Today the temperature started to rise, and after ten o'clock the sun came out.
After half a month of overcast weather, it finally began to clear up, which was barely a rare piece of good
news during this period.
He Chuan Zhou finished organizing the materials on hand and went to the detention center. When she came back,
it was already past two in the afternoon.
The office was half empty; colleagues were either in the next room reviewing surveillance footage or sent
out by Brother Huang to look for clues.
He Chuan Zhou went downstairs to pick up her takeout. While she was looking down and reviewing important
records in her memo to organize her thoughts, she heard a series of footsteps approaching and instinctively
looked up.
The person walked straight ahead without looking around, dressed in a perfectly fitted suit with a long coat
over it, standing about fifteen centimeters taller than He Chuan Zhou.
He Chuan Zhou paused, standing still. She watched him pass by her, striding ahead with long legs, even
walking faster than Brother Huang and Shao Zhixin next to him, skillfully turning into the corridor and
disappearing from her view.
It seemed as if he hadn't noticed her presence at all.
Even Shao Zhixin stopped and asked, "Team Leader He? Is there something wrong?"
He Chuan Zhou's thoughts became strangely sluggish.
She heard Shao Zhixin's question, but it was like she was blocking it out, not thinking about how to
respond. Her mind simply replayed the scene just now, particularly the moment when she glanced at the side
of his face.
The lines flowed smoothly from his pronounced Adam's apple to his slightly pursed lips. His lip line was
thin, his eyelids lazily half-lowered, and his expression was calm yet deliberately indifferent.
Perhaps it was seeing unexpected people twice in a short time that brought back some old, unclear memories
in a bizarre way, making He Chuan Zhou feel very unreal.
She closed her eyes, then opened them again. When Shao Zhixin, who couldn't wait for a response and was
about to leave, she called out to him, "Come here for a moment."
"Okay!"
Shao Zhixin trotted over to her and followed her to a corner.
He Chuan Zhou asked, "What's going on?"
This part seemed to have been reported or rehearsed by Shao Zhixin, as he spoke fluently and quickly: "Oh,
it's like this. We reviewed the surveillance footage all morning and found that the monitoring points in
Guangyuan Community are incomplete! The angles of the cameras at the northeast entrance are staggered and
sometimes even turn off, so they didn't capture any footage of Tao Xianyong! It was in the street
surveillance footage that we confirmed he returned to Guangyuan Community on March 18th."
He Chuan Zhou's patience was rapidly depleting. She restrained herself, listening to him finish before
saying, "I didn't ask you about that, I asked about the person just now, what's going on?"
Shao Zhixin replied, "Zhou Tuoxing? We found in the visitor records at the main gate of the community that
he registered to visit Tao Xianyong on the 18th. Also, he admitted that he had a dispute with Tao Xianyong
during their interaction. Tao Xianyong attacked him first, and he injured his right hand while defending
himself. He should be the last person to see Tao Xianyong, making him the prime suspect."
His tone was light, feeling pleased to have found such a useful clue so easily. He was quite excited but
noticed He Chuan Zhou was deep in thought and tentatively asked, "Team Leader He, is there anything
else?"
He Chuan Zhou shook her head, signaling him to go upstairs.
---
Brother Huang felt it was odd seeing someone so eager to cooperate.
However, once inside the interrogation room, this person's urgency vanished. He sat down absent-mindedly,
assuming a "keep your distance" posture.
Brother Huang knocked on the table, "Name."
Zhou Tuoxing asked back, "Where's He Chuan Zhou?"
"Do you know our Team Leader He?" Brother Huang crossed his arms and said indifferently, "She's not here.
Are you very familiar with her?"
Zhou Tuoxing glanced at him lightly and then looked away, remaining silent.
Brother Huang continued, "Why did you go to see Tao Xianyong on the 18th?"
Zhou Tuoxing focused on his hands resting on the table, examining them intently. His fingers were distinct
and slightly curved, then he flipped his hand, interlocking his fingers.
Brother Huang watched his leisurely movements, getting irritated, not understanding why his attitude
suddenly changed, "Are you not cooperating? Is there something about this room that you're not satisfied
with?"
Zhou Tuoxing looked up and asked again, "Where's He Chuan Zhou?"
Brother Huang had to admit, some people might just be naturally infuriating. He had never wanted to curse so
much just because someone mentioned his superior's name twice.
At a loss for words, he suddenly remembered what He Chuan Zhou had said and borrowed it, sarcastically
saying, "Do you think this place is a restaurant where you can place orders? Do you want to list some names
and pick a team?"
Unexpectedly, Zhou Tuoxing laughed at this, curiously asking, "Who did she say that to?"
Brother Huang thought it was uncanny, as if he had guessed it right; could he really be a friend of He
Chuan Zhou?
Zhou Tuoxing asked again, "Why isn't she coming?"
"You—" Brother Huang laughed in anger, "When you saw our Team Leader He just now in the hallway, why didn't
you greet her?"
He then sternly said, not letting the other party control the conversation's pace, "I hope you understand
your situation. This is a homicide case; Tao Xianyong is dead. It's not something you can joke about. You're
a respectable person, messing with the police does you no good. My suggestion..."
Halfway through, Zhou Tuoxing tugged his sleeve and showed him a phone screen.
