Chapter 87: The Real Culprit Revealed (Bonus Chapter for Votes)

Lin Dongxue breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, “Captain Peng, can you just say everything in one go? What did you discover?”

Peng Sijue picked up his now cold coffee and said, “Before that, I’d like to hear Chen Shi’s deductions.”

Lin Dongxue was quite helpless, but since Peng Sijue outranked her, she had no choice but to recount Chen Shi’s deductions in detail.

After listening, Peng Sijue nodded, “As expected of him, always hitting the nail on the head with his unconventional thinking.”

“Captain Peng, the way you two talk about each other sounds like you’re good friends.”

“But this seemingly perfect deduction has a flaw. Why did the would-be suicide return after a few hours? Did he come back to kill himself? If so, he wouldn’t need to kill the witness.”

“Obviously, he didn’t come back to kill himself. Maybe… he came back to deal with his girlfriend’s body.”

“What made him give up on suicide?”

“Is it possible that he never intended to commit suicide from the start… Alright, Captain Peng, stop keeping me in suspense. Tell me your discovery.”

Peng Sijue finally got to the point, “The number of bacteria in the female victim’s mouth far exceeds the average, meaning she most likely kissed someone before she died. However, the bacteria count in the male victim’s mouth is below average. Furthermore, the male victim had mild oral inflammation. If he had kissed the female victim, her mouth would have had a significant amount of streptococcus and helicobacter pylori, but we found none in her mouth.”

“So, they didn’t kiss.”

“To be precise, someone else kissed the female victim.”

Lin Dongxue felt a surge of excitement. Chen Shi’s deduction was correct; the culprit was the would-be suicide, Cheng Chao!

She immediately reported this discovery to Lin Qiupu, who was still immersed in the frustration of arresting the wrong person. After hearing Lin Dongxue, he instructed the task force to redirect their efforts to find Cheng Chao.

This search took another two days. Cheng Chao seemed to have vanished into thin air. During this time, they confirmed the male victim’s real identity: Zhang Xiang, an ordinary white-collar worker in Long’an City.

After working non-stop for several days, Lin Dongxue was exhausted. After work, she saw Chen Shi’s car parked outside. Her colleagues teased, “Your boyfriend is here to pick you up.”

Blushing, Lin Dongxue got into the car, “Just passing by?”

“No, I wanted to ask about your progress.”

“It seems Cheng Chao has disappeared.”

“Could he have fled to another city?”

“Impossible, his information has been sent to all traffic departments.”

Chen Shi smiled and handed over a thermos. Lin Dongxue opened it to find fragrant chicken porridge, which pleasantly surprised her.

“I had some free time this afternoon. Give it a try. I also helped you guys a bit by visiting An Xu today.”

“Why did you visit him?” Lin Dongxue asked while enjoying the delicious porridge.

“Curiosity. Didn’t we deduce earlier that An Xu might be lying? I found out some things. Although An Xu is the son of a company president, his family’s business hasn’t been doing well lately, and he owes money.”

“Really?”

“I asked him if he knew where Cheng Chao was, and he seemed a bit nervous.”

“But logically, he shouldn’t be helping Cheng Chao, right? Or maybe there’s something else going on?”

“Did you notice he was wearing a gold necklace?”

“Yes, I did.”

“I added him on Weibo. From his previous photos, it seems he only bought that necklace recently.”

Lin Dongxue was even more puzzled. How was this related to Cheng Chao’s disappearance?

“Let’s not talk about it now. I’ll take you home. I’ll visit him again tomorrow.”

“Hey, don’t go too often. If he knows something, you might scare him off.”

“Aren’t you confident in my interrogation skills?” Chen Shi winked.

After dropping Lin Dongxue off at her place, Chen Shi drove home. While waiting at a red light, he checked Weibo and noticed a suspicious post from An Xu: “If you keep hiding, you’ll pay for it. Come out and face it like a man.”

Chen Shi suddenly had a flash of insight and called Lin Dongxue, but she didn’t answer. When the light turned green, he drove straight to An Xu’s place.

An Xu lived in an upscale neighborhood. When Chen Shi arrived, he saw a car leaving the complex, with An Xu inside. He reversed his car and parked under the trees, then followed An Xu after he left.

He called Lin Qiupu, saying briefly, “Do you want to solve the case?”

“What?” Lin Qiupu sounded confused.

“I’m sending you my coordinates. Send someone to follow my car. The suspect might show up soon.”

Without waiting for Lin Qiupu’s response, Chen Shi hung up. He continued to tail An Xu, who parked near an ATM. A man holding a bag got into An Xu’s car, and they drove off together.

Chen Shi followed them to a secluded road. The car in front stopped suddenly, and both men got out. Chen Shi squinted, alert, and put his phone in his inner pocket before getting out too.

When An Xu saw Chen Shi’s face, he sneered, “I wondered who it was. Turns out it’s the cop from this morning.”

The man next to An Xu was wearing a hoodie with the hood up, his face hidden in the shadows. Chen Shi pointed his chin at him and said, “Is this your boyfriend?”

“Shut up!”

“You must be Cheng Chao. Stop hiding. I know what you look like.”

The young man hesitated before slowly removing his hood. It was indeed Jiang Mei’s boyfriend, Cheng Chao.

Chen Shi continued, “What did you put in that bag you just got? Money? If I’m not mistaken, the reason An Xu helped you lie and cover up is because you bribed him. I don’t know how you suddenly got rich, but it’s the only reasonable explanation.”

“You’re very smart!” Cheng Chao said. “Just like a detective in a novel. Want to hear my story?”

“I’m all ears.”

“I’ve been dating Xiao Mei for two years. I love her deeply, and she loves me…”

“Don’t mention her in front of me. It’s disgusting!” An Xu roared.

“Can you not interrupt?” Chen Shi said.

An Xu rolled his eyes, lit a cigarette, and squatted by the roadside.

Cheng Chao continued. Because of his family’s situation, Xiao Mei’s parents looked down on him. When he went to her house for dinner, her mother asked many tricky questions, and her father said many unpleasant things. Cheng Chao couldn’t believe that such snobbish parents could have a daughter as angelic as Xiao Mei.

Xiao Mei didn’t know, but her father later found Cheng Chao and gave him money to leave her. It wasn’t much, but he probably thought ten thousand yuan was enough to make a poor guy like him give up. Of course, Cheng Chao didn’t accept it.

Xiao Mei’s father then pointed at his nose, threatening that with his connections, he could make it impossible for Cheng Chao to live in Long’an City.

Soon after, Xiao Mei’s other suitor, An Xu, who was “a good match” for her, came and beat Cheng Chao up, even smashing his computer, which contained his artwork, his hard work.

Cheng Chao hated this unfair world, but what could he do? He was just a poor man…