Chapter 8 | A Dead Man's Account
The white jacket in the photo didn't fit.
The sleeves were too long.
The shoulder seams drooped noticeably as well.
The person wearing it stood in the corner reflected in the glass, their figure almost completely blocked by the potted plant beside the stairs.
If not for how conspicuous the jacket was, no one would have noticed that someone was hiding there at all.
Su Yanxi stared fixedly at the phone.
"That's not my jacket."
No one responded right away.
Zhou Yuheng enlarged the photo.
Near the left pocket of the white jacket was a very faint brown mark.
Five years ago, before the party began, Su Yanxi had walked into the venue carrying coffee and accidentally bumped into a server.
The coffee splashed onto her jacket.
She had complained about the stain for a long time afterward.
Zhou Yuheng remembered.
Xu Zhiqing remembered too.
"It's yours,"
Xu Zhiqing said.
"You were wearing this that night."
"There are white jackets everywhere."
"There was a coffee stain on your left pocket."
Su Yanxi's gaze began to dart away.
"Maybe it just happened to be the same."
"You said your jacket was missing that night."
Zhou Yuheng stared at the photo.
"All of us helped you look for it."
After the party ended, Su Yanxi kept saying that someone had stolen her jacket.
The weather had been very cold.
Zhou Yuheng had taken off his own jacket and given it to her.
Xu Zhiqing, meanwhile, had gone back to the stairwell and restrooms alone to search.
She had looked for nearly half an hour.
In the end, all she found near the back door was a decorative ribbon that had fallen from the jacket.
Su Yanxi had insisted that it wasn't hers.
Now that ribbon appeared in the second photo.
It was also the thing that had caused her to misstep.
"So who was wearing the jacket at the time?" the officer asked.
Su Yanxi shook her head.
"I don't know."
"Why was your jacket on that person?"
"Maybe they stole it."
"They stole your jacket first, then hid around the stairwell corner to take pictures?"
"What else could it be?"
"The person in the photo is about your height," the officer said.
"If we can obtain the original files, forensic image analysis can compare the body types more closely."
"Then go check!" Su Yanxi suddenly raised her voice.
"Find out exactly who that person is. Stop asking me over and over!"
Her reaction didn't look like someone desperate to uncover the truth.
It looked more like she wanted everyone to stop asking questions.
The shared cloud album invitation on the old phone was still displayed in the center of the screen.
The account that had sent the invitation was the same account that had uploaded the complete photos to the hidden folder five years ago.
It also belonged to Lin Yao, whose death the police had only confirmed last month.
"Why can this account still send invitations?" the HR manager asked.
The IT specialist took the phone.
He didn't tap it directly. Instead, he first checked the notification's source.
"It could have been scheduled."
"Can you set something to be sent five years later?"
"A standard album doesn't have that function, but if the account was linked to another automation service, it would be possible."
"Someone else could also have logged into the account," the officer said.
"Let's confirm the login history first."
The IT specialist tried to view the shared link's details.
After the page loaded for a few seconds, a line of red text suddenly appeared.
"Invitation expired."
The album cover disappeared with it.
Only a blank page remained on the screen.
"What happened?" Zhou Yuheng asked.
"The other party withdrew the invitation."
The IT specialist immediately returned to the notifications page.
The alert from moments ago had disappeared too.
"This wasn't scheduled," he said.
"If it had only been a prearranged notification, it wouldn't have been withdrawn in real time while we were viewing it."
Everyone in the office instinctively looked toward the windows.
Someone was watching them.
Or at the very least, someone knew when they had opened the phone.
"Could the phone be under remote surveillance?" the officer asked.
"It needs further examination."
The IT specialist disconnected the network.
"For now, avoid receiving or deleting any more data."
Su Yanxi spoke immediately.
"If someone can control it remotely, that means those photos might have been added just now too."
"Creation timestamps can be forged," the IT specialist replied.
"But local storage records, indexes, and thumbnail caches aren't as easy to modify all at once. The photos have been on this phone for a considerable amount of time, at least."
"How long is considerable?"
"We can't determine that yet."
