Wu Yongcheng took out his badge, clearly stating his identity.
"May we come in?" Wu Yongcheng asked.
"Oh, yes, of course." Zhang Xinli immediately took a step back, making way for the three of them.
Zhou Yi and Chen Yan followed Wu Yongcheng inside. Though they had entered, they merely stood in the living room area right by the door.
A proper search required a warrant; police investigations had to adhere to the law.
However, just a few things visible in the living room were enough to send Zhou Yi deep into thought.
It appeared to be a two-bedroom apartment with a living room, but judging by the living room’s layout, the total area couldn’t be very large—likely just over sixty square meters.
Right in the center of the living room, hanging on the wall behind the sofa, was a wedding photo.
Zhang Xinli was wearing a white wedding dress. Next to her stood a plain-looking, somewhat chubby man wearing thick glasses with lenses like the bottoms of beer bottles.
The doors inside the apartment were adorned with "Double Happiness" characters. Even the television on the chest of drawers was covered with a festive red cloth to keep the dust off.
"Did you get married recently?" Wu Yongcheng asked.
Zhang Xinli offered a faint smile. "We got our marriage certificate on the fourteenth of last month. They say it was Valentine’s Day."
"Congratulations. Didn’t you host a wedding banquet?"
Wu Yongcheng asked this because the marital status in Zhang Xinli’s file hadn’t been updated.
But this was quite normal, considering she had only gotten the certificate a month ago.
It wasn’t like when he was young. He had gotten married in 1981, a time when getting married required a letter of introduction from one’s work unit, complete with an official stamp to be valid.
Nowadays, freedom of marriage was the norm.
Still, out of professional habit, he had asked the question.
"Oh, neither my husband nor I are from Hongcheng. We plan to return to our hometown to hold the banquet when we have the time. As for our colleagues and friends here, we’ll just hand out some wedding candy and pastries when the time comes, so we didn’t make a big fuss about it," Zhang Xinli replied mildly.
"What does your husband do for a living?"
"He works as an electrician at the power supply station," Zhang Xinli said before suddenly asking with anxiety, "Did something happen to him?"
"No, this has nothing to do with him. Du Xiaolin is your colleague, right?"
"Yes, we were even working together yesterday. Did something happen to Xiaolin?"
The police showing up at her door specifically to ask about her colleague—even a fool would know something had definitely happened.
"She was murdered on her way home from work yesterday."
"What!" Zhang Xinli’s face was filled with shock. "How could that be... Have you caught the killer?"
Wu Yongcheng didn’t answer her question. Instead, he asked, "What time did you get home yesterday?"
"I got home around eleven o’clock yesterday."
"That early? Doesn’t your evening shift end at midnight?"
Both Wu Yongcheng and Zhou Yi were a little surprised, but Zhou Yi kept quiet; Wu Yongcheng was doing all the questioning.
Chen Yan was busy taking notes, while Zhou Yi quietly shifted to the side, observing every one of her expressions.
Although he wasn’t an expert in micro-expressions, ordinary subtle clues rarely escaped his discerning eyes.
"My stomach was bothering me a bit yesterday. Seeing that the department wasn’t too busy, I told them and left early. It’s sort of an unspoken rule among us," Zhang Xinli said, rubbing her abdomen as she spoke.
"Can anyone prove that?"
"My husband. I called home before leaving work and asked him to make some porridge for me."
"If it’s convenient, please give us your husband’s work unit information in a bit."
Zhang Xinli nodded.
"Did you go out again after that?"
"No. I went to sleep after eating the porridge. I didn’t even notice what time my husband left for work this morning."
Wu Yongcheng shot Zhou Yi a glance, and Zhou Yi immediately understood.
"Excuse me, could I borrow your bathroom?" Zhou Yi asked.
"Yes, yes, it’s right over here. Go ahead."
"Thank you." Following the direction she pointed, Zhou Yi walked into the bathroom.
Before closing the door, he heard Wu Yongcheng continue his questioning. "Do you know if anyone at work had a conflict with Du Xiaolin?"
Closing the door, Zhou Yi quickly scanned the bathroom. It was barely two square meters, containing a sink, a toilet, a bathtub, a few washbasins, towels, and various toiletries and skincare products.
Zhou Yi touched the inner wall of the bathtub, then inspected the drain and a few inconspicuous corners.
To avoid raising suspicion, Zhou Yi pressed the flush button on the toilet, turned on the faucet to wash his hands, and opened the door to step back out.
"Your toilet works great. The flush is really strong. What brand is it? I’m renovating my place right now, and I’d like to buy the exact same one," Zhou Yi said, shaking the water off his hands and pretending to ask casually.
"Ah, I don’t really know much about that. It was... just bought from some random roadside store."
Wu Yongcheng said, "We’ll leave it at that for now. If you remember any useful clues, you can contact us."
Zhang Xinli nodded sadly. "Officers, you have to catch the killer. Xiaolin was a very good girl and got along well with everyone. You must get justice for her."
Wu Yongcheng replied professionally, "Don’t worry. Catching the killer is our duty as the police."
The three men walked out of the stairwell and headed toward the Santana.
Chen Yan suddenly spoke up. "Zhou Yi, you misjudged this time, didn’t you? This Zhang Xinli has neither the time nor the motive to commit the crime."
Zhou Yi remained silent, but Wu Yongcheng said, "Why do you say that?"
"Sir, look, Zhang Xinli went home at eleven last night and slept until this morning. That makes her husband her alibi."
Wu Yongcheng lit a cigarette and said quietly, "Legally speaking, an alibi provided by an immediate family member isn’t inadmissible. But since immediate family members are stakeholders, the validity of such an alibi depends on the credibility of the evidence and the court’s judgment."
"Sir, are you saying Zhang Xinli’s husband might be committing perjury?"
Wu Yongcheng exhaled a smoke ring and said nothing.
"I don’t think that’s likely. Didn’t Zhou Yi say earlier that the killer’s motive was a romantic dispute?
"But Zhang Xinli is already married. Even if there was some entanglement before, she’s the winner. She has no motive for murder.
"It’s even less likely for her husband to cooperate and commit perjury for her, just to kill a woman who used to have an intimate relationship with him.
"He’s not a fool. Wouldn’t he be afraid of getting hacked to pieces by his own wife in his sleep one day to be silenced?"
Chen Yan had rattled off a whole string of his own thoughts. The three of them got into the car, and Wu Yongcheng said, "Chen’s analysis does seem to make some sense."
His words sounded like an affirmation of Chen Yan’s reasoning, but he turned his body to look at Zhou Yi in the back seat.
Seeing no reaction from Zhou Yi, Wu Yongcheng lost his patience and called him out directly.
"Zhou Yi, you haven’t said a word since we left Zhang Xinli’s apartment. What’s wrong? Did your misjudgment deal you a blow?"
"Captain Wu." Zhou Yi looked up.
"Hmm?"
"How much is your monthly salary?"
Wu Yongcheng was taken aback. "Why are you asking about my salary, kid?"
Zhou Yi pointed toward the window of Zhang Xinli’s apartment and asked, "And how much is her monthly salary?"