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He Chuan Zhou couldn't immediately recognize the person. "Which Jiang?" She paused for a moment, then asked, "Jiang Zhaolin?"
"Yeah, he said he's your friend," Xu Yu replied. "He seems a bit anxious, maybe something's happened."
He Chuan Zhou didn't expect Jiang Zhaolin to come looking for him. Raising an eyebrow, she asked for the location and changed her direction to meet him.
Xu Yu, with nothing else to do, curiously followed.
Xu Yu's description was an understatement. Jiang Zhaolin wasn't just a bit anxious.
Sitting on the edge of the chair, his muscles were tense, hands clenched on his knees, eyes constantly darting to the door. He looked restless and worried. His shirt collar was wrinkled, and he hadn't shaved, adding to his haggard appearance.
He Chuan Zhou glanced at him and then at the two colleagues from the neighboring team sitting beside him.
They nodded in greeting, but Jiang Zhaolin stood up impatiently, eyes fixed on He Chuan Zhou, taking a deep breath as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
"What happened?" He Chuan Zhou asked.
Jiang Zhaolin, probably not having spoken for a while, had a dry and altered voice: "Siyue is missing."
Recently, He Chuan Zhou had a heightened response to the word "missing." Just hearing it made the veins on his forehead throb.
"Our team doesn't handle missing persons cases," she said, nodding toward her colleagues. "You can trust my colleagues."
"But the last person she saw before she disappeared was Yifei!" Jiang Zhaolin exclaimed.
He Chuan Zhou's head shot up. "Yifei took her away?"
"No," a colleague explained. "We couldn't find any leads, so we checked the community surveillance. We saw Wang Yifei visiting Tao Siyue on the 19th. They talked in the pavilion within the community, then Wang Yifei left alone. Tao Siyue left the next afternoon."
He Chuan Zhou thought for a moment and turned to Jiang Zhaolin. "What did they talk about?"
Jiang Zhaolin slumped, defeated. "I don't know."
"Did Tao Siyue say anything to you?" He Chuan Zhou asked seriously.
Jiang Zhaolin sat back down, supporting himself on the table, shaking his head despondently. "Her mental state hasn't been great. With all the rumors and the company's issues, she was overwhelmed. A while ago, she told me she needed space and then blocked me on her phone. She moved out on her own. We haven't been in contact for days. It was only after Han Songshan's case announcement and Guangyi's improvement that I went to find her and realized she was gone."
He ran his hand through his hair, pulling at the roots as if he couldn't feel the pain.
Seeing this, the colleague added, "Tao Siyue left her phone at home. Her family also can't reach her. Surveillance shows she left the community empty-handed, not like she was going far."
He Chuan Zhou tapped the table, signaling for Jiang Zhaolin to calm down, and asked, "Do you have her account passwords? Can you check her chat or transaction records?"
"I do, I've already checked," Jiang Zhaolin said, licking his lips. "She withdrew fifty thousand yuan in cash on the 20th after leaving the community and hasn't appeared since. Her chat records don't have any clues, she blocked most people. She might have deleted messages, but I don't think so."
Wang Yifei met her on the 19th, and Tao Siyue disappeared on the 20th.
On the 21st, the police successfully captured Zheng Xianwen, and on the 22nd, the official announcement was made.
Today is the 25th.
Wang Yifei still didn't know who the real culprit was when he met Tao Siyue. Then they both disappeared one after the other.
Despite having no concrete theories yet, He Chuan Zhou couldn't help but feel her heart racing, although she maintained a calm exterior.
Jiang Zhaolin was visibly more anxious. Seeing her deep in thought, he instinctively reached for her hand but stopped midway, pleading desperately, "I trust you, Sis, only you can find Yifei. Please help me."
He Chuan Zhou turned her head slightly and said calmly, "This might not have anything to do with Wang Yifei. Tao Siyue left on her own."
As soon as she said it, she felt her perspective might agitate Jiang Zhaolin. Quickly, she added, "Or there could be another reason. You know Yifei, he wouldn't harm anyone."
Jiang Zhaolin didn't respond, lowering his head.
Both fell into thoughtful silence, creating a sudden, oppressive quiet environment.
Xu Yu, standing behind them, exchanged puzzled glances with the two colleagues opposite.
A young man awkwardly broke the silence, "After the Han Songshan case was solved, Guangyi should be under less pressure, right? I heard several companies in City D teamed up to suppress his company, intercepting many orders. Things are worse than they were for Guangyi. Those who suffered under him are now accusing him. His reputation is ruined, and even his home’s windows were smashed."
"Can we rule out the possibility of retaliatory attacks?" he asked.
Xu Yu, deeply affected by the situation, groaned, "Don't even mention them! I'm at my wits' end!"
