Chapter 100

"Can't be, right?" the tall man exclaimed, then slapped his thigh. "But you know what, that figure really did look like Director Li's husband. What was his name again?"

Everyone knew Director Li of the Machinery Plant's office because she was famous for being fierce. She used to work in the workshop, doing all kinds of jobs with great dedication and skill, even earning her the title of Provincial Model Worker.

Later, due to a workplace injury, she moved to an office position.

Unlike typical smooth-talking office directors, she didn’t play games. When it came to work, it was just work—no need for personal connections.

In front of leaders like Tang Jianguo, she never flattered or pandered; she was straightforward and fair, regardless of who was involved.

If things got heated, she would scold anyone, no matter who they were, with her fiery temper.

Now, in the office, she was somewhat restrained, but back when she worked in the workshop, she was even more formidable, earning her the nickname of "Mother Tiger."

However, her fairness and seriousness in handling matters earned her respect from everyone.

Another reason Director Li stood out was that, despite her fierce reputation, she looked as gentle as a southern Chinese woman. In her youth, she was a beauty in the factory, and even now, she remained attractive, making it hard to believe she had such a fiery personality.

Everyone at the factory knew Director Li by name, but few could remember her husband’s name.

Tang Jixue: "Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?"

The short man replied, "No mistake! I looked at him several times. He deliberately lowered his head when he saw me. I found him suspicious, so I kept watching him."

The tall man said, "If it really is him, this will cause a huge uproar."

Director Li and her husband were known for their exemplary marriage. Everyone said that only her husband could tolerate her fiery temper; others might have ended up fighting.

Though no one remembered his name, they praised his good nature. It was said that he took care of their child and cooked meals, which was quite rare.

No one expected such an honest man to do something like this behind her back.

After the two men left, another person arrived. This person was much more hesitant, taking a long time to get to the point.

Tang Jixue, impatiently, said, "Speak quickly; we don’t have time to waste."

The person hesitated, "I’ll only tell you about the suspicious person I encountered. If it turns out to be nothing, please don’t blame me later."

"You can rest assured. We are working for the Public Security Bureau, not settling personal scores. We won’t act recklessly."

Only then did the person speak, "When I went back, I saw Li Daqing, the young guy who used to hang out with us. Do you remember him, Third Brother?"

Tang Jixue nodded, his expression unchanged, but inside he was shocked.

Li Daqing was around the same age as Tang Jixue, barely in his early twenties. Thinking of the autopsy report, Tang Jixue tried to shake off his wild thoughts.

How could someone so young be involved with Sun Qing, who could be his mother?

"That kid owed me money, and I confronted him several times, so I remember him well."

"Has he paid you back yet?" Tang Qingqing suddenly interjected.

The man glanced at the strikingly beautiful Tang Qingqing, blushing instantly. But seeing Tang Jixue’s dangerous gaze, he quickly looked away.

"He recently made some money somewhere and has paid me back. He hasn’t hung out with us for a while."

Tang Qingqing and Tang Jixue exchanged a glance, both harboring similar suspicions.

After the third person left, they waited a bit longer, but no one else came.

"This incident was probably done by Director Li’s husband. Perhaps Sun Qing wanted to go straight, but he was afraid of his wife, so he took drastic action. They say that when a mild-mannered person gets angry, the consequences can be severe. Someone like Director Li’s husband, who is often overshadowed by his wife, must feel very frustrated."

Tang Jixue analyzed seriously, feeling his theory made sense.

Tang Qingqing frowned, "Third Brother, your speculation lacks evidence."

"The reasoning is sound. I don’t believe any man wants to be like a woman, doing household chores and being suppressed. Over time, he would explode. Director Li is such a strong woman; he must feel suffocated."

Tang Qingqing disagreed, "There are many types of people in the world. Not everyone is the same. Why can’t a man focus on family like a woman? You’re being biased."

"I’m basing this on common beliefs. Many men dislike being overshadowed by their wives; they find it embarrassing."

"Besides, it can’t be Li Daqing, right? Only these two people were near Sun Qing’s house during that time. Sun Qing could be his mother; it’s impossible!"

Tang Jixue shuddered at the thought, finding it unsettling.

Although Sun Qing maintained herself well, showing no signs of having grown children, age cannot be hidden forever.

"We haven’t confirmed that the lover is the murderer; he’s just a suspect. Besides, even if they were together, there’s nothing unusual about it. Older men dating younger women is common; why can’t older women date younger men?"

