[Zhou Wanxi’s boyfriend]
Gu Yingzhou had harbored doubts about Zhou Wanxi’s strange positioning the moment he first saw the body. However, as her clothing appeared relatively intact, he couldn’t immediately determine if she had been sexually assaulted.
In the absence of the medical examiner and forensic team, he had been careful not to over-examine the body for fear of compromising evidence. Now, hearing Lu Ting’an bring it up, his previous suspicions began to take on a much clearer shape.
Lu Ting’an didn’t pay much attention to Gu Yingzhou’s expression. He spoke steadily, recalling the details he had observed: “Rigor mortis usually appears one to three hours after death and spreads to the whole body within four to six hours. The posture Zhou Wanxi was found in suggests she remained at the crime scene for at least six hours after death, during which time she was violated. Think back to her sitting position—now look at it from another angle: what if she had been lying down the entire time?”
Upon hearing this, both Gu Yingzhou and Fu Yirong’s expressions became incredibly grim.
They were men; they knew how things worked. If Lu Ting’an’s theory was correct, the killer had held Zhou Wanxi’s legs up while assaulting her—and for a duration long enough for her body to stiffen into that shape.
Fu Yirong was thoroughly revolted. His face turned ashen as he slammed his hand against the steering wheel. “That pervert! He’s completely out of his mind!”
‘How could he not be a pervert?’ Lu Ting’an thought to himself.
From a psychological perspective, the killer was a genuine degenerate. Whether it was long-premeditated or a heat-of-the-moment act, anyone who chooses to end a life to satisfy their own desires is not a normal human being.
Mentally healthy people usually possess a sense of awe toward life; they feel fear and dread around a corpse. But this killer moved on to assault the victim after the murder, showing zero morality or humanity. It indicated a severe personality disorder.
To be more precise, he was a necrophile.
Fu Yirong was about to curse again, but Lu Ting’an cut him off before he could start.
“I also have some theories regarding Zhou Wanxi’s cause of death. She likely died of mechanical asphyxiation—either strangled by hand or by a ligature.”
Fu Yirong’s heart gave a jolt. He felt a mix of curiosity and disbelief. “What are you basing that guess on?”
Lu Ting’an met his gaze squarely and countered with a question: “If you needed to hide a victim’s identity under relatively urgent circumstances, would you choose to just take the head, or would you hack off the entire neck with it?”
Looking at Lu Ting’an’s calm demeanor, Fu Yirong felt a slight chill down his spine. ‘Why ask me a question like that? Do I look like the type to murder people and dump bodies?!’
But on second thought, it would indeed be much easier to just remove the head.
So why would the killer go through the extra effort of taking a section of the neck too?
Lu Ting’an raised his right hand and made a slicing motion across his own throat. “Almost everything from the collarbone up was removed. Besides hiding her identity, it’s highly probable the killer wanted to mask the victim’s actual cause of death.”
Fu Yirong gripped the steering wheel, still somewhat bewildered.
Gu Yingzhou’s eyes darkened slightly. “Strangling and choking both leave unmistakable marks on the body.”
Lu Ting’an nodded in agreement.
He figured the killer likely wasn’t well-educated; even without the marks on the neck, a medical examiner could determine the true cause of death through an autopsy.
A car behind them honked its horn, and someone shouted a few curses in Cantonese. However, as soon as they saw the police emblem, they immediately ducked their head back in.
Fu Yirong started the engine again, but as the car moved, his mouth didn’t stop.
“Let me summarize: the killer is a man. He lives, or at least stayed last night, in the Pingnan Ridge area. He has a vehicle for dumping the body. And I’ll add my own discovery: the wound on the corpse was clean, looking like it took only one stroke. The killer must be physically strong!”
As he finished, he checked the rearview mirror to see the reactions of the two behind him. He was hoping for a word of praise from Gu Yingzhou, but the two of them looked even more stoic than the other.
Fu Yirong: “…”
He endured a second of embarrassment before pivoting. “Does the Young Master have any other ‘guesses’? Why not speak up so we can hear them.”
Lu Ting’an’s gaze drifted out the window. “The killer and Zhou Wanxi are acquaintances.”
Fu Yirong immediately pressed, “Why?”
This time, Lu Ting’an didn’t humoring him.
“Officer Fu, can you try using your brain before you open your mouth every time? Are you the Major Crimes member, or am I?”
“If you aren’t going to use that brain, you might as well donate it to someone else.”
Lu Ting’an’s tone wasn’t aggressive, and his face showed no sign of impatience. But saying something like that with such flat, calm indifference made the insult exceptionally sharp.
