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

Chapter 419 Lulu
Zhou Yi and Chen Yan returned to the car and exchanged information.

The general information is the same: some people have indeed seen this man in black, but most of the time it is at night, making it difficult to attract attention, let alone see his face clearly.

On Chen Yan's side, an old lady provided a very useful piece of information.

The story goes that once, when the old lady was emptying the dishwater, this man happened to walk by and was so startled that he screamed.

The old lady said with certainty that the voice belonged to a woman.

She asked the other person if they were burned, but the person didn't say anything and immediately ran away.

As for the information from Zhou Yi's side, it was largely the same, except for the fact that it was from a five-year-old boy.

"I'm not sure if the child is telling the truth, after all, a five-year-old may have limited ability to discern."

Chen Yan asked curiously, "What did the child say?"

He said the man was a monster.

"monster?"

Zhou Yi nodded: "Yes, the child said he saw that person's face, and it looked very scary, like a monster. But his parents also said that the child usually likes to watch cartoons like Ultraman and often points at others and shouts 'Monster, I'm going to destroy you!'"

Chen Yan was both amused and exasperated by these words. Indeed, it was difficult to judge the truthfulness of a five-year-old's words, let alone their legal validity.

"Regardless, at least the information we have now confirms that there is indeed such a woman dressed entirely in black. Let's go back and urge Director Fang to provide the information, and start the investigation as soon as possible."

The two then drove back to Hongda, but instead of going directly to the task force, they went to the student affairs office to find Director Fang Gexin.

However, the staff on duty said that Director Fang went home not long after get off work. When asked about the exact time, it turned out to be the time after their meeting when Xiang Jie had someone call Fang Gexin to give him the necessary information.

In other words, Fang Gexin didn't take the task force's demands seriously at all.

When asked, the staff on duty said they had not received any instructions from Director Fang.

Enraged, Zhou Yi immediately called Fang Gexin.

The phone rang for a long time before being answered. The other end asked impatiently, "Who is it? It's so late at night."

"Director Fang, this is Zhou Yi from the special task force. When can we get the materials we requested before you left work today?" Zhou Yi asked loudly.

"Oh, from the task force. Well, I've already made the arrangements. I'll send it over to you tomorrow."

Fang Gexin was about to hang up when Zhou Yi said, "No, not today!"

He was taken aback, and a surge of anger rose within him. He spoke in an official tone, "Young comrade, how can you have such an attitude? Don't think that only you have a hard job. Our work is not easy at all. Whatever materials your task force needs, we'll work day and night to find them for you. Let me tell you, everyone is equal. Don't think you're superior. Watch your attitude."

Well, it’s still that familiar smell.

However, Zhou Yi is not Wu Yongcheng, and he wouldn't use the same official language to leave him speechless.

Zhou Yi only knows how to use force.

"Director Fang," Zhou Yi sneered, "doesn't your Hongda University have a vice principal surnamed Zhang?"

"What?" Fang Gexin, who had been all high and mighty, suddenly froze.

"There's also a dean surnamed Chen, right?"

"You...you know Principal Zhang and Dean Chen?" The tone on the other end of the phone softened instantly.

Zhou Yi snorted coldly: "Of course we know them. Two leaders from Hongda came to our Municipal Bureau today to express their commitment, saying that Hongda will fully cooperate with us in solving the case and restore Hongda's reputation as soon as possible. The two leaders also said that if anyone does not cooperate with our work, we don't need to waste any more words, just go directly to them, and they will handle it for us."

"Um, Director Fang, I'm afraid I've remembered it wrong. How about I check with you the contact information for Principal Zhang and Dean Chen?"

Zhou Yi had no idea that Fang Gexin on the other end of the phone broke out in a cold sweat.

He repeatedly said, "No need, no need to trouble the two leaders. Please wait a moment, I will arrange it right away."

No sooner had Zhou Yi hung up than the phone on the duty officer's desk rang.

The man glanced at Zhou Yi, answered the phone, called out "Director Fang," and then repeatedly said "yes."

After hanging up the phone, the staff member on duty came with a large bunch of keys and said that Director Fang had instructed him to find the information for you right away.