Brother Huang glanced at the message, his tone shifting from sharp to calm, "You might want to listen to
it."
Zhou Tuoxing visibly brightened up, thought for a moment, and said, "If you answer one question for me, I'll
answer the questions I can."
Brother Huang coldly said, "Speak."
"Where's He Chuan Zhou?"
Brother Huang thought, this person is really persistent.
He had almost no patience left, "Our Team Leader He is not in charge of this case, she has other things to
do."
Zhou Tuoxing said, "Oh."
Brother Huang glared at him.
Zhou Tuoxing politely made a "please ask" gesture.
Brother Huang asked again, "You weren't living in City A before, when did you come back?"
Zhou Tuoxing briefly answered, "Not long ago."
"How long is 'not long'?"
"Late September last year."
The police officer typing on the keyboard glanced at the person sitting opposite to Brother Huang, who
seemed to indeed be behaving.
Brother Huang flipped through the files, continuing to ask, "How did you know Tao Xianyong would go to
Guangyuan Community on the 18th? Were you following him?"
Zhou Tuoxing said, "No. Someone told me. After knowing, I called Tao Xianyong to set up a meeting."
"Who told you?"
Zhou Tuoxing paused, "A reporter told me."
Brother Huang asked vigilantly, "What reporter?"
Zhou Tuoxing hesitated slightly, then said, "I can't tell you that for now, because you'll go find him. But
he's not related to this case."
Brother Huang decided to maintain their fragile cooperation for the moment and pressed on, "Why did you go
to see Tao Xianyong?"
Zhou Tuoxing vaguely said, "To discuss some business, make some connections."
"Why did you end up fighting?"
Zhou Tuoxing said matter-of-factly, "I touched his sore spot, and he got defensive. But I didn't physically
fight back."
Brother Huang rubbed his face, feeling a sense of helplessness and showing a sinister smile under pressure,
"You still haven't said anything, have you?"
"Officer," Zhou Tuoxing began politely, "why don't you investigate Tao Xianyong's affairs first? I don't
like exposing others' privacy without their consent."
Brother Huang's expression turned serious as he said, "We do, but if you cooperate, we can find out faster."
Zhou Tuoxing leaned back, refusing, "No. That's my principle. I don't want to say."
Brother Huang lowered his head and forcefully flipped through the documents in his hand.
Inside were only a few basic paper materials, no matter how long he looked at them, nothing new would
appear.
Zhou Tuoxing's record was very clean. After graduating from high school, he went to City B to study, stayed
at school until he got his Ph.D., and only occasionally returned to City A for short visits during holidays.
There was no indication of any connection with Tao Xianyong.
The colleague taking notes didn't dare make a sound, carefully sipping his water. He hesitated whether to
suggest that Brother Huang ask Team Leader He to come and question Zhou Tuoxing.
Just as he typed a single word, Brother Huang put down his things, his tone regaining calm, appearing
peaceful as he asked, "When you say you can't expose others' privacy, are you referring to one person or
multiple people?"
Zhou Tuoxing thought for a moment and replied, "Multiple people."
"Male or female?"
"Female."
"Old or young?"
"Both. The person didn't tell me everything."
Brother Huang nodded, "Why did you get involved in this, or rather, how did you find out?"
Zhou Tuoxing considered his words, "Our company invested in creating a free social service project."
"The reporter is also from your project?"
"Sort of. We have a cooperative relationship." Zhou Tuoxing seemed to become very talkative again. "He's
been following Tao Xianyong for a long time. Initially, he thought Tao Xianyong's company had issues because
it developed too quickly, then he discovered Tao Xianyong himself had problems. At that time, I was
investigating... a case from many years ago and discovered Tao Xianyong, so I got in touch. He provided me
with a lot of clues."
Brother Huang observed his expression, trying to understand Zhou Tuoxing's vague principles. "Can you share
some of the clues he provided with us?"
"Sure." Zhou Tuoxing smiled gently, but his words were somewhat shocking, "When Tao Xianyong was young, he
was a local thug in his village. In the 1980s and 90s, rural management systems were lax, and people's
thinking was relatively backward. His current wife was actually forced to marry him after he assaulted her.
Many people in their locality know this, but they don't dare to speak openly about it now because there's no
evidence and Tao Xianyong could sue them for slander."
Brother Huang pondered for a long time, suspiciously asking, "Is this related to our case?"
Zhou Tuoxing replied, "No. I just wanted you to understand his character."
Brother Huang, in a strange tone, said, "Thank you, kind citizen."
"You're welcome." Zhou Tuoxing glanced at his watch and asked, "May I leave now?"
Brother Huang tapped his fingers on the table, annoyed, "Did I say you could leave? You are currently the
main suspect in this case!"
Zhou Tuoxing nodded, "I think I can. From your attitude during the conversation, I can tell you know I'm not
the murderer. I just happened to be at the scene on that day. But many people could have known about Tao
Xianyong's whereabouts; I wouldn't be the only one."
"Not everything can go your way," Brother Huang said confidently. "Team Leader He has two and a half hours
until her shift ends."
Zhou Tuoxing was silent for a while, continuing to sit quietly, then asked, "What else do you want to talk
about?"