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

Chapter 427 Returns to the Grandeur (7th Day of 10,000 Words)
Regardless of the reason, Xu Liu's moral compass began to crumble the moment she stole the envelope.

This is a classic example of how a small leak can sink a great ship.

In his previous life, Zhou Yi had seen too many criminals, all kinds of people.

The investigation and interrogation of these criminals is tantamount to understanding their life experiences.

Apart from a very small number of born bad people, the vast majority of criminals embark on a path of crime by starting with petty theft.

Once a person crosses that line, even if it's just a small step, they will gradually sink into depravity.

This is a moral bottom line, a legal bottom line, and a bottom line for life.

Zhou Yi was certain that Lu Xiaoshuang would not cross that line like Xu Liu did.

A similar situation was discovered during the investigation by the task force in the previous life.

It was that barbecue restaurant on the food street. A similar incident had occurred about a week before Bai Mao and his gang caused trouble.

After a group of customers finished their meal, paid their bill, and left, Lu Xiaoshuang noticed a woman's gold necklace lying underneath the food scraps while cleaning them up.

In this situation, if Lu Xiaoshuang were to become greedy, she could easily take it for herself.

The size of the gold necklace is disproportionate to the size of the two thousand yuan envelope, making it too easy to hide. Furthermore, since it fell under food scraps, it was most likely accidentally dropped, making it even harder to pinpoint its exact location.

But she immediately handed the gold necklace to the owner, and twenty minutes later the customers at that table ran back to ask them if they had seen a gold necklace.

She immediately confirmed the style and appearance of the gold necklace with the other party, and finally told them that she had given it to the boss. Only then did the boss reluctantly take out the necklace and return it to the customer.

Afterwards, the woman who had lost her necklace offered 100 yuan as a thank-you gift, which Lu Xiaoshuang politely declined.

Moreover, when the task force first started investigating, the barbecue restaurant owner hadn't mentioned this incident. It was only after they found out about Bai Mao's gang that other employees brought it up during the second investigation, and it was then recorded.

Therefore, Xu Liu and Lu Xiaoshuang are fundamentally different types of people, and when faced with the same situation, they make completely different choices.

Where a person's life will lead is determined by every choice they make.

But these choices have their roots, which lie in a person's family and parents, and the teachings they hear and see from childhood.

Lu Xiaoshuang's parents were kind-hearted people who dedicated most of their lives to the impoverished Northwest. Although poor, they were noble, so from a young age, Lu Xiaoshuang's heart was filled with light and beauty.

But Xu Liu was different. Her parents were foolish people with deep-seated flaws; they were capable of ruining their own daughter's life and future for their own selfish desires. In such an environment, Xu Liu would inevitably be affected to some extent.

In Zhang Wenhua's testimony, Xu Liu underwent a significant turning point.

This wasn't the first time Xu Liu had lost her virginity to Zhang Wenhua; at that time, she was probably filled with immense fear.

On her last day at the hotel in Huaixing, after more than ten days, Xu Liu probably finally understood, or rather, resigned herself to her fate.

Zhou Yi speculated that she may have realized that reality was even more naked than her own broken self, and that her body and appearance could be used as tools to get what she wanted.

So when Zhang Wenhua saw Xu Liu again a month later, he said he didn't recognize her at all.

This is similar to how some people grow up overnight; it's a change in consciousness after experiencing a huge shock.

The old Xu Liu died at that moment.

From that moment on, a different person was living.

But this also raised an even bigger question for Zhou Yi: why didn't Xu Liu die in the previous life?
Because from the moment she started stealing money, to being threatened by Zhang Wenhua to become his mistress, to Zhang Wenhua cutting off her support, and then to the point where she may have found a new sugar daddy.

All of this happened before Zhou Yi was reborn.

In other words, theoretically, Zhou Yi could not possibly interfere with Xu Liu's life trajectory.

Zhou Yi was reborn on the evening of March 15th, and only met Lu Xiaoshuang on March 21st during the food street incident.

Up until the Hongda case came to light, he had never had any contact with Xu Liu. Even if there was any indirect influence, it could only be through Lu Xiaoshuang.