Zhou Yi thanked him, smiled at Chen Yan, and quickly received the information.

In the dead of night, as Qiao Jiali passed by an office, she spotted two familiar figures sleeping on a desk, surrounded by documents.

She looked at the two of them, shook her head helplessly, and then turned and left.

The next morning, when Zhou Yi and Chen Yan woke up, they found that they each had an extra blanket on them.

Xiao Bing took the college entrance examination in 1983 and entered Hongcheng University to study French Language and Literature that same year.

At that time, the French major was not large and belonged to the School of Foreign Languages. It has only been in recent years that it has expanded its enrollment and become the French Department.

Therefore, the 1983 French class had only 26 students in total, and the number of students in the previous and next classes was about the same, with neither exceeding 30.

Zhou Yi and Chen Yan checked one by one. Among these 26 people, apart from Xiao Bing, only two were locals from Hongcheng, one male and one female.

The male student and Xiao Bing were not in the same dormitory.

Moreover, there were basically no telephones back then, so we could only search through household registration information, and we could only find these two people in Hongcheng first.

Finding these classmates from other places is even more troublesome, since more than ten years have passed.

The two classmates from Hongcheng are named Zhao Zhichao and Yan Xuefang.

According to the household registration records, Zhao Zhichao's information was found first. Surprisingly, the name of Zhao Zhichao's spouse was Yan Xuefang.

This indicates that the two went from being classmates to becoming husband and wife.

Zhao Zhichao is the general manager of a company, while Yan Xuefang works in a public institution.

Zhou Yi contacted the two of them. When Zhao Zhichao learned that the police wanted to talk to him and his wife about Xiao Bing, he said that they could meet at the small teahouse downstairs from Yan Xuefang's workplace during his lunch break. He was more flexible and could go there directly.

Zhou Yi certainly has no problem with it. Asking them together is definitely better than asking them separately. It not only saves time, but also helps the two of them fill in each other's gaps in memory.

Zhou Yi and Chen Yan arrived at the agreed location ahead of time. After waiting for a while, they saw a man and a woman enter the teahouse and look around.

Zhou Yi waved to the two men, and after taking their seats, he first showed them his identification.

Yan Xuefang looked at Zhou Yi with some surprise.

Zhou Yi found it strange, thinking to himself, "I've never seen you before."

At this moment, Yan Xuefang spoke up: "Officer Zhou, you've been on TV before, haven't you?"

Zhou Yi suddenly realized that this was the reason.

Yan Xuefang said that her company has a partnership with the TV station, which is why she recognized him.

After a few polite words, Zhou Yi got straight to the point and began asking about Xiao Bing's situation.

"In your impressions, what kind of person is Xiao Bing?"

Unexpectedly, Zhao Zhichao's answer surprised Zhou Yi and Chen Yan.

Zhao Zhichao said, "Xiao Bing, although I'm not very familiar with him, I remember him as a nice person, optimistic and cheerful, and quite proactive in his studies."

Zhou Yi and Chen Yan exchanged glances. Chen Yan confirmed, "Are you talking about Xiao Bing? The one who stayed on as a teacher after graduation?"

Zhao Zhichao nodded: "That's right, there's only one Xiao Bing in our class."

He turned to his wife, puzzled, and asked, "Did...did I remember wrong?"

Yan Xuefang said, "If I remember correctly, he was a very nice person. He could sing opera and wrote French poetry exceptionally well. He was the kind of artistic young man that people often talk about, but it's a pity he was a little short."

This seems quite different from the impression Xiao Bing's colleagues had of her.

Zhou Yi frowned and asked, "Do you know if Xiao Bing had a girlfriend when he was in college? Or a woman with whom he had a close relationship?"

The couple looked at each other and then shook their heads.

Zhao Zhichao said, "I haven't noticed that. I haven't heard of him dating anyone."

Yan Xuefang said, "Anyway, it definitely didn't happen in our class. If something like that happened, the female classmates basically couldn't keep it a secret from each other."

"Is it possible that the two of them are quite low-key, which is why you didn't notice them?"

Yan Xuefang laughed and said, "Officer Zhou, if that's really the case, then we wouldn't know."

