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

Chapter 449 The Butterfly Effect
A name that was mentioned casually at a dinner party eight or nine years ago suddenly came to mind at this critical juncture.

And then he suddenly realized that this was Fan Tianyou's motive for murder and arson.

The probability of such a coincidence occurring is far too low.

The old man's acting was really good; I almost fell for it.

If you think about it carefully, he explained the things about Li Aiping and Fan Chunyu so readily.

This is because these things are not inherently illegal or criminal; they are moral depravity. Even if he confesses, he will not bear any legal responsibility.

However, the nature of the case changed in Dong Lu's case, because it was entirely a criminal case.

He and Liu Baoguo couldn't shirk their responsibilities, but his actions were actually the same as Liu Baoguo's: to act as if he knew as little as possible.

Moreover, the initial statement, "I suspect he has mental problems," was also foreshadowing.

The few minor incidents mentioned, including the one about Fan Tianyou losing control of his emotions, were all foreshadowing.

The premise is that he was merely a father who shielded his son, and he didn't even know the specific motives behind the crime.

This is Chen Gengyun's instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm; this is his true nature—never letting go of any opportunity that benefits him.

But what's truly heartbreaking is Dong Lu's fate.

Xin Yunfei, the principal of Kaiping No. 3 Middle School, raped her, causing her indelible harm.

With Xiao Bing's meticulous care and support, Dong Lu finally emerged from the shadows, passed the postgraduate entrance exam, and began a new life.

Even though she had been hurt, Dong Lu still maintained her kindness and offered Fan Tianyou a helping hand on the rooftop of the graduate student dormitory.

But fate, in a terrible way, turned the boomerang that hurt Dong Lu into a butcher's knife in Fan Tianyou's hand.

"Chen Gengyun, are you sure Fan Tianyou's intention to kill Dong Lu stemmed from hearing about her past rape?" Zhou Yi asked sternly.

"I really don't know! I tried hitting him, I tried yelling at him, but he just wouldn't say a word, so there was nothing I could do," Chen Gengyun said, spreading his hands. "If Officer Zhou hadn't reminded me just now, I really wouldn't have..."

Zhou Yi raised his hand to stop him and continued, "You're saying Fan Tianyou admitted to stalking Dong Lu for a long time, right?"

Chen Gengyun nodded.

"Since he's been stalking her for a long time, doesn't he know that Dong Lu has a boyfriend? You know him too, he's a teacher at your school."

"If he felt that Dong Lu was 'impure' or 'defiled,' shouldn't he have had a criminal motive when he found out she had a boyfriend? Why wait until later?"

Chen Gengyun was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Zhou Yi to ask such detailed questions.

"Chen Gengyun, explain the logic behind this," Zhou Yi said, slamming his fist on the table. "Stop trying to evade responsibility. You'd better understand your current situation. Your habitual lying is of no help to you right now, do you understand?"

Chen Gengyun nodded repeatedly, explaining that he understood.

Only then did he reveal the truth about what happened back then.

After graduating with his bachelor's degree, Fan Tianyou was able to smoothly enter the School of Sociology for graduate studies under his arrangement and received preferential treatment in every way.

At Fan Tianyou's request, Chen Gengyun arranged for him to live alone in a dormitory room that was meant for two people.

At the dinner that day, someone did mention Xin Yunfei from Kaiping No. 3 Middle School.

But what is said at the dinner table is far from the truth.

Xin Yunfei was imprisoned for raping Dong Lu. In their version of events, it became that Dong Lu actively seduced Xin Yunfei in order to secure a job, but was caught in the act and then falsely accused Xin Yunfei of raping her, causing Principal Xin to be unjustly imprisoned.

The person who told this story was Xin Yunfei's friend, and he felt sorry for Xin Yunfei and thought it was a waste that he had fallen for a bitch.

As it turned out, Chen Gengyun said that the name Dong Lu sounded familiar, as there was also a graduate student named Dong Lu among the new students admitted to our college this year.