However, this indirect impact could not possibly be very significant, otherwise Lu Xiaoshuang herself would have realized it.

How could such a negligible influence, which neither Lu Xiaoshuang nor those around her noticed, possibly lead to Xu Liu's death in this life?
Therefore, there is only one possibility: Xu Liu was the murderer's target in both his previous life and this life.

But for some unknown reason, Lu Xiaoshuang became the victim in her previous life.

Could it be that the murderer mistook Lu Xiaoshuang for Xu Liu and killed her?

Afterwards, due to the dismemberment and disposal of the body, the special task force conducted a thorough investigation, which led the murderer to eventually give up on continuing to kill Xu Liu.

This is a fairly reasonable explanation. After all, with such a major case, if Xu Liu were killed as well, the murderer would easily be exposed.

If that's the case, wouldn't Lu Xiaoshuang be Xu Liu's scapegoat in her previous life?
Is it only because of my intervention in this life that Lu Xiaoshuang doesn't have to be the scapegoat?

But Zhou Yi immediately rejected his own idea, because he had analyzed before that Lu Xiaoshuang and Xu Liu were both the murderer's targets in this life.

Therefore, there is no possibility that you were a scapegoat in your previous life.

This is a massive case, a truly massive case. Why are there so many more mysteries surrounding it?

Zhou Yi felt like a black cat with a tangled ball of yarn in front of him, with countless loose threads but no way to untangle it.

Aside from the progress made by the construction team and Zhang Wenhua, there has been no substantial progress in other areas.

Xiao Bing and Dong Lu are still missing, which is really abnormal. Including the night Xiao Bing escaped, they have been on the run for three and a half days.

The only suspected trace in the middle was near the long-distance bus station on the night of the 10th.

Moreover, the police officers who were chasing them said that only one person was escaping, but they were too far away to tell whether it was a man or a woman.

Is this person Xiao Bing, Dong Lu, or someone completely unrelated?

Then Dong Lu's trail went cold. After the rape case in June 1988, the only time she appeared was in October of that year when she went back to the orphanage with Xiao Bing to celebrate her birthday.

When she reappeared in 1991, she went to the Third Municipal Hospital to see Director Sun for mental illness, and at that time she was already in a state of post-burn condition.

It's utterly unbelievable that a living, breathing person could have a gap of more than two years in between.

During the discussion at the meeting, Chen Yan suggested checking Dong Lu's information with the labor and social security department. If Dong Lu had a job after graduation, she should have a labor and social security record.

However, this is only one possibility, because in the 1980s and 1990s, many companies were not very formal in paying labor insurance, and some didn't pay it at all, so there was nowhere to complain.

But at least it was a relatively clear direction. Ni Jianrong immediately took out his phone and said that he could handle the matter with one phone call. Then he called the deputy director of the Labor Bureau and asked him to cooperate in checking someone's information.

Ni Jianrong waved to Chen Yan, who immediately ran past the crowd. Ni Jianrong then asked him to read Dong Lu's name and ID number into the phone.

He then hung up the phone triumphantly.

Although it was just a brief phone call lasting less than two minutes, everyone in the room watched him make the call, chatting and laughing with the other party's leader, and even instructing Chen Yan to come over and report information.

This really put Zhou Yi on edge, knowing that he just wanted to show off his connections. But there was really no need for that. The call would only last two minutes; he could go outside to make it, and then come back and say it was all done. That would probably be more effective.

But perhaps they simply enjoy the feeling of being the center of attention.

Liang Wei remained calm throughout the entire process, not saying a word, until Ni Jianrong hung up the phone and said "It's all done," at which point he smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Captain Ni."

Looking out at the torrential rain, Liang Wei solemnly said, "Comrades, today is the tenth day since the establishment of our special task force for the 430 major murder and dismemberment case. I know you have all worked very hard and achieved some results, but this is far from enough, because the case has not yet been solved and we have not yet seen the light of hope. So we must grit our teeth and continue to persevere to give an explanation to the deceased, to the people, and to society."

Zhou Yi didn't know if Liang Wei did it on purpose, but these words certainly made it clear which of the two deputy team leaders was more sophisticated.

