Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Deadly Joy (07)

The Huiyong Glass Factory in Zhouping Town had built many houses, selling them to the workers to live in. These houses were next to the factory, making life very convenient for the workers. In recent years, the factory had also built higher-standard commercial housing slightly further from the factory, and the Guang family owned one of these homes.

Lu Xu returned from the police station during the day, cursing non-stop, first at the police, then at the Yin family. After calming down a bit in the evening, she heard someone knocking on the door.

"Who in the middle of the night is so inconsiderate?" Lu Xu sent the housekeeper to open the door. The housekeeper hurried back, saying, "Ma’am, the police are here!"

Lu Xu was steaming her face at the time. Hearing this, her eyes widened in shock. "Is there no law anymore? Can the police just break into private homes? Didn’t you ask enough this morning?"

Hai Shu showed her the emergency permit she had applied for. "Ms. Lu, this is not breaking into a private home; citizens have an obligation to cooperate with police investigations."

Lu Xu looked at the permit suspiciously, then glared at Hai Shu and Sui Xing, before glancing out the door to confirm that only the two women had arrived. She finally relaxed a little. "What’s going on now?"

Hai Shu quickly scanned the layout of the house. This place was very large, two stories high, with many men's and women's shoes in the shoe cabinet, indicating a large family lived here. Guang Jun was the third son of the Guang family, and he had an older brother and sister. It was likely that his older brother and sister-in-law also lived here, but at that moment, only Lu Xu appeared downstairs.

"It’s like this," Hai Shu said. "While investigating Wan Zeyu, we discovered something interesting. He transferred 80,000 to you last year in three installments."

Lu Xu, who had just been full of disgust, immediately became panicked upon hearing the transfer. "What 80,000? I... I don’t know anything about that!"

Hai Shu gestured to Sui Xing, who placed a printed transaction record in front of Lu Xu. "This is your Z bank debit card, isn’t it?"

Lu Xu stretched her neck, glanced at it briefly, then snatched it up and tore it into pieces.

Sui Xing looked surprised, not fast enough to grab it back. Hai Shu, on the other hand, stood by with a calm expression, not even attempting to take it from her. "Ms. Lu, did you think that by tearing it up, I no longer have a record of it?"

Lu Xu’s reaction was purely instinctive. After tearing the paper, she realized that the female officer was looking at her with an icy gaze, as if she could see right through her. A chill ran down Lu Xu's spine. Was she... was she in trouble?

"Your reaction is so intense, it makes me even more curious," Hai Shu said. "Ms. Lu, what is your relationship with Wan Zeyu? Why did he transfer 80,000 to you?"

"What relationship could I have with him? You’re slandering me!" Lu Xu suddenly burst into tears. "Old man! Why aren’t you coming to take care of this?"

The noise downstairs had already reached upstairs, but for some reason, the doors upstairs only opened when the sharp cries began.

Guang Yongguo, with a stern expression, came downstairs. "What’s all this yelling about? Haven’t you made enough noise today?"

Hai Shu saw Guang Yongguo for the first time, the vice director of the factory, a man with graying hair and an imposing face, giving off a typical serious demeanor of his generation. After scolding his wife, he turned to Hai Shu, his eyes behind glasses filled with scrutiny and wariness. "Officers, objectively speaking, my family is also a victim in the murder case you are investigating."

The floor was covered in paper scraps. Hai Shu bent down to pick up a few pieces. "Director Guang, I don’t want to disturb you at this hour, but investigation means racing against time with the criminals. By the way, do you know about the transfers that Wan Zeyu made to your wife?"

Guang Yongguo hesitated for a moment, his reaction far less intense than Lu Xu’s. "What transfers? Do you have a business relationship with him?"

Since Guang Yongguo had come downstairs, Lu Xu seemed to have regained her composure, retracting her earlier panic into a sharp tone. "What, like a godson and his godmother, we transfer some money to each other. Is that considered business?"

Hai Shu asked, "Godson?"

The woman had switched moods so quickly. Just this morning, she had complained to the police about Wan Zeyu ruining her son’s marriage, and now Wan Zeyu was her godson?

"What, is that not okay?" Lu Xu twisted her waist and sat down, sweeping the paper scraps with her slippers. "Xiao Jun and Zeyu were classmates. I’ve watched him grow up since he was little. After his family had problems, we Guang family kept helping him. During the holidays, I’d invite him over for dinner. He calls me godmother and treats me like a godson. Is there a problem?"

Guang Yongguo glanced at Lu Xu, his expression showing signs of hesitation.

At that moment, another figure appeared at the second-floor railing. Hai Shu caught a glimpse of him—it was Guang Jun. He was dressed in home clothes, his face serious as he stared at Lu Xu. No one knew what he was thinking.

"Zeyu has done well in business these past few years. He’s almost the richest person in our town. He’s grateful for how we’ve treated him, so he gave me some pocket money. What’s the problem?" Lu Xu sneered. "It’s only because I refused to accept his red envelope that he transferred the money to my card. Otherwise, how could you have found out?"

Guang Yongguo finally spoke. "As long as you explain it clearly!"

Lu Xu shut her mouth, sulking.

Guang Yongguo took on a commanding tone, "That’s the explanation for the transfer. This is the first I’ve heard of it. After my wife retired from the factory, she stayed home. Luckily, Xiao Wan and his group of kids have been visiting her. Do you have any other questions?"

Lu Xu insisted that the 80,000 was a token of filial piety from Wan Zeyu, which made it difficult to investigate further.

On the way back to the police station, Hai Shu drove, and Sui Xing, looking out at the night, said, "That 80,000 can’t be so simple."

Hai Shu replied, "Guang Yongguo knows, and Guang Jun knows too."

