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

Chapter 553 Making a False Police Report

Zhou Yi thought he had misheard and frowned as he asked, "Teacher Liu, are you saying that Bai Lin was expelled from school because she engaged in prostitution while in school?"

Whether it's Bai Lin in her white dress now or Bai Lin in her school uniform in the photo, Zhou Yi finds it hard to associate her with the word "prostitution."

"Actually, I've always felt there was something fishy about this." Liu Yuqin didn't directly answer Zhou Yi's question, but instead voiced some of the doubts that had been buried in her heart.

Incidentally, it also brought up some stories about Bai Lin's past.

Liu Yuqin said that Bai Lin majored in instrumental performance.

Their school offers both a six-year and a three-year program for this major. The six-year program is open to primary school graduates, while the three-year program is open to junior high school graduates.

Basically, those who apply for this major are children who have had a certain foundation in learning musical instruments since childhood.

Bai Lin was a student admitted to the six-year program, so she was admitted to the art school at the age of twelve, and Liu Yuqin was her class teacher.

Liu Yuqin said she really liked the little girl because she was attracted by her appearance the first time she saw her.

Beautiful people always have a huge advantage in making a first impression.

Bai Lin has a good foundation in musical instrument performance. Liu Yuqin said that Bai Lin's parents enrolled her in an introductory training class when she was in the third grade of elementary school, so Bai Lin's piano skills are much better than her peers.

With her good looks, obedient personality, solid foundation, and talent, Bai Lin naturally won Liu Yuqin's favor.

Liu Yuqin took special care of her, often giving her extra help after class, and taking her along to any activities or competitions.

Bai Lin did not disappoint her high expectations; she excelled in both academic performance and professional skills.

The photo Zhou Yi saw was taken after Liu Yuqin took Bai Lin to participate in a provincial competition and won an award. Bai Lin was sixteen years old at the time, in the prime of her youth, full of vigor and vitality.

Liu Yuqin was very satisfied with this student and had high hopes for her future.

She had even used her connections within the performing arts troupe to help Bai Lin get an interview after graduation.

What is even more commendable is Bai Lin's self-discipline and integrity.

With her looks and temperament, she naturally had no shortage of admirers at school.

Liu Yuqin was quite familiar with situations involving men writing love letters, giving gifts, offering unsolicited favors, and even young boys deliberately picking fights to get her attention.

She was also afraid that a promising young girl like Bai Lin would fall into the quagmire of early romance.

Fortunately, Bai Lin almost never got close to any boys at school, and I never heard of any gossip or scandals.

Liu Yuqin said that this was partly due to Bai Lin's personality and partly because Bai Lin's parents were very strict with her, so nothing unusual had ever happened.

Until the first semester of her final year before graduation, something happened that she still can't understand.

The incident started because Bai Lin skipped class without reason. Since Bai Lin's family didn't have a phone at the time, Liu Yuqin rode her bicycle to Bai Lin's house after school to find out what was going on.

She said Bai Lin's parents seemed very nervous about her arrival, and stopped her at the door, saying that Bai Lin was sick with a fever and that's why she didn't go to class.

Liu Yuqin asked to see Bai Lin's condition. Her parents said at first that she was asleep, and at other times that she was hospitalized.

This unusual behavior aroused Liu Yuqin's suspicion. She forced her way into the house, but after searching around, she couldn't find Bai Lin anywhere.

They pressed Bai Lin for details about her parents' whereabouts, threatening to call the police if she didn't answer.

Upon hearing that Liu Yuqin was going to call the police, Bai Lin's parents panicked and quickly stopped her from doing so.

Finally, seeing Liu Yuqin's firm stance, they told the truth: Bai Lin had been detained by the police.

The reason for her detention was that she had been arrested for prostitution!

"When I first heard about this, it felt like a bolt from the blue; I was completely stunned." Even after so many years, Liu Yuqin still looks shocked when she talks about it.

"I really can't believe that Xiaobai could do such a thing."

Zhou Yi asked, "Have you verified this?"