After the meeting, Zhou Yi decided to finally get on with the task of talking to Zheng Jianxin, which had been delayed.

But before that, there was one more thing he wanted to try.

He found Qiao Jiali and pulled her aside.

Qiao Jiali asked suspiciously, "What's all this about, so mysteriously?"

"Sister Qiao, I have a lead that I'd like to ask your Director Zhang for help with."

Upon hearing her husband mentioned, Qiao Jiali immediately understood. She asked, "Is it about that anonymous whistleblower letter from the Municipal Party Committee Office?"

Zhou Yi nodded quickly.

Although he suspected from the beginning that the whistleblower letter was the work of the murderer, he did not directly propose to investigate.

There are three reasons.

First, he had no evidence or logical support to prove to the task force that this matter was related to the case.

Second, attempting to conduct cross-system investigations without evidence is a highly sensitive act, involving complex procedures and reviews.

Third, even if Director Xie were willing to investigate, once the matter was escalated and internal procedures were initiated, regardless of the outcome, it would waste a significant amount of time, public resources, and police manpower at this critical juncture, and might even damage morale. Therefore, the municipal party committee and Xie Guoqiang's low-key approach was actually a tacit understanding for the sake of the overall situation. As for removing Zhou Yi from the task force list, it was also to avoid any unforeseen complications.

But if things get serious, then we can only proceed according to procedure. Zhou Yi isn't afraid, but Director Xie is holding Wu Yongcheng accountable for reporting himself. When there's a clear outcome, this matter will inevitably fall on Captain Wu's head.

Zhou Yi can't let Captain Wu down again.

Therefore, he never formally mentioned this matter to Liang Wei.

Of course, deciding who to bring it up with is also a challenge for Zhou Yi.

Xie Guoqiang had been tested once when he first joined the task force, but not only did he not find out anything, he almost got himself into trouble.

Liang Wei is a good person, but he is from the provincial government after all, so he will be very cautious about work-related issues that involve the local area.

Ni Jianrong? Let's forget about that then.

"Sister Qiao, after thinking it over, the only person who can help with this is your Director Zhang," Zhou Yi said.

Qiao Jiali said with some difficulty, "Zhou Yi, it's not that I'm unwilling to help you, but investigating reports is too sensitive. Knowing my husband Lao Zhang as I do, he definitely won't agree."

Zhou Yi nodded; Director Zhang really had no reason to help him.

He thought for a moment and said, "Sister Qiao, how about this, I don't need Director Zhang to help me investigate the specifics, I just need to trouble Director Zhang to find out one thing, which is the date when the Municipal Party Committee received this anonymous letter of complaint."

"Just one date?"

"Yes, one date is enough."

Qiao Jiali thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll go home tonight and talk to him."

"Thank you, Sister Qiao."

Qiao Jiali patted his arm and smiled.

Turning around, Zhou Yi picked up Zheng Jianxin's file and left the task force's office building with Chen Yan to talk to Zheng Jianxin.

The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier, dark clouds covered the sky and the raindrops were hitting the umbrella, making the whole umbrella shake.

Zhou Yi looked at the rain and thought of An Yuan. This rain was probably no less severe than the one in An Yuan.

Moreover, with such heavy rain, Brother Biao and his men are going to suffer. When the rain is heavy enough to affect normal activities, that is precisely when they need to be most vigilant, because those who are trying to escape know that this is their opportunity.

Chen Yan casually remarked, "This rain is probably even heavier than the rain the day Du Xiaolin was murdered."

Zhou Yi's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Chen Yan's casual remark made his heart tighten.

Because the key to Du Xiaolin's case was a heavy rainstorm on the night she was reborn.

In the recent An Yuan case, two bodies were discovered in Xiaoqiushan Park, also due to a heavy rain.

It seems as if, by some unseen force, heavy rain always accompanies the occurrence of murders.

He rubbed his forehead, hoping he was just overthinking things.

After all, he didn't voice his thoughts this time, so it shouldn't trigger his "jinxed" trait.

The two walked through the rain under their umbrellas and found Wu Na, the counselor of the 1996 Finance class.

A girl the same age as Chen Yan, but her face still showed the immaturity of a student.

