Officer Chen lived in a solitary stone house on the west side of the island.
Su Wan walked along the coastline, the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks was monotonous and persistent, like an unending question that refused to quiet. She clutched the yellowed photograph tightly in her hand, Lin Hao's words echoing in her mind—"The last person with Chen Fan was Lu Yu."
If something really happened that night twenty years ago, how much did Lu Yu know? How much had he concealed?
When the stone house came into view, she saw a stooped figure sitting on a wooden bench at the door, facing the sea, utterly still like a weathered rock.
"Uncle Chen," Su Wan called softly as she approached.
The old man slowly turned his head. He had aged considerably since five years ago; his hair was entirely white, and deep wrinkles etched across his face like carvings. But his eyes—those sharp, policeman's eyes—still held a keen awareness, as if they could see through any pretense.
"The little daughter of the Su family," he rasped. "You're back."
"I'd like to ask you about my sister," Su Wan said as she sat on a nearby stone, "and also… about Chen Fan."
At the mention of his son's name, Officer Chen's shoulders visibly tensed. His fingers tightened on his knees, turning pale, yet his face remained impassive.
"Chen Fan's death was an accident," he said, reciting the words as if rehearsed a thousand times. "Twenty years ago, on the night of the Sea God Festival, he slipped and fell into the sea."
"Do you really believe that?"
Silence settled in, punctuated only by the rhythm of the waves.
After a long pause, the old man stood up. "Let's talk inside."
The stone house was simple—one bed, one table, two chairs, and walls adorned with photographs—most of them of Chen Fan, from infancy to adolescence, with the last image being his high school graduation photo, a shy smile on his face, his eyes filled with light.
Su Wan took out the group photo and placed it on the table.
The moment Officer Chen saw the photograph, he staggered slightly. He reached out to steady himself against the table, his fingers trembling as they traced the image of his son's face—not in profile but full frontal, the tall, thin boy laughing in another photograph, his arm draped over Lu Yu's shoulder.
"I've never seen this one before." The old man's voice choked with emotion.
"I found it in my sister's diary." Su Wan replied softly. "Uncle Chen, Lin Hao told me that the last person with Chen Fan that night was Lu Yu. Is that true?"
Officer Chen slowly sat down, his eyes never leaving the photograph. "That night, the five of them went to the Wanghai Cliff on the back mountain—it's a tradition for young people on the eve of the festival, to watch the sunrise and make wishes." His voice was soft, as if afraid to disturb something, "At three in the morning, only four of them came back. Lu Yu was carrying Chen Fan, who had already… lost his breath."
"What did Lu Yu say?"
"He claimed that Chen Fan slipped and fell off the cliff into the sea. He jumped in to save him, but the waves were too strong, and by the time he found Chen Fan, it was already too late." Officer Chen closed his eyes. "Everyone believed that story, including me."
"But you later had doubts."
The old man opened his eyes, which held twenty years' worth of pain. "Chen Fan was an excellent swimmer, the best among his peers on the island. How could a child raised by the sea drown simply because he fell into it? And…" he paused, "the autopsy report indicated a blunt force injury to the back of his head, but the rock formations beneath the cliff should not have caused such an injury."
"Did you pursue the investigation?"
"I did." Officer Chen managed a bitter smile. "But the old chief intervened. He said it was the will of the Sea God, that Chen Fan was chosen as a sacrifice. If I continued the investigation, it would anger the Sea God and bring disaster to the whole island." He looked at Su Wan. "You know how much the islanders believe in these ideas. My colleagues… they all urged me to let it go."
A chill ran down Su Wan's spine. "Then why do you have doubts about my sister's case?"
"Because it's too similar," Officer Chen said, pulling a file folder from a drawer and sliding it across the table to her. "Five years ago, although I was retired, I still secretly made copies of the case file. Look here—"
He opened the folder, pointing to the crime scene photographs. Su Qing's body lay on the beach, her soaked dress and flowing hair scattered.
"The official conclusion was that she fell due to intoxication. But your sister hadn't drunk any alcohol that night—she was allergic; one sip was enough to knock her out. Everyone on the island knew that." Officer Chen's finger moved to another report. "And this, the fibers found on her clothing didn't belong to her nor to anything commonly found on the beach. The police claimed they 'could have come from the clothing of passing fishermen,' but there were no matching samples."
Su Wan flipped through the pages. Autopsy reports, crime scene investigation records, witness statements—each one felt rushed and half-hearted. Especially the witness statements—dozens of people from the island attended the festival, yet only three said they had seen Su Qing, and the times didn't match up.
"The most crucial part is here." Officer Chen flipped to the last page, revealing a hand-drawn rough map, marking several locations. "This is Lu Yu's route as the first discoverer. He claimed he heard screams and ran from the clinic to the beach to find your sister. But from the clinic to that beach, it takes at least fifteen minutes, and based on the autopsy, the time from when she fell to her death wouldn't exceed ten minutes."
