But what did the little triangle in parentheses after Lu Changqing's name mean?
Judging by the list Song Ning had made, the names belonged either to people connected to the case or to people who posed a threat to her.
Why was Lu Changqing on it?
And then there was Zheng Zhenguo...
If people she had met along the way counted too, why hadn't she included Teacher Fang?
And what about Professor Qi and his wife? She had clearly spent more time with them, and they had gotten along better.
Why single out Zheng Zhenguo, only to leave the parentheses empty?
What did that mean? That she couldn't classify him?
While Gu Zheng was still pondering this, Song Ning came out carrying an aluminum pot with handles on both sides.
It was piled high with muntjac meat, potatoes, and lengths of scallion, and the aroma was mouthwatering.
"Come on! Eat while it's hot! There aren't any big bowls here, so we'll eat straight from the pot."
Gu Zheng waved the sheet of white paper in his hand at her.
"Sorry! You left it on the table, so I picked it up and read it."
Song Ning smiled, then turned to fetch chopsticks and rice bowls. As she set them on the table, she said:
"It's fine! I was tired of reading, so I jotted that down to give my brain a change of pace!"
Then she went back to the kitchen and brought out the pot of rice.
"Help yourselves to rice. Take as much as you want-there's plenty!"
Only after Gu Zheng and Han Xiao had started eating did Song Ning continue:
"A lot has happened on this trip! So I listed everyone I've run into to see whether there might be some connection between them. Honestly, seeing you