Maggie had been Amin’s closest sister back in the Jinxiao Nightclub days. Now she was dressed like a wealthy wife, with voluminous curls and dripping in jewelry.
Everyone said Amin was aloof, sharp-tongued, and acted like she was above everyone else—yet she was only close to Maggie.
“Amin didn’t trust Liang Wei at first,” Cai Meiqi leaned back in her chair. “She’d known since she was a kid that men were no good. Later, she ran into that student at a convenience store. She bought some chips, opened them, and found they weren’t her favorite flavor. Afraid of getting fat, she offered them to him.”
“At first, she said it was just for fun. The men at the nightclub were too slick. The student was poor, but he was pure.”
“Being with him, she felt at ease.”
Liang Wei wasn’t some lazy convenience store clerk.
He was filial, hardworking, and after work, the thing he did most was read—a kind of man Amin rarely ever saw.
“He always came to pick her up. Every day, every night, rain or shine. Amin called him foolish to his face, but what she really felt inside—only she knew.”
Cai Meiqi smoothed her hair, her posture perfectly composed.
“I taught her,” Cai Meiqi said. “Out in the world, men lie to women, and women lie to men too. Those wealthy businessmen like demure, refined girls. Those inexperienced young pups, on the other hand, prefer a woman with flair. If Amin really thought that poor kid had a future, she could use him as a stepping stone first. Once she’d steadied herself, she could just kick him aside.”
Li Heng’s heart stirred. This was exactly the same as Vivi’s “lifebuoy” theory.
She remembered the “rich girl” Wen Zhibang had seen—the one who looked exactly like Amin. Yet when she’d first stated her purpose, Cai Meiqi had scoffed and said Amin didn’t know the first thing about fishing for a rich husband.
“Amin didn’t listen to you,” Li Heng said.
“Of course she didn’t.” Cai Meiqi shook her head, as if she’d seen it all along. “That fool Amin—she fell in love with that poor student.”
Cai Meiqi told Madam that aside from Liang Wei, Amin hadn’t kept in touch with any other men.
Shen Zhicheng sat to the side, a cup of coffee only making him more alert.
While Li Heng was taking the statement, he suddenly asked: “What about that twin sister you mentioned?”
Cai Meiqi glanced at him, then at Li Heng, and smiled. “Are police academies these days only recruiting good-looking people?”
“He’s not a cop,” Li Heng said.
After her casual remark, Cai Meiqi returned to the subject: “Amin’s family situation was bad. Her father drank day and night—and when he drank, he beat the three of them. Her mother would try to protect them, but more often than not, she protected the younger sister.”
“The sister’s leg hadn’t developed properly in the womb—congenital bone deformity.”
“Their mother played favorites. Always had. Just because the sister was crippled, Amin had to give in to her.”
“Food, clothes, toys—everything. Later, when the adults divorced, the mother could only take one child—and she took the sister.”
At twelve years old, Amin’s mother left with her sister. Amin had once resented her mother for only caring about the sister—but when they walked away with their luggage, she cried and ran after them. Amin said she didn’t want anything anymore, wouldn’t fight or resent, would do anything—just don’t leave her behind.
Cai Meiqi told all this in a flat tone. Sometimes her words were sharp and biting, yet there was a hint of pity in her eyes.
“Amin never saw them again. She dropped out of school and worked odd jobs everywhere. She started as a beer girl, then eventually made her way to Jinxiao Nightclub. She was fiercely competitive and never admitted defeat. She never told anyone about her family—only me.”
“Once, drunk, she leaned on my shoulder and said—’No one’s ever been good to me. I have nothing.’”
That student was the first person who’d ever been genuinely kind to Amin. So even though she knew she should weigh the pros and cons, she still threw herself in headfirst.
Li Heng asked: “When was the last time you saw her?”
“Before she quit. I’d already left by then, dating the man who’s now my husband. She asked to meet me, all excited, telling me that this time was different—Liang Wei was different. She was leaving too, to build a proper life with him.”
That meeting ended on bad terms. Cai Meiqi told her she was crazy—to believe in that student’s empty promises with no financial security whatsoever.
“Liang Wei told her to quit.” Cai Meiqi laughed mockingly. “Rent, tuition—Amin paid for all of it. What gave him the right to tell her what to do?”
“Then I never saw her again.” She stood up and flashed the diamond ring on her finger. “Amin and I are no longer in the same world. I don’t want my husband knowing about that past.”
As if knowing this would be a final farewell to her old life, she paused for a moment, then turned back.
She took a few steps, then looked back again: “Her sister’s name is Zhang Huijing—took the mother’s surname. Pretty, isn’t it? And she was just ‘Amin’—Chi Amin. No one even gave her a proper name.”
Only then did the police learn Amin’s real full name.
“They say twins share a psychic bond. Amin’s life turned out like this—do you think her sister feels it too?”
…
Walking out of the airport, Li Heng’s mind was flooded with the case’s tangled threads.
Once the forensic department’s skull reconstruction results came back and the victim’s identity was truly confirmed, perhaps the clues would start to connect.
Shen Zhicheng tossed the car keys over. “I’m not your chauffeur.”
Li Heng caught the keys and got into the driver’s seat.
Shen Zhicheng sat in the passenger seat, saying nothing, leaning back and staring out the window.
Ever since Maggie mentioned the “twin,” he had become unusually quiet. That lazy, carefree attitude had receded, his usual defiance toned down.
After a long while, Shen Zhicheng spoke: “Twins have a connection.”
Shen Zhicheng didn’t know how far back childhood memories could reach. He only knew he had no recollection of his first year. It was only later, piece by piece, that people told him about it—the great-grandmother’s birthday banquet, where everyone was supposed to attend. He alone had come down with a sudden fever that night and had to stay home with a servant.
At first, it was just a normal fever. But late into the night, his temperature plummeted and he slipped in and out of consciousness. The servant paced by his bed in a panic, terrified he wouldn’t make it through the night, terrified of what to tell his parents.
He endured the whole night in agony—until just before dawn, when the terrible news arrived.
His parents were gone. His sister was gone.
“It’s not like what they show on TV.” His voice dropped very low. “It’s real.”
Li Heng looked up from the cluster of complicated buttons on the sports car’s console. “What did you just say?”
The car fell silent for a few seconds.
“I said,” Shen Zhicheng quickly masked the emotion in his eyes, casting a sidelong glance at her, “you don’t know how to drive a luxury car?”
Li Heng didn’t respond. She just shot him a cold look.
Then she suddenly raised her hand.
Shen Zhicheng’s gaze followed her hand, his body tensing. He raised an eyebrow in challenge. “Cops going to hit people now?”
Without changing expression, Li Heng’s fingers gripped the mechanical handbrake and pulled it up with a sharp motion.
She slammed her foot on the accelerator.
A fierce surge of G-force hit—
“Thud!”
Shen Zhicheng was thrown hard against the seatback, completely stunned.
The stone-faced cop had actually used the headrest to smack the back of his head!!!
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