Chapter 17

Chapter 17 2. Eden Lake-08

Because he had promised Liu Yi to stall for an hour, Qi Shanyu—hardly a smooth talker—felt as if he had to rehearse every interrogation technique taught in the criminal investigation class at the police academy from start to finish.

Su Ruirui’s father was over fifty, a businessman dealing in foreign trade and import-export.

With a “harmony brings wealth” merchant’s temperament, he recognized that the young officer in front of him was clearly trying to get information, yet he showed little impatience, instead politely circling around Qi Shanyu’s questions, refusing to disclose the negotiated settlement details with the school, and firmly refusing a judicial autopsy on his deceased daughter.

But his second wife had none of that patience or restraint.

The beautiful woman with burgundy curls, from the moment Qi Shanyu entered the interview room and sat across from them, saying “I have a few questions for you both,” showed clear resistance and irritation.

She lasted less than twenty minutes before frequently glancing around and constantly checking her phone for the time, her expressions and gestures vividly conveying the meaning of “are we done yet?”

However, after about half an hour and drinking the tea Li Jin had brought, Su Ruirui’s stepmother began making frequent trips to the restroom every ten minutes, and soon forgot about urging them to quickly sign the papers and send the stepdaughter’s body to the funeral home.

When Su Ruirui’s stepmother returned from the restroom for the third time, she noticed a tall, handsome officer Qi Shanyu now had a young man in a white coat standing beside him. Seeing her enter, the young man stood, smiled gently, and in a slightly hoarse voice introduced himself: “Hello, my surname is Liu. I’m the forensic doctor responsible for your daughter’s case.”

“Why is there a forensic doctor here?”

The burgundy-haired woman frowned, her tone displeased. “Why so troublesome? Didn’t you say no autopsy? You can’t just ignore the family’s wishes!”

“Don’t worry.”

Liu Yi’s smile remained gentle. He made a courteous “please sit” gesture, inviting her to sit.

“I have some new findings I’d like to share with you, sir and madam. You can decide after hearing them.”

His almond-shaped eyes curved into crescent moons, his cultured, charming smile particularly appealing to a woman in her early thirties, causing Su Ruirui’s stepmother’s impatience to subside. Her cheeks slightly flushed, she turned her head away, sitting back silently in her original spot, as if thinking, “Let’s hear what he has to say.”

“Here’s the situation.”

Liu Yi pulled two photos from a folder and placed them neatly in front of Su Ruirui’s parents. “Please take a look first.”

The middle-aged man took the photos and, upon seeing their content, his face slightly paled, and his brows twisted into a tight knot.

The red-haired woman only peeked at them and immediately let out a sharp, short scream, as if the two photos were live spiders, recoiling two body lengths away.

“What is this!”

Terrified and angry, Su Ruirui’s stepmother shouted, “Are you trying to scare us to death?!”

“These are injuries found on Su Ruirui’s body.”

Liu Yi maintained a faint smile, slightly shrugging.

The photos showed the two inconspicuous bruises Liu Yi had just discovered on Su Ruirui’s neck.

Though only close-ups of her neck, to ordinary people who had never seen a corpse, the pale skin, tangled hair in the background, and bruises were enough to make their skin crawl, making it hard to look closely.

“Th-then what does it mean?”

The red-haired woman clutched her chest, still trembling with shock and anger, staring at Liu Yi. “What exactly do you want to do!!?”

“I’ll be straightforward.”

Liu Yi curled his lips. “I found marks on your daughter’s neck, from someone’s hands gripping her.”

Qi Shanyu, sitting beside Liu Yi, clearly did not expect such a significant discovery within that past hour, his eyes widened slightly before quickly masking his surprise.

“Marks… from a grip?”

Su Ruirui’s parents first exchanged surprised glances, then, realizing Liu Yi’s meaning, looked at Qi Shanyu. “But Officer, you told us Ruirui drowned?”

“Su Ruirui’s body was indeed found in the school lake, but the cause of death cannot yet be definitively said to be drowning.”

Liu Yi smiled, correcting them.

“The key is, the marks in these photos can prove she suffered violent harm from another person.”

He paused, giving the couple time to digest the news, then smiled faintly and continued with another point.

