Chapter 239: A Girl with Character

At an ice cream and milk tea shop outside the school, Gao Xiang rambled on to Lin Dongxue about which ice cream flavors were the best. Lin Dongxue said, “Order whatever you like. I’m not having any.”

“Are you afraid of getting fat? You’ve got a great figure!” Gao Xiang said flatteringly.

“Can we talk about the serious stuff?” Lin Dongxue asked.

“Sure, sure!” Gao Xiang straightened up exaggeratedly. “Ask away. I’ll tell you everything I know.”

“What’s your relationship with Jiang Hui?”

“Classmates, friends, buddies!”

“Is that all? Your homeroom teacher mentioned that Jiang Hui once said she liked you in the office.”

“She was just trying to annoy the teacher. I don’t know who came up with the term ‘puppy love.’ The school doesn’t teach us how to date, so how are we supposed to know once we graduate? That was Jiang Hui’s line. Isn’t it classic? She’s really talented, writes novels, earns money from them, and often treats me. We’re really just friends, like bros… Let me tell you a secret, I actually like older women like you!”

Lin Dongxue put on a cold face on purpose. “Did Jiang Hui ever talk about her family?”

“Yes, she did! She said her stepmother is a psycho, always scolding her and saying awful things, sometimes even hitting her. But she never does it in front of her dad or grandparents. Jiang Hui really hates her, wishes she were dead. She even discussed with me how to kill someone.”

“Are you sure that wasn’t for her novel research?”

“Maybe… Jiang Hui said that too. Whenever she wanted to kill her stepmom, she’d write it into a novel. Earning some money made her feel better.”

“How much does she make from her writing?”

“Around one or two thousand yuan a month. She spends it all on CDs and books. She loves reading. I’m not much of a reader.”

“How did you two become friends?”

“I can’t really say. We just started chatting a lot. Sometimes she’d come to me after being mistreated at home. I’d treat her to a beer… We’re really just friends. Jiang Hui has her own crush, and I have… several girlfriends. Hanging out with her feels relaxed, like being with a bro.”

“And how is her relationship with her brother?”

“They get along well. I often see them chatting and walking home together. I even joked with her once, asking if she was going to go all ‘German step-sibling’ on him.”

“What’s ‘German step-sibling’?”

“Oh, it’s a meme. Look it up online. Anyway, Jiang Hui may seem cool and independent, but she’s had a tough life. Her parents divorced when she was young, her dad had a son with his mistress, and the family is very biased. Once, it was pouring rain, and Jiang Hui didn’t have an umbrella. She stood at the classroom door and watched her stepmom drive off with her brother, leaving her to walk home in the rain. She caught a cold from that.”

“Where do you think Jiang Hui might go?”

“The police who came earlier asked the same thing. I suggested a few places: her mom’s, a friend’s house, her aunt’s. Not sure if you’ve checked those.”

Lin Dongxue thought Jiang Hui’s family must have already searched those places. Remembering her task, she asked, “Do you think Jiang Hui could commit murder?”

“No way!” Gao Xiang said firmly. “If she did, it’d be her stepmom… Officer, did she kill someone?”

“I’m just asking hypothetically. Did she show any unusual behavior before disappearing?”

“Same as always. Oh, our class had a basketball game with the neighboring class. I was a main player and asked Jiang Hui to come cheer for me. She didn’t come and said she had to go home.”

“Anything else you want to add?”

“Well… I think I saw her take something from the chemistry lab, a small bottle. When I asked her about it, she said it was for killing someone.”

“When was this?”

“The day before she disappeared!” Gao Xiang suddenly covered his mouth. “She didn’t really kill someone, did she? She’s too young to be prosecuted, right?”

“She didn’t kill anyone. Don’t jump to conclusions and don’t spread rumors!”

“Got it!” Gao Xiang saluted awkwardly. “Officer, can I add you on WeChat?”

“If I need to contact you, I’ll come to the school. Just focus on your studies for now.”

“No, I really want to be a cop and want to learn from you.” Gao Xiang grinned.

“Study hard, and you might get into the police academy.” Lin Dongxue stood up and left.

When Lin Dongxue returned to the station, Lin Qiupu was waiting in the office. He asked, “Did you find anything?”

“Jiang Hui and her brother planned to go somewhere after school. She might have had a syringe filled with drugs, but I don’t think she had a motive to kill her brother. They seemed to get along well,” Lin Dongxue said, pulling out Jiang Hui’s notebook. “Also, Jiang Hui writes novels and has been published in some magazines. I reread this on the way back. I think it’s not a diary but an unfinished novel draft. The abuse by her stepmother mentioned here seems true, but even so, she had no motive to kill her brother.”

“What about the motive of revenge against the stepmother? The most hurtful way to get back at a woman is to make her lose her child. She could have killed her brother and run away. Is that possible?”

“Honestly, I don’t think so,” Lin Dongxue replied.

“But we can’t rule out the possibility. Continue with this case,” Lin Qiupu said.

“How’s the search by the local police?”

“They’ve looked everywhere they can think of and found nothing. You might want to check in with them tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, Chen Shi quietly arrived at the station after hours, trying to avoid being seen by the second team. He knew Peng Siyue would still be there, and indeed, he was in his office, sipping coffee and working on his computer.

Chen Shi said, “I came to invite you to dinner and…”

Peng Siyue interrupted, “The second part is the main reason, right?”

“I want to see the body Lin Dongxue mentioned.”

“Interested?”

“A bit.”

Peng Siyue led Chen Shi to the morgue in the basement, pulled open a drawer, and revealed the male corpse covered in a layer of frost. When Chen Shi saw the mark on the neck, his pupils contracted, and he instinctively reached out.

Peng Siyue tossed him a pair of gloves. Chen Shi snapped out of it, put on the gloves, and examined the mark.

It was real!

This detail was never made public. Even if someone saw it, they couldn’t replicate it so accurately. Chen Shi… no, Song Lang, had seen it many times. The pattern was etched in his mind.

Zhou Xiao was back!

“Chen Shi… Chen Shi…” Peng Siyue’s voice brought him back to reality. Chen Shi looked up and smiled. “I heard it’s the work of a wanted serial killer. Can I see the case file?”

“The archive room is closed now. Tomorrow.”

“Okay! Oh, about that dinner…”

“Save it! Fake politeness.”

“Give me a chance to prove I’m genuinely polite.”

Peng Siyue looked at him with disdain. “T-bone steak!”