Chapter 37 Fang Yuanyuan
Xia Mufan was unwilling to play along with Xiao Zhenwei, so he once again rejected his invitation to dinner and walked out of the police station.
Seeing that it was already past eight o'clock and their stomachs were growling with hunger, the three of them came to Ruyi Restaurant as if they were familiar with the place.
The lights in the small restaurant were turned on as the evening came on.
The aroma of food wafted over, along with a strong smell of fireworks. It’s just a small restaurant with simple decoration, but it has an inexplicable sense of warmth.
When Boss Hu saw them, he immediately came forward with a smile and asked, "How is it?"
Sun Xianbing waved his hand: "Don't talk about this, give us some hot dishes first, and a bowl of rice for each person. I'm starving."
"Okay~" Boss Hu responded, and without asking them to order, he directly arranged for the chef to cook.
The freshly cooked side dishes were prepared quickly. Xia Mufan and the other two had just sat down, set their bowls and chopsticks, and taken a few sips of hot tea when the first dish was served.
"Stir-fried pork with chili!" Sun Xianbing cheered, filled a large bowl of rice and started eating.
After finishing half a bowl of rice, the second dish, fried garlic leaves, bacon and dried tofu, the third dish, scrambled eggs with toon, and a pork rib and radish soup that had been stewed long ago were served.
A few simple farm dishes are the most delicious food that goes well with rice.
For a moment, the three of them had no time to discuss the case. They devoured the three dishes and the soup in a flash, and even emptied the steamed rice in the wooden barrel in the restaurant.
Boss Hu was watching from the sidelines with a grin on his face: "Oh, you're so hungry, why didn't you come over to eat earlier?"
Yu Jing said: "We are in a hurry."
Boss Hu was very curious and pulled a chair to sit next to Yu Jing: "How is it? Are you ready to investigate the case? Have you found anything?"
Yu Jing smiled innocently: "We have rules and cannot reveal the details to you."
Boss Hu groaned, a little angrily, "Okay, okay, I understand. So, how was the meal? Where are you going to rest tonight?"
Sun Xianbing burped and said, "Boss Hu's food is delicious. Let's stay nearby. I see there's a small hotel next door..."
When Boss Hu heard that they were going to stay in the small hotel next door, he hurriedly said, "The conditions in the small hotel are too poor. You should stay at the Yu Furong Hotel. The conditions there are better. Our town is not that big. If you want to eat, it will only take seven or eight minutes to walk from Yu Furong."
Jade Hibiscus? This name sounds familiar.
Xia Mufan thought about it, oh, yes, when he first met Xiao Zhenwei, he said that he would go to Yu Furong to host an apology.
Xia Mufan asked: "Who opened the Jade Hibiscus?"
Boss Hu is a know-it-all in the town: "The boss of Yu Furong is surnamed Wu, Wu Tong, and is said to be the brother-in-law of Chief Xiao of the police station. Most of the hotels and banquets in the town are in Yu Furong Hotel, which is luxuriously decorated. Boss Wu has the support of a senior official behind him, and no one in the underworld dares to mess with him, so his business must be good."
Sun Xianbing opened his mouth wide: "In your town, there are still black and white people?"
Boss Hu realized that he had made a mistake and quickly said, "I was just making an analogy. Anyway, no one dares to cause trouble in Yu Furong, it's true."
Sun Xianbing refused to let him go: "Boss Hu, where is that black road? Tell us."
Boss Hu looked around and lowered his voice: "Where is the dark side? The most powerful thing in our town is the police station. If you want to do something, you have to go to Xiao's place to arrange things."
Sun Xianbing and Yu Jing looked at Xia Mufan at the same time.
——What a powerful local tyrant!
Xia Mufan's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he stood up to pay for the meal: "Boss Hu, if the police station comes to ask..."
Boss Hu understood immediately, and while changing the money, he said, "Don't worry, I won't say anything. You just came to eat, and I didn't say anything. Oh, by the way, I sent food and soup to Teacher Shen, and he asked when you can come over. Teacher Zhou seems to have something to say to you."
Xia Mushige said: "Okay, I understand."
When Boss Hu escorted them out, he pointed in a bright direction and said, "Did you see it? That's the Yu Furong Hotel. It's the tallest and most luxurious building in our town."
Where the neon lights are shining, a building more than 30 meters high stands there.
Xia Mufan took a deep look, got in the car and left.
Yu Jing asked: "Where are you going?"
Xia Mufan said: "Let's go to the hospital to see Teacher Shen and Teacher Zhou first, then we'll go back to the team."
Sun Xianbing exclaimed, "Hurry back at night?"
Yu Jing started the car and drove towards the hospital. As he drove, he asked, "If you are bothered by Yu Furong and are afraid of running into Xiao Suo there, we can move to a small hotel. There are still many people to visit and investigate, and it will be troublesome to go back and forth."
Xia Mufan looked out the window.
The town is not prosperous. At night, many places are dark, only the direction of Yu Furong is dazzlingly bright.
"The water is too deep in this place. The evidence and information must be sent back first."
Xia Mufan's words made Sun Xianbing and Yu Jing shudder at the same time.
Yes, today at the police station they kept a close eye on the physical evidence and even asked for fingerprints, which must have alarmed Xiao Zhenwei. If they steal or destroy the evidence at night, we're doomed!
Sun Xianbing suddenly felt a little scared: "Xiao Xia, you say... they won't harm us, right?"
Xia Mufan glanced at him and said, "They are just bullies in their own house. Are they trying to harm us? They are not that bold."
Sun Xianbing became a little bolder: "That's good, that's good."
Originally thought to be just an ordinary missing case, unexpectedly it would involve people from the police station. This small town of Xinzhang was woven into a huge power network by Xiao Zhenwei, Wu Tong, and Dean Cai.
The three of them came to the town hospital.
After getting off the car, Sun Xianbing put all the information he got from the police station into a black leather bag and tucked it tightly under his arm.
Put it in the car? What if it gets stolen? He dare not!
When I arrived at the ward, I saw a nurse in her thirties standing beside Zhou Luanfeng's bed, speaking softly.
Shen Hongyun saw Xia Mufan and the others and hurried over to introduce the nurse to them: "Fang Yuanyuan, she is on night shift today."
Xia Mufan looked carefully at Fang Yuanyuan, who was wearing a white nurse uniform.
He has a round face, delicate features, some freckles scattered around the wings of his nose, bluish eyelids, bloodshot eyes, and a haggard expression. It's obvious that he hasn't had enough rest recently.
Thinking of what Xiao Zhenwei said on the phone, Xia Mufan narrowed his eyes: "Fang Yuanyuan, can I have a few words with you?"
Fang Yuanyuan was a little reserved and said in a low voice: "Of course."
The ward was very quiet at night.
Warm breeze blew on my face and the sound of frogs croaking could be heard faintly outside the window.
Spring nights are supposed to be the most beautiful scenes, but they became more gloomy because of Shen Yitong's disappearance.
Xia Mufan asked Sun Xianbing and Yu Jing to stay in the ward to communicate with Shen Hongyun, while he took Fang Yuanyuan to the corridor and closed the ward door.
Fang Yuanyuan glanced at Xia Mufan timidly and said, "Well, I'm on duty tