Feng Ming and Zhao Qin provided the names and addresses of Feng Ming’s relatives and the strangers.
With the names and addresses in hand, Zhuang Yanzheng dispatched his men.
The rest of the details would have to wait until Feng Ming and Zhao Qin were brought in for interrogation.
The officers who had been canvassing the neighborhood returned and dispersed the crowd of onlookers.
The evidence collection was still underway.
Su Miaoyi entered the room where Feng Ming was being held.
Feng Ming was sitting on a stool, head in his hands, curled into a ball.
Two police officers were in the room, keeping an eye on him.
Su Miaoyi looked around the room and found two mahjong sets under a cabinet, but nothing else.
As she was about to leave, she passed by Feng Ming and glanced down at him.
’I’ve already read their basic information. Xiang Lianlian only turned eighteen two months ago.’
’This man is worse than an animal.’
Cursing inwardly, Su Miaoyi hooked his stool with her foot and gave it a sharp tug.
Feng Ming abruptly crashed to the floor.
CLANG! It made quite a racket.
The two officers immediately rushed over. "What’s going on?"
Hearing the commotion, Zhuang Yanzheng also came in from outside. "What happened?"
Su Miaoyi took two steps back.
The officers helped Feng Ming up.
Zhuang Yanzheng looked at Su Miaoyi.
Su Miaoyi looked up at the ceiling, rubbed her neck, and tried to quietly slip out.
Zhuang Yanzheng kept staring at her until she walked out. He sighed and followed her.
...
Due to the number of people involved, the case was transferred to the sub-bureau.
Feng Ming and Zhao Qin were also taken to the sub-bureau.
Su Miaoyi, Zhuang Yanzheng, and the others returned to the Municipal Bureau.
By the time they reached the Municipal Bureau, it was already two in the afternoon.
The car was parked, and just as Zhuang Yanzheng got out, he received news that Xiang Lianlian was out of danger.
Once she recovered a little, the sub-bureau would go and get her statement.
Knowing that the girl was safe, Su Miaoyi prepared to leave.
But as soon as she turned, Zhuang Yanzheng grabbed the hood of her sun jacket.
Su Miaoyi was pulled back and looked at him.
Zhuang Yanzheng’s face was intimidating enough as it was; his cold expression made him look even more menacing.
Su Miaoyi looked at him. "Wh-what’s wrong?"
"My office," Zhuang Yanzheng said.
Su Miaoyi didn’t want to go, but she didn’t dare say so, so she followed him back to his office.
The moment the office door closed, Zhuang Yanzheng said, "You kicked Feng Ming’s stool on purpose, didn’t you?"
Su Miaoyi raised a hand to her nose and gave a little cough.
Zhuang Yanzheng took a deep breath and put his hands on his hips, staring at her. "Those precinct officers were wearing clearly visible body cams, and you still kicked the stool."
"I’ll watch out for the body cams next time, then," Su Miaoyi mumbled.
Zhuang Yanzheng nodded, then, realizing what she’d said, he clicked his tongue. "Is that what I’m talking about? The body cams?"
Su Miaoyi didn’t speak.
Zhuang Yanzheng said, "As a police officer, you must control your personal emotions during an investigation."
"But I’m not a police officer," Su Miaoyi said, looking at him.
Zhuang Yanzheng’s eyes flickered, and a memory suddenly surfaced in his mind.
A voice broke into the memory, "If I weren’t a cop, I would’ve just beaten him up."
Zhuang Yanzheng frowned, looking at Su Miaoyi. "Even if you’re not a police officer, you can’t just get violent in front of one."
Su Miaoyi frowned at him, then... she nodded, but she clearly hadn’t taken his words to heart.
Seeing her expression, Zhuang Yanzheng said, "A three-thousand-word report."
The words had barely left his mouth when he realized they’d just slipped out. She wasn’t part of the bureau; he had no authority to make her write a report.
Zhuang Yanzheng frowned. ’I’ve been thinking about the past so much lately. Maybe I should make an appointment with a psychiatrist.’
"Oh," Su Miaoyi responded.
He was lost in thought when he heard her "Oh." He looked at her, thinking she probably hadn’t even registered what he’d said and was just responding on autopilot.
After a pause, he said, "Also, don’t go rushing in alone next time."
Only then did Su Miaoyi blink and look at him.
"This group today knew full well that what they were doing was illegal, so they’d be very wary of the police. You were in a lot of danger today," Zhuang Yanzheng said.
Su Miaoyi thought back on the situation. ’Something felt off about how I acted.’
"Did you hear me?" Zhuang Yanzheng snapped his fingers in front of her.
Su Miaoyi nodded. "Someone was with me at the beginning. I wasn’t alone."
"When you ran forward, he was held back by a dog biting his leg," Zhuang Yanzheng sighed softly.
"What?" Su Miaoyi was shocked. "Is it serious?"
Zhuang Yanzheng nodded. "It was down to the bone. He’ll be out of commission for a while."