So a group of "cultured people" who had drunk too much started to check the accounts and discovered that this Dong Lu was the same Dong Lu as that Dong Lu.

Then someone joked that Chen Gengyun should be careful, lest this little slut climb into his bed one day.

It's highly likely that a group of people used Dong Lu as a topic of conversation at the time, and said a lot of vulgar things.

Suddenly, amidst the laughter and cheers of the crowd, Fan Tianyou, who was sitting next to Chen Gengyun, slammed his hand on the table and stormed off.

It completely baffled everyone.

Chen Gengyun could only make an excuse that the students couldn't hold their liquor and had drunk too much, and the meal ended unhappily.

On the way back, Chen Gengyun felt he had lost face and, fueled by alcohol, started cursing at Fan Tianyou.

The two had a big argument and parted on bad terms.

Back in his dorm, after sobering up a bit, Chen Gengyun felt he had been too harsh in his speech, so he made an excuse to go to the graduate student dorm to find Fan Tianyou.

The door wasn't closed, but the person wasn't there, so he went in.

As a result, he saw something that sent chills down his spine.

There was actually an altar in the room, on which not only was Fan Chunyu's portrait displayed, but also an urn containing her ashes.

It's easy to imagine who's in this box.

He felt a chill run down his spine. The old and frail Fan Chunyu in the portrait stared at him with resentment, which frightened him so much that he turned around and wanted to run away.

Just then, Fan Tianyou returned with hot water.

He angrily pointed at the portrait and the urn, demanding to know what was going on.

Fan Tianyou said that on the day he left Changfengling, he took his mother's portrait and ashes with him, which he kept hidden in his closet for four years during his university years. Only after he started graduate school and finally had the means did he ask to live alone, just so he could enshrine Fan Chunyu's portrait and ashes.

Chen Gengyun roared, "I'm asking you why the hell did you bring your mother's ashes to Hongcheng?"

Fan Tianyou's answer nearly drove him crazy.

Fan Tianyou said: "Because my mother told me that our family of three will definitely be reunited."

Enraged, Chen Gengyun rushed over and smashed Fan Chunyu's portrait and urn before storming off.

Feeling guilty and scared, he didn't dare go back to his dormitory that night, but instead stayed at a guesthouse.

As a result, an incident occurred in the graduate student dormitory building in the middle of the night that same day.

When he learned that the female student who had been burned was Dong Lu, he knew that it must have been Fan Tianyou who did it.

He was terrified, not of the incident itself, but of Fan Tianyou as a person.

Because he knew that if he hadn't stayed out last night, the fire might have landed on him!

But just then, Liu Baoguo found him and told him that when the fire broke out, the dormitory manager saw a man coming down from upstairs, who was suspected to be Fan Tianyou.

He had no choice but to approach Liu Baoguo to discuss a solution, because if Fan Tianyou really got into trouble, it would ultimately implicate him.

So he and Liu Baoguo suppressed the matter.

The reason Dong Lu wasn't sent to the First or Third Municipal Hospital was to conceal the news, as the vice president of Pinghe Road Hospital was his friend.

In fact, his friend, the vice president of the hospital, had warned him that their hospital couldn't treat the patient and that he probably wouldn't survive.

However, he still decided not to transfer to another hospital because he couldn't be sure whether Dong Lu had actually seen Fan Tianyou.

If she dies, then there will be no way to prove anything.

But things didn't go as planned. Despite suffering severe burns, Dong Lu miraculously survived the critical period.

This completely panicked Chen Gengyun.

Before this, he had already spent a lot of money to deal with the only witness, giving him a "hush money" payment and sending him home to retire.

If Dong Lu recovers from her coma and mentions Fan Tianyou's name, her boyfriend Xiao Bing will immediately call the police.

It would be troublesome if pulling out the radish brought out the mud along with it.

So he was forced to deal with Fan Tianyou.