That's true. If a secret relationship can be known by others, then it's no longer a secret relationship.

Moreover, there's no need for two normal college students to hide their relationship; it's not like it's something shameful.

"Are there any female classmates in your class who are in a similar situation to Xiao Bing, like orphans?"

The two people opposite were taken aback and asked in return, "Is Xiao Bing an orphan?"

"You don't know?"

Zhao Zhichao said, "He never mentioned it to anyone. He only said where he lived. We...we didn't know he was an orphan."

Zhou Yi waved his hand and said, "It's nothing."

From this perspective, although Xiao Bing was cheerful and optimistic when she was in college, she was actually a rather sensitive person at heart, which is why she avoided talking about her family situation.

After starting work, his personality became more withdrawn, and it was clear that something had happened that led to this change.

Yan Xuefang thought for a moment and said, "I don't recall hearing that any of my female classmates are orphans."

"Were there any female classmates who disappeared after graduation?"

Yan Xuefang said, "I don't know. Although there aren't many people in our class, we're all scattered all over the country, so we can't get together."

Zhou Yi understood this point well. After all, it was a limitation of the times. It wasn't like later times, with WeChat groups or QQ groups where everyone was in the group and you could just ask someone to shout.

It seems there are no shortcuts; we have to go back to the most basic method: asking each person one by one.

"Moreover, about a third of the students in our major are studying abroad."

Yan Xuefang's words made their hearts sink; things were going to get even more complicated.

At this moment, Zhao Zhichao spoke up: "Officers, I just remembered someone, who was also our classmate. He and Xiao Bing were quite close back then because they both liked French opera. They even rehearsed an opera performance together for a school event."

Yan Xuefang asked her husband, "Is it Wu Zhonghua?"

Zhao Zhichao nodded: "Yes, it's him."

The couple were both intelligent and realized that the police's constant questioning of Xiao Bing and his female social connections meant something must have happened.

As for what it was about, they are smart people and won't ask too many questions.

"Great! Do you have Wu Zhonghua's contact information?" Zhou Yi asked hurriedly.

“Old Wu went abroad six years ago.” Zhao Zhichao’s words made the two of them feel a chill.

"However, I have business dealings with him, and I can contact him."

Yes, Zhou Yi and Chen Yan's emotions were like a rollercoaster, going up and down.

"How about this, if it's convenient for you, could you just make a call for us?"

“No problem, but my phone can’t make international calls. If you two aren’t in a hurry, why don’t you come back to the company with me? It’s quite close to here.” Zhao Zhichao raised his hand to check his watch. “It’s a little past twelve here, but it should be a little past five in the morning where Lao Wu is.”

Afterwards, the two went back to the company with Zhao Zhichao. It was a foreign trade company. Zhao Zhichao said that a boss had invested in him, with the boss taking the majority of the investment and him taking a smaller share. However, he had the final say in the company's operations.

He and Wu Zhonghua are now business partners, since the most important thing in foreign trade is to have smooth overseas channels.

"Sigh, but business isn't easy either. We're overseas, and we're subject to so many restrictions and face unfair treatment everywhere," Zhao Zhichao sighed.

Zhou Yi casually said, "Mr. Zhao, don't be discouraged. Although there are indeed difficulties now, there will be huge business opportunities in international trade in the future."

Zhao Zhichao nodded: "Yes, I think so too. Hong Kong Island is about to return to China, and there will definitely be many policies that benefit trade between the two sides. I am also looking forward to it." "Yes, and not only that," Zhou Yi said, looking at the city outside the car window, "there will be even more opportunities in the future, after all, our country is thriving every day."

Zhao Zhichao asked in surprise, "Really? Officer Zhou, do you have some inside information?"

Zhou Yi looked out the window, smiling without saying a word. In four years, my country will join the WTO, and that will be when international trade will truly take off.

……

In Zhao Zhichao's office, Zhao Zhichao enthusiastically offered to make tea for the two of them.

Zhou Yi waved his hand and said it was no trouble, he had already drunk quite a bit.

The implication is that you should make the call as soon as possible.

Zhao Zhichao understood, returned to his desk, put the phone on speakerphone, and began making an international call.

