Chapter Fifty-Three: Concealment

Ning Shuyi nodded in agreement as she spoke, all the while slowly rummaging through her bag for her phone. She had never created an alternate social media account, so at this critical moment, adding Douge as a contact would inevitably reveal flaws—her profile picture or something else would give her away, making it obvious she wasn’t someone immersed in anime culture.

While she was pondering what to do, Huo Yan suddenly pressed down on her arm as she was about to pull out her phone, stopping her.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” he said to Douge. “She hasn’t made up her mind yet—it might just be a passing fancy. I don’t think there’s any need to add her as a friend right now.”

Douge was taken aback for a moment. He looked at Huo Yan, then at Ning Shuyi, whose expression was slightly bewildered. His gaze grew a little mischievous, and he grinned at Huo Yan. “Alright, bro, I get it! It’s normal to get a little jealous when you’re in love.

“But really, you don’t need to worry. Our club has plenty of beautiful girls and even some handsome guys, but everyone comes together because of a shared passion. No one’s here to flirt or look for a partner.”

Huo Yan said nothing further, nor did he show any sign of relenting. Ning Shuyi smiled apologetically and helplessly at Douge, who replied with a look that said, “I understand.” Thanks to Huo Yan’s intervention, the atmosphere had grown a bit awkward. Seizing the moment, Ning Shuyi got up to leave, putting on the air of someone slightly annoyed with her boyfriend. Douge, quick on the uptake, said nothing. Huo Yan followed silently behind Ning Shuyi. Before leaving, Ning Shuyi thanked Douge several times, then walked out the club’s door.

They went down the stairs together in silence. Not until they reached the car outside did Ning Shuyi finally bring up what she hadn’t been able to tell Huo Yan back in the club.

“Huo Yan, do you remember which photo of Little Lamb I kept looking at?” she asked.

“I think I remember,” Huo Yan replied. “Is there something special about it?”

“That dress—I saw it in Wang Yuluo’s photo album, but not on Wang Yuluo herself. It was in the background, just a small corner of it,” Ning Shuyi reminded him. “In a photo where Wang Yuluo was wearing a pale blue dress.”

Huo Yan frowned, trying to recall. He had looked through all the photos Wang Yuluo had transferred to her computer, and indeed, there was such a picture.

“In the photo you’re talking about, the dress only appears in one corner. Why is that photo so memorable to you?” he asked, puzzled.

“Because it doesn’t make sense,” Ning Shuyi mused aloud. “I found it odd because Wang Yuluo has a habit—she takes a lot of photos but rarely deletes any, even if they’re not perfect.

“That day, she took many photos at the event. She changed outfits three times and styled her hair differently each time. From the photos others took for her and from her own selfies, it was obvious she’d brought a makeup artist along.

“But for the other two outfits, there were lots of photos on her phone, whether they turned out well or not. Only the blue dress had just one photo, and it wasn’t a good one—her eyes were nearly closed, and there were no others. Think back—isn’t that exactly the case?”

Huo Yan recalled and realized she was absolutely right.

“So I deliberately asked the club president, Douge, about Little Lamb’s dress. Since the dress was her own design, handmade, and she never lends or sells her costumes, it can’t be explained away as a simple coincidence.

“That means the corner of the dress seen in the background of Wang Yuluo’s photo must belong to her.

“The location where Wang Yuluo took those photos in that outfit would have easily captured Little Lamb in the frame. Yet all the photos in that outfit were deleted, except for one—possibly because the corner of the dress was so inconspicuous that it slipped through unnoticed.

“This makes things interesting. Why would Wang Yuluo have so many photos on her phone, plenty with others inadvertently in the background, yet only the ones involving Little Lamb were deleted?”

“Little Lamb wanted to hide from Wang Yuluo’s world, not to be discovered,” Huo Yan speculated.

Ning Shuyi frowned. “Using technical means to remotely access someone else’s phone and delete things isn’t something just anyone can do.

“A pretty cosplayer who designs and sews her own costumes—that’s already quite remarkable, according to Douge.

“But do you think it’s likely that such a talented cosplayer would also have the skills to secretly manipulate someone else’s phone and carry all this out alone?”

Huo Yan pressed his lips together. He believed in specialization—every field had its experts, and some people were indeed multi-talented.

But to master two entirely different disciplines, investing significant time and excelling in both, was exceedingly rare.

“For now, we shouldn’t rule Little Lamb out completely. At the very least, we can be sure that whoever secretly deleted the photos using technical means is, in some way, connected to her,” Ning Shuyi said, checking the time. “Let’s go back and find Kang Ge. In the end, we’ll need his help to handle this, and we can see if he’s made any progress.”

Huo Yan nodded, started the car, and drove them straight back to the police station.

As they arrived, Kang Ge and his partner Yan Xue had just stepped out on an errand and had not yet returned. After a short wait, the two hurried in, looking travel-worn. As soon as they entered the office, Kang Ge waved at Ning Shuyi and Huo Yan. “Sorry to keep you waiting!”

Yan Xue, who had been Ning Shuyi’s roommate for all four years of university and was a close friend, went straight over to sit beside Ning Shuyi’s desk. “Tough case this time?”

“It’s not exactly tough, but something just feels off,” Ning Shuyi replied, shaking her head. Once Kang Ge had joined them, she shared their findings from the club visit that morning.

Yan Xue nodded. “I agree with you, Ningning. There’s definitely something wrong with that photo. There’s no reason for only one picture of that outfit to exist, and not even a good one at that. No matter what kind of girl she is, nobody would do that!”