But he couldn't kill the person, so he arranged for him to study abroad.

Through his connections, he found a private university willing to accept Fan Tianyou. After paying a large sponsorship fee, he arranged for Fan Tianyou to be admitted as quickly as possible.

They also altered the timeline of Fan Tianyou's study abroad and disposed of his original graduate school records at Hongda University.

After getting rid of Fan Tianyou, this hot potato, Chen Gengyun began to clean up the mess.

Coincidentally, not long after, Xiao Bing found him and Liu Baoguo and nervously told them that he wanted to call the police. He felt that this was not an accident because Dong Lu had told him personally that someone had set the fire.

Chen Gengyun was startled, but pretended to be calm and asked Xiao Bing who the arsonist was and what his name was.
Xiao Bing shook his head and said that although Dong Lu had passed the critical period, her condition was still very poor. She spoke unclearly and her mental state was unstable. Therefore, he didn't know who Dong Lu was talking about, only that it might be a graduate student at the school, because Dong Lu said she had seen the person on the dormitory rooftop.

Chen Gengyun breathed a sigh of relief, and then he and Liu Baoguo began to brainwash Xiao Bing, using one set of rhetoric after another.

At that time, Xiao Bing was just a junior teaching assistant with little social experience. He was no match for these two old foxes and was quickly fooled and sent away.

Then, a few days later, the school stopped paying for Dong Lu's treatment.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Gengyun arrived at the hospital with two documents and 50,000 yuan in cash to negotiate with Xiao Bing and Dong Lu.

This is the confirmation letter and withdrawal application that Zhou Yi and Liang Wei later saw in Liu Baoguo's office.

Chen Gengyun didn't say it, but it was easy to imagine that the truth was revealed in that moment. When Chen Gengyun made his request, Xiao Bing knew that Dong Lu's incident was not an accident, and that the school was protecting someone.

But reality is so stark; Xiao Bing had no choice but to either sign or watch Dong Lu die!
Just as Zhou Yi had thought, he had no choice! He could only grit his teeth and swallow the reality that was a mess of nails and broken glass.

All of this is not simply what Zhou Yi and the others had previously speculated, that Fan Tianyou wanted to "purify" Dong Lu out of his obsessive-compulsive disorder.

It was Chen Gengyun. Chen Gengyun's repeated humiliations provoked him, causing him to want to vent his out-of-control emotions. However, he couldn't find Chen Gengyun, so Dong Lu, whom he had a crush on but who turned out to be so "unrespectful," became the target of his anger.

Fan Tianyou is indeed the murderer, but the real culprit is this old man in front of us.

Zhou Yi suddenly remembered a piece of information from when he was investigating Xiao Bing: Xiao Bing's colleague said that he liked to wander around the school and that many people had run into him.

At the time, the task force felt that this behavior was very unusual and suspected that he was trying to stalk Lu Xiaoshuang, but it didn't make sense.

Now Zhou Yi finally understands why Xiao Bing did this. He wants to find the person who hurt Dong Lu, and he has no other choice but to rely on himself.

He signed that confirmation form and took the money. Later, Dong Lu developed a mental illness. Whether he reported it to the police or filed a lawsuit, he had no basis or chance of winning. He might even lose his job because of it.

He needs to work to support Dong Lu, and only by staying at school can he have a chance to find the murderer.

This 1.7-meter-tall, thin man used his unyielding backbone to support the mountain that was pressing down on him.

He cannot fall down, because his loved ones are by his side!
"You sent Fan Tianyou abroad not just because he's a hot potato, right?" Zhou Yi asked, barely suppressing his anger. "Are you really that afraid of him?"

Chen Gengyun nodded helplessly: "Yes, it wasn't until I saw his portrait and ashes in his dormitory that I realized he hated me, hated me for abandoning him and his mother, and hated me for making his life a shadow of the past."

With tears streaming down his face, Chen Gengyun said, "But he's still my son. Even if the bones are broken, they're still connected..."

