(2) Hiding

Qi Xia wished she could crush Cheng Li’s bones to ashes.

She despised Cheng Liang just as much. To her, her life had been completely destroyed by the two brothers.

That’s why she put on this act.

She found a third party with a relatively gentle personality, intending to lure him with Cheng Liang’s wealth. Since Cheng Li didn’t know her and hadn’t been to their new home, Qi Xia planned to find an excuse to keep Cheng Liang at home, drug him with sleeping pills to create a false impression, and then hide all of Cheng Liang’s photos.

What she didn’t expect was that the third party didn’t want money but was after emotions instead.

Although this wasn’t what Qi Xia had planned, it worked out to her advantage. A third party seeking money to commit murder was still lacking in persuasiveness.

Yang Chunling became Qi Xia’s weapon.

Qi Xia recounted the events and was about to face prison, but she only felt relief.

Over the years, her sister’s matter had been like a mountain pressing down on her heart. Every time her mother held her hand and begged her to persuade Xiao Juan to come home and visit, her heart ached terribly.

Now, her heart felt light.

Qi Xia cooperated, and the case could smoothly enter its final phase.

Shen Wanwan finished organizing her statement, and two detectives came in to prepare to take Qi Xia away.

Tao Jiang folded his arms, “Actually, there’s one more question I’m curious about.”

Qi Xia said, “At this point, there’s nothing more for me to hide.”

“How was your relationship with Yang Chunling?” Tao Jiang asked. “She actually didn’t want to drag you into this.”

Qi Xia’s gaze flickered for a moment.

After a pause, she silently looked at the two detectives.

Tao Jiang waved his hand, “Let’s go.”

After catching the murderer, there was still a series of follow-up tasks. Before getting busy, Tao Jiang, feeling particularly kind, suggested everyone go home and rest at 6 o’clock.

Before the workday ended, a group of reporters from the local daily newspaper arrived, hearing that the murderer had been caught and rushing over.

At this stage, too much couldn’t be disclosed to the public. Tao Jiang briefly said a few words, just enough to give the citizens of Xuzhou an explanation.

When asked how they deduced that the murderer was the wife of the victim, Tao Jiang remained unusually silent.

After the silence, he said, “The new recruit… has a lot of creativity.”

The news of the case being solved also reached the old factory district.

The doors, which had been tightly shut for several days, finally opened. Men and women moved their wooden stools under the trees and started discussing excitedly.

As soon as Shen Wanwan appeared at the alleyway, several people called her over. “Wanwan, what about the murder case you mentioned before? Was the murderer caught? There won’t be any more cases, right?”

“I heard the murderer is a woman. It’s terrifying, I just can’t understand how a woman could commit murder.”

“They say women have the most poisonous hearts. This woman is no simple character. She tricked her brother into killing her brother, then poisoned him, and even dared to dismember the body! I’m going to tell my son to be careful of his wife.”

The people seemed to be asking Shen Wanwan, but in reality, they had already come up with their own story.

The case wasn’t over yet, and Shen Wanwan just responded with “uh-huh” and “ah,” until an elderly man grabbed her arm. “Little Wanwan, I saw the news interview, and I think they mentioned the new recruit from your team. Was that you?”

Some people laughed. “Wanwan, just be honest and don’t mess things up. You’re making our alley proud. How could the captain possibly mention just a few words about you?”

The people in the alley had never thought highly of Shen Wanwan.

She was the obedient girl, and it wasn’t surprising that she had gotten into university — all she did was study.

But to be a detective, one needed to be sharp, and in their minds, although their own grandsons and sons didn’t excel in grades, that was just because they didn’t care about studying — they were actually very quick-witted.

As for Shen Wanwan, well, girls weren’t as smart as boys, and she was too rigid. She wouldn’t get far as a detective.

Few families in the old factory district owned color televisions. Most had the old black-and-white sets. For them, being on TV and receiving an interview was a huge deal.

Shen Wanwan was very humble. “There’s more than just me as a new recruit, everyone is excellent.”

A few of them nodded, as if everything was clear to them.

At this moment, Lin Yuying came out carrying a dirty bucket. Seeing that Shen Wanwan had returned, she waved and said, “Just in time, you’re back. Let’s go look for your brother together. He hasn’t come home yet, and I’m a little worried.”

Shen Wanwan didn’t think much of it. “It’s still early. He’s just playing. It’s normal for him to be out late.”

“We’ve made chicken stew at home. We told him to come back early.”

It was indeed unusual for Shen Zhuo to be late when there was meat to eat at home.

But…

Shen Wanwan spoke lightly, “Chicken stew at home? I didn’t know about that.”

Lin Yuying awkwardly lowered her head as she poured the leftover water into the gutter by the road. “Well… Mom forgot to tell you.”

It wasn’t that she had forgotten, but that she had never intended to mention it.

In the memories of the original owner, no one had ever reminded her what they were cooking at home or asked her to come home early.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want her to eat, but they all subconsciously wanted to make Shen Zhuo happy.

Shen Wanwan responded coldly. “Let’s go, let’s go look for him.”

Lin Yuying felt guilty in her heart. “No, no, you’ve been working all day and you’re tired. You go eat first. There are chicken legs and wings in the cupboard in the kitchen, take some for yourself, and leave a pair for your brother.”

The things placed in the cupboard were intentionally set aside, naturally meant to be kept.

Shen Wanwan didn’t respond, turned around, and walked outside.

Lin Yuying had no choice but to casually put the dirty bucket down, take off her apron, wipe her hands, and follow her.

There weren’t many places Shen Zhuo could go, mostly to a few friends’ houses, or to the school basketball court and internet cafe.

Recently, the family had no money to give Shen Zhuo, so he didn’t have a penny in his pocket and couldn’t go to the internet cafe.

Shen Wanwan first went to the basketball court.

It was already past school hours, and the school gate was desolate.

The current school management wasn’t very strict, and during break times, students could freely come and go. Shen Zhuo often stayed at school to play basketball.

Shen Wanwan explained her purpose to the gatekeeper, who said, “Those few boys came to play basketball, but they left about half an hour ago, following another group of people. I’ve never seen them before. They have tattoos and dyed hair, and they don’t look like good people.”

Lin Yuying’s heart immediately panicked. She grabbed Shen Wanwan’s arm, anxious, and said, “Has your brother gone bad? How could he be with such shady people?”

So far, although Shen Wanwan didn’t like this brother of hers, she knew that while he might get into some small mischief, he didn’t have the guts to get into serious trouble.

Shen Wanwan took out her phone book and handed it to Lin Yuying. “Mom, there’s a person named Zou Guodong in there. He’s my colleague, and his house is nearby. Please contact him, and I’ll go look for him.”