Reborn in 97, I solved a cold case at the Municipal Bureau

Chapter 401 Xu Liu's Personal Situation

The last time Xu Liu saw her parents was near the end of her first year of university winter break, when she left home.

Similarly, this was her last contact with her parents.

Xu Liu's father said that they didn't have a telephone at home, and they had to go to a nearby convenience store to make a call, so Xu Liu usually wouldn't call home on her own initiative.

Her mother had called the dormitory duty room more than a month ago, but the dormitory supervisor said that no one came to answer after the announcement was made, and she was unsure whether the girl was not in the dormitory that day or was deliberately not going to answer.

Afterwards, the task force confirmed through questioning Xu Liu's roommates that Xu Liu was in the dormitory that day. Because the broadcast could be heard by everyone in the dormitory, someone reminded her, but she clearly stated that she did not want to answer.

Qiao Jiali, who was in charge of the questioning, keenly noticed the problem and asked Xu Damin and Feng Ailian, "How is your relationship with your daughter usually?"
Xu Damin remained silent, while Feng Ailian stammered that it was alright.

Only after further questioning did the truth come out.

From the very beginning, Xu Damin and Feng Ailian did not intend for their daughter to go to university. They felt that finishing high school was enough, and she could go out to work and earn money so that she could help her parents support her two younger brothers' university education.

Ironically, of the three Xu children, the eldest daughter, Xu Liu, was the best student, ranking among the top in their county high school. The school even had high hopes for her, believing that she might have a chance to get into Tsinghua or Peking University.

After all, if a poor county produces a top student who gets into Tsinghua or Peking University, it will bring many benefits in terms of policy.

That's just how people are; when they acquire something beyond their understanding, they tend to act foolishly.

In addition, the mentality of those around them, "You can be good, but not so good that I'm envious," leads to bad behavior.

Making foolish and malicious mistakes caused Xu Liu to experience significant disruptions during the second semester of her senior year, just before the college entrance examination.

The reason was that someone whispered in Feng Ailian's ear that if her son Xu Liu got into Tsinghua or Peking University, he would go abroad and earn money from foreigners.

Once she goes abroad, she won't come back. She won't care about you two and your two younger brothers' lives. Wouldn't all those years of raising her have been for nothing?

Feng Ailian knew nothing about these things; she believed whatever people told her.

After returning home, she kept talking to her husband about it. At first, Xu Damin didn't care, but he couldn't stand Feng Ailian's constant nagging, and he started to have doubts.

What will happen to his two younger brothers if his daughter really goes abroad? He can barely afford to send one of his children to university on his income as a bricklayer.

Ironically, the investigation later revealed that Xu Liu's two younger brothers had mediocre academic performance. The second brother was slightly better, managing to get into a regular high school, while the third brother's grades were probably only good enough to finish junior high school.

But the couple didn't think so. They foolishly believed that it was because their daughter was doing so well in school that it affected their second and third children.

So one weekend in April, Xu Liu, who usually lived at the county high school, went home as usual.

When she woke up the next morning, she found that her books were missing from her schoolbag. She ran to the kitchen and saw Feng Ailian tearing her books, test papers and notebooks off one by one and stuffing them under the stove.

All her hard work turned into the flames of cooking.

She frantically snatched the books back, and in the ensuing struggle, she knocked over the stove, causing Feng Ailian to be scalded.

Upon seeing their mother burned, the two sons rushed over and began punching and kicking their sister.

Xu Liu snatched the remaining books that hadn't been burned, then packed her things and ran back to school that very night.

Afterwards, Feng Ailian never mentioned the burning of the books. Instead, she boasted to her neighbors about her daughter's lack of filial piety and showed them her scars.

Even when Qiao Jiali was questioning them, she couldn't wait to show Qiao Jiali the scars left after that incident, as if she wanted to prove that what she did was right.

This angered the usually good-tempered Qiao Jiali so much that she said she almost wanted to beat the woman up.

After that incident, Xu Liu didn't dare go home until the college entrance examination.

This was confirmed after the task force sent people to Shuguang County High School, where Xu Liu was studying at the time.

For a month and a half, Xu Liu stayed at school and didn't go home, and even borrowed money from classmates to make ends meet.

This incident clearly had a significant impact on Xu Liu's condition and mental state. Her scores in several mock exams dropped sharply. Her homeroom teacher talked to her a few times, but only assumed that it was due to the immense psychological pressure of the upcoming college entrance examination.

Ultimately, Xu Liu's poor performance in the college entrance examination prevented her from getting into Tsinghua or Peking University. However, fortunately, she had a good foundation and was still admitted to the 211 university, Hongda University.

Her high school teachers expressed regret when faced with the investigation team, feeling that the child could have done better.

Little did she know, the golden phoenix in the mountain valley had its feathers plucked by her parents.

Although Hongda University is far inferior to Tsinghua and Peking University, in 1997, the value of a 211 university was still extremely high.

If Xu Liu's parents act like decent people from now on, there is still a chance for their relationship with their daughter to improve.