Zhou Yi interrupted coldly, "Stop your hypocrisy. When you put vitamins into antibiotics, did you even remember he was your son?"

Chen Gengyun was stunned for a moment. The helpless and sad expression on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a bloodthirsty hatred.

He raised his chin and sneered, "So what? He's still the same. He secretly left my cigarette butt in the mine. Didn't he want to kill me too?"

Zhou Yi was shocked. This cigarette butt was actually left in the mine by Fan Tianyou.

And judging from Chen Gengyun's words, it was left on purpose?

Is Fan Tianyou trying to leave some evidence at the scene?
Zhou Yi couldn't help but sneer: "I really didn't expect you two to be so kind and filial. Come on, now that the appetizers are almost done, let's start the main course."

"Chen Gengyun, did you conspire with Fan Tianyou to murder and dismember Xu Liu?"

Zhou Yi stared intently at the other person and asked, because there was one thing that the task force still didn't understand.

This is Chen Gengyun's alibi for the night of April 28th.

Wu Yongcheng and Zhou Yi investigated the authenticity of Chen Gengyun's alibi at the time and found nothing unusual. However, after returning home, they became increasingly suspicious and conducted a second investigation into Chen Gengyun's alibi.

This time, not only were the three people brought back to the station for a more detailed investigation, but a thorough on-site inspection of the cook's house was also conducted.

Because it is suspected that Chen Gengyun may have deliberately created this alibi, for example, by drugging the drinks, sneaking out after the three of them got drunk, and then returning before the drug wore off, thus creating an alibi.

However, after a thorough investigation, it was found that this was not the case.

First, regarding the matter of drugging, the chef said that Chen Gengyun brought two bottles of Moutai, which were opened and drunk on the spot during the meal. The other two also confirmed this, so it was impossible for the Moutai to have been drugged beforehand.

Moreover, the bottles were left at the cook's house after the wine was finished. After testing the remaining wine in the bottles, no drug ingredients were detected in either bottle.

Then there was the incident that night when Da Hu's friend vomited. Around 2 a.m., he vomited all over the bed, waking up the other three. They got up and cleaned and changed the bed. All four of them were there at the time, and they didn't fall asleep again until after 3 a.m.

Finally, there was the interview and investigation of the cook's neighbors. Since Chen Gengyun drove there that day, and parked his car outside the alley, some neighbors who went to the market early in the morning saw the black Crown car around 5 a.m.

Therefore, the final conclusion of the investigation is that Chen Gengyun's alibi for the evening of April 28th is true and valid.

So unless Xu Liu was not killed on the 28th, but was killed on the 29th, then on the night of the 28th, was she kidnapped and controlled, or was she already dead?
The truth can only be known by Chen Gengyun's own confession.

All the police officers present were staring at him, because the truth of the massive case was about to be revealed.

I just don't know if it's another lie.

Chen Gengyun said, "I admit it."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

But the next second, Chen Gengyun said, "I admit that I had an improper relationship with Xu Liu. But I didn't kill the person; Fan Tianyou did."

“On the evening of April 28th, Fan Tianyou went to Jianghai Haoting Villa to find me, but he encountered Xu Liu there. The two had a conflict, and he lost control and smothered Xu Liu to death with a pillow. When I arrived there the next morning after dropping off my friend, Fan Tianyou had already killed her and partially dismembered the body in the second-floor bathroom.”

Chen Gengyun looked directly at Zhou Yi without fear: "As I said, I have a solid alibi for the night of the 28th. You can confirm it with Fan Tianyou when he wakes up."

At this moment, on this crucial charge, he reverted to the calm, cunning old fox he once was. Zhou Yi was momentarily stunned; his gaze was too frank. Could he be telling the truth?

Zhou Yi took a deep breath, deciding not to be influenced by the other party, and said, "You don't need to be so eager to distance yourself. A statement is only part of the investigation. In the end, it is the objective facts that speak for themselves."

