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

Chapter 425 Xu Liu's Supporter (Seeking monthly votes, 5th day of 10,000-word update)
On May 12th, it rained heavily.

This was a long-awaited rain in Hongcheng, which came suddenly and without warning.

This morning, Liang Wei and Ni Jianrong returned to the task force to oversee the work, as the case had made some progress.

First, the construction team owner who renovated Xiao Bing's house back then was found. The owner, who had long since changed careers, couldn't remember Xiao Bing at all. It wasn't until the police from the special task force said they had dug a basement that he suddenly realized what had happened and said he remembered.

Because in all his years in the renovation business, he had only encountered one request to dig a basement.

He remembered it was an old town area near Daguan Street. The person who came to find him was a young man who wore glasses and looked very polite.

After visiting the other party's house, he thought it was a very simple job and quoted a price.

Unexpectedly, the other party proposed to dig a basement under the inner room, and even provided a hand-drawn diagram of the basement's dimensions, which also indicated the requirements for electricity and ventilation.

The contractor was in a difficult position at the time, saying that this matter was not easy to handle.

Firstly, digging a basement privately is illegal, and if he is reported by his neighbors, he will be fined and have to make rectifications. He is afraid that if something happens, they will argue with him.

Secondly, the other party's house is an old house with a shallow foundation, so digging a basement would be very risky, and the walls would probably need to be reinforced, making the project very complicated.

He said he didn't actually want to take the job, but the employer said he could pay double the price, but on two conditions.

First, maintain strict confidentiality; the entire process must not be known to outsiders.

Second, the basement must be absolutely safe and there must be no risk of collapse.

For the sake of the money, the foreman took on this strange job and carried it out strictly according to the employer's requirements.

Throughout the entire renovation process, the doors and windows were kept closed to prevent outsiders from seeing the work.

The excavated soil was also manually pushed to the nearby riverbank and dumped under cover of darkness at night.

Not only did they excavate the basement, but they also reinforced the walls and foundation.

The original project could have been completed in at most half a month, considering the small area and the only work involved besides water and electricity lines and laying floor tiles.

However, in order to meet the employer's requirements, there was also the suspicion that they were making money off labor costs, and the renovation took a full three months.

After the employer inspected the property, they readily paid the remaining balance.

He wisely refrained from asking.

However, when the police found him to understand the situation, he said in a tone of knowing this all along: "This guy is a pervert, I knew it all along. He looks like a thief, and he even wears glasses to pretend to be an intellectual."

Finding this contractor was crucial not only for confirming Xiao Bing's original intentions regarding the renovation, but also for confirming the renovation schedule.

The timeline that can be basically confirmed at present is as follows.

On June 16, 1988, Xin Yunfei, the principal of Kaiping No. 3 Middle School, was arrested for raping Dong Lu.

As a result, Dong Lu was unable to enroll at Kaiping No. 3 Middle School, and her whereabouts remain unknown.

But based on speculation, she's probably with Xiao Bing.

Dong Lu graduated at the end of June that year, and before that she had been living in the faculty dormitory on the campus of Kaiping No. 3 Middle School.

Homeless, she had nowhere to go except for Xiao Bing, whom she could rely on.

Dong Lu's last appearance was more than a year later.

In October of 1989, on her birthday, she took her boyfriend Xiao Bing back to the welfare home to celebrate.

Zhou Yi believes that over the past year or so, Dong Lu has probably been overcoming psychological barriers and trying to emerge from the shadow of the rape case.

On her birthday in 1989, it was highly likely that after she had recovered, Xiao Bing hoped that she could return to a normal life, so he took the opportunity of her birthday to go back to the orphanage with her.

Strangely, this was also the last time she appeared at the orphanage, and there has been no news of her since.

The contractor said that Xiao Bing contacted him to request a renovation schedule, which started in early March of 1990 and wasn't completed until the end of May.

Therefore, Xiao Bing's decision to dig a basement in early March at least indicates that Dong Lu's life had been saved and she was out of danger.

