Silver Snow Line [Criminal Investigation]

The cordon quickly surrounded the accident scene. The onlookers were kept outside, but they still couldn't help but look inside out of curiosity.

Xie Yinan was supported by her cousin and sat in the back seat of the police car. She was very nervous and her hands and feet felt weak as if they were not her own. After all, she had never encountered such a high-energy scene in the past thirty years.
Xie Qingfei called her brother-in-law, and when she came back she saw her nervously pulling at the hem of her skirt.

"Thank you, team."
"Thank you, Captain."
The police officers passing by saw Xie Qingfei and greeted him one after another.

After hearing the voice, Xie Yinan rolled down the car window, looked up at Xie Qingfei with a pale face, "Do you want to stay?"
Xie Qingfei said, "No need. I just talked to my brother-in-law on the phone. He just got off the plane and will be here in an hour at most. I'll take you home first."
After hearing this news, Xie Yinan's face looked better, and he immediately asked, "Did you just...see that..."
She was a little unable to say it, but Xie Qingfei could understand that she was referring to the corpse.
The position the two people were standing in was very dangerous at the time, and the place where the corpse finally fell was only half a step away from them. They were lucky not to be hit.
Xie Qingfei nodded, calm and composed.
Xie Yinan gave her a trembling thumbs up.

Someone called her not far away. Xie Qingfei turned around and made a gesture to the other side.
Xie Yinan said considerately: "Go and take a look. If you don't understand the situation, I'm afraid you won't be able to sleep tonight."
Xie Qingfei said: "How is that possible?"
Xie Yinan just stared at her.
Xie Qingfei couldn't stand it anymore: "I am here as a witness to discuss the situation."
Xie Yinan: "I understand."

Technicians are cleaning up the scene and the body has been loaded into the car by the forensic doctor.
The one who called Xie Qingfei was a young man in his early twenties named Xi Ming. He was quite handsome, but his clothes were weird, tight clothes and pointed shoes, with a bunch of odd pendants around his neck and the rope of his work badge twisted together. He looked very energetic and fashionable, which gave people a headache.
What gave Xie Qingfei even more of a headache was that this person was her apprentice, although “not presentable” was written all over his body.

"How come," she paused, and asked as tactfully as possible, "your fashion sense is so many years ahead of the public?"
Xi Ming adjusted his necklace, saving himself from the risk of being hanged, and said, "I was doing a disguised investigation mission nearby, and I was suddenly called up for the case."
Xie Qingfei looked behind him and asked, "Are you the only one?"
"That can't be done, see." Xi Ming nodded towards the flower bed, where a young man in police uniform was holding a trash can and vomiting violently.
"Brother Jiang has gone to study, and Sister Dai Lin has a case on hand. Big Mouth and I are simply too busy to handle it."
Xie Qingfei: "You are disrespectful, Shaohui is your senior."
"Yes, Brother Shaohui and I are so busy every day. We finally got an intern assigned to us, but he is still like this." Xi Ming sighed and complained, then said mysteriously, "Master, do you know who this newcomer is?"

Xie Qingfei felt that the figure looked familiar and glanced at him.
Xi Ming chuckled twice and called out, "Xiao Zhao, come here!"

The newcomer who was called staggered over.

Comrade Zhao Chongyun looked younger than Xi Ming, with single eyelids, a high nose bridge, and a handsome and gentle face that was very pale. He was wearing a small spring and autumn uniform. The crooked brim of his hat was straightened the moment he saw Xie Qingfei. Realizing that his embarrassing state of vomiting was probably seen, he felt very embarrassed and called out "Captain Xie" awkwardly.

"It's you." Captain Xie was happy. "Didn't anyone tell you that we don't have to wear uniforms when we're investigating a case?"
Zhao Chongyun was shocked: "What?"
"Just be careful next time." Xie Qingfei finished speaking, glancing at his stiff standing posture and sighed, "I'm still a little uncomfortable with you being so polite to me all of a sudden."

