After introducing Xu Man and Qin Shen, Yang Wenqing introduced the identity of the female teacher to them: "This is the head teacher of our ballet class, Ms. Lu Meiqin."
The ballet teacher nodded to Xu Man and the others and said, "Hello, officers. Is there any news about Zhang Xiaojuan?"
Xu Man was a little surprised. From what she said, it seemed that she didn't know about Zhang Xiaojuan's murder. Could it be that Yang Wenqing didn't tell her the news?
Qin Shen obviously had the same idea as her: "Didn't your boss tell you? Zhang Xiaojuan was murdered."
Hearing this, Lu Meiqin was extremely surprised: "He was murdered?"
Seeing this, Yang Wenqing quickly explained, "Teacher Lu, I left in a hurry just now, and I didn't have time to tell you some things. It's like this, the two police officers here are from the city's criminal investigation detachment. They discovered that Zhang Xiaojuan was murdered yesterday afternoon, so they came here today and wanted to ask you more about the matter."
The surprise on Lu Meiqin's face faded a little, but not completely. It seemed that she had not expected that Zhang Xiaojuan would be murdered. She raised her head nervously, her eyes moving back and forth between Xu Man and Qin Shen: "Did Xiaojuan really get into trouble?"
Xiaojuan, the female teacher's name for the deceased became more intimate.
Xu Man made a silent note of it in her heart.
"It has been confirmed." Qin Shen explained simply, "On July 2, Zhang Xiaojuan came to your place for her last dance class before she disappeared. What was her condition at that time?"
Lu Meiqin recalled and answered uncertainly: "It looked normal... I taught her a new move that day, and like usual, she learned it quickly and began to guide and help other students."
Qin Shen nodded.
Xu Man was listening carefully and waiting for the next words, but after waiting for a few seconds, she didn't hear Qin Shen ask the next question. She couldn't help but look at him in confusion, only to see that he was looking at her with an indifferent expression, or rather, a blank expression.
She was stunned for a moment, and suddenly remembered that her job was to assist in the investigation and record keeping. She quickly took out a pen and notebook from her bag, opened the notebook, pressed out the tip of the pen, and quickly wrote down the first question. A few strands of hair fell from her ears, covering her red face.
After she started writing, Qin Shen spoke again and continued the questioning.
"How is she emotionally? Is she stable?"
"Being relatively stable. He listens attentively in class and is very active during breaks. He goes to play on other floors and returns to the classroom on time two minutes before class starts." This time Lu Meicen answered relatively quickly. It seemed that she had already been asked this question by the police from the police station.
"Another floor? Do you know which floor?"
"The police from the police station came to check the surveillance footage yesterday and found that she went to the 17th floor to look for another girl."
"Who is that girl on the 17th floor?"
"Lu Yajun from the New Concept English class and Zhang Xiaojuan are classmates in the same school."
Xu Man wrote down the name Lu Yajun in the notebook and marked it as a classmate.
She originally thought that Qin Shen would ask more questions about Lu Yajun, so she deliberately wrote this name in the middle of a line, waiting to add something. Unexpectedly, Qin Shen changed the subject and asked about what happened after Zhang Xiaojuan left the agency that day.
Like the previous questions, Lu Meiqin answered this question smoothly and fluently, probably because these basic circumstances had already been investigated by the Siyang District police the day before.
At five o'clock in the afternoon on July 2, two hours after the dance class ended, after discovering that their daughter had not returned home, Zhang Xiaojuan's parents called their daughter's dance teacher, Lu Meiqin herself. At that time, Lu Meiqin was sorting documents in the office. When she received a call from Zhang Xiaojuan's parents, she immediately went to the dance studio to check, but did not find Zhang Xiaojuan. She saw Zhang Xiaojuan's signature on the sign-out form at the front desk, so she told them that Zhang Xiaojuan had already gone back and hung up the phone.
She thought the matter was over, but unexpectedly at 10 o'clock in the evening, when she was about to go to bed, she received a call from the police from the Siyang District Police Station, saying that Zhang Xiaojuan had not returned home yet. Zhang Xiaojuan's parents looked for her everywhere they could go, but couldn't find her. In great anxiety, they called the police. As the person and teacher who last saw the missing student, she was asked to go to the police station to make a statement. The assistant teacher and the receptionist of the dance class were also asked to go to the police station. The group searched until midnight, but still could not find Zhang Xiaojuan's whereabouts.
"… Because it took quite a while, it was already 1am when I got home. I was very tired, so I asked for a day off. I heard that the police came to the company the next day and questioned other colleagues and students, but I was not there at the time, so I don't know what they asked. That's how it happened."
Lu Meiqin finished her answer.
At the same time, Xu Man also stopped the signing pen in her hand. She has always been strong in shorthand. Lu Meiqin is a ballet teacher and is used to speaking slowly and clearly, so her recording speed is almost synchronized with the other party's narration.
