Roses in Flames

Ye Yuntang gave Mengmeng an orange bracelet with several frosted little stars hanging from it, which refracted a delicate and beautiful light under the light.

Mengmeng's eyes lit up with surprise, "Wow~ Sister, the bracelet is so pretty."

Orange, stars.

All of them are related to her idol.

Ye Yuntang put the bracelet on Mengmeng's wrist. "If you like it, don't take it off."

"Thank you, sister, but I won't pick it."

The thought of meeting Brother Ji Chen alone tonight filled Mengmeng with joy and excitement.

……

Criminal Investigation Team.

Cheng Lei pushed open the door to Xiao Lin's office and walked in with a document in his hand.

Xiao Lin sat at his desk, with Ji Chen's songs playing on his computer.

"Boss, you've been listening to this all morning."

Xiao Lin raised his long, slender fingers and pressed his temples. "Ji Chen's debut songs are quite different from his current style."

Cheng Lei nodded, "Indeed, he used to be the prince of love songs, now he's the prince of rock."

Xiao Lin replayed the video of Lin Xiaoqiao singing that he had obtained from Zhou Qing.

"Boss, why do I feel like Lin Xiaoqiao's singing style is quite similar to Ji Chen's when he first debuted?"

Xiao Lin pursed his thin lips. "If I'm not mistaken, the songs that Ji Chen wrote and composed in the first two years after his debut were probably written by Lin Xiaoqiao."

Cheng Lei frowned. "Boss, do you mean Lin Xiaoqiao used to be Ji Chen's hired gun?"

"It's probably more than just a gunman."

It could be a gunman, a couple, or even Ji Chen using Lin Xiaoqiao.

Xiao Lin waved his hand, "You go out first, I'll analyze the lyrics again."

Xiao Lin didn't leave his office all day.

When Ji Chen first debuted, his songwriting style was filled with the sweet atmosphere of romance.

Gradually, the style began to change, and the lyrics and compositions were permeated with an inescapable melancholy.

Further on, the melody becomes fragmented, and the style exudes a sense of oppressive despair.

This style, and the timing of its conclusion, perfectly match the time of Lin Xiaoqiao's autopsy and death.

In other words, after Lin Xiaoqiao passed away, Ji Chen changed the lyricist and composer.

Before Xiao Lin found Ji Chen and transformed into a rock and hip-hop artist, this was the last fragmented and melancholic song.

The cold of the corner of the earth freezes into a tiny shadow.

The lingering echo at the bottom of the box speaks of something faint and indistinct.

The wind sweeps away the fallen leaves, burying the past.

The evening stars are scattered, not in pairs.

This song, with its sorrowful melody, makes one's heart ache.

He closed his eyes and listened to it several times.

It's as if you can feel the despair of a girl trapped in a cold, dark corner.

Corner——

Could it be referring to the basement of the villa where the incident occurred?

The lingering echo at the bottom of the box—

Could it be hiding something that can make a sound?

Xiao Lin suddenly opened his eyes and stood up from the leather chair.

"Lei Zi, come with me to the villa where Lin Xiao Qiao had the accident."

Xiao Lin and Cheng Lei had just stepped out of the office when Ye Yuntang arrived.

"Captain Xiao, where are you going?"

Xiao Lin stated the destination.

"I came here to ask you for help. My sister Mengmeng's clothes are still in that villa, and I want to go and get them for her."

Xiao Lin nodded, "Let's go together."

Cheng Lei drove, and the three of them headed to the villa together.

On the way, Ye Yuntang checked Ji Chen and information about Dawei Mountain on her phone, but unexpectedly came across a post from a long time ago.

A middle-aged couple, after much anticipation, finally had a daughter.

After graduating from university, my daughter insisted on going to Daweishan to teach.

He was supposed to return after two years of teaching in the rural area, but he disappeared without a trace in Daweishan.

The couple reported the incident to the police, and the police went to Daweishan to search for them.

However, they were unable to find the couple's daughter.

The couple said that before their daughter went missing, she had mentioned wanting to sponsor a boy named Ji Chen from Dawei Mountain so that he could leave the mountains.

The couple asked the police to check Ji Chen's information, but they still found nothing.

Later, Ji Chen became famous and became a singer.

