Chapter 140: Chapter 124

“There are also those who speculate that she died, but nobody knows the truth of the matter. Many people refuse to believe this speculation, such as me. I would rather believe that she is on a carefree vacation somewhere than believe that she has died,” Wang Duoduo said, a hint of sentimentality appearing on his face. “Chief, why are you suddenly asking about Jiang Yinsheng? Are you investigating her?”

“Ah, I was just asking, that’s all. Carry on with your work,” Jun Zishu said as she handed the phone back to Wang Duoduo and made her way back to her office.

A celebrity who had disappeared for no reason?

Why would such a celebrity appear in front of the convenience store below her house after going missing for two years?

Moreover, the other party had seemed to have suffered amnesia. Though, whether Jiang Yinsheng had truly forgotten about her past was still up for debate.

After finishing her breakfast in the office, Jun Zishu turned on her computer and searched for information about Jiang Yinsheng.

The first thing that popped up on her web browser was a list of news reports. Meanwhile, situated at the very top of the list was information on the celebrity.

Jiang Yinsheng was 21 years old at the time of her disappearance. She graduated from a famous drama school, debuted three years ago, acted in two TV dramas and two movies, and appeared in three variety shows. While Jiang Yinsheng’s popularity was partly due to her beautiful face, her acting skills were also widely recognized. The roles she played would always look spirited and realistic, and many people had become her fan due to her acting skills.

When news of Jiang Yinsheng’s disappearance came out, the whole internet went into an uproar. However, after two years had passed, most people had already stopped paying attention to her news. Only a small number of true fans were still waiting for her return.

There were many speculations as to why Jiang Yinsheng had disappeared. Everyone held varying opinions, and many of the statements floating around the internet were inconsistent with each other. However, the one thing that was consistent was Jiang Yinsheng’s time of disappearance.

According to Jiang Yinsheng’s manager, the last time she saw Jiang Yinsheng was during a variety show. After the variety show, Jiang Yinsheng had driven home by herself. However, instead of returning to her usual bachelor pad, she drove back to her parents’ house. However, according to Jiang Yinsheng’s parents, their daughter did not come home that night.

The images captured by surveillance cameras were also limited. The last sighting of Jiang Yinsheng’s car was when it turned a corner and disappeared. Afterward, no further images of the car were captured. Although Jiang Yinsheng’s car was later discovered at a second-hand dealer, the person who sold the car was a car thief. So, the trail was broken, just like that.

In Jiang Yinsheng’s own words, she had most likely died already. Jun Zishu didn’t doubt those words, either. After all, if Jiang Yinsheng wasn’t dead, how could she appear in front of her as a ghost?

Moreover, Jiang Yinsheng’s death sounded fishy. She couldn’t possibly have killed herself, right?

After throwing the trash on the table into the trash can, Jun Zishu walked out of the office.

“Has anyone been to Liu Qianqian’s grandmother’s place?”

“I did. Liu Qianqian’s grandmother said that her granddaughter had visited her at noon that day. However, Liu Qianqian didn’t stay there for long, leaving after having lunch and spending some time with her grandmother.”

“How long did she stay there? At what time did she leave?”

“The old woman is living by herself, and her memory isn’t very good, so she can’t remember very well.”

Liu Qianqian didn’t have a complicated background. She came from a single-parent family, her mother having passed away from illness when she was three. Afterward, her maternal grandmother had single-handedly raised her. As for her father, he was normally busy with business, so he didn’t show much care for her. It remained true even in the present, and Liu Qianqian would normally stay with her grandmother. Even after attending university in the city, she would still visit her grandmother from time to time.

“What about the neighbors?”

“The neighbors can attest that Liu Qianqian has visited her grandmother, but they don’t know when she left, either.”

“Have her come to the station for a visit. We’ll ask her about it in person.”

…

Jun Zishu and Wang Duoduo sat inside the interrogation room with Liu Qianqian while Yang Tianxiao and Zhou Lan watched the interrogation through the surveillance monitor.

Liu Qianqian looked a lot slimmer compared to when Jun Zishu last saw her.

Liu Qianqian wore a jacket today. When the light from the desk lamp hit her face, it reflected her pale complexion. The girl also appeared nervous as she looked at Jun Zishu.

“Liu Qianqian?” Wang Duoduo, who sat directly across from Liu Qianqian, called out.

“Mhm.” Liu Qianqian nodded, her eyes still looking at Jun Zishu.

Jun Zishu wasn’t the main interrogator today. Instead, she sat beside Wand Duoduo, twirling a pen in her hand as she wore a smile on her face.

Liu Qianqian hoped to glean some information from Jun Zishu’s eyes. However, she inexplicably shuddered and looked away when subjected to Jun Zishu’s gaze.

“Do you remember what happened on the 19th?”

“I didn’t see Little Yin that afternoon. I only learned that Little Yin had disappeared when Auntie gave me a call in the evening and asked if Little Yin was at my place,” Liu Qianqian replied in a lower voice, her hands gripping onto her jacket.

“When was the last time you saw her?”

“Noon that day; when we separated at school. She returned home while I visited my grandmother’s house.”

“Can you give us more details?” Wang Duoduo inquired.

Liu Qianqian nodded and fell silent for a moment, looking like she was trying to recall her memories. Then, she said, “We don’t usually have classes on Friday afternoon, so we would normally go home at noon and spend the weekend at home. That morning, after we finished our last class together, we separated at the school gate, and that was it.”

