Chapter 132

Zhang Dongmei, 42 years old this year, was a teacher at Nancheng No. 1 Middle School.

She taught mathematics and appeared to be a successful teacher. The math grades of the classes she taught always ranked among the top.

She was even selected as a gold medal teacher in Nancheng City. In her thirties, she had won no less than ten awards from various schools and the city. A few years ago, some parents even secretly gave money just to get their children into her class.

However, her family life did not seem happy. Zhang Dongmei came from a farming family, and her parents still lived in the countryside. She also had a younger brother who, despite her excellence, received more attention from the family. When Zhang Dongmei took the college entrance exam, her scores were high enough for a better university, but her family made her attend a teachers’ college with lower tuition fees for various reasons.

At 26, Zhang Dongmei got married to a doctor, but the marriage ended in divorce a few years later. She had no children, and it seemed that after the divorce, her life consisted only of her work and students.

She appeared to be a good teacher who had devoted her youth to the teaching profession.

This semester, due to health reasons, Zhang Dongmei had reduced her teaching load and became a tutor, much to the regret of many parents.

Now, this excellent teacher lay as a cold corpse on the hotel lobby floor. Such an ending made people sigh.

After reading the information sent by Zhu Xiao, Lu Siyu followed Song Wen to the He Tang Chun Xiao Hall on the fifth floor, where Zhang Dongmei had dined with five students.

Inside the room sat two men and three women, all young. The noise outside the window was growing, but the atmosphere inside was somber, with everyone hanging their heads in silence.

Judging by their clothes, most of these young people wore bright and fashionable outfits, and some carried branded bags and watches, all expensive. The men were handsome, and the women were beautiful. Only one woman in the corner wore a mask, covering her nose and chin.

The food on the table had not been cleared, and it was evident that a lavish meal had been ordered. There were two bottles of white wine and several bottles of beer, and the air was filled with the smell of alcohol, indicating they had drunk a lot.

In the middle of the table was a white cake, now reduced to a messy base. The floor had some alcohol stains and cake crumbs.

It was now after 7 PM. Song Wen looked at the crowd outside. As predicted by Director Gu, it was indeed impossible to transport the suspects now, so they had to question them here.

Apart from them, Zhang Ziqi from the second team had already arrived and registered the IDs of the five people. Song Wen took the forms from him and compared them to the people in front of him.

Then Song Wen put his backpack aside and said, “I am Song Wen, the criminal police officer in charge of this case today. Who can tell me what happened?”

Lu Siyu, very naturally, pulled an empty chair and sat down, took out paper and pen from his bag, and prepared to take notes. He then realized that this empty chair was probably where Zhang Dongmei had sat.

A man with glasses and a scholarly look spoke up, “Let the class monitor speak.” He looked very studious, with thick lenses that indicated a high prescription. The man had a proper appearance but a tight face and a very serious expression.

Then a woman with a ponytail, wearing a blue long dress and a white short shawl, stood up, “My name is Tan Shan. I am now a junior high school Chinese teacher at Nancheng No. 1 Middle School. Today, everyone was free, so we invited our junior high school homeroom teacher, Ms. Zhang, to have a meal together…” She was a bit nervous and continued trembling, “We…we had finished eating and were about to leave. The teacher had drunk a bit too much, and then…that happened. None of us expected this to happen.”

She answered earnestly, as if reporting to students or leaders. Tan Shan was the most slender among them, standing there so thin that a gust of wind seemed enough to blow her over.

“So, this Ms. Zhang was not only your former homeroom teacher but also your current colleague,” Song Wen clarified, “How many years have you graduated?”

“Ten years,” Tan Shan replied. “We graduated from junior high school at fifteen, and now we are 25 years old.”

“So, Zhang Dongmei started teaching you when she was 29, and she continued until she was 32.”

Song Wen’s gaze swept over their faces. “You must have had a good relationship with your teacher. Having a reunion ten years after graduation and choosing such an upscale Chinese restaurant.”

Among the two young men, the taller one with handsome phoenix eyes nodded and pointed to the bill in front of him. “Of course, this meal cost 5,300 yuan.” He sighed and said, “I heard the other guests downstairs left without paying. If the waiter had come a bit later, would I have saved these 5,300 yuan?”