"No way, no way. The idea is too uncomfortable. I understand the logic, but I still can’t believe it."

Tang Jixue shook his head vigorously, trying to erase the image from his mind, finding it terrifying.

Tang Qingqing rolled her eyes, "Stop guessing. We’ll know once Captain Shi interrogates them."

"I’m sure it’s not Li Daqing. We previously deduced that the lover should be a married man."

"That was just a hypothesis; it may not be accurate. Until we uncover the truth, anything is possible."

They brought these two leads back to the Public Security Bureau for further investigation.

Tang Qingqing and Tang Jixue had not received professional training, so they could investigate clues but couldn't handle interrogations. That requires methods and experience; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to get the suspects to talk.

The next morning, Tang Qingqing went to school as usual.

The hot topic at school was still the murder of Sun Qing.

Tang Qingqing did not participate in the discussions, nor did she mention that she was involved in the investigation. Even Tang Xiaoxiao didn't bring it up.

In the afternoon, there were only English and PE classes, so Tang Qingqing took leave and used the time to examine the crime scene.

Tang Qingqing's English level was very high, and her spoken English was even better than her teacher's. Normally, the teacher allowed her to do other things during class.

This was something Tang Qingqing had applied for before, using her fluent spoken English and translations of psychology articles to convince the English teacher.

She didn't want to waste time on basics and didn't want to offend the teacher.

Taking leave from Class Nine and Ten was much easier than from other classes. The head teacher signed off without even asking why she needed to leave.

As soon as school ended, Tang Qingqing saw Tang Jixue standing at the school gate.

Tang Qingqing: "Brother, this route is safe. You don't need to come pick me up."

"Being careful is always good, and I don't have anything else to do right now."

Tang Jixue was still shaken by the serial murders. Early in the morning, he had specifically gone to the Art Troupe to warn Tang Zhenzhen to be extra cautious.

He knew his sister too well; she loved wandering around outside.

After a quick meal at home, they headed straight to the Public Security Bureau.

Shi Pengfei looked even more disheveled than yesterday, with stubble on his face, making him look at least ten years older than his actual age.

Seeing Tang Qingqing, he rubbed his temples and took a swig of wind oil to regain his composure.

"Captain Shi, have you slept at all these past two days?" Tang Qingqing couldn't help but worry seeing him like this.

Shi Pengfei: "I'm fine."

Wang Hang bluntly pointed out: "At most two or three hours a day, often in the car."

"Alright, let's not talk about this. Let's discuss the case."

Tang Jixue got excited, "How's the interrogation going? Is it related to those two people?"

Shi Pengfei: "It is indeed related."

"Who is it?!"

Tang Qingqing saw Tang Jixue's expression and tugged at him. This was a murder case, not gossip.

Shi Pengfei didn't mind and said, "Zhang Zhigao..."

Tang Jixue: "Wait, who is Zhang Zhigao?"

Tang Qingqing: "Brother, you're silly. He's Director Li's husband."

Tang Jixue patted his forehead, "Didn't think of it right away. Please continue."

"Zhang Zhigao has been cleared of suspicion. He was there because his wife, Li Xuemei, wasn't feeling well. He went to the hospital to get medicine for her, and both the doctor and his wife can confirm this."

Tang Jixue was incredulous: "Not him?"

He had already imagined the whole process, thinking he was brilliant, the first detective to solve the case. But reality proved him wrong.

"You're not saying Li Daqing is the lover?"

"That's exactly who it is."

Tang Jixue felt his worldview shattered. How could it be...

"Li Daqing has confessed that he had an improper relationship with the victim for three months, but he denies killing Sun Qing."

Shi Pengfei had stayed up all night with this guy, but he still wouldn't budge.

Li Daqing claimed that when he left, Sun Qing was fine.

He was with Sun Qing for money; there was no reason to kill her.

Tang Jixue suddenly thought of something: "But the previous speculation was that the lover was married."

Shi Pengfei: "That was based on our experience. Mistakes happen. No one expected that Sun Qing's odd behavior was due to her lover being too young, so she kept it hidden, fearing ridicule."

Tang Jixue's mouth twitched, "Afraid of ridicule yet doing such a shameless thing."

"Last night, we found a blood-stained fruit knife in a flower bed near the victim's house. According to the family's confirmation, this knife belongs to the victim."

"There are no fingerprints of Li Daqing on it?"

"No, there are only the victim's fingerprints."

Tang Qingqing was surprised: "Only the victim's fingerprints? No signs of wiping?"