In an instant, the signal crossed mountains and rivers and reached the country on the other side of the ocean.

The phone rang about six or seven times before it was answered.

A man greeted someone in dazed English.

"Old Wu, this is Zhao Zhichao."

The person on the other end yawned and replied in Chinese, "No, it's only 5:30 here, it's not even dawn yet. What happened so early?"

"No, it's not about business. I have two criminal police officers here who want to know something about Xiao Bing."

"Xiao Bing? I haven't been in contact with him for many years. I knew he wasn't staying on as a teacher at the university."

"It wasn't now, it happened during my university years. Here's what we'll do, I'll put it on speakerphone and let the police officer ask you directly."

"Row."

Zhao Zhichao pushed the phone forward, and Zhou Yi leaned in and said, "Hello Mr. Wu, I'm Zhou Yi from the Criminal Investigation Detachment of Hongcheng City Public Security Bureau."

"Hello, Officer Zhou."

"Mr. Wu, what was your relationship like with Xiao Bing when you were in college?"

"It was alright. We both really liked French opera, so we were kindred spirits. We originally wanted to start an opera club, but not many people signed up, so we couldn't get enough people and it just fell through."

"Mr. Zhao said you two performed together before?"

"Hey, that's old news."

Zhou Yi nodded. At least Wu Zhonghua would have had more contact with Xiao Bing than Zhao Zhichao and his wife.

"Mr. Wu, to your knowledge, did Xiao Bing have a girlfriend during his university years?"

"Girlfriend? Let me think..." Wu Zhonghua paused for a moment and said, "I don't think so..."

Just as Zhou Yi and Chen Yan were feeling a bit disappointed, Wu Zhonghua suddenly said, "I remember now. It was the time we performed the opera. We borrowed an empty classroom from the teacher, and then during one rehearsal, a girl came to the door to wait for him. The way she looked at Xiao Bing, tsk tsk tsk, her eyes were full of laughter."

"I even teased Xiao Bing back then, saying, 'You little rascal, I never knew you were so talented.'"

Zhou Yi quickly asked, "Are you a girl from your major?"

"No, I've never seen him before, and I don't know what his major is. After rehearsal, he took the girl and left."

"Did you see that girl again after that?"

"I only saw him once more after that, downstairs, probably waiting for Xiao Bing. I haven't seen him since, since we started our internships in our senior year, and we didn't have many classes at school."

When are you referring to rehearsing the opera?

"Junior year, second semester of junior year."

"Mr. Wu, can you recall this girl's physical characteristics?"

"Oh, it's been over ten years. I really don't remember what he looks like. I've only seen him twice."

"It's okay, any information will do, such as height and body type."

Wu Zhonghua thought for a moment and said, "As for height... I think he's a little shorter than Xiao Bing. When they walk side by side, there's not much difference."

"And then... I remember she had her hair tied in a ponytail, and she looked quite innocent."

Upon hearing "wear a ponytail," Zhou Yi's heart skipped a beat, because he immediately thought of Lu Xiaoshuang, who always wore a ponytail.

"Is this girl pretty?" Zhou Yi asked.

"She's beautiful, that's why I teased Xiao Bing for being a hidden talent."

"Oh right, I remember now, when Xiao Bing left, I heard him call that girl Lulu."

"Lulu?"

"Well, either her surname is Lu, or her given name contains the character 'Lu' with the 'Wang' radical, or the 'Lu' in 'dew'. Anyway, it must be pronounced like that."

"Sigh, so many years have passed, I wonder if Xiao Bing ever married that girl in the end."

……

On his way back to the task force, Zhou Yi immediately called Xiang Jie and told him about this lead.

This woman named Lulu is definitely not Xiao Bing's classmate. Zhou Yi and Chen Yan had already checked the records last night, and there were no girls in the Class of '83 with the surname Lu or whose names contained the character Lu (露).

Moreover, Wu Zhonghua explicitly stated that he had never seen it.

Then we need to expand the scope of the investigation.

The target audience was students in the same major, both in the same grade and those who were classmates of Xiao Bing from high school.

If there are no suitable matches here, then we'll have to expand the search to the entire school.