In the Major Crimes Unit, Fu Yirong acted as Gu Yingzhou’s assistant and usually followed him on every call. He wasn’t particularly brilliant, but he was a heavy hitter who did more than his share of work when it came to taking down suspects.
Everyone at the station treated him with courtesy; even the Inspectors hadn’t talked to him like that!
Fu Yirong was both anxious and fuming, yet he was the one who had been pestering Lu Ting’an for clues this whole time. Consequently, he turned to Gu Yingzhou, attempting to seek protection like a child who had been bullied on the playground. “Officer Gu!”
“Hmm?”
Gu Yingzhou gave a lazy hum of acknowledgment. “There were no signs of a struggle on the victim, and no foreign skin tissue under her fingernails. If it were an acquaintance, they could indeed have killed her while her guard was down.”
Fu Yirong’s eyes widened: “…”
Was that what he wanted to hear? He clearly wanted Gu Yingzhou to back him up! In this situation, remaining neutral was as good as taking Lu Ting’an’s side.
Fu Yirong drove on, feeling utterly slighted. He started to grumble, but the moment he remembered what kind of man Gu Yingzhou was, he swallowed his complaints.
Lu Ting’an ignored the two of them. He remained silent, trying to parse through the details that didn’t quite add up. No matter how many logical explanations he tried to find, a bizarre sensation clung to him like a strand of spider silk—floating, ethereal, yet impossible to ignore.
He had a powerful premonition that there was another layer to the relationship between the killer and the victim—something secret and highly specific…
Half an hour later, the police car arrived at the Baihui Club. During the day, the dance hall was deserted; only a few businessmen would choose to host meetings here during off-hours.
The singers and dancers, however, were all present. Achieving fame in this industry required more than just a pretty face. While they stood on stage looking glamorous at night, they spent the bulk of their daylight hours rehearsing and getting styled.
Seeing three tall men walk into the lounge—especially with Lu Ting’an in uniform—the singers understood the situation immediately.
“Officer, was Wanxi really murdered? Is everything in the papers true?” one dancer asked in a small voice, her eyes filled with sorrow and dread. After all, with the killer still at large, no one knew if he was targeting Zhou Wanxi specifically or showgirls as a group.
A wave of floral perfume hit Fu Yirong’s nose. He coughed awkwardly, took half a step back, and raised a hand to settle them. “Don’t be afraid. The police will do everything in our power to solve this case as soon as possible. We need to ask you a few questions; please cooperate and tell us everything you know.”
The young women didn’t dare hide a thing and nodded frantically.
Fu Yirong asked a few key questions, and as expected, the women were an open book.
It turned out that Zhou Wanxi was indeed the most senior member of the Baihui Club. The club had opened seven years ago, and she had become a dancer there via a recommendation in its second year. Back then, the hall wasn’t as developed as it was now and performers were scarce; it didn’t take long for her to become the “pillar” of the stage, a position she had held for six years. Combined with her beauty and high emotional intelligence, the men who adored her could form a line from the club’s entrance to the street opposite.
However, compared to her career and romantic life, her family life was far from perfect. She only had one older brother.
Before Zhou Wanxi was three years old, her father had lost a leg due to a workplace accident. The boss paid out a few thousand dollars in compensation, but the now-disabled man grew bitter and depressed. He took the money and turned to gambling; within a few days, it was all gone, and he was drowning in debt.
Back then, debt collectors were far more ruthless than they were now. It wasn’t uncommon for people who couldn’t pay to have their limbs broken and be left to beg on the streets. Her father fled, leaving no trace, and no one knew if he was dead or alive.
In the early 1970s, Zhou Wanxi’s mother couldn’t find a job that could support both a son and a daughter, and she lived in daily terror of the collectors. After a few months of struggle, she took her own life, leaving behind a daughter under five and a fourteen-year-old son.
Zhou Wanxi and her brother grew up leaning on each other. Just as she was finally escaping the shadows of her childhood, her brother married a fierce, materialistic woman who despised her…
Fu Yirong took notes, rubbing his chin. “What was the relationship like between the Zhou siblings?”
From those few sentences, he had already concocted a massive family drama in his head. A fourteen-year-old was basically a child; it would have been incredibly difficult to raise a five-year-old. How did the brother support them? It was highly likely that as soon as her beauty began to bloom, her brother forced her down this path. Then, as she got older and conflicts with her sister-in-law escalated—Bam! The brother decided to end it all and murdered her.
Fu Yirong thought he was a genius. A second later, his theory was completely demolished.
The girl said, “Their relationship was great! Sister Wanxi always said the person she was most grateful to in this life was her brother, because he was the only family member who truly loved her and would give up everything for her.”
