Chapter 44: Just Think of It as Being Bitten by a Dog
At the entrance of Qindao City Library, the cold wind blew up tiny snowflakes, which fluttered under the gray sky. Luo Xue wrapped her scarf tightly, and her little face was red from the cold. "Sun Lei!" Her eyes suddenly lit up, and she waved to the front. On the steps not far away, Sun Lei was walking with his head down. Hearing the voice, he paused slightly and raised his head. A few snowflakes fell on his black hair, and tiny ice crystals were also stained on his eyelashes, which made his obsidian eyes even colder. "Why are you here today?" Luo Xue trotted over, with an unconcealable happiness in her tone. Sun Lei looked at her, and the corners of his mouth raised slightly: "Come to return the book." "I thought you wouldn't come for a while!" Luo Xue tilted her head and blinked. Sun Lei was silent for a moment, his eyes shifting slightly: "...something." Luo Xue didn't ask any further questions, but smiled and pulled him towards the library: "Hey, I thought you were scared by what happened a few days ago? I sent you a text message, but you didn't reply." Sun Lei paused as she pulled his sleeve, but eventually followed her in. The library was well heated, and a thin layer of condensation formed on the glass windows. A notice was posted on the sign at the door: "Spring Festival Closure Notice: Today is the last day of operation. It will reopen on the sixth day after the New Year." "Ah, it's closing," Luo Xue sighed regretfully. "Then we'll have to wait a long time." Sun Lei glanced at the notice and said nothing. As usual, they found a seat by the window and sat down, quietly reading a storybook. Luo Xue suddenly said, "By the way, that bad guy hasn't been around lately." She was actually trying to comfort Sun Lei, telling him not to be afraid of encountering bad guys on the street again. Sun Lei paused, glanced up at her, then lowered his head again: "...Yeah." Seeing Sun Lei didn't react much, Luo Xue continued, "I saw the news. It seems he was in a car accident." "Yeah." "Did you see the news too?" "Yes." Sun Lei's head was still bent over his book. Luo Xue glanced at him. He seemed to be reading math, but there were many letters she couldn't understand. Seeing that Sun Lei didn't want to talk about it, Luo Xue turned her head and said, "Sun Lei, during the New Year... will you come to visit me?" Sun Lei raised his head slightly, and Luo Xue noticed his eyebrows frown slightly. "...Yes." Luo Xue smiled, her eyes curved into crescents. "Then it's a deal!" Sun Lei looked at her and nodded gently. It was like some silent promise, quietly taking root. * The snow in front of the Criminal Police Station had mostly melted, and the road surface was...
At the entrance of Qindao City Library, the cold wind blew fine snowflakes, which fluttered under the gray sky.
Luo Xue wrapped her scarf tightly around her, her face flushed red from the cold. "Sun Lei!" Her eyes suddenly lit up, and she waved forward.
On the steps not far away, Sun Lei was walking with his head down. When he heard the sound, he paused slightly and raised his head.
A few snowflakes fell on his black hair, and tiny ice crystals were on his eyelashes, making his obsidian eyes look even colder.
"Why are you here today?" Luo Xue trotted over, her tone filled with unconcealable happiness.
Sun Lei looked at her, and the corners of his mouth raised slightly: "Come and return the book."
"I thought you wouldn't come for a while!" Luo Xue tilted her head and blinked.
Sun Lei was silent for a moment, his eyes slightly shifted: "...something happened."
Luo Xue didn't ask any further questions. She smiled and pulled him towards the library: "Hey, I thought you were scared by what happened a few days ago? I sent you a text message and you didn't reply."
Sun Lei paused as she pulled his sleeve, but he finally followed her in.
The library was heated enough that a thin layer of condensation formed on the glass windows. A notice was posted on the sign at the door:
"Notice of Spring Festival Closure: Today is the last day of operation and the museum will reopen on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year."
"Ah, it's closing soon." Luo Xue sighed with some regret, "Then I'll have to wait a long time before I can come."