Chen Gengyun nodded repeatedly: "Understood, understood. Officer Zhou, where should I begin my confession?"

Although his attitude was humble, his arrogance was still evident.

"Let's start with how you and Xu Liu met."

Chen Gengyun sighed softly and said, "Alas, what a tragic fate."

Zhou Yi's first reaction was that this old man was probably going to start shirking responsibility again.

Chen Gengyun said that shortly after the start of the new semester this year, the international academic research association he and Liu Baoguo organized held a public lecture, and he personally presided over the event that day.

He took the opportunity to go to the restroom while other teachers were speaking.

As soon as I came out of the restroom, I saw a pretty girl in a skirt standing outside.

It was February, and the weather was still quite cold, but the two long, white legs exposed under the girl's skirt immediately caught his attention.

However, given the circumstances and his status at the time, he could only glance at it and dared not look any longer.

Unexpectedly, the pretty girl walked straight towards him and said in a sweet voice, "Dean Chen, I have admired you for a long time. Could you please sign your autograph for me?"

This girl is Xu Liu.

Clearly, this was not a chance encounter. Based on what we knew beforehand, Xu Liu was eager to find a sugar daddy.

Chen Gengyun was her chosen target. Chen Gengyun not only had a status far higher than Zhang Wenhua, but also controlled the resources of the research association for government-sponsored overseas study.

She was the perfect candidate, after all, Xu Liu's ultimate goal was not to find someone to support her, but to go abroad.

So Zhou Yi had thought of lectures and clubs before, and the task force also investigated.

But there was no result, because Xu Liu struck up a conversation with Chen Gengyun in the middle of the event that day.

Chen Gengyun initially maintained a haughty demeanor and signed autographs for Xu Liu.

Xu Liu told him that she loved poetry, had read the poems written by Dean Chen in the school newspaper, and greatly admired them. She hoped to have the opportunity to learn poetry writing from Dean Chen.

Then he handed Chen Gengyun a slip of paper with his pager number written on it beforehand.

Chen Gengyun said he didn't think much about it at the time, after all, there was a big age gap between them, so he regarded the other person as an ordinary literature enthusiast who admired his talent.

I accepted the note out of politeness.

Just as Xu Liu slipped the note into his hand, Chen Gengyun said that she suddenly scratched his palm with her finger, then smiled sweetly, turned around, and gracefully left.

This scratch seemed to have struck right to his heart, leaving him somewhat distracted for the rest of the event.

"Chen Gengyun, is it really that exaggerated? Are you trying to play the innocent victim with me? We both know what's going on with that villa in Jianghai Mansion, so stop pretending." Zhou Yi pointed at the other man's nose.

Although Xu Liu was indeed a cunning girl at that time, she knew how to use her advantages to get what she wanted.

But compared to Chen Gengyun, she was still too inexperienced, so Chen Gengyun made it sound like she was completely seduced, which was too outrageous.

Jiang Zhengdao is the owner of the Golden Phoenix Nightclub, and Chen Gengyun is his VIP guest. It's estimated that he frequents that nightclub quite often.

Chen Gengyun realized he had overdone it and quickly explained that those outside were just for show, and he had never actually slept with someone from his own neighborhood, mainly because he was afraid of getting into trouble.

However, Zhou Yi felt that while the incident was one aspect, the biggest reason was that no one was willing to come to him.

After all, he is the dean, a high and mighty figure in front of the students. Unless he uses force, there is really no suitable opportunity. But given his personality, how could he possibly risk using force?

Zhou Yi asked, "What was the date Xu Liu passed you the note?"

February 12th.

What number did you call her?

February 14th.

Where did you take the call?

"Liu Baoguo's office. Of course, I didn't do it on purpose. I had something to discuss with him, but he was called away by the principal halfway through our conversation. So I waited for him there, and that's when I touched that note and picked up the phone on the table."

