Chapter 36.2: Solved
Jiang Xia rubbed her arm and quickly decided that this was probably just a coincidence.
Fu Zongyi had already believed his son’s death was suspicious. When the Qingming Festival came around, of course he would think about him. What occupied one’s thoughts during the day naturally found its way into one’s dreams at night. As for seeing the file…
There was certainly an element of coincidence here, but the files were aired out every year. The real key was that Zhou Jingyun had taken Fu Jianjun’s identity.
As a son of the Machinery Factory, Fu Jianjun had grown up around machinery and had either been influenced by his surroundings or genuinely loved the field, so he chose to study machinery. Zhou Jingyun, who couldn’t stand hardship, had no choice but to follow the major and household registration back to the Machinery Factory!
Judging from the records, Zhou Jingyun must have known that the victim’s father was here, yet he still chose to come.
Was he simply unbelievably bold, or was he hopelessly stupid?
Either way, this coincidence gave Fu Zongyi the chance to discover the truth and avenge his son.
The coincidence also gave Dong Weiguo, who was taking notes, the creeps. He edged a little closer to Tan Bingyi and looked up to ask,
“So you decided to kill him?”
“Yes.”
Fu Zongyi slowly exhaled. He leaned back, resting his spine against the chair, and said slowly, “But then I thought that killing him with a single stab would be letting him off too easily.”
“My son died, while he got to spend four years in college using my son’s identity. After graduating, he came straight to the factory and became a cadre. Whenever he went out, everyone treated him with respect. Why should he get to enjoy all those years of good fortune?”
“I couldn’t accept it. I wanted him to give back everything he’d gained through his greed!”
Tan Bingyi suddenly remembered what Jiang Xia had mentioned about Zhou Jingyun’s strange behavior and his borrowing money from people around him.
“So what did you do?”
Fu Zongyi let out a derisive laugh.
“I went to him privately and told him outright that I knew he’d impersonated my son to attend college. Then I demanded money from him. I told him that if he didn’t pay me, I’d report him.”
Well, damn!
Jiang Xia stared at the old man in shock.
She’d thought Zhou Jingyun had been borrowing large amounts of money to silence someone. She hadn’t expected that Fu Zongyi had been the one who demanded it from him.
Then again, when someone has a guilty conscience and another person gets hold of their weakness, the psychological pressure is bound to be enormous. They’d be constantly living in fear and anxiety.
Letting Zhou Jingyun experience that pressure himself could at least make him pay back a little of the good fortune he’d enjoyed all these years.
Dong Weiguo forced himself to keep a stern expression and continued questioning.
“When did you arrange for him to pay you?”
“On the twenty-fourth, the day he died.”
Fu Zongyi continued, “We agreed to meet at an old house in the demolition area next to the Machinery Factory. Half of the area had already been demolished, but there were still quite a few old houses left. They were suitable for hiding things. And since it was already the summer harvest season, the construction crews had all gone back to their hometowns to help with the wheat harvest, so there weren’t many people around. That’s why I chose that place. That’s where I beat him to death.”
At this point, Fu Zongyi paused. He gave a cold snort and sneered.
“I’d barely hit the bastard once when he reached behind his waist. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t manage to pull anything out. After he fell, I searched him and found a dagger tucked behind his waist. He’d actually come intending to kill me!”
She’d guessed it right again.
Tan Bingyi was already becoming numb to it.
Actually, if they had called Zhou Jingyun’s parents and confirmed that neither of them was ill, they could have guessed this possibility too. But Jiang Xia had had absolutely no clue to support the theory, yet she’d somehow deduced that Zhou Jingyun had intended to silence Fu Zongyi by killing him.
It was truly as if she had been born to solve cases. Maybe one day, she really could become a criminal-investigation expert!
Pulling himself back to the matter at hand, Tan Bingyi continued asking about the exact location of the crime scene, the weapon used and where it was being kept, whether Fu Zongyi’s family knew anything about the matter, and so on.
