In the southern district of Jianghe City, there was a park-like area with beautiful scenery, orderly green plants, and detached houses with yards. Each building had a unique architectural style. At that moment, a property worker was trimming the branches of trees by the roadside. Li Zhong rang the doorbell outside a red-brick building that looked like an Italian villa.
After the first ring, there was no response. Li Zhong rang a second time. After a while, he heard faint footsteps behind the door. He looked up at the surveillance camera above his head. The security measures here were quite good. From the outside of the park to the inside, the decorations and beautification reflected the considerable price of the real estate.
Yang Xiaomin whispered in Li Zhong’s ear, “If I could own a house here, I would die of happiness.”
Li Zhong sighed and turned back, “I don’t think it’s possible in this lifetime. We have recorded all the possible ways in our files.” This was the villa district of Jianghe City, where most of the local wealthy people owned a house.
“Coming,” the person inside said softly as the footsteps approached.
The door opened, and a beautiful woman in a floral dress stood before him. Her hair was tied up, and she looked about thirty years old, exuding a charming and elegant demeanor. Her name was Li Shuxuan. She had a husband before, named Chen Xuelin.
“Hello, we are from the Criminal Investigation Unit. I am Captain Li Zhong.” Li Zhong showed her his police badge and introduced Yang Xiaomin next to him.
Li Shuxuan glanced at the badge and then at the two officers in uniform standing at the door. She smiled slightly. “What can I do for you officers? Please come in and talk.” She opened the door and invited them in, leading Li Zhong to a garden behind the villa. There was a jade stone round table with several stools, set with tea sets and a pot of tea. A cup that hadn’t been finished was probably hers. Li Shuxuan sat down and made a “please” gesture, indicating for the two to sit down.
The area was rich with greenery, filled with small flowers and plants. The osmanthus trees next to them were in full bloom. The sun was blocked by the villa, making it very pleasant. Yang Xiaomin’s eyes were filled with envy, as if she were seeing a scenic spot in a courtyard.
Li Zhong observed the surroundings and sat down. The place was indeed very luxurious. According to their investigation, this Li Shuxuan was also a woman of considerable status. She also had some businesses of her own. A house worth millions was obviously more than enough for her.
“Ms. Chen, we are here today mainly to…”
“Ask me what I know about Chen Xuelin, right?” Before Li Zhong could finish, Li Shuxuan interrupted. As she spoke, she poured tea, pushing two cups to their faces.
Li Zhong looked down at the tea and asked, “It seems you already know?”
“Of course, I guess everyone in Jianghe City knows about it now. Those three words appeared next to a living person, and someone even took a close-up shot of it. I think your police department’s management of the crime scene is a bit too lax.” Li Shuxuan took a sip of tea, looking at the two people in front of her.
“Do you know that before you came, many people had come to ask me about it? Some were my relatives, some were my teachers and classmates, including business partners who were curious and probing. It seems everyone is very curious about what relationship that guy with the same name as my deceased husband has with me, or rather… is it my dead husband?” Li Shuxuan’s tone was very light, neither salty nor bland, but even this attitude had an inexplicable sense of oppression. Just a look in her eyes carried a questioning look. It seemed this woman was undoubtedly a powerful figure in business.
Li Zhong frowned slightly. Yang Xiaomin also felt pressure from this woman. Shouldn’t they be the ones asking the questions? Why did it feel like they were being questioned by this woman instead? This made her feel quite uncomfortable, but she didn’t interrupt, but looked at Li Zhong.
“It seems this matter has had quite a wide impact. But rest assured, we are fully investigating this matter. As for whether it is your husband or just a person with the same name, we will definitely investigate thoroughly. But before we investigate clearly, we hope you will cooperate. Whether it is or not needs to be explained after in-depth investigation.” Li Zhong picked up his teacup and took a sip.
“Captain Li, don’t you think my words are ridiculous? If you had done a little research, you should know that your woman has been dead for several years. Her coffin was made of sandalwood, which I personally selected. When he was alive, I was heartbroken, and my eyes were swollen several times from crying. Now you’re saying that the person I hate the most, that dead person, is alive and killed someone on the street. Should I laugh now or cry?” Li Shuxuan stood up, picked up a watering can next to her, and started watering the flowers and plants one by one. With her back to the two, she said slowly, her emotions always very plain, making it difficult to feel her joy or sorrow.
