Chapter 18: The Mysterious Family Massacre (2)

For an intern to be looking up such an old case was hard to justify. Meng Siqi suddenly felt awkward.

If she left without a word, Lu He would definitely become suspicious. But if she claimed Captain Han had sent her, it could create the impression that the Second Unit was secretly investigating a First Unit case.

Her mind had never worked so fast. But when she finally spoke, all she managed was a slightly nervous, “Hello, Captain Lu!”

Perhaps saying nothing would have been better.

Lu He didn’t respond right away. Instead, he reached out and pulled the “Red Paint Case” file from the shelf. A cloud of dust rose between them, briefly obscuring their view.

It was the perfect chance to slip away. Without thinking, she turned to leave.

However, Lu He suddenly stepped around the shelf, blocking her path. His deep, steady voice echoed in the quiet space.

“Meng Siqi!”

She froze. She hadn’t expected him to know her name.

Slowly turning back, she forced a stiff smile. “Captain Lu knows me?”

“Why are you looking for this file?”

Lu He stood tall, his posture firm. His gaze was no longer as sharp as before but carried a subtle hint of scrutiny.

His defined features appeared even sharper in the dimly lit archive room. His deep-set eyes no longer radiated an overwhelming presence, but instead, a calm intensity.

There was no escaping this question.

“Uh…” Her mind raced as she quickly thought of an excuse. After a brief pause, she finally said, “Captain Lu, a family massacre happened yesterday. I was just trying to see if there were any similar cases from the past… but I couldn’t find anything!”

“Oh—” Lu He responded indifferently.

Meng Siqi couldn’t quite grasp the meaning behind his tone, but she had a feeling it wasn’t that simple. Staying any longer would only increase the chances of exposing herself. She quickly said, “If there’s nothing else, Captain Lu, I’ll be leaving now.”

Lu He didn’t reply. His deep-set eyes remained steady, his thin lips slightly parted as if he wanted to say something but ultimately held back.

Meng Siqi forced a casual smile, then turned and walked out. When she signed her name in the registry, she noticed that her palms were slightly sweaty.

This wasn’t even a big deal, so why had she felt so flustered? Maybe it was just the way this man made people feel—always under scrutiny.

After handing over the case file, Meng Siqi gained a clearer understanding of the investigation’s progress. The male victim, Zhu Gongyou, was the finance manager of a steel company. Back in July, the company’s finance office had suddenly caught fire, and Zhu Gongyou had even been called in for questioning.

At the time, the Second Unit had handled the arson case. Zhu Gongyou had stated in his testimony that the fire was caused by aging electrical wires during the peak of summer. The team later inspected the company’s other offices and found that the wiring indeed posed a fire hazard, so the case was not pursued further.

Now that Zhu Gongyou had been murdered in his home, it was impossible not to suspect a connection between his death and the earlier fire.

Han Changlin immediately reassigned tasks. Feng Shaomin and Tang Xiaochuan were sent to Zhu Gongyou’s company to gather more information, while Zhao Leiting and Meng Siqi were instructed to investigate the neighborhood around the victim’s residence.

That morning, Zhao Leiting led Meng Siqi around the area. She held a map in her hand, marking locations as they walked. She noticed that the residential complex had four entrances—north, south, east, and west. Since the victim’s home was on the east side. In other words, if the murderer wanted to save time, he would most likely enter from the east gate, so a detailed investigation of the east side was required.

They asked nearby shop owners and residents whether they had seen any suspicious individuals in the past few days, but no useful leads turned up.

At noon, after returning to the station, Meng Siqi organized the notes from their morning inquiries. That afternoon, she planned to expand the search radius.

Seated near the door, she happened to look up just as Tang Xiaochuan strode into the office, holding a newspaper in his hand. He seemed to be in a hurry, heading straight for Han Changlin.

Moments later, Han Changlin’s furious voice erupted, freezing everyone in place.