Liu Yuqin nodded: "After leaving her house, I went to the nearby police station to report it. The police station investigated for me..."

"Oh, it's true. You police said Bai Lin was detained for ten days for suspected illegal prostitution. I really... I... I just can't understand how this child could do such a thing."

Zhou Yi could tell from the blank look on Liu Yuqin's face that she had only confirmed the result and was still unclear about the specific details of the matter.

Because she is not Bai Lin's immediate family member, she has no right to know the specific reasons.

"Teacher Liu, Bai Lin has been expelled from school..."

“I reported it to the school,” Liu Yuqin admitted. “After something like this happened, I couldn’t possibly cover it up for her.”

Zhou Yi nodded. Ten days of detention—the parents themselves couldn't give the school a reasonable explanation for this situation, let alone Liu Yuqin, the homeroom teacher.

There's nothing wrong with what she did, and there's nothing to criticize.

If she had protected Bai Lin and lied to the school to cover up the truth for her, that would have been a dereliction of duty.

But Zhou Yi found one thing strange: the punishment of ten days of detention.

Normally, prostitution is illegal for women. If it is a first offense or is caused by financial hardship, the punishment is usually lighter, such as five days of detention and a fine.

Detention for ten days is considered a moderate punishment.

The maximum penalty is fifteen days, which is for cases with particularly egregious circumstances.

Putting aside why Bai Lin would go so far as to engage in prostitution, her first offense should normally result in a five-day detention, but she was detained for ten days instead.

"Teacher Liu, what year was this?" Zhou Yi asked.

"9...91, I think, November of 91. I remember it was almost Xiaobai's birthday."

"1991..." Zhou Yi calculated, "So Bai Lin is twenty-three years old this year?"

Liu Yuqin thought for a moment and nodded: "Pretty much. Sigh, six years have passed in the blink of an eye."

Zhou Yi then realized that Bai Lin was the same age as him, and it seemed that she was indeed naturally beautiful and looked young.

"Teacher Liu, what about that photo in the shop window downstairs..." Zhou Yi asked, because normally, if someone is expelled from school for something like this, the school should remove all information about the student with such a tainted record.

"The school originally wanted to remove that award-winning photo, but I insisted on keeping it. However, if you look closely, you'll notice that next to the photo, there's only my name, not Xiaobai's."

When Liu Yuqin mentioned it, Zhou Yi realized that it was indeed true. The photo only listed Liu Yuqin, a music performance teacher, leading her students to first prize in a certain competition; Bai Lin's name was not mentioned.

I didn't notice at the time, probably because Bai Lin's face gave me a preconceived notion.

"Xiaobai, she..." Liu Yuqin hesitated, as if she had a thousand words to say but couldn't find the words in her throat.

In the end, it all turned into a helpless shake of the head.

Zhou Yi could completely understand her feelings.

What he didn't understand was that Bai Lin's dismissal for prostitution was too abnormal, and he felt there must be something wrong with it.

"Teacher Liu." Someone suddenly called out in the corridor outside.

“Yes, I’m here,” Liu Yuqin replied.

Then he smiled at Zhou Yi and said, "Young man, thank you. I have something to do, so I'll be going now."

"Okay, Teacher Liu, you go ahead with your work."

As Zhou Yi left the classroom and watched Liu Yuqin's figure disappear down the corridor, he felt increasingly puzzled by Bai Lin's situation.

Is the subtle eeriness emanating from Bai Lin now related to that incident back then?

Furthermore, Liu Yuqin's confusion and surprise when she heard that Bai Lin was now a music teacher at No. 1 Middle School were also quite reasonable.

Bai Lin was expelled from school, which means she only has a certificate of enrollment, not even a certificate of attendance.

She was enrolled in an arts school after graduating from elementary school, a six-year program. Zhou Yi wasn't even sure if her education level counted as elementary or junior high school.

But in any case, she probably wouldn't be qualified to be a music teacher in a middle school, so it's no wonder Liu Yuqin was surprised.