Zhao Chongyun and Xie Qingfei have a deep connection. His brother worked under Xie Qingfei after graduating from the police academy, and later died in the line of duty. He always blamed Xie Qingfei for this, thinking that it was her superior who failed to protect his subordinates that caused his brother's death. When he graduated from college and was originally interning at a law firm, he was accidentally involved in a case, and the person in charge was also Xie Qingfei.
When enemies meet, Zhao Chongyun is jealous unilaterally, and not a single good word comes out of his mouth. Xi Ming privately calls him "the thorny brother". But after getting along with such a hateful captain Xie, Zhao Chongyun found that she was not the same as he imagined, and his mentality gradually changed. Once the grievances were cleared, he suddenly felt that he had found the compass of his life path and made up his mind to change his career.

When he first said he wanted to take the civil service exam to become a policeman, Xie Qingfei didn't take it seriously, because this guy was a bit arrogant, and didn't look like someone who could endure hardships. His physical fitness was average, and even if he passed the written exam, he would probably be eliminated in the physical test. It was not easy to take the civil service exam, and it was even harder to take the public security exam. Xie Qingfei really didn't expect him to pass and get into criminal investigation.

"That's right, you make me look unprofessional. Next time you are unsure, ask me first. How can I not tell you?" Xi Ming said. He was originally the youngest member of the team, but now there is a new member, Xi Xiaoming has become a senior, putting on airs.
Xie Qingfei glanced at him and said mercilessly: "Forget it, you deliberately didn't remind him."
Xi Ming yelled, "Ah! How could you expose me in front of everyone!"
Zhao Chongyun looked at Xi Ming incredulously: "You?"
Xi Ming grinned: "You seem too nervous, so I'm just teasing you."

"Xi..." Someone came from the forensic department and immediately changed the communication partner when he saw Xie Qingfei. "Hello, Captain Xie. It's easier now that Captain Xie is here. The deceased is a female who fell from a high altitude. No other external injuries have been found on the body. Uh... the deceased is a pregnant woman. Forensic Doctor Cheng said she was around 32 weeks pregnant."

Everyone present was silent.

"The incident happened in the hospital, so the identity of the deceased will be confirmed soon. The fourth floor and above of this building are all inpatient areas, so it's easy to find the falling point." Xi Ming said seriously, "Could it be that the pregnant woman was unable to move around easily and accidentally fell from the window?"
Zhao Chongyun had just lost face and was busy looking for a place to refute, "Impossible, the wards are all equipped with outward-opening bottom-hung windows, let alone accommodating one person, it's hard to even stretch your arm out."
"You've observed very carefully." Xi Ming smiled casually, not caring about being humiliated by this little brother. "Among the causes of death from falling from heights, suicide and accidental falling are the most likely. Of course, homicide is not ruled out. The details still depend on the results of the forensic examination. Master... Hey, where is the person?"

Xie Qingfei had already walked to the forensic vehicle.
It was hard to imagine that while she and her cousin were enjoying the joy of welcoming a new life, another baby who was about to be born and its mother died in front of them in this way. The dead woman's eyes were not closed, but were wide open. Apart from this, from the broken face, one could barely tell that she had a beautiful appearance.

"Why are you here?" Forensic doctor Cheng Buyu asked in surprise after taking off his protective suit.
"I came here with my sister for the checkup." Xie Qingfei watched the body bag being slowly pulled up and looked at him. "I heard from Xi Ming that the bureau has been very busy recently. You must have worked so hard."
"If you really think I'm working too hard, why don't you come back earlier to help?" Cheng Buyu observed her expression, "How have you been recently? Are you feeling well?"
Xie Qingfei said: "It's pretty good. I can eat and sleep well, and I don't have to work overtime. I have a lot more private time. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to spare the time to accompany my sister."
Cheng Buyu said, "Before, someone maliciously reported you. Director Huang wanted to transfer you back more than once. At first, he could say that it was to temporarily avoid suspicion. Now that the limelight has died down and the matter has been investigated clearly, you should be allowed to return to your post. How come I heard that you don't want to do it?"
Xie Qingfei half-jokingly said: "It's so happy to be a gardener in the police academy. I don't want to leave."
"Really?" Cheng Buyu was skeptical, but still agreed with her, "Okay, if you feel more relaxed this way, then stay. Everything is based on your physical and mental health."

If Director Huang heard this, he would definitely call Cheng Buyu a traitor. He tried to persuade Xie Qingfei to come back, but he advised him to do whatever he wanted without considering the pressure on his leader.