Wu Na has short hair, is petite, and her face shows undisguised fatigue.

It wasn't physical fatigue, but mental fatigue.

Although she is not responsible for the serious incident involving her students, it will have a significant impact on her mental health and work.

Not only will she have to cooperate with the special investigation team's various investigations, but she will also likely face questioning from the school, especially regarding Xu Liu's leave request, which she failed to verify further. She will probably be punished later.

Zhou Yi didn't know what happened to his classmates and teachers after the task force withdrew from Hongda in his previous life, but from his brief contact with Wu Na, he sensed that Wu Na probably wouldn't stay at Hongda for long.

This unsolved case affects not only the deceased's family.

Anyone caught up in a cold case will remain trapped in it for life as long as the case remains unsolved.

Chen Yan had met Wu Na before. After explaining his needs to her, Wu Na found them an empty office and said she would go and call Zheng Jianxin right away.

About ten minutes later, Wu Na appeared at the door with a small, thin boy who was a little over 1.6 meters tall.

Wu Na knocked on the door and said, "Officers, I've brought Zheng Jianxin here."

Zheng Jianxin stood at the door, his neck hunched, looking somewhat timid. His clothes and pants on the right side were soaked by the rain.

Chen Yan said, "Thank you, Teacher Wu, you've worked hard."

"You two talk, I'm leaving now. Call me if you need anything, I'm in the office next door." Wu Na then whispered to Zheng Jianxin, "Just answer whatever the police officer asks, cooperate fully, understand?"

Zheng Jianxin nodded cautiously.

When Wu Na returned to her office, she glanced back at Zheng Jianxin standing at the door.

Because he was the first student, besides Xu Liu and Lu Xiaoshuang's roommates, to be called in for questioning by the police a second time, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

"Zheng Jianxin, come in. Please close the door behind you, thank you," Chen Yan said.

"Okay." Zheng Jianxin quickly came in and closed the door.

"Please sit down," Chen Yan said. "Don't be nervous. I just have a few questions I'd like to verify with you."

As Zhou Yi watched Zheng Jianxin sit down, she realized that he was the short boy who had turned around and looked at them in the crowd when she first went to Hongda to find Lu Xiaoshuang.

As Zheng Jianxin sat down, he unconsciously glanced at Zhou Yi out of the corner of his eye.

Zhou Yi knew that he had also recognized him.

Zheng Jianxin had already been questioned during the previous investigation into Xu Liu's core social relationships.

First, it can be confirmed that he has a sufficient alibi.

From April 28th to May 1st, he basically didn't leave the school, going back and forth between the classroom, the cafeteria, and the boys' dormitory.

Since he was not a local and had no relatives in Hongcheng, he spent May Day at school.

There were two other classmates in the dormitory who didn't go out to play either. The three of them stayed in the dormitory reading, chatting, and eating sunflower seeds. They even went to the snack street next door for casserole rice at noon, so their alibi was quite sufficient.

However, the previous routine questioning was all about Xu Liu, and there was no question about Lu Xiaoshuang.

After all, Lu Xiaoshuang was not only a suspect at the time, but was also still in critical condition, and the leaders had not yet figured out how to properly handle the situation.

Therefore, it was reasonable for Zhou Yi to question Zheng Jianxin based on the information provided by Lu Xiaoshuang.

However, what Zhou Yi cared about more was that in the investigation of his previous life, Zheng Jianxin had not revealed that he had a crush on Lu Xiaoshuang and had written her love letters.

It can't be that in the previous life it was just a crush, and in this life I can't help but confess after I realized Zhou Yi's existence.

But he only came to Hongda to see Lu Xiaoshuang three times, and only the first time was before Zheng Jianxin confessed his feelings.

So in his previous life, he concealed this matter; it was just that the task force was unaware of it.

The two had agreed beforehand that Chen Yan would be in charge of asking questions and Zhou Yi would be in charge of taking notes, because Zhou Yi wanted to observe from the sidelines.

"Zheng Jianxin, let's begin," Chen Yan said.

Zheng Jianxin didn't speak, he just nodded.

Do you remember a classmate named Lu Xiaoshuang?