Not to mention, she had been detained before, and the public security department has a record of administrative punishment for her.

So no matter how you look at it, this whole thing seems a bit illogical. Right now, standing in the empty corridor, all I can hear is a cacophony of music.

Zhou Yi suddenly had a very strange feeling, as if he were standing on the edge of a bottomless pool.

This seemingly calm pool of water, like an abyss-like eye, is gazing at him.

……

Zhou Yi discovered a side gate on the east side of the school, which was probably used by vehicles transporting supplies.

Although it was closed, what's absurd is that the side door was still an old-fashioned iron gate.

Zhou Yi noticed that one of the iron gate bars was broken, thus revealing a gap.

Although Zhou Yi couldn't squeeze through, thinner boys and most girls should be able to squeeze through this gap.

Judging from the age of the cracks at the base of the fence, it must be quite old.

This means that although Director Wang claims the school adopts a closed management system on a daily basis, in reality it's just a formality.

Such a large gap has been left unresolved for so long, which is tantamount to opening a "smuggling route" for students.

Therefore, one of the signs of a young person's maturity is that they no longer believe the nonsense spouted by leaders.

This also means that if the murderer really did run away from the art school and deliberately circled back after escaping, the security guard at the school gate probably wouldn't be able to provide any useful clues.

The murderer could easily have squeezed in through the gap in this side door.

Not only that, after Zhou Yi returned to the teaching affairs office, he discovered a new problem.

Although Director Wang did indeed follow Zhou Yi's instructions and, with Shen Jiale, organize yesterday's class schedule and confirm which students and teachers were at the college yesterday.

The problem is that the training course has a student list, but no attendance sheet.

In other words, the training center did not strictly manage the students' attendance.

The logic is actually quite simple: these summer training programs, which are euphemistically called "expanding education," are actually just a way for schools to generate revenue.

Rather than letting outside training classes earn this money, it's better for the school to earn it itself, after all, it has the prestigious reputation of a formal arts school.

These training courses are basically based on a pay-before-you-attend-then-attend-then-class-course model, so the school doesn't need to be responsible for the results at all. As for whether the teachers are attentive or not, that's entirely up to them.

So not only is there no attendance sheet, but we also have to go to each class to confirm whether a student has left midway through the class, just like the girl in the Audi earlier. And that's only if the teacher remembers.

Moreover, the training courses not only include students from this school, but also students from outside the school. Students may not know each other very well, so it is more troublesome to verify.

But none of these are the real problems. The real problem is that after Zhou Yi returned to the teaching affairs office, Director Wang's attitude underwent some subtle changes.

Although he was cooperative in his attitude, when Zhou Yi asked him to first conduct a survey of the selected faculty and students, Director Wang dodged the question.

After going on and on about the same thing, the gist of it was that asking was fine, but if there was no clear suspicion, then only the school could ask on their behalf to avoid causing complaints from staff and parents, who might then file a complaint with the education department and demand what they would do.

Shen Jiale was indignant, feeling that it was just a matter of asking a few questions, why make it so complicated?

But Zhou Yi immediately saw the problem: it was probably because Director Wang had taken some time to consult with a certain leader at the school.

The leaders were afraid that such a large-scale investigation would cause panic, damage the school's reputation, disrupt the training program, or even affect their own careers, so they issued some instructions.

Zhou Yi was not surprised by this, because police investigations are never smooth sailing; obstacles come from all sides.

He couldn't force the school to do things exactly as he wanted, so in this situation, he could only put pressure on Director Wang by keeping a close eye on things.

After all, if two policemen are constantly loitering outside your office like door gods, anyone would want to get rid of them as soon as possible.

"Director Wang, was there a case at your school before, involving a female student suspected of prostitution? Do you know anything about it?" Zhou Yi asked casually, but what he really wanted to know was about Bai Lin.

Director Wang frowned and asked, "Prostitution? Officer Zhou, are you mistaken? Are you asking about rape?"

"Huh?" Shen Jiale, who was looking down and flipping through documents, immediately popped up like a groundhog when he heard this.

