Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Grim Joy (18)

Sui Xing arrived at Huiyong Experimental School No. 3. Guang Jun's homeroom teacher initially couldn't remember him, but after flipping through the yearbook, she vaguely recalled him. She said Guang Jun was a very honest student, with a low presence, and although he worked hard, his talent was average. He always lingered around the middle-to-lower ranks of the class.

The homeroom teacher could only remember one slightly unusual thing: Guang Jun would come to her almost every week to ask for a leave of absence to go home. It was rare for students at this prestigious high school to go home every week, especially those whose families were not in the city, as it was considered a waste of time. Even students whose families were in the city preferred to stay at school over the weekends.

"I reminded Guang Jun, especially after he entered his third year, but he always said there was something at home. He was the kind of kid who was very honest, and he worked hard enough. I couldn’t just not let him go, could I? Ah, he was just a homesick kid."

Homesick? Sui Xing thought, that's impossible, he must have another purpose.

Guang Jun enrolled in Huiyong Translation Institute, one of the worst universities in the city. Students who graduated from Experimental School No. 3 almost never ended up at such a poor school. After graduation, it seemed no one from his high school class kept in touch with him.

Sui Xing drove straight from Experimental School No. 3 to Huiyong Translation Institute, deliberately taking a detour through Huiyong University. These two universities were in different districts, and it would take about twenty minutes by car if the traffic was smooth.

The translation institute was already on break, and only a few teachers stayed behind. Sui Xing asked them about Guang Jun, but no one remembered him. However, when they saw the police, everyone began to complain, one sentence after another.

They complained that the students they recruited over the years had gotten worse, and no teacher could control them. The most undisciplined and disorganized students in the city ended up there. They didn’t attend classes, only fought with the students from the sports academy, and fought for boyfriends and girlfriends with the students from technical schools—it was like a garbage dump for society.

Sui Xing observed the campus for a while and learned that even now, the gates were wide open, with no obstacles for people coming and going. This meant that when Guang Jun was studying there, the situation was even worse.

In Zhou Ping Town, Hai Shu arrived at the Wan family’s courtyard. The workers of the Wan family, under the police’s orders, couldn’t leave for now and were all still living in the Wan family house. Some had worked for Wan Ze Yu recently, and others were "veterans."

Hai Shu spoke to them alone and learned that when there weren’t enough hands, Wan Ze Yu would often drive alone to the city to get supplies.

"What we did was essentially a reselling business. We would bring goods from other places to the county, and when we took them from the county, they were much more expensive, and the selection was limited. It was best to go to the city and pick them ourselves."

The "veteran" said that Wan Ze Yu would often stay in the city for half a month, not just in Huiyong City, but sometimes also going to other places for supplies and business negotiations. Only after the distribution network was set up did Wan Ze Yu stay in the town most of the time.

Hai Shu mentioned Guang Jun. The "veteran" was stunned at first, then said that Guang Jun was more familiar with the city than they were. Wan Ze Yu seemed to always ask Guang Jun for help every time he went to Huiyong City, but the veteran didn’t know any details.

Hai Shu and Sui Xing compared the timelines. When Guang Jun was studying at Huiyong University, that was also the time when Wan Ze Yu was frequently visiting Huiyong City. At that time, Wan Ze Yu didn’t have that many workers, so he spent a lot of time traveling alone.

Hai Shu stood in front of the whiteboard, staring at the messy names and lines. Her blood seemed to rush faster. It all connected now—Wan Ze Yu, Guang Jun, and Xu Qiao, who had gone missing and was very likely already murdered.

They had all once lived in Huiyong City at the same time. And when Xu Qiao was studying at the county high school, Guang Jun, who didn’t have a habit of returning home every week, had been unusually asking for leave to go home. Xu Qiao and Guang Jun were in different classes in the same grade in middle school. Xu Qiao had fought with Wan Ze Yu, but Wan Ze Yu seemed uninterested in women. Was the "annoying fellow villager" Xu Qiao complained about to her roommates Guang Jun? And then, together with Wan Ze Yu?

If Xu Qiao had already died ten years ago, whether it was suicide or murder, whether she contracted the disease or not, those details no longer mattered. What mattered now was whether Wan Ze Yu’s murder was related to Xu Qiao.

The dead can’t speak, but Guang Jun is still alive. As Hai Shu flipped through the case files, she suddenly remembered Guang Jun’s initial panic and his later relief when he found out that the other victim was Yuan Zhong. At that time, she had already speculated that there was some unspoken secret between Guang Jun and Wan Ze Yu, and that Guang Jun had thought Wan Ze Yu was killed because of that secret. That’s why he panicked, but when Yuan Zhong appeared, he understood that Wan Ze Yu’s death had nothing to do with him.

Now, new clues were emerging in another direction. Guang Jun and Wan Ze Yu’s secret might have been Xu Qiao!

"Is there something else, Officer Hai?" Guang Jun sat calmly in the interrogation room, adjusting his collar. "I really can’t think of anything more I need to tell you."

Hai Shu said, "While investigating Wan Ze Yu, we found out that he had fought with a senior named Xu Qiao. Xu Qiao was in the same grade as you. There were only three classes in your grade, and Xu Qiao was a prominent figure. You should know her, right?"

From the moment he heard the name, Guang Jun’s lips twitched uncontrollably. He seemed to be trying hard to control his emotions, but this only made his facial muscles tighten.

"I... she... yes, I know her. Xu Qiao, right? Very famous. The teachers liked her, and she even got into university. But I heard she wasn’t, uh, well-behaved, and she’s already dead."