Upon hearing Lu Xiaoshuang's name, Zheng Jianxin shifted his body slightly awkwardly before nodding.

Are you familiar with her?

"We're just...just ordinary classmates." Zheng Jianxin didn't continue. "When was the last time you spoke to Lu Xiaoshuang?"

Upon hearing this question, Zheng Jianxin immediately panicked.

Zhou Yi had already guessed the answer: the last time Zheng Jianxin and Lu Xiaoshuang spoke was on April 9th, the night the "Asking the Heart" program aired.

Lu Xiaoshuang told Zhou Yi that the school had organized everyone to go to the lecture hall to watch a TV program that day.

Afterwards, Zheng Jianxin called her from outside the classroom under the pretext of returning a book, and handed her a love letter tucked inside.

However, she did not open it to see its contents, but immediately returned it to the other party and refused to accept it.

Although Zhou Yi didn't ask Lu Xiaoshuang if she had any further contact with Zheng Jianxin, under normal circumstances, a shy and inexperienced young man like him would be greatly affected after being rejected. He would most likely be afraid to have any further contact with his crush, and might even actively avoid her.

This is also why introverted people don't easily fall in love. On the contrary, those guys who keep pestering and clinging after being rejected are more likely to win over the other person.

"I don't remember the exact date... it was the day the school organized everyone to watch a TV program."

Chen Yan pressed further: "At what time and where did you talk to Lu Xiaoshuang?"

"Around 8 p.m. in the evening... I returned a book that I had borrowed from Lu Xiaoshuang to her downstairs in the lecture hall building."

"what book?"

"The Economic Way of Thinking" was a book that Professor Fan gave to Lu Xiaoshuang as a reward after she got first place in the Economics Principles exam. I borrowed it to read later. Before the exam, Professor Fan mentioned that this book was his second textbook and that it had many of his annotations and handwriting. I really wanted it, but unfortunately I didn't get first place. So I borrowed it from Lu Xiaoshuang afterwards.

"Did you talk about anything when you returned the books?"

Zheng Jianxin hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No."

Chen Yan glanced at Zhou Yi out of the corner of his eye and, seeing that he didn't seem inclined to speak, continued, "Are you sure?"

Zheng Jianxin didn't answer directly. Instead, he glanced nervously at Chen Yan, then stammered, "You...you know...something?"

"When did you start liking Lu Xiaoshuang?" Zhou Yi finally spoke, his words slow but serious.

Zheng Jianxin suddenly looked up, staring at Zhou Yi in surprise.

Zhou Yi smiled faintly and said, "We've met before, you wouldn't have forgotten so quickly, would you?"

Zheng Jianxin hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“Zheng Jianxin, don’t be so nervous. We don’t want to harm you. I won’t hide it from you. Anyway, you all probably already know that your classmate Xu Liu was murdered. We are now trying to find the killer. A gentleman is open and honest. As long as you have nothing to do with this, you don’t need to be afraid.”

As Zhou Yi spoke, Chen Yan naturally picked up a pen and paper and began to take notes.

Zhou Yi had been observing Zheng Jianxin to see what kind of person he really was and whether he was deliberately pretending to be weak.

It turned out that the other party wasn't pretending to be weak at all; in fact, they really were weak.

From physical appearance to personality, weakness is evident in every aspect.

With his height and physique, Zhou Yi could easily take him down with a single punch, even without Jiang Biao.

In terms of personality, he exhibits characteristics of insecurity, introversion, and low self-esteem.

Nineteen-year-olds are at the prime of their youth, and it's difficult for them to fake it so convincingly, unless they're born an actor.

So Zhou Yi spoke up, and he got straight to the point without any unnecessary words.

"So you can be more open. Just answer whatever we ask. Anyway, what you're saying is only between the three of us in this room. Your classmates and teachers won't know."

Upon hearing Zhou Yi's last sentence, Zheng Jianxin couldn't help but ask, "You really won't tell the teachers and classmates?"

“We are disciplined. If we leak the contents of today’s conversation, you can report us.” Zhou Yi pointed to himself and then to Chen Yan, saying, “My name is Zhou Yi, and this is Officer Chen Yan.”

Zheng Jianxin nodded and said, "I know you. I saw you on TV that night. My female classmates all said you were very handsome."