"Besides Lu Xu, everyone in the Guang family works at the glass factory. There are four factory directors, the main one doesn't manage things, but among the three vice directors, the one surnamed Guang holds the most power and has been in that position the longest," Sui Xing thought aloud. "If Wan Zeyu wanted to ask the Guang family for help, transferring the money to anyone else in the family would be suspicious. It could only go to retired Lu Xu’s card. But... what could 80,000 do?"

Hai Shu said, "Don’t forget, this is a town, and the economy of Zhouping Town is not large. Helping with a small favor, 80,000 isn’t a small amount. The way Guang Yongguo reacted when Lu Xu mentioned how the Guang family helped them, especially during the time when their family had problems, it seems like they’ve been involved in some gray area of interests with Wan Zeyu for a long time."

Chapter 7: Deadly Joy (07)

Sui Xing turned her face to look at Hai Shu. "This aligns with our previous assumptions as well. Wan Zeyu must have received some unusual help," she said, a bit irritated. "If we can’t find any other evidence, Lu Xu might just get away with calling the 80,000 a gift of filial piety."

As they got out of the car, Hai Shu said, "Did you notice Guang Jun’s gaze when he was watching us upstairs?"

Sui Xing asked, "Guang Jun? What kind of gaze?"

Clearly, Sui Xing hadn’t noticed. Hai Shu didn’t continue the conversation and walked toward the guesthouse next to the police station.

Sui Xing caught up. "Do the investigators in Bincang City only speak half the truth, Captain Hai?"

Hai Shu smiled. "That was just my subjective guess. Since you didn’t notice, forget it. I didn’t want to influence your judgment."

Sui Xing, at times as logical as the code she worked with, responded, "Alright, I won’t ask."

They walked for a short distance, and then Sui Xing suddenly said, "Working with you is more interesting than working with those annoying men."

"Is that so?" Hai Shu asked.

"You’re the type who solves cases no matter what, just like me."

Hai Shu smiled without speaking.

Sui Xing looked at her again. "Have you ever had a case you couldn’t solve?"

Hai Shu shook her head. "The cases assigned to me, I solve 100%. But..."

"Hmm?"

"There’s one case that’s still unsolved, and no one has been able to crack it."

"Then how can you say 100%?"

"Because that case wasn’t mine."

Sui Xing was confused, about to ask, but Hai Shu spoke first, "Have you ever lived in a place like this?"

Sui Xing replied, "A small town? Yes, I lived here. Although I grew up in Huiyong City, my hometown is a small town."

Hai Shu continued, "No, I mean the factory area—half isolated from the outside world, forming its own little society."

Sui Xing pouted. "You’re going off-topic."

Hai Shu laughed. "Let’s go back and rest, it’s getting late."

Wan Zeyu’s Huimin Store had a lot of business linked to the glass factory. He and his assistants could freely enter and leave the factory to deliver materials. So, to understand Wan Zeyu’s network, they had to visit the glass factory. Hai Shu planned to use this opportunity to uncover a deeper connection between Wan Zeyu and the Guang family.

As soon as Hai Shu arrived at the factory, she encountered a familiar face—the "model couple" she had seen in the woods. They had also attended Yin Canxi’s wedding banquet.

The man worked as a clerk at the factory, handling various tasks like holiday benefits, procurement, and personnel files. The woman was an inspector, not as busy as the workers in the workshop, and spent half her time idle, often helping her husband with his work.

Hai Shu went to the office to look up worker records. The "model couple" was there, and Director Xu of the office was unusually polite with them, calling out to others and then turning to them, saying, "Mr. Liang, Ms. Zhao, could you please check this list of New Year’s supplies?"

The man walked over silently, never lifting his head, took the list, and waved to the woman, who got up and followed him out to receive the goods.

In old factories like this, relationships were complex, with their own set of unspoken rules. Director Xu was very slick, always talking in formalities with Hai Shu, saying things like "I don’t know, I’m not clear" as he tried to dodge.

The real victims of the Wan Zeyu case were two people. Both the Criminal Investigation Unit and the police station officers had not let up on their search. While Hai Shu was here to investigate Wan Zeyu and the Guang family, she also had another task: to check if anyone had gone missing recently at the glass factory.

After a moment of thought, Director Xu called over two clerks. "I haven’t seen Yuan Zhong lately. Have either of you seen him?"

Everyone said they hadn’t.

Hai Shu asked, "Who is Yuan Zhong?"

Director Xu gave a disdainful look. "Ugh, an electrician. Always leaving early or coming late."

Hai Shu took the list of workers, and Yuan Zhong’s form had a registration photo attached. He was of similar age to Guang Jun and Wan Zeyu, but looked very untidy—greasy hair blocking his eyes, with a scruffy beard.

Electricians were typically not idle at a factory. If they hadn’t been seen for days, their colleagues would have definitely noticed. Hai Shu asked several workers, but either they didn’t remember Yuan Zhong or gave the same expression as Director Xu, "Him? Our factory isn’t missing one electrician, who knows where he went?"

Hai Shu felt that Yuan Zhong was worth investigating and planned to go back and organize her findings, but just then, Guang Jun hurried toward her.

The Housing Department was also in the factory, and Guang Jun was coming to work.

Guang Jun stopped in front of Hai Shu, out of breath. "Officer Hai, do you have a moment?"

Hai Shu: "Does Mr. Guang have any clues to provide me?"

Guang Jun swallowed, "Yes! I thought about it all night and realized I shouldn’t hide it anymore. Yuzi is already dead. If I keep those things to myself, the criminals will get away with it! That 80,000 yuan, it wasn’t money from him to honor my mother!"