“When Chen Yin left home that afternoon, she told her mother that she was going to find you. Did you really not see her?”

“No. Little Yin didn’t come to find me that day. She is usually quite playful, so she often meets with people I do not know. Maybe she tried to reassure Auntie this time, so she told Auntie that she came to find me, but in reality, went to see someone else,” Liu Qianqian said, shaking her head as she stated her speculation on the matter.

“According to the statement you provided previously, you indicated that you went to your grandmother’s house first and met a classmate in the afternoon by chance. Then, you spent the afternoon with this classmate and had dinner together. Finally, you invited another classmate, and the three of you watched a movie together at your house. Is that correct?” Wang Duoduo asked, looking at Liu Qianqian from time to time as he wrote something on a piece of paper.

“Yes.”

“What time was it when you left your grandmother’s house?”

“About…two or three o’clock. I don’t remember it too well.”

“And after that?”

“On the way back, I switched to another bus and went to Central Street, thinking of going there for a stroll. I happened to run into Sun Chenxin on the bus, so we went window-shopping together. Then, when it was about time, we went to have dinner together.”

“You didn’t say anything about going shopping with Sun Chenxin last time,” Jun Zishu suddenly interjected, startling Liu Qianqian for a moment.

“I might have forgotten to mention it that day. I just found out about Little Yin’s accident that day, so my head was in a mess at that time.”

“Oh? But you appeared very sound that day, and everything you said was in an organized manner. Did you two really go shopping that day?”

Jun Zishu tapped her pen on the table, the tapping sounds causing Liu Qianqian’s heart to sink.

“We did.”

“Do you have any proof?”

“Sun Chenxin and I went…together.”

“Stop. Miss Liu, I think you still aren’t aware of the current situation.”

After saying so, Jun Zishu stood up and placed several photos of Chen Yin’s corpse in front of Liu Qianqian. Liu Qianqian was shocked, and she subconsciously leaned forward to look at those pictures. However, unlike any normal person, she did not avert her eyes immediately. Instead, she looked at those pictures for several seconds before turning away.

Meanwhile, this delayed reaction further reaffirmed Jun Zishu’s hypothesis that Liu Qianqian was involved in the crime.

“Chen Yin’s death is undoubtedly a murder, an intended and targeted murder at that. We suspect that it is a crime committed by an acquaintance. Moreover, it should be a group crime involving two to three people. You and Sun Chenxin are one of the suspects in this case. Apart from him, can you produce anyone else as an alibi?” Jun Zishu asked in an imposing tone, causing Liu Qianqian to grow a little flustered.

“What time did you arrive at the mall? What stores did you enter? What did you buy? We can call up the surveillance footage, so please describe your shopping process in as much detail as possible to prove that you are not lying. If you lie…”

Jun Zishu smiled and stopped speaking, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Liu Qianqian had already wrinkled her jacket by now, and she looked very scared. Even so, she still pretended to be calm on the surface.

“We arrived at the mall around three or four o’clock that day. We entered a women’s clothing store, then visited the basement supermarket later… That’s about it.”

“I’ll ask you one more time: Did you really not see Chen Yin that afternoon?”

“No,” Liu Qianqian said affirmatively.

“Hold her here for now, Duoduo.”

“Roger.”

After leaving the interrogation room, Jun Zishu looked at Yang Tianxiao and asked, “Has the search warrant been approved yet?”

“We got it already. Are we going there now?”

“Let’s go.”

…

Jun Zishu and a few other officers drove to Liu Qianqian’s house, which was naturally empty at this time.

Liu Qianqian’s father was still away on a business trip, and he typically wouldn’t come home most of the year.

After one of the team’s technical members picked the door open, everyone else entered the house and started searching it.

Liu Qianqian’s home was surprisingly empty.

There was nothing else in the living room besides a large TV, a wide sofa, a coffee table, and a water dispenser. There were no miscellaneous items on the balcony, either.

The house was a three-bedroom apartment. Aside from the master bedroom, the two other rooms were empty. There weren’t any furnishings in them whatsoever.

At a glance, this place was a home without any warmth.

The walls of the master bedroom were also painted black and white, which gave off a depressing feeling. These colors did not match Liu Qianqian’s image at all.

“Captain Jun, we tested a luminol reaction here,” someone shouted.

The voice came from the smallest room in the house, so Jun Zishu quickly walked over to check out the situation.

The floor was covered with wooden flooring, and the walls had wallpaper covering them. Looking at the wallpaper’s perfect edges, it would seem that the wallpaper had only been pasted onto the wall recently.

At this time, the floor was covered in large patches of blue-green fluorescence, indicating that a tragedy had once taken place here.

Nothing could disappear without leaving a trace. Even if the floor was wiped clean and there was no residual smell in the air, there were bound to be some traces left behind that could be tested.

“Tear off the wallpaper,” Jun Zishu instructed.

Someone nodded and quickly worked to peel the wallpaper off.

Sure enough, after peeling all of the wallpaper, they found specks of blood covering all of the walls. Perhaps Liu Qianqian was unaware of it, but the more she tried to cover up something, the more obvious it would become.

Regardless, this room was most likely the first crime scene.

On that night, while Li Xunyi was watching a movie on the living room sofa, Chen Yin was lying in the room near her.