Song Wen asked, “What did you eat tonight to cost so much?”

The young man started listing the dishes: “Cantonese-style barbecued pork, lotus leaf chicken, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, special stuffed lotus root, crystal shrimp dumplings…”

Seeing that he was about to list all the dishes, the girl who had been sitting with her head down and wearing a mask raised her head. “Qian Jiang, say less. You aren’t short of money.”

Song Wen looked at the girl’s mask and frowned. “Did you eat with your mask on?”

Hearing this, the woman took off her mask, and Song Wen finally saw her face. She was quite pretty, with a sharp chin and big expressive eyes.

Song Wen thought for a moment and said, “You look familiar. Are you an actress?”

A recent TV drama had been very popular, and Song Wen had seen a lot of posts about it. The third female lead seemed to be played by the woman in front of him. Song Wen had a good memory for faces.

The man named Qian Jiang chimed in, “Her name is Meng Tiantian, stage name Meng Ailin. You should have heard of her.”

Song Wen hadn’t heard of her. Judging by the situation, she seemed to be a third-tier starlet.

“Officer Song, my job is rather special,” Meng Tiantian said, blinking at Song Wen. Her mask still hung around her chin, ready to be put back on at any moment.

Song Wen understood that she might be afraid of being recognized. Getting involved in something like this could potentially affect her career. He didn’t make things difficult for her and gestured for her to go ahead.

Meng Tiantian then put her mask back on.

Song Wen turned to the remaining people. “What are your current occupations?”

Qian Jiang pointed to the scholarly man with glasses. “The highest achiever in our class, Dr. Zhao Yuliang. He’s about to start teaching at Beicheng University.”

The man with glasses turned and glanced at Qian Jiang, seemingly annoyed at his chatter, but he didn’t say anything more.

Qian Jiang continued and pointed to the woman in the red dress. “Meiren ^[1]Literally beauty. Play on her name Mei[beautiful] and ren[person] which combined is beauty or belle, the class flower ^[2]Prettiest girl in the class. She’s about to get married.”

The woman in the red dress was very stunning, even more so than the small actress Meng Tiantian. Today, she was dressed entirely in red: a red coat, a red scarf, and bright red lipstick, making her fair skin appear even whiter. She was a vision of fiery beauty.

Song Wen glanced at the names on the recently recorded IDs. One of them was Ji Meiyun.

“What do you do for work?” Song Wen asked.

Qian Jiang looked at the woman in red and quickly answered, “She’s about to marry into a wealthy family. Why would she need a job?” He then turned to the woman and said, “Am I right?”

The woman in red didn’t speak but nodded slightly to Song Wen and Lu Siyu, indicating agreement.

“And you? What do you do?” Song Wen turned to Qian Jiang, who seemed to have drunk quite a bit and was the type to become talkative after drinking.

Qian Jiang hiccupped and said, “My family owns a 4S dealership.”

A nearby officer whispered into Song Wen’s ear, “This young man’s family almost monopolizes vehicle sales in half of Nancheng.” The auto industry was once highly profitable, marking him as a classic example of a wealthy second-generation.

Song Wen looked at the five individuals and summarized: a teacher who returned to her junior high school to teach, a fledgling actress, a soon-to-be bride marrying into a wealthy family, a second-generation rich kid whose family owns a 4S dealership, and a PhD candidate.

No matter how one looked at it, these were all standout individuals in society.

“What did you talk about during dinner?” Song Wen continued to ask.

“Nothing much,” Tan Shan said softly. “We hadn’t seen each other in years, so we caught up, reminisced about our school days, and talked about our junior high school life. We were all good students back then. Zhang Laoshi’s first class after coming to Nancheng was ours, and our class had excellent grades, especially in math. That year, we had the highest average score in the provincial exams.”

Song Wen asked again, “Do you all meet up often?”

Tan Shan shook her head. “Everyone’s busy with their work and lives. I haven’t seen many of them in years.”

Qian Jiang chimed in, “We just had an ordinary meal. Who could have expected that the teacher would jump from the building in the end?”

There was a moment of silence.

Song Wen focused on Qian Jiang, probing his words. “Are you saying that Zhang Laoshi committed suicide?”

