False evidence

Chapter 455 Painted Skin (5)

I had only glanced at Zhu Yunwen's information briefly, but after Erpang mentioned it, it suddenly dawned on me. Of Zhu Yunwen's two minibus routes, the suburban route is actually an auxiliary route of bus line 9!

Although I've never ridden the No. 9 bus, I have a deep impression of it.

That's because Erpang once served as the driver of bus route 9 under special circumstances.

Just a few days ago, I met another guy who had crossed paths with that experience – Cigarette Butt.

"What a coincidence, it's bus number 9 again."

"What? You've taken the Suburban Route 9?" Zhao Qi asked.

Then he added, "I'm not entirely sure about this either. So to be fair, let's not have anyone choose for themselves. We'll draw lots to decide who gets to ride in which of the three cars."

I glanced at Erpang and Liang Yuan, then said to Zhao Qi, "I'll ask you three final questions."

"Just ask."

How can you be sure that Li Meizhi will be in one of the cars?

“I’m not sure, but you’ve seen my investigation report. The girl who disappeared two years ago, who shares the same birthday as Li Meizhi, seems to have been not only Zhu Yunwen’s tenant, but also later became his ticket seller.”

"Yes, the information is very clear. He was on the night shift of the No. 9 suburban bus route when he was in an accident and fell into the moat. The girl named Wang Xi disappeared after that."

"So, your second question is?"

"It was all your plan. If someone dies, who will be responsible?"

Zhao Qi shook his head, his brows furrowing indifferently: "Since you know I didn't deliberately use Li Meizhi, then even if she is dead or injured, neither her friend nor her lover has the right to hold me accountable."

"Is that human language?" Liang Yuan retorted angrily.

"Then the plan is canceled. Go find her yourself," Zhao Qi said coldly.

I grabbed Liang Yuan, who was about to rush forward and beat someone up again, and said to Zhao Qi:
"The third question is, you're looking for him because you value his driving skills. There are three minibuses; which one would you like him to follow?"

"Good question!"

Zhao Qi clapped his hands, then spread them out, "But there's no answer!"

Before Liang Yuan could explode, he quickly added, "I was looking for Liang Yuan because he drives recklessly. Actually, although my driver's license was revoked a long time ago, my driving skills are still passable. I once tried to track three different cars for three consecutive days. The result was that I lost track of each one."

"So, there's no fixed goal," I said.

Zhao Qi nodded: "I won't ask any further about his relationship with Liang Kaiyuan and Li Meizhi. I hope he can be of help this time."

Liang Yuan looked at the car keys in her hand, then suddenly became unbelievably calm, and asked, word by word:

"Is there anything wrong with this car?"

Zhao Qi grinned: "I just bought this for my wife before the New Year, a brand new 2.0T, no problem at all! But have you seen what my wife looks like? To avoid scaring people, I tinted the whole car. Will that affect your driving?"

"If anything happens to Meizhi, I won't let you get away with it."

Liang Yuan nodded to him, then turned to me and said, "I'm going to familiarize myself with the car. I'll be going now. We'll talk on the phone, see you tonight."

Seeing him walk out without looking back, Zhao Qi was somewhat taken aback. "Why does he suddenly seem like a different person?"

He then turned to me and asked, "Do you think he likes cars more, or his wife more?"

I countered, "Do I have the right to involve others in this matter?"

“I don’t think it’s necessary. Hehe, but to be honest, besides the three of you, I’ve also invited two other powerful figures. If the six of us can’t accomplish this, then Li Meizhi’s death will truly be a matter of fate.”

As he spoke, he magically tossed three crumpled pieces of paper onto the center of the table with his backhand.

I grabbed two at random, tossed one to Erpang, and turned to walk away.

"Hey, you get whichever you draw, no cheating allowed!" Zhao Qi laughed from behind.

Upon arriving at the parking lot, the nearly brand-new Beetle that had been parked next to us was no longer there.

Once in the car, Erpang showed me the unfolded paper ball, which had a handwritten license plate on it.

"Do you think this Zhao Qi is mentally ill?" Erpang asked. I shook my head.

"I just felt that he was him." Erpang and I have always been straightforward with each other.

I shook my head again: "When he entered the office and his wife brought tea, his first reaction was to put down his crossed legs, stand up and rush to take the teacup."

He was worried that his wife would get burned.

If someone with this level of meticulousness were truly mentally ill, they would be beyond the capabilities of most people.

Conversely, if he's normal, then he must have considerable confidence to cooperate with us on those... ambiguous arrangements.

"So what should we do now?"

"I said he wasn't mentally ill, but that judgment was influenced by someone else. But I'm not confident myself, bro."

Erpang nodded: "I understand, so we still need to go find your uncle now."

……

The van slowly pulled up into a parking space on the side of the road.

Look at the time displayed on the dashboard, it's 10:20 PM.

Erpang asked me half-jokingly, "Are you sure you don't want to switch? I really won't switch with you after we get off the bus!"

"Stop fooling around, be careful!"

"Oh, don't worry, I'm all ready!"

Erpang lifted his shirt, pulled a rolling pin from his side, and waved it in front of me. "Never used it before, it's still brand new. It seems our uncle never makes his own fillings, so buying this thing is just for show."

Erpang tucked the rolling pin back into his waistband, got off the bus, and walked towards the bus terminal in the direction the bus was heading.

I checked the time again, lit a cigarette, turned on my phone, and stared at a WeChat message for a while.

"Clap!"

While they were concentrating, someone suddenly patted the hood of the car.

Looking up, I saw someone walk around to the driver's side. I rolled down the window and saw the person's face clearly, which surprised me somewhat.
"Brother Yan, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

Yan Fengwei clicked his tongue and pointed towards the back of the car. "I didn't expect to run into you here. I'm in a bit of a fuss right now. Got a free time? Want to grab a couple of drinks over there?"

I peeked out and looked in the direction he pointed; it was a small restaurant with a simple sign.

I took a drag of my cigarette, and by the light of the burning ember, I glanced at his face, pried his hand off the car window, rolled up the window, got out, and locked the door.

The bus terminal is less than 100 meters ahead of where you parked the car.

Walk towards the back of the bus for about 500 meters, and you'll reach the long-distance bus station.

Erpang, Zhao Qi, and I drew lots, and I drew the long-distance route to and from Sanhe County.

The car belonging to Zhu Yunwen was scheduled to depart at 12:10 AM.

Restaurants near bus hubs are usually 'bastards'.

The place we came to with Yan Fengwei seemed decent on the surface. At least it was clean and had the 'standard' of a typical night market stall.

Yan Fengwei was in a low mood. Standing at the door, he glanced at the sign on the door and asked me absentmindedly, "Do you want to eat potstickers?"

"Since you're already here, have something to eat. But don't drink alcohol, or you might easily get into a fight."

As I spoke, I looked through the glass door at the back of a guy whose back was to the door.

Tong Xiangnan did not reach a conclusion as to whether Zhao Qi was mentally ill.

But now I know who the other two 'powerful figures' he was talking about are...

(End of this chapter)