Zhou Yi knew it couldn't have been done casually; it must have been intentional, so that he could easily deny it if any problems arose.

The supposed gentlemanly friendship between Chen Gengyun and Liu Baoguo was nothing but filth.

This phone call started their illicit affair.

That evening, Chen Gengyun drove Xu Liu to a private restaurant owned by a friend. They both knew what the other was thinking, and the meal was a clear display of their mutual intentions.

So halfway through the meal, the two of them hugged each other.

That night, they had sex in the hotel and spent Valentine's Day together.

From then on, the two began a secret relationship.

In a sense, their relationship is neither illegal nor immoral, since Chen Gengyun is widowed. It's just somewhat contrary to traditional views.

But Chen Gengyun remained as cautious as ever. He said that he would not have any contact with Xu Liu normally. If they were to go on a date, he would find a public phone and send a code message to Xu Liu's pager. He kept the whole process under his control.

The places we met for meals were either private kitchens or places far from Hongda.

When taking a car, Chen Gengyun would never go near the school. He would always have Xu Liu wait two or three blocks away from the school, and then he would drive there. The return trip was the same; Chen Gengyun would drop Xu Liu off a kilometer in advance and let her walk back by herself.

Furthermore, Chen Gengyun almost never let Xu Liu stay out all night, always bringing her back before the dormitory doors closed. This is why the special investigation team found no abnormalities when investigating Xu Liu's daily life over the past six months.

For their first few dates, the two went to hotels. However, Chen Gengyun was very wary of going to hotels and was afraid of being discovered.

After a few times, he found that Xu Liu was very obedient and compliant. She would take whatever he gave her and never make any demands. Moreover, she was unlike those women in the pleasure quarters who only knew how to urge others to drink and sing.

Xu Liu would listen to him talk about poetry and songs, discuss the past and present, and analyze the world situation. And she didn't just listen perfunctorily; she listened very attentively, looked at him with admiration, and would also express her opinions and views.

Zhou Yi couldn't help but marvel at Xu Liu's remarkable growth in this area. She was clearly creating emotional value for Chen Gengyun, a tactic befitting a top-tier "green tea" (a manipulative and manipulative woman).

So on their fourth date, Chen Gengyun took her to a villa in Jianghai Mansion. But he still insisted that the house had been rented to Fan Tianyou after he returned to China, and that it had just been vacant ever since.

Zhou Yi certainly didn't believe his nonsense, but as long as the issues between him and Jiang Zhengdao weren't directly related to the Hongda case, he wouldn't get involved. He knew where to draw the line.

Chen Gengyun said that, gradually, he began to realize that Xu Liu, this young girl, was not as innocent as she seemed on the surface.

She began to express her curiosity and longing for overseas cultures, and then inquired about his research association.

Chen Gengyun is a shrewd person; he could tell what she was up to as soon as he heard her.

But just as Zhou Yi had analyzed before, he couldn't possibly spend resources and effort to send Xu Liu away, because Xu Liu's value to him was only sexual value; he could only use her if she stayed by his side.

So he pretended to be stupid, played dumb, and occasionally gave people a glimmer of hope.

Xu Liu was no match for him and was easily manipulated, continuing to be used as a tool for him to vent his desires.

Things changed on April 9th ​​when Chen Gengyun mentioned Lu Xiaoshuang.

His subsequent words made Zhou Yi realize that the butterfly effect he had created in this life had begun.

On April 8th, the Long Zhiqiang case occurred, the city was locked down, and schools were also closed.

On the morning of April 9th, the school received a notification that the lockdown had been lifted.

In the afternoon, Xu Liu asked for leave from two classes, pretending to go to the hospital for a check-up. After leaving the school, she took a black motorcycle taxi and got on Chen Gengyun's car at the intersection two streets away. The two drove to Jianghai Haoting for pleasure.

While waiting at a traffic light, Xu Liu suddenly looked up and saw Lu Xiaoshuang on the bus next to her, leaning against the window and staring blankly at her in the car.