After listening to Lu Meiqin's narration, Qin Shen fell into thought. After a brief silence, he asked again: "On July 2, after finishing the dance class, did Zhang Xiaojuan leave immediately?"
Lu Meiqin thought for a moment and nodded, "That should be it. I dismissed everyone after class and went back to the office. But in the evening, after receiving a call from Zhang Xiaojuan's parents, I went to the front desk to look through the sign-out form and found that the time next to Zhang Xiaojuan's signature was 3:07 p.m., which was quite early."
"Where is the sign-out form?" Qin Shen asked, "And the previous sign-out forms, are they all recorded?"
"Yes." This time, it was Yang Wenqing who answered, "Our school adheres to efficient and standardized management. These documents are well preserved. If Officer Qin needs them, I can have someone bring them over immediately."
"Bring it here and let me see it."
Yang Wenqing signaled Lu Meiqin to get the form. While waiting for her to come back with the form, he tentatively asked Qin Shen a few questions: "Officer Qin, has the murderer of Zhang Xiaojuan been found?"
Qin Shen looked at him and asked, "Are you concerned about this?"
"Of course, they are our students after all." Yang Wenqing smiled and raised his glasses. "Although we are just an educational institution, our sense of responsibility towards our students is no less than that of any other school. Now that a student has been murdered, as the principal, I definitely have an obligation to do my part. Officer Qin, if there is anything I can do to help with this case, please feel free to ask. We at Lexue Education will definitely cooperate fully."
Qin Shen said calmly: "Cooperating with the police investigation is the obligation of citizens. Of course, you must cooperate fully."
Having hit a small but not insignificant setback, Yang Wenqing's smile paused for a moment, but he continued, "May I ask a question? Officer Qin, who knows about Zhang Xiaojuan's case? Has it been reported to the media?"
Qin Shen forced a smile and said, "Everything related to the case needs to be kept confidential. Principal Yang, you are so diligent in asking about Zhang Xiaojuan's case. Are you involved in this?"
Yang Wenqing waved his hands quickly to distance himself from the matter: "How could that be? I just want to know the current situation. The disappearance of this student is not a trivial matter. We must be fully prepared in all aspects. For example, if the news media finds out and comes to interview us——"
"Media matters are not our police's business." Qin Shen interrupted him, "I know, you are just worried that Zhang Xiaojuan's case will affect your company's reputation. Your company is so big, with branches all over the country, do you still need public relations?"
There was a slight sarcasm in his words, which almost made Yang Wenqing lose his smile. Just at this time, Lu Meiqin came over with the sign-out form. Qin Shen ignored him and walked forward to take the sign-in form handed over by Lu Meiqin and looked at them one by one.
Xu Man followed him and moved closer to him to take a look. The next second, Qin Shen handed her the sign-out form he had read. She took it and quickly glanced through it. She soon located the position of Zhang Xiaojuan's signature. After comparing several forms, she found that Zhang Xiaojuan's sign-out time was very stable, between 3:05 and 12:00 in the afternoon, and the handwriting was also the same, with no signs of forgery.
After looking at the watch and asking a few more questions, Qin Shen ended the interrogation and left the reception room with Xu Man.
Seeing this, Yang Wenqing said a few more polite words and asked the receptionist to send them away.
In the elevator corridor, Xu Man was flipping through the notebook in her hand while recalling the previous interrogations to see if there were any mistakes or omissions. Halfway through, Qin Shen reached out to take her notebook, flipped through the pages, and returned it to her, adding a compliment: "You remember it well."
Xu Man was delighted by his words and gave him a subtle and obedient smile. "Thank you, Captain."
Qin Shen was amused by her habit of thanking people no matter what the situation was. "Why are you thanking me? You are the one who remembered it, not me."
Xu Man said: "No, I am thanking the captain for the compliment."
Qin Shen was amused. It turned out that she really treated him as a teacher. She had to say thank you for every compliment?
How come this girl is so interesting?
Xu Man looked at him and smiled, then glanced at the down elevator button that was pressed. She guessed that he was in a good mood, so she boldly asked, "Captain, where are we going next?"
"17th floor." With a soft ding, the elevator went up to the 22nd floor and opened in front of the two of them. Qin Shen was the first to step in. "Ask that Lu Yajun."
17th floor.
Children’s New Concept English Learning Center.
Xu Man rang the doorbell.
When the staff member who was sorting documents at the front desk heard the bell, he put down his work, opened the door and invited them in, giving them a professional smile that was exactly the same as the receptionist at the dance center.
"Hello, welcome. Are you here to register your children for the New Concept English class?"
Xu Man: “…”
The author has something to say:
Xu Man: Why does everyone misunderstand us?
Qin Shen: This shows that we look like a couple.
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