Li Shuxuan’s words were completely correct. Dead people couldn’t commit murder. That is to say, although the bloodied words “Chen Xuelin” left on the ground had the same name as her deceased husband, the dead were dead. Her words left Li Zhong at a loss for words. At this moment, he thought of how he had the same thoughts when facing those two people, but those two people had provided an answer.
“Who says dead people can’t kill people?” Li Zhong said these words softly. Yang Xiaomin was shocked. Why did she remember that this sentence seemed familiar? Wasn’t that Shi Hua’s original sentence? And didn’t they all think it was nonsense at the time?
Yang Xiaomin thought that this woman would come back with another round of sarcasm, but what she didn’t expect was that Li Shuxuan only paused for a moment upon hearing this, but didn’t continue to speak. Instead, she walked around the garden, watering all the flowers and plants. She placed the watering can on the ground, and a strange smile appeared on her lips. She looked at Li Zhong. “Do you know that not long ago, someone else came to me and said the same thing? It seems you guys have had some in-depth communication.” Li Shuxuan said meaningfully.
Yang Xiaomin was surprised that she wasn’t angry at all and didn’t rebut?!
“Shi Hua, right? He’s been here?” Li Zhong narrowed his eyes. He immediately guessed who it was, but he couldn’t understand why Shi Hua would come here. What was he here for? Investigation, interview? All of these were possible. As Chen Xuelin’s wife, it would be quite reasonable and popular to conduct an interview at this time. If Shi Hua was purely trying to attract everyone’s attention, it was possible for him to come here.
“What did he do here?” Li Zhong asked.
“He’s a reporter. He must have come for news. But obviously, there was nothing he wanted here. He’s still not giving up. Luckily, you guys came, otherwise I really wouldn’t be able to get rid of him.” Li Shuxuan sat back down, said.
“What questions did he ask?” Li Zhong asked.
“Um… similar questions to yours. Even the answers I gave were similar. So, I think he must have seen you. Did you get any clues from him? If I remember correctly, back then, he was a student at my husband’s school.”
Upon hearing this, Li Zhong also fell into thought. Not only was Shi Hua a student of Jianghe University, but so was Mo Wenli, and so was the victim this time. Moreover, the three of them seemed to have relatively close connections, and there was probably some other hidden story.
“Captain Li, is there anything else you want to ask?” Seeing that Li Zhong wasn’t speaking, Li Shuxuan asked.
Still immersed in the Shi Hua problem, Li Zhong felt someone touching his shoulder, and he finally reacted. Perhaps he could change the direction of the investigation. If there was no reason, why would Shi Hua and Mo Wenli say such things? And judging from Li Shuxuan’s attitude, she didn’t immediately deny that sentence, which made him feel that there might be something else to investigate.
With Yang Xiaomin’s “slight” reminder, Li Zhong suddenly smiled slightly and took another sip of tea. “Then I would like to ask, as Chen Xuelin’s wife, what kind of person do you think he was?”
Li Shuxuan pondered for a moment. “Why is Captain Li only asking this question now? When he was assassinated by his student back then, shouldn’t you have asked this question? If we had investigated back then, then we would definitely know that he was a…”
“He was quite famous since he was a child. He was in newspapers and on TV. As the youngest professor in the school, he was talented, knowledgeable, and capable. Shouldn’t you know about him? Otherwise, would I have married him just because of the title of a university professor?” When she was about to evaluate Chen Xuelin, Li Shuxuan paused slightly and started talking about his childhood.
Li Shuxuan was a “Returnee,” meaning those who studied abroad and returned. Li Zhong had also heard about the woman’s history of wealth. It seemed she had received a sum of money from her father and started her own business, gradually developing to where she was today.
One was a talented young genius professor, and the other was an ambitious businesswoman. These two combinations were quite reasonable. Yang Xiaomin nodded silently from the side. So it seemed that these two were really a good match. It was a pity that the man died early, leaving behind such a beautiful woman. What a pity!
