fool
Tao Chu decided to go back to Cen Le's house first, where there should be police officers stationed. He could ask around and find out which hospital Cen Le was in.
As luck would have it, the person guarding that spot was the same person who had stopped Tao Chu the night before.
Tao Chu was furious and rude to him, but when they met, it was he who felt uncomfortable.
Tao Chu noticed that he subconsciously glanced to the lower right corner, as if he was avoiding her. She suddenly thought of Officer Zhou who had barged into the interrogation room.
She didn't stop, but walked straight up to him: "Officer, do you know which hospital my friend was taken to?"
"Jianglin Second Hospital." He seemed to muster up his courage to meet Tao Chu's gaze, but then quickly looked away and shrank back. "You... my condolences."
The words "please accept my condolences" felt like an axe striking Tao Chu directly, leaving him completely paralyzed.
"What?" she murmured instinctively, but barely made a sound.
How could this be...? How could Cen Le...?
The police arrived at the scene in such a short time, how could Cen Le just be gone like that...?
Seeing the girl in front of him crying silently, the police officer felt sorry for her and comforted her, saying, "We will do our best to catch the murderer."
These words were like a breach in the dam holding back the flood, and Tao Chu's tears flowed freely. She cried out, "I caught him! I've caught him! But what's the use now!"
When Tao Guohua saw his daughter break down and wailing, he went up to her, put his arm around her shoulder, and said to the police, "I'm sorry, please excuse me."
He bowed slightly, his manner both dignified and considerate.
The police officer quickly waved his hand: "No, no, it's perfectly normal for relatives and friends to be sad. We understand, we understand."
Tao Chu noticed the dark circles under his eyes, guessing he had been keeping watch here all night and probably didn't know about his subsequent pursuit of Li Yue.
It was really impolite to yell at him, so Tao Chu wiped away her tears and nodded to him, "I'm sorry."
The police officer seemed to just realize what was happening, and frowned as he asked, "You said you caught the suspect? When did you catch him?"
“Last night I didn’t go to the hospital with the ambulance. I drove after him and handed him over to the police at Hengwan Precinct.”
His face immediately darkened, and he looked down to take out his phone: "Excuse me, I need to make a call."
He walked to the fire escape and called his colleague who had accompanied him to the hospital the previous night: "Old Li, what time was the victim attacked and killed at the hospital last night?"
"Around 4 a.m., what's wrong? Is there a clue?"
"The victim's friend said that after the suspect was apprehended last night, he was handed over to the police in Hengwan next door, which should have been before 4 a.m. So who attacked the victim last night? Was it a group crime?"
"What?! Wait a minute, let me ask my buddies in Hengwan."
He paced back and forth in the stairwell, and received a call back just a minute later.
"Da Cheng, don't get involved in this—it's a dangerous situation."
"What? The people from Hengwan won't tell us?"
"He just told me directly, 'Brother, don't ask anymore.' What could I say after he said that?"
"Okay, I understand." After hanging up the phone, Zheng Cheng rubbed his chest, feeling quite uncomfortable.
He opened the fire escape door and saw the girl still standing there, staring straight at him, which made him feel even worse.
"Ahem." He cleared his throat. "The body should still be in the hospital, and the family should be here today."
He really didn't know how to face the girl he had kept out of the door last night.
"Can I help her pack her belongings?" Tao Chu asked.
She dared not trust the police. If the old cell phone hidden in Cen Le's house was found and fell into the hands of Li Pengcheng and his gang, she would lose even her last shred of hope...
"We can't go in for now, to avoid disturbing the scene. We'll wait until the case is closed..." Zheng Cheng's voice suddenly trailed off.
How can this case be considered closed?
Tao Chu also noticed his lack of confidence and pressed, "When can the case be closed? If the murderer isn't caught, are you just going to stay here and keep watch?"
"No, this must be done according to the regulations."
"What rule?" Tao Chu raised his voice, pointing to the door lock. "This lock was broken yesterday. Did you not eat or drink, and did you never leave the doorway? Can you guarantee that no one has gone in?"
Zheng Cheng sighed: "I haven't eaten or drunk anything since last night. I only changed shifts and went to the toilet when Officer Shen came back in the early hours of the morning."
"Officer Shen? Shen Yingchang?" Tao Chu pressed, "He came back?"
"Haven't you contacted him? Didn't you two come together last night?"
Tao Chu was puzzled as to why he would go back to Cen Le's house.
"What time did he get back? What did he come back for?"
"It was around three or four in the morning. They said they would bring the patient some toiletries and a change of clothes. I thought they had saved him."
Zheng Cheng squinted as he recalled that he was sleepy at the time. When he saw Officer Shen come, he felt like he had seen a savior. He asked Officer Shen to stand guard for him for a few more minutes while he went to the toilet and washed his face to wake himself up.
Tao Chu suddenly remembered that he had overheard Shen Yingchang talking on the phone earlier, saying that Cen Le was attacked at the hospital at four in the morning. Why did Shen Yingchang have to return to Cen Le's house at that exact time?
If Shen Yingchang had stayed at the hospital, would Cen Le have survived...?
He clearly didn't know Cen Le, so why would he be so close to her as to get her toiletries and a change of clothes?
Besides, it's hard to say when Cen Le, with such severe injuries, will need these things.
This is just an excuse, so Shen Yingchang is coming back...
Tao Chu's heart skipped a beat—
Old cell phone.
He knew the old phone was with Cen Le!
When did he find out about this?
Why was he in such a hurry to get his phone, abandoning the seriously injured Cen Le?
And why did they arrive here at four in the morning, which conveniently gave Li Pengcheng's men an opportunity to take advantage of them?
Tao Chu felt a little dizzy, so she leaned against the wall next to her and closed her eyes to calm herself down.
Tao Guohua also sensed something was wrong and asked the police, "Why do you trust Shen Yingchang so much? Did he show you his identification?"
"Of course—he's one of us, I can't say more."
Tao Chu sneered, "One of our own?"
She had originally intended to contact Shen Yingchang to discuss what to do next, but now it seemed best to avoid him.
Even if Shen Yingchang doesn't know that he has been exposed, if he has even obtained the old phone, she seems to have no use to him anymore. Her life or death is just a matter of his decision.
She has to survive first.
The father and daughter rushed to Jianglin No. 2 Hospital, only to be told that the body had already been sent to the Municipal Public Security Bureau.
Tao Guohua was exhausted and couldn't help but advise Tao Chu, "That's Wen Tao's territory. Either he wants to interfere, or he's already been sidelined. Chu Chu, you've done your best—the rest is beyond your control."
Tao Chu stood under the bright spring sun and felt a chill run through her body.
In just one day and one night, everything changed drastically.
Like snakes, insects, and rodents that have been dormant all winter, they suddenly emerged and began to gnaw at her.
Her friend was killed, and her last trump card was stolen.
She once thought that Wen Yunsheng, who was in cahoots with her, was trying to help her by causing her car to crash and injuring herself.
She once thought Shen Yingchang was a helpful ally, but he turned out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing.
The only person who is with her now is Tao Guohua.
Tao Chu sneered. How could someone as foolish as herself possibly avenge her mother and Cen Le?
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