Su Wan looked up. "What you mean is…"
"Either he's lying, or…" Officer Chen's gaze locked onto hers, "he knew something would happen in advance and was waiting there."
The room fell eerily silent. The distant sound of waves became muted, leaving only the two of them breathing in a tension-filled atmosphere.
"Lu Yu's grandfather," Su Wan recalled Lin Hao's words. "Did my sister visit him before she died?"
Officer Chen nodded. "Old Doctor Lu passed away a month ago, and your sister frequently visited the clinic. I don't know what they talked about, but after Old Doctor Lu died, Lu Yu took over the clinic and his attitude changed—he became cold towards your sister, even avoiding her."
"Why?"
"I don't know." The old man shook his head. "But Old Doctor Lu was one of the few who questioned Chen Fan's death back then. He approached me privately and mentioned some… strange things."
"What sorts of things?"
"'Some sins are inherited,'" Officer Chen repeated each word with gravity. "'A father's debt isn't necessarily escapable by the son.'"
Su Wan's heart sank. Lu Yu's father had left Foggy Island long ago, and few spoke of him. She only remembered he was a taciturn man who left for the city when Lu Yu was very young and never returned.
"Was Lu Yu's father on the island back then?" she asked.
"Yes." Officer Chen's gaze grew complex. "He was one of the hosts at the Sea God Festival twenty years ago."
The web of mystery tangled more deeply, becoming increasingly convoluted. Su Wan packed up the folder and the photograph, grateful to Officer Chen. The old man walked her to the door, then suddenly said:
"Little Wan, if you continue to investigate, be careful of Zhou Xiaoyu."
"Zhou Xiaoyu? The girl in the photograph?"
"She never left the island." Officer Chen lowered his voice. "She lives in the old lighthouse on the west side of the island. After Chen Fan's accident, she went mad and hides from everyone. But your sister was the last person to see her before she died."
Su Wan took note of this. As she left the stone house, the sun was beginning to set, staining the sea a blood-red hue.
When she returned to the old house, she spotted a familiar bicycle parked out front—Lu Yu's. The clinic's emblem shimmered on the bike basket.
The door was ajar.
Su Wan pushed the door open to find Lu Yu standing in the center of the living room, facing away from her, holding the coffee cup Lin Hao had left behind that morning. The cup was empty, but he stared at it as if examining some crucial piece of evidence.
Hearing her footsteps, he turned around. The sunset streamed through the window, casting a mosaic of light and shadow across his face, making his expression hard to read.
"Lin Hao has been here." He stated flatly, not asking but declaring.
"He came this morning." Su Wan set down her backpack. "What's up?"
Lu Yu lowered the cup, its ceramic clinking sharply against the wooden table. "What did he come for?"
"To talk about my sister," Su Wan replied, looking him in the eye. "And about twenty years ago."
For a fleeting moment, Lu Yu's expression stiffened. It was brief, but Su Wan caught it—an inkling of tension, maybe even… fear.
"Twenty years ago is in the past," he said, his voice dry. "It has nothing to do with your sister's death."
"Really?" Su Wan took a step forward. "Chen Fan died on the night of the Sea God Festival too, also from an 'accidental fall into the sea.' After twenty years, the same thing happened to my sister. Lu Yu, do you really think that's a coincidence?"
Lu Yu averted his gaze, looking out the window. The sun was rapidly sinking below the horizon, the last light tinting his eyelashes gold.
"Some things are better left unknown," he murmured. "Little Wan, leave here. Go back to the city, forget about Foggy Island, forget about all of this."
"And let my sister's death remain unclear?" Su Wan's voice rose slightly. "Lu Yu, what are you hiding? What really happened between you and Chen Fan on that beach twenty years ago? And five years ago, were you really in the clinic on the night my sister died?"
A barrage of questions struck the thick silence like bullets against a wall.
Lu Yu turned to face her. The last glimmer of sunlight extinguished in his eyes, leaving nothing but deep darkness.
"What if I said," his voice dropped to nearly a whisper, "that everything I've done, including hiding the truth, was to protect the living? Would you believe it?"
"Protect who? Yourself?"
Lu Yu didn't answer. He moved toward the door, pausing just at the threshold without looking back.
"Stay away from Lin Hao. He's not who you think he is."
"And you?" Su Wan called after his retreating figure. "Are you who I think you are?"
There was no answer. Lu Yu mounted his bicycle and vanished into the deepening shadows of the alley.
Su Wan stood at the doorstep, feeling the cold of the sea breeze. Returning inside, she picked up the coffee cup and suddenly noticed a small folded piece of paper at the bottom—not something she had placed there, nor was it Lin Hao's from this morning.
She unfolded the note, which contained only a single line in unfamiliar, elegant handwriting:
"Tomorrow night at ten, meet me at the lighthouse. Don't tell anyone. — Zhou Xiaoyu"
The edge of the note bore a small dark red stain, reminiscent of dried blood.
Outside, night had completely fallen. The lights of Foggy Island flickered to life one by one, while the old lighthouse on the west side stood silently in the dark, like a witness waiting for twenty years.