Chapter 90

The atmosphere became awkward for a moment. The old man’s displeased expression passed through the three of them as he walked into the bedroom, the only one in the house.

Zhang Lili cried so hard that her lips trembled, “My mom had a tough life. She worked hard her whole life. She was just one year away from retirement…”

Song Wen handed her a few tissues, and Zhang Lili used them to cover her eyes, still complaining incessantly, “I’m sorry to embarrass you. They say not to air dirty laundry, but I… I just can’t take it anymore. My mom had only been gone for a month, and my dad forgot about her. He’s never home, always eating, sleeping, and glued to his phone. He even goes out at night and doesn’t come back until late. The neighbors are all old acquaintances, they talk about it, they all come to me, asking me to control my dad…”

Zhang Lili cried and complained as if the police in front of her could become the masters of their household.

Song Wen felt a bit awkward for a moment, not knowing how to comfort her.

However, Lu Siyu was somewhat absentmindedly looking at where the old man had just sat. The small stool was beginning to take shape. Such a small stool certainly wasn’t meant for adults, but it was perfect for a child. The old man did love his granddaughter.

The house’s doors were very ordinary, undoubtedly not soundproof. Zhang Lili said these things to let Zhang Congyun hear, but beyond the door was quiet as if the person inside hadn’t heard anything.

Zhang Lili continued to cry and say many things, about how her mother had to work and take care of the children after her mom died, how hard it was, how her father didn’t care, how she often found dishes soaking in the sink when he came back.

Zhang Lili cried and said, “My mom used to drag my dad downstairs every day, but he never accompanied her. My mom danced alone downstairs every night. When she left, my dad suddenly started going out more often than anyone else…”

Following up, Lu Siyu asked, “Did Auntie like to dance in the square?”

Zhang Lili nodded, “Yes, she loved it. That was her only hobby. She said, in her usual street sweeper’s outfit, people looked down on her, but when she put on her beautiful clothes and danced with those retired nurses, teachers, there was no difference. Right, it was my mom’s idea for my daughter to learn dancing. She said little girls who learn dance have good posture. She saved up money to enroll my daughter in classes… She said even if we were poor at home, we couldn’t let our children be poor…”

At this point, Zhang Lili’s eyes welled up again, and tears streamed down her face. “I’m sorry, I’m just… too sad… When my mom just died, I was stunned, pushed around by all sorts of things. I didn’t feel too sad then, but after a while, when it’s quiet at night, I suddenly realize that I’ve lost my mom, and I feel especially sad.”

As she spoke, there was a cough from inside the room where Zhang Congyun was.

Afterward, there was silence inside and outside the room. When Zhang Lili’s emotions calmed down a bit, Song Wen asked some more questions about what happened after the accident.

The other party’s company agreed to compensate them with 1.2 million, which is considered a relatively high amount for a similar accident. After that, the company had no further contact with them. Zhang Lili later also identified Chen Yanqiu’s photo, saying she had never seen this person from beginning to end.

After asking questions in detail for more than an hour, Lu Siyu and Song Wen finally left the other party’s house. Zhang Lili saw them off, and as they left the hallway, Lu Siyu suddenly turned back to ask her, “What did Uncle do in the past?”

Although there were records in Zhang Congyun’s file, it was still safer to ask. He was afraid that Zhang Congyun would become suspicious, so he deliberately waited until they were outside the door before asking Zhang Lili this question.

Zhang Lili said, “My dad used to work as a forklift driver in a factory. Later, the factory closed down, so he worked as a construction worker for a few years. Later on, his hearing got worse, so he stopped working.”

“Did he ever work at Qinghe South Chemical Factory?” Song Wen followed up with that question. That was where Chen Yanqiu’s body was found. If he had worked there before, Zhang Congyun’s suspicion would increase.

Zhang Lili shook her head, “It seems he had a few different jobs. He worked at Chengfu Chemical at the beginning, but that was before my mom got married. I heard about it later. I’ve never heard of Qinghe South Chemical Factory.”

Lu Siyu said, “Let me leave you my contact information. If you think of anything later or encounter any difficulties, you can contact me.”

Zhang Lili nodded and recorded his phone number.

After they walked outside, Song Wen took a deep breath. The house was too small, like a birdcage, with only a few people in the living room, making the air feel thin.

As they got into the car, Lu Siyu asked, “Do you think this family is related to Chen Yanqiu’s death?”