Unfortunately, fools are destined to be fools forever.

Moreover, most parents in the past had the attitude of refusing to admit their mistakes even when they were wrong, and Xu Liu's parents did not think they were wrong.

After receiving the university's acceptance letter, Xu Liu faced a serious problem: how to pay for the tuition?
Because Xu Damin and Feng Ailian still didn't want Xu Liu to go to school, but this wasn't learned by questioning the couple; in the initial conversation, they remained silent on the matter.

It was only after the special investigation team sent people directly to Xu Liu's hometown to investigate Xu's relatives and friends that they learned of this. The specific details are unknown because Xu Damin and Feng Ailian remained silent and unwilling to respond to the matter, but it is likely that Xu Liu had a very difficult time at home during that period.

Even more outrageous, the two men used the excuse that Xu Liu hadn't been admitted to Tsinghua or Peking University to try to get her to give up university and go out to work.

Finally, it was Xu Liu's grandmother who took out her own savings for her funeral and gave them to her granddaughter, which solved the problem of the first year's tuition.

As for living expenses, the couple, pressured by the gossip and pointing fingers of those around them, symbolically gave 500 yuan, but stopped giving it after that.

Their reasoning was that their daughter had never asked them for money, so they assumed she had her own.

In fact, they did believe their daughter had a lot of money.

Because before the Chinese New Year this year, Xu Liu's only beloved grandmother passed away.

Xu Liu was with the old lady the night before she passed away.

After the old lady died, her children found little inheritance, so they pointed the finger at Xu Liu, believing that the old lady must have given all the money to her. The children even argued and called the police.

The local police station has records of responding to the incident, but this is a civil dispute, and the police can only mediate at most.

So in the end, nothing came of it, and whether the old lady actually left the money to Xu Liu remains unknown.

A single sentence from Xu Liu's parents directly enraged Qiao Jiali, who had been holding back for a long time.

They said: "We told you not to let her go to college, not to let her go to college. Now she's been killed, and all the money we spent on her has gone down the drain."

Qiao Jiali was so angry that she turned around and canceled their eligibility to stay at the guesthouse, even though the task force had arranged it out of humanitarian considerations.

The two were clearly unaware of their own mistakes, and even asked Qiao Jiali if the murderer could be made to pay compensation if they were caught, so as to recover some of their losses.

Despite being furious at their ignorance and selfishness, Qiao Jiali prioritized the greater good and told them that if the murderer was caught, they could file a claim for compensation in court.

Given Xu Liu's family situation, her parents were unable to provide any effective clues afterward, as they were basically completely unaware of their daughter's activities at school.

However, the task force analyzed several key points based on his family situation and information provided by his classmates and counselors.

First, Xu Liu's family was not well-off, but not to the point of poverty; the main problem stemmed from family conflicts.

Therefore, it is necessary to further investigate her personal financial situation to confirm the source of her daily living expenses.

According to multiple roommates, Xu Liu did not have any part-time jobs like Lu Xiaoshuang.

A student's diet, expenses, and income sources must be thoroughly investigated.

Secondly, Xu Liu's public claims and her behavior in various aspects, which suggest that she may have serious psychological problems.

It's mainly vanity and inferiority complex.

These two psychological states usually occur together, both stemming from the distress caused by her family problems.

Children from families with complex circumstances and poor economic conditions often become more concerned about their status in the eyes of others after leaving their original living environment, and thus begin to pretend to be rich for the sake of so-called "face".

Essentially, it's an amplified form of inferiority complex.

Furthermore, since her admission to Hongda University was a result of underperforming and "failing" the exam, she naturally retained her usual arrogant attitude.

Simply put, deep down she looks down on the people around her, thinks she's superior, and that she's only with you now because she's down on her luck.

Third, Xu Liu may have a boyfriend or a long-term partner.

Based on the roommate's statement that Xu Liu did not have any part-time work, theoretically, Xu Liu's financial situation should be quite tight.

But the truth is, she never showed any signs of being poor from the first day of school.

Although she didn't flaunt her wealth to the point of using various designer brands, her daily life, including her food, clothing, and lifestyle, gave the impression that her family was quite well-off.

Therefore, none of Xu Liu's roommates, including Mo Youyou, who had lived with her for a semester and a half, discovered her true family situation.

For example, the backpack Xu Liu was carrying on the day she disappeared was a Nike.

In 1997, Nike was definitely a well-known brand in the eyes of ordinary people. At that time, 99% of ordinary people had never even heard of luxury items like "Aiyo" or "Crying".

Even with Nike, you couldn't buy genuine products in Hongcheng back in 1997; there were only authorized stores in the provincial capital.

Of course, those pirated copies hanging on the walls of small shops, with the hook seemingly pointing nowhere, don't count.

Zhou Yi felt a mix of emotions upon hearing Xu Liu's findings.

　Thank you all for the monthly votes. I haven't dared to ask for monthly votes lately. I'll shamelessly ask for them again when I update a lot at the end of the month.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)