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

Chapter 555 Ping An Jia Yuan
"Brother Jiale, what are your thoughts?" Zhou Yi asked with great interest.

Shen Jiale said, "I don't think you were telling the truth to Director Wang just now."

"why?"

"Because you mentioned three possibilities from the beginning, it means you had already thought about what those three possibilities were. You explained the first and second possibilities in detail, so I don't believe you really hadn't thought about the third possibility."

Zhou Yi's lips twitched slightly, showing a hint of surprise.

"So what do you think I've decided on?"

Shen Jiale scratched his head and smiled sheepishly, "Um... I wouldn't dare to say that."

"It's okay, this isn't a case analysis meeting at the bureau, you can just say whatever you want."

"Teacher Zhou, please don't laugh at me later."

Zhou Yi held up three fingers and said with a smile, "How about I make a vow now?"

"No, no, no, I'll tell you, I'll tell you."

"Didn't you say that the third possibility is that Qin Chao wasn't lying? So I thought about it along your lines. Is it possible that neither Zhu Lingling nor Qin Chao were lying? For example, someone might have drugged their food, causing them to lose consciousness, and then become disoriented due to the effects of the drug."

"Didn't Qin Chao faint again later? Maybe Zhu Lingling was also not fully conscious when she was raped? That might have made her think she was dreaming? Or maybe she had suspicions but was too scared to be sure, let alone tell anyone."

"After all, I heard from my teachers at school that many female victims of rape are unwilling to come forward and speak out, let alone admit that they have been raped."

After listening to Shen Jiale's words, Zhou Yi felt that he had grasped some of the edges of the truth, but only some of the edges.

However, that last sentence is a cruel truth.

Indeed, many women who are raped do not report the crime.

Some did it out of fear of retaliation from the suspect, some to escape reality, but most were simply afraid of the discrimination and pressure from society and their friends and family.

Although these women are innocent victims, there will always be some people with evil hearts who will blame the victims for the rape.

"Why rape you and not someone else?"

"It must be because you dressed too provocatively that you were raped."

Why would you choose this path? Why are you going there?

This is a typical example of victim blaming. These people discriminate against victims with prejudice, thus shaping public opinion and influencing the masses.

Even if some people sympathize with the victims, they will not stand up for them, but will instinctively distance themselves from them.

This often includes the victims' family members and friends.

Therefore, some female victims would rather let the rapist go and hide the fact that they were raped, because they are afraid of the continuous hidden harm that will follow.

Shen Jiale's opinion is understandable.

However, Zhou Yi believes that the truth may not be so simple.

Zhou Yi said, "Zhu Lingling has a grandmother and a younger brother. She should usually be at home on weekends."

"Perhaps he went to visit relatives? And just happened to be away from home?"

"Okay, so who drugged me?"

Shen Jiale was speechless for a moment: "I...I don't know, maybe it's a neighbor or something?"

"Zhu Lingling invited Qin Chao to her home for dinner and cooked the meal herself. However, someone secretly drugged the food. If someone could do that, why would they do it when a stranger like Qin Chao came to their house? It means that he could drug Zhu Lingling and her family anytime and anywhere and then rape them."

"Hmm, that makes sense." Shen Jiale nodded. Besides, he felt that it would be incredibly difficult to poison food when there were only two people in the room.

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he asked excitedly, "Teacher Zhou, this drug... could it have been Qin Chao who put it in? Qin Chao took the opportunity to drug her and then raped Zhu Lingling, but afterwards he was afraid that Zhu Lingling would call the police, so he simply took the initiative and called the police to lie that a third party had raped Zhu Lingling, and that he himself was the witness."

"Didn't he say he was tied up and had a plastic bag over his head? Aren't these excuses just a convenient reason for him not to provide specific information about the rapist?"

Shen Jiale said with certainty, "That's right, Qin Chao is definitely crying wolf!"

Zhou Yi couldn't help but burst into laughter, "Brother Jiale, that's impressive, you've got a great idea!"

Shen Jiale was taken aback: "A hole in your head?" He then touched his head, "I don't have a hole in my head."

Zhou Yi then realized that he had inadvertently uttered a term he had seen on the internet in his previous life.

He quickly patched up his unintentional mistake: "It wasn't a real hole, it just meant imagination, it's a foreign word."

"Oh, that startled me." Shen Jiale asked expectantly, "Teacher Zhou, do you think my guess makes any sense?"

"To be honest, your speculation surprised me quite a bit, because I never thought of this possibility. However... there are still some illogical points here."

"Really?" Shen Jiale was slightly disappointed, but still humbly asked for the reason.