For burns of this severity, it takes at least a month from being sent to the hospital until the patient is completely out of danger.

Therefore, based on this information, we can basically narrow down the time when Dong Lu was burned to between October 1989 and February 1990.

What happened in those three or four months that caused Dong Lu to suffer severe burns?

After searching through all the civil case records without success, Qiao Jiali had no choice but to turn to the police dispatch records.

Dong Lu's photo was sent via email to Wu Zhonghua, Xiao Bing's college friend across the ocean, for identification. He quickly replied, confirming that Dong Lu was the girl he had seen waiting for Xiao Bing.

In other words, the relationship between Dong Lu and Xiao Bing may have started earlier than imagined.

However, without finding any clues about the burns, the investigation stalled.

Xiao Bing and Dong Lu haven't been able to find anyone for so long, especially Dong Lu, whose appearance should easily attract attention, and whose physical and mental condition is unstable.

How could Xiao Bing have disappeared with her during the police search?

Did anyone help them?
However, the investigation so far has not found anyone with such a close relationship with the two of them.

This line of investigation can only be put on hold for now, while we wait for Qiao Jiali's police dispatch records to find some clues.

Another lead came from the people sent to Xu Liu's hometown of Huaixing. They reported that they had found the man who was keeping Xu Liu as a mistress!
Two members of the special task force were sent to Huaixing, one of whom was He Bin, a capable subordinate of Shi Tao.

After arriving in Huaixing, He Bin first went to the high school where Xu Liu studied to conduct research and understand Xu Liu's interpersonal relationships during high school.

In particular, whether there are any male friends or family members you are close to, including but not limited to classmates, teachers, or parents.

When the homeroom teacher mentioned Xu Liu, he said with great regret that she was a promising talent and it was a pity.

For a homeroom teacher, it would be a great honor if one of her students could be admitted to Tsinghua or Peking University. After all, these days, not only do great teachers produce outstanding students, but outstanding students can also make great teachers.

However, He Bin clearly discovered that the homeroom teacher did not actually know much about Xu Liu's family situation; what she cared about most was Xu Liu's "failure to pass the exam."

This is somewhat disheartening; the teacher only cares about grades, as if that's everything.

As for which men Xu Liu was close to, the homeroom teacher couldn't give a clear answer.

In the end, He Bin took the initiative to ask for information, namely, the list and information of Xu Liu's deskmate and roommates in high school.

With these materials in hand, He Bin began contacting them one by one.

Although Xu Liu went to work in Huaixing City during the summer after the college entrance examination, Huaixing is so big and almost a year has passed. It's impossible for the two of them to go door to door with Xu Liu's photo and ask. They still need to find clues in a skillful way.

Fortunately, through contacting and inquiring with various parties, some clues were finally found.

Xu Liu has a roommate named Huang Ying, with whom she had a good relationship in high school.

According to Huang Ying herself, Xu Liu was somewhat arrogant at heart because of her good grades and being the class monitor.

However, she was not a bad person. Their relationship started when Xu Liu took the initiative to explain a problem to her that she couldn't solve no matter what she did. After that, she often asked Xu Liu for help with her studies, and Xu Liu never refused.

It was thanks to Xu Liu's help that her academic performance improved significantly. Although she only got into an ordinary second-tier university in the end, she and her family were quite satisfied.

When He Bin asked Huang Ying, who was studying in another city, about Xu Liu's interpersonal relationships in high school over the phone.

Huang Ying said, "No... I don't think so. She's too good at studying, and the teachers think highly of her. Plus, she's a bit arrogant, so boys don't really dare to get close to her. In her second year of high school, a boy from the next class wrote her a love letter, but she tore it up in front of everyone without even reading it. Since then, no one has shown her any interest."

Therefore, it is evident that Xu Liu's arrogance actually began as early as high school.

After all, in schools, where grades are everything, good grades really do mean everything.

Xu Liu was the kind of top student who excelled in her studies from a young age.

