In the conference room, He Chuan Zhou was scribbling notes in her notebook with bold strokes.
The information provided by Zhu's mother was too fragmented, and after talking for more than an hour, He Chuan Zhou’s mind was filled with her heavily accented Mandarin, leaving her language system somewhat scrambled.
Once everyone was seated, she gestured for Shao Zhixin to close the door, leaned on the table, and gave a brief introduction to Zhu Shujun's family situation.
"Zhu Shujun's father passed away when she was in high school. Her mother, who is illiterate and not proficient with smartphones, lives in a village without a bank, and to withdraw money, they have to go to town. So usually, Zhu Shujun would return every two or three months, buy some daily supplies for her mother, and leave enough money for her to live on."
"Because Zhu Shujun is beautiful and filial, some villagers were envious and, without evidence, spread rumors that she was involved in sex work in the city. Once, a child came up to her and repeated the gossip, and Zhu Shujun was furious, causing a big scene in the village. She declared she would never return, and since then, her visits home became much less frequent. In 2015, she only went back once during Chinese New Year."
He Chuan Zhou rhythmically tapped her pen on the table and glanced at her colleagues, finishing the last part of her briefing.
"They didn’t speak frequently, with Zhu Shujun usually initiating the calls to her mother. Their last call was on December 2, 2015, when Zhu Shujun told her mother that she wanted to save money to buy a house in City A. Her mother, however, advised her to get married soon, leading to a heated argument. They didn’t talk for a long time afterward. By the time the 2016 Chinese New Year came around and there was still no word from Zhu Shujun, her mother sensed something was wrong and reported her missing. So, Zhu’s mother, really, knows nothing.”
Brother Huang handed out some freshly printed documents. "While investigating Jiang Jingcheng’s suicide, we found this photo on her phone. At the time, we visited several people in the photo and asked about her life."
The photo showed six girls sitting in a row on a red leather sofa, with Jiang Jingcheng in the center holding a small cake. The room was dimly lit, with the curtains half open. Zhu Shujun was holding a bouquet of flowers.
"According to the others, Jiang Jingcheng was rather introverted, and the only person she would talk to was Zhu Shujun. It was Zhu Shujun’s idea to celebrate her birthday.”
This was from a case three years ago, and not everyone on the team was familiar with it. Brother Huang raised the paper, pointed at the names of the six girls in the photo, and listed them one by one.
"When we visited, Zhu Shujun hadn’t shown up for work for over half a month. Her phone couldn’t be reached, and there was no sign of her in her rental apartment. Since it wasn’t directly related to the case, the police didn’t investigate her further, but her situation was noted in the case files."
Xu Yu stared at the heavily filtered group photo in her hands, comparing it to a candid photo of Zhu Shujun sitting by the window. She realized that even if the two photos were placed side by side, she would have trouble recognizing the face.
After thinking for a moment, she asked, "So Zhu Shujun might have already disappeared in early December 2015?"
"Yes," Brother Huang sighed with relief, clutching his chest. "It was all thanks to Jiang Pingxin’s insistence back then. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have had any reason to look into Zhu Shujun, and we wouldn’t have found this key piece of information."
He felt like he should give thanks to himself for having been so diligent back then, as it had led to this discovery now.
He Chuan Zhou added, "Jiang Jingcheng didn’t have an ID in City A, so she couldn’t find proper work after the city tightened regulations. I remember Zheng Xianwen mentioning that Jiang’s job at the club was arranged through Han Songshan, who knew Zheng Jinmei for years. Since Han and Shen Wenzheng had a long-standing mutually beneficial relationship, it made sense for Han to help out when Shen came to City A. I suspect that’s how Zhu Shujun got to know him as well."
Shao Zhixin hesitated but eventually said quietly, "Could it be a coincidence? After all, it’s been years, and people generally don’t remember faces that well. Does she really remember Shen Wenzheng?"
"I think it's a coincidence, but not the kind you’re talking about," He Chuan Zhou replied, standing up and placing a black plastic bag on the table.
Everyone craned their necks to look. "What’s that?"
Xu Yu was quick to grab it and found a watch inside.
"I checked, and it’s worth over 300,000 yuan. Zhu Shujun brought it back, but her mother didn’t know its value and just stashed it away. After Zhu went missing, her mother found it again and thought it might be evidence," He Chuan Zhou explained, nodding toward the watch. "There was also a birthday card with it."
The card had no significant message, just "Happy Birthday," signed by "Shen."
This kind of transaction record would be easy to trace. Shen Wenzheng never concealed his generosity, ensuring he could claim it was consensual if someone tried to accuse him.
Besides, when he bought the watch, he wouldn’t have anticipated that Zhu Shujun would later disappear.
"Wow," Xu Yu remarked sarcastically. "He’s gotten generous. He only ever bought Tao Siyue clothes, and those didn’t add up to the cost of this one watch."