Zhou Yi frankly stated, "A man's handsomeness lies not in his height or appearance, but in his broad-mindedness, integrity, and ambition for his country and the world. 'Wielding a three-foot sword to achieve unparalleled feats'—that is the romance of a man. Do you agree with what I said?"

Zheng Jianxin nodded repeatedly and chimed in, "The last sentence is Taishi Ci's dying words in Romance of the Three Kingdoms: 'A great man born in troubled times should carry a three-foot sword and establish unparalleled merit; now that my ambition has not been fulfilled, how can I die!'"

Zhou Yi smiled and said, "I can tell you really enjoy reading."

Zhou Yi was taking a "nothing to lose" approach to Zheng Jianxin, since neither his alibi nor the circumstances of the crime suggested he was the murderer.

If you find out anything from asking, it's a pleasant surprise.

Therefore, in this situation, you shouldn't be confrontational, but rather try to build a closer relationship, especially since he sees you as a rival in love. The best approach is to help him lower his guard.

Zheng Jianxin nodded: "Yes, I really enjoy reading."

"Then why did you study finance instead of Chinese literature?"

Zheng Jianxin lowered his head and said, "My mother is a math teacher. My first choice was the math department of the provincial university, but... I was a few points short. My second choice was the financial management major at Hongda University..."

Zhou Yi understood immediately.

Zheng Jianxin has a very domineering mother who is also a teacher.

A strong-willed mother who is also a teacher will almost certainly have a child who is insecure and introverted, because he will be suppressed and strictly controlled from a young age, living under high pressure, which is very similar to Zheng Jianxin's timid and submissive personality.

So what he called his first choice was actually not his first choice, but his mother's.

It's not about swearing, it's about fucking aspirations.

It is not uncommon for parents to impose their own unfulfilled dreams on their children.

The fundamental reason for the so-called "hoping one's son becomes a dragon and one's daughter a phoenix" is that one has failed to fly, so one has a child hoping that the child will fly. If the child cannot fly, one feels that the child is worthless and has let oneself down.

This is a pathological mentality, but it is also the normal mentality of the vast majority of parents.

As for the grand financial management major, it accepts both arts and science students.

"Zheng Jianxin, what does your father do?"

"He passed away when I was five years old..."

Zhou Yi thought to himself, "Oh no, they've added another requirement: single-parent family."

"Zheng Jianxin, can you answer my question now? When did you start liking Lu Xiaoshuang?" Zhou Yi thought that was enough, so he came back to the point.

"I started not long after the start of the semester."

"Why? Because you're good-looking?"

Zheng Jianxin shook his head, but immediately added, "I'm not saying she's not pretty, but... that's not the main reason. The main reason is... is..."

He kept saying "yes" for ages, which drove the two people opposite him crazy. This guy was not only introverted and insecure, but also very stubborn.

"What is it?" Chen Yan couldn't help but urge.

Zheng Jianxin's answer, however, surprised both of them.

He said, "It's because she's poor."

Zheng Jianxin said that he first noticed Lu Xiaoshuang one night two weeks after the start of the semester. The boys were chatting in the dormitory after the lights were turned off, and the topic of conversation was the girls in the class, which ones were pretty and which ones they could pursue.

This is only natural. A group of hot-blooded, budding college freshmen will naturally yearn for pretty female classmates and romance.

As they chatted, someone brought up Lu Xiaoshuang.

Several boys unanimously agreed that the girl was quite pretty, and some even thought she would be easy to pursue because they had heard that she had to go out to work every week to earn money, so her family must be poor.

The boy who said this was a rich man whose family owned a factory. He thought he could win Lu Xiaoshuang over by throwing money at her.

No one believed him, thinking he was bragging, so they got more and more agitated. In the end, the boy made a bet with his classmates, saying that he would win over Lu Xiaoshuang within a week. If he failed, he would treat the whole dorm to hot pot. If he succeeded, he would become the dorm leader.

The following evening, the boy specially bought a bouquet of roses and a bunch of heart-shaped candles, setting up a romantic confession scene in the school's small garden.

Then, ask a female classmate to lure Lu Xiaoshuang out.