Sun Lei glanced at the notice and said nothing.
As usual, the two found a seat by the window and sat down, reading the storybook quietly.
Luo Xue suddenly said, "By the way, that bad guy hasn't appeared recently." She actually wanted to comfort Sun Lei and tell him not to be afraid of encountering bad guys on the street again.
Sun Lei paused, looked up at her, and lowered his head again: "...Yeah."
Seeing that Sun Lei didn't react much, Luo Xue continued, "I saw the news. It seems he had a car accident."
"Um."
"Did you see the news, too?"
"I saw it."
Sun Lei still kept his head down reading.
Luo Xue took a look and it looked like mathematics, but there were many letters on it that she couldn't understand.
Seeing that Sun Lei didn't want to mention this topic, Luo Xue turned around and said, "Sun Lei, during the Chinese New Year...will you come to play with me?"
Sun Lei raised his head slightly, and Luo Xue noticed that his eyebrows were slightly wrinkled.
"……meeting."
Luo Xue smiled, her eyes curved into crescents: "Then it's a deal!"
Sun Lei looked at her and nodded slightly.
Just like some silent promise, it takes root quietly.
*
Most of the snow in front of the Criminal Police Team had melted, and a thin layer of ice had formed on the road, which made a crackling sound when you walked on it.
When Yu Hao opened the car door, he caught a glimpse of Sun Wei standing at the door of the office building, with her hands in the pockets of her white coat, looking at him seriously.
"Wait until I come back." He raised his chin towards her, his tone softer than he even noticed.
Sun Wei nodded, said nothing, turned around and walked back to the office building.
"Captain Yu, Forensic Doctor Sun seems to be worried." Lu Chao turned the steering wheel, the tires skidding on the ice. "The way he looked at you just now..."
"Let's drive." Yu Hao interrupted him. He guessed what Sun Wei wanted to say.
The pink curtains of the Red Romantic Hair Salon emit an ambiguous light in the afternoon sun.
The revolving light at the door was turning slowly, and the note on the glass that said "Technician is taking a break" was blowing back and forth in the wind.
When Yu Hao pushed open the door, the wind chimes made a series of crackling sounds, drowning out the sound of mahjong tiles colliding from the inner room.
"How many of you..." The woman behind the bar looked up and saw the police badge. The smile on her face froze instantly, and the melon seeds in her hand fell to the ground.
Yu Hao ignored her, his eyes sweeping across the coffee table littered with cigarette butts, through the cubicle with a shower curtain, and finally landing at the end of the corridor - a woman in a red windbreaker was walking out with her head lowered, her high heels making rapid "tapping" sounds on the floor.
He recognized that figure from behind. The big, wavy permed hair, the swaying of her hips as she walked, the way she carried her bag—it was clearly Xiao Fang.
"Captain Yu?" Lu Chao stretched out his hand to stop him.
"No need." Yu Hao held his wrist, his fingertips cold, "Let her go."
Xiao Fang paused, but didn't look back. She almost ran out the door. When the wind chimes rang again, there was obvious panic in her voice.
Yu Hao looked at the empty doorway and remembered what Liu Bing said, "Xiao Fang has been acting suspiciously lately," and the strength in his fingertips increased a little.
"Who...who are you looking for?" The woman behind the bar had a trembling voice and was busy tidying up the coffee table.
"Xiao Lian." Yu Hao's voice was deep, "Call her out."
The shower curtain swished open, and a woman in a sequined slip dress emerged. Her eyeliner was smudged like a panda's, and her lips were painted an overly bright red. Upon seeing Yu Hao and Lu Chaoshi, the moisturizing spray in her hand splattered to the floor.
"Officer..." Xiaolian's voice trembled like a leaf in the autumn wind, "I...I haven't broken any law."
"I didn't say you broke the law. Let's talk if you have anything to say." Lu Chao took a step forward and motioned for her to follow them out. "Let's talk outside."