Brother Huang corrected her, "With Tao Siyue, the key was keeping Tao Xianyong on his side. Shen’s been investing heavily in Tao for years. Zhu Shujun worked at the club, so she’s met more than a few wealthy people. To keep up appearances, Shen had to spend some serious money."
Xu Yu sneered, "Well, at least he’s spending his money where it counts."
"Doesn’t even have the guts to sign his full name," Shao Zhixin muttered with contempt, "Maybe he foresaw that ‘Mr. Shen’ would soon show up in a police report."
Everyone agreed with a chuckle.
Despite their bravado about treating money like dirt, they handled the watch with extreme care as they passed it around.
Brother Huang leaned forward anxiously. "Alright, enough of that. Record it and return it. It’s encrusted with diamonds, we can’t afford to lose one in the conference room."
After some playful banter, the team quieted down, put the watch back, and looked to He Chuan Zhou for direction.
"Whether Zhu Shujun’s disappearance is related to Shen Wenzheng remains uncertain, but the chances that she’s been murdered are high. We need to confirm the time she went missing, find her body, and locate the crime scene." He Chuan Zhou pointed to someone, "After the meeting, go check the brand’s purchase records."
"Got it."
"You, check Zhu Shujun’s phone records."
"Yes."
"..."
"As for the six people in the group photo, focus on Sun Yiyao and Liu Huirong, the two on the ends. The other two girls only met Zhu Shujun once, so they probably don’t know much. Xu Yu, you go with..."
Brother Huang, noticing her gaze shift to him, jumped in, "She’ll go with Shao Zhixin. They’re not as well-known."
"Alright. Brother Huang, you come with me to meet the landlord." He Chuan Zhou closed her notebook, concluding, "Meeting adjourned."
He Chuan Zhou liked to keep track of every little clue, even unrelated details not found in the case files, such as the landlord’s contact information.
She dug out her old notebook from 2016 and dialed the number, lucky that it hadn’t changed.
They arranged to meet at the entrance of the residential complex.
The landlord, a middle-aged woman, arrived early, wearing a light blue long dress and waiting under the shade of a tree.
He Chuan Zhou greeted her and got straight to the point, "Has Zhu Shujun ever contacted you since?"
The past few days in City A had been scorching, and the landlord squinted under the heat, her entire face scrunched up. She couldn’t reveal much expression. "That girl? No, she hasn’t."
"What about her belongings?" He Chuan Zhou asked.
"I... well..." The landlord hesitated for a moment before muttering, "Nothing valuable, really."
"You threw them away?" He Chuan Zhou guessed.
The landlord grimaced. "I have to rent out the apartment, you know. That’s how I make a living. I even let her slide on two months' rent. But after that, I had no choice but to move her things into storage. A year passed, and she still didn’t come back to get them, so I had to throw her clothes and stuff away. I couldn’t just store them for free forever."
As she spoke, she led them into the building.
Between the first floor and the underground garage, there was an open space converted into small storage units for sale by the property developer. The path was winding, and the clacking of high heels echoed loudly on the concrete floor.
Walking briskly, the landlord bent down to unlock a roll-up door, lifting it halfway. She turned back and said, "This is all that's left."
Brother Huang pulled the door fully open and switched on a wall light. He and He Chuan Zhou stepped inside.
Only a few pieces of small furniture, some appliances, and a few neatly packaged gift boxes remained.
The landlord stood by the door, watching them rummage through the items. Worried they might hold her accountable, she hurriedly explained, "I didn’t make any money off her stuff! The clothes didn’t fit me, so I threw them away. As for the daily items, they weren’t worth anything. The only things that looked a bit pricey, I kept here for her. There were just two bags, which I thought were knock-offs, so I took them. I can bring them back if you want."
Brother Huang chuckled and reassured her, "Don’t worry, we’re not here to claim damages. Could you just tell us more about her situation?"
The landlord seemed uneasy. "There’s not much to say. Landlords and tenants—it's just a cold, financial relationship. I couldn’t exactly have heart-to-heart talks with her, could I? That would make it seem like I had ulterior motives."
Brother Huang found it amusing and pulled out his phone to show her a photo of Shen Wenzheng. The landlord immediately recognized him, her eyes widening. "Isn’t this the guy from the news a few days ago?"
"Have you seen him before?" Brother Huang asked.
The landlord shook her head regretfully. "No, never met him."
Brother Huang felt a strange sense of disappointment, like firing a blank shot.
As He Chuan Zhou opened one of the gift boxes, he interjected, "Was Zhu Shujun living alone the whole time?"
"Of course. I don’t allow two people to live there," the landlord said, jingling her keys. "That would cost extra."
**Author's Note:**
Jiang Pingxin is the one who gave a false statement identifying Wang Yifei. Jiang Jingcheng is her sister who committed suicide.