"Wow, Brother Yan is pretty efficient," Zhou Yi praised sincerely.
"Although Chen Yan’s brain might not be as sharp as yours, his efficiency is absolutely unquestionable."
"Captain Wu, that’s not exactly fair to say. Everyone has their own strengths. Criminal investigation relies on the collective wisdom of a team, never on individual heroism."
Wu Yongcheng was amused by him. "Heh, I didn’t expect a kid like you to have such a high level of awareness."
Chatting, the two walked out of the power supply bureau building. Following the clues Chen Yan had uncovered, they were heading to find the key figure who had altered Zhang Xinli’s fate: Zhu Xuejun, the Director of Gastrointestinal Surgery at City Third Hospital. Within the week before Zhang Xinli bought her house, this man surnamed Zhu had transferred fifty thousand yuan into her bank account.
Getting into the car, Zhou Yi asked, "Captain Wu, should we go see Liu Qi first to find out more? I see her address is only two kilometers from here."
"Sure, we can use the opportunity to indirectly ask around about Zhu Xuejun’s background."
Zhou Yi stepped on the gas pedal while Wu Yongcheng pulled out a Daqianmen cigarette. They didn’t discuss Wang Youfu’s matter any further; right now, they were still just in the investigation phase. When it came time for gathering evidence and interrogation, certain things would naturally be done. Zhou Yi’s intuition told him that time would come soon.
The two found Liu Qi. She was a plump, round-faced girl who wasn’t surprised by their arrival. She shared a two-bedroom apartment with three other girls, and her roommate turned out to be the very night-shift nurse who had given Zhou Yi information that morning.
As expected, the hospital’s Security Department had informed them of Du Xiaolin’s murder. However, their goal wasn’t to ask for cooperation with the police investigation, but rather to give them a lecture on safety awareness. After the lecture, the nurses were made to sign a letter of commitment. It stipulated that all doctors and nurses working the evening shift had to go home accompanied by someone or in a group of two or more; otherwise, the hospital would bear no responsibility if anything happened.
Hearing this, Zhou Yi cursed inwardly. Those damn hospital leaders—this wasn’t a safety lecture; this was clearly preemptive blame-shifting.
The girl Liu Qi called Maomao was very surprised by Zhou Yi’s appearance, saying she hadn’t expected him to actually be a police officer. Zhou Yi smiled and said that impersonating a police officer was a severe crime. He then glanced at Wu Yongcheng, who immediately pulled out his badge, proving his identity and simultaneously validating Zhou Yi’s words.
Following standard procedure, the two asked what time Liu Qi had gotten home last night and if anyone could prove it. Liu Qi quickly provided a solid alibi. All four girls sharing the apartment were nurses at City Third Hospital. The girl in the next room worked in the inpatient ward and had basically the same schedule as Liu Qi, so the two of them always went home together after work. Moreover, right downstairs from their apartment was a wonton shop that stayed open until past one in the morning, and they liked to grab a bowl of wontons there after getting off work in the middle of the night.
Wu Yongcheng had already verified this with the wonton shop owner downstairs, so Liu Qi’s alibi was completely airtight. This also further corroborated Zhou Yi’s judgment.
When Zhou Yi asked Liu Qi and Maomao about Zhu Xuejun, they said they only knew he was the Director of Gastrointestinal Surgery. He was in his forties and reportedly highly authoritative—a gold-standard figure at City Third Hospital. However, the two of them had barely ever seen him in person because they worked in different departments. They had only seen Zhu Xuejun speak on stage as a doctor’s representative during the hospital’s year-end assembly.
Seeing that there was no useful information and having cleared Liu Qi’s suspicion, the two prepared to leave.
But Liu Qi suddenly spoke up. "Officers, Xiao used to work in the Gastrointestinal Surgery ward. She should know Director Zhu."
"Xiao?"
"Oh, she’s another girl who shares the apartment with us. She has the same schedule as Maomao. She just went out to buy some things and will probably be back in a bit."
Wu Yongcheng checked the time, hesitating over whether to wait a little longer. Just then, the sound of a key unlocking the door came from the entrance. Soon after, a tall, delicate-looking girl walked in carrying a bag of snacks.
"Xiao, you’re back. These two are police officers; they want to ask about a few things."
Xiao nodded at the two men. "Is it about the case of Du Xiaolin, the victim from the emergency department? I don’t know her. I only found out about her this morning when the Security Department mentioned her."
Wu Yongcheng said, "It has nothing to do with Du Xiaolin. We want to ask about someone else."
"Who?"
"The Director of Gastrointestinal Surgery at your hospital, Zhu Xuejun."
Hearing this name, Xiao immediately frowned, seeming deeply disgusted by it. "Is he... related to Du Xiaolin’s death?"
"It’s just a routine inquiry. You know Zhu Xuejun, right?"
Xiao nodded.
"What kind of person is he?"
"Academically, he’s very impressive. Everyone acknowledges that. But..."
"But what?"
"But he has a terrible character. He’s lecherous, sleazy, and a totally hypocritical phony."
This single sentence instantly caught the attention of everyone in the room. The two young nurses, in particular, immediately put on faces hungry for gossip and perked up their ears.
"Could you elaborate on that?"
Xiao asked, a bit afraid, "Officers, if I say it, will I get sued for slander and defamation?"
Zhou Yi immediately replied, "Don’t worry about that. This isn’t a formal interrogation; we’re just gathering information. Look, we aren’t even taking notes."
In truth, regulations required them to take notes, but since Chen Yan had left, neither Wu Yongcheng nor Zhou Yi had a pen and paper on hand, so they just let it slide.
"Besides, if what you say is the truth, it doesn’t count as slander or defamation."
"All right," Xiao nodded. "Actually, a lot of people in our department know about his dirty deeds. It’s just that he’s the director, and no one wants to offend him. After all, everyone needs this job to put food on the table."
Wu Yongcheng spoke up, "Young lady, I am Wu Yongcheng, the Vice Captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment at the City Bureau. If you get into trouble because of what you say today, you come find me. I will stand up for you, and the law will stand up for you."
With those words of reassurance, Xiao no longer worried and poured out everything she knew.
"On the surface, this guy Zhu Xuejun looks like an authoritative expert. He rarely smiles or jokes, so all of us newcomers who just joined the department were terrified of him.
"But in reality, he’s a lech. Whenever he talks to pretty female doctors and nurses, he speaks slowly and methodically, acting all amiable and approachable.
"When I first joined Gastrointestinal Surgery, he was exceptionally enthusiastic toward me. He often praised me in front of the whole department, though it was always over trivial things.
"At first, I thought he was just a warmhearted elder and leader, but gradually, I realized something wasn’t right.
"He was always using work opportunities to intentionally or unintentionally make physical contact with me. His words also grew increasingly frivolous. He would tell dirty jokes and even praise my long legs in front of others, saying it was a pity they weren’t in stockings and high heels."
Xiao blushed when she said this, then continued.
"Once I sensed something was wrong, I started avoiding him. But he’s the department director; he could easily find an excuse to call me to his office.
"Until one time, after publishing an academic paper, he treated all the colleagues in the department to dinner.
"After dinner that day, he found an excuse to keep me behind alone. Then, in the restaurant’s private room, he..."
At this point, Xiao suddenly covered her face and began to sob.
"He tried to rape me."