However, unlike the homeroom teacher, Huang Ying noticed Xu Liu's unusual behavior in the months leading up to the college entrance examination. She said that Xu Liu's condition at that time seemed a bit off. One evening, Xu Liu didn't go to self-study, and Huang Ying thought that Xu Liu was not feeling well, so she took advantage of going to the toilet to run back to the dormitory to check on her.

Before the door was even opened, a soft sobbing sound could be heard coming from inside.

She didn't dare make a sound and tiptoed away.

When they returned after evening self-study, they found Xu Liu already asleep, facing the wall. They asked if she was feeling unwell, and Xu Liu replied that she had started her period and had some stomach pain.

Later, after the college entrance examination, they left the school.

Then I heard that Xu Liu failed the college entrance examination.

Of course, even though Xu Liu failed, her score was still an achievement that ordinary people could hardly reach.

On July 29, 1996, just three days after the college entrance examination results were released, Huang Ying received a phone call from Xu Liu.

Xu Liu cautiously asked her over the phone if she could stay at her house for a few days.

Huang Ying was very surprised because she did not expect Xu Liu to contact her on his own initiative.

It just so happened that her parents were away on a business trip at that time, leaving only her and her grandmother at home. Since they were bored, she readily agreed and gave Xu Liu her address.

That's probably the irony.

After leaving the school and the environment that only values ​​grades, everyone returned to their own world.

Xu Liu's family lived in a town in Huaixing, a notoriously impoverished county.

Huang Ying's family lives in Huaixing City. Her parents run their own business, and their family is considered quite well-off in the area.

As for why she, a student from the city, would go to a poor county to attend high school, the reason is simple: her middle school entrance exam scores were not ideal, and she was a few points below the minimum admission score for high schools in the city. So her parents spent money to find someone to pull strings, and she was admitted to the county high school that Xu Liu attended as a student admitted through a premium.

So she barely got into an ordinary second-tier university in the college entrance examination, and she and her family were very satisfied.

Huang Ying said that Xu Liu arrived that evening, still wearing his high school uniform and carrying a schoolbag.

When she warmly pulled her into the house and brought her slippers to change her shoes, the once proud and arrogant top student stood at the door looking at Huang Ying's luxurious home, feeling somewhat at a loss.

Perhaps at that moment, the impact of reality on her was greater than the efforts her parents made to prevent her from going to school.

Huang Ying said on the phone that she didn't think Xu Liu was acting strangely at the time, because she was naturally a very easygoing person. She cut watermelon for Xu Liu, looked at her collection of celebrity posters and tapes, and Xu Liu, on the other hand, changed her usual arrogant attitude from school and sat there nodding frequently.

It wasn't until evening, during dinner, that she remembered to ask Xu Liu why she had come to the city, and whether she was here for fun. She started counting on her fingers, listing all the fun places in the city.

Xu Liu ate her rice in small bites without saying a word.

That evening, in Huang Ying's room, Huang Ying said she noticed Xu Liu staring blankly at the air conditioner blowing cool air. Only then did she belatedly remember what happened during evening self-study and asked her if something had happened.

Xu Liu didn't answer directly, but just stared blankly at the air conditioner and said: This is the first time I've ever used air conditioning in my life, it feels so good.

Huang Ying, ever carefree, casually replied, "Air conditioning isn't anything rare. It's just that our crappy school is so stingy; they won't even install air conditioning. It's so hot!"

That night, Huang Ying woke up groggily and seemed to hear Xu Liu, who was sleeping on the floor next to her, sobbing softly.

She thought she was dreaming, so she turned over and went back to sleep.

As He Bin recounted these details, the members of the task force felt a mix of emotions.

The helplessness and bitterness of having one's self-esteem ruthlessly trampled by reality is truly heartbreaking.

This may have been the turning point that led Xu Liu down the path he would later take.

Zhou Yi, in particular, felt extremely heavy-hearted, because he didn't know whether Xu Liu had died because of him.

After all, in this life, Xu Liu replaced Lu Xiaoshuang and became the victim of the grand case.