Shi Pengfei shook his head.

Tang Qingqing stopped guessing and directly applied to examine the scene.

The scene was too chaotic; looking at photos wouldn't reveal much.

Wang Hang led them to the scene. Outside the police cordon, offerings were laid out. A big man knelt in front, wiping tears while burning paper money.

Wang Hang whispered, "He is Xu Minghao, the deceased's husband. The scene must not be disturbed; we can only pay respects outside."

Xu Minghao heard the commotion and turned to see Wang Hang, quickly getting up from the ground.

"Comrade of the Public Security, have you caught the murderer? Who killed my wife?!"

Xu Minghao's eyes were red-rimmed, his beard unkempt, and he looked disheveled, with an unpleasant odor emanating from him.

Xu Minghao had just returned from driving a truck. He had barely parked at the factory when someone informed him that his wife had been murdered, causing his world to spin.

He didn't even have time to clean himself before rushing back home, only to be stopped at the door.

Looking at the caution tape and the pointing gazes of others, Xu Minghao had no choice but to accept this reality.

Wang Hang: "Comrade Xu, please take care. We are investigating and will catch the murderer as soon as possible."

Xu Minghao, with a simple and honest face, expressed gratitude repeatedly:

"Thank you, thank you for your trouble. My wife, Sun Qing, was always friendly and never did anything wrong! You must bring the culprit to justice!"

Wang Hang: "This is our duty. Please rest assured."

Xu Minghao did not disturb their work. After the door opened, he stood silently at the entrance without entering.

Tang Qingqing put on shoe covers and gloves, frowning at the chaotic scene on the floor.

It was already difficult to obtain footprint information from the concrete floor, and the scene had been trampled into such a mess, with bloodstained footprints overlapping in layers.

Tang Jixue: "How can we investigate this scene! Those people, watching every bit of chaos, making it worse."

Wang Hang sighed, "We haven't found much evidence at the scene. We still haven't located the cylindrical object used to strike the victim's head."

"Comrade Wang, you can go ahead and attend to other matters. I can handle things here with my brother. This scene is too chaotic, and it will take me a long time."

Although they had already apprehended the prime suspect, Li Daqing, the case was far from over, requiring further investigation.

Wang Hang did not refuse, "Alright, let me know if you need anything."

After Wang Hang left, Tang Jixue felt the room become even more eerie, the strong smell of blood nauseating.

"Qingqing, do you really plan to continue doing this? It's too hard and scary."

Even without the body present, the scene was terrifying. If the body were still there, it would be even more frightening.

While solving mysteries and reasoning were interesting, examining the crime scene was terrifying.

Even a grown man like him found it unbearable, let alone a young girl.

Tang Qingqing, tired of answering the same question, said, "Third Brother, don't step around randomly."

She squatted down, taking out her pen and paper to examine the floor meticulously.

Tang Jixue waited by the side, initially standing straight but soon slumped, eventually sitting down outside.

Xu Minghao did not leave, continuing to burn paper money, the smoke slightly masking the blood's odor.

Tang Jixue, bored, joined him in burning paper money.

"Uncle, who did Aunt Sun have conflicts with?"

Xu Minghao shook his head, "She was very warm-hearted and got along well with everyone. She never offended anyone."

Tang Jixue's lips twitched, "Uncle, I heard she had fights with others before."

"That was because others were looking for trouble, not because of my wife."

"Why did they look for trouble? There must be a reason."

"They must have mistaken her," Xu Minghao said without hesitation.

Tang Jixue couldn't describe his feelings, unsure whether Xu Minghao was pretending or genuinely believed this.

Could someone be this naive?

Tang Jixue hesitated to ask if Xu Minghao knew about Sun Qing's frequent infidelities. Xu Minghao looked simple but was tall and robust.

Long-distance drivers needed to be tough to handle any situation.

If this topic angered Xu Minghao, Tang Jixue wouldn't stand a chance against him.

Tang Qingqing continued to squat inside the house, sometimes motionless like a mushroom.

Tang Jixue admired his sister's perseverance, truly impressed by her resilience.

"Uncle, why are you the only one here?" Tang Jixue asked.

Xu Minghao paused, "The youngest was scared."

The first person to discover the body was Sun Qing's youngest son, who was so frightened that he ran a high fever that night.

"I remember you have four children, right?"

Xu Minghao sighed deeply, "The third one grew up with her grandfather, who is now ill. She is currently with him."

Xu Minghao was a son-in-law, so the children called the old factory director "Grandpa."

