Zhou Tuoxing's decisiveness was unquestionable. After making his decision, he immediately got up to retrieve his laptop from home.
He Chuan Zhou didn’t think his clues would be of much use. The police had undoubtedly thoroughly investigated the relevant targets. Since they focused on Wang Yifei in the end, it indicated that others either lacked the opportunity to commit the crime or were excluded for various reasons.
Although she hadn’t participated in the investigation, He Chuan Zhou trusted her colleagues’ abilities, especially with the support from the municipal bureau.
Holding her forehead, she tried to stop Zhou Tuoxing, "Forget it."
But this time, Zhou Tuoxing didn’t listen to her. He simply left with a “I’ll be back soon” and closed the door behind him.
He Chuan Zhou closed her eyes for a while, then lay down on the sofa, eventually falling asleep.
Her dreams were chaotic and confusing. It was like a stop-motion animation composed of a series of disjointed scenes. Her thoughts were like a large balloon with a hole, flying in erratic curves under pressure. Rationality acknowledged the reality, yet she couldn't control the specifics.
In her dream, she was sitting in the university cafeteria, eating alone amidst the bustling crowd. Suddenly, she received a text from Wang Yifei saying he didn’t want to apply to colleges anymore and had already left City A.
She tried calling him, but all she got was a busy signal from the service provider.
Feeling a bit panicked, she received another message from Wang Yifei. This time, it was pictures of various uniquely styled houses. Wang Yifei, on the other side of the world, typed out "like" one letter at a time.
Next, she was back in her own home.
One moment, she was in the kitchen, watching He Xu holding a wok and teaching her how to cook. The next, she was in the quiet living room, slowly making dumplings while the Spring Festival Gala played in the background.
Scenes flashed by like a lantern show, filled with obscure regrets amidst the chaotic light and color. As the turbulent dream gradually stabilized, she suddenly realized that Wang Yifei had left twice without saying goodbye to her.
This thought jolted her awake.
The world seemed to refresh as her mind began processing the residual information. In the faint sound of keyboard typing, He Chuan Zhou opened her eyes.
Her vision was initially blurry, with circular light spots swaying in the white fog. She blinked twice forcefully to see Zhou Tuoxing's back and the upside-down lamp clearly.
Hearing the rustling of clothes, Zhou Tuoxing turned around, revealing half of his laptop screen filled with various red markings, showing all his recent additions.
"You're awake?" Zhou Tuoxing kept his voice low, as if afraid to disturb her sleepiness. "It's only a little past one. Do you want to go back to your room and continue sleeping?"
He Chuan Zhou blocked the overhead light with her arm and didn’t move from the sofa. Seeing her still groggy, Zhou Tuoxing stopped talking to her and sent a few messages to a reporter on his phone.
Once her eyes felt less dry, He Chuan Zhou sat up, glanced at his screen filled with densely packed annotations, then leaned her head drowsily on his back.
Zhou Tuoxing stiffened, his shoulder muscles alternately trying to relax and tensing up unconsciously. Lowering his hand, he asked softly, "What's wrong?"
With the night light in front of him, Zhou Tuoxing couldn’t use the shadows to gauge He Chuan Zhou’s state. He slightly turned his head, catching glimpses of her resting her head on his back with her legs crossed.
Despite her strong physique, He Chuan Zhou's wrists and ankles were slender, her bony appearance giving a misleading impression of fragility, exposing her unhealthy lifestyle. It created a daring illusion of her being vulnerable and dependent.
Zhou Tuoxing wasn’t good at guessing He Chuan Zhou's thoughts, but he felt that he had improved recently. He excelled at turning from a poor student into a successful one, armed with patience to make up for years of missed lessons.
So, he began his self-questioning and answering, "I'm not leaving. I won’t go anywhere."
He heard He Chuan Zhou's amused laughter, thinking he had hit the right answer.
At least, his sincere response didn’t get a merciless laugh.
Sure enough, He Chuan Zhou hugged him from behind.
Zhou Tuoxing asked, "Are you still sleepy?"
He Chuan Zhou shook her head.
Zhou Tuoxing moved the laptop closer and began reading the information he had just compiled.
With the help of his reporter friend, he listed Han Songshan’s traceable past experiences in chronological order, omitting nothing, and then filtered out targets already investigated by the police for a final refinement.
He had read less than three hundred words when He Chuan Zhou suddenly interrupted him, "Wait, this name sounds familiar."
She straightened up, waved her hand, and took the laptop he handed over, highlighting the relevant text. The name "Zheng Xiuzhi" felt familiar, though she couldn’t immediately recall where she had seen it before.
Zhou Tuoxing leaned in to check, realizing it was someone he hadn’t noticed, just a name the reporter included, which he added casually.
"Han Songshan’s first love?" Zhou Tuoxing scrolled through his phone’s chat history, "She grew up in the same village as Han Songshan. They were childhood friends, but she never went to college. Villagers said that Han Songshan dumped her with silent treatment after graduating and she went to City A once to reconcile unsuccessfully. She stayed in the city working for years, only returning for her parents' funerals. Her current situation is unclear to the villagers, especially the younger ones."