As a result, a bunch of people who wanted to see a good show hid nearby and waited for a long time. The girl came back alone and said she couldn't find him. Her roommate said he might have gone to work.

The group left dejectedly, but they did provide a feast for the mosquitoes near the small garden.

Back in the boys' dormitory, everyone went around borrowing mosquito repellent.

The next day, the boy learned his lesson and offered to treat Lu Xiaoshuang to lunch. Lu Xiaoshuang refused outright, saying she didn't have money to reciprocate and therefore wouldn't eat with him.

The guy said, "You don't need to reciprocate. I'll treat you to something. Take whatever you want to eat."

Lu Xiaoshuang shook her head and said: Then I definitely can't eat it. My mother taught me that the most expensive things are the ones you don't have to pay back.

The boy was speechless for a moment. In the following days, he tried to win Lu Xiaoshuang's favor again and again, but he was always met with a cold shoulder.

The boy had actually given up, but with only two days left, a classmate teased him a couple of times that evening, and his competitive spirit flared up again.

The next afternoon, after class, he blocked Lu Xiaoshuang in the corridor of the teaching building and told her not to go to work anymore, saying that he had money and could support her in the future.

If the previous actions were merely childish and foolish, then this last action was downright insulting.

As expected, the boy was severely scolded by Lu Xiaoshuang on the spot, and lost all face.

This incident occurred at the end of September, shortly after the start of the school year, but because it was so dramatic, it became a laughing stock for many people. It was mentioned in the investigation of my previous life.

However, firstly, too much time had passed, and secondly, the boy had a solid alibi, so it was just one of the normal aspects of the investigation.

However, Zheng Jianxin developed feelings for Lu Xiaoshuang because of this incident.

He said: "Although Lu Xiaoshuang is poor, she is poor but has great integrity."

He also said that his mother had told him that their family was poor and that he shouldn't marry a rich woman because they were not a good match.

But girls from poor families tend to be ambitious; nine out of ten of them love money and want to find a rich man.

He felt that Lu Xiaoshuang was the last one among the ten his mother had mentioned.

After hearing this, Zhou Yi was both annoyed and amused.

To put it bluntly, Zheng Jianxin probably doesn't even know what liking someone means.

He simply felt that Lu Xiaoshuang's poverty wouldn't make him feel inferior, and that Lu Xiaoshuang's understanding and sensible nature met his mother's requirements for a daughter-in-law, which is why he chose to "like" Lu Xiaoshuang.

It could even be said that he was most likely a person without any independent thought; he was merely an appendage of his mother.

Such a person is likely to have a very difficult life ahead.

Fortunately, Lu Xiaoshuang didn't have the "honor" of marrying into his family as a daughter-in-law.

"Since you've had a crush on Lu Xiaoshuang for so long, have you noticed anyone else who, like you, has a crush on Lu Xiaoshuang? Or anyone who pays special attention to Lu Xiaoshuang?"

When Zheng Jianxin heard this question, his expression showed a hint of hesitation.

"It's okay, it doesn't have to be absolutely accurate, anything you think is fine," Zhou Yi encouraged, because if he had a crush on Lu Xiaoshuang for so long, he would naturally pay extra attention to the situation around her.

"No...no, since that incident, no one has shown any interest in Lu Xiaoshuang." After saying that, he secretly glanced at Zhou Yi again.

Zhou Yi knew that he still had things to tell him.

His expression changed, and he raised his voice several octaves as he asked, "Zheng Jianxin, I'm asking you, did you secretly follow Lu Xiaoshuang?"

In an instant, Zheng Jianxin visibly trembled.

"I...I only...only two or three times, and then...the teacher found out and I never did it again...I really didn't do anything." Zheng Jianxin's voice trembled like a leaf.

"Two or three times? When exactly?"

"This year, after the start of the school year, around February..."

"What is your purpose in following Lu Xiaoshuang?" Zhou Yi asked sternly. He hadn't expected Zheng Jianxin to have such audacity; he had truly underestimated him.

Zheng Jianxin was on the verge of tears, crying out, "I...I didn't have any ulterior motive, I just...I just couldn't hold back for a moment, I...I..."