Zhou Yi said, "First of all, it is very unlikely that Qin Chao has such a mentality. Although Director Wang said that the two of them have just turned eighteen and come of age, it is difficult for students of this age to have such psychological qualities to do this. If Qin Chao drugged and raped Zhu Lingling, he should have a strong fear of the police and the possibility of him actively calling the police is very small."

"Even if he has the mental fortitude to face the police, you have to understand that he didn't report the crime on the day it happened or the next day, but three days later."

"If he were a rapist and wanted to use the 'thief crying 'stop thief'' tactic to distort the truth and confuse the public, then three days have passed, and since Zhu Lingling hasn't reported it to the police, it means either she didn't realize she'd been raped, or she was too afraid to report it. What reason would Qin Chao have to file a false police report? Wouldn't that be redundant?"

Hearing this, Shen Jiale couldn't help but nod, because it was indeed the case. If Qin Chao was the one who did it, and Zhu Lingling had no intention of calling the police, then Qin Chao's actions were simply superfluous.

“You probably don’t have experience in this area yet,” Zhou Yi said. “Sexual relations that occur under abnormal circumstances can cause great damage to a woman’s organs. If Qin Chao really did drug and rape Zhu Lingling, it’s impossible for Zhu Lingling not to feel anything. The physical trauma she would have to endure alone would be enough to cause her great pain.”

"Therefore, from a physical perspective, there is almost no possibility that Zhu Lingling was drugged and raped without realizing it, as she is not the kind of woman who gets drunk in a nightclub."

“If it’s not that you don’t know, then you’re just afraid to call the police. But the police have already come to your door, so why won’t you talk? And not only did you deny being raped, you even denied inviting Qin Chao to your home. This is really too abnormal.”

After thinking about it carefully, Shen Jiale realized that this logic did indeed apply.

Even though he didn't guess correctly, he wasn't discouraged. Instead, he felt that his thinking had been opened up without him even realizing it.

Although I haven't encountered any difficulties or unpleasant things since I started working because of my uncle, and my boss has been quite considerate of me and hasn't assigned me any hard or tiring tasks, I still don't feel a sense of participation or accomplishment.

But Zhou Yi is different. Besides learning from Zhou Yi, he also has the opportunity to speak up. Moreover, Zhou Yi will take the initiative to ask for his thoughts. It doesn't matter if he says something wrong, because Zhou Yi will not condescendingly instruct him, but will simply analyze where the loopholes are based on the facts.

This is undoubtedly what makes him feel most comfortable and respected.

"Teacher Zhou, I really can't think of anything."

Zhou Yi smiled and said, "It's okay, you've already done very well. Actually, when you asked me if you were looking for Qin Chao among the summer school students, you had already touched the doorknob. I thought you would just push the door open and go inside, but I didn't expect you to circle around the door and then leave."

"Huh?" Shen Jiale exclaimed in surprise, "Really?"

"Alright, I won't keep you in suspense any longer, or we'll be at the station soon." Zhou Yi patted the photocopy in his hand and said, "That's right, I'm looking to see if Qin Chao is on the list. I suspect he might be the murderer who stabbed Wang Xinkai."

"Huh?" Shen Jiale thought he had misheard.

"What do you think Wang Xinkai, a young, rich, and idle second-generation rich kid, would do if he came to an arts school?"

Without hesitation, Shen Jiale said, "To pick up girls. If he were here for tutoring, Director Wang would have already told him."

"Smart!" The driver in the Audi was there to pick up girls, and Wang Xinkai was obviously there to pick up girls too. "Do you know how much his car is worth?"

"Two...two hundred thousand?" Shen Jiale guessed boldly.

"Hehe, ten times two hundred thousand would be more like it."

"How much?" Shen Jiale was stunned.

"I don't really know the exact price, since you don't usually see something this expensive. But I'm sure it's in the millions. So you can imagine how many vain girls would flock to ride in his sports car."

By this time, Zhou Yi had come to understand some things about Wu Guang Art School.

This sizable arts school has no shortage of young and beautiful girls.

From Wang Xinkai to the Audi, these wealthy men naturally followed the scent.

This is exactly the same as the later phenomenon of luxury cars being parked outside certain movies and TV shows.

It's a transaction of money and beauty.

Zhou Yi just didn't expect that this kind of thing would have infiltrated a small city like Wu Guang so early.

That's why Director Wang's attitude seemed so ambiguous. It wasn't that he didn't know what was going on, but rather that there were some things he couldn't say.

Shen Jiale suddenly realized: "Oh, I understand. Teacher Zhou, you mean that Zhu Lingling is Wang Xinkai's girlfriend, and the reason Wang Xinkai appeared on Xinkang Road is to find Zhu Lingling."

