The morning fog hung over Foggy Island like a thin veil, lingering and refusing to dissipate.
Su Wan hadn't slept all night. Lin Hao's meaningful smile replayed in her mind, like a thorn embedded in the crevices of her memories. She had searched the entire house; aside from signs that her backpack had been rummaged through, nothing was missing— the intruder's target was clear, solely after the diary.
She sat at her sister's desk and opened the hardcover notebook once more. Morning light filtered through the slats of the blinds, illuminating the neat handwriting on the pages. This time, she took her time, not skipping any corner.
Inside the cover of the diary, she discovered a hidden pocket.
It was cleverly sewn with fabric matching the cover, nearly invisible unless one felt closely. Using a paper cutter, Su Wan carefully opened the seam, her fingertips brushing against something smooth.
It was a photograph.
The yellowed corners hinted at the passage of time, yet the picture depicted five young, smiling faces. The background was the beach of Foggy Island, the sunset casting a golden hue over the sea. The five stood shoulder to shoulder, the sea breeze tousling their hair.
On the far left was her sister Su Qing, looking eighteen or nineteen, smiling brilliantly, her arm draped naturally over the shoulder of the person next to her. Beside her was Lu Yu, significantly younger and more innocent, wearing a white shirt, his smile gentle and shy. In the center stood an unfamiliar girl with a round face and short hair, her eyes crescent-shaped in joy. To her right was Lin Hao, then sporting longer hair, with his arm around Su Qing's waist, his gaze filled with a fervent affection. On the far right was a boy, tall and lean, slightly turned away as if evading the camera, revealing only half of his face.
On the back of the photograph was written in blue ballpoint pen: "July 15, 2004, the eve of the Sea God Festival."
Su Wan's fingers traced over the words. 2004—twenty years ago. Precisely the same year inscribed on the ancestral hall's walls.
As for the five people in the photo, today they were as follows:
Su Qing was dead.
Lin Hao had returned.
Lu Yu remained silent.
And the other two—the girl with short hair and the boy with the side profile—who were they? Where were they now?
As she stared at the photograph in a daze, a knock echoed from downstairs.
Three slow taps, polite yet carrying an unyielding certainty.
Su Wan quickly tucked the photograph into her pocket and moved to the window to look down—Lin Hao stood at the door, dressed in a sharply tailored dark gray suit that seemed out of place against the backdrop of the old, weathered house. He looked up, meeting her gaze with a slight smile.
"Good morning, Little Wan." His voice came through the glass, muffled. "Can we talk?"
Su Wan hesitated for three seconds before heading downstairs.
When the door opened, Lin Hao stood amidst the morning fog, holding a paper bag that wafted with the aroma of coffee and toasted bread. "From the new shop at the island entrance," he said, extending the bag toward her. "I remember you used to love pineapple buns."
"I haven't eaten sweets in many years." Su Wan didn't reach for it.
His smile didn't falter as he naturally withdrew his hand. "People change. Just like me; I used to hate coffee, but now I rely on it every day to get by." He glanced inside the house. "Aren't you going to invite me in for a bit? There are some things about your sister that I think you deserve to know."
Su Wan stepped aside to allow him in.
Lin Hao entered the living room, his gaze sweeping over the furniture covered in white cloths and the dusty floor, before finally resting on the staircase. "Just the same as always," he murmured. "Su Qing could never bear to change any of the arrangements here."
"You know her well?" Su Wan leaned against the door frame, keeping her distance.
"Once upon a time." Lin Hao settled into the only uncovered chair, crossing his long legs. "We were together for three years, from the time she returned home during university breaks until I left. Three years is long enough to understand someone—and to uncover their secrets."
"What secrets?"
Lin Hao did not answer directly. He opened the paper bag and took out two cups of coffee, placing one on the nearby coffee table. "A month before your sister died, we broke up. Everyone on the island thought I had dumped her because I was leaving for the city, while she insisted on staying here."
