I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 69: Chapter 67: Went to Jiangcheng

There were still many loose ends to tie up in Zhou Lei’s case. The events from that year were being reinvestigated, and everyone involved was under investigation.

Zhuang Yanzheng had been busy all week.

Yan Cheng and Lu Zhishen had also just finished their work.

And then they were roped into a blind date arranged by Zhuang Yanzheng’s mother.

Yan Cheng’s parents weren’t in Jinghai.

Lu Zhishen’s parents had passed away.

Zhuang Yanzheng’s mother, worried about her own son’s marital status, had decided to worry about his two friends as well.

Zhuang Yanzheng didn’t have time for blind dates.

So the two of them were caught and sent out on one instead.

Yan Cheng drove Su Miaoyi home.

Su Miaoyi sat in the passenger seat.

Lu Zhishen sat in the back.

He closed his eyes to rest as soon as he got in the car.

”So even your professions get looked down on,” Su Miaoyi said.

”I deal with corpses all day. Some people are superstitious about it,” Yan Cheng said, his tone suggesting he was used to it.

From the back, Lu Zhishen added with his eyes still closed, ”I’ve had people think my job is too dangerous before. Today’s date was mainly concerned that I don’t have parents, so I won’t have any parental support in the future.”

Su Miaoyi turned to look at him. ”It just means you two haven’t met the right person yet. Don’t worry, fate will come around eventually.”

”We’re not worried,” they both replied in unison.

Su Miaoyi glanced between them, a glint in her eyes as she started to nag, ”You should be worried. You’re not getting any younger.”

Yan Cheng shot her a sideways glance.

Lu Zhishen kept his eyes closed and said nothing.

”Some people your age are already grandfathers,” Su Miaoyi blurted out.

Lu Zhishen suddenly choked in the back and started coughing. ”I’m still a few months shy of thirty. Who’s a grandfather?”

He then looked toward Yan Cheng. ”Yan Cheng’s age, though, yeah, he should definitely be a grandfather by now.”

”I’m only in my early thirties,” Yan Cheng said, speechless.

Su Miaoyi couldn’t help but laugh.

Lu Zhishen watched her, then said, ”Next time, we’ll arrange a blind date for you, too.”

Su Miaoyi’s smile vanished. ”Shut up.”

Now it was Lu Zhishen’s turn to smile.

After a moment of silence, Su Miaoyi asked, ”Is Zhou Lei’s case over?”

”Just about,” Yan Cheng said. ”Everyone involved back then has been investigated. The higher-ups were furious when they found out and ordered a strict investigation. No one’s getting away.”

”Where did the anesthetic come from?” Su Miaoyi asked.

”He made it himself,” Yan Cheng said.

Su Miaoyi was surprised for a moment, but then she remembered all the awards Zhou Lei had won and wasn’t surprised anymore.

”Han Longyu was indeed dismembered in his car. Those fiber fragments you found at the leg’s severance point were from the car’s floor mats,” Yan Cheng said.

Su Miaoyi nodded.

Yan Cheng paused, then added, ”About what happened back then... there was no private settlement.”

Su Miaoyi turned her head to look at him. ”What?”

”The families of Han Longyu, Zheng Bin, and Feng Tao used Zhou Lei to threaten his father, Zhou Ming, into a private settlement,” Yan Cheng explained. ”Left with no choice, Zhou Ming agreed. But nothing ever came of it.”

Su Miaoyi frowned.

She had assumed that the private settlement Song Lichun mentioned meant there had been, at the very least, some form of monetary compensation.

”They saw that threatening Zhou Ming with his son worked once, so they did it again. In the end, they just never paid any compensation,” Yan Cheng said.

”They had money for bribes, but no money for compensation,” Lu Zhishen said sarcastically.

Su Miaoyi’s lips parted, but she said nothing.

A mother and her unborn child were dead, and in their eyes, it wasn’t even worth paying for.

They were all a bunch of heartless bastards.

...

「In mid-January.」

Su Miaoyi accompanied Cheng Jue to Jiangcheng for his university art exams.

He had already finished the exams for the schools in Jinghai.

Only two schools were left, one in Jiangcheng and one in Luo City.

Cheng Jue got airsick.