Li Shuxuan had the aura of a wealthy woman. With this aura and the oppressive tone of her speech, Yang Xiaomin’s evaluation of this woman was extremely high. Although she felt some pressure during the conversation, she had to admit that this woman must be the dream lover of most women.
“Excuse me for this possibly rude question, but may I ask how Chen Xuelin and you met?” Li Zhong didn’t plan to think too much about Meng Yue, because he realized that all the questions were focused on Chen Xuelin. If he couldn’t find a breakthrough in Meng Yue, he might as well shift the direction to Chen Xuelin. Most importantly, both of them were subtly guiding the question to this dead person. Li Zhong guessed that they couldn’t have said such similar sentences for no reason.
Hearing Li Zhong’s words, Li Shuxuan chuckled. “Do you police officers also like to use your position to inquire about other people’s private matters?”
“I naturally have no right to ask about your private matters, but if it may be related to the case, I still hope you can tell me.”
“Okay, since Captain wants to hear it, it doesn’t hurt to say it. I met him at a social gathering. I heard about such a person from a friend, and I was a bit curious. Everyone said he was young and talented, so I asked a friend to help bring me along. After he met me, he fell in love with me. He started pursuing me, and I thought he was quite good, so I chose to fall in love with him. Later, we got married.”
Li Zhong looked at Yang Xiaomin, and she nodded. Li Shuxuan’s words should be true.
“Then may I ask, was your… relationship harmonious?” Even Yang Xiaomin was startled after asking this question. She remembered that she hadn’t seen any negative news about Chen Xuelin and her. What was Captain Li saying? And judging from the attitude of this woman in front of her, their marital relationship should be considered normal, right? Moreover, this Li Shuxuan had never remarried, and it even seemed that she hadn’t even had any rumors.
“Am I acting too calmly, to the point where Captain Li thinks that our marital relationship was disharmonious? Actually, I was very sad when he died. After all, he was the man I once recognized, so we got married, didn’t we?” Li Shuxuan’s tone became colder after hearing Li Zhong’s question. Her eyes revealed her impatience, as if she might leave at any time if they continued to talk.
“Is that so.”
“That’s all. If you think of anything related to Chen Xuelin and this case, you can contact us. Xiaomin, give me a piece of paper.”
Yang Xiaomin tore a page from her notebook and handed it to Li Zhong. He wrote down his phone number and placed it in front of Li Shuxuan.
“I don’t know much about tea, but I can tell from the tender buds in your teapot that this tea must be quite good. Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation.”
Li Zhong left with Yang Xiaomin. Li Shuxuan didn’t see them off.
Just as the two left, a slight sound of footsteps rang out beside the house. A man walked out of a room in the courtyard and sat down in front of Li Shuxuan, in the seat that Li Zhong had just occupied.
“The most tender buds of East Lake Dragon Well, of course, are top-quality green tea. It’s a pity that those who don’t drink tea can’t necessarily recognize it, and they might even think it tastes bland compared to the ten yuan a pound tea by the roadside.” Shi Hua picked up an unfinished cup from the table and drank it down.
“It’s cold, Reporter Shi. I’ll pour you a hot cup. I’ve already told him what you want to know. You should have heard it clearly from the side, right? I should have answered you. After you finish this cup of tea, please leave.”
“Also, remember to take my evidence with you when you sneak away next time.” The “evidence” she was talking about was naturally the unfinished tea left on the table.
The man in front of her was Shi Hua. The two were not meeting for the first time. Shi Hua had arrived here a few minutes before Li Zhong arrived, and as Shi Hua said, the Criminal Investigation Unit arrived soon after.
“I said our relationship was good, then let me ask you a question.”
“What about your children?”
Hearing this, Li Shuxuan’s eyes changed slightly. She turned to look at Shi Hua. “He died early and didn’t leave any children. Is that my fault?”
“Of course it’s not your fault that he died. It’s more like he brought it upon himself. But you clearly know the truth, why did you choose to remain silent?” Speaking of this, Shi Hua stood up excitedly, his emotions a little agitated.
It was this woman who knew all the false appearances about Chen Xuelin, but she didn’t reveal a real Chen Xuelin.