"Wasn't it?"
"She was the one who brought up the breakup." Lin Hao lifted the coffee cup and took a sip. "It was sudden, with no warning. When I asked her why, she only said, 'Some things are safer not knowing than knowing.'"
Su Wan's fingers tightened slightly. Those words echoed what Lu Yu had said the night before.
"And then?"
"Then I agreed to it. Young and impetuous, I felt betrayed." Lin Hao's tone was calm, as if relaying someone else's story. "I moved off the island, ready to start fresh. And then… something happened to her on the night of the festival."
"Where were you at the time?"
Lin Hao raised his eyes to meet hers, something flickering in his gaze. "On the last ferry leaving the island. The police later checked the ticket records, confirming my alibi." He paused. "But later, I thought, if I hadn't left that day, if I had pressed her for answers… maybe the outcome would have been different."
Silence settled in the living room. The distant sound of fishing boats setting out could be heard, a muted whirring, akin to subdued weeping.
"Why did you come back?" Su Wan inquired.
"Two reasons." Lin Hao set down the coffee cup. "First, my company really sees the development potential of Foggy Island. Second…" He locked eyes with Su Wan. "I don't believe Su Qing's death was an accident."
"The police concluded it was an accident."
"Their conclusion is based on limited evidence." Lin Hao pulled an envelope from his suit pocket and slid it across the coffee table. "After I left Foggy Island, I continued my investigation. These are the materials I've gathered over the past five years—some statements from witnesses at the time, some contradictions in the timeline."
Su Wan didn't touch the envelope. "If you have leads, why not hand them to the police?"
"Because some of the people those leads point to hold significant influence on the island." Lin Hao's voice lowered. "Little Wan, Foggy Island isn't as simple as it seems. The Sea God Festival, the old chief, those ancient customs… You've been away too long; you've forgotten how skilled this island is at keeping secrets."
"Like the secret from twenty years ago?" Su Wan pulled the photograph from her pocket and placed it on the coffee table.
Lin Hao's expression froze.
He stared at the photograph as if he had seen something that should not be there. After a long moment, he reached out, trembling fingertips tracing the faces of each person in the photo.
"You're still keeping this." His voice was hoarse.
"I found it in my sister's diary." Su Wan observed his reaction. "Who are the other two in the photo besides you, my sister, and Lu Yu?"
Lin Hao halted over the face of the short-haired girl. "Zhou Xiaoyu," he revealed. "The daughter of the Zhou family from the west side of the island, the same age as us. She went missing a year after this photo was taken."
"Missing?"
"They said she went to find work in the city but never returned." Lin Hao shifted his gaze to the boy's side profile on the far right. "That's Chen Fan, the son of Officer Chen."
Su Wan was taken aback. Officer Chen—the policeman who had handled her sister's case back then, now retired, maintaining doubts about the "accident" conclusion.
"Where is Chen Fan now?"
"He's dead." Lin Hao spouted the words. "In 2004, on the night of the Sea God Festival, he fell into the sea by accident. His body was found three days later."
2004. The night of the Sea God Festival. Fell into the sea by accident.
Every word struck Su Wan's heart like a hammer. It was far too similar—too similar to Su Qing's death.
"Why have I never heard of this?" Her voice tightened.
"Because it wasn't an accident." Lin Hao's eyes held twenty years' worth of pain and anger. "Chen Fan was chosen. The 'sacrifice' of the Sea God Festival."
Sacrifice.
The word exploded coldly in the air. Su Wan recalled the old chief saying while caressing the etchings on the wall—"What must be repaid must be repaid."
"Twenty years ago, the island suffered a severe drought, and fishing boats returned with nothing for three consecutive months." Lin Hao's voice echoed as if coming from far away. "The old chief presided over a special Sea God Festival, selecting five young people to partake in the ritual according to 'ancient law.' After the ceremony, Chen Fan had his accident."
