Chapter 7 Chapter 5 The Dead Without Traces

"Thank God, it's finally going to rain tonight." The ferry boss smiled and struck up a conversation with Nalan. Qin Huai hit on Nalan's most fatal weakness, she would not run away easily, so the resignation said last night was just a threat.But if Qin Huai is still a rascal, still perfunctory to her questions, if she still feels in the quagmire, she will not hesitate to make this trip her last visit to Huxin Island. Nalan looked at the sky, the blue sky was deep blue, and the white clouds were pure white: "The weather forecast doesn't seem to say that there will be rain."

The boss of the ferry twirled his finger on his shiny head: "For more than 20 years of rocking the boat, listening to the wind, watching the clouds, and smelling the air are more effective than any of their smart Doppler computers. I bet with the official weather forecast every day, whoever predicts it correctly, I will make a lot of money." "Your eyes are accurate in seeing the weather, reading countless people, and you must be very accurate in seeing people. I learned it yesterday. I really envy your experience." To attract people to speak freely, praise comes first.

Boss Du smiled and said, "Sweet mouth. I dare not say that I can see through someone at a glance, but I can guess all of them by standing in front of me alone." "Then you give me a face." Boss Du lowered his voice: "This is not fair to you. You have already told me that you are Qin Huai's assistant. Just by talking, you have at least a college degree or above; your makeup is light, your lipstick is light, your nails are not oiled, or It's transparent oil, and you wear silk stockings on a hot day, which shows that you are a dignified person, not a group of crazy bees and butterflies who often come to Qinhuai; your brows often gather together, and you have troubles on your mind, and it doesn't look like an emergency, it is probably chronic ..." Nalan thought of his father, the person who loved me the most in the world, who had been away for five years, the extremely painful chronic torture. "...Except for me, you don't chat with other passengers. It doesn't mean that you are introverted, but at least it means that you have your own opinions, you think too much about everything, and you know that you will lose your words if you talk too much; and you don't talk to me because you have nothing to do. Panic, you want to know about Qin Huai, Qin Huai makes you confused, so you want to see how much I know."

Nalan was in awe of Boss Du. "If I ask directly..." Nalan said softly. "Of course I won't say it. Some things can only be told to smart people. You have proved to me that you are a genius. A girl like you is not the same as those girls who often go to Qin Huai... how should I put it? out of the water." "I don't know if it's a compliment or a criticism, but thank you anyway, it's an honor." Nalan looked directly at Boss Du. "Among all the girls who have something to do with Qin Huai, there is one exception. She is very similar to you...you remind me of her."

This is not the message Nalan wants: "Oh, who is it, let me be so honored." "His wife." "he……" "Qin Huai." "Qin Huai's wife?" Na Lan kept her eyes on Boss Du, wondering if he was playing a cold humorous game. "Qin Huai's wife." Boss Du repeated, "It's not about how much you look alike. You are both beauties with their own strengths. I mean that you are very similar in temperament, personality, and intelligence." Na Lan tried her best to recall Qin Huai's living room and study room. There was no wedding photo, and no photo of life that even showed the presence of a mistress.Qin Huai's modest status in Na Lan's mind was completely controlled by gravity, and then fell further.Tao Zi also said that Qin Huai's performance yesterday was setting a bottom line, who knew that the bottom line was unfathomable.

"I don't know if I will be able to meet her one day. It depends on whether you are right." Nalan was curious, but she didn't have a strong intention to meet her. "You can't wait for this day...you won't see her." Boss Du's tone was weird. "why?" "She's dead." Na Lan supported the back of the chair, as if the ferry suddenly jolted. "died?" "If a living person disappears for three full years and is never heard from, seldom continues to live." "What happened?" "Have you heard of the legend about the man in coir raincoat fishing for his life?"

Lock life lake?Nalan nodded, then shook her head again: "I've heard of it, but I don't know enough, and it's hard to believe it. Isn't it just a legend, isn't it a superstition?" "Three years ago, one night, two ruffians who came to sneak fish saw a small boat on the lake, and a man in coir raincoats was fishing. Remembering the legend of the man in coir raincoats catching his life, he was so frightened that he threw down his fishing net and fled. God, Qin Huai reported to the police that his wife was missing. Are you superstitious?" "No body?"