But the question is, what details did his appearance change that made Xu Liu a scapegoat?
If it wasn't my fault, why was Xu Liu safe and sound in my previous life and didn't die?
He Bin continued to recount the investigation process over the phone.

Huang Ying told him that on the morning after Xu Liu arrived at her house, just as she was excitedly planning where to go, Xu Liu finally told her the truth.

Xu Liu said she came to the city to find a part-time job and wanted to earn some money during this month-long break to ease the burden on her family.

She also said she wouldn't bother her for too long, that she would go out and look for a job today, one that included room and board, and that she would leave once she found one.

Huang Ying said she was stunned at the time because she had never worried about food and drink and never thought that she would have to work to earn money.

But after regaining her composure, she boldly asked Xu Liu if she could call her parents and ask them to help Xu Liu find a job.

But Xu Liu immediately declined, and stammered that she hoped she could keep it a secret and not tell her classmates or teachers.

Huang Ying said that although she was not a good student, she was not stupid. She understood what Xu Liu meant at the time and promised her that she would never tell anyone.

That afternoon, Xu Liu returned, drenched in sweat, saying that she had found a job with room and board included, which she could work for a month. After that, she would go to university in Hongcheng.

Huang Ying wanted to persuade her to stay, but she hurriedly said that she had just come back to pick up some things and had to go to work that night because it was a hot pot restaurant.

Fortunately, Huang Ying was cautious and asked for the name of the hot pot restaurant, which gave He Bin a clear target for his investigation.

Huang Ying said that she had never seen Xu Liu again or contacted him since then.

However, she kept her promise and didn't tell anyone about Xu Liu.

Based on the clues provided by Huang Ying, He Bin found the hot pot restaurant.

After seeing Xu Liu's photo, the boss recognized her at a glance and said he remembered the girl.

The boss's next words startled He Bin.

The boss said: "That's the girl who stole things from the customers."

He Bin quickly asked what had happened.

The hot pot restaurant owner said that Xu Liu came to the restaurant at the end of July last year. It was afternoon, not during mealtime, so it wasn't busy.

After she came in, she pointed to the job posting on the door and asked if they were still hiring part-time workers. Then the receptionist took her to see the boss.

She said she had been admitted to university and wanted to work to earn some money in the month before the start of the semester, as her family was in financial difficulty.

The boss said he didn't originally want her because she was too young and obviously inexperienced. Besides, he wanted to hire a long-term employee, and it would be too much trouble to hire someone else after just one month.

She had initially refused, but the boss felt sorry for her as a young girl and asked her what score she got and which university she attended.

Unexpectedly, Xu Liu took out her college entrance examination results and a huge admission notice from a hidden compartment in her schoolbag. When the shopkeeper saw her grades and the school she attended, he realized she was indeed a good student and took pity on her, so he kept her on.

Moreover, the salary is paid according to the standard for regular employees. Xu Liu asked if the store provides food and accommodation. The boss said that food is simple, and there are dormitories available, but the conditions are a bit poor.

Xu Liu waved her hand repeatedly, saying it was alright, as long as there was a place to stay.

Then the boss took her to see the staff dormitory. It was called a dormitory, but it was actually an old house in an alley behind the hot pot restaurant. The bricks were exposed and the walls hadn't been painted. The room was crammed with five bunk beds, and you could hardly see anything without the lights on.

He Bin asked the boss to show him the dormitory. As soon as he entered, a strange, stuffy smell filled the room, making it feel suffocating, as if the air itself had turned into a sticky liquid.

The boss said that after Xu Liu saw the conditions, she immediately said that she could do it. Then the boss took her back to the hot pot restaurant, registered her ID information, and asked her to start work that night.

He said that although the girl was inexperienced, she was very hardworking and didn't slack off.

After working for about half a month, one night, several guests in a private room left after finishing their meal. One of them was so drunk that he had to be carried out.

About half an hour later, the group returned and said that the guy who had been drunk earlier had left an envelope on the chair he was sitting in, and that the envelope contained two thousand yuan.