“Who the hell approved this?! How could they publish this?!”

Meng Siqi immediately set down her pen and looked over. Han Changlin’s face was livid, the veins on his forehead bulging with rage. He was absolutely furious.

The next second, she watched him storm out of the office with the newspaper clenched in his fist. Tang Xiaochuan quickly followed, trying to calm him down. “Captain Han, don’t get worked up!”

Just then, Zhao Leiting returned from the restroom, looking puzzled. “What happened?” he asked Meng Siqi.

She shook her head, unsure of the details. But judging by Han Changlin’s reaction, the newspaper had likely published something related to their ongoing investigation.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, furious shouting echoed from the neighboring office.

“Who the hell let a reporter in?!”

“Is everyone just going to play dumb?!”

After a moment of silence, someone finally admitted their mistake.

“Captain Han, there was a woman dressed in a forensic uniform yesterday. We didn’t realize anything at first, but when we caught her taking photos, we confiscated her camera. We didn’t know she had swapped it for another one.”

“You people are useless!”

A few moments later, Han Changlin returned, still seething with anger. He slammed the newspaper onto Zhao Leiting’s desk.

“Zhao Leiting, take Meng Siqi and go to the newspaper office. Get that reporter and retrieve all remaining photos—no matter what it takes!”

“Understood, Captain Han. We’re on it.”

In the car, Meng Siqi unfolded the newspaper. It was the latest edition of the Jinyang Evening News, published the night before. A full-page report covered the murder of Zhu Gongyou and his family.

The headline, “Brutal Family Massacre,” was printed in bold red characters, striking and alarming. The article also included two crime scene photos—one of Zhu Gongyou lying in a pool of blood, taken from above, and another of his wife, You Meihua, captured from a distance.

Though the images were in black and white, the blood appeared faded, and the print quality caused some distortion. But even so, the sight was deeply unsettling.

At the end of the article, one line stood out: “More details from the crime scene will be revealed tomorrow.”

That was why Han Changlin believed more photos existed and had sent them to retrieve them.

Upon arriving at the newspaper office, they immediately stated their purpose. The article listed both the journalist and the proofreader’s names, but there was no mention of a photographer—likely because the writer had taken the photos themselves.

Ten minutes later, their assumption was confirmed. The journalist who wrote the article was also the one who took the photos.

In the reception room on the ground floor of the newspaper office, a woman in her late twenties sat with an air of nonchalance. She wore a sharp red suit, her slightly curled hair framing her face. Her bold red lips stood out as she casually smoked a cigarette.

She exhaled a puff of smoke and said, “Yes, I took them.”

“Ms. Wen, do you realize the impact of your actions?” Zhao Leiting questioned her sternly.

Wen Huizhi stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray and raised an eyebrow. “Young man, I don’t see how I’ve done anything wrong. Our paper has an ongoing partnership with your police department. What I did was completely justified.”

Zhao Leiting countered firmly, “You disguised yourself as a forensic investigator, illegally crossed a restricted crime scene, and took unauthorized photos of the victims. Do you really think your actions were justified?”

Wen Huizhi ran her tongue over her lips and smirked. “If there’s a fine, I’m willing to pay for those photos.”

Zhao Leiting almost rolled his eyes. Exchanging a glance with Meng Siqi, he then stood up and stated in a measured yet authoritative tone, “Ms. Wen, in that case, we’ll have to ask you to come with us to the station.”

At that, Wen Huizhi suddenly became agitated. “Why should I? The public has the right to know! Access to accurate information is a fundamental right of every citizen!”

Zhao Leiting was momentarily rendered speechless, his Adam’s apple moving up and down rapidly.

“Ms. Wen.” Meng Siqi pushed the newspaper forward and pointed to a specific section. “Do you really think this is responsible journalism?”

The article was written by Wen Huizhi herself, so she naturally knew its content well. The report claimed that the deceased, Zhu Gongyou, was a financial manager at a steel company and suggested that he might have made enemies due to financial disputes, leading to someone seeking revenge.

