"How do you review this famous painting, 'Woman 3'? Looking at it, even the elementary school sister next door could paint better than this artist. What the heck? Is this thing worth a hundred million US dollars?
Admittedly, I have absolutely no artistic talent. Looking at this painting, all I could think was that regardless of the artist's skill level, the promoter behind the artist must be a master strategist.
Seeing my gaze fixed on 'Woman 3,' Zhang Ying walked over, swirling her wine glass. I watched her fair toes tap on the rug, her movements light and full of allure.
At that moment, I slapped myself mentally. Tang Nan, what are you thinking? A stinky foot can make you lose your mind? Snap out of it.
"Isn't this painting breathtaking?"
Breathtaking? I truly couldn't feel the painting's charm. The lines were sharp and harsh. It was as if someone had used a disposable pen to scribbled randomly on a canvas, making it look rather messy. Upon closer inspection, it was indeed a woman, unclothed, with all the attributes. But the closer I looked, the more it resembled a mosaic, even more so than censored images.
"It's certainly captivating, but I truly don't understand it."
"It uses simple lines to sketch out humanity's most primal desires."
"What desires?"
Hearing my question, Zhang Ying's charming eyes softened. She said nothing, her lips parted slightly, as if hesitating to speak, or perhaps wanting to do something? My heart pounded, and I instinctively wiped the cold sweat from my temples.
"Teacher, these paintings definitely won't help us find Jiang He. If it's all right, I'll be going now. We can chat another day."
"Okay! I'll see you out!"
"No need, no need!"
...
After leaving, I hailed a taxi. Sitting in the back seat, my heart was still pounding. Was this woman a fox spirit reincarnated? Her icy demeanor hadn't changed, but her gaze was bewitchingly charming, and my soul almost left me.
I don't know where this intuition came from, but I felt that if Jiang He had fallen in love with this woman, he would surely have his soul drained and become a vengeful spirit somewhere. Now, I'm taking a taxi to the 'Black Gold' task force. With the appearance of 'Woman 3,' I have a legitimate reason to be there. Perhaps this Zhang Ying is connected to the Long-Tongued Ghost?
The task force members didn't agree. Replicas of famous paintings exist all over the world. We couldn't claim Zhang Ying was connected to an invisible, intangible 'Long-Tongued Ghost' just because she owned a replica of a famous painting.
For this, they gave me a lesson, finding several famous paintings online for me to view. In my eyes, 'The Scream' was like a ghost, but at least it was within my comprehension. There was one called 'Number 5, 1948.' You call it a famous painting, but to me, it looked no different from a scratched marble tabletop.
...
Fortunately, Yu Xiaoluo was there. She glared at me, her large eyes like the lanterns described when depicting monsters in Journey to the West. I felt a bit guilty. "If you're busy, I won't disturb you."
"You already have."
"Alright, can I say sorry and leave now?"
"No, let me help you investigate Zhang Ying and Jiang He. Otherwise, who knows what excuse you'll use to cause trouble next time."
"Thank you, sis! You're the best."
"Don't be glib. Let's go to the police station together."
We went to the police station to investigate. Zhang Ying was relatively straightforward, having lived in our school for over a decade. Furthermore, she had been a victim of fraud, so she had a detailed record with the police.
The problem arose with Jiang He. When we checked for Jiang He, he had already been declared deceased. Yu Xiaoluo and I checked the public security household registration network. Jiang He was from a rural area and had been admitted to my university. However, a few days before the start of university, he died in a car accident.
According to the records, Jiang He never reported to the university. Yet, at the start of the semester, someone used Jiang He's identity to attend university. Was this even possible?
The household registration police explained to us that it was possible for someone's identity to be impersonated. Cities cancel identities before burial, but in rural areas, one can submit a death certificate within a month of death to cancel the identity.
When Yu Xiaoluo and I returned to the task force, Luo Bo had also returned. He saw me and smiled. "I heard Tang Nan made a suggestion that was rejected by his colleagues."
"The suggestion was indeed unreasonable, but this guy always comes to cause trouble for us. Do you know? A dead person went to university."
Although Yu Xiaoluo's attitude was poor, I felt she believed me and was speaking up for me. Luo Bo also trusted me completely. Perhaps the monotonous work had eroded the arrogance of this criminal investigation genius. After hearing Yu Xiaoluo's report, his fighting spirit was rekindled, and his eyes lit up. "This sounds so supernatural?"