Yu Hao glanced at her casually and noticed that she also had a blue butterfly tattoo on her ankle, exactly the same as Luo Xin's.
Xiaolian looked at the people in the store, bit her lip, and finally nodded: "Wait for me to get a coat."
Ten minutes later, they were sitting in a nearby 24-hour cafe.
At this hour, the shop was practically empty. In a corner, a drunken middle-aged man snored across a table, while a waiter idly cleaned the coffee machine.
Several people sat down by the window, and Lu Chao ordered a few hot drinks for everyone.
Xiaolian was sitting opposite him. She had taken off her revealing suspender skirt and changed into a gray sweatshirt. Her hair was casually tied behind her head, revealing her smooth forehead.
Zhang Min flipped open her notebook and said calmly, "Your full name is Yang Lian, right?"
Xiaolian nodded nervously.
"Don't be nervous. We came to see you mainly because we want to hear you tell us about the Star-Moon Hotel." Zhang Min explained.
Yang Lian's eyelashes trembled, "I...I have nothing to say." Her voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible.
Yu Hao took out the photo from his briefcase and gently pushed it in front of her: "Do you know these people?"
As soon as Yang Lian's eyes met the photo, they darted back as if burned. Her breathing quickened, her chest rising and falling violently.
"This is... this is a long time ago..."
"We know you worked there." Yu Hao's voice was calm, but every word hit Yang Lian's heart like a hammer. "We're not here to pursue this."
Yang Lian raised her head, tears welling in her eyes: "What do you want to do? I've already left that place! I'm... I'm just washing people's hair..."
Zhang Min handed over a tissue and said softly, "We just want to know some information. About Wang Shun and Guo Zhong."
Hearing these two names, Yang Lian's face turned even paler.
Yu Hao pushed a cup of hot cocoa in front of her and said in a noticeably softer voice, "These things may be related to the two murders. Please cooperate."
Xiaolian picked up the hot cocoa and held it in her hands.
"Please rest assured, we will never disclose any of your privacy. It will only be used as a clue to solve the case." Perhaps seeing her worry, Yu Hao added.
Yang Lian nodded imperceptibly and said softly, "Yeah."
"Zhang Min, you should ask." Yu Hao leaned back in his chair, his eyes fixed on the red romantic sign outside the window.
Zhang Min nodded. "According to the information we have, you are 36 years old, right?"
Yang Lian nodded.
"When did you come to Qindao?"
"Eighteen years old." Yang Lian's fingertips drew circles of water marks on the wall of the cup. "My hometown is in Anhui. My parents are sick, and my younger brother has to go to school, so I have no choice but to work outside."
Her words rolled out intermittently like beads that had broken off the string.
According to her, she had worked as a screwdriver in an electronics factory, washed dishes in a restaurant, and worked as a shopping guide in a shopping mall. After deducting rent from her monthly earnings, she sent the rest back home and ate steamed buns for every meal.
It was not until she was 24 years old that a fellow villager told her there was a job that could make money quickly and took her to the Xingyue Hotel.
"At first, I didn't know they were doing this." Yang Lian's voice dropped, her eyelashes damp with moisture. "At first, they said they were just singing and drinking with customers, and that they could make four or five thousand a month. I believed them."
The first time she took a customer, she cried all night. Hu Mei locked her in the basement and said, "Either take the job or get out. Don't even think about taking a penny with you."
At that time, she looked at the text message sent by her brother on her mobile phone, "Sister, I need to pay tuition", and gritted her teeth to stay.
Yang Lian's shoulders trembled violently, and the hot cocoa spilled on her hands, burning her so much that she gasped.
"The first time, it was a drunk boss who hit me..." she continued, her voice tense. "Hu Mei said, 'Just think of it as a dog bite,' and gave me 500 yuan to buy some good food to replenish my energy."
"So you've been doing this all the time?" Zhang Min's voice was filled with disbelief.
