Chapter 97

Three days ago.

Zhang You booked a standard room.

Chang Ting waved towards Chen He and said, "Let's go, Teacher Chen. The meeting has started."

Three people entered the standard room.

Chang Ting put the mint candy on the coffee table and said, "Please have some candy."

He pointed to a chair again and said, "Sit wherever you want."

He sat down at the head of the bed and leaned against a pillow.

Chen He sat on a chair and Zhang You sat on another, taking out a police notebook to take notes.

Chang Ting didn't need her to urge him, and he got straight to the point: "Before, we tried to get Yu Aiai to write the name of 001, and she wrote this..."

Chang Ting found the screenshots from his phone and showed them to Chen He: "Two horizontal lines, then two vertical lines. Then she passed out."

Chen He looked at the picture and said, "It looks like a tic-tac-toe."

"Yes. Upon comparison, the list of suspected 001s you provided doesn't include any names beginning with those four strokes. Therefore, we suspect 001 isn't a student at the base, but perhaps a faculty member."

"I compared it with the faculty list, but there was no one there. Zhou Zhengzheng also contacted the teaching assistant who was in charge of attendance and the cashier who distributed the salaries to make sure no faculty member was missed.

"But judging by the tone Yu Ai Ai used when she talked to you about 001, this person must be someone you both knew.

"I wondered if this person was someone who often stayed at the base but didn't need to check in.

"A person can skip attendance, but he can't skip meals. So, I found the cafeteria chef, met him and had a chat, and finally found this person!"

When Chen He heard this, before Chang Ting finished speaking, her unusual mind immediately started to work out a thought:

The character "井" - the character "开" written too far - half of the character "兴".

"Xing Yao" mentioned in the anonymous letter.

She suddenly remembered that there was a man named Xing in the base. She blurted out, "Assistant Xing?"

"That's right." Chang Ting held up a finger. "The base's assistant principal's last name is Xing. What Yu Aiai wrote was actually the left half of the character 'Xing'. Assistant Xing is her idol 001."

Chen He was a little surprised: "Assistant Xing's full name is Xing Yao? Come to think of it, I've never noticed his name..."

"You're not the only one who hasn't noticed. We interviewed several other faculty members, and surprisingly, most didn't know his full name. His colleagues all just called him Xiao Xing."

Chen He was surprised: "He is not on the faculty list?"

Chang Ting shook his head. "No. His name isn't on the list of faculty and staff provided by the base. There's no file, and no record of him being paid."

"Considering the way Qiu Yue was taken off the base, a vehicle was the most likely means of transport. We also checked all the staff at the base who could drive. But no one had ever seen Xing Yao driving.

"Including Zhu Zangmo's private car, there was also another driver at the time.

"It was due to these coincidences that, ever since Qiu Yue disappeared five years ago, the police have investigated and interviewed everyone, but from beginning to end, no one has mentioned this person, and we have never discovered his existence.

"This time I finally found him through the cafeteria chef, but he didn't know his full name either.

"I got the name Xing Yao from a teacher in charge of logistics. The teacher said that Xiao Xing's job was to follow Principal Zhu and take care of his work and life.

"His salary doesn't go through the finance department; it should be paid directly from Principal Zhu. But he still gets a share of the benefits distributed by the base during the holidays. He has to sign when receiving the benefits, and Xiao Xing always just signs 'Xing' and is done with it.

"One time, I wrote 'Xing Yao' because it was probably on my mind. The teacher then casually said: 'Xiao Xing's real name is Xing Yao?'

"Xiao Xing's expression changed immediately. He blacked out the character 'yao' and said he hated the name and didn't like being called that.

"The teacher paid extra attention after that and stopped calling him by his first name. As time went by, no one knew his name was Xing Yao anymore."

Chen He nodded slightly. "What a good trick. Everyone can see him, yet everyone ignores him. Even his name is hidden. It's like a kind of invisibility technique. Amazing."

Chang Ting asked, "What's your impression of Xing Yao?"

Chen He recalled, "Assistant Xing... perhaps because he often accompanied Principal Zhu to high-end places, he was always well-dressed and polite. He was not bad-looking, even handsome, but he had a scar."