When asked about the other two children, Xu Minghao remained silent, unwilling to discuss them.

Tang Jixue, now bored and curious, pressed on.

"It turns out to be like this. What about the eldest and the second? Are they on a business trip?"

"I don't have these two children." Xu Minghao's face darkened.

"Uncle, we're all family. With such a big event happening at home, let's not dwell on past grievances."

"It's not that I'm dwelling on it; it's that they're no good! Ungrateful, they'll be struck by lightning sooner or later!"

Tang Jixue: "We can't say that. Perhaps they're just very busy. We're all family. No matter how big the past conflicts were, it's meaningless to keep holding grudges now that someone is gone."

The more Tang Jixue said this, the more upset Xu Minghao became.

"They're just heartless. Unable to find partners, they blame us parents every day. They talk nonsense, showing no respect for their elders. We haven't communicated with them for a long time now; we've long considered them as if we never had these two children!"

Xu Minghao was furious. It was one thing to throw tantrums occasionally, but now that his wife was gone, these two children didn't even come back to take a look.

No matter what, they were born from Sun Qing, who endured so much hardship.

He worked long-distance and often couldn't take care of household matters, leaving everything to Sun Qing, who managed everything alone, working tirelessly.

Yet these two children blamed Sun Qing for their failure to find partners.

Tang Jixue had heard before that their family relations were poor, but now he found it worse than he had imagined.

Tang Qingqing stayed in the house until sunset. When Tang Jixue was famished, he directly took Tang Qingqing away from the scene.

At this point, Tang Qingqing could no longer refuse. Because she had squatted for too long, her legs had gone numb when she stood up, losing all sensation.

If not for Tang Jixue supporting her, she would have fallen.

She also forgot to eat sugar, and shortly after standing up, her hands started shaking.

Tang Qingqing quickly ate a piece of candy and took some time to recover.

Tang Jixue felt guilty for his oversight, "I forgot to remind you earlier, Third Brother. Next time, I won't make the same mistake."

Tang Qingqing smiled, not taking it to heart.

Tang Jixue: "Did you find any clues?"

Tang Qingqing shook her head, "The destruction was too thorough. The previous footprints were covered by bloodstains."

"Don't worry, there must be other clues."

Tang Qingqing remained noncommittal, had dinner, and then went out again with Tang Jixue.

This time, however, she went to investigate where the weapon was found.

Not finding much useful information at the scene, unable to determine which footprint belonged to the murderer, she decided to look around for clues.

The diligence of the Machinery Plant's janitors became a negative factor here, as the ground had already been cleaned.

Tang Qingqing had never felt so frustrated, not even leaving her a single trace.

Seeing her expression, Tang Jixue comforted her, "Don't worry too much. Didn't we catch Li Daqing? I think he's the murderer; he'll confess sooner or later."

"Sis, can you find something to cordon off this area? Don't let anyone run in, and don't let the janitors clean it again."

"Alright, wait here."

With people coming and going nearby, and it still being daytime, Tang Jixue left her alone to find materials.

Tang Qingqing wasn't discouraged and squatted down to examine the situation.

The janitors used brooms made of bamboo twigs, which only swept away surface debris, leaving gaps between the twigs, meaning many areas of dust remained untouched.

Though the scene was mostly destroyed, it wasn't completely devoid of traces.

Many people had heard that Tang Qingqing was skilled but didn't know exactly how. Seeing her squatting and examining the ground, they were curious.

Some children mimicked her, staring at the ground, but saw nothing but ants and small insects crawling by.

Tang Jixue quickly found caution tape and warning signs, cordoning off the area near the flower bed.

"What are you doing?" someone asked.

Tang Jixue: "Investigating a case. No one should enter this area; if you leave any traces, you might be mistaken for the murderer."

Those who initially wanted to step in and test the waters quickly withdrew their feet upon hearing this.

Being scolded was one thing, but being mistaken for the murderer would be troublesome.

After setting everything up, Tang Jixue carefully approached Tang Qingqing, "Qingqing, how's it going?"

Tang Qingqing looked up at him, "Is something wrong?"

Tang Jixue usually wouldn't disturb her.

Looking around, he whispered in her ear, "I ran into Wang Hang from the Public Security Bureau just now. He said the murderer might not be Li Daqing."

Tang Qingqing raised her eyes, "Why? Did they find new evidence?"

"After the forensic examination, the murderer used their right hand. The injuries on the victim's left side were more severe than those on the right, while Li Daqing is left-handed."