By the time everything had been clarified, and Fu Zongyi had signed and affixed his fingerprint to his statement, the eastern sky outside the window had already begun to lighten with a faint bluish-white glow.
Dawn was approaching.
After Fu Zongyi signed and affixed his fingerprint, Chen Dong and Dong Weiguo escorted him to the detention room to rest. They planned to take him to identify the crime scene that afternoon.
Meanwhile, Jiang Xia yawned as she walked out of the interrogation room.
Tan Bingyi wasn’t in much better shape. The bloodshot veins in his eyes were even more pronounced, and he was both exhausted and strangely exhilarated.
“Now that the case is solved, Jiang Xia, you don’t need to stay here anymore. I’ll find someone to take you home. Get a good day’s rest and come back to work tomorrow.”
“No need, Captain Tan. It’s already daylight. I’ll just ride my bike home myself.”
Jiang Xia waved her hand. The cause of Fu Jianjun’s death was still echoing in her mind, and she couldn’t help asking, “Captain Tan, do you really think Fu Jianjun accidentally drowned?”
“It’s been too long. Whether it was an accident or not, we can’t find out anymore. All we can do is make an educated guess.”
Tan Bingyi shook his head, then asked, “Which possibility do you think is the most likely?”
“Zhou Jingyun seemed very decisive about killing someone.”
Jiang Xia didn’t answer him directly either. She said, “The way he went home to visit his family felt a little like he was establishing an alibi. He seemed pretty practiced at it. It didn’t feel like his first time.”
“There were some signs of that. My first thought was that he wanted to run away. I didn’t expect him to turn around and try to kill someone.”
Tan Bingyi had truly never encountered a victim like this before. He sighed inwardly before continuing, “But this doesn’t have much to do with us anymore.”
“That’s true.”
As Jiang Xia headed outside, she suddenly remembered something and asked, “By the way, Captain Tan, will this case make the newspapers? Will the higher-ups take it seriously? I just feel like this kind of identity fraud probably wasn’t an isolated incident.”
“It absolutely will.”
Tan Bingyi almost wanted to say that if the deputy bureau chief hadn’t stopped them, the reporters would probably have been camped outside the City Public Security Bureau every day, asking for updates on the case.
“As for the higher-ups, this case is a very typical example. Our city will definitely take it seriously. They might even go back and investigate college admissions from the past few years.”
And that prediction turned out to be exactly right.
Once the reporters heard that the case had been solved, they came over to conduct interviews and published several reports in succession. The reports spread throughout the city and were even picked up and reprinted by the provincial newspaper. Later, even the People’s Daily reprinted them. Every province launched retrospective investigations, uncovering numerous cases of people who had impersonated others to attend college. Many of the impostors were sentenced, while victims who had known nothing about what happened were notified and given the opportunity to return to school.
But that was a story for later.
For now, there was basically only one word left in Jiang Xia’s mind:
Sleep.
She forced herself to ride her bicycle home. She didn’t even eat. The moment she collapsed onto her bed, she fell asleep in three seconds.
She slept like the dead.
…
City Public Security Bureau.
Tan Bingyi delegated the task of reporting to his superiors and requesting leave for Jiang Xia to Zeng Jun. He then gave the officers who had arrived early their instructions, telling one of them to notify the other members of First Squad that the case had been solved and there was no need to conduct any more interviews.
Then he immediately headed to the dormitory, found an empty spot that still retained some warmth, and, without caring which male officer it belonged to, simply collapsed onto it and went straight to sleep.
He shut himself off from the outside world, while the criminal investigators who arrived one after another were all left somewhat dumbfounded when they heard the news.
Wait, what? It was only one night. How did they suddenly solve the case?
Yesterday, they hadn’t even known which direction to investigate!
They’d only slept for a night, so how did it feel like someone had stepped on the accelerator and taken the case straight to the finish line?