By this time, there were already new guests in the private room. The owner tactfully went in and asked if anyone had found an envelope on the chair or the floor, but the new guests all said no.

The boss could only ask the manager who was responsible for cleaning up the private room after the previous table of guests left.
The foreman said it was Xu Liu.

The boss immediately called Xu Liu over and asked her if she had found an envelope containing two thousand yuan while tidying up.

Xu Liu immediately shook her head and said no.

But the guests weren't having it, especially the drunk one, who said he vomited as soon as he left the house, then got in the car and didn't go anywhere else. He pointed at Xu Liu and said it must have been this little wench who stole it.

Several guests immediately started shouting to search Xu Liu's body, which frightened Xu Liu so much that she burst into tears, and the scene quickly descended into chaos.

Fearing the commotion would escalate and affect his business, the boss immediately had someone call the police. Before the police arrived, the drunk customer began hurling insults and harassing Xu Liu, attempting to undress her. Xu Liu cowered in a corner, trembling with fear.

At the critical moment, a middle-aged man wearing glasses from the group of guests in the back of the private room came to the rescue. He not only stood in front of Xu Liu, but also warned the group not to cause trouble, as searching a young girl's body without permission was illegal, and they should be careful when the police came and arrested them.

Unless a drunk person is completely passed out, most of the time they are just acting crazy because they are drunk.

So when the other party said it was illegal, they were intimidated.

The police arrived quickly. Throughout the incident, the middle-aged man with glasses protected Xu Liu, preventing the group from getting close to her.

After the police arrived, they clarified the situation and offered a solution. Everyone went back to the police station with them to give statements and for further investigation. Back at the station, a female officer searched Xu Liu to confirm whether she had stolen the money.

If it was stolen, then it should be treated as theft.

If they didn't steal it, then you guys framed them. We'll mediate and negotiate how to handle it then.

The hot pot restaurant owner was naturally eager for them to leave quickly so as not to delay his business.

At this moment, the middle-aged man with glasses stepped forward and said that he could testify for the young girl because he had already arrived when she was cleaning the private room. He had made an appointment to have dinner with a friend that day, and he had booked the private room, so he was the first to arrive.

The police officer looked at him and asked him what he did for a living. He said he was a teacher at Huaixing Middle School.

The hot pot restaurant owner didn't remember the person's name, only that he was a teacher at Huaixing Middle School. Huaixing Middle School is the most famous key municipal school in the area; after all, it's not simple to be named after a city.

Then the police took several people away, including Xu Liu and the male teacher.

When the hot pot restaurant closed that night, Xu Liu hadn't returned. The owner assumed that Xu Liu had really stolen the money and had been detained by the police.

When I arrived at the store the next morning, I found that Xu Liu had already arrived. I asked her and learned that after arriving at the police station, a female police officer first searched her body. After finding nothing, she took a statement and discussed the mediation issue regarding the other party's false accusation.

In the end, the other party compensated her three hundred yuan.

Then the teacher drove her back. When she got back, the shop was already closed, so she went straight back to her dormitory.

When the boss saw that she was unharmed, he knew that she had been wronged.

Tell her to take a day off today, rest, and still get paid.

Unexpectedly, Xu Liu said that she came to resign today because she didn't want to work there anymore and was afraid that if she stayed in the store, those people would come and cause trouble again.

The boss understood and paid her wages on the spot, even giving her extra money for three days.

Then Xu Liu left.

As expected, the other guests came back and made a scene twice more, only stopping when they confirmed that Xu Liu had left.

The boss never saw the girl again after that.

However, other employees in the store provided a useful clue: after Xu Liu resigned and settled her wages, she went back to her dormitory to pack her things, and got into a white car at the entrance of the alley when she left.

Although the waiter didn't remember the car's license plate number or recognize its brand.

But He Bin keenly connected the dots to one person: the middle-aged male teacher who testified for Xu Liu and then brought Xu Liu back afterwards.