Han Songshan's current wife was a young, beautiful woman with little work experience and a low education level. She lived a pampered life and couldn't manage the company. Their child was still in school and couldn't take over either.
With Han Songshan's death, their situation was worse than Tao Siyue's had been. The company was like a piece of meat thrown into the street, with everyone scrambling for it.
Some instigator behind the scenes prompted Han Songhan's wife to demand a public announcement clearing Han Songshan's name, which the police couldn't issue. So, she kept causing trouble, bringing a group of "distant relatives" to make a scene, creating new dramas every day, as if acting in a play.
Luckily, the city bureau was involved in this case, diverting most of the trouble away from them. Otherwise, they would have been overwhelmed. Despite this, the constant disruptions still left them stressed.
Xu Yu privately envied He Chuan Zhou for not being involved in this case, unlike them, who had to draw lots to deal with the daily chaos.
Xu Yu said honestly, "But it shouldn't be them; they're focused on harassing the police and haven't targeted anyone else yet."
The young man's eyes filled with sympathy.
Out of words, the colleague looked helplessly at Jiang Zhaolin and told He Chuan Zhou, "Captain He, we'll keep an eye on this. If you have any ideas, let us know."
He Chuan Zhou nodded, placing a comforting hand on Jiang Zhaolin's shoulder. "Don't worry too much yet. Tao Siyue took some money, and it wasn't much. I believe she's safe for now. Maybe she just wanted to avoid reporters and find some peace."
Jiang Zhaolin thought she was brushing him off, his breath caught for two seconds before he urgently said, "Tao Xianyong is dead! Han Songshan is dead! Now Siyue is missing. How can I not be worried? What if she's next?"
Xu Yu quietly interjected, "That's not necessarily the case. Han Songshan and Tao Xianyong dying together was a coincidence."
One of their colleagues, who knew some inside details, lowered his voice and said, "It can't be considered a pure coincidence."
These two men had committed numerous misdeeds and had some unclear connections. One person's death triggered a series of small changes, causing the previously suppressed problems to erupt.
There was a touch of causality within the coincidence. No matter how skilled one was at sophistry, it couldn't cover up the facts of the past.
Xu Yu was concerned. The key figures related to He Xu's death—two of the most important ones—were already dead, leaving only Tao Siyue in the open, and the case was still unsolved. This situation could affect Wang Yifei's emotions, potentially pushing him to do something extreme.
He Chuan Zhou's steady voice interrupted her thoughts, "Even if Wang Yifei lost his mind and wanted to kill, he wouldn't target Tao Siyue."
Everyone's gaze turned towards her.
"Because He Xu didn't hate Tao Siyue," she continued calmly. "He believed the real root of evil was the person who assaulted her back then."
Xu Yu nodded in agreement.
But the problem was that only Tao Siyue knew who that person was now.
The group's statements were all somewhat cryptic. Jiang Zhaolin's gaze shifted among them, his face growing paler. He raised his head, speaking with difficulty, "Sis, you can think I'm despicable, but it's been five days. Siyue's emotions are unstable. Can you..."
He Chuan Zhou raised her hand to signal that she understood. She sat down beside him, at eye level, and said gently, "Even if Tao Siyue is with Yifei now, it doesn't mean she's in danger. How did their conversation go?"
As Jiang Zhaolin tried to recall, a colleague answered, "They seemed harmonious, no arguments or physical altercations."
He Chuan Zhou said, "If they disappeared together, there must be a reason related to my father."
Jiang Zhaolin nodded vigorously.
She paused to consider her words before continuing, "Tao Siyue withdrew cash and didn't take her phone. Her actions suggest she's acting willingly or at least cooperatively, so A Fei wouldn't need to force her."
Jiang Zhaolin blurted out, "What if they're planning something stupid together?"
"Even if you want to think negatively, you need to be logical. What stupid thing could they be planning?"
Just as she was about to analyze further, her phone vibrated in her pocket.
She took it out and saw a message from Zhou Tuoxing.
Zhou Tuoxing: We've found Yifei.
He Chuan Zhou's heart skipped a beat. She had just typed "Where" into the input box when another message arrived.
Zhou Tuoxing: He has Tao Siyue tied up.
Her fingers trembled, and she hit send immediately.
She sent another message with a question mark.
Zhou Tuoxing: Wait, sending a picture.
The chat window refreshed quickly.
The photo showed Tao Siyue bound hand and foot to a chair, her mouth taped shut, hair disheveled with some strands sticking to her face. She looked terrified but otherwise seemed unharmed.
Behind her stood a person wearing a black Judge Bao mask, holding a knife to her throat. Judging by the build, it indeed appeared to be Wang Yifei.