Qian Jiang said, “Oh, I didn’t mean that. The teacher drank a lot today. Maybe she went to the rooftop to sober up and accidentally fell.”

Song Wen pressed further, “So you think it was an accident?”

Qian Jiang realized that whatever he said could be wrong, so he shrugged and said, “Officer, I’m innocent. I didn’t push her. Look around—who here looks like a murderer? Maybe someone did give her a push…”

Silence fell over the group again.

A good teacher, a few successful students. Song Wen’s gaze swept over their faces, trying to determine who might be the culprit. He then asked a crucial question, “Where were each of you when the teacher fell?”

Qian Jiang said, “I was in the room waiting for the waiter to come and settle the bill.”

Dr. Zhao Yuliang said, “I was outside in the smoking area.”

Ji Meiyun spoke up, “I was at the sink outside the restroom washing my hands.”

Meng Tiantian, speaking through her mask, said, “I was also in the restroom. I drank a lot and was sitting in the stall for a while…”

Tan Shan said, “I was about to leave. I had just reached the fifth-floor corner when I heard a noise downstairs. I ran down and saw Zhang Laoshi lying on the sidewalk outside.”

Before entering the private room, Song Wen had examined the layout of the hotel. The rooftop was not far from this room, and the restroom was next to the staircase.

This meant that all five people claimed to be elsewhere, each in a different location, making it possible for any of them to be lying. They all had the opportunity and none had an alibi.

“Do you know why Zhang Laoshi went to the rooftop?”

Everyone shook their heads.

Lu Siyu had been taking notes the whole time, jotting down these clues. He looked up thoughtfully at the messy cake and the nearby wine bottles, indicating a lively dinner. He asked, “Did you take any photos during tonight’s gathering?”

What?

Having remained silent while taking notes, Lu Siyu’s sudden question caught everyone off guard.

“It’s been years since you last met. A gathering with your teacher and classmates is something you’d want to remember with photos or videos, right? Posting them on Weibo or your social media?” Lu Siyu asked softly.

Though he didn’t enjoy such social interactions, he knew most people did. It was a common thing to do. Listening to their account of the dinner, he noticed the absence of any mention of taking photos, which seemed unusual for such an event.

Delicious dishes, a heartwarming reunion, reminiscing about the past—these were typical social media content.

Song Wen understood Lu Siyu’s point and added, “If you took any photos, could you show them to us?”

Perhaps there would be some clues in the photos.

The group exchanged looks. Meng Tiantian said, “No, I didn’t take any photos. In my line of work, we avoid creating potential scandals.”

Ji Meiyun lowered her head, “I’m getting married soon. It wouldn’t be appropriate to take photos with male classmates.”

Song Wen pressed, “Not even a group photo with the teacher?”

Ji Meiyun shook her head.

Tan Shan added, “I work at the same school as Zhang Laoshi, so I see her often. I didn’t take any photos tonight.”

“And the rest of you?” Song Wen turned to the two men, “Do you have any photos on your phones? Could you show them to us?”

Dr. Zhao Yuliang’s face showed displeasure as he formally refused, “You don’t have a search warrant and no right to check our phones.”

While the previous responses seemed normal, Zhao Yuliang’s reaction made Song Wen suspicious. He narrowed his eyes, “Dr. Zhao, you seem well-versed in the law, fitting for an intellectual. I’m merely asking for your cooperation in the investigation. Your refusal makes me think there’s something on your phone you don’t want us to see.”

However, Zhao Yuliang was correct. He wasn’t a suspect yet, and without his consent, Song Wen couldn’t search his phone.

Qian Jiang interjected, trying to smooth things over, “I would show you my phone, but unfortunately, I lost it.”

Song Wen frowned, “What a coincidence.”

Qian Jiang nodded, “Really…just my luck. I went to the restroom, and when I came back, my phone was gone. All I have left is this,” he pointed to his Bluetooth earpiece. He then looked at the others, “Everyone was helping me look for it earlier. They can vouch for me.”

Tan Shan nodded quietly, “It’s true. We almost called the police. We were going to search after dinner, but now that the police are here, there’s no need.”

Song Wen could only shrug, “Alright, Zhang Ziqi, tell the manager to find a few separate rooms for them. Keep them from colluding. I’ll question each one individually about tonight’s events.”