Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
âStop cursing me. There are a lot of people chasing me. If I wanted to, I could get married in minutes.â
âI canât think of anyone but a blind man who would want to marry you.â
âGet out of here and get to work!â
Although Gu Yiran had a bad temper, she was good at her job.
In less than an hour, she had gathered all the surveillance footage and met up with Li Xianghui and the others with the portable hard drive.
When they returned to the police station, it was already past three in the afternoon.
Without stopping, everyone began the next step of the process.
It was not until seven oâclock in the evening that the interrogation ended. Then, they ordered some food and discussed the case while eating.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âDid you find anything during the interrogation?â
âI didnât discover any big problems.â Gu Yiran said.
âThe deceased, Song Deyuan, was 58 years old. His company dealt with fire monitoring systems. He owned recreational vehicles worth about 60 million in total, and his bank deposits were over 80 million, making him part of the upper class.â
âHis wifeâs name is Liu Fang, who is 56 years old this year, and they have a 32-year-old son named Song Zhe, who is the vice president of their company.â
âHowever, his private life was not very discreet. He also supported a mistress, 38 years old, named Du Juan. They had been involved for eight years, and she works at an internet company.â
For a rich person, this kind of news was very normal. No one was surprised.
It would seem a little abnormal if this person called Song Deyuan was clean and did not have a mistress.
âI just checked Song Zhe, Liu Fang and Du Juanâs criminal records.â Gu Yiran said.
âLiu Fang is a very clean person, just an ordinary wealthy wife. But this is only the information shown in the records; a detailed investigation is necessary to know the full story.â
âSong Deyuanâs son, Song Zhe, was prone to fighting and brawling in his youth, and he even spent two years in prison for provoking trouble. Later, while working on projects, he often got into verbal disputes and could be equated with unsavory characters.â
âHis mistress, Du Juan, appears unremarkable at first glance, but she has a history of using banned substances and was once detained for half a month, so she canât really be considered a good person in the true sense.â
After thinking for a few seconds, Li Xianghui said,
âLock onto this person called Du Juan. Bring her back to the station as soon as possible. We need to interrogate her first.â
âIâve sent someone to nab her. Weâll hear from her later.â Gu Yiran said.
Li Xianghui nodded in satisfaction and lit a cigarette.
âWhereâs the surveillance footage you brought back? Letâs check that first.â
âHere.â
Gu Yiran connected the few hard drives she brought back to the computer and showed the surveillance video of Song Deyuanâs suicide.
The office was very quiet. The few of them ate while watching the video on the computer.
At around noon, Song Deyuan strolled to the edge of the small mountain alone. Then, he stood at the edge of the cliff for a long time. After about three minutes, his body fell and he committed suicide.
âFrom the looks of it, he really did commit suicide,â Zhang Hui said.
The others subconsciously nodded in agreement.
The video showed very clearly that no one had appeared beside Song Deyuan before he committed suicide. He had jumped down on his own accord. It was a typical sign of suicide.
âAt first, I thought that the mistress pushed him down to get his assets. Now, it seems that Iâm overthinking,â Gao Mingjun said.
âMaybe weâre overcomplicating things.â
Li Xianghui looked at his watch. âAfter Du Juan is brought back, weâll interrogate her again. If thereâs nothing suspicious about her, this case can be declared closed.â
âWait! Somethingâs not right.â
While everyone was analyzing the case, Lin Yiâs words attracted their attention. âWhatâs wrong?â Li Xianghui asked.
âLook at the surveillance video.â Lin Yi pointed at the computer screen.
âThereâs something strange about the way he walks.â
Everyone went back to the computer and looked at it several times.
âIt looks like he drank too much, and his face is also somewhat red; his walking posture doesnât seem that unusual either,â Gu Yiran said.
Zhang Hui nodded, âThe time of the incident was around noon, and since they were on a team-building outing, they would likely have just finished eating. This explanation makes sense.â
âThis is logical, but itâs not common sense.â
âLetâs take it slow,â Li Xianghui said.
âEveryone think about it, if the five of us went out to eat, how long would it typically take for us to finish?â
âWeâll be done in half an hour,â Gao Junming said.
âBut the problem is that this is the companyâs team-building. Itâs a large-scale gathering. Naturally, they wouldnât finish so quickly.â Lin Yi said.
âIâve attended these kinds of gatherings a few times. Usually, girls who donât drink will leave after dinner. This will be in 40 minutes to an hour. However, the male employees of the company, including some leaders, definitely wonât leave so quickly because they havenât finished drinking. Secondly, in order to curry favor with the leaders, the normal employees wonât leave so quickly.â
âAccording to what you said, if Song Deyuan really drank, he definitely wouldnât have left around midnight.â
âI took a look at the map just now. The crime scene is about 500 meters away from the hotel where the gathering was held.â
âSong Deyuan jumped off the cliff around 11:50. According to a normal personâs walking speed, it would take six to eight minutes to walk 500 meters. Coupled with the fact that he was drunk and was slower and fatter, his speed would be even slower. It would take at least 10 minutes to walk the 500 meters.â
âIn other words, heâd have had to come out of the hotel at at least 11:40 to walk there and kill himself.â
âDuring team-building activities, because there are many participants, there are strict rules regarding the dining segment. Generally, meals start at either 11:30 AM or 12:00 PM.â
âAnd he committed suicide around 11:50. In other words, itâs impossible for him to have been drinking during that time. Of course, thereâs nothing absolute about the facts. Itâs just that the probability of it happening is relatively low.â
Lin Yiâs words also made the others suspicious.
After thinking for a few seconds, Gu Yiran said,
âIs it possible that he drank wine with the other leaders of the company? After all, they are a rank above. Itâs normal for him to go out and receive special treatment.â
âItâs the same as before. Logically, itâs sound, but it doesnât match the reality,â Lin Yi said.
âWhy so?â
âFor a small company like theirs, whatâs nicely called a team-building activity might just be a trip. Although Song Deyuan isnât a big spender, a local scenic spot like Erlong Mountain wouldnât normally interest him. But since he came, thereâs likely another reason.â
Li Xianghui looked at Lin Yi and said,
âSo you suspect that he wasnât drinking but was using contraband, right?â