Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Tragic Joy (15)

Gray Surge City, Chenwan District Police Bureau.

The captain of the criminal investigation team, Old Xu, flipped through the investigation records from years ago. "Xingzi, how come your criminal investigation team has taken up cold cases? I heard the missing student cases have been transferred to your team, have you made any progress?"

Sui Xing was quite familiar with Old Xu. "Are you free? Suddenly so concerned about us."

Old Xu laughed. "Haha! Your team has a new captain, how's it going?"

Sui Xing didn’t have time for small talk. "Tell me about Xu Qiao's case."

Old Xu's expression changed. "That case..."

Sui Xing asked, "What about it?"

Old Xu sighed, shaking his head. "Well, if we can solve it together, that would be best."

Sui Xing asked, "Was it a suicide?"

Old Xu glared. "Who told you it was a suicide? It’s a missing person case! We still haven’t found her!"

Sui Xing's scalp tightened. "Missing? But people from Xu Qiao’s hometown said she committed suicide!"

"This matter is a bit complicated. It is a missing person case, but at the time, there were rumors saying it was a suicide," Old Xu stood up. "Wait here, I’ll tell you the details."

Sui Xing followed Old Xu to the file room. Old Xu explained that the incident happened ten years ago. Xu Qiao's father had rushed to the police station near Gray Surge University, saying he hadn’t been able to contact Xu Qiao for three days. Her phone was turned off, and she was nowhere to be found on campus.

The officers learned that Xu Qiao was a third-year student at the School of Network Engineering at Gray Surge University. The school had very few female students, and Xu Qiao was very beautiful. After enrolling, she became known as the "goddess" among the male students. Her personality was open and lively, and at first, she got along well with her roommates. Her roommates said they often went shopping together in their first year.

But by her second year, Xu Qiao’s reputation at school started to decline. She frequently skipped classes, stayed out late, and looked pale and exhausted when she rushed back to class in the mornings. Despite this, her grades remained good.

Gradually, rumors started to spread that Xu Qiao was doing "that kind of thing" outside. The boys no longer saw her as the pure "goddess" and often joked about her inappropriately. Some of the girls couldn’t stand her and teamed up with the boys to gossip.

However, Xu Qiao's close roommates knew that the reality wasn’t what the students were saying. After her second year, Xu Qiao’s mother fell ill with kidney disease, and the family came to the city for treatment. A kidney transplant required a large sum of money. In order to earn money, Xu Qiao worked tirelessly at part-time jobs.

She didn’t even have the energy to refute the rumors.

Her roommates tried to defend her, but it was of no use. Some people simply wanted to see the "goddess" fall from her pedestal.

But the money a college student could earn from part-time jobs was minuscule, and her mother’s illness was a bottomless pit. In the second semester of her second year, Xu Qiao was forced to use her appearance to become a car model and worked at a nightclub selling alcohol.

The investigation records repeatedly noted that Xu Qiao’s father and her roommates emphasized that she had never sold her body.

The police traced Xu Qiao's income records, communication logs, and online activities, leading them to several bosses she had worked for. All of them said they couldn’t contact Xu Qiao and denied any connection to her disappearance.

The last time Xu Qiao was seen was at the nightclub she worked at, the Yinyun Club. There were no records of her leaving the club. However, the police learned that the owner of the Yinyun Club had shown interest in Xu Qiao and paid her a salary higher than her position warranted, repeatedly confessing his feelings to her.

The club owner fervently defended himself, saying he wasn’t at the club that day. While he had pursued Xu Qiao, he insisted that he never forced her.

There were blind spots in the club’s surveillance cameras, and no one knew how Xu Qiao left the club.

During the investigation and afterward, rumors about Xu Qiao spread like wildfire at Gray Surge University. The worst rumor was that she had contracted a sexually transmitted disease because she had sold her body to multiple men and then chose to commit suicide. A "goddess" had been reduced to a "prostitute" after her death.

Sui Xing gritted his teeth. "Who said she contracted a disease?"

Old Xu explained that during the police investigation, it was discovered that some of the workers at the Yinyun Club were involved in illegal activities, and some had contracted diseases. The club management had provided medication for all its employees and arranged for regular health checks. Some medication was found in Xu Qiao’s dorm room, but there was no evidence to prove that Xu Qiao had sold her body or contracted a disease.

But people were always eager to speculate. University life was no purer than the streets. Soon, students learned that Xu Qiao’s dorm had medication for treating sexually transmitted diseases, and the rumor that "Xu Qiao contracted a disease" spread throughout the campus. Eventually, some gossipers even gave a definition to her disappearance: she was promiscuous, contracted a fatal disease, and then committed suicide.

Sui Xing’s blood boiled. "The Xu Qiao I got to know in Zhou Ping Town wouldn’t commit suicide because of money or disease—even if she really had contracted one."

Old Xu continued, "After half a month of investigation, focusing on the bosses, clients, and suspicious students who had their eyes on Xu Qiao, we didn’t make any progress. We did hear that Xu Qiao had been seen several times getting into the same car, but no one remembered the license plate, and the surveillance cameras didn’t capture anything."

Old Xu sighed. "You know how hard it is to investigate at a university. We go to the campus every day, and the school gets annoyed, saying there’s no problem with their students!"