He Bin immediately went to the nearby local police station, showed his identification, and asked the police officers to retrieve the case records from that time, where they found the information of the middle-aged man wearing glasses.

Zhang Wenhua, a senior teacher at Huaixing Middle School.

Zhang Wenhua is 41 years old this year. He is a local of Huaixing and teaches Chinese at Huaixing Middle School. He has a wife and a daughter, whose daughter is 16 years old this year.

He is also an amateur writer and poet, and frequently publishes articles and poems in local newspapers and magazines, and is quite well-known.

He Bin went directly to Huaixing Middle School to learn about Zhang Wenhua's situation and character from the school's perspective.

The school has a high opinion of Teacher Zhang, after all, she has the title of senior teacher and her teaching level is also very good. A few years ago, she even taught a student who scored high in the Chinese college entrance examination. That student's Chinese college entrance examination score ranked third in the province that year.

It can be considered a golden brand of the school in Chinese language, and it is in its prime, in a period of steady growth.

It was also confirmed that Zhang Wenhua does indeed drive a white car, which he bought two years ago.

With the help of school leaders, He Bin and his colleagues met Zhang Wenhua in an office and conducted a private interview.

He Bin said that after Zhang Wenhua was brought in by the school leaders, he noticed something unusual about him when the leaders introduced their identities.

Because he was clearly nervous, He Bin did not alert him, but instead started with some minor issues.

After asking him a few questions about his personal situation, the conversation suddenly shifted to whether he knew Xu Liu.

Zhang Wenhua was stunned for a moment, and stammered that he didn't seem to have any students named Xu Liu.

He Bin stared intently at him and said, "I didn't say Xu Liu was a student."

Sweat immediately poured down Zhang Wenhua's forehead, clearly indicating that this senior teacher's mental fortitude was not actually very good.

He Bin was very shrewd. He immediately pressed his advantage and started playing the good cop and bad cop with his colleagues.

His colleagues were tasked with scaring him, warning him that the problem was very serious and that if he didn't confess honestly, they would come to question him every day, not only at the school but also at his home, including his wife and daughter, and they would talk to them and investigate.

This scare left Zhang Wenhua completely dumbfounded.

Because teachers with such a good reputation who also enjoy writing are very concerned about their public image and are most afraid of ruining their reputation.

He Bin immediately tried to persuade him kindly, saying that they were just conducting a routine investigation to understand the situation, and that if he cooperated with their work, they would not make things difficult for him.

With tears in his eyes, Zhang Wenhua said that he was confused and that he had been bewitched to do such a thing. He was sorry to his wife and children, to the school and the leaders, and to all the classics he had studied.

He Bin quickly stopped his endless confession and told him to get down to business. They had already gathered a lot of information, and now it was time to give him a chance to redeem himself.

Then I reminded him to start from the incident at the hot pot restaurant last August.

Zhang Wenhua nodded repeatedly, admitting that he did indeed know Xu Liu and that he had maintained an improper relationship with her for a long time.

In mid-August last year, he invited some old classmates to dinner and called the hot pot restaurant in advance to reserve a private room.

He did arrive at the hot pot restaurant first, and the receptionist led him to a private room.

When he pushed open the door to the private room, he saw a waiter standing with his back to the door, seemingly holding something in his hand.

His sudden appearance startled the waiter, who immediately stuffed the things in his hands into his clothes and then began to frantically clean up the leftovers left by the previous table of guests.

He didn't seem to care and just said, "No rush, take your time packing."

But the young waiter seemed very nervous, keeping his head down and frantically tidying up the things. After wiping the table clean, he took the food and left.

Then his classmates arrived one after another, and they started ordering food and eating.

They hadn't been eating long when the owner came in and asked if they had seen an envelope on the chair.

The group looked at each other, saying they hadn't seen anything, and then the boss left.

Soon, the sounds of arguing and insults came from outside. The group went out to see what was going on and saw several grown men surrounding the waitress who had been tidying up the things. The little girl was crying in fear.

