ministry of Culture named Guo wanted to use Director Jiang's connections to gain a promotion. So, Old Guo introduced his daughter, who was about the same age as Jiang Keyang, to him.
Old Guo's daughter was named Guo Jing, and she was quite attractive. The first time they met, Teacher Wang Ren was very pleased. With parental approval and a matchmaker's words, Jiang Keyang and Guo Jing didn't spend much time together. They got married less than two months after meeting.
In Jiang Kexin's eyes, her brother and sister-in-law had almost no affection for each other. They played the role of a loving couple in front of their respective elders. Not long after marriage, they had a child. Their child had always been raised by the Guo family. They saw their grandparents only on holidays. Even so, neither the Jiang family nor the Guo family had any complaints. Old Guo is now a division-level cadre and is doing quite well. Jiang Keyang had many bad friends, and Guo Jing didn't pry, turning a blind eye. From a realistic family perspective, many newly married couples are like this, lacking any emotional foundation and just living together.
Hearing Jiang Kexin say this, I was very confused. "Can't your mother see it?"
The couple were both acting with masks on, so others couldn't see it, but could Teacher Wang Ren be fooled? Who was Teacher Wang Ren? Setting aside her identity as a schemer, just based on her identity as a psychologist, she wouldn't be deceived by the ordinary acting of Guo Jing, right?
"Do you think my mother can't see it?" Jiang Kexin countered, leaving me speechless.
"Is there something fishy going on?"
"I don't really know, but if my brother wants a divorce, I'll support him. Moreover, my Ying sister has always wanted to be my sister-in-law."
"Shi Ying?"
"Mm!"
"You don't care about her being the mistress?"
"Everyone has a different destiny. Sister Ying being a mistress is out of necessity. I don't care. But other people's love cannot be dictated by me. Using others' goodness as a cover, seemingly for their own good, is actually doing something to hurt them. Such behavior is most despicable."
"Be careful, you are indeed an unusual girl."
Jiang Kexin responded to this compliment with a fake smile, "Tang Nan, I need you for something."
"What is it?"
"I can't find Hu Xiaoyu anymore."
"She's missing?"
Jiang Kexin had visited Hu Xiaoyu's home. Hu Xiaoyu's parents said that Hu Xiaoyu had gone on a trip. This made Jiang Kexin very puzzled. Hu Xiaoyu was not the type of person who liked to travel; she might not even find her way home if she went beyond the Third Ring Road. However, Hu Xiaoyu's parents said that Xiaoyu had a broken heart and wanted to get away for a while. She had contacted them a few days ago and had been unreachable since.
"Hu Xiaoyu had a broken heart? When did she start dating?"
"Xiaoyu didn't start dating."
"She lied."
"No."
I looked at Jiang Kexin, and she nodded at me. It was all true, because I had saved Shi Ying like a superhero, and Hu Xiaoyu had fallen for me.
"Did I mention I was married before?"
"So what? You can still snatch someone away even if you're married. How many people do you meet in your life that you truly like..."
"But I haven't seen her!"
"That's the problem. I've done a lot of psychological counseling for her. She was willing to get breast augmentation to interfere with your marriage, and then she just disappeared, gave up. This is very strange!"
"Maybe she really got over it."
"Bullshit, Hu Xiaoyu is not that kind of person. She's been a crybaby since she was little. My sister Ying and I helped her make all her life decisions. Even if she got over it and didn't interfere with your marriage, she would have come to us and cried her eyes out. To just leave and go traveling like this, is that even Hu Xiaoyu?"
"You mean Hu Xiaoyu is in danger?"
"Yes, I'm very worried."
"Did you call the police?"
"It's useless. Even Hu Xiaoyu's family doesn't think anything is wrong. How can I have the right to call the police?"
"Then how do you plan to find her?"
Jiang Kexin took out a map of Beijing from her pocket, borrowed a pen from the coffee shop, and drew a circle on it. "The Third Ring Road. Hu Xiaoyu is like a frog in a well, with very limited mobility, so this is the largest area she usually operates in."
"Within the Third Ring Road is still vast, it's hard to find someone."
Jiang Kexin didn't speak. She continued to mark four points on the map and said, pointing to the markings, "My home, her home, her workplace, and the nightclub street."
