Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Xi Xue.

He Linfeng arrived at the scene when a long, thin cordon tape had already been set up.

Yuedu Department Store’s delivery service was extremely efficient. Even with both the president and manager under investigation, the furniture he had ordered still arrived on time, which meant that after moving into his new place, he had missed the bureau’s shared ride.

Compared to the West District, the East District—which had repeatedly been included in redevelopment plans—was clearly much more modern. High-rises stood densely packed, all steel and concrete. Especially near the university town, one could casually park and find trendy internet-famous shops.

Glancing lazily at the students nearby who were pretending to pass by while eagerly peeking inside, He Linfeng showed his credentials and bent slightly to enter after finding nothing unusual.

“You’re here.” A short-haired female officer with a sharp, efficient demeanor stood up from inspecting the scene and greeted him briefly.

He Linfeng nodded: “Team Yan.”

“Wang Lai and Xiaotong were on duty last night, so we had to pull you and Old Zhou in,” Yan Qiuyu said as she casually brushed the dirt off her pants and went straight into the case. “The deceased: Xi Xue, female, 21 years old, student in the Finance Department of Jiang University, fourth year. Excellent grades, already recommended for postgraduate studies at this university.”

“Local Beijiang resident, but her parents live abroad long-term. They can only return at the earliest tomorrow.”

“According to the preliminary autopsy, cause of death was drowning and asphyxiation. There is foam around the mouth and nose, along with clear signs of struggle. It is inferred that she entered the water while still alive. Estimated time of death is around 11 p.m. last night.”

“There are no surveillance cameras by the lake. The nearest one is in the underground passage, but night imaging is poor and there are many students passing through, so filtering is difficult.”

“As for the witness… it was a male morning jogger. He wasn’t wearing glasses, thought it was a floating plastic bag, and out of curiosity leaned in to take a look—almost scared himself into falling in as well.”

“Fortunately, he’s got decent luck.” In this cold weather, falling into the water would be a serious ordeal.

While speaking, He Linfeng had already put on his rubber gloves and squatted beside the body.

Unlike the romanticized portrayals in film and television, in reality, drowned bodies rarely looked pleasant.

Under the thick white sheet, the girl’s facial features were swollen, blood seeped from all seven orifices, her entire body resembling a forcibly inflated balloon. Yet her hands were wrinkled and tightly clenched into fists, pressed against her chest.

Unknown aquatic plants clung to her body in clusters, mixed with a faint, indescribable stench.

But He Linfeng’s expression remained normal. Perhaps because his fox-like eyes were too naturally charming, compared to the cold scrutiny of a forensic examiner, he faintly gave off a strangely gentle illusion.

“Only half of a heart shape,” he said lightly, lifting a silver chain from the corpse’s neck and examining the puzzle-like pendant. “A boyfriend? A best friend? Or just a unique design?”

Yan Qiuyu: “We’re checking.”

Just then, a cheerful report rang out: “Team Yan! We’ve got something!”

It was a young, slightly clueless officer—tall and thin, with dark skin, like a burnt bamboo pole. He Linfeng recognized him: Kong Gaoyang from the forensic department.

The object pointed at by his left hand was small, but under the sunlight it was striking:

A deep, mysterious blue “gem.”

—It was actually a cufflink, but its excellent craftsmanship made people instinctively ignore its function.

It had rained lightly in Beijiang again that morning. Most trace evidence had been washed away. The cufflink was hidden in the grass under a willow tree nearby, covered by messy roots and stems; it would have been very hard to find without searching inch by inch.

“Damn,” a male officer still wearing only a thin short-sleeved shirt despite the autumn weather leaned over from lakeside recovery work. “That’s the real deal, right?”

Judging by age, he was probably in his mid-thirties, tall and sturdy, with a square, upright face and thick brows and big eyes—giving a solid, honest impression.

He casually called him “Brother Zhou,” and Kong Gaoyang nodded in agreement: “I think so too.”

He Linfeng suddenly had a subtle premonition.

Someone who could afford this kind of “high-end item” was someone he had just happened to meet yesterday.

“How did Jia Xiangyu die?” He Linfeng asked abruptly, without any context.

Yan Qiuyu raised her eyes and looked at him steadily: “Cardiac arrest.”

“Sudden onset at midnight. Rescue failed at three in the morning. No relevant medical history,” she said, handing the cufflink back to Kong Gaoyang. “Strange, isn’t it?”

“The suspects who’ve had conflicts with Jian Qing don’t tend to live long—but the police deal in evidence.”

Back then, they had also treated Jian Qing as a cunning serial killer and interrogated him repeatedly. They even brought in the most authoritative criminal psychologist from Yanjing. In the end, all the related deceased showed no signs during their lifetime of receiving hypnotic suggestion or incitement. Jian Qing passed all tests, and not a shred of antisocial tendency could be found.

As for other “minor issues” that required medication, those were considered personal privacy.

But that said, as the survivor and first discoverer of the 2.13 family extermination case, it would itself be abnormal to grow up healthy without leaving any psychological shadow.

It was also because of more than a decade of thorough, repeated, and continuous investigations that, across all of Beijiang, the Criminal Investigation Team was the group that trusted Jian Qing’s innocence the most.

“Right, Jia Xiangyu kept shouting he wanted to see you before he died,” Yan Qiuyu smoothly skipped the previous topic. “Do you know each other?”

He Linfeng: “We met for the first time yesterday.”