After listening for a while, Zhang Wenhua learned that a group of guests at the table above their private room had dropped an envelope containing two thousand yuan. The group was now demanding to search the waitress, convinced that she had stolen it.

Only then did he suddenly remember the strange reaction of the waitress when he entered the private room.

He then realized that the money must have been taken by the young girl.

He originally intended to testify for several customers, but when his gaze fell on the waitress's face, he said his heart skipped a beat.

The little girl cried with tears streaming down her face, trembling and looking pitiful. He was immediately moved with compassion.

So he stepped forward and stood in front of the little girl.

The little girl he was protecting hid behind him, clutching his clothes tightly with both hands, as if she had grasped a lifeline.

This aroused his protective instincts, and he shouted sternly, which deterred the male guests across the table who wanted to make advances.

Then, when the police arrived, taking advantage of the brief moment when everyone's attention was drawn away, he immediately whispered in the girl's ear, "I know you took it, but don't worry, I won't report you. Give me the things right now, or you'll be in big trouble if they're found in a search."

He said the other person trembled, then pulled the envelope out of his clothes and stuffed it into his hand.

When the people who had dropped the money were telling the police what had happened and pointing to Xu Liu, who was trembling in the corner, the envelope was already in Zhang Wenhua's hands.

After discreetly slipping the envelope into his underwear, he jumped out to testify for Xu Liu and identified himself to the police, saying he was willing to go to the police station to give a statement.

After arriving at the police station, Xu Liu was taken to a room for a body search, but naturally nothing was found.

Thus, the situation reversed, and Xu Liu went from being a suspect to a wrongly accused victim.

This kind of thing isn't a big deal, especially since the people who lost the money not only had no evidence, but they also drank a lot of alcohol. The police said that they probably didn't even know where they lost it.

After negotiation and mediation, the police made those people pay 300 yuan in compensation.

Then let Zhang Wenhua and Xu Liu go first, and let the others leave later.

The purpose was naturally to prevent the few people from harboring resentment and seeking revenge, and from causing any more trouble.

When they arrived, Xu Liu, as a suspect, got into a police car.

He and the others who lost money were all driving their own cars.

So after leaving the police station, Zhang Wenhua let Xu Liu get into his car and said he would take her home.

Xu Liu had something on him, so he naturally dared not disobey and obediently got into the car.

On the way back, Zhang Wenhua began to inquire about her personal situation with concern, wondering why she was so young and had started working so early.

Xu Liu clearly lacked social experience at the time, and she answered Zhang Wenhua's questions honestly.

When he learned that Xu Liu was about to go to university, he was very surprised, so he asked her which school she studied at, what score she got, and which university she was admitted to.

Perhaps it had been too long since anyone had cared about her like this, because Xu Liu suddenly lost control of her emotions while answering and began to cry uncontrollably.

Zhang Wenhua immediately pulled the car over to the side of the road and then gently comforted her.

But while comforting her, his hand slowly moved to Xu Liu's back.

When his hand touched Xu Liu's shoulder, Xu Liu was so frightened that she trembled and pushed him away.

Xu Liu's reaction made Zhang Wenhua very unhappy, because he felt that this girl was a bit "ungrateful".

So he began to "reprimand" Xu Liu.

He sternly and righteously educated her, saying that her behavior today was extremely serious and heinous, a crime, and that she would go to jail if the police found out.

Once she goes to jail, she definitely won't be able to go to university. Even if she gets out, she'll have a criminal record and be looked down upon for the rest of her life.

So he didn't know whether he should cover up her criminal behavior or report it to the police later.

Sure enough, Xu Liu, who had little social experience, was terrified by his words and trembled with fear.

In reality, it's not that easy. You can't just report someone without any evidence. Xu Liu isn't a civil servant, so a report without any evidence is meaningless to her.

Moreover, Zhang Wenhua is also suspected of harboring and obstructing law enforcement; if he were to be reported, he would also be implicated.

But a girl who had just graduated from high school didn't understand these principles and was frightened by Zhang Wenhua's few words.