The officers who hadn’t been part of the main investigative team, hadn’t participated in the arrest, and hadn’t even gotten a chance to take part in the interrogation—leaving them with nothing but paperwork to organize—looked at one another in dismay, all feeling as though they’d missed out on a huge opportunity.
If only they’d known, they would’ve gone along last night!
“How on earth is Jiang Xia’s brain wired? With so little information, she actually deduced everything exactly right!”
“No idea. All I know is that neither of us has a brain like that.”
“And that victim wasn’t exactly an innocent guy either. He didn’t die undeservedly…”
Liao Zhongsheng walked back and forth along the corridor, a teacup in hand.
Listening to the officers of First Squad discussing the case, he couldn’t help raising an eyebrow.
Well, well. Yesterday, he’d thought Jiang Xia was simply going over there to lend them a hand. Who would’ve thought she’d not only narrowed down the pool of suspects but casually solved the whole case as well?
He really hadn’t expected her to have that kind of ability.
I’d struck gold! I really struck gold this time!
Liao Zhongsheng was practically beaming inside. He made another couple of rounds, listening to the officers’ discussion, and suddenly realized something crucial.
With Jiang Xia being this useful, Tan Bingyi would probably try to poach her from him.
That wouldn’t do.
He absolutely had to keep Jiang Xia in the Technical Division!
But what could he offer her to make her stay?
Liao Zhongsheng stroked his chin, and immediately thought of the forensic illustration reference charts Jiang Xia had been planning to create.
That thing would cost quite a bit of money, and the department’s budget simply couldn’t squeeze out the funds.
But…
Liao Zhongsheng’s gaze shifted toward the First Squad office.
The fact that they’d solved the case so quickly had saved them quite a bit of funding, hadn’t it?
Jiang Xia from his department had worked alongside them all day and night yesterday, putting in so much effort. Surely they should give her some compensation, right?
Having made up his mind, Liao Zhongsheng found out where Tan Bingyi had gone. After estimating the time in his head, he quickly came up with a plan.
At noon, after lunch, Liao Zhongsheng ordered another serving of chicken stewed with potatoes. He put it in a lunchbox, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and walked straight into the dormitory where Tan Bingyi was staying.
The aroma of meat filled the room.
Tan Bingyi hadn’t eaten breakfast, and he’d slept from morning until now. Although he’d gotten plenty of sleep, he was absolutely starving. The smell reached his nose, his stomach immediately growled, and his eyes opened.
Seeing who had come in, he was stunned.
“Liao Fox—cough—Chief, what are you doing here?”
Liao Zhongsheng smiled broadly. He pushed the lunchbox toward Tan Bingyi.
“I heard you hadn’t eaten, so I specially brought you something. Here, chicken stewed with potatoes. Hurry up and eat it while it’s hot.”
Looking at him, Tan Bingyi gradually felt a chill creep up his back.
This old fox definitely has an ulterior motive!
“I don’t want it.”
Tan Bingyi firmly refused to accept the enemy’s sugar-coated bullets. He rolled over and sat up.
“Just tell me why you’re here.”
Instead of answering directly, Liao Zhongsheng began beating around the bush.
“What do you think of Jiang Xia?”
“She’s great.”
Tan Bingyi remained wary, but couldn’t help praising her.
“She has a very broad approach to solving cases. She’s a real talent for administrative work. It’s a shame she didn’t join our First Squad. Why are you asking about her?”
“You think she’s pretty good too, right?”
Liao Zhongsheng smiled.
“She’s still young. Her abilities have only just begun to show. Would you agree with that?”
Tan Bingyi nodded in agreement.
“Absolutely.”
Liao Zhongsheng continued, “What if I had a way to further develop her abilities? Would you be willing to put in some effort?”
“Huh?!”
Tan Bingyi instantly felt as though a flash of cold steel had passed before his eyes. He leaned back slightly and asked,
“Chief Liao, what exactly are you trying to do?!”
