I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 218: Chapter 216: What Are Their Relationships?

Jinghai Science and Technology University.

Over a decade had passed since Kang Hong had been a student there.

They had used the registrar’s system to look up his advisor, department head, and various professors from back then.

His file in the university’s registrar’s system showed no record of disciplinary action.

So, Su Miaoyi and Lu Zhishen went to see his former advisor.

The advisor was now the department head, and the person who had been department head back then had since left the university due to health reasons.

Su Miaoyi asked the advisor about Kang Hong.

The advisor remembered Kang Hong.

He was very smart and had excellent grades. He was also the president of the department’s student union and the class president.

She had interacted with him many times.

Listening to the advisor’s praise for Kang Hong, Su Miaoyi and Lu Zhishen couldn’t understand how such an outstanding person had ended up in his current situation.

”Do you remember an incident back then when someone reported Kang Hong to the university for frequenting adult entertainment venues and committing fraud?”

”I do recall that. I was shocked when I heard the contents of the report, and I found it hard to believe. It was completely at odds with the Kang Hong I knew from my interactions with him.”

”How was it resolved?” Lu Zhishen asked.

”I spoke with Kang Hong, and he said he had never done any of those things and that there must have been some misunderstanding,” the advisor said. ”At the time, I even wondered if he had offended someone who was trying to frame him.”

”And then?” Su Miaoyi asked.

”It did turn out to be a misunderstanding. About a week later, our department head told me the matter had been resolved. It was a mistake; the accuser had gotten the wrong person.”

”The accuser got the wrong person? Is that what they said at the time?” Su Miaoyi pressed.

”Yes,” the advisor said, recalling the memory. ”I’m sure I’m not mistaken. That’s what I was told back then. The accuser had the wrong person—it was a student from another school with the same name.”

This explanation didn’t match what Xie Lili’s mother had said at all.

”Was Kang Hong the only one reported at the time?” Lu Zhishen asked.

The advisor thought for a moment. ”Yes, just him.”

Lu Zhishen nodded.

Xie Lili’s mother didn’t know Zhang Bai, and Kang Hong was the primary target of the report.

It made sense that she would only report him to the university.

”When did the department head leave her position?” Su Miaoyi asked.

”About six or seven years ago,” the advisor said. ”I heard it was a serious illness, that treatment was no longer an option, so she resigned.”

”Have you seen this person before?” Lu Zhishen asked, taking out a photo of Zhang Bai.

The advisor stared at Zhang Bai’s photo for a long time.

Lu Zhishen watched her, then prompted after a pause, ”He’s a friend of Kang Hong’s. Have you ever seen him around?”

The advisor studied it a bit longer before answering, ”I don’t recognize him, and I’ve never seen him with Kang Hong. Kang Hong was usually with his roommates—some from our department, some from others—and I knew all of them. I think I’d still be able to recognize them now, either in person or from a photo.”

After saying this, the advisor fell silent for a few seconds, then suddenly added, ”But he does look a little familiar.”

Su Miaoyi and Lu Zhishen both looked at her.

”I’m quite good with faces. I usually remember people I’ve seen a few times. This person looks very familiar, but I’m certain I’ve never seen him with Kang Hong.”

Hearing her words, something suddenly clicked for Lu Zhishen. He took out his phone, found a photo, and showed it to the advisor. ”Have you seen him?”

”Of course,” the advisor said. ”That’s our department head’s husband... I mean, the husband of the woman who was head of our department when Kang Hong was a student.”

The light in Su Miaoyi’s eyes darkened. Though her expression didn’t change much, she was inwardly stunned.

The photo on Lu Zhishen’s phone was of Zhang Bai’s father, Zhang Yan Yu.

”I knew that first photo looked familiar. The two of them look so much alike,” the advisor said.

”Are you certain this was the department head’s husband?” Lu Zhishen asked.

”Positive. He often came to the university to pick her up from work. We were all so envious of them as a couple back then,” the advisor said.

”Do you know what her husband did for a living?” Su Miaoyi asked.

The advisor thought for a long moment. ”I think he was in the import-export business or something. I can’t recall the details clearly, but I remember him bringing me some gifts from abroad one year.”

After leaving the university, Su Miaoyi drove straight to the former department head’s home.

The university had her information and address on file.

Ding Ruoyan, female, fifty-five years old.

The police department’s system showed she was single, with no record of marriage.

Zhang Yan Yu was also listed as single.

Furthermore, there was no information on Zhang Yan Yu’s ex-wife, only on his son, Zhang Bai.

When Su Miaoyi and Lu Zhishen arrived at Ding Ruoyan’s residence, the property management told them that Ding Ruoyan and her family had moved out over six years ago, and the apartment had been vacant ever since.

After they showed their badges, the property manager let them into the apartment for a look.

The apartment was empty.

Completely empty. Not a single piece of furniture was left.

According to the property management’s information, Ding Ruoyan had lived there with her parents.

Then, the entire family moved out together.

Su Miaoyi and Lu Zhishen returned to the municipal bureau from Ding Ruoyan’s residence.

Upon arriving, they went straight to the conference room.

”So now Zhang Yan Yu, Zhang Bai, Ding Ruoyan, and her parents have all vanished without a trace,” Su Miaoyi said.

”Ding Ruoyan moved out around the same time Zhang Yan Yu sold his auto repair shop, within a year of each other,” Lu Zhishen said.

Chu Xingrou looked at the compiled information. ”So, Ding Ruoyan must have intervened when Kang Hong was reported, which is why he didn’t face any disciplinary action?”

”Why would she help him?” Qi Feng asked.

”Because of Zhang Bai’s relationship with Kang Hong?” Chu Xingrou suggested.

”What kind of relationship would warrant that? Zhang Bai wasn’t a student at the Science and Technology University, so the report from Xie Lili’s mother posed no threat to him. The only one affected would be Kang Hong. But why would Zhang Bai care if Kang Hong got in trouble?”

”What if they were just really good friends?”

”That’s plausible,” Qi Feng conceded, then added, ”So what’s the relationship between Zhang Bai and Ding Ruoyan? Stepson? Stepmother?”

”And... what could have happened to make two entire families just pack up and disappear, leaving no information behind?” Lu Zhishen said. ”In this day and age, how can living people leave no trace at all?”

”Could they have left the country?” Su Miaoyi asked.

”Wouldn’t there be a record of them leaving?” Qi Feng asked.

”What if they’re drug traffickers?” Su Miaoyi said suddenly.

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

”There’s no direct evidence. It’s just a guess,” Su Miaoyi said.

”Let’s hear your theory,” Zhuang Yanzheng said.

”Kang Hong’s drug use has brought all these people into the picture. He and Zhang Bai have been in contact for all these years. After Kang Hong killed his wife, Zhang Bai helped him bury the body, and according to Kang Hong’s parents, Zhang Bai handled it quite professionally. So, could Zhang Bai, or even Zhang Yan Yu, be connected to drugs? Is that how they got involved with Kang Hong in the first place?” Su Miaoyi elaborated. ”Could there be an even larger trafficking network behind them?”

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