Seeing this, Zhang Wenhua changed the subject and began to comfort her, saying that he understood her difficulties and that it wasn't easy for her to earn money. He said that she must have made a mistake because she was confused for a moment, and that society should give young people more opportunities to correct their mistakes.

Of course, the entire interrogation process wasn't so direct; Zhang Wenhua racked his brains trying to lie and get away with it.

He Bin said that unfortunately, this person's mental fortitude was still lacking. Whenever he lied, he would either break out in a cold sweat or tremble all over, making him very easy to spot.

Therefore, He Bin immediately saw through Zhang Wenhua's lies and exposed him.

Zhang Wenhua confessed that while comforting Xu Liu, his hands began to wander, slowly touching Xu Liu's slender waist.

This time, although Xu Liu's body was still trembling, she did not push him away.

Seeing that Xu Liu did not resist, he became even more unscrupulous. He spoke of the great principles that Taoists had learned, while his hands roamed freely over her young and soft body, moving upwards until he finally grabbed her and began to knead her wantonly.

Hearing this, He Bin was furious and questioned Zhang Wenhua sternly whether he had coerced and raped Xu Liu that very night.

Zhang Wenhua was so frightened that he waved his hands repeatedly, saying that he had never raped Xu Liu and that their relationship was consensual.

He Bin then demanded that he confess everything and not conceal anything, or he would be arrested on suspicion of rape.

Zhang Wenhua was so scared he almost wet himself. He kept saying he promised he wouldn't lie and begged them not to arrest him, saying he really didn't rape her.

According to his confession, he did not force her to commit any assault that night.

Instead, he set a condition for her.

He could give her that envelope, and not only could she take the two thousand yuan inside, but he could also cover her tuition and living expenses for four years of university.

He gave her a figure, saying that if she was willing to spend half a month with him before the start of her school term, the two thousand yuan and the money he had mentioned would both be Xu Liu's.

He can visit her in Hongcheng every month and give her living expenses regularly, so she won't have to work so hard to earn money like she does now.

If Xu Liu doesn't accept this, then he will drive the car back to the police station now and let the police handle it.

So, while they said they set conditions, it was actually a matter of coercion and enticement, leaving Xu Liu with no choice.

Zhang Wenhua said that after he finished speaking, Xu Liu didn't say anything, but just kept her head down. He knew that she was moved and was just one step away from making a move.

So he grabbed Xu Liu's hand and moved it to the position of his belt.

Then he told her that he had hidden the envelope in his underwear, and that she could reach in and get it herself if she wanted it.

That night, in a white car, a naive and innocent girl died.

The next day, after resigning from the hot pot restaurant, Xu Liu slung her old schoolbag over her shoulder and got into Zhang Wenhua's car at the alley entrance.

On the bus, Zhang Wenhua kept his promise and tossed Xu Liu an envelope containing the money he had promised the night before.

Xu Liu expressionlessly unzipped her backpack, stuffed the envelope into a hidden compartment, and placed it alongside the two thousand yuan from the previous night.

Zhang Wenhua drove her directly to a hotel and paid for two weeks' worth of rooms with a wave of his hand.

However, when he took the key from the receptionist, he also slipped Xu Liu's ID card into his pocket.

When they got on the elevator, Zhang Wenhua still had that refined and elegant demeanor.

But once inside the room and the door closed, he abandoned all pretense, completely shedding his human facade and transforming into a hideous beast, lunging at Xu Liu.

When she was stripped naked and thrown onto the bed.

As the beast, reeking of filth, lay on top of her and vented its fury.

When red bloodstains were left on the sheets.

Her head was hanging upside down on the bed, and her long black hair cascaded down to the carpet like a waterfall.

She felt numb, like a dead person, and couldn't even feel the excruciating pain coming from her lower body.

She just stared blankly at the air conditioner on the wall, where wisps of white steam were coming out of the vents and a cold stream of air was blowing out.

It blew onto her face.

She suddenly felt like crying.

The air conditioner was so cold that she was shivering.

(End of this chapter)