Zhou Yi knew he didn't have the guts to do anything, but this behavior was just too despicable and contemptible. "When you were following Lu Xiaoshuang, did you notice that there were other people following her as well?"

"Others?" This question stumped Zheng Jianxin. "No...no one."

Zhou Yi frowned and asked, "Are you sure?"

"I...I don't know..."

Zhou Yi took out Xiao Bing's photo and asked, "Do you recognize this person?"

Zheng Jianxin leaned over to take a look, then shook his head.

"Think carefully, have you seen this somewhere before?"

Zheng Jianxin thought about it again and again, but still shook his head.

This is actually normal. Given how big Hongda is, it's perfectly normal for a freshman not to know a teacher who doesn't teach them.

Zhou Yi wanted to confirm whether he had seen Xiao Bing during the time he was tracking her.

Unfortunately, Zheng Jianxin was unable to provide any truly effective clues.

That concludes the questioning of him.

As Zhou Yi was leaving, he called out to Zheng Jianxin, "Zheng Jianxin, don't do such despicable things as stalking anymore. No woman will respect a man who does such a thing. A man should live with integrity."

Zheng Jianxin shrank his neck, not daring to say a word, and just stood there dumbly at the door, as if he had been frozen in place.

Zhou Yi and Chen Yan looked at each other, and finally Chen Yan said, "Zheng Jianxin, you can leave now."

He said "oh" and then left.

Chen Yan sighed helplessly: "Sigh, you were right before, Zheng Jianxin is indeed not worthy to be your rival in love."

Zhou Yi joked, "That's right. If you want to be my rival in love, you have to be a young and talented man like you, Brother Yan."

Chen Yan quickly waved his hand and said, "No, I have no interest in your Lu Xiaoshuang."

Zhou Yi smiled helplessly. That's just how Chen Yan is; sometimes he's too serious, and his jokes never hit the mark.

When the two returned to the task force, their trouser legs, which had just dried, were soaked again.

Zhou Yi put the latest interrogation record into a file folder with Zheng Jianxin's name on it, and then prepared to return it to Director Wang in the internal affairs group. After all, the responsibility was assigned to a person, and it had to be returned.

I had just returned the documents when I found Liang Wei in their office.

Zhou Yi quickly greeted him: "Captain Liang."

Liang Wei nodded and said, "The Labor Bureau has already sent a message."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yi quickly asked, "Have you found Dong Lu's labor insurance records?"

Liang Wei said, "Yes. The Labor Bureau did not find any records of Dong Lu paying social security contributions."

Zhou Yi's heart sank. Dong Lu had only been interning at Kaiping No. 3 Middle School, so naturally she wouldn't have been covered by social security.

Could it be that she became depressed after that, stopped interacting with society, and was instead supported by Xiao Bing?
“But…” Liang Wei continued, “the Labor Bureau found Dong Lu’s medical insurance payment records.”

"What?" Zhou Yi thought to himself, how come Captain Liang has also become so bad, speaking in such a dramatic and exaggerated way.

But Zhou Yi immediately understood why Liang Wei had broken his sentence into two parts: the information was too astonishing.

Liang Wei said, "Dong Lu's medical insurance is paid by herself, but the school collects and pays it on her behalf."

"The school?" Everyone was puzzled. Had they found her medical insurance records from her undergraduate years?
"Dong Lu's medical insurance was collected and paid on her behalf by Hongcheng Teachers College from September 1984 to June 1988. After that, it was interrupted, and then it was resumed in September 1989, and Hongcheng University collected and paid on her behalf again."

Liang Wei's words stunned everyone.

After going around in circles, we've somehow ended up back at Grandeur?
Zhou Yi was also dumbfounded. Dong Lu's medical insurance was collected and paid by Hongda, but there was no record of labor insurance payment.

The school will collect and pay on behalf of the students; it's unlikely that the payment will be made by faculty or staff, but only by students.

Besides, isn't September the time when schools start?
Could it be that... Dong Lu took the entrance exam for a prestigious graduate program a year after graduation?

The thought of the words "graduate student" suddenly reminded Zhou Yi of something he had casually mentioned a long time ago.

(End of this chapter)