Chapter 175 - 173: Looks a Bit Unfortunate

Chapter 175: Chapter 173: Looks a Bit Unfortunate

"What’s wrong with her? Did something happen?"

Shi Xiaoru asked anxiously.

"Our investigation concluded that Zhu Xuan is the killer in these three cases," Su Miaoyi said. "She has already confessed."

Shi Xiaoru stared at Su Miaoyi.

Even after Su Miaoyi finished speaking, she just kept staring, not processing the words.

Su Miaoyi looked back at her, saying nothing.

"What? What did you say?" Shi Xiaoru suddenly shot to her feet. "How is that possible? How could she be the killer! Is there some mistake? Is someone framing her?"

"She... she wouldn’t kill anyone, she..." Her voice trailed off. After a moment, she asked, "Is it because of me? Did she kill them for me?"

Neither Su Miaoyi nor Zhuang Yanzheng spoke.

Shi Xiaoru stood for a moment before sinking back into her seat. "The people she killed... they were the ones who spread rumors and cyberbullied me. It must have been for me."

She slowly lowered her head, staring at her own hands.

Su Miaoyi was silent for a moment as well, then asked in a softer voice, "Back in college, Zhu Xuan was so strong. Did you ever ask her why?"

Shi Xiaoru nodded mechanically. "She said she was all alone and had to work part-time jobs, so she built up her strength."

"Did Zhu Xuan ever mention her parents to you?" Su Miaoyi asked.

Shi Xiaoru thought for a moment, then shook her head.

"What about Zhu Xuan’s other friends? From high school, or her childhood?" Su Miaoyi hoped to gather some information.

Shi Xiaoru shook her head again. "She said she was used to being alone and had no friends besides me. Whenever we talked about life before college in our dorm, she would never join in. She said there was nothing worth talking about from her past."

"Where did she go after graduating from college?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

"After graduation, I came back to Jinghai because my parents are here," Shi Xiaoru said. "I originally wanted her to come back to Jinghai with me. But she said she wanted to stay in Ji City, so we went our separate ways. She would just occasionally come to Jinghai to see me."

"Did you know she was in Jinghai?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked again.

Shi Xiaoru shook her head. "She’s in Jinghai? She never told me. I always thought she was in Ji City."

"Zhu Xuan has been in Jinghai for many years," Su Miaoyi said.

"I didn’t know. I even mailed her birthday presents to Ji City," Shi Xiaoru said. "If I’d known she was in Jinghai, I would have had her move in with me. I..."

She frowned. "Are you sure there isn’t a mistake? How could she kill someone? She... how could a normal person dare to kill someone? Forget killing, I’m scared to even swat a bug. Those were people, living, breathing people."

"Can I see her?" Shi Xiaoru asked.

"Not at this stage," Zhuang Yanzheng replied.

Shi Xiaoru fell silent, her gaze dropping. After a moment, she looked up at them again. "Can her lawyer see her?"

Zhuang Yanzheng nodded. "Yes."

Shi Xiaoru nodded again.

Afterward, Su Miaoyi and Zhuang Yanzheng asked her a few more questions about Zhu Xuan.

After Shi Xiaoru left, Zhu Xuan’s computer was finally cracked.

The password Zhu Xuan had repeated twice in the interrogation room was wrong; it couldn’t unlock the computer at all.

In the end, it was the personnel from the tech department who managed to break in.

On Zhu Xuan’s computer were the addresses and phone numbers she had looked up for Xiao Xia, Wu Liang, and Luo Min.

Besides those three, she had also found the addresses, phone numbers, and names of people in Luo City and Fengcheng, as well as the individuals who had contacted Xiao Xia. She had researched all of them.

All these people were Zhu Xuan’s targets.

Zhuang Yanzheng had Chu Xingrou and Qi Feng contact the local police in those areas.

In the morning, it was to protect them.

Now, they would have to contact them all over again.

They had broken the law.

No one could escape it.

"This is Shi Xiaoru’s address, and here is some of her schedule and collaborations," said someone from the tech department.

There was a ton of stuff about Shi Xiaoru on this computer.

First, there were all sorts of clips from Shi Xiaoru’s livestreams.

Zhu Xuan had edited Shi Xiaoru’s livestream content herself, creating many beautifully edited videos. However, she hadn’t published them as fan-made content. Instead, she had organized all the videos into a single folder.

Su Miaoyi looked at the videos.