"Then you can't prove they were there five years ago!" Su Yanxi said, as if she had found the only opening.
"Someone deliberately put the photos on my phone and changed the dates to frame me."
Xu Zhiqing looked at her.
"You keep saying someone framed you."
"Because they did!"
"That person knew about the jacket you wore five years ago, knew where the complete photos were hidden, knew you'd bring your old phone to work today, and knew the phone was being investigated right now."
Xu Zhiqing moved closer one step at a time.
"They even knew when you'd unlock it."
"That's what makes it even scarier!"
"But you don't look afraid of them."
Su Yanxi's breathing stopped for an instant.
"What are you talking about?"
"You're afraid we'll keep investigating."
"Xu Zhiqing, don't deliberately target me because of those photos."
"I don't need to target you."
She glanced at the old phone on the desk.
"The things you've hidden will speak for themselves."
The tears on Su Yanxi's face had already dried.
The way she looked at Xu Zhiqing now was exactly the same as five years ago.
It wasn't hurt.
It was resentment.
"Why is it always you?" she asked quietly.
"What?"
"No matter how much I do, the moment you show up, all anyone sees is you."
Xu Zhiqing frowned.
"What does that have to do with the photos?"
"You didn't do anything at all."
Su Yanxi acted as if she hadn't heard the question.
"It was like this five years ago, and it's the same now. You don't have to fight for anything or beg for anything. Zhou Yuheng will just stand by your side."
Zhou Yuheng's expression darkened.
"Don't put the blame on her."
"See?"
Su Yanxi smiled.
"She doesn't even have to say a word."
"We're talking about Lin Yao and the photos now," the officer cut in.
"Ms. Su, did you know Lin Yao?"
"No."
Her answer came too quickly.
"You just said he was dead."
"I might have heard someone mention it."
"Who?"
"I forgot."
"Did you know his name?"
"Zhou Yuheng just said it."
"You already knew he was dead before Mr. Zhou said when Lin Yao disappeared."
The officer flipped his notebook back to the previous page.
"Answer again. What was your relationship with Lin Yao?"
"We had no relationship."
"Why did he share the photos with you?"
"I don't know."
"Why did his account contact you today?"
"I said I don't know!"
Su Yanxi lost control again.
She grabbed the glass of water on the desk, but her hand was shaking too badly.
The glass slipped from her fingers.
Water splashed across the floor.
The glass rolled to the leg of the desk without breaking.
Chen Jiawei instinctively started toward her.
He took half a step, then stopped.
"Yanxi."
He looked at her.
"At least tell us one true thing."
Su Yanxi slowly raised her head.
"Even you don't believe me?"
"I've believed you so many times."
Chen Jiawei's voice was exhausted.
"When your phone went missing, I helped you look for it. When you said Xu Zhiqing had been in the office, I assumed she might have taken it. When you said she pushed you five years ago, I never questioned it."
"So?"
"So now I don't know how many other things you've lied to me about."
"I didn't lie to you."
"Then tell me who Lin Yao is."
Su Yanxi looked at him.
A few seconds later, she suddenly turned her gaze away.
"I really don't know him."
Chen Jiawei said nothing more.
He only took one step back.
It was a very short step.
Yet it was as if he had finally walked away from her side.
After recording the situation at the scene, the officers prepared to take the old phone for further preservation and examination.
Su Yanxi still refused to hand over the device.
She repeatedly insisted that it contained private information.
Only after the police explained that her refusal would result in formal legal procedures did she reluctantly sign the necessary documents.
Before the phone was placed in an evidence bag, the IT specialist checked airplane mode one last time.
The screen suddenly lit up on its own.
Even though the network had already been disconnected, an unopened draft email appeared.
The sender field was blank.
But the recipient had already been filled in.
It was the email address for Xu Zhiqing's company.
The subject read:
"She's Not Doing This for the First Time."
Everyone saw it.
Su Yanxi immediately said, "I didn't write that!"
The officer didn't touch the screen.
"When was this draft created?"
The IT specialist checked the email list.
"1:23 a.m."
That was six minutes after the cloud album had resynchronized.