“In April last year, Zhao, a first-year student at T City Second Middle School in S Province, suffered long-term bullying. One day, while trying to avoid it, he accidentally fell from a building and died despite medical rescue. The three perpetrators were later ordered by the court to compensate the family over a million yuan, and the school, for failing in supervision, paid over fifty thousand yuan.”

Liu Yi observed Su Ruirui’s parents’ reactions. When they showed signs of understanding, he slowly continued:

“I don’t know what terms you agreed with the school, but I think, if we can find evidence that Su Ruirui suffered some violence from classmates rather than simply taking her own life due to study pressure…”

He left the sentence hanging, then smiled brightly at the parents. “I think you understand my meaning, don’t you?”

……

Fifteen minutes later, Su Ruirui’s parents not only signed the autopsy consent but repeatedly asked Liu Yi if those two neck close-up photos—which had almost terrified them—could really not be taken home.

“We want to expose this to the media!”

In front of Liu Yi and Qi Shanyu, Su Ruirui’s stepmother did not hide her plan: “Have the newspapers or TV report it, post the photos online, stir public opinion, then negotiate with the school. They won’t refuse our compensation requests.”

“Don’t rush. Wait for the autopsy results; it’s not too late to handle media afterward.”

Liu Yi handed the signed consent to Jiang Xiaoyuan, who had been observing, signaling him to file it in the case records, then politely watched Su Ruirui’s parents enter the elevator.

“Ugh! That couple is really disgusting!”

Seeing the elevator close, Jiang Xiaoyuan couldn’t help cursing, “Their daughter’s dead, and all they think about is benefiting from it. I feel so sorry for that poor girl!”

“Yes, truly pitiful.”

Seeing his student so agitated, Liu Yi patted his shoulder, lips curling into a faint, cold smile.

“Even if Su Ruirui’s parents don’t care about her life or death, I still intend to solve this case thoroughly.”

He looked at Qi Shanyu. “You think the same, right, Officer Qi?”

“Yes.”

Qi Shanyu nodded. “Director Liu, I’ll leave the autopsy work to you.”

He stared into Liu Yi’s eyes, adding seriously:

“As for leads on the school side, I’ll continue to investigate carefully.”

Focused on the body, Liu Yi did not feel tired. Once he dealt with the incompetent parents, the lingering effects of his cold caught up with him. He scheduled Su Ruirui’s autopsy for tomorrow morning, sent Jiang Xiaoyuan and Li Jin home, and planned to return to his apartment for another nap.

Qi Shanyu prepared to return to the station to brief his partner An Pingdong on the new developments, then visit Binhai Middle School to gather more information from staff and students.

However, as Qi Shanyu crossed the corridor toward the elevator, Li Jin quickly caught up from behind, grabbed his sleeve, and forced him into the stairwell.

Li Jin swiftly closed the heavy fire door, his face darkening. Hands on hips, he glared at his former boyfriend like a commander interrogating a culprit: “Honestly, what’s your relationship with Director Liu?”

Qi Shanyu was stunned. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb!”

Li Jin’s voice shot up an octave, rapid-fire: “Yesterday, you went to the scene with Director Liu, right? Both of you smelled of alcohol, and you were wearing the same clothes from when you left my place the night before, meaning you didn’t go home at all! Was that just coincidence? You were with Liu, weren’t you!?”

“…”

Qi Shanyu did not expect Li Jin, at a time like this, to have insight rivaling a private detective.

Although innocent, he had no intention of explaining to Li Jin the drunken night at the bar and the subsequent misunderstandings at the hotel with Liu Yi.

He silently regarded his ex-boyfriend, who looked anxious, and finally replied calmly: “I don’t think I need to explain this to you, do I?”

“How is that not necessary!?”

Li Jin, always quick-tempered, instantly had his anger ignited by Qi Shanyu’s calm and slightly disdainful attitude. “While we were together, you were flirting around! That’s cheating, you know!?”

He reached to grab Qi Shanyu’s shirt collar. “All this time pretending to be a gentleman, acting like Liu Xianghui, how shameless can you be!?”

“That’s not what you think…”

Seeing his former lover display such hysterical fury, Qi