Wen Huizhi glanced at the newspaper and, maintaining a calm demeanor, replied, “As journalists, we have to analyze the case. Otherwise, wouldn’t we lose our right to freedom of expression? This summer, the finance office at Zhu Gongyou’s company caught fire. Do you think that was just a coincidence? Considering all the circumstances, it’s not unreasonable to speculate that he may have made enemies at work.”

“You do realize that solving a case requires evidence, don’t you?” Zhao Leiting leaned back heavily in his chair, which let out a creak. He looked exasperated, especially when dealing with such a sharp-tongued woman.

Wen Huizhi, unfazed by his rebuke, smirked. Her bright red lips made her expression even more pronounced. She leisurely pulled out a gold cigarette case from her pocket, slid out a slender cigarette with her well-manicured fingers, and lit it.

“I need to calm down. I hope you don’t mind if I smoke.” She spoke with indifference.

Meng Siqi, however, remained composed. As Wen Huizhi lit her cigarette, she spoke in a steady tone, “Ms. Wen, maybe you see this as an intellectual exercise or a moment to flaunt your rhetoric, a way to uphold what you call freedom of expression. But have you considered that, right now, the murderer might also be reading this newspaper? Your words could provoke them, pushing them toward more extreme actions, leading to another tragedy.”

Wen Huizhi exhaled a smoke ring. Her fingers holding the cigarette paused slightly as she lowered her gaze.

Meng Siqi continued firmly, “And in this new tragedy, the next victim could be your friend, your family, or even you. You live in this city. You are a well-known single woman. Do you really think the murderer doesn’t know who you are?”

Her words carried weight. Wen Huizhi’s arrogant expression darkened instantly. She swallowed hard, as if struggling to find a rebuttal.

Zhao Leiting glanced at Meng Siqi, a flicker of admiration in his eyes.

After a long pause, Wen Huizhi finally nodded, though her tone remained slightly defiant. “Alright, you’re right. I can hold off on publishing the follow-up piece for now.”

She emphasized “for now,” suggesting that she was merely yielding under police pressure and not truly convinced.

Zhao Leiting seized the opportunity. “Then we’ll need you to hand over all the photos you took yesterday.”

“I only took those two photos. Besides, you already confiscated my camera.”

Zhao Leiting sighed and shook his head. “Think carefully. Was it really just those two? If you cooperate, we’ll return your camera.”

Wen Huizhi hesitated for a moment before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a crumpled roll of film. She placed it on the table. “This is the film. It’s already been exposed. Take it.”

Zhao Leiting took it without hesitation. “Alright. We’ll verify it when we get back.”

On the way back, Zhao Leiting grumbled while driving, “That Wen Huizhi really needs to be taught a lesson.”

Meng Siqi leaned back lazily. “This is how they make a living. To be fair, she’s also caught between responsibilities. But I do agree—she’s a bit too full of herself.”

Zhao Leiting stole a glance at her and grinned. “I have to say, your little speech to Wen Huizhi was pretty impressive. You really know how to handle people.”

“What? Do you really think I can’t do anything?”

“No, no, you’re way too capable. Honestly, I’d be happy to work under you, follow your lead, and help you achieve your grand ambitions.”

“Cut it out!” Meng Siqi couldn’t help but laugh.

Zhao Leiting focused on the road, his face serious yet relaxed. As Meng Siqi turned her head, she caught a glimpse of his profile illuminated by the afternoon sunlight. His short, neat hair and youthful face gave him a bright and energetic appearance. With his high nose bridge and sharp eyes, he had the charm of an athletic school leader—reliable yet easygoing.

“I have a question.” Zhao Leiting briefly turned his head toward her, meeting her gaze before looking back at the road. He hesitated before asking, “How did you know Wen Huizhi was single?”

“Women’s intuition.”

“Pfft.”