Worried it would affect his performance, Su Miaoyi and Cheng Jue took the high-speed train to Jiangcheng.

Since Su Miaoyi was with him, Cheng Yong and Ge Yu didn’t come along.

After leaving the high-speed rail station, they hailed a cab to their hotel.

Su Miaoyi gazed at the scenery outside the window.

Nothing about it felt the least bit familiar.

They arrived at the hotel and went to their rooms.

They hadn’t been able to book a suite, so they got two separate rooms.

After eating, Su Miaoyi cleaned up and told Cheng Jue to get some sleep.

Over the past few months of intensive training, Su Miaoyi had seen Cheng Jue a few times, and each time he seemed a little thinner.

He also seemed to have gotten taller.

He was eating plenty, but he kept losing weight.

”Sis, you’ve been so nice to me lately. It’s making me really uneasy,” Cheng Jue said as he also packed up the take-out containers.

”Are you saying I’m not usually nice to you?” Su Miaoyi asked.

”You usually treat me like a slave,” Cheng Jue said.

Su Miaoyi looked at him and gave him a very sweet smile. ”Then you should cherish it. Once your college entrance exams are over, days like this will be gone.”

Cheng Jue stared at her.

”Go get some rest.” Su Miaoyi’s expression shifted. ”Don’t show up for the exam the day after tomorrow and have them tell you that pandas aren’t allowed inside.”

Cheng Jue: ”...”

”Go on,” Su Miaoyi said.

Cheng Jue obediently went to bed.

After she finished cleaning up, Su Miaoyi returned to her own room.

They rested in Jiangcheng for a day, and then she accompanied Cheng Jue to his exam.

After the exam finished in the morning, the two of them wandered around Jiangcheng in the afternoon, bought a few things, and planned to head back the next day.

In five days, he had an exam at the school in Luo City.

They each returned to their own rooms.

Having been out from noon until evening, she was a bit tired. Su Miaoyi sat down on the sofa.

She had no impression of this place, Jiangcheng, whatsoever.

Her only feeling was that ever since arriving here, she had felt very uncomfortable.

It was an oppressive, suffocating kind of discomfort.

’If it weren’t for Cheng Jue’s exam, I don’t think I could last even a single day here.’

’Before coming, I had the idea of searching for my memories here. Now that I’ve arrived, I don’t even want them anymore.’

’Anyway, I’m going back tomorrow.’ She didn’t let herself overthink it.

She glanced at the time. It was past eleven at night.

Her high-speed train ticket was for the next morning, so she wanted to wash up and get to bed early.

But just as she stood up from the sofa...

...the look in Su Miaoyi’s eyes went vacant.

She stared blankly ahead, completely unresponsive.

After nearly half a minute, she walked to the door, opened it, and went out...

...

When Su Miaoyi became aware again, the first thing she saw was the dirt in front of her.

Dirt that had been dug away.

Su Miaoyi froze for a few seconds, looking at the dirt on her hands. Then she stood up and surveyed her surroundings.

The sky was beginning to brighten. All around her was a gray haze of trees and weeds.

Dense trees stretched as far as the eye could see.

She subconsciously felt for the phone in her pocket.

She didn’t find it.

Looking down, she saw her phone lying on the ground.

She crouched to pick it up and saw that it was almost seven in the morning.

Su Miaoyi swallowed hard. More than seven hours, almost eight.

She had been in a forest, crouching, digging away dirt with her bare hands.

And in the dirt... there was something.

She pushed the dirt aside a couple more times with her hands.

The object inside was revealed.

It was a Jade Token with a gold chain attached.

Just as she took the item out...

...she heard footsteps and the sound of weeds scraping against clothing.

She immediately stood up.

But her legs were numb, causing her to stumble and grab a nearby tree for support.

”Who’s there!” a man shouted as he rushed over.

Su Miaoyi quickly dodged to the side.

The man advanced again, and another man came forward to help.

Su Miaoyi began to fight with the two men.

One of the men grabbed her shoulder. She twisted around, seized his wrist, and was just about to throw him over her shoulder.

Suddenly, the man yelled, ”Don’t move! Police!”

Hearing that word, Su Miaoyi relaxed her grip...