"Yes, that's what I suspect. And actually, I've already found Zhu Lingling's name on the tutoring class list, but strangely, Qin Chao's name isn't on it."

"If my guess is correct, the one who is lying is not Qin Chao, but Zhu Lingling."

"It was Wang Xinkai who instructed Zhu Lingling to lure Qin Chao, who had feelings for her, home, drug him, and then stage a rape in front of him."

Shen Jiale asked in surprise, "What...what are you after?"

Zhou Yi answered with two words: "Exciting."

"Just like that cuckold fetish you mentioned?"

"Yes, normal people simply cannot imagine how twisted a perverted person can be!"

“Wang Xinkai, a rich second-generation, has no shortage of money, women, or time to squander. Such people seem to live a carefree life, but in fact they have no life goals and their spirits can easily become extremely empty.”

Although Zhou Yi didn't know Wang Mingyi's background, he was likely a nouveau riche, as evidenced by Wang Xinkai's background.

If the Wang family were a deeply rooted and wealthy clan, Wang Xinkai wouldn't be a second-generation rich kid who drives sports cars and chases women in name only, much less commit such a heinous crime two years later. True aristocratic families are actually very strict in their discipline and expectations of the next generation; they wouldn't allow their children to do whatever they want.

These aristocratic families understand class distinctions, and their status is consolidated generation after generation.

This is the elite class that ordinary people see, not the arrogant and domineering rich kids.

Of course, if this group were to commit evil deeds, the harm they would cause would be far greater than that of nouveau riche second-generation heirs.

If the Wang family were of this social class, then twenty-year-old Wang Xinkai should be studying abroad at this time.

Therefore, Zhou Yi believes that Wang Mingyi should be a nouveau riche businessman who made his fortune by taking advantage of the times.

These kinds of people are busy making money and expanding their business empires, and they have no time to take care of their children. They only know how to satisfy their children's financial needs, thus creating many rich but heartless second-generation rich kids.

However, one thing made Zhou Yi somewhat suspicious: how could Wang Mingyi have managed to find connections and specifically ask him to handle his son's case?

Logically speaking, the higher the position of a leader in a place, the more likely they are to keep their distance from wealthy people and avoid suspicion.

Therefore, we don't know what kind of background this guy has.

"So Wang Xinkai did this to seek thrills?" Shen Jiale asked.

Zhou Yi nodded: "That's the only explanation. That's why Zhu Lingling denied everything when facing the police investigation. She not only denied Qin Chao's rape accusation, but also denied inviting Qin Chao to her house for dinner. She was afraid that if she only denied the latter part, she wouldn't be able to explain it later, so she simply denied everything."

“If you were the one responding to the call, and the person involved was denying it, you would definitely choose to believe Zhu Lingling.”

“Well, since the parties involved have denied it, there’s no way to file a case,” Shen Jiale said with a smile. “But if it were you, Teacher Zhou, who was on duty, then it certainly wouldn’t escape your watchful eye.”

Unexpectedly, Zhou Yi shook his head: "You know what, if I had been the officer in charge of this case, I would have only thought of the second possibility at most."

Shen Jiale turned to look at him and thought Zhou Yi was just being modest.

But what Zhou Yi said was actually the truth. He was drawn to the criminal psychology behind the stabbing of Wang Xinkai in broad daylight, which made him connect it to the "rape case".

The fact that the murderer stabbed Wang Xinkai and ran away shows that his motive for killing was not strong enough, and it seems more like he was venting his anger.

Considering Qin Chao's report to the police, Zhou Yi made a bold guess.

"Of course, I can't guarantee which of the three possibilities the truth is. Let's see how Director Wang's home visit went today." Zhou Yi said, patting the photocopy in his hand. "Also, we need to verify tomorrow whether Qin Chao will come to school for summer vacation. If he doesn't, then it might be a bit troublesome."

It's almost impossible for Zhu Lingling's case to be filed. Not to mention that the person involved is now vehemently denying it, even if Zhu Lingling admits it under the third condition, obtaining evidence will be a huge problem.

If it's the second scenario, at most they'll investigate Qin Chao for his impure motives in making a false police report. As for his accusation that Zhu Lingling was raped, that falls under civil disputes.

Zhou Yi flipped through the list in his hand, but he couldn't find Qin Chao's name. He was a little worried. Was there some other possibility?

But Shen Jiale couldn't think about that anymore; he felt he had received enough information today.

Soon, the police car drove into the gate of the city police station.

After getting out of the car, Zhou Yi looked at the sky and realized it was getting late, so he walked through the Municipal Bureau and returned to his dormitory behind the bureau.