"There is no one alive, no dead body. About a year later, the court judged that it was an actual death." Nalan felt that there was something in Boss Du's words: "Judgement by the court?" "I can see that your beautiful head is starting to turn around. Let me give you a reminder. Before Qin Huai's wife disappeared, the young couple was poor and poor. They only rented a dilapidated house on the bank with a leaky roof and ventilated walls. Even going to the island in the middle of the lake to see the scenery is considered a luxury consumption; but after the court announced the death of the missing person, Qinhuai became a frequent visitor of my little ferry, and even bought a villa near the lake."

"Insurance claim! Did Mrs. Qin Huai buy a huge amount of insurance before she died. Qin Huai used the money from the claim to buy the villa on Huxin Island." Nalan guessed.In most cases, the insurance company will refuse to pay the missing person out of self-interest, but if the court intervenes and the death is officially declared, the insurance company must fulfill the contract and settle the claim at full price. "Hey, don't take it all seriously. I'm a boat operator, and all the information is just hearsay." With the island in the middle of the lake within reach, Boss Du began to concentrate on docking the boat.

"Then, Mrs. Qin Huai's death... Her disappearance, is there a possibility of murder? Are there any suspects?" "Suspects? Yes, of course." Boss Du straightened the stern of the boat, shifted the gear, and the engine turned from roaring to humming. He raised his head with a sly smile on his face, "It's him." Nalan was startled, she raised her eyes, and on the ferry, with the jade tree facing the wind, was Qin Huai. "Waiting for someone?" Na Lan remained polite and smiled. "I really want to know if my guess is right, so I couldn't wait for Wendong to pick you up, so I came here by myself." Qin Huai smiled triumphantly, making Nalan sigh inwardly. "Frankly speaking, I'm really guilty of waiting. I'm afraid that you might not come because of a mistake."