"The device was at Ms. Su's home at the time," the HR manager said.
Su Yanxi's face grew paler and paler.
"Someone operated it remotely."
"The draft is stored locally," the IT specialist replied.
"And when it was created, this phone was offline."
"Then someone came to my house!"
"You just said no one came over last night."
"Someone could have snuck in without me knowing!"
"Was the lock damaged?"
"No."
"Do you have security cameras at your residence?"
"There are cameras in the building hallway."
The officer wrote down the address.
"We'll obtain the footage."
Su Yanxi seemed about to say something.
In the end, she held it back.
The officer looked at Xu Zhiqing.
"Opening the draft's contents requires following procedure. But since you're the recipient, have you received any emails with a similar subject recently?"
"No."
Xu Zhiqing took out her own phone.
She searched the emails from the past month.
Other than the B07 materials anonymously sent to the company, there was nothing with the same content.
Zhou Yuheng stood beside her.
"Check the spam folder."
Xu Zhiqing opened the spam folder.
At the top was an email received at 1:24 a.m.
The subject was the same:
"She's Not Doing This for the First Time."
The sender was listed as nonexistent.
The body contained only a cloud-file link.
"Don't click it," the officer stopped her.
The police instructed her to preserve the email in its entirety first, then had the IT specialist examine the link from an isolated device.
A few minutes later, the link was confirmed not to lead to a phishing page.
It pointed to a forty-seven-second audio file.
The file had been created the day after the stairwell incident five years ago.
The officer pressed play.
First came the sound of fabric rubbing together.
Then a young man's voice.
"I sent you the photos."
Another voice was very quiet.
But it was clear enough for everyone present to recognize.
It was Su Yanxi.
"Why did you take so many?"
"I saw you fall. Of course I pressed the shutter."
"Delete all of them."
"Why? These photos can prove she didn't push you."
After a brief silence, Su Yanxi answered,
"I know."
When the recording reached this point, Chen Jiawei closed his eyes.
There was no expression on Zhou Yuheng's face.
Only the hand hanging at his side slowly clenched tighter.
In the audio, Lin Yao continued asking,
"If you know that, why did you keep telling everyone Xu Zhiqing pushed you?"
"That's between us."
"Everyone's cursing her now."
"It's not like anything's going to happen."
"Do you know Zhou Yuheng broke up with her because of this?"
"I know."
Su Yanxi's voice was calm.
It even carried a hint of impatience.
"Isn't that a good thing?"
No one in the office breathed.
Five years ago, she had admitted it with her own mouth.
There had been no tears.
No panic.
And certainly none of the vague, muddled memories she claimed to have now.
She had known exactly what the photos proved.
And she had known exactly what consequences her lie would cause.
Lin Yao was silent for a long time in the recording.
"Yanxi, I won't help you cover this up."
"You've already sent me the photos."
"I can send them to other people too."
"You won't."
"What makes you so sure?"
Su Yanxi gave a soft laugh.
"Because that white jacket is still with you."
The recording abruptly cut off.
Forty-seven seconds had ended.
The screen showed that the audio had finished playing.
Xu Zhiqing looked at Su Yanxi.
She finally understood.
The person wearing the white jacket in the photo wasn't Su Yanxi.
It was Lin Yao.
He might have put it on after finding it, or Su Yanxi might have deliberately given it to him.
But her final words hadn't sounded like a simple reference to a lost item.
They sounded more like a threat.
"What's inside the jacket?" Zhou Yuheng asked.
There was no color left in Su Yanxi's lips.
"I don't know."
"Why was Lin Yao afraid to send the photos out?"
"I don't know."
"What did you threaten him with using that jacket?"
"Nothing!"
She suddenly stumbled backward.
"This recording is fake! Voices can be synthesized, and photos can be altered. Someone deliberately brought all this out now because they want to drive me to my death!"
"Where did Lin Yao go afterward?" the officer asked.
"I don't know!"
"The recording took place the day after the stairwell incident. He disappeared after that."
"It has nothing to do with me!"
"We haven't said it had anything to do with you."
Su Yanxi froze in place.
Once again, she had answered something no one had asked.
