Old Files, New Proof

Liang Wenhai lived in a newly delivered office tower in the new district. When Xu Zhixia and Lu Chen arrived at noon, the daylight outside was like a slab of white glass, hard and unreal, pressing down on the plaza below. The lobby was kept so cool it felt suspiciously clean, as if every footprint had been wiped away before anyone entered. The receptionist asked for an appointment three times before letting them in. Liang Wenhai had grown heavier than Xu Zhixia remembered, his hair thinning, his suit button pulled tight across his belly. He still smiled with the same practiced politeness, though, and there was no warmth in it. "People from the old street?" he said when he saw Lu Chen. "You came fast."