Zhou Yi was also puzzled and asked, "Rape? What rape?"

Zhou Yi thought to himself, "Have I seen a ghost? How come there are so many cases at this school?"
Director Wang, however, said nonchalantly, "Hey, that's just a student's imagination. There's no such thing at all."

Zhou Yi became increasingly confused as he listened, and urged Director Wang to explain what exactly was going on.

Director Wang said that it was nothing really, although the incident did scare him quite a bit.

He said that about two months ago, in mid-June, a second-year male student in their art major suddenly went to the police station to report that a female classmate in their class had been raped.

The police immediately followed the boy back to the school and went to the student affairs office to find out what had happened.

They were looking for Director Wang, who was immediately terrified upon hearing the news, because a female student being raped was a major incident for the school.

They quickly asked the boy who called the police what had happened.

The boy said that three days ago on Sunday, the girl invited him to her home under the pretext of asking him for painting tips, and even cooked for him herself.

Halfway through the meal, he felt too sleepy and said he wanted to lie down on the sofa and take a nap.

But when he woke up again, he found himself tied to a chair.

Not only was he tied up tightly, but his mouth was also gagged, and a red plastic bag was placed over his head.

But that wasn't the scariest part. The scariest part was that when he woke up, through the red plastic bag, he could vaguely see that the girl was being pressed naked down on the table where they had just been eating by a man.

The girl was sobbing, and the table was shaking violently.

He immediately realized that the girl had been raped.

He wanted to save the girl, but he was tied up and couldn't move or speak. He could only watch helplessly as the girl was being abused, struggling desperately and making muffled sounds in his throat.

Finally, perhaps overcome by anger, he said he suddenly felt dizzy and fainted.

When he woke up again, he found himself lying in the grass by the roadside, and it was already dark.

Upon hearing this, Shen Jiale looked incredulous and couldn't help but ask, "Is he... dreaming?"

Director Wang immediately nodded and said, "That's what I said in front of you colleagues too. I said this child is probably under too much academic pressure, which is why he's overthinking things. You know, these days teenagers are most prone to..."

Zhou Yi interrupted directly, asking, "Have you verified the situation with that girl?"

If what the boy said is true, then it is a heinous case of burglary and rape, which would certainly attract the attention of the police station.

However, when Director Wang described this matter earlier, he used the word "conjecture".

This means that the case was ultimately not filed.

So he wanted to hear what the girl had to say, since the boy could only be considered an eyewitness, while the girl was the victim.

Director Wang said with a disdainful look, "Go ahead and ask. Back then, two police officers and I were in my office asking the young girl about the situation."

"What did she say?"

"The girl was stunned and even cried. She said she had never invited that male classmate to her house. She usually lives with her grandmother and has never brought any classmates home, let alone cooked for him or anything like that. As for rape..." Director Wang waved his hand, "I was too embarrassed to say that word to the girl at the time."

Shen Jiale was shocked. Just a moment ago he was anxious and angry about what the girl had gone through, but now he heard the girl completely deny the boy's statement, and he was completely confused.

Director Wang said, "That's why I said it, it's just that boy's imagination. Teenage boys often fantasize about all sorts of nasty things, I've seen it all before. Not to mention anything else, I've caught several boys sneaking into girls' dormitories to steal underwear."

Shen Jiale asked, "So this matter is just left unresolved?"

Director Wang laughed: "The person involved has denied it, what else can we do? Are we going to force an innocent young girl to be accused of rape?"

"What about the male student who reported the incident?"

"Oh dear, that kid, if I hadn't pleaded for him, he would have almost been treated as someone who made a false police report. After your colleagues gave him a lecture, they let him go." Director Wang's expression seemed to say that if it weren't for him, this kid would have been finished.

Shen Jiale turned around and found Zhou Yi frowning, as if he was thinking about something.

"Director Wang," Zhou Yi began, "did this boy do this on purpose?"

"Intentionally?" Director Wang and Shen Jiale were both taken aback.

(End of this chapter)