Silver Snow Line [Criminal Investigation]

Xu Maokun was once again sent to the emergency room late at night.
This time, he was completely unconscious and paralyzed in bed like a vegetable. The doctor asked the family to be mentally prepared, saying that he would probably die in the next few days.

Both of his sons had visited him in front of the ward. As biological father and sons, Xu Maokun did not play the role of a father well in their growth process, especially Xu Siruo. In his twenty-one years of life, the number of times he met his father could be counted on one hand, and their relationship was no different from that of strangers. It was really hard for him to feel any sympathy for the man lying on the hospital bed and fading away.

Xu Siwei still shed tears, two strings of crystal tears hung on his plump apple cheeks.

"Now that Dad is gone, what should we do?" he murmured.
Xu Siruo turned his head away.
Xu Siwei realized something and asked again in English.
Xu Siruo shook his head and said he didn't know.

The moon had long since disappeared into the clouds as the two men walked out of the hospital together. The sky was dark and starless, and the light from the street lamps was also dim, squeezing Xu Siruo's shadow into a small ball.

Xu Siwei hid his chin in his turtleneck sweater, revealing his eyes and looking at his brother: "What are your plans for the future? Are you going back to the United States?"
"I'm not going back." Xu Siruo raised his head and took a breath of cold air, sweeping away the smell of disinfectant from his nostrils. He said in a brisk tone, "I've made up my mind to stay when I came back this time."
He tilted his head and smiled at Xu Siwei: "After all, this is my home, isn't it?"

Both of them tacitly did not bring up the topic of illegitimate children. When they were brothers with the same father and mother, they would still greet each other even though they lived in different countries.

Xu Siwei nodded randomly, forced a smile, and asked him like a qualified brother: "Where are you going later?"
"Let's go back to the hotel." Xu Siruo said, "Aunt Fan lives in the old house, it's not convenient for me to go there."
Aunt Fan refers to Fan Qiuye, Xu Maokun’s current wife.

He wasn't much better off than himself. Xu Siwei had this thought out of nowhere.
At least he had received all the resources that he could enjoy from his father, and Aunt Fan cared for him as if he were her own son, and there was always a room for him at home. But Xu Siruo was no different from an outsider, and he could not return to his home casually.
No matter which of the two is an illegitimate child, don't they both have the same blood? After their father is gone, they are the only relatives left in the world.

Xu Siwei finally sighed into the deep night and said, "Siluo, stay at my place tonight."
Xu Siruo showed his two fangs, smiled and said yes.
-
"Meat buns, vegetable buns, red bean paste buns, which one do you think I should eat first?"

Xi Ming looked at the sumptuous breakfast in front of him, thinking seriously.
Zhao Chongyun thought he was too long-winded. He didn't know why someone would have so much nonsense to say just for breakfast: "Whatever, shut up first."
Xi Ming stopped talking, picked up the vegetable buns and placed them in front of Zhao Chongyun in silence, then put his meat buns back in his own bowl, and said with satisfaction: "This way, there is no need to worry about it, these are all my favorites."
Zhao Chongyun was shocked by his shameless behavior and turned around to complain: "Master, look at him!"
"What?" Xie Qingfei was distracted.
"Nothing." Zhao Chongyun slowly closed his mouth and looked at her. "Why don't you eat?"
"Of course I'm thinking about the case." Xi Ming was not surprised.

Xie Qingfei was indeed recalling his meeting with An Qi on the wedding day. Later, it was confirmed that she was the girl who went to Chuiyang Street Police Station to report that the cat was lost, so Xie Qingfei met her again in private not long ago.

An Qi was still a junior in college, and Xie Qingfei picked a weekend to "meet" her by chance.
The other person didn't feel bored while shopping alone. He came out of the mall with a lot of loot in his hands, humming a song.

"I remember you. You are Uncle Wei's leader."

Angie said as they sat down in the cafe.
Xie Qingfei smiled, glanced at the shopping bag beside her, and asked, "Why didn't Siwei accompany you?"
When this was mentioned, An Qi sighed sadly and held her chin up and said, "He has been very busy recently. Not only does he have to go to the hospital to accompany his father every day, but he also has to go to the company for meetings. I don't want to disturb him."

Xie Qingfei asked: "How long have you and Siwei been together?"
Angie looked up.
"I see that you two have a very good relationship," Xie Qingfei said calmly, "I heard from Wei Cheng that he is very introverted and rarely takes the initiative to make friends, but I can see that he treats you differently."

An Qi didn't notice her probing, and a shy smile appeared on her lips: "Siwei and I are studying in the same university. I met him last year when I was working part-time at the school convenience store, and we got together after getting to know each other. Of course he treats me very well."
The last part of her voice rose slightly, and she spoke of Xu Siwei's attitude towards her with a sense of matter-of-factness.
Xie Qingfei looked at her bright face and was not surprised.

Xu Siwei is not very talented, and he went to a private college in the city. An Qi, who also studied there and has outstanding appearance, has no shortage of suitors from wealthy families. Xu Siwei's personality is obviously not pleasing, and his appearance... is even more unique. He is not An Qi's best choice, so An Qi does not feel inferior to him due to the difference in economic conditions, and enjoys the resources he provides calmly, which is considered to be a win-win situation.

Xie Qingfei said casually: "Siwei has had a hard time too. With something like this happening at home, he must have been quite frightened, and...luckily, he is fine."
She was referring to the kidnapping for ransom.
An Qi's face flashed an unnatural look, and she quickly said, "They are all bad guys who took advantage of the situation to rob people."

