Anti-gang campaign: Female bureau chief

Su Nian's homeroom teacher was a woman in her forties surnamed Shen. She wore thick black-rimmed glasses, and her eyes were red and swollen, clearly indicating that she had been crying.

She led Jiang Ruolan into the office, wiping away her tears as she said that Su Nian was an exceptionally well-behaved child, ranking among the top three in her class, never causing trouble, and getting along well with her classmates. She couldn't imagine anyone wanting to harm her.

Jiang Ruolan listened patiently without interrupting her, but at the appropriate time, she steered the conversation toward Su Nian's recent whereabouts and social situation.

Teacher Shen recalled that Su Nian hadn't shown any unusual behavior recently, except that she took two days off last week, saying she wasn't feeling well.

But her roommate later told the teacher that Su Nian was actually not in the dormitory for those two days, saying that she had gone home.

Jiang Ruolan noted this detail down—Su Nian asked for leave to "go home" but did not actually go home; she was lying and hiding her whereabouts.

For a well-behaved student who usually follows the rules, this behavior is a huge anomaly.

Su Nian's roommate was Zhou Xiaoyu, a girl with a round face and short hair. She spoke softly and had red eyes, clearly still recovering from the shock of her roommate's murder.

She said that Su Nian had indeed been acting strangely lately. In the past, Su Nian would go back to her dormitory every day after evening self-study and rarely went out on weekends. But in the last month or two, she started going out frequently, sometimes coming back very late at night. When asked where she was going, she would only say that she was seeing a friend, but she never said who that friend was.

"Did she mention that friend's name?" Jiang Ruolan asked.

Zhou Xiaoyu bit her lip and thought for a long time before suddenly saying:

"Once, she answered a phone call and then hurriedly left. Before she left, I asked her who had called, and she said it was 'Ah Hai'."

I'd never heard of that name before, and she wasn't from our school. But when I asked her again, she refused to say anything more.

"Ah Hai."

Jiang Ruolan wrote the name in her notebook and then asked, "Did Su Nian say anything about her relationship with this Ah Hai?"

Zhou Xiaoyu blushed slightly, hesitated for a few seconds, and then whispered:

"I feel like she's in a relationship. She started wearing makeup recently, which she never used to do, saying that makeup would damage her skin."

But last month she suddenly bought a very expensive lipstick, saying she bought it online from a reseller, costing several hundred yuan. When she tried it on, she even asked us if it looked good, saying that Ahai liked the color.

Jiang Ruolan's pen stopped on the notebook.

Lipstick—Ahai's favorite color. And on the deceased's lips, there was half a lipstick mark that didn't belong to her.

As Lu Zheng drove out of the school, he said:

"Director Jiang, Su Nian's roommate provided a crucial piece of information—Su Nian is currently in a relationship with someone named 'A Hai,' who isn't from the school."

At the crime scene, there was a half-stain of lipstick of unknown origin on the victim's lips.

If that lipstick mark wasn't Su Nian's, then it most likely belonged to this "Ah Hai".

This man kissed her before and after killing her; this is a classic sign of intimacy.

"But he killed her."

Jiang Ruolan looked at the students coming and going outside the car window, her voice cold, "He loved her, so he kissed her. But he killed her, wrapped her head in plastic wrap, and let her suffocate to death little by little."

This was neither a momentary impulse nor a mistaken killing. This person had a strong possessive and controlling desire for Su Nian, and when he discovered that this possession was threatened in some way...

Or perhaps Su Nian did something that crossed his bottom line—and he chose destruction.

Lu Zheng drove the car out of the campus and onto the main road.

His fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel, and after a moment of silence, he said:

"Director Jiang, this reminds me of a case. Three years ago, there was a similar murder case in the neighboring Xinzhou City."

A 24-year-old female accountant was found dead in an unfinished building. The cause of death was suffocation; a plastic bag was placed over her head, and there were unidentified lipstick marks on her lips. The case remains unsolved.

"Has the file been transferred?"

"It's being investigated. The Xinzhou Municipal Bureau said they'll send over the electronic file this afternoon."

"it is good."

Jiang Ruolan glanced at the time on her phone; it was already 2 PM. "Go back to the Municipal Bureau and do a comparative analysis as soon as the materials from New South Wales arrive."

Additionally, Zhao Rui was instructed to lead a team to investigate "Ahai"—all men in Yi'an City and surrounding counties whose names contain the character "Hai," with priority given to those with criminal records, aged between twenty and thirty-five, with a focus on whether they had any contact with Su Nian.

As the car drove along the main road of Yian City, Jiang Ruolan looked out the car window at the pedestrians coming and going on the street.

The city is slowly recovering after the Shen Wangshan case; there are more people on the streets than six months ago, and more smiles.

But Su Nian's death was like a sharp needle, piercing the city's just beginning to heal, reminding everyone that the dark roots never completely disappear just because a big tree is cut down.

At 4 p.m., the Xinzhou Public Security Bureau sent over the electronic files of a murder case from three years ago.

Jiang Ruolan placed the two case files side by side on the screen for comparison and analysis. The victim in New South Wales was named Fang Zhiqing, 24 years old, a local resident of New South Wales, who worked as an accountant in a private company.

The incident occurred on the ninth floor of an unfinished building in western New Jersey. The cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation. A white plastic bag was placed over the head, and the bag was sealed with tape around the neck.

The deceased was fully clothed, showed no signs of sexual assault, and had intact belongings. The most crucial similarity was a lipstick mark on the deceased's lips that did not belong to her; the mark was dark red and contained a rare pearlescent additive.

Jiang Ruolan pulled out the identification reports about the lipstick marks from the two documents and compared them separately.

The lipstick marks on Su Nian's lips and Fang Zhiqing's lips have highly identical ingredients, both containing the same pearlescent additive.

The forensic examination concluded that the two lipstick marks most likely came from the same lipstick.

The same lipstick appeared on the lips of two victims three years later.

"Lu Zheng, come here."

Jiang Ruolan turned the screen towards him, "Fang Zhiqing from New Jersey three years ago, and Su Nian today, both have the same lipstick mark on their lips."

This isn't just a similar modus operandi; it's the hallmark of the same killer.

Lu Zheng stared at the two side-by-side appraisal reports on the screen, his expression growing increasingly grave:

"In other words, this person killed Fang Zhiqing three years ago and then disappeared for three years. Now he has reappeared and killed Su Nian."

"Three years ago it was New South Wales, now it's Ngee Ann. The two cities are adjacent and less than a two-hour drive apart."

Jiang Ruolan stood up, walked to the regional map hanging on the wall, and circled New Jersey and Yi'an with a red pen. "This person's area of ​​activity is between the two cities. Three years ago he killed a female accountant, and three years later he killed a female college student."

The two victims had completely different professions and backgrounds, but their social circles likely overlapped. Or rather—they both knew the same person.

"Ah Hai."

"right."

Jiang Ruolan lightly tapped the map of Yi'an with her pen. "Does Fang Zhiqing's case file mention the name 'Ahai'?"

................