The Pendulum and the Ginkgo

Zhou Mingyuan, vice president of Xingtu Technology, falls to his death beneath a ginkgo tree. Seven broken branches at the scene, a clock tower pendulum running seven minutes fast, and a ginkgo leaf badge hidden in titanium alloy powder draw former detective Su Yan into a mystery spanning seven years. As the investigation deepens, she discovers that the case is closely tied to the restructuring of Hongyuan Factory: a warehouse fire seven years ago, workers' compensation funds withheld from employees, missing share certificates, and victims of several "perfect crimes" over the past three years all point to the same name: Zhou Mingyuan.

The "vigilante justice" of former engineer Qian Feng, the concealment of retired detective Lao Zheng, and the mystery surrounding the origins of twin sisters Lin Xi and Qian Yue gradually piece together the truth: when legal procedures cannot punish evil, some choose to break the rules, some cling to a system riddled with loopholes, and some struggle with guilt. Every ginkgo leaf hides a clue (the veins correspond to warehouse coordinates, and a red thread on the stem connects people from old cases). Every swing of the pendulum asks the same question: when procedural justice is absent, should we trust the rules or ourselves?

The story unfolds through an interlocking-case structure, with the modern case and the one from seven years ago reflecting one another. Meticulous research into forensic details, such as parameters for gunshot residue tests and dating the paper used for share certificates, exposes the deeper conflict between "procedural justice and substantive justice." Finally, the moment the pendulum returns to its proper place offers a multifaceted interpretation of how justice can be achieved.