"What's most critical is that this dead person became a famous artist capable of forging world-renowned paintings."
Luo Bo listened and pondered for a moment before saying, "Has this case been initiated for investigation?"
"After the death was registered and the identity was impersonated, this is not a minor issue. They are taking it seriously."
Luo Bo became anxious. "Then I'll contact Team Leader Wang right now and have us take over this case."
Yu Xiaoluo objected. "Everyone is busy like pandas now. Who isn't working twelve hours a day? Where will we find the energy to take on another case?"
"In that case, you can delegate some of your work to me, and I'll coordinate with Team Leader Wang. You can have Tang Nan accompany you to investigate this case."
"Him?"
"I... I can do it. Thank you, Brother Luo."
I was excited to hear about investigating the case. Yu Xiaoluo immediately gave me a stern look. "What can you do? You don't even understand the basic principles of criminal investigation. You only know how to think wildly and guess all day."
I didn't dare to refute Yu Xiaoluo, but looked at Luo Bo pitifully. Luo Bo smiled kindly. "Let him try. Give him a chance."
Since Luo Bo was the captain, Yu Xiaoluo could only agree. She stared at me. "No wild ideas. When you're needed, you come. When you're not, you study hard."
"Got it."
...
In the afternoon, as soon as I returned to the dormitory, the class monitor came to see me. "Why didn't you come to the drafting class this afternoon?"
"I was at the internet café playing games and couldn't be bothered to come back."
"Really?"
The class monitor's eyes were full of hidden meaning. I interrupted his speculative gaze. "What do you need me for?"
"Did you hear? Jiang He from Class 3, Foreign Trade, Management School, is a dead person?"
My heart skipped a beat when I heard this. This afternoon, Luo Bo was still requesting to transfer this case to the task force, and the school already knew about it.
"Jiang He died?"
"He didn't die. The police came to investigate, and there's a lot to it. The league secretary and class monitor of each class were summoned to the academic affairs office for a meeting to tally the number of students, their names, and their dormitory situations."
The school is like this, they strike with a single blow for anything. This kind of substitution isn't like taking an exam. What's the use of tallying the number of students in each class? Could someone possibly impersonate a dead person to attend university? However, I wasn't sure about the current situation, so I decided to play dumb.
"Jiang He, he's missing. Can't be found."
"Let's go, I'll treat you to dinner, and we can discuss it in detail."
I invited the class monitor for dinner. He returned the favor with a Jianbing Guozi, with an extra sausage. I didn't mind, I preferred his inner gossipy spirit. The police station, upon learning that someone had used Jiang He's admission notice and file to enroll in university, deemed it a matter of great importance and immediately came to the school to investigate.
The investigation revealed that due to the recent nationwide network, Jiang He's death registration became a fact, and his information in the network was automatically deleted. Online information being deleted was understandable, as it's normal to register a death and cancel information within the network. But there should still be paper records, right? The archive should have Jiang He's admission notice. However, when the police checked the archive, there was not only no record but not even a single entry.
"The paper files are lost too?"
"Are they really lost? Tang Nan, don't you think this is quite supernatural?"
"Supernatural my foot, class monitor. You're a university student, do you believe in ghosts and gods, do you believe in feudal superstition?"
"I don't believe it, but the facts are laid out before us. Do you know, this Jiang He never showed up this year. But some people say they saw him, wearing a polyester shirt, straight-leg pants from the eighties, with a middle parting, carrying a drawing board, appearing on the sports field. Hearing this, doesn't your head feel a bit fuzzy?"
My head felt fuzzy, not because of some supernatural event. The person appearing on the field was me. Now everyone thinks I'm Jiang He. I vaguely felt something was wrong.
This feeling was all too familiar. I've been drawn into the game.
"Besides this, is there anything else?"
"Yes, there's something even stranger. The police asked the people in Class 3, Foreign Trade, that he never had his photo taken, and his classmates were also unfamiliar with him. But they all admitted that such a person did exist, and they could all describe his appearance: small eyes, a flat nose."
After saying this, the class monitor started scrutinizing me. I frowned. "You're not going to say I have small eyes and a flat nose, are you?"
"That description isn't entirely wrong."
"You have small eyes and a flat nose, your whole family does!"
"Tang Nan, don't get agitated. I'm not targeting you. They all say that one teacher firmly stated that Jiang He's appearance is exactly like Tang Nan from the freshman automation class."