Chen He raised his finger and drew a diagonal line on the outside of his left cheek, indicating: "It's not a big scar. It doesn't affect my appearance much. It actually adds a bit of so-called masculinity."

It's understandable that a girl like Yu Aiai, who is inexperienced and not very smart, would be attracted to such a man.

Chen He continued, "Usually, Assistant Xing either follows Principal Zhu around or keeps to himself, rarely interacting with other teachers or students.

"I've seen him occasionally, hiding in places with few people...smoking." When he said this, Chen He's eyes flashed, and he thought of something.

Chang Ting asked, "Have you ever seen him wearing a peach pit?"

Chen He shook his head: "I haven't seen him. I've never been close to this person, so it's possible that I didn't notice him."

Chang Ting lowered his head and flipped through his phone. "Xing Yao is very cautious. He has worked at the base for many years and has never left a single photo. We completed a simulated portrait based on the physical characteristics described by the faculty and staff."

Chang Ting found a picture from his mobile phone and showed it to Chen He.

Chen He looked at the face with a scar: "That's him. Very well drawn."

Chang Ting found a video of the "male nurse" recorded in the ward and played it to Chen He: "Do you think this person is Xing Yao?"

Chen He took the phone, played it back and forth several times, and said with certainty: "It's him."

Chang Ting was a little surprised: "We didn't capture her face in the photo, are you so sure?"

"We painters are very sensitive to the proportions and gait of the human body, and anyone who is slightly familiar with it will be impressed. Plus, with the comparison target, I can conclude that it's him." She handed the phone back.

A hint of admiration flashed across Chang Ting's eyes, while endless admiration flashed across Zhang You's eyes.

"Teacher Chen is amazing!" Zhang You said with sparkling eyes, "Next time I have a surveillance task, can Teacher Chen help me..."

Chang Ting threw a mint candy at his forehead: "Are you going to pay me?"

Zhang You picked up the candy, angrily peeled off the candy wrapper and threw it into his mouth.

Chen He asked, "Now that we've found him, have we arrested him?"

Chang Ting was silent for a moment and said, "It disappeared."

Chen He's eyes widened in shock: "Huh?"

"Tracing back the investigation, we found that Xing Yao disappeared after Qiu Yue disappeared."

Chen He couldn't believe it: "Disappeared for five years? No trace at all?"

"No." Chang Ting shook his head. "We checked the population information system and there aren't many people named Xing Yao. After verification, none of them is this Assistant Xing.

"We compared the simulated portrait with the photos in the system and found no information about anyone who matched the facial features.

"This Xing Yao seems to have never been entered into the population system. He worked at the base for five years and then disappeared five years ago. He came and went without a trace."

Chen He was stunned and said in shock, "So... is he living under a fake identity now, or is he an illegal resident? Are there still illegal residents without household registration these days?! This is outrageous.

"In modern society, identity information is used everywhere, from face scanning to card swiping and QR codes. Without identity, you can't get anywhere. How did he do it?"

Before Chang Ting could speak, she had already come up with a plan, "Maybe he's secluded somewhere, with someone to take care of his daily life, so he doesn't have to go out or go shopping..."

As he spoke, he shook his head, "Impossible. He's Male God 001, at least he has a WeChat account."

"It's more than just his WeChat account," Chang Ting said. "He also has a 4,000 yuan cashmere sweater and 2,000 yuan leather shoes."

Chen He frowned and looked at him accusingly: "What information is this that I don't know? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I...you...are you my leader? I'm telling you..."

Chang Ting rubbed his forehead. "Okay, okay, okay, whatever you say. Yu Aiai also revealed that 001 is now a successful person. He may have been an illegal immigrant before, but he is definitely not now. Not only does he have an identity, but he is also a very prestigious person."

Chen He felt even more puzzled, and her interest in solving the puzzle became even more piqued:

"This is truly amazing. How did they do that? Did they have plastic surgery and then change their name to register their household registration? This plastic surgery plot is just too melodramatic!"

Chang Ting's brows were locked in confusion. "Logically speaking, with the population management we've been doing in recent years, this kind of oversight shouldn't have happened."

Chen He's eyes lit up: "Once I find out the reason, I have to write it down as material."

“…A new shipment has arrived, right?”