Sui Xing understood all too well. He patted Old Xu on the shoulder. "You’ve worked hard."

Old Xu smiled bitterly. "Hard or not, the case hasn’t been solved, and I’m not at ease. Last year, three other universities had similar missing person cases, and all of them involved college students."

Sui Xing couldn’t stay calm. Xu Qiao’s disappearance had happened ten years ago, but she was still a university student when she disappeared. Recently, the Gray Surge City police force had been troubled by three more missing college student cases.

Is Xu Qiao really dead? If not, what has she been doing all these years? Where has she been hiding? If she is dead, how did she die? Is her death related to the missing student cases or the case in Zhou Ping Town?

Sui Xing obtained the contact information of some of Xu Qiao's classmates and teachers and learned that after Xu Qiao’s mother passed away, her father seemed to be running a small business in a city village.

Sui Xing decided not to return to Zhou Ping Town for now and video-called Hai Shu to exchange clues.

"Did you put on makeup?" Sui Xing clicked his tongue. "You new team leader..."

Hai Shu replied, "I went to see Yin Canxi, and put on some makeup while I was at it."

After hearing about the confrontation between Hai Shu and Yin Canxi, Sui Xing said, "When she heard Xu Qiao's name, her mood changed. She’s intentionally hiding her relationship with Xu Qiao."

Hai Shu nodded. "But we still haven’t found any evidence that she had any interaction with Xu Qiao. What’s the situation on your end?"

"Xu Qiao is nowhere to be found, and it's very likely not a suicide..." Sui Xing shared what he discussed with Old Xu. "If she’s still alive, our investigation direction will have to change."

Hai Shu took a moment to process the information. "Then let’s keep investigating. Even if Xu Qiao was working outside, her reputation shouldn’t have fallen so fast. Someone might have deliberately spread rumors about her on campus."

Sui Xing nodded. "I have the same feeling, but what’s their purpose?"

After ending the call, Hai Shu sat in the car, looking at the bustling cosmetics shop. Yin Canxi might know the truth. Even though Xu Qiao had become a symbol of degradation and filth in the eyes of many, she still believed in her perfection.

How could she make Yin Canxi tell everything she knew?

As the investigation progressed, more and more clues emerged from the fog, but paths were constantly being blocked. Hai Shu drove through the town, repeatedly sifting through various possibilities. When the car passed by the hospital, she suddenly remembered a key person she had never personally contacted.

Liu Qiong, Wan Zeyu’s mother.

After learning about Wan Zeyu’s death, Liu Qiong had a breakdown and was hospitalized. Since then, Wen Xicheng and the others had tried to get information from her about Wan Zeyu’s circle of friends, but she had been delirious and couldn’t provide any clues.

But it wasn’t just words that could be clues; the traces of life were more important. That day, when Hai Shu was at the Wan family’s house, she saw that Liu Qiong’s living conditions weren’t good. Perhaps Wan Zeyu hadn’t truly been filial to her, and what he had given her was neglect.

Logically, it shouldn’t be like this. After the incident with the Wan family, Wan Zeyu had relied on his mother. Wan Zeyu paid great attention to his image as a dutiful son, he was a deep and meticulous person, and if he truly wanted to take care of his mother, there was no reason she would have such living conditions.

It could only mean that he didn’t want her to live well.

Hai Shu circled around and parked the car in front of the hospital again.

Outside Liu Qiong’s hospital room, a police officer was on duty, saying that Liu Qiong’s distant relatives had come to visit her. Hai Shu waited for a while and then heard an unfamiliar dialect coming from inside the room.

The door opened, and four people in their fifties, dressed modestly, walked out, their eyes a little red.

Hai Shu asked, "Who are you?"

The man leading the group spoke with halting Mandarin, introducing himself as Zhang Gang, and said Liu Qiong was his cousin. They hadn’t been in contact for many years, but when they heard about the family’s trouble, they came to visit.

Hai Shu casually asked, "Where did you come from? You must be tired from the long journey?"

Zhang Gang quickly replied, "It’s nothing, we caught a ride with some fellow villagers from Kongyun Town, it took over six hours due to traffic because it’s almost Chinese New Year."

Hai Shu’s eyelashes fluttered. Kongyun Town?

"You’re from Kongyun Town?"

Zhang Gang awkwardly smiled. "Our town isn’t as developed as yours. Don’t worry, we’re not here to use you for family connections!"

Suddenly, a flash of insight struck Hai Shu. Wan Zeyu’s household registration only listed Zhou Ping Town, and they hadn’t considered the Wan family’s ancestral home before. The police had clearly stated that the Wan brothers’ car accident was just a simple accident, and she hadn’t checked their household registration.

So, the Wan family was from Kongyun Town? And the rusty handcuffs placed in the Luo family’s coffin came from the same place?

Hai Shu pretended to ask about the car accident. "Did you all come when your brother-in-law passed away?"

Zhang Gang said with sincerity, "Wan Dage was too unfortunate. We grew up together, of course, we had to come!"

Suddenly, there was a dull thud from the hospital room, followed by the sound of a cup and IV pole toppling. Hai Shu rushed in immediately, only to see Liu Qiong had fallen from the bed, her hair disheveled, and she was groaning in pain.

Her brothers rushed in, and Zhang Gang helped her back onto the bed. "Sister, what happened? How did you fall?"