Chapter 37 37 It was as if she had said something earth-shattering...
Guan Xia began to question Lu Tingfeng's story. If he was a police officer, was what he had just said true? If not, what was his purpose?
Guan Xia stared at the teacup in her hand in a daze, trying to analyze the situation from the police's perspective, but gave up after only a few seconds of thinking. Her impression of the police was too stereotyped, and she could not find a reason why the police did this.
Since he couldn't figure it out, Guan Xia picked up the cup and took a sip of water, then turned his attention to the second message revealed by the system.
The memories of 2019 not only surprised Guan Xia, but also made her feel a little puzzled. She had always believed that all the clues about the case provided by the system started from the moment of activation. Now it seems that the system had probably been passively recorded from the moment she traveled to this fusion world, and the information would only pop up when triggered.
Guan Xia recalled her twenty-five years of experience in this world. She used to think it was ordinary and seemed no different from the world before she crossed over. But today's disaster made her realize that this system was more powerful than she had imagined.
Guan Xia couldn't help but start thinking, for the sake of that halo, is it possible to cooperate deeply with the police? For example, use the places where she has lived and appeared since she was a child as screening criteria, and search for unsolved cold cases. Maybe there will be some unexpected surprises?
And then there's the halo. Guan Xia has helped the police solve three cases, and now a fourth has been triggered. But up to now, she hasn't figured out the rules of this halo. She now roughly knows the conditions for charging, but she doesn't know the rules for consumption, so she's always unsure, unable to make plans or predictions, and is hesitant and timid in doing anything.
Because his thoughts were too divergent, Guan Xia was a little absent-minded during dinner.
Fortunately, she was a person who didn't talk much in front of outsiders, and Pang Le probably noticed it. Occasionally, when Lu Tingfeng wanted to talk to her, Pang Le quickly diverted his attention, and it was considered that both the host and the guest had a good time.
On the way home, Pang Le glanced at Guan Xia with a strange look and asked, "What happened to you tonight? Were you scared by Lu Tingfeng's story? Or do you have any intuition about him?"
When Pang Le said the word "intuition", his expression changed and became serious. It seemed that if Guan Xia nodded, he would immediately turn around and hold the person down.
Guan Xia thought about it and carefully considered her words, "It's not intuition, it's the photo Lu Tingfeng gave me. I did remember something, but..."
Guan Xia couldn't think of a suitable adjective for a moment, but Pang Le immediately understood, "Are you doubting his purpose?"
Guan Xia nodded.
Pang Le pondered for a moment and said hesitantly, "So, this Lu Tingfeng is indeed quite suspicious. If he really wanted to find out about someone, wouldn't the most direct way be to go to the Academy of Fine Arts and find the Academic Affairs Office or a teacher? No, I remember him saying that his workplace was very close to your alma mater, which is even more wrong. Although I haven't been there, I know that the flow of people near universities is generally quite large, and people from the same school may not know each other, let alone those who are not classmates. Isn't it a bit far-fetched for him to use such an excuse to ask you about something?"
After hearing what Pang Le said, Guan Xia felt that Lu Tingfeng was not asking but testing her. She just couldn't understand why he, as a policeman, would test her.
Pang Le's expression became more serious. He looked at Guan Xia seriously and said, "There's something wrong with this Lu Tingfeng. Maybe he deliberately approached you through me. We don't know what his purpose is yet, but it's definitely not a good thing. Don't pay attention to him. I'll find someone to investigate him."
Guan Xia nodded again.
Pang Le sent Guan Xia home, and it was already past 10 o'clock when he entered the house.
Normally, people would take a shower and go to bed at this time, but Guan Xia was not sleepy at all. He changed his shoes and walked straight into the study, took two blank sheets of paper, thought for a few seconds, and then started writing.
As she recalled the two faces framed by red frames, the system interface popped up silently, freezing at the moment when the two faces were clearest.
Guan Xia paused for a moment before continuing to draw quickly.
It took Guan Xia almost half an hour to stop and stare at the two sketches in thought. Putting aside the middle-aged man's sketch for the moment, he was a living person, and it was difficult to find any information about him online except for the police database. Guan Xia focused on taking a photo of the girl's sketch.
Sure enough, after about ten minutes, Guan Xia found what she was looking for.
It was an unknown news website that reported a case on November 17, 2019. The deceased was the girl in the photo given by Lu Tingfeng. Her only surname was Huang, and she was 28 years old. She was a dance teacher at a training center. The cause of death was unknown. In addition to a daily photo of the girl, the only picture included a blurry photo of the police carrying the body out of the unit. There was almost no useful information.
However, this also confirmed Guan Xia's guess that this was indeed an unsolved case.
Guan Xia didn't think twice and decided to tell the police the moment she found the news, but at the same time, she also wanted to find out what was going on with Lu Tingfeng.
After thinking it over for a few minutes, Guan Xia took out his phone and called Xu Nian.
Xu Nian answered quickly, "Guan Xia? What's going on?"
Trying hard to control her emotions, Guan Xia asked calmly, "Do you know Lu Tingfeng?"
It seemed that this question was too shocking. There was silence on the other end of the phone for a long time before Xu Nian spoke, "Are you home now?"
Guan Xia realized something and replied, "At home. Do you want to meet and talk? Then I'll come to you now."