Then he immediately spotted Ding Chunmei waiting at the dormitory entrance.

Seeing that she was safe and sound, Zhou Yi was relieved.

"How long have we been waiting?" Zhou Yi asked.

"It's only been about ten minutes," Ding Chunmei smiled. "I haven't been waiting long."

"Okay, then don't stand at the door, come in first. I'll pack my things and then we'll go over."

Ding Chunmei was clearly nervous, and her movements were noticeably restrained.

Although she was two years older than Zhou Yi now, which wasn't considered young in 1997, her somewhat platonic relationship with Li Chong showed that she was a very conservative person when it came to relationships.

It would be really difficult for her to pretend to be a couple with Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi was more like an uncle taking care of his niece who had just moved to the city.

Fortunately, there are few occasions where the two of them need to pretend to be affectionate.

Ding Chunmei followed behind Zhou Yi, looking as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Only after entering Zhou Yi's single dormitory and closing the door did Ding Chunmei eagerly say, "Officer Zhou, you were right. When I went back to the newspaper office today, I found that the person who used to sit diagonally behind me had moved to the workstation next to mine."

Zhou Yi nodded calmly, which was enough to prove that Qi Dongqiang was not clean.

Whether he is the most unclean one is unknown.

"what is it call?"

“Jin Huanyan, she was on the list I wrote for you before. She is an editor.”

"Yes, I remember her."

Looks like I'll have to call Ni Jianrong later. This Jin Huanyan is someone I need to keep a close eye on.

"Just do your normal job, do what you're supposed to do, and don't let them notice anything unusual about you."

"Okay...okay, what should I do next?"

Zhou Yi, who was packing his things, looked up and said, "Don't rush, we'll sort things out slowly later."

Ding Chunmei nodded quickly.

Zhou Yi said slowly, "I also need to sort out my thoughts about Li Chong's matter."

After packing his things, Zhou Yi didn't rush to leave. Instead, he went to the cafeteria and packed two meals and a few dishes.

I ran into Hou Kun in the cafeteria, and we greeted each other.

Zhou Yi dragged a suitcase in one hand and carried a bag of food in the other, walking side by side with Ding Chunmei on the way to Ping'an Jiayuan.

Although the two walked side by side, to outsiders they would only be seen as colleagues or friends, and it would be difficult to associate them with a romantic relationship.

"Two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes, let's see how the Wuguang Municipal Bureau canteen is. Consider it a celebration banquet for our 'moving to a new house'," Zhou Yi joked.

"Officer Zhou, tomorrow is Saturday. If you don't mind, I'll go buy some groceries and cook a few dishes."

"Tomorrow won't work, I have a case that I need to handle urgently. It's okay, just make yourself something nice to eat, don't worry about me, I'll just grab something quick." Zhou Yi said, as they passed a small shop.

"Wait a minute, I'm going to buy two bottles of drinks." With that, she put down her suitcase, picked up the bag, and ran towards the convenience store.

A few minutes later, Zhou Yi had another plastic bag in his hand, containing several cans of Jianlibao.

When Ding Chunmei saw Jianlibao, she suddenly burst out laughing.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Yi asked curiously.

Ding Chunmei said with a smile, "I remember the first time I interviewed you, the first thing you said to me was, 'I want to drink Jianlibao.'"

……

Room 402, Building 26, Ping An Jia Yuan.

Zhou Yi took out the key Bai Lin had given him yesterday and opened the door.

It was already late, and the house was pitch black.

Zhou Yi told Ding Chunmei to wait outside while he went in and turned on the light.

After turning on the lights and confirming that there was nothing wrong, he invited Ding Chunmei into the house.

Then he turned around and closed the door.

Before closing the door, his gaze lingered on the door opposite for a few seconds.

He couldn't quite explain what he wanted to see.

Finally, Zhou Yi closed the door.

The hallway returned to silence.

A few seconds later, the motion-sensor light above my head also went out.

A few minutes later, a dark figure slowly walked up to the fourth floor.

The shadowy figure's footsteps were so light that the motion-sensor lights on the ceiling didn't even turn on.

The shadowy figure arrived on the fourth floor, looked at 402, and finally stood at the door of 401.

"Boom...boom...boom..."

A dark figure gently knocked on the door, and with that soft knock, the motion-sensor lights in the hallway turned on.

A few seconds later, the door to room 401 opened slightly.

Bai Lin's beautiful face appeared behind the door.

Bai Lin glanced at the dark figure expressionlessly, and neither of them said a word to the other.

Then, the shadowy figure went into the house.

The door to room 401 then closed gently.

A few seconds later, the motion-sensor lights in the hallway went out again.

(End of this chapter)