"I'm not physically ill, and my mentality is even better. I just want to change my lifestyle."
Xie Qingfei looked at Xi Ming who was directing a group of police officers to work together. He could still sense the professionalism from his weird appearance.
Cheng Buyu read her thoughts and said, "If this is the first crime scene, then the case may not be very complicated. I think it's okay to hand it over to Xi Ming."
"Oh, you have so much confidence in him?" Xie Qingfei joked.
Cheng Buyu smiled: "I do have confidence in you. After all, a good teacher produces good students." It would be a lie to say that Captain Xie really didn't want to get involved in this case, but she attributed this to an occupational disease and felt that she could control her curiosity.
Then he shook his hand and said something that made people very envious and jealous: "You guys are busy, I want to go home for dinner."

When I got home, I poured a glass of lemonade for Xie Yinan first.
Xie Qingfei was not affected, but Xie Yinan had lost her appetite. She had a strong psychological endurance and had almost digested her emotions on the way. However, the original plan to have a big meal was cancelled, and the two of them cooked frozen dumplings to barely fill their stomachs.

"What kind of life are you living? You have such a big refrigerator, but there's not even a single decent ingredient. Are you going to become an immortal by just eating dumplings?" Although Xie Yinan eats little, it doesn't stop her from questioning her cousin's quality of life.
Xie Qingfei defended himself: "I sometimes order takeout."
Xie Yinan said exaggeratedly: "Wow, that's really healthy."

In fact, Xie Qingfei spent most of her time at work, where there was a cafeteria. She was not particular about food and drink, so she didn't need to learn how to cook. Later, she got together with Wei Cheng, who was a very good cook. Xie Qingfei once suspected that he had studied this. However, this man was stingy and had no intention of teaching her cooking skills. He even regarded the kitchen as a private place. This directly led to Xie Qingfei having to face the cafeteria and takeout again after the breakup, which was a bit like going from luxury to frugality.

Maybe it was because they had just met today, Xie Yinan’s words reminded her of the past.

Xie Yinan didn't know what she was thinking, so he pushed the bowl away and asked, "What's the situation with that person? What did your colleagues say?"
Xie Qingfei cleared the dishes and told her roughly what he could reveal.
"She's 32 weeks pregnant, she's almost due, right?" After hearing what Xie Qingfei said, Xie Yinan, who is also a mother, showed a look of pity on her face. "Some premature babies can be saved even if they are six or seven months old. The baby in her belly is more than eight months old. If she can give birth smoothly... Oh, my heart, it's so sad. Why did she want to jump off the building when she was fine?"
Xie Qingfei asked: "Do you think she committed suicide?"
"A pregnant woman is definitely treated like a great person by her family. A bump or a bump is a big deal. How could they let her get hurt? It's even more impossible for an outsider to get hurt. The elderly, the weak, the sick, the disabled, and pregnant women are all groups that society has agreed to treat with respect. I can't imagine who would be so cruel as to harm a pregnant woman."
Xie Qingfei smiled, vaguely teasing his cousin's naivety.
Xie Yinan stopped talking immediately.

"Actually, it's not impossible." She said, "The emergency room and outpatient clinic are on the first and second floors, and the doctor's office is on the third floor. She fell from the inpatient area. If she was just here for a prenatal checkup, she wouldn't have gone upstairs. There is still some time from 32 weeks of pregnancy to the actual birth. Either she herself is not feeling well and needs to be hospitalized, or someone else in her family is sick and needs to visit. Either way is not a good thing. I heard that people are very emotional during pregnancy. Although I don't know what she went through specifically, I can't rule out the possibility that she was overwhelmed by the pressure."

"That's right." Xie Yinan sighed, "In fact, whether she has a child or not is not the most important thing. Putting aside her identity as a pregnant woman, she is also her father and mother's child. Her family must be very sad."
Seeing her depressed, Xie Qingfei half-jokingly said, "Well, I asked you to do criminal investigation but you didn't want to. You are addicted to solving cases. Aren't you feeling uncomfortable now?"
It would have been fine if he hadn't mentioned it. As soon as he mentioned it, Xie Yinan remembered what he had heard and felt an hour ago. He shuddered all over, rubbed his arms and said, "Ahhh, I can't think about it anymore. I'm going to take a shower. Lend me a pair of pants to wear."
Xie Qingfei: "Where's your suitcase of clothes?"
Xie Yinan's voice came from the bathroom door: "They are all skirts. I don't want to wear skirts for the whole year!"