Gu Yingzhou glanced at the disappointed Fu Yirong and brushed him aside. He asked the girl, “You seem very close to Zhou Wanxi.”
Gu Yingzhou was nearly 1.9 meters tall, almost half a head taller than Fu Yirong. He had stayed in the background when they first entered, so the dancers hadn’t dared to stare. Now that he spoke, the girl looked up at his exceptionally handsome face, her eyes glazing over. She instinctively adopted a shy, flirtatious expression. “Y-yes, Officer. I’m a back-up dancer. Sister Wanxi always treated me like a younger sister and would often introduce me to ‘good’ clients.”
Gu Yingzhou acted as if he didn’t see her flirting at all. “Keep talking. Have you met her brother? Did Zhou Wanxi have any other enemies?”
Having been given the cold shoulder, the girl realized her lapse in decorum and quickly straightened up. “I’ve never met her brother. The people who come to the Baihui Club are all wealthy or influential; her brother is just an ordinary man. But Sister Wanxi would go have dinner with his family every week.”
The dancer’s face turned envious. “Sister Wanxi said her brother raised her single-handedly. No matter how poor or bitter life was back then, he wanted to save money for her schooling. It’s just a shame she wasn’t cut out for studying; she dropped out in her teens and ran off. I wish I had family like that; then I wouldn’t be here dancing for a living…”
“As for enemies, Sister Wanxi was a wonderful person. Whether it was the sisters here or the guests, everyone liked her.” She paused, her expression shifting slightly. “But a few days ago, she did have an argument with someone!”
Gu Yingzhou frowned and asked who. The girl hesitated for a moment, then said it was the Baihui Club’s new headliner, Jiang Caiting.
Jiang Caiting was a singer of some renown in Hong Kong. Having been at the club for less than a year, she was already on the verge of eclipsing Zhou Wanxi. It wasn’t entirely because men liked “new” things; Miss Jiang truly had a unique charm of her own.
Most of the girls at the Baihui Club were like Zhou Wanxi: curvaceous, with an innate sensuality. Jiang Caiting, however, was the complete opposite.
Jiang Caiting was a university student in her early twenties, pale and slender. She had long, jet-black straight hair and radiated a sense of obedience and academic refinement—she didn’t look like a girl who belonged in the Baihui Club at all. Yet, once she hit the stage, she was incredibly uninhibited. Her charming, clear voice attracted a crowd of wealthy men, who gave her a very fitting nickname: “The Lark.”
Zhou Wanxi and Jiang Caiting each held up half the sky at the Baihui Club. Logically, given Zhou Wanxi’s high emotional intelligence, she wouldn’t have let their friction become public. However, there was a man caught between them, and he was the key to her escalating emotions.
“Sister Wanxi actually hasn’t taken many clients these past two years; she had a boyfriend.” The girl whispered in a voice only the few of them could hear. “She was very close to him—they were even talking about marriage. I never expected that last month, Jiang Caiting would actually seduce him into bed. If you ask me, Jiang Caiting was being completely unethical. They’re colleagues, for heaven’s sake; why lust after a ‘sister’s’ man? To put it bluntly, in our line of work, is there ever a shortage of men?”
“…”
The words were crude but the logic was sound—though perhaps a bit too crude. Fu Yirong scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
Lu Ting’an, on the other hand, gave the girl a surprised look. Such a “sisterhood” perspective was quite progressive even for this era.
Among the three, only Gu Yingzhou remained unfazed. “Who is the man?”
The girl thought for a moment. “Hu Zounan.”
As the name left her lips, she remembered something vital, and her voice suddenly jumped in volume. “Yesterday was Jiang Caiting’s birthday! She was gone all day and didn’t come back until late at night. She said a man had booked out a whole cinema just to give her a grand birthday celebration. Yesterday morning, not long after she left, Sister Wanxi also asked the manager for time off… and then she met with an accident. Officer, could this case be related to those two?”
It was highly possible. Both the timing and the motive for murder aligned perfectly.
Gu Yingzhou nodded, his tone polite yet distant. “Thank you for your cooperation.”
The girl’s face turned an even deeper shade of red. “Don’t be so formal, Officer. It’s only what we should do.”
Gu Yingzhou gave a hum of acknowledgment and turned to leave. “Let’s go.”
Fu Yirong followed, purposely or accidentally bumping into Lu Ting’an’s shoulder as he passed.
Lu Ting’an’s slender frame swayed from the impact, and the police cap sitting loosely on his head tilted to the side.
As his pale, feminine face was revealed, the club girls’ eyes all widened in shock.
“Young… Young Master Lu?!”