The officer stared at her.
"When was the last time you saw Lin Yao?"
"At the party five years ago."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"He discussed the photos with you the next day. Then where did this recording come from?"
"It could have been a phone call!"
"There are sounds of a door opening and ambient echoes in the audio. It doesn't sound like a phone recording," the IT specialist said.
"The two of them were probably in the same space."
Su Yanxi's eyes became completely disordered.
"I don't remember."
"You were sure just now, and now you don't remember?"
"It happened five years ago! How could I remember every detail?"
The officer didn't press her further.
He simply recorded all her contradictory answers.
"Regarding Lin Yao's death, we'll transfer this to the investigators handling the original case."
"What does that mean?"
"If this recording is confirmed to be genuine, you may be among the last people to see him alive."
"I wasn't!"
"Whether that's true still needs to be investigated."
Su Yanxi suddenly turned around.
It looked as if she wanted to leave the office.
The two officers didn't stop her, only reminding her that she would have to cooperate with any subsequent notifications.
When her hand reached the doorknob, Xu Zhiqing spoke.
"Su Yanxi."
She stopped.
"You just asked why it's always me."
Xu Zhiqing looked at her back.
"But five years ago, I didn't steal anything."
"You used lies to steal away my reputation, my career opportunities, and the person I trusted most."
Zhou Yuheng's eyes flickered.
"Now that the truth has come out, I didn't steal anything back either."
"You just couldn't keep it hidden anymore."
Su Yanxi's hand on the doorknob trembled uncontrollably.
She didn't turn around.
"You think this is the truth?" she asked quietly.
"Lin Yao wasn't the kind of person you think he was."
"Then what kind of person was he?"
"He was the best liar of them all."
With that, she pushed the door open and left.
Chen Jiawei hesitated for a few seconds but didn't follow her.
The office was left with only a puddle of water that had yet to dry.
The officers packed up the old phone and related records.
Before leaving, they reminded Xu Zhiqing and Zhou Yuheng once again not to contact any unknown links privately.
The HR manager also went to deal with the company's follow-up procedures.
The office, which had been crowded with people, quickly fell silent.
Xu Zhiqing stood by the window.
Downstairs, Su Yanxi walked out of the building.
She didn't call a car.
She only kept looking back, as if checking whether someone was following her.
Zhou Yuheng came to stand behind Xu Zhiqing.
"Are you okay?"
"No."
She answered directly.
He was stunned for a moment.
"I thought seeing the evidence would at least make you feel relieved."
Xu Zhiqing watched the figure below grow farther and farther away.
"But all I feel is sick."
In the recording, Su Yanxi had said:
It's not like anything's going to happen.
The five years during which nothing happened to her had been five years in which Xu Zhiqing couldn't explain herself well enough for anyone to believe her.
"Zhiqing."
Zhou Yuheng's voice was hoarse.
"I won't apologize to you again."
"Good."
"But I'll find out exactly what happened back then."
She turned to look at him.
"The police are already investigating."
"I'm not trying to investigate the case for the police."
"Then what do you want to investigate?"
"I want to know how many other people received that cropped photo back then."
Zhou Yuheng paused.
"And exactly how much the things I did affected you."
Xu Zhiqing didn't answer.
She didn't need him to sort through his guilt only now.
But at that moment, a phone vibrated.
It wasn't hers.
It was Zhou Yuheng's personal phone.
An email from an unfamiliar sender appeared on the screen.
The sender still didn't exist.
The subject read:
"You Finally Remembered."
Zhou Yuheng didn't open it right away.
Instead, he turned the screen toward Xu Zhiqing.
Below the email notification was a thumbnail of an attachment.
It was a photograph of a newspaper.
The date was the third day after Lin Yao disappeared five years ago.
A short news brief that had attracted little attention appeared in the local section.
"Bloodstained White Jacket Found by Riverbank; Police Ask Owner to Come Forward."
The jacket in the photo was covered in mud and water.
The brown coffee stain near the left pocket was still visible.
And on the inside of the collar, someone had written a name in black marker.
It wasn't Su Yanxi.
It was Zhou Yuheng.