Then the green light came on, and the car sped away, taking the lead.

She didn't tell Chen Gengyun about it that day. A few days later, on the evening of April 12th, after they had made love, Chen Gengyun noticed that she seemed to have something on her mind, so he asked her what was wrong.

She had been terrified for days after she finally told the story, because she wasn't sure if Lu Xiaoshuang had recognized her, but Lu Xiaoshuang hadn't shown anything unusual in the past few days.

Xu Liu's words startled Chen Gengyun. He repeatedly asked Xu Liu if she had mistaken him for someone else, since her classmates should be in class at this time.

Xu Liu said that she secretly checked with her classmates the next day and confirmed that Lu Xiaoshuang had indeed not gone to class that day.

That day, Lu Xiaoshuang was worried about Zhou Yi's safety, so for the first time in her life, she skipped class to go to Zhou Yi's house and waited outside for a long time. Later, she even made noodles and fried eggs for Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi received a call from the bureau informing him that he needed to record a program, so the two of them left home. Zhou Yi went to the TV station, while Lu Xiaoshuang took the bus back to school.

In her previous life, there was no Long Zhiqiang case, nor Zhou Yi, so Lu Xiaoshuang in her previous life did not skip class on this day, nor did she take that bus route.

Afterwards, Zhou Yi asked Lu Xiaoshuang to confirm whether she had seen Xu Liu sitting in the black sedan next to her on the bus back to school on April 9th, while waiting at a red light at an intersection.
Lu Xiaoshuang looked completely bewildered, saying she had never paid attention to any cars, let alone seen Xu Liu.

She said she was probably just spacing out at the time because some buses smelled strongly of engine oil, and she was prone to motion sickness when riding on such buses.

In other words, when Xu Liu saw Lu Xiaoshuang in Chen Gengyun's car, she thought she had been exposed, but in fact Lu Xiaoshuang was just spacing out and didn't even notice her.

However, Xu Liu and Chen Gengyun did not think so. In particular, Chen Gengyun said that his car's license plate was easy to remember. If Lu Xiaoshuang really saw Xu Liu and told others about it, people would soon guess that it was him.

So Chen Gengyun gave Xu Liu an idea: to test whether Lu Xiaoshuang knew or not.

This method of testing was extremely malicious; it involved stigmatizing Lu Xiaoshuang and spreading rumors about her romantic relationships.

There are two deeper meanings to this.

First, provoke Lu Xiaoshuang. If she really saw Xu Liu sitting in a luxury car that day, she would definitely retaliate and speak out when she was provoked.

Secondly, if she really saw it and said it, then Xu Liu could retaliate by spreading rumors out of anger. Naturally, no one would take it seriously then; they would only think it was mutual slander during an argument. Even if Lu Xiaoshuang emphasized it to others afterward, Xu Liu could easily explain it away by saying "she held a grudge," and the crisis would naturally dissipate.

It has to be said that Chen Gengyun's move was truly brilliant, perfectly exploiting people's subconscious biased thinking.

So, the next day, April 13th, Zhou Yi went to deliver clothes to Lu Xiaoshuang and took her to the orphanage to see Xu Xinxin.

Following Chen Gengyun's advice, Xu Liu, taking advantage of Zhou Yi's presence, suddenly started making sarcastic remarks in front of the entire dormitory.

Later, he got into an argument with Lu Xiaoshuang and Mo Youyou, and when no one was in the dormitory, he secretly cut up Lu Xiaoshuang's sweater.

This is the truth behind the conflict between Xu Liu and Lu Xiaoshuang, which the task force had previously discovered during their investigation.

Xu Liu's actions were all instigated by Chen Gengyun.

Even after going so far as to cut a sweater, Lu Xiaoshuang didn't reveal that she had seen Xu Liu in a luxury car, which completely reassured Xu Liu.