Liao Zhongsheng spoke with complete justification.
“Xiao Jiang has also been doing pretty well with forensic examination. She wanted to put together a set of forensic reference charts, and they’d be extremely useful for solving cases. The problem is, she doesn’t have the funding to make them. Your team must have saved quite a bit of money by solving this case so quickly, so why don’t you spare a little and let her use it?”
I knew it!
Tan Bingyi stared at Liao Zhongsheng, feeling that the man in front of him was truly shameless.
Lu Yixing had mentioned this to him before, so he knew it was a good thing. But the problem was that this was research being done by the Technical Division. His own department couldn’t provide the funding, and now they wanted his squad to pay for it?
Even the infamous exploitative landlord Zhou Bapi couldn’t squeeze people this hard!
“If it’s such a great thing, why don’t you provide the funding yourself?”
“Ah, there’s nothing I can do. Our department is poor.”
Liao Zhongsheng spread his hands.
“Jiang Xia did your squad such a huge favor. You should at least contribute something, right? Think of it as supporting a good cause—if you have money, contribute money; if you have people, contribute your effort.”
For crying out loud—!
Tan Bingyi cursed Liao Zhongsheng in his heart, but he couldn’t completely refuse.
Come to think of it, Jiang Xia had been the one who spotted the tire tracks last night. If her forensic skills could be improved further…
He hesitated for a long while before holding up three fingers.
“This is all I can give you.”
Liao Zhongsheng deliberately looked delighted.
“Three hundred?”
“Thirty!”
Tan Bingyi’s face immediately darkened.
“Take it or leave it!”
“Of course I’m taking it. Give it to me this afternoon.”
Thirty yuan wasn’t a small amount, and Liao Zhongsheng knew when to quit while he was ahead. He stood up and said, “Don’t forget to eat the food. It cost me a whole fifty cents!”
Of course I’m going to eat it. It’s worth thirty yuan!
Tan Bingyi gnashed his teeth.
That old fox. He spent fifty cents and managed to squeeze thirty yuan out of me. How the hell is he so good at making money?
…
The next day.
Young bodies really were resilient. Jiang Xia had slept until the afternoon the previous day and had basically recovered. She’d even gone out for a stroll in the evening, then gone to bed early again.
Today, she arrived at work bright-eyed and full of energy.
Right on time, Jiang Xia quickly headed upstairs. But just as she reached the corner of the second floor, she saw Chief Liao standing outside.
“Xiao Jiang, you’re here?”
Liao Zhongsheng asked with a beaming smile, “How was your rest yesterday? Feeling recovered?”
Jiang Xia stopped. She had no idea what her superior was up to, so she simply answered, “I rested pretty well.”
“Good, that’s good. But young people still need to take care of themselves. Try to stay up late as little as possible.”
Liao Zhongsheng gave her a very considerate reminder. Then he pulled three ten-yuan bills from his pocket.
“Didn’t you want to draw some forensic reference charts but lack the money to buy the physical materials? I talked to Captain Tan yesterday, and he said the squad was willing to sponsor you a little. It’s not much, just thirty yuan. Here, take it.”
Huh?!
Funding?!
Jiang Xia’s eyes immediately widened. She had never expected Chief Liao to be waiting for her here for this.
Oh my gosh, what an amazing boss!
Not only did he not stop her from pursuing these interests outside her actual job, he even found a way to get funding for her!
“Thank you so much, Chief!”
Jiang Xia gratefully accepted the money.
Now she could immediately put her grand lock-picking project on the agenda!
Liao Zhongsheng was equally moved as he looked at Jiang Xia.
This subordinate has skills, can solve cases, doesn’t have a strange temper or cause trouble, and can even go help another squad solve a case and bring back funding to continue researching and improving herself. She’s practically the perfect employee!
The two looked at each other.
At that moment, each of them felt that the other was simply the best.
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