Nalan said: "It's a pity, I missed a thought, and here I am again." "I know that you came here not to compromise, but to find answers. If I don't make clear some things, and if I don't make clear some things, I will cut off your way to come here again, so I will definitely cooperate today." When Qin Huai had no "evil thoughts", he was really an easy person to get along with. He could guess what Na Lan was thinking, which was one of his improvements. "Okay, please start with Ning Yuxin." "Oh, Ning Yuxin... To tell you the truth, there is really a pure friendship between me and her. She is... She is actually a very good girl, she helped me a lot, and I owe her a lot. "Qin Huai opened the door for Nalan. What a good Qin Huai, no matter how Ning Yuxin pushed him into a corner, he only said good things about the girl, he was not angry, he didn't complain even a little bit, he didn't favor one another in front of my "new love". two. "This is a private matter between you two, but why is she staring at me like a ghost? Could you ask her to..." "I assure you again, she has no malicious intentions, and she will never appear beside you like a 'ghost' again." Qin Huai drove the car out of the ferry. Nalan was slightly surprised, so it was so easy to solve a problem?Today's Qinhuai is also particularly crisp and neat, which means that it is making rapid progress. Could it be that Tao Zi's "theory of improving the bottom line" is really true? Tao Zi seldom makes mistakes. "You really don't know who sneaked into my dormitory?" Na Lan asked again. "If I knew, I would never let him go unpunished." Qin Huai sounded like a public security officer in a suspense drama. "But I think you have at least a few guesses." "You're smart. What does Hai Mantian say?" It turned out that he already knew that he had contacted Hai Mantian. "Hai Mantian's first reaction was the masters of piracy. It is said that they are very high-tech now. They can do things like sneaking doors and locks to crack passwords, and they can do more professionally than professional thieves." Qin Huai thought for a while: "I can't rule out this possibility. There is another suspect who is not very likely... It should be said that it is a group of suspects, that is, gossip reporters." "You mean..." "You must know what Ning Yuxin broke the news on the blog. As long as the gossip reporters focus on me, they will immediately discover your existence, so if you are unfortunate enough to appear on the gossip edition, don't forget me, Bole." The more Nalan listened, the more desperate she became: "I never thought there would be such an occupational hazard. Damn Hai Mantian, he didn't tell me." Qin Huai, however, gloated a little: "Mostly, it's because you didn't do your homework well, so you shouldn't have agreed—but in that case, you and I wouldn't meet by chance, and a good story was lost for nothing. It's not too interesting to say this now, In short, if entertainment journalists happen to see nasty letters or chat records on your computer, they can make a big fuss." "But you don't think the break-in was done by an entertainment reporter. They didn't have to anesthetize my little hamster." "The occupational disease of suspense novel writers is just to think about a few possibilities. I think it is more likely to be some people I have offended before. They have been paying attention to my movements and are ready to punish me at any time." "What kind of person?" Na Lan thought, Qin Huai was really not clean. "People who have offended", loan sharks, gambling debts, the underworld?A few messy words came to mind. "If you don't want similar incidents to happen again, it's best to keep ignorant, and they won't bother you anymore." Qin Huai was so serious that Na Lan almost believed it. While speaking, the car had already stopped at the door of the room.After entering the door, Nalan looked around every corner of the living room. There was no sign of mourning for his deceased wife, as if the woman who had been missing for three years had never appeared in Qin Huai's life.How lucky is it to be so different from animals? Thinking of Qin Huai flirting with girls brazenly and easily, Na Lan still felt that it was a big mistake in his life to come to the island today. What changed her original intention to resign? Maybe it's really that stubbornness, to put it nicely, "never give up", to put it badly, not to turn back until you hit the south wall. Maybe it's just because of the enigmatic Qin Huai. "I have another question, about the manuscript." Nalan decided not to mention the "hearsay" of the ferry boss for the time being. It was a more serious topic, and she wanted to do some research first. "Welcome to return to work." Qin Huai smiled, his lips were like crescent moons, his eyes were like shooting stars, and his enthusiasm was like the scorching sun. "Don't jump to conclusions, I just said that I want to ask a question about the manuscript." "Know everything." "Does the horror story in Introduction 2 have a prototype?" Qin Huai's eyes sparkled: "Not only is there a prototype, but it is a real event that happened." "The five corpses mentioned in it..." "Appeared near Zhaoyang Lake." "What's going on? Could it be that the ominous omens of the so-called coir raincoat man fishing are all true?" Nalan knew that this question was stupid, but she didn't believe it at all. "Could it be such a coincidence that the two girls saw five people in coir raincoats on the boat, and in the end, five people really died one after another?" Qin Huai stared at Na Lan's eyes, and smiled again: "Ask me? Are you still my writing assistant? Aren't you going to help me look up information and do research?" I see. "I'm just joking." Qin Huai suddenly changed his words again, "This is an unsolved case, even the famous Bayu Sheng from the Jiangjing Criminal Police Team... I mean, when I finish making up the story, I need someone For some information, you can help me look it up." At least, a serious job away from right and wrong gossip. Qin Huai said: "I still remember the bet we made yesterday, if I finish writing on time..." "It's your wishful thinking, please don't tamper with history lightly." Nalan didn't allow any loopholes to form. "Although you haven't lost yet, of course you just haven't lost yet, and it's only a matter of time before you admit defeat..." "What on earth are you trying to say? Can you be more cheerful?" "I may have to make you fulfill your promise ahead of time..." "What?!" Nalan thought she heard it wrong.Don't you say that you didn't agree to make that bet at all, even if you really made a bet, you haven't lost yet, but you have to cash it out in advance? "I mean, the dinner matter may have to be done in advance." "I think you still lack a famous calligraphy and painting on the wall of your living room." Nalan said lightly. "Uh?" "I can help you find a copycat calligraphy master, and help you write four big characters to decorate the appearance, just like the kind that many people have at home, 'rarely confused' or something. But the writing for you is tailor-made, four One word, 'how can this be reasonable'!" Qin Huai smiled, without any embarrassment, and said, "My request is indeed a bit unusual..." "Unusual? The Mandarin term is 'too much'!" "Have you ever heard of the name Sikong Zhu?" Nalan was stunned, nodded and said, "Even I, an outsider, knows that the regulars on the financial channel on TV, celebrity bloggers, real estate, real estate, real estate, talk about real estate, Pan Shiyi from Jiangjing." "Some people also say that Pan Shiyi is the Sikong Bamboo of Beijing." "You don't have to pay property taxes for bragging. But my mother likes him very much. He is a good-looking talent, very photogenic, and he speaks politely; it is said that he came from a poor background and managed it all by himself. He actually admired him." "Because he never misses." "What does this have to do with your castle-in-the-air bet and dinner?" "Sikong Zhu is still an artist and a philanthropist. It seems that outsiders know about it too?" Nalan nodded. There was a boy from the Chinese department who had chased her before, and he was full of praise for Sikong Zhu, saying that he was one of the few truly "literate" businessmen in Jiangjing. "If he invites you to dinner, will you go?"