After speaking, Jiang Kexin drew intersecting lines with these four points, representing the smallest range of Hu Xiaoyu's activities.
I understood Jiang Kexin's methods and watched quietly. Besides these four points, Jiang Kexin also drew small circles on it. According to her, these small circles were places Hu Xiaoyu frequented for beauty treatments and manicures.
"How do you know Hu Xiaoyu has been to this place recently?"
"This girl's monthly expenses always exceed her budget. She likes to keep receipts to stop herself from spending on 'beauty.'"
I gave a wry smile. "It seems this method isn't working."
"Yes, this is a receipt she just paid when I went to her house the day she left. She changed nail salons and has been getting skin treatments. I also went to the hair salon, and the stylist said she spent a lot of money on a hairstyle."
"What does this have to do with her disappearance?"
"In Hu Xiaoyu's life, studying and knowledge are not important. She was born to be a pretty face. When she wants to achieve something, she will dress herself up desperately. Judging by her spending, she must have intended to steal your wife away."
"But she didn't come. From what I know of Hu Xiaoyu, she would just try to seduce, not set up a plan."
"Right, but she didn't come to you. She went on vacation looking all dolled up."
"You think she didn't go."
"Mm!"
"Are the receipts still there?"
"Yes!"
...
I called Yu Xiaoluo, my voice as gentle as possible. "Sister, can you help me check the consumption for an account?"
"What is it?"
"Helping a friend find a friend."
"Tell me! The account and the purpose."
I gave her the account number and added, "Check her spending habits."
Yu Xiaoluo was sitting at her computer. She had the authority to do such things. I hadn't even hung up the phone when she finished checking. When she told me the last consumption time, I glanced at the receipt Jiang Kexin had given me. My mood immediately became heavy. "Thank you, Sister."
"Who is this Hu Xiaoyu?"
"Never mind."
I hung up and looked at Jiang Kexin. She was looking down, her index fingers touching, deep in thought. Then she bit her fingertips tightly with her teeth. Mimicking, she said, "That's a beauty hospital. I asked Hu Xiaoyu if she was consulting for breast augmentation, but she was timid and didn't dare to do it. But after consulting for a long time, she felt it would be embarrassing not to spend anything, so she got some facial cosmetic injections. Then, she left the hospital with a clear conscience. At this point, she should have discussed it with me or Sister Ying, as her beauty wasn't up to par. But she didn't. Perhaps she saw someone she knew there. Something happened beyond her imagination, and she decided to follow that person. She... she might be in danger."
As she spoke, Jiang Kexin started to sob. I panicked a little and comforted her, "Be careful, don't overthink it."
Jiang Kexin wiped away her tears. She drew a line on the map with her pen and stood up. "There are only three residential communities nearby. I'll go find her."
"I'll go with you."
...
In the vicinity of those three residential communities, there was little we could do. It was like finding a needle in a haystack. Jiang Kexin extracted Hu Xiaoyu's photo from her phone and asked around. However, there was no result.
It was noon, and it was getting dark. We had been searching for a day and were extremely exhausted. We asked many people, but no one had seen Hu Xiaoyu. I even thought Jiang Kexin might be wrong, but Jiang Kexin was firm in her belief that she was right.
We walked, feeling weary. Suddenly, Jiang Kexin turned and threw herself into my arms, her face pressed against my chest, and whispered, "Look at that man in the black T-shirt. He's holding keys. Are the keys round?"
"There are two keys, one is a car key, and the other is a cylindrical key, it looks quite ordinary."
"Lower your head, bury your head in my shoulder, act natural, don't let that person see. Did he leave?"
"He's already in the car and driving away."
Jiang Kexin quickly pulled away from my embrace. The car was parked here, and there were no public units over there, so parking was quite convenient. Therefore, he must live in Unit 2 or Unit 3 of this building.
"Let's go, Tang Nan, we've found our target."
I was stunned. "What's wrong with that man?"
"You haven't seen him, and he hasn't seen you, but you both know each other."
I stopped. The situation was beyond my imagination. Jiang Kexin had made it very clear. The man just now was her brother, Jiang Keyang.