The couple tried every means to find Ji Chen, hoping to ask him about their daughter.

As a result, Ji Chen's fans started cyberbullying the couple.

—That old codger really knows how to ride the wave of online traffic.

—How could our brother know your daughter? Your daughter must have seduced men in the mountains and been ruined by them.

—That old geezer probably wants to make a living off the internet. It's disgusting. He should just die already!

Foul language swept through the couple's lives like a tidal wave.

The obsessive fans dug up the couple's address, phone number, and ID information.

Every day, I would call the couple countless times, cursing, insulting, photoshopping their portraits into funeral pictures, and throwing red paint and excrement at their door.

The man couldn't bear the blow and died of a heart attack.

The woman moved away, and later a reporter, unafraid of online bullying, interviewed her.

The woman cried as she spoke to the camera, "I wait for my daughter to come home every day, even if... she's just a skeleton."

When Ye Yuntang saw this video, she felt very heavy-hearted.

Xiao Lin glanced at Ye Yuntang, "What's wrong?"

Ye Yuntang showed the video to Xiao Lin, "This couple's daughter went to teach in Dawei Mountain six years ago, and disappeared four years ago."

Xiao Lin nodded gravely. "I know this couple. They reported the case in the new district back then, which is not under our jurisdiction."

"Ji Chen's fans are like a cult. A couple couldn't find their daughter and just wanted to ask Ji Chen if he knew any information, but his fans started cyberbullying them. The uncle couldn't take the cyberbullying and had a heart attack and passed away. It's so pitiful."

The woman said that even if her daughter's remains were brought home, her wish would be fulfilled.

Upon seeing this, Ye Yuntang really couldn't hold back anymore.

Half an hour later, the police car arrived at the villa.

Ye Yuntang went upstairs to pack Mengmeng's luggage, while Xiao Lin and Cheng Lei went to the basement.

The basement door opened, and a pungent smell of mold, dust, and rotting wood wafted out.

Xiao Lin took the flashlight, found the switch, and turned on the light.

There was old furniture in the corner, and a set of dark sofas.

"Boss, what could be hidden in this place?"

Xiao Lin didn't speak. He squatted down and ran his fingers across the blue bricks on the ground.

His eyes were sharp and cold, not missing a single detail.

A few minutes later, his gaze fell on the northwest corner.

At first glance, the bricks on that wall look no different from the others, but the third brick from the left in the bottom row has less ash in the mortar than the others, and the surface of the brick shows smooth marks from repeated rubbing.

Xiao Lin squatted down, bent his fingers, and gently tapped the brick.

Then he picked up the flashlight and shone it on.

"This brick can be taken out."

Cheng Lei quickly reached out to grab the brick, but found that it wouldn't budge.

Xiao Lin put on gloves, tapped on the cracks in the brickwork, and found a small dent on the side.

Hook your fingertips around the small opening and pry it open slightly.

With a "click," the brick slid outward half an inch.

Cheng Lei cast an admiring glance at Xiao Lin, "As expected of our all-powerful boss."

After Xiao Lin took out the brick, he found a recording pen wrapped in oil paper inside.

"If I'm not mistaken, this voice recorder should belong to Lin Xiaoqiao."

"Boss, your brain is amazing!" You were able to find important clues from Ji Chen's songs, locate the basement, and then find the recording pen.

That keen intuition for criminal investigation was absolutely amazing.

Not only that, their leader's hand-to-hand combat and shooting skills are also top-notch, leaving them far behind.

I really don't know why his ex-fiancée couldn't stand their eldest son.

Their boss is practically an all-around criminal investigation mastermind, isn't he?

"Alright, stop flattering me." Xiao Lin put the recording pen into the evidence bag. "Get it to the technical department right away."

"Yes, boss."

Ye Yuntang came downstairs with her suitcase and, upon learning that Xiao Lin had found a voice recorder, she couldn't help but give him a thumbs up.

Just as she was about to say something, her phone suddenly started vibrating wildly.

The bracelet she gave Mengmeng that morning contained a locator and an acoustic alarm system.

If Mengmeng's bracelet is pulled violently, her phone will sound an alarm.

Ye Yuntang glanced at the red dot on the location tracking screen, which was jumping wildly. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed immediately. "Oh no, Mengmeng is in danger."