2 PM.
At the police station, in Captain Chen's office.
"Miss Yu, I have good news and bad news."
Captain Chen took a deep drag of his cigarette and then stubbed the butt out in the ashtray.
Yu He fanned away the drifting smoke with distaste. Before she could speak, Captain Chen continued.
"The good news is we finally found Luo Xiaoyao and her daughter."
Yu He's delicate brows furrowed. The fact that he mentioned the good news first, not the bad, indicated the bad news was more significant.
"What's the bad news?" she asked.
"We found two bodies." Captain Chen said, pulling out a file from his drawer and handing it to Yu He.
Yu He's thick, long eyelashes drooped slightly as she looked at the brown file folder.
Although she had a bad feeling and was mentally prepared when Captain Chen called her this morning, she still felt a pang of sadness upon hearing the news.
She hadn't known Luo Xiaoyao for long, and their relationship wasn't deep. Luo Xiaoyao was even the daughter of the driver who had caused her adoptive mother's death.
But it was a life, gone just like that, and she disappeared and died because Yu He had mentioned Robin.
"The bodies were discovered a week ago in a reservoir in Lin County, Nanshi. When they were retrieved, the bodies were highly decomposed. The forensic doctor at the time estimated the deaths occurred more than ten days prior and identification was impossible. It wasn't until three days ago that the local police issued a joint investigation notice. I received the information and went to the local area to confirm it was Luo Xiaoyao and her daughter through DNA."
Captain Chen took a sip of tea and continued.
"The cause of death was drowning, due to a large amount of liquid entering the respiratory tract, affecting gas exchange."
"Due to the prolonged time of death and several heavy rainstorms since, the crime scene was severely damaged. Incredibly, the surveillance cameras on the road near the reservoir were down for three days during that exact period. It's impossible to determine if it was murder, suicide, or an accident. The local police ultimately closed the case as accidental death."
"That doesn't seem right. You were responsible for the missing person case. Once the bodies were found, shouldn't you be the one to thoroughly investigate before it's closed?"
Yu He looked up, her peach blossom eyes calmly meeting his.
Setting aside the strangeness of Luo Xiaoyao's disappearance, by common sense, a case filed here should be closed here for the proper procedure.
Such a hasty closure clearly indicated foul play.
"That's precisely why I asked you to come here in person."
Captain Chen stood up, walked to the window, opened it a crack, and lit another cigarette.
The reason Luo Xiaoyao's disappearance case was filed was that she was a few days shy of adulthood, meeting the requirements for filing a missing person case for a minor.
After filing the case, he brought in Qin Meimei, who was the most suspected at the time, for questioning. However, Qin Meimei proved her innocence and was released.
He had no choice but to continue leading his team to search for her, to no avail.
A few days later, Luo Xiaoyao reached the legal age of adulthood, and since they hadn't found any clues suggesting she might have been abducted, she became a simple missing person. The case was then de-escalated from a criminal investigation, meaning it could no longer occupy official resources.
He could only use his spare time to continue searching for leads.
It wasn't until three days ago that he saw the joint investigation notice issued by Lin County, Nanshi. But by then, the bodies of Luo Xiaoyao and her daughter had become a case for that locality.
"Nanshi is participating in the selection of a civilized city. The higher-ups don't want any major incidents, so the case was hastily closed." Captain Chen said, taking another deep puff of his cigarette.
The cold wind from outside rushed in, chillingly brushing against Yu He's face and stirring the ends of her hair.
She understood. Luo Xiaoyao and her daughter, a widowed mother and child, without power or influence, were treated as an accident. No one would pursue justice for them.
Even if someone did, there were people in higher positions protecting them. It would be difficult for ordinary people to overturn the case, unless one had strong backing and the ability to contend with officials.
"Thank you, Captain Chen." She stood up and said.
The only clue she had to break through in her adoptive mother's fatal car accident had now vanished completely.
The only thing she could be sure of was that her direction was correct: her adoptive mother's death was not an accidental car crash, but murder!
And the same applied to Luo Xiaoyao and her daughter.
And now, she might have already exposed herself. The killer was in the dark, and she was in the open.
"If you intend to continue investigating, you can start with the Gu family," Captain Chen suddenly said.
Yu He paused her movement of opening the door to leave. Captain Chen continued, "Before Robin's accident, he was a driver for the Gu family."
He also wanted to dig deeper and investigate, but he was just a humble public servant and couldn't shake the Gu family.
"Thank you." Yu He responded expressionlessly and opened the door to leave.
Simultaneously, she opened her phone and made a call.
"Lu Fancheng, your Lu family owes me a favor from last time. It's time to repay it..."
...
Yu He hung up the phone and walked out of the police station. The driver had pulled the car up to her and opened the rear door.
"Miss Yu, shall we return to Tianyu?" the driver asked.
Yu He glanced at him indifferently and replied, "Mm."
---
After Ye Qichen finished his meeting, he emerged from the company building. While waiting for the elevator, he browsed his WeChat Moments.
He saw a post from Ye Zizheng at noon: "Given that she specially brought me a gift, I forgive her."
The accompanying picture was of two chocolate candies.
"Childish," he muttered, then took a screenshot and sent it to Yu He.
Ye Qichen: [Image, can't only spoil the younger brother, the older brother needs spoiling too. /pitiful]
On the other side.
Yu He was playing a game leaning back in the rear seat. When she saw the WeChat notification, she tapped on it and saw the picture Ye Qichen sent.
Yu He: "..."
She really hadn't brought the gift specially!
It was just some candy to coax Qin Beiting to take his medicine, and she'd casually put the extra ones in her pocket.
Then, Ye Qichen sent another picture. It was of his left hand, with long, slender fingers, the shirt sleeves rolled up, revealing a section of his wrist. His skin was fair and his wrist looked lean.
Yu He: ?
Ye Qichen: [Don't you think my wrist looks a bit bare?]
Ye Qichen: [You still owe me the gift from last time!]
Yu He: .........
That really wasn't a gift, it was just an unwanted red string!
Just then, the car passed a shopping mall. Yu He happened to see a brand store specializing in men's clothing and said to the driver, "Pull over here."
The driver parked the car and took a picture of Yu He's back as she entered the men's clothing store, sending it to Qin Beiting.
[Miss Yu has left the police station. We are on our way back, and she is currently shopping. Estimated arrival at Tianyu is about half an hour.]
At Tianyu.
Qin Beiting was in the living room reviewing project documents brought by Qi Xifeng. When he saw his phone screen light up, he clicked it open, then closed the project proposal.
"Go back and revise this project proposal. We'll stop here for today. Restore the living room to its original state, and then you can leave."
Qi Xifeng and Chen Dong exchanged a look, understanding immediately:
Sister-in-law is coming back!
So, one person escorted the other back to his room, while the other tidied up the living room, and they quickly departed.
Qin Beiting lay on the bed, enlarging the photo sent by the driver. Seeing that it was a men's clothing brand store, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curve upwards.
What gift would the little girl buy for him?