"What happened?" Xie Qingfei refilled the half-empty glass of lemonade she had drunk, looking very curious. "The news is so exaggerated. Is it really the same as the kidnapping case in the TV series?"
"It's not that fantastic. People on the Internet write nonsense just for traffic." An Qi took the cup and thanked her. After a moment of recollection, she said, "I went to Siwei's house to look for him that day, but he wasn't there. I was about to call him when my cell phone rang." After An Qi answered the phone, she scolded, "Where have you been? Didn't we agree to watch a movie together this afternoon?"
But no one answered the phone. She called a few more times and suddenly heard the sound of tables and chairs falling down, and then Xu Siwei's terrified shout came from a distance: "Help! I'm being kidnapped--"
There was another loud "bang", Xu Siwei screamed, and then there was no movement.
An Qi was stunned for a few seconds, and said anxiously: "Siwei! Siwei? What happened? Where are you? "
"If you want someone, transfer two million to this account." Another unfamiliar male voice answered her.

An Qi immediately realized what had happened.

"But, but how can I have so much money?" She bit her lip and dared not speak loudly, tears falling uncontrollably.
Then she heard the sound of something heavy being dragged. Xu Siwei's voice finally became clear. He panted and said, "Baby, don't be afraid. Go find my mom. She will find a way to save me!"
Xu Maokun was paralyzed in bed, and only his stepmother could take charge of the situation.
"Okay, but Siwei..."
"Stop talking nonsense." The man interrupted their conversation and warned, "Two million, not a cent less, and don't call the police, or you will never see me again!"

"I was terrified at the time. After I hung up the phone, I quickly went to the Xu family's old house and told Aunt Fan about this. When the person sent the card number, he also attached a video, which was of Siwei... So Aunt Fan immediately transferred the money to redeem Siwei. Two million is nothing to the Xu family, and it is even less important than Siwei's life. As long as Siwei is okay, it's fine."

An Qi still has lingering fears when recalling this incident. She has only seen this kind of scene in TV dramas, and when she watched it, she felt that it was very far away from her. She never thought that she would experience a kidnapping incident while having a relationship with a rich young man.

Xie Qingfei leaned back in the soft chair, tapping the tabletop with his fingertips in a disorderly manner, feeling extremely bored.

"Do you still remember that man's voice?" She still showed an expression of being immersed in the other person's story, and asked curiously, "Is it scary and strange, like he was wearing a voice changer?"
"No, he's pretty ordinary." An Qi could understand her curiosity and tilted her head to recall, "Well... his voice is a little shrill. Anyway, he doesn't sound like a good person."
Xie Qingfei nodded and agreed: "Good people wouldn't do such a thing."
"That's right." After An Qi finished speaking, she realized that she seemed to have revealed too much. She unconsciously raised her hand to lift her hair, and her sleeves slipped down slightly when her hand was raised.
Xie Qingfei's eyes followed her movements and suddenly froze.

At the same time, An Qi's phone rang. She glanced at the pop-up message window and said to Xie Qingfei apologetically, "Siwei asked me to have dinner with him tonight. I'm leaving now."
"Okay." Xie Qingfei looked away and looked at her face, smiling sincerely, "Be careful on the road."
-
"It seems that Xu Maokun is really not good enough. After all, he is a person who has contributed to the city's economic development. No matter how capitalist he is in private, his reputation has always been good." Xi Ming scrolled through the comments of netizens on his phone, "So men should love themselves, otherwise they will lose their integrity in their later years."

Zhao Chongyun said: "Xu Maokun's original wife died too early, and there are no direct relatives left in the family. Even blood relationship identification cannot be done, and there is no way to verify who is the illegitimate child. Now everyone says that Xu Siwei was deliberately kidnapped by someone hired by Xu Siruo. In fact, I am quite curious about who is behind this."
"Why would you even guess?" Xie Qingfei said casually, "Xu Siwei knows it best."
"You mean..." Zhao Chongyun understood what she meant, "But how do you know?"
"Because I talked to Xu Siwei's girlfriend and asked her about what happened at that time, and the answer she gave me was exactly the same as what she said in the media interview," Xie Qingfei said, adding, "Not a single word is different."

"Ah?" Xi Ming didn't even want to eat anymore. "So she's an accomplice?"
Xie Qingfei shook his head and didn't answer.
Zhao Chongyun said very experiencedly: "Even if her statements are the same, it doesn't prove anything. Maybe she has been asked so many questions that her answer pattern has become fixed."
"Tsk," Xi Ming was a little dissatisfied, "Why do you always argue with Master?"
Xie Qingfei smiled: "That makes sense."
Zhao Chongyun was stunned. He held up his cheek and turned his head away quietly, pinching his hot earlobe.

"And Angie said her cat—"

Xie Qingfei was halfway through his words when Lu Shaohui pushed the door open and said, "Are you all here? Let's go together. It's probably a murder case."
Xi Ming stood up immediately: "Who? Where?"
"Xu Maokun's eldest son, the one who was kidnapped in the news last time, Xu Siwei," Lu Shaohui said, "his girlfriend is dead."
Xie Qingfei raised his head in surprise.

The body was found in Xu Siwei's home this morning, and the person who reported the case was Xu Siwei.

The forensic doctor had already arrived at the scene. Xi Ming took Zhao Chongyun to An Qi's room where the crime occurred to check the situation.

Xie Qingfei and Lu Shaohui were waiting in the living room. After a while, they heard some noise coming from upstairs. When they looked up, they saw Xu Siwei shivering in his pajamas, clinging to someone like a boneless person.
Xie Qingfei looked at the man who served as a pillar and raised his eyebrows.

Wei Cheng understood her look in an instant, pressed his head against Xu Siwei's, pushed him away, and said innocently, "Don't look at me, I just came too."

(End of this chapter)