Hai Shu stared at Guang Jun. "Mr. Guang, are you nervous?"

Guang Jun immediately denied it. "No, it’s just that you suddenly mentioned her, and I didn’t react right away. What’s the matter? Is she involved in Yu Zi’s case?"

Hai Shu said, "We’re investigating, and she may be involved, or there may be someone else connected to their deaths."

Guang Jun straightened his back, his voice testing yet shrinking back as he asked, "But I don’t know anything. What do you want to know from me?"

"Well, it’s not entirely irrelevant. My teammates have learned something in Huiyong City, and I’m here to verify it with you," Hai Shu said. "You and Xu Qiao are fellow villagers, and you’re the same age. There aren’t many university students from Zhou Ping Town, and both of you were in Huiyong City. Have you never met up? Had a meal or something?"

Guang Jun said, "I barely spoke to her in middle school. She’s the kind of woman, we never kept in touch."

Hai Shu furrowed her brows. "The kind of woman? What kind of woman?"

Guang Jun awkwardly smiled. "You know, the kind who knows how to deal with men? I can’t handle someone like her, and her eyes are in the city. We’re from the countryside, so even though we’re classmates, so what?"

Hai Shu said, "You’re not familiar with her. After you went to university, you never met her, but you’re very clear about how people at the school talk about her."

Guang Jun became slightly agitated. "Isn’t it widely known? Back then, everyone in the university was talking about it, and it spread to our school. Officer Hai, what do you mean by this?"

Hai Shu motioned for him to calm down, “Do you have any contact with other fellow villagers who studied at Huiyong University?”

“No.”

“That’s a pity. Xu Qiao once mentioned that an old classmate kept bothering her, and she couldn’t get rid of them. I was going to ask if you knew who Xu Qiao was referring to.”

Hearing this, Guang Jun’s pupils suddenly contracted.

Hai Shu pretended not to notice his abnormal reaction and continued, “Someone saw her get into a car. It might have been that annoying classmate of hers. Mr. Guang, do you have any thoughts on this?”

At this point, Guang Jun was starting to get flustered. “I... How would I know? My school is far from hers!”

“We’ll change the topic.” Hai Shu didn’t give Guang Jun any time to catch his breath. “When you were in high school, every weekend, you would ask for leave to go home. That took a considerable amount of time to return from the city, didn’t it? You were at a key school. Was there any special reason you had to go home?”

Guang Jun stood up, his chest rising and falling unevenly. “What are you accusing me of? Wan Ze Yu is the one who’s dead! Not me! You should be investigating him, go check my university, check my high school! Are you trying to frame an innocent person?”

Hai Shu’s gaze turned cold. “Accuse you of what? Didn’t you suspect from the start that you might be the next victim?”

Guang Jun: “What are you talking about?”

Hai Shu: “You witnessed Wan Ze Yu’s death. You were scared, weren’t you? You’ve done something with him, and now someone is seeking revenge. The moment you saw Wan Ze Yu dead, you thought your secret had been exposed.”

Guang Jun exploded: “You’re talking nonsense!”

Hai Shu avoided his spittle. “You don’t have to explain why you asked for leave. I will verify it with your parents to see why you had to go home so often. In the meantime, please stay in the police station.”

“You’re abusing your power! I’ll report you!” Guang Jun yelled.

Hai Shu pointed to the camera. “Shout at it. Shout louder!”

At this time, the criminal investigation team had quickly found out the current whereabouts of two other Zhou Ping students who were studying at Huiyong University when Xu Qiao died. One was a woman, and the other had secured a recommendation to another city for further study. Both were successful in their careers and had happy families.

“You’ve got it wrong! What weekly leave? Xiao Jun is very hardworking and rarely goes home. We always go to the city to visit him!” Guang Jun’s mother, Lu Xu, shouted at Hai Shu. “How can you still be investigating him? His high school teacher praised him!”

Hai Shu said, “But I found out that Guang Jun often asked for leave on weekends, saying there was something at home. His teacher remembers it clearly. You really don’t have any impression of this?”

Lu Xu insisted, “Impossible! How would I not know if my son came home or not?”

The same question was asked to Guang Yong Guo, who remained silent for half a minute before standing up and saying, “I’m very busy and don’t stay home often.”

After leaving the Guang family’s home, Wen Xu smiled. “Actually, Old Guang must already understand what’s going on, right? He’s avoiding the issue, trying to distance himself from it.”

Hai Shu agreed but thought there might be more secrets in Guang Yong Guo’s life than Guang Jun’s. However, she couldn’t clear all the fog just yet.

“Guang Jun probably didn’t go back to Zhou Ping Town at that time, but returned to the county city. Xu Qiao, who was studying at the county high school, was his target,” Hai Shu said. “Mr. Wen, could you please run an errand?”

Wen Xu said, “No problem.”

Hai Shu also communicated with Sui Xing, who was still in Huiyong City. There was still one crucial person they hadn’t found—Xu Qiao’s father, Xu Xiu. According to the townspeople, the Xu family was kind and simple. In that era of preference for sons over daughters, they treated Xu Qiao like a treasure. After Xu Qiao disappeared, her mother’s condition worsened and she passed away. Xu Xiu forced himself to assist the police in the investigation, but no results ever came. He must have told the police everything he knew, but people’s minds have blind spots. He may have forgotten something he thought wasn’t important. After so many years, they didn’t know if he would remember.

Sui Xing said, “I’ve found out where he’s been working. Wait for my news.”

Hai Shu took a brief moment of rest, then lifted her gaze and saw a graceful figure.

The person she was about to look for was Yin Canxi, and Yin Canxi had come herself.