After saying that, Guan Xia walked towards the living room. Xu Nian said, "Let's chat on the bench downstairs."
Guan Xia just wanted to know the answer and didn't mind the location of the conversation. Hearing this, he agreed, "Okay."
Guan Xia went back to the study to pick up the two sketches. He did not wait for Xu Nian in the corridor, but took the elevator downstairs directly.
Sitting down on a bench by the lawn, Guan Xia was initially pondering over what she was going to say, but within seconds her attention was drawn to the mosquito bites.
After pinching her fingers hard a few times, the itchiness was finally reduced a little. Guan Xia used her hands to drive away the flying mosquitoes while looking at the dark unit door, wondering whether she should go back and get some toilet water before Xu Nian came.
Just as he was thinking this, Xu Nian's figure appeared at the door of the unit. Compared with Guan Xia's short-sleeved skirt, Xu Nian was very foresighted and dressed very tightly, with long sleeves and long pants, which made Guan Xia, who couldn't help scratching, a little envious. However, this envy disappeared after Xu Nian came over and took out a bottle of mosquito repellent.
Guan Xia was a little surprised, "You actually brought this."
Xu Nian sat down next to Guan Xia and explained, "When I got home from get off work, I saw the lawn being watered, and I guessed there would be a lot of mosquitoes at night."
Guan Xia took the mosquito repellent from Xu Nian's hand, sprayed it all over her body, and then returned it, "Thank you."
Xu Nian put it away, said you're welcome, and then asked directly, "How do you know Lu Tingfeng? Have you met him?"
Guan Xia nodded, and for the first time looked at Xu Nian with some inquiry, carefully observing his expression.
Xu Nian looked away somewhat uncomfortably, but looked back the next second and looked at Guan Xia calmly.
Guan Xia said, "He's a new friend of Pang Le's. Pang Le thought he was very interesting and that his physique was... a little special, so he took me to meet him and we had dinner together that evening."
Xu Nian frowned, his expression unchanged, but there was a flash of anger in his eyes. He looked at Guan Xia and said sincerely, "I do know him. He is my friend and a comrade who once fought side by side with me."
"Once?" Guan Xia grasped the key point sharply.
Xu Niandao: "Yes, he was also a policeman before, but for some reasons, he resigned."
Xu Nian looked Guan Xia in the eye and emphasized, "It was due to personal reasons, not because I was expelled from the police force."
Guan Xia understood why Xu Nian wanted to emphasize this. Although he was angry that Lu Tingfeng deliberately approached her for some reasons, he also didn't want her to misunderstand Lu Tingfeng's character. He was indirectly explaining to her that Lu Tingfeng was not a bad person.
Isn't he a bad person? Interpreting this from Xu Nian's expression and words, Guan Xia was silent for a moment and asked the question she wanted to ask most, "Lu Tingfeng showed me a photo tonight and asked me about her."
Guan Xia handed over the sketch of the girl.
Xu Nian took it and looked at it carefully. Because he lowered his head, Guan Xia couldn't see his expression.
Guan Xia asked, "Why did he ask me about this person? What was his purpose?"
Guan Xia originally wanted to ask Lu Tingfeng what he was testing her against, but when the words came to her lips, she didn't ask them in the end. Out of respect for the police profession, she didn't want to say anything too harsh.
"I'm very sorry, Guan Xia," Xu Nian looked up and looked Guan Xia in the eyes again, saying sincerely, "I do know why he did this, but I can't reveal too much about his personal privacy. However, I assure you, he has no ill intentions, and he doesn't want to hurt you. He's just looking for hope."
"Hope?" This answer was beyond Guan Xia's expectations. She couldn't understand it so much that she couldn't help but laugh in anger.
Xu Nian nodded seriously, "Yes, I hope. He is trying to track down the real culprit of a case, but he has tried everything but still can't find a breakthrough in the investigation."
Guan Xia understood, "So he came to me? And that's why he resigned from the police force?"
Having probably finished his main point, Xu Nian changed his sitting position, from half-sideways to leaning back comfortably in his chair. He spoke in a low voice, "The deceased in that case was a very important person to him. It had a great impact on him, making it impossible for him to continue working on the front lines. So after being transferred, he resigned."
As if lost in memories, Xu Nian's tone softened. "He left Yongquan City the day after he resigned. It's been several years since then, and we haven't seen each other much. We usually just keep in touch via phone or text. I don't know what he's doing specifically, but I can assure you with my integrity that he would never hurt you. I knew him when I was sixteen, and although he's changed a lot, he still hates evil. He would never harm any ordinary, innocent citizen."
Guan Xia recalled the brief time she spent with Lu Tingfeng in the evening, and reluctantly let go of her half-hearted heart. Although she still had a bad impression of Lu Tingfeng, when she thought that he used to be a policeman and was still tracking down the real murderer, she didn't want to pursue the matter of him testing her anymore.
The doubts in her heart were answered, and Guan Xia began to talk about the case.
"This girl," Guan Xia pointed at the sketch in Xu Nian's hand and said, "I did see her on the night of November 14, 2019, on the food street near my alma mater, Dingyuan Provincial Academy of Fine Arts."
Guan Xia paused before continuing, "Besides her, I also recall a middle-aged man whose behavior was somewhat suspicious. He seemed to be following her."
Xu Nian widened his eyes in surprise, as if she had said something earth-shattering.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