Song Wen organized his thoughts and said, “I think Zhang Lili’s attitude is relatively normal, but Zhang Congyun is a bit strange. There are several points that don’t seem logical. First, his behavior changed after his wife’s death. This change is confusing to me. Why would an old man who used to stay at home often come back late? Where did he go during those times? And there’s something else I don’t understand. Why did he choose to settle privately? Was the purpose money? But what about the money? Is it sitting in the bank collecting interest? That amount of money would be enough for a new house for a family like theirs. Even if they didn’t buy a new house, they could at least improve their living conditions. Why are they still living in such a place? And also, he said knowing the real culprit wouldn’t help… Is it because he knows who the real culprit is, or is it just his speculation?”

As Song Wen spoke, he suddenly remembered something and asked, “By the way, how did you know that Zhang Congyun might have worked at a chemical plant?”

“Some of the marks on his hands could only have been left by contact with chemicals, and many chemical factories used forklifts for material transportation in the past.” Zhang Lili’s response also confirmed his thoughts. At this point, Lu Siyu sighed, “It’s just a pity that the factory he worked at wasn’t Qinghe South Chemical Factory.”

Song Wen said, “I think even though he didn’t work at Qinghe South Chemical Factory, we can’t completely rule out any connection between him and that place. Workers at that time often delivered goods between different chemical factories and had various interactions. Maybe he visited Qinghe South Chemical Factory when he was younger. If the suspect had worked at Qinghe South Chemical Factory, I would find it too much of a coincidence.”

Lu Siyu bit his nails, his brow furrowing slightly, “Right… Also, today when we mentioned Chen Yanqiu, Zhang Congyun clearly became impatient.”

Song Wen recalled, “When I showed him Chen Yanqiu’s photo, a normal person would at least take a look before denying, but he denied it straight away. Initially, I thought he might be a bit angry, but now that you mention it, his reaction seems suspicious.” He paused for a moment and added, “Even his departure later seemed a bit deliberate.”

Lu Siyu said, “I think there are several possibilities.” He tried to reason, “First, Zhang Congyun might really not care about Zhao Youlan’s death truth after receiving the money; second, he actually does care, but he knows some hidden facts, so he was impatient and didn’t want to mention it.”

His intuition told him that Zhang Congyun was very nervous, as if he was using his anger to cover up his nervousness. But what was he nervous about? What was he afraid they would find out? Was he afraid they would uncover the truth about Chen Yanqiu’s death?

Song Wen nodded, and Lu Siyu continued his analysis, “Is there a possibility that he didn’t know about Chen Yanqiu being framed and believed that Chen Yanqiu killed his wife? After learning about the death of the culprit, he didn’t believe it. In a coincidental situation, he discovered Chen Yanqiu’s whereabouts, and at that time, Chen Yanqiu was weak, so Zhang Congyun angrily killed him…”

Song Wen said, “To be honest, before coming here, I imagined a story where the family, filled with righteous indignation, killed Chen Yanqiu. But now… hmm… it’s hard to say…”

Zhang Lili is a woman, petite in stature. Although she harbors resentment towards Chen Yanqiu, it’s difficult for her to resort to violence. She should have inherited traits from her mother, being sharp-tongued but soft-hearted, just some complaints. As for Zhang Congyun… as an old man, somewhat awkward and traditional, even if Chen Yanqiu was terminally ill, he probably wouldn’t have the ability to kill him with a knife. It takes a lot of strength to stab someone in the chest, and it’s hard to imagine such an old man doing it.

Lu Siyu also closed his eyes and shook his head, refuting what he had just said, “No, something’s not right… and there’s no evidence…”

Where did his reasoning go wrong?

Lu Siyu leaned against the car window somewhat disheartenedly. The coincidence in his reasoning was too high, without theoretical basis or actual physical evidence.

Seeing Lu Siyu’s troubled expression, Song Wen asked with concern, “Are you alright?”

Lu Siyu still closed his eyes and said, “I’m fine.”

He couldn’t quite pinpoint what was wrong, just like when he started to quit drugs. His body couldn’t identify where the discomfort was, he just couldn’t focus on thinking. He always felt like he was missing something important, but what exactly was it?

Seeing Lu Siyu silent, Song Wen spoke again, “Don’t worry too much. Sometimes haste makes waste. Let’s first go and see Chen Yanqiu’s belongings. Now that we’ve found the hotel where he last stayed, we can try to reconstruct his final moments.”