"No wonder I heard a shout," Su Miaoyi said. "But wait, why didn’t he call me right away? I would’ve helped him fight the dog."
"You say that like you were carrying a big stick," Zhuang Yanzheng said. "He’s young and prideful. He only yelled because that big black dog refused to let go."
Su Miaoyi didn’t speak.
Zhuang Yanzheng was silent for a moment. "Let’s go. Time to eat."
Su Miaoyi followed him out. "Are you treating?"
Zhuang Yanzheng called over Qi Feng and a few others, then turned to look at her.
Su Miaoyi took out her phone and pressed the power button, but there was no response. "I can’t pay."
"It broke already?" Zhuang Yanzheng took it for a look, then handed it back. "The windows at the Municipal Bureau are more durable than this thing."
Su Miaoyi: "......"
There were no places to eat around the Municipal Bureau; they needed to drive somewhere a little further.
Sitting in the car, Su Miaoyi said, "In the novels I read, they always have a cafeteria."
Qi Feng said, "We used to have one, but not anymore. We should have one again in a few months."
Su Miaoyi sat in the passenger seat, glanced at him, then at Lu Zhishen beside him.
Lu Zhishen had heard Zhuang Yanzheng call Qi Feng and the others to eat, so he had come out with them.
He was slouched in the back looking at his phone, exuding a faint air of listlessness.
Su Miaoyi said, "Is the cafeteria service seasonal?"
Qi Feng smiled, and just as he was about to say something, Lu Zhishen suddenly said, "Someone posted about the Xia Zhenghong case online."
The moment Qi Feng heard that, he immediately opened his phone.
Zhuang Yanzheng, who was about to start the car, stopped and took out his own phone to look.
Seeing the three of them all on their phones, Su Miaoyi sat up straight before leaning back again, watching them with a face full of curiosity.
’What’s going on? What case?’
’No phone! I have no phone!!!’
Zhuang Yanzheng glanced over. Seeing she was practically dying of curiosity, he took pity on her. "It’s about the Xia Zhenghong case."
"Who is Xia Zhenghong?" Su Miaoyi quickly asked.
Lu Zhishen watched them from the back seat.
Su Miaoyi was curious about the case; he was curious about Su Miaoyi.
Zhuang Yanzheng glanced at her again. "The one with the mole at the end of his right eyebrow."
Su Miaoyi remembered the man from the body buried under the overpass.
"Why was it posted online? The killer has already been caught."
"The poster claims to be a classmate of the deceased and wants to get justice for her," Qi Feng said. "They’re also accusing the police of inaction, saying it’s been a week and there are still no results."
Zhuang Yanzheng clicked his tongue and started the car. "Police inaction? Then is it a ghost we have locked up in the detention center?!"
Lu Zhishen said calmly, "It doesn’t look like they’re seeking justice. It’s more like they’re chasing clout. Their follower count is growing fast."
It was clearly someone who didn’t know the details and was just spouting nonsense online.
Zhuang Yanzheng said, "Call it in and have them handle it. As for the person spreading these rumors, have someone bring them in."
Qi Feng immediately made a call.
After he finished his call, Su Miaoyi asked, "The victim was a student?"
Since the case was already all over the internet, she figured the details would be made public to set the record straight sooner or later, so she asked.
Zhuang Yanzheng nodded. "Xia Zhenghong was a graduate advisor at Jingshi University. The deceased, Li Xueyi, was his student."
Su Miaoyi’s eyes widened as she listened to Zhuang Yanzheng speak.
Xia Zhenghong had promised Li Xueyi that after she graduated, he would help arrange a good job for her.
The company in question only had one opening.
Their improper relationship lasted for over a year.
Just as Li Xueyi was about to graduate, Xia Zhenghong became interested in someone else.
That one and only opening was then promised to another person.
Li Xueyi was furious and threatened Xia Zhenghong.
If she didn’t get the job, she would expose their affair.
She would post everything about them online and also tell his wife and their daughter.
Xia Zhenghong was unfaithful, but he cared a great deal about his wife and daughter.
So after Li Xueyi threatened him one more time...
He went to Li Xueyi’s dorm and killed her to silence her.
Afterwards, he moved the body, buried it under the overpass, then returned to the dorm to clean up the bloodstains.
On the fourth day after the incident, overcome with fear, he ran and hid in the old district.
The old district’s surveillance system was incomplete, so if he hid there, the police wouldn’t find him right away.
Moreover, it was discovered on Xia Zhenghong’s phone that he was contacting people to help him forge an identity.
He wanted to go abroad.
The official procedures were too slow, so he resorted to crooked means.
Luckily, there was Su Miaoyi.
Otherwise, the man would have very likely gotten away.
And then they really would have had no answers for the public.
"Then what about that pocket watch?" Su Miaoyi asked. "Was it theirs?"
"It was a custom-made wedding anniversary gift from Xia Zhenghong’s wife," Zhuang Yanzheng said.
Su Miaoyi’s lips moved, but she didn’t say anything.
’A heart can change in an instant. People are no different.’
...