Later, Xu Liu told Chen Gengyun the whole story. It was from Xu Liu's words that Chen Gengyun learned that Lu Xiaoshuang's "boyfriend" was the young policeman on the TV program that day, and that he had arranged an internship for her at the tax bureau.

What was said without malice may have been taken to heart by the listener; this saying soon came into play.

Chen Gengyun said that when Xu Liu mentioned Lu Xiaoshuang, her eyes were full of jealousy. She said that Lu Xiaoshuang used to be a waitress, so why should she be able to intern at such a good company?

This statement made Zhou Yi realize that Xu Liu's actions were not solely due to Chen Gengyun's suggestion.

It was also filled with jealousy and resentment towards Lu Xiaoshuang.

She, too, came from a poor family and lived a hard life, and could have had a sense of superiority, since she had maintained the persona of being from a wealthy family from the beginning.

But after Zhou Yi appeared, Lu Xiaoshuang's life trajectory changed.

She no longer had to waitresses; instead, she went to intern at an enviable company.

She also has a tall, handsome, and promising police officer "boyfriend," while Xu Liu herself can only sell her body to win the favor of a man who is older than her father.

With such a stark contrast, how could she not resent Lu Xiaoshuang?

So cutting the sweater was most likely her way of venting her personal desires.

Xu Liu's jealousy is also one of the butterfly effects caused by Zhou Yi's appearance by Lu Xiaoshuang's side.

But these things were far from enough to plunge Xu Liu into the abyss of death.

Chen Gengyun said, "Then it came to April 28th."

Zhou Yi was taken aback: "It's already April 28th? Nothing else has happened in between?"

Chen Gengyun answered frankly, "No. Oh, I met Xu Liu once in between, but it was just a normal... date, nothing happened."

Zhou Yi sensed something was off, but still wanted to hear what he had to say about what happened on April 28th.

"continue."

“Okay. On April 28th, I called three friends during the day and invited them to dinner that evening. I already told them this during the last interrogation.”

Zhou Yi nodded: "Yes, let's talk about Xu Liu."

"Xu Liu said that she wanted to take two days off during the May Day holiday to go on a trip, and she also asked me to go with her. But I'm so busy with work, how could I have time to go on a trip with her? Besides, my old bones can't walk for long. I didn't want to go, but I didn't want to spoil her fun, so I told her that she could take the time off to go on her own, and I would cover the expenses."

“She was very happy at the time, so I knew that she actually just wanted to go out and have fun by herself and was afraid that I would not agree. So I took advantage of her going on a trip and made an appointment with some old friends to drink heavily.”

"She also asked me if she could stay at the villa on the night of the 28th, because I had given her a spare key and password before. I even told her that if she didn't want to stay in the dormitory, she could just open a hotel outside, why go all the way to Jianghai Haoting? But she told me that she just liked that villa, and every time she went there before, she was always in a hurry and didn't stay overnight, so she wanted to stay there. I gave her a few more instructions and then agreed."

Chen Gengyun sighed and said with great heartache, "Alas, I never expected that Fan Tianyou would actually go there to look for me that night. It's all because my phone was dead that day, and he couldn't find me, so he went to the villa. As a result, the next day after I dropped Lao Si off at home, I thought I would go and see if Xu Liu had left. If she hadn't, I could take her to the train station."

"As soon as I entered the villa, I smelled blood... It terrified me. I rushed upstairs immediately, and then... I saw blood everywhere in the bathroom." Chen Gengyun said, trembling. "Tianyou was holding a knife, and Xu Liu's dismembered body was in the bathtub."

"I was so scared that my legs went weak and I fell to the ground. I asked him what he had done."

"He turned around and said to me, covered in blood, that he had solved a big problem for me because Xu Liu was pregnant."

Jiang Biao and Qiao Jiali were taken aback.

Only Zhou Yi, with a serious expression, raised a finger and said, "Wait, there's something wrong here!"

(End of this chapter)