Soon, the sound of water in the bathroom stopped and the doorbell rang.

Xie Qingfei opened the door and saw her brother-in-law standing at the door, panting with sweat all over his forehead. She asked nervously, "How's Xiaonan?"
"It's okay, I'm just scared." Xie Qingfei stepped aside to let him in.
Xie Yinan was just coming out of the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel. Seeing her man losing control of himself, she said with disdain, "Why are you panting like a cow? Did you just finish a marathon?"
"I was so worried about you!" Shen Yu hugged his wife, then moved away and circled around her several times. "Didn't you say you were here to play with Qing Fei? Why are you going to the hospital again? Where are you feeling unwell?"
His concern was too enthusiastic. Xie Yinan felt very embarrassed to be touched by such a careless attitude under the nose of his cousin.
Xie Qingfei saw that she kept glancing at him, her face flushed almost to her ears, she looked like an embarrassment to the elder sister, and walked away tactfully.

Xie Yinan pushed the man who came closer away and said with a straight face: "How dare you ask me where I feel uncomfortable? It's all your fault!"
Shen Yu was shocked: "Am I angry?"
Xie Yinan was amused by him: "Are you stupid? I mean - I'm pregnant! Didn't you read the ultrasound report I sent you carefully?"
"I got a call from Qingfei right after I got off the plane and rushed over. I thought you sent another Ultraman Peppa Pig picture, so I didn't look closely." After Shen Yu finished explaining, he realized that Xie Yinan was not joking this time. He froze visibly for a few seconds until his wife poked his chest. He came to his senses and hugged his head in disbelief, "Ah...you, me, wow, is there really a person in the picture?"
Xie Yinan said: "Not yet, but it's definitely not Ultraman."
Shen Yu's pupils trembled: "So, I'm going to be a father?"
Xie Yinan laughed so hard that his stomach hurt when he saw his reaction, and most of the gloom in his heart was swept away.

Shen Yu was still worried about her emotional instability, so he did not take her home immediately. Instead, he asked someone to clean up their residence in Shengzhou and temporarily took Xie Yinan to live there to recuperate.

The couple said goodbye, and Xie Qingfei was happy to be alone and relaxed. He spent some time playing with Lego in the afternoon. He arrived at the police academy on time at 6:30 to teach two elective classes to the students, and it was past 9 o'clock when he returned.

The accident of a pregnant woman falling from a building in public has long been widely circulated on the Internet in various ways such as pictures and videos, causing heated discussions among netizens. The opinions fermented quickly, and all kinds of "insiders" appeared at this time, showing off their own inferences, some saying that the hospital harmed her, and some saying that there was a conflict between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law, even though the identity of the deceased has not been made public so far.
Xie Qingfei flipped through the comments section for a while and saw the comment that was pushed to the top -
[I think this woman is mentally ill. It's a pity for the child in her belly to have such an irresponsible mother! ]
Of course, I was scolded severely.
Xie Qingfei casually liked the reply to the comment below, "Idiot, go away and bark like a dog in your father's dermatitis," and then left Weibo.

At half past ten, she finished washing up and lay on the bed reading, trying hard to fall asleep.
At around eleven o'clock, the phone on the bedside table vibrated. He looked at the caller ID and saw that Xie Qingfei answered the call.

"So what?"

"Don't mention it. This matter is very popular and has a wide impact. A lot of people are waiting for the results." Xi Ming lowered his voice. "Also, although the autopsy report has not come out, Brother Cheng said that a foreign object was found between the fingernails of the deceased and it is already being tested. It is still unclear whether she committed suicide."
"Got it," Xie Qingfei said without much surprise, "Keep investigating. Follow your own path and don't tell me every time you make progress."
"I would like to investigate it myself, but the key conditions do not allow it," Xi Ming said in a worried tone, "After suspecting murder, my colleagues from the criminal technology department checked the deceased's call records. Guess what? The deceased fell from the building at 11:30 noon, and she ended her last call at 11:10. The person she called was actually my brother!"
Xie Qingfei's sleepiness disappeared in an instant: "Your brother? How many brothers do you have?"
Xi Ming said loudly: "Of course Wei Cheng is my only brother!"

(End of this chapter)