…
Two police officers conducting the interrogation and taking notes sat in the silent office, while students from Class 1, Grade 12 entered one by one.
…
Jin Mingzhen sat with her head lowered at the table. Before long, one of the officers spoke up.
“Classmate, there’s no need to be nervous. Just answer our questions truthfully.”
Jin Mingzhen nodded.
“Were you close to the deceased? How much did you know about him?”
“Not close. I only knew his name was He Zhiyuan.”
“In class, who had conflicts with him? Or who had the deepest conflict?”
“Hmm… If we’re talking about conflicts, Jin Mingzhu, Li Chengshuo, Bai Huina, Zhao Yupeng… almost everyone had some issues with him. As for the deepest conflict…”
Jin Mingzhen’s eyes flickered, and she whispered, “Sorry, I don’t interact with them much, so I’m not really sure.”
The two officers exchanged a glance and continued questioning:
“I heard his grades were very poor?”
Jin Mingzhen hesitated. “Not poor.”
The officer paused in his note-taking. “But I saw his performance rating has consistently been D.”
Jin Mingzhen offered an awkward smile. “I wouldn’t know about that. I just noticed he wrote correct answers on test papers before many teachers had even finished explaining them.”
“The video played in your classroom this morning—do you know who the people in it were?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you know where the video came from? Or were there any suspicious individuals?”
Jin Mingzhen shook her head. “Sorry, officer, that’s really all I know. Can I go back to class now? I still have lessons.”
After several questions yielded no useful leads, the officer couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
“Alright then, one last question: who do you think is the least likely person to be connected to his death?”
Jin Mingzhen blurted out without hesitation: “Jing Yuanxi.”
The officer flipped through the student roster and noted the name. “Jing Yuanxi, huh…”
“Alright, you may return to class.”
…
“The video played in your class this morning—do you know who put it on?”
“No idea. It was already playing when we arrived this morning.”
“How much do you know about conflicts within the class?”
“Sorry, I focus on my studies and don’t pay much attention to others.”
Kong Shixuan sat upright, the very image of a diligent student.
His demeanor was exceptionally composed, lending great credibility to his words.
The officer did manage to extract a bit more information from him, though none of it was directly related to the murderer.
It was becoming clear: these students all seemed to know nothing no matter what was asked.
For some reason, the officer found himself asking the same question again, almost involuntarily:
“Let me rephrase: who do you think is the least likely person to be connected to his death?”
“Jing Yuanxi,” Kong Shixuan replied.
The officer nodded. “Alright, you may go.”
A likable student wouldn’t be close to just one person.
Perfectly normal.
…
“Did you ever bully him? Or have any conflicts with him?”
Pei Jize pointed at himself incredulously. “Me? Do I look that tasteless? I just transferred here two days ago—how could something like this involve me?”
The officer didn’t ease up on the questioning despite his explanation.
After all, the student before him was dressed expensively and might very well be part of a clique.
Most importantly, his behavior and demeanor…
The officer glanced up at the careless young man in front of him.
He truly didn’t seem to hold the police in any regard at all!
He glanced down at his notes. He had already questioned over a dozen students, yet not a single useful piece of information had emerged.
“Are you done? Can I leave now?”
“Not yet. One last question: Who do you think is the least likely person to be involved in his death?”
“That would definitely be Jing Yuanxi.”
“Why?” At this point, the officer felt something was off.
Everyone had given the same answer to this question.
Why, in the mouths of these students, would this person be considered less suspicious than even the teachers?
“Because she wouldn’t stoop to something like that. She looks down on even me—would she even spare a glance at that He-whatever Yuan? Don’t be ridiculous.”
Pei Jize seemed to have angered himself with his own words. He said irritably, “If I die someday, you can suspect her. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll just die of anger because of her.”
After all, she couldn’t even remember his name.
The more he thought about it, the more displeased Pei Jize became.
Who allowed her to be so arrogant?
Seeing the young man suddenly start talking to himself and growing increasingly agitated, the officer waved his hand helplessly. “Alright, alright, you can go.”
…
“Did you know the deceased?”
“No.”
“You’ve been in the same class for almost three years.”
“So?” Yin Meiyan leaned back in her chair, admiring her manicure, not sparing a glance at the person across from her.
“Were you two on bad terms?”
“If you’re going to interrogate me like this, you might as well go ask Zhao Yupeng.”
The officer wanted to press further about Zhao Yupeng, but after saying this, the person across from him refused to say another word no matter what.
With the other party uncooperative, the officer had no choice but to note down the Zhao Yupeng she mentioned.
In just this short period of questioning, they had already witnessed how difficult these students could be.
“Student, just one more question and you can leave.”
Yin Meiyan looked impatient but still nodded.
“Who do you think is the least likely person to be involved in his death?”
Yin Meiyan didn’t want to answer, but after a moment of hesitation, she reluctantly spoke.
“Jing Yuanxi, I guess.”
This person again!
Both officers saw the gravity in each other’s eyes.
The person everyone was protecting!
…
More than an hour had passed, and the two officers finally saw the “Jing Yuanxi” whom everyone was shielding with their own eyes.
The girl sat in the chair with her legs crossed, her chin slightly raised.
Compared to them, her posture was more like that of a judge.
“Jing Yuanxi, did you have much interaction with the deceased?”
“I don’t remember… I mean, I don’t remember him as a person.”
The reprimand the officer was about to utter was swallowed back. He asked grudgingly, “Then who do you think is most likely involved in his death?”
Jing Yuanxi chuckled. “Isn’t that your job as officers?”
She rested her chin on her hands, her elbows propped on the table, her eyes filled with curiosity. “But even if you find out who the murderer is, can you really bring them to justice?”
The expressions of the two officers instantly changed.
They thought she was threatening them.
But the girl across from them suddenly shifted her tone, offering a piece of advice. “Go ask his family. You might learn more that way. In this school, you won’t get anything out of anyone.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Why?” Jing Yuanxi curved her eyes, smiling brightly and boldly, “Because this is Di’an International, a place where power is never offended.”
A place where power and money reign supreme.