Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
âDivorce?â
Upon hearing the news, Zhang Zixin was a bit surprised.
The situation at the hospital was already overwhelming, and now Zhang Guoping and his wife were planning to divorce.
However, Lin Yi remained calm, unlike Zhang Zixinâs startled reaction.
Zhang Peng nodded and explained,
âThis morning, when I went to investigate, I saw them arguing. It turns out that a few days ago, Pang Lanjun went back to her parentsâ house and forgot something at home. When she returned, she caught Zhang Guoping out shopping with another woman, and thatâs when the argument started.â
âThatâs expected. If your husband is cheating, itâs normal to argue,â Zhang Zixin said.
âBut who brought up the idea of divorce?â
âIt must have been Zhang Guoping,â Zhang Peng answered.
âHeâs the main beneficiary of the inheritance. With the money coming in soon, he wouldnât want to stay with Pang Lanjun, whoâs no longer young and attractive, so itâs natural for him to think about divorce.â
âBut the money hasnât even reached his hands yet, and heâs already planning a divorce. Isnât he celebrating too early?â Lin Yi said calmly.
âI think the issue lies there,â Zhang Zixin suggested.
âZhang Guoping might have thought of a way to secure the inheritance. Otherwise, he wouldnât be so blatant.â
âSo you think the deaths of Li Wenguang and Sui Xin might be connected to him, and that Zhang Guoping is the murderer?â Zhang Peng asked.
âOf course. Heâs the primary beneficiary of the inheritance and has the most motive.â
âBut the problem is that killing these two people wouldnât affect the distribution of the inheritance. Based on the current evidence, all the money and property would still go to Zhang Lixia,â Zhang Peng pointed out.
All three falling silent as they realized they were stuck.
The discussion reached a dead end.
Just then, Gu Yiran entered the room while holding a stack of documents.
âHey, Sister Yiran.â
Zhang Peng and Zhang Zixin greeted her. Gu Yiran responded with a nod before addressing the group.
âThe investigation results are in. The restaurant and the delivery guy have no issues. The restaurant handed the food directly to the delivery guy, and he delivered it straight to Sui Xin without anyone else handling it. Itâs unlikely that the poison was introduced en route.â
Gu Yiran pushed her hair back and continued,
âDuring the investigation, I also questioned the delivery guy. He mentioned that when he delivered the food, Sui Xin didnât look well. She had dark circles and bloodshot eyes, like she was sick.â
âHow does he remember that so clearly? Thatâs suspicious,â Zhang Zixin commented.
âThatâs pretty normal,â Zhang Peng interjected.
âSui Xin is very attractive, and she was wearing a low-cut nightgown at the time. Who wouldnât steal a few glances?â
âTypical pervert,â Zhang Zixin teased.
âLike youâre one to talk. Didnât you also ogle Brother Linâs abs when you first saw them?â
âUh, cough, cough⦠Brother Lin is different,â Zhang Zixin replied, embarrassed.
âAlright, enough. Letâs get back on track,â Gu Yiran said, redirecting the conversation. âDid you find anything on your end?â
âNot a single clue,â Lin Yi shrugged.
âAt this point, all we can do is investigate the people around them and see if we can uncover anything useful.â
âThatâs all we can do for now,â Gu Yiran agreed.
âLetâs try a different approach.â
âWeâre stuck in a dead end. We definitely need a new strategy,â
Lin Yi spoke while looking at Zhang Peng. âYou have all the files on these two families, right?â
âYeah, Iâve got everything here,â Zhang Peng said, pointing to the stack of files on his desk.
Gu Yiran added her own stack of files to the table.
âThese are some files on Sui Xin. Take a look. Her parents are on their way here, so if you need more information, we can ask them soon.â
Lin Yi nodded and began flipping through Sui Xinâs file.
âHer family seems pretty well-off.â
âIndeed,â Gu Yiran confirmed.
âOver the phone, I learned that they were a middle-class family with two fully paid-off homes. Last year, their ancestral home was also demolished, and they received over ten million yuan in compensation, which definitely places them in the middle class.â
âCould this be a case of murder for financial gain?â Zhang Peng speculated.
âUnlikely,â Lin Yi replied.
âOver ten million yuan isnât much in Zhonghai; itâs barely enough for a small apartment. Killing someone over that isnât worth it.â
Gu Yiran nodded in agreement with Lin Yi.
âBesides, the money is all in her parentsâ names. Killing Sui Xin wouldnât help anyone get that money.â
âBut her boyfriend doesnât seem to have much going for him,â Zhang Zixin noted while reading through the file.
âHeâs from a rural area and went to an average college. Even though both of their educational backgrounds arenât great, Sui Xinâs circumstances were much better than his.â
âThen I bet her boyfriend is really handsome.â
âHeâs somewhat good-looking, but if Brother Lin is a 100, this guy barely passes,â Zhang Zixin said.
âBut he does seem to be quite determined. For a non-elite law school graduate, managing to establish himself in Zhonghai is quite impressive.â
âWhat about the situation with her boyfriend?â
âHeâs very upset, nearly passed out from crying, and said that once they catch the killer, he wants to personally handle the case for his girlfriend.â
Lin Yi rubbed his temples and tossed the file back on the desk. Still nothing useful.
But Lin Yi wasnât ready to give up just yet.
After all, solving cases was his job, and giving up wasnât an option.
Plus, his current system task likely pointed to this case, so he had to solve it no matter what.
With that in mind, Lin Yi picked up Zhang Guopingâs file and reviewed it again, but it seemed unremarkable.
A few minutes later, however, his expression changed as if heâd noticed something.
âWho is this woman?â
In Zhang Guopingâs file, there was another document about a woman who looked to be in her thirties, with decent looks.
Zhang Peng leaned in to take a look. âDidnât we mention that Zhang Guoping was cheating? This woman is his mistress, Xu Pingping. Is there something wrong with her file?â
âI know this woman.â
âYou know her?â
Lin Yiâs statement piqued the othersâ interest.
âSheâs a masseuse at Huaqing Lake, technician number 6. I once had a massage from her. Her technique was alright, but her figure wasnât greatâjust a B-cup. Plus, she had a bit of an attitude, so I stopped going to her.â
Gu Yiran, ââ¦â
âWhat do you mean her figure wasnât great with just a B-cup?
âIâm also a B-cup!â
Zhang Zixin straightened her chest.
Being a C-cup gives you this kind of confidence.