"Five young people?" Su Wan looked at the photograph. "You were all there?"
Lin Hao nodded. "Your sister, me, Lu Yu, Zhou Xiaoyu, and Chen Fan. We swore not to disclose the contents of the ceremony, but that night…" He shut his eyes, inhaling deeply. "When Chen Fan fell into the sea, we were all present. No one knew how it happened; the waves were too strong, and by the time we reacted, he was already gone."
"Why didn't you call the police?"
"The old chief said it was the will of the Sea God." Lin Hao chuckled bitterly. "The islanders believed it. Chen Fan's father—Officer Chen at the time—investigated for a long time, but everyone remained silent. Eventually, he resigned, becoming the island's most taciturn resident."
A chill crept up Su Wan's spine. "Then my sister…"
"I don't know." Lin Hao opened his eyes. "But twenty years later, at the same time, in the same place, the same 'accident' happened again. Little Wan, do you think this is a coincidence?"
Outside, the fog finally began to disperse. Sunlight broke through the clouds, shining down on the dusty coffee table. The yellowed photograph looked even more fragile in the light.
"Before your sister died, she was investigating what happened twenty years ago." Lin Hao continued. "She sought out Officer Chen, reached out to Zhou Xiaoyu's family, and even looked for… Lu Yu's grandfather."
Lu Yu's grandfather. The island doctor from back then, who had passed away five years ago, leaving the clinic to Lu Yu.
"What did she find?"
"I don't know. She never told me." Lin Hao rose and walked to the window. "But the last time I saw her, she was very scared. She said she was close to uncovering the truth, but that truth… would destroy everything."
He turned to face Su Wan. "I came back this time to finish what she couldn't. Little Wan, we need to work together. You have your sister's diary, and I have the leads I've gathered over the last five years. Only by piecing them together can we see the full picture."
"Why seek me out?" Su Wan asked. "You could investigate on your own."
"Because you were Su Qing's most important person." Lin Hao's voice softened. "And also because… you're the only one who might get Lu Yu to tell the truth."
Su Wan felt a jolt in her heart. "What do you mean?"
"On the night twenty years ago, the last person with Chen Fan was Lu Yu," Lin Hao said slowly, punctuating each word. "They were alone on the beach for ten minutes. By the time we found them, Chen Fan was already in the sea."
Sunlight completely broke through the fog, illuminating the dust swirling in the living room. In the distance, the sound of bells from the direction of the ancestral hall rang out—not the dull bell of the festival, but the crisp bell summoning the islanders to a meeting.
Lin Hao glanced out the window. "The old chief is gathering everyone. He's likely about to announce the specific arrangements for this year's festival." He walked toward the door, pausing at the threshold to look back. "Look over what's in the envelope. If you decide to collaborate, I'll be here at the same time tomorrow."
He left, his footsteps fading into the distance.
Su Wan stood in the center of the living room, sunlight pouring over her, yet she felt no warmth. She picked up the envelope from the coffee table and pulled out its contents—a few photocopies, some handwritten notes, and a faded newspaper clipping.
The headline of the clipping read: "Foggy Island Traditional Ceremony Sparks Controversy, Experts Urge Protection of Juvenile Rights."
Date: July 20, 2004.
It was five days after Chen Fan's death.
And one line in the notes was circled multiple times: "One among the five must bear the sin; this is the ancient balance."
Beneath it was a smaller annotation in unfamiliar, neat handwriting—her sister's handwriting: "If this is true, then after twenty years, whose turn is it?"
The bells continued to ring. Each toll echoed in the hearts of everyone on the island and struck upon the unsolved mystery of twenty years ago.
Su Wan placed the photograph next to the newspaper clipping. Five young smiling faces on the photograph, cold printed words on the newspaper. Time flowed like a river between the two, taking one life, and then another.
And now, the sea breeze of Foggy Island carried the sound of the festival drums once again.