Chapter 976: Mistaken Identity

Xu Xiaodong, dressed as a woman, and Tao Yueyue were waiting in a nearby fast-food restaurant, sipping drinks. Xu Xiaodong, feeling forced into this, kept checking his appearance on his phone, worried that something would give him away.

“Stop worrying. You won’t get caught. And even if you do, just say you had your ovaries removed a couple of years ago, which is why you look more masculine now.”

“That’s a ridiculous excuse!”

“Then what do you want to do, marry him?”

Xu Xiaodong sighed, “You always have these crazy ideas!”

“Hold on a second!”

Tao Yueyue ran to the counter, grabbed some napkins, came back, and balled them up for Xu Xiaodong to stuff into his bra. Xu Xiaodong shyly completed the task and looked down, pleased with the result.

He started to touch his chest, which drew some curious glances from others. Tao Yueyue scolded, “Stop touching, you look like an idiot.”

Just as Xu Xiaodong was about to retort, his phone rang. A man’s voice said, “Miss Li?”

“Yes, are you Mr. Hao?” Xu Xiaodong replied in his fake voice.

“Yes, I’m at home now. Is it convenient for you to come over?”

“Sure, I’ll drive over right now.”

“Okay, I’ll be waiting.”

After hanging up, Tao Yueyue criticized, “Why did you say you’d drive over? Now we have to wait longer.”

“Don’t be so impatient. I can’t just say I’m nearby. Give this guy some dignity!” He said, fixing his wig again as the bangs kept falling into his eyes.

Tao Yueyue giggled, “Alright, keep that attitude!”

About twenty minutes later, they arrived at Hao Yunlai’s place. Although his profile stated he was in his forties, he looked closer to fifty in person—dark, fat, unkempt, with a hunched back, wearing a tasteless shirt and flip-flops. He was smoking at the door.

Seeing them, Hao Yunlai quickly stubbed out his cigarette, smiling broadly as he came over to shake hands, “Hello, I’m Hao Yunlai.”

“Hello.”

“And this young lady is…?”

“My daughter. Didn’t my profile mention I’m divorced and raising a child alone while starting my own business?”

“Oh, she’s very cute. I like kids too. Come in, please!”

They entered a small apartment, barely fifty square meters. It was evident Hao Yunlai had hastily tidied up; the bed was piled high with what were undoubtedly hidden clutter. Despite the cleanup, dust was still visible on the floors and furniture.

Hao Yunlai poured them water as they sat on the sofa. He rubbed his legs nervously and kept glancing at Xu Xiaodong, who shyly kept his head down, mostly to avoid scrutiny.

“What do you do for work, Miss Li?”

“I run my own business selling clothes.”

“Wow, a real businesswoman.”

“What about you, Mr. Hao?”

Hao Yunlai scratched his chest, his eyes darting to the upper right as he answered, “I used to work as a salesperson for an IT company. I resigned and now I’m a freelancer, dabbling in art.”

His body language and mannerisms while lying were textbook examples, making Tao Yueyue chuckle internally.

“Oh, you like art?”

“Yes, I like to doodle in my free time. Hold on…” He fetched a painting, “It’s not much.”

Xu Xiaodong responded politely, “Oh, that’s nice. Are you currently single?”

Awkward small talk continued for about ten minutes. Hao Yunlai seemed quite interested in Xu Xiaodong, his eyes wandering and complimenting his voice. Tao Yueyue felt increasingly uncomfortable and decided she couldn’t wait any longer. She discreetly dialed Xu Xiaodong’s number from her pocket.

Xu Xiaodong’s phone rang, and he stood up, pretending to take the call. After hanging up, he said, “Oh, sorry, I think I’ve parked in someone else’s spot. Could you help me move my car?”

Tao Yueyue said, “I’m tired. I’ll stay here and watch TV, okay?”

Hao Yunlai seemed a bit hesitant but said, “Alright, just don’t touch anything, okay?”

Xu Xiaodong reassured him, “My daughter is very well-behaved.”

Once the adults left, Tao Yueyue quickly began searching the small apartment. It didn’t take long to check the few places where things could be hidden. When she opened a drawer and saw what was inside, she froze for a moment…

Shortly after, Xu Xiaodong returned with Hao Yunlai, chatting all the way. Hao Yunlai even gentlemanly opened the door for him.

Inside, Xu Xiaodong saw Tao Yueyue on the sofa and she subtly gave him a prearranged signal.

“By the way, Miss Li, are your parents still alive…” Hao Yunlai was saying when Xu Xiaodong suddenly grabbed his arm and slammed him onto the coffee table. Hao Yunlai, stunned, finally stammered, “Miss Li, what are you doing!”

“I’m not Miss Li, I’m a police officer!” Xu Xiaodong dropped his fake voice.

“A police officer! But I haven’t done anything wrong!”

Tao Yueyue picked up a syringe and waved it in front of him, “What’s this?”

“A syringe, so what?”

“What do you use it for?”

“I have diabetes. I buy insulin and inject it myself. That’s not illegal, is it?”

“Explain it at the station!”

Xu Xiaodong took him into custody, while Tao Yueyue gathered all the evidence she found and bagged it.

With their mission accomplished, Xu Xiaodong was excited. After they handed over the suspect to Chen Shi, he praised, “Yueyue is amazing. She found the evidence right away.”

“Why are you dressed like that?” Chen Shi asked curiously.

Xu Xiaodong looked down at his outfit. No wonder his colleagues had been laughing when he came in; he had forgotten to change out of the women’s clothes. Embarrassed, he explained, “We used a dating trick to get close to the suspect.”

“Very clever, now go change!”

Hao Yunlai was taken in for questioning. The evidence Tao Yueyue brought back included several used syringes and a gray coat.

Having completed their task successfully, Tao Yueyue felt exhilarated.

The next morning, during a case discussion, Chen Shi said, “Everyone did a great job yesterday. Through the list from Haiguo Yang’s company, we successfully caught the injection murderer—Zou Lei!”

Tao Yueyue, initially full of expectation, was confused when she heard the unfamiliar name “Zou Lei.” She asked, “Isn’t Hao Yunlai his real name?”

Xu Xiaodong said, “I knew ‘Hao Yunlai’ sounded too good to be true. It was a fake name.”

“You two were too confident,” Chen Shi mocked. “Who told you the person you brought in was the suspect? Zou Lei is Zou Lei, and Hao Yunlai is Hao Yunlai. Simply put, you got the wrong guy!”

“But we found syringes at Hao Yunlai’s place!” Tao Yueyue insisted, unwilling to accept the mistake.

Old Zhang said, “At Zou Lei’s place, we not only found syringes and cyanide but also detailed information about the three victims. The evidence is conclusive. Zou Lei is the injection murderer!”