Chapter 728: Deceived Again and Again

Lin Dongxue poured a glass of water and handed it to the uncle, saying, “Don’t rush, take your time.”

“Thank you…” The uncle wiped his tears, searching on his phone. As he searched, he said, “This phone is really mine. Linlin bought that what’s-it-called phone, so she gave me this one to use.”

“Is it an iPhone?” Lin Dongxue asked.

“Yes, yes, iPhone…” The uncle’s finger paused on the screen. “A week ago, I suddenly received this. I didn’t want to show it to you. It’s embarrassing.”

On the phone was a nude photo of Duan Lin covering her private parts, looking ashamed.

“What’s going on here?” Lin Dongxue asked.

“Yes, I also want to know. I called her, and she said it was a joke played by a friend. From her tone, I knew things weren’t that simple. So, on the 23rd, I bought a ticket to Long’an, met her, and kept a cold face. As soon as I entered this room, I said, ‘Linlin, have you made some disreputable friends outside?’ She said, ‘Don’t ask, don’t ask.’ I said, ‘How can I not ask? You’re not married yet, taking these kinds of photos. If they get out, where can we, as a family, show our faces?’ As I said this, we started arguing…”

The uncle sighed heavily, fumbled for his cigarette, and continued, “Is this a nude photo?”

The uncle vigorously nodded. “Yes, yes, the urban police officer knows a lot. He called it a nude photo. She told me she owed a loan shark money. If she didn’t pay up, they would distribute this photo to everyone. I wasn’t the only one who received it. It’s just humiliating! I asked her why she borrowed from a loan shark. She earns only a few thousand yuan a month from working in the city. Where did she get such big expenses? She said she bought clothes, cosmetics, went out to play. At first, she only borrowed a few thousand, but with the interest, it turned into tens of thousands. When I heard this, I felt like my heart was about to give out. How did a good girl like her turn into this after a few years in the city? She hasn’t sent a penny home and often asks us for money. I always told her, ‘Linlin, be more frugal with your spending outside. Don’t always order takeout. Cook for yourself.’ Later, I found out how she was living. Tears almost came to my eyes. She was frugal with food, eating instant noodles every meal. Adding an egg was considered improving her diet. She spent all her wages on clothes, cosmetics, and phones, spending money recklessly. She has a boyfriend now. He’s wealthy, she said. After they get married, they’ll live a life of ease. I said she was deluded. Last time, that boyfriend cheated her. She didn’t learn her lesson. I shouldn’t have brought it up. She got even angrier and argued more fiercely with me, bringing up old grievances. I slapped her in a fit of anger. I haven’t hit her since she entered junior high. After hitting her, I said, ‘Forget it, consider that I didn’t raise such a daughter,’ and then I packed my bags and left!”

“I bought a ticket and planned to return that night, but the ticket was for early the next morning. So, I stayed in the waiting room overnight. During that night, I thought about a lot of things. Perhaps every family has its own difficulties. Raising children isn’t easy. Later, I saw a mother with a child, a very young child, whose childish voice was touching. Looking at her, I thought of Linlin when she was young. I thought, forget it. Even though she was wrong, I shouldn’t have hit her. So, I went back to find her. By then, it was already morning.”

“When I returned here, I found the door open, Linlin was gone, the bathroom light was on, and there was a strong smell of bleach. It was especially unpleasant. I couldn’t reach her on her phone. I was exhausted, so I went to sleep first, thinking that she would come back when I woke up. Who would have thought that she still wouldn’t be back the next day? I finally managed to contact her workplace, and they said she hadn’t shown up that day. I thought, this is bad, really bad. I quickly reported it to the police. Days passed in a flash. Later, you came and told me she was gone…”

The uncle covered his face with his rough hands. “I cried all night that day. It’s definitely because of my words that hurt her, that she chose to end her life. I’m a jerk!”

The uncle wiped his tears forcefully, sniffled, and waited for Chen Shi’s questions.

“Did she mention anything about her current boyfriend?” Chen Shi asked.

“During the argument, I learned something. Her boyfriend asks her for money. As soon as I heard this, I knew something bad had happened. She must have encountered a scammer again. But she was deluded, insisting that her boyfriend’s foreign exchange was frozen now but would be released in a while. When that happens, she’ll be able to pay off her debts.”

“You guessed correctly. The police have already confirmed that her boyfriend is a scammer, skilled at cheating people out of their money and bodies. You don’t need to blame yourself too much. Her death isn’t your fault.”

“Thank you, thank you for telling me all this. I just hope they catch the person who killed her and sentence him. It’s to repay my daughter Linlin’s life.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll give you an explanation… By the way, what about her previous boyfriend?”

“I’m not sure. I only found out by chance that she was living with a man whose origins were unclear, living with her, asking her for money to spend. Later, I don’t know why it ended. Sigh, she’s an ignorant young girl who went to the city and was easily deceived. We’ve been worried sick about this, both her mother and I!”

Lin Dongxue and Chen Shi exchanged glances, inadvertently finding a new clue. Chen Shi asked, “About her previous boyfriend, do you know anything about him? Anything at all?”

The uncle shook his head. “I don’t even know what he looks like or what his name is. She didn’t let us interfere in her affairs and we couldn’t manage it.”

“Oh, by the way, where were you waiting for the bus that night?”

“At Beiqi Station.”

As they were preparing to leave, Chen Shi’s gaze fell in a certain direction. Above the bathroom, there was an open ventilated window. Due to its high position, not only did Chen Shi overlook it, but the two technical police officers who came last time also overlooked it.

Chen Shi asked, “Was that window always open?”

“Huh?” The uncle turned around. “It’s always been like this. I haven’t touched it.”

Chen Shi moved a stool over, stood on it and looked. The dust on the window frame was rubbed off, leaving a clear fingerprint on it. The thread on it should be a non-slip strip of a rubber glove.

He stretched his head out and looked. Here’s a sixth floor, next to a white PVC pipe, and a fixing clip of the pipe with an expansion bolt that’s loose, and there’s a small piece of fiber on the clip.

“Hey, I found something big!” Chen Shi brought Lin Dongxue to have a look at this.

Lin Dongxue said, “This pipe only has a second story going, in the house he managed to it.”

habe