Zhou Tuoxing felt this introduction was inaccurate, thinking Zheng Xiuzhi fit more as a “victim”: "Even if they were childhood friends, I doubt Han Songshan had deep feelings for her. Han Songshan was always extremely self-centered, especially in his ambitious youth. Although both families were poor, Zheng Xiuzhi’s parents treated him like a son, even helping with his college fees. Hence, he pretended to be nice to her. Once he graduated and found a job, he cut ties."
He Chuan Zhou, multitasking while listening, murmured, "Is that so?"
"Yeah, Han Songshan had many romantic entanglements." Zhou Tuoxing continued, "But it’s too long ago, so I think the likelihood of her being involved is low."
He Chuan Zhou leaned back, releasing her grip, and delved into her memory.
A name that left an impression usually involved criminal cases, but not recalling it quickly meant it was either years ago or a minor figure.
A blurred face flashed through her mind, but there were no photos to refer to.
"Besides, she hasn’t appeared around Han Songshan for years. She probably has her own life now. Nevertheless, her child must be an adult by now." Zhou Tuoxing moved the mouse to scroll down, "She's not more suspicious than the other Han Songshan’s lovers."
He was about to condemn Han Songshan’s absurd love life when He Chuan Zhou raised an eyebrow, a look of sudden realization crossing her face as she muttered, "I think I know who she is."
She had handled the aftermath when Zheng Xiuzhi’s son was imprisoned, seeing the name “Zheng Xiuzhi” in the personal information.
Zhou Tuoxing asked, "Who do you mean?"
He Chuan Zhou didn’t answer directly but asked, "How many people named Zheng Xiu Zhi are there in Yuhu Village?"
Zhou Tuoxing didn’t know, so he asked the reporter. Despite the late hour, the reporter, forced to stay up, replied quickly.
Zhou Tuoxing showed her the phone screen, "There should only be one with a similar age. When he asked about Zheng Xiuzhi, the villagers all knew it was her."
He Chuan Zhou's veins bulged on the side of her forehead as her heart pounded, feeling she was close to uncovering the suspect. She straightened her thoughts, glanced at the time in the top right corner of the screen, and sent a message in the group chat.
Who is Zheng Xiuzhi? How do I check her out? What’s her relationship with Han Songshan?”
Xu Yu quickly replied: “Captain He, are you still awake? Brother Huang just went to take a nap.
Shao Zhixin, a night owl, responded with curiosity: “Captain He, where did you dig up this person? We haven’t heard of her. Can we investigate her freely?”
He Chuan Zhou responded, “Just check if Zheng Jinmei ever had the alias Zheng Xiuzhi and if her previous household registration was in Yuhu Village, City A.”
Xu Yu replied, “Got it.”
After about ten minutes, Xu Yu came back with the information.
“Yes. She moved from Yuhu Village to the South District of City A, previously named Zheng Xiuzhi. If I remember correctly, Zheng Jinmei is listed as the guardian on Jiang Pingxin’s household registration, right? She died a few years ago, though. This shouldn’t be related to our case, should it? Captain He, don’t scare me in the middle of the night.”
He Chuan Zhou briefly replied, “Check Zheng Xianwen.”
Shao Zhixin sent a question mark followed by a humble emoji.
Xu Yu asked apologetically, “Captain He, could you give us a hint? I need to make a report to apply for the investigation.”
Brother Huang, already woken up by his phone, read the chat log and chimed in with a hoarse voice, “Zheng Xianwen? Isn’t he that famous sketch artist? I nearly forgot about him. Did he get out of prison? What does he have to do with Han Songshan?”
He Chuan Zhou said, “He was released last year. Wang Gaozhan is currently following him for some reason.”
Brother Huang’s tired mind slowly connected the dots. Names floated up one by one, from Wang Gaozhan to Jiang Pingxin, then to Zheng Xianwen. As they finally connected, a realization jolted him awake, pulling him out of his exhaustion.
He got out of bed, rubbed his face to wake up, and exclaimed, “What? Are you sure? I'll get the team to verify right now.”
After sending the message, he returned to the chat group with more questions, “Captain He, what’s the connection between Zheng Xianwen and Han Songshan?”
“And what about Zheng Jinmei and Han Songshan? Why did you start from her?”
“Does Zheng Xianwen have a motive to kill? How did he lure Han Songshan out?”
“What’s going on with Wang Yifei? These relationships are so convoluted. It’s like they’re all tangled up. This is crazy!”
He was merely venting his frustration with all the questions.
After a while, He Chuan Zhou replied with a bombshell in a casual tone, “Zheng Jinmei might have been Han Songshan’s first girlfriend. I don’t know if Zheng Xianwen is his son. You’ll have to find that out yourselves.”
A couple of seconds later.
Brother Huang couldn’t help but curse in shock, “Holy shit!”
Xu Yu played Brother Huang’s voice message out loud, listening to it repeatedly, staring at the ceiling in bewilderment. He turned to Shao Zhixin for confirmation, “Captain He didn’t handle this case, right?”
Shao Zhixin, feeling a shiver down his spine, rubbed his arms covered in goosebumps.
To be honest, he wasn’t entirely sure either.