Xiao Bing was a junior in 1986. Back then, all female students in school were subject to screening.

This is a terrifying number, because it must be tens of thousands.

Moreover, this is all predicated on the fact that the girl is a student at Hongda University.

What if not? After all, nobody knows how Xiao Bing and this girl met.

Zhou Yi also kept Wu Zhonghua's contact information because only he had met the girl, and he needed to contact him to confirm.

Upon hearing this, Xiang Jie gasped and said he would report to Captain Liang immediately. He added that if the task force were to handle this alone, they would not be able to finish investigating it in three days and three nights.

However, the surrounding police force was insufficient, as most of the police resources were devoted to searching for remains and apprehending Xiao Bing.

People need to be stationed at key transportation routes, train stations, and bus stations.

It's difficult to spare manpower for area searches and security patrols.

While this case may not seem as serious as the Long Zhiqiang case, which warranted a citywide lockdown, the actual number of police officers deployed was no less.

Because the Long Zhiqiang case became almost an open secret in its later stages, but the Hongda case is different. To this day, the Hongda case remains a mysterious and shrouded mystery.

Even though they are currently searching for Xiao Bing, there are still many suspicious points about him that don't match the facts of the case.

Zhou Yi didn't offer any further suggestions. He knew Liang Wei would definitely come up with the idea that the only solution was to put pressure on the school to mobilize a large number of faculty and staff to help.

But that's the leaders' business; it's none of my concern.

All he wanted to know was where Xiao Bing had gone.
And was the woman in black taken away by Xiao Bing, or was she already killed by him?
……

Hongcheng, diagonally opposite the long-distance bus station, in a dark corner.

There was a pair of eyes staring at the bus station in the distance.

As night fell, fewer and fewer cars were parked in the plaza outside the bus station.

Those eyes disappeared back into the darkness, retreating into that shadowy corner.

Then a man lowered his voice and said, "Be good, don't run around, wait for me here, I'll go buy the tickets."

"I'll take you away from Hongcheng, okay?"

A woman's voice replied, "Yes."

"Don't you dare run around, okay?"

A few seconds later, a man wearing a hat emerged from the corner.

He had a bag slung over his shoulder, and when he walked under the streetlight, he immediately pulled his hat brim down low.

Then he stayed close to the roadside, trying to avoid the streetlights as much as possible, and walked along the edge of darkness.

Just as he was about to reach the bus station, the man suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Because a policeman appeared ahead.

The man was in the shadows at that moment; if he took another step forward, he would be discovered.

The man was so frightened that he didn't dare to breathe, and slowly moved backward.

After creating some distance, the man took off running.

This reaction alerted the police officers nearby, who shouted, "Who goes there! Stop!"

Then they chased after him.

The man in front ran back to that dark corner like a madman.

He rushed in and shouted, "Lulu, run! Police..."

His mind went blank for a moment.

Because the corner was empty; there was no one there.

Behind me, I heard the shouts of the police.

Without thinking twice, he plunged into the nearby bushes and fled.

It was too dark, and he didn't know where to run. He just knew to run wherever it was darkest.

Gradually, the chasing stopped.

But he still dared not stop, fearing that he would be caught if he did.

Even though the tension and running made him feel like his lungs were about to explode, he still didn't dare to stop.

He wasn't afraid of being arrested, but the problem was that Lulu was missing. Lulu couldn't be caught by the police, or it would be all over!
He had to find Lulu, otherwise what would be the point of everything he had done?

He rushed out of a grove of trees, tripped, and tumbled and fell to the ground.

Just then, a car drove by, and a dark shadow suddenly appeared, startling the driver, who slammed on the brakes.

With a sharp screech of brakes, the car came to a stop less than twenty centimeters from the man.

If the driver had braked even a second or two later, he would have been run over by the car.

This sudden scene terrified the man on the ground.

He tried to get up, but found his legs were weak and trembling uncontrollably.

At this moment, the driver got out of the car and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

Clearly, he was furious with the uninvited guest who had almost gotten him into trouble.

But when the driver saw the person on the ground clearly through the car's headlights, he exclaimed in surprise, "Teacher Xiao...?"

(End of this chapter)