"What else?" Yang Lian smiled, a hint of self-mockery in her voice. "With no education or skills, I could earn one or two thousand yuan a month doing something else, which wouldn't be enough to buy my mom a box of medicine. It's dirty here, but I can make money, which can send my brother to college and keep my parents alive."
She pulled a photo from her wallet, the plastic cover polished to a shine. A boy in school uniform stood in front of a wall of awards, his canine teeth showing through his smile. "My brother graduated from university last year. He majored in computer science."
Yu Hao looked at the photo and suddenly felt a lump in his throat. All that wasted money, all those miserable nights, had been exchanged for another child's bright future.
"The one who just walked out of Honglang was Xiao Fang, right?" Yu Hao suddenly spoke, his eyes falling on Yang Lian's evasive look.
Yang Lian's grip suddenly tightened, wrinkling the corners of the photo. "Yes... yes."
"What does she want you for?"
"Just... just chatting about family matters." Yang Lian's voice was drifting, and she glanced out the window. "She said her barber shop business is not doing well, and she wanted to ask if I need any help."
Yu Hao didn't ask any more questions, but returned to the topic of the case, "Does Wang Shun know him?"
Yang Lian's Adam's apple rolled, and she nodded. "That guy is so lecherous, and he has no money. He always orders the cheapest dishes, and he even tries to get close to me and wants to pay less."
She curled her lips and said, "The sisters are afraid to take his job. He's so smooth-talking and...he plays around a lot. It's obvious he's not a good person."
"Did you know about his death?"
"Know."
"Any ideas?"
Yang Lian's tone was very calm. "I don't have any thoughts. I'm just a prostitute. If I die, I die."
Yu Hao stared into her eyes, those eyes that had just wiped away tears, now filled with only frankness, without a trace of concealment. "He met a woman before he died. Do you know who it was?"
Yang Lian glanced at the photo and quickly looked away. "I don't know."
She shook her head. "That kind of guy has seen so many women, how can he remember them all?"
"Where were you on the day Wang Shun died?" Zhang Min suddenly asked.
Yang Lian's body stiffened for a moment: "I...I'm in the store."
"Can anyone prove it?"
"Ah? Everyone in the store can prove it."
"What about when Guo Zhong died?"
"It's in the store too! Really!" Yang Lian said anxiously, "You can go check it out!"
Yu Hao observed her reaction. Although nervous, she didn't waver when she mentioned her alibi. Either she was telling the truth, or she had been prepared.
"One last question," Yu Hao pointed to the profile in the corner of the photo, "What's this person's name?"
Yang Lian stared at the photo for a long time, her brows gradually furrowed: "Xiao Xin."
Yu Hao's heart trembled, "Where's the full name?" He stared at Yang Lian.
"I don't remember." Yang Lian shook her head.
"How could you not remember?" Yu Hao asked.
"She has been doing this for a very short time, and we are not familiar with her." Yang Lian looked out the window, not looking directly into Yu Hao's eyes, but Yu Hao still noticed the corners of her mouth twitching involuntarily.
Yu Hao didn't ask any more questions. He watched Yang Lian carefully put her brother's photo back into her wallet, watched her pick up the cup and drink a sip of hot cocoa, watched her try to force a smile that said "I'm fine", and suddenly felt that there were some things that didn't need to be asked too clearly.
Everyone has their own secrets and difficulties that cannot be told.
"Thank you for your cooperation." Yu Hao stood up, the chair legs making a soft sound on the floor. "If you think of anything, feel free to contact us."
Yang Lian nodded without saying anything.
As they walked out of the coffee shop, Zhang Min suddenly said, "Captain Yu, do you think Yang Lian is hiding something and that she lied?"
"Um."
"Then why don't you ask?"
"There are some things," Yu Hao's voice was very soft, like snow blown away by the wind, "I hope she can take the initiative to speak out, otherwise it will be difficult for us to get the whole truth."
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