Yan Qiuyu: “In any case, you should recuse yourself from his case first. Focus on investigating Xi Xue. Recently there isn’t much work on everyone’s hands, so help the other comrades in the brigade share the load.”

The Beijiang Criminal Investigation Team was a special department established by the former bureau chief. Its personnel structure had changed over time but continued to this day. Normally, it was no different from ordinary criminal police—but when it got busy, that was actually a “bad sign.”

Half an hour later, the search of the crime scene concluded, and attention shifted to Xi Xue’s dormitory.

Because notice had been given in advance, the area by the window inside was largely preserved as it had been before the owner left. Two properly dressed girls stood at the door, clearly somewhat nervous.

“You’re Li Yao and Yu Xiumei, right? Don’t be afraid, this is just routine questioning,” Yan Qiuyu said, relaxing her expression as she took the initiative. “Sit down.”

He Linfeng naturally went to search for physical evidence.

Beijiang University was one of the top universities in the country. With strong academic programs, its facilities were naturally excellent as well. A four-person dormitory with a bunk-bed-and-desk layout, a bathroom, and an empty bed space near the door on the left side.

Further inside was Xi Xue’s personal space enclosed by bed curtains. He Linfeng lifted them and took a look—the light-colored bedding was neatly folded, completely untouched.

On the desk were two rows of books, mostly related to finance, with a few novels scattered among them.

“…She didn’t come back after attending the lecture yesterday,” Li Yao, after briefly organizing her thoughts, said. “I only found out after the advisor called me.”

In university, many students only kept a dorm spot for naps. Especially for students about to graduate and busy with internships, five out of ten would rent places outside.

Their dorm already had one empty bed.

Yan Qiuyu clearly understood this situation and followed up: “So Xi Xue often didn’t stay in the dorm?”

Li Yao shook her head.

Yan Qiuyu: “Then you must have been a bit worried, right?”

Li Yao bit her lip and did not respond.

Her relationship with Xi Xue was average—not even friends—but now that something had actually happened, she felt a faint sense of regret and awkwardness.

“Xi Xue dressed up very beautifully yesterday,” she paused and then chose a more tactful wording. “I thought she had succeeded in meeting her idol, so she wouldn’t ruin the mood by coming back.”

Yan Qiuyu raised an eyebrow: “Idol?”

At the same time, He Linfeng pulled open a drawer and found a carefully organized scrapbook.

In the media-captured photographs, the black-haired young man stood in a shadowed backlight, bodyguards surrounding him on all sides, only revealing a small section of his pale, slender jaw.

Sure enough, the next second, the name of a certain CEO entered his ears.

“Jian Qing, the one who came to the school to give a lecture yesterday,” Li Yao couldn’t hold back her complaints, probably already dissatisfied with it. “Treating capitalists as idols—I really don’t know what she’s thinking.”

Yu Xiumei, who had been silently keeping quiet all this time, moved her lips slightly.

Only realizing half a beat later that she was the only one being interrogated, Li Yao casually pointed to the side: “You should ask her about the specific situation. She went with Xi Xue.”

“We… we just went to listen to the lecture,” suddenly being called on, Yu Xiumei straightened her back abruptly, like a student answering a teacher’s question in class, stammering, “After offering flowers to Mr. Jian, Xue said she still had something to do—seemed like some kind of anniversary. I went to the cafeteria alone after that, and stayed in the library the whole time, only coming back a little after ten.”

With a contemptuous curl of her lips, Li Yao clicked her tongue lightly, as if saying: see? What did I tell you.

He Linfeng, who was carefully flipping through the scrapbook, remained unmoved.

As a criminal police officer, the most taboo thing is judging people by appearance or forming preconceived notions.

Yan Qiuyu, on the other hand, felt a slight headache.

Cases involving Jian Qing—each and every one of them was bizarre. Even when the evidence chain was complete and the suspect confessed and was sentenced, there would always be inexplicable “minor irregularities” that defied common sense.

But no matter what, her expression remained calm and composed: “Anniversary?”

Yu Xiumei thought for two seconds, then hesitantly gave a soft “Mm”: “Yes. I heard it in a voice message from Xue. It seemed like she had a boyfriend, but I’ve never met him.”

At the right moment, Yan Qiuyu pulled up earlier photos taken at the scene and enlarged the area around the neck: “This necklace—had Xi Xue worn it before?”

Li Yao immediately turned her head away in fear.

Jiang University had its own anonymous forum app. Even though moderators had already cooperated with the school to silence posts and delete threads, due to the time gap, many “high-definition uncensored” photos were still circulating.

As Xi Xue’s roommate, she had naturally received quite a few private message forwards. That grotesquely unfamiliar face nearly scared her into falling off the bed; she had dry-heaved in the bathroom for a long time before recovering.

In the end, it was Yu Xiumei who gathered enough courage to identify it: “No. Xue always wore a four-leaf clover necklace—small ones, in several colors she rotated.”

Li Yao let out an exasperated breath and added a luxury brand name.

Zhou Shan, who was responsible for recording, paused slightly with his pen. As someone who had done quite a bit of homework for shopping with his wife, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind—the sparkling gemstone cufflink.

But he didn’t seem to have seen a similar design in the mall.

Even Taobao image search failed miserably.

Criminal investigations were all about racing against time. After leaving Dorm 602, Zhou Shan scratched his head and quietly suggested a shortcut: “How about… we ask Jian Qing?”

In any case, based on Li Yao and Yu Xiumei’s statements, they would have to invite him anyway.

The twists and turns of “upper-class society” were perfectly suited for a CEO.