’If she had just started an account,’ Su Miaoyi thought, ’she’d be wildly popular by now.’

"Are you sure none of these videos were ever posted?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked the tech personnel. "Not on any short-video platforms, and not sent to Shi Xiaoru or her team?"

"We’re sure they weren’t," the tech person replied affirmatively.

Zhuang Yanzheng nodded.

"So... even though they didn’t meet, Zhu Xuan knew practically every move Shi Xiaoru made." Su Miaoyi rubbed the goosebumps on her arms. "Whatever job Shi Xiaoru was negotiating, she has a record of it here. This schedule is probably more detailed than the one her own assistant keeps."

Zhuang Yanzheng didn’t say anything.

"This is terrifying." Su Miaoyi frowned, looking at the timestamps on each video; the oldest was from four years ago. "Looking at it this way, her motive for murder was definitely strong. But Shi Xiaoru really does seem to be completely in the dark."

"She wasn’t lying," Zhuang Yanzheng said.

They had checked all their social media as well. Besides contact on the Lantern Festival this year, the two really hadn’t been in touch.

...

When it was time to get off work in the afternoon, Su Miaoyi was getting ready to head home.

Yan Cheng called out to her and made her drink a bowl of medicine.

Su Miaoyi’s head was aching and her nose was stuffed up.

When you’re feeling miserable, you’ll willingly drink even the most bitter medicine.

This was just a bit too bitter, though.

After drinking it, Su Miaoyi felt like throwing up.

Yan Cheng quickly gave her a piece of candy.

Once the sweet taste of the candy overpowered the bitterness in her mouth, Su Miaoyi managed to say, "That’s the most bitter medicine I’ve ever had in my entire life."

"Drink it, go home, get some sleep, and you’ll feel better when you wake up," Yan Cheng said.

"Really?" Su Miaoyi asked.

Yan Cheng paused for a moment. "I have to say that to justify how bitter it is."

The corners of Su Miaoyi’s mouth twitched.

Yan Cheng chuckled, gave her all the candy he had, and handed her a thermos. "Drink more hot water."

Su Miaoyi took the thermos.

"The thermos is new," Yan Cheng added.

Su Miaoyi looked at the thermos. It was quite nice-looking.

Just as she was admiring it, Chu Xingrou suddenly ran over from her desk. "I’m doomed, I’m doomed, I’m doomed."

"What’s wrong?" Su Miaoyi’s heart skipped a beat. "What happened?"

"My dad’s here. My dad’s here again." Chu Xingrou had an expression like she was facing a formidable enemy.

Su Miaoyi breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, I thought I wasn’t going to make it out of here today."

Zhuang Yanzheng was just coming out of his office when he heard Chu Xingrou say her dad was here. He suddenly had the urge to climb out the window and escape.

But just as the thought crossed his mind, Chu Xingrou spotted him. "Captain Zhuang."

Zhuang Yanzheng walked over, his face a mask of calm.

Chu Xingrou looked at him pitifully.

Zhuang Yanzheng had met with her dad so many times, he was practically about to become his sworn brother.

Her father was vehemently opposed to her being a criminal investigation officer.

At first, he tried locking Chu Xingrou at home. When he realized that didn’t work, he started coming to the station to have "heart-to-heart" talks with her superior, hoping to convince him to send Chu Xingrou packing.

Zhuang Yanzheng also found it strange.

Why was it that every time her father came, he just happened to be available?

"Captain Zhuang, breakfast for the field team for the next month is on me," Chu Xingrou offered.

Zhuang Yanzheng snorted. "With that salary of yours, do you even have enough to watch livestreams? Your dad already cut off your cards."

Chu Xingrou pressed her lips together.

"Alright, those who are heading home should go," Zhuang Yanzheng said. "Where’s your father? I’ll go see him."

"At the reception desk downstairs," Chu Xingrou said.

Zhuang Yanzheng headed downstairs.

Chu Xingrou followed him.

Su Miaoyi and Yan Cheng watched from where they stood.

Su Miaoyi rubbed her chin. "In this moment, I feel like Captain Zhuang’s shoulders have grown much broader. His image has suddenly become so grand!"

"All I see are the two words ’ill-fated’," Yan Cheng said.

Su Miaoyi looked at him. "More ill-fated than grading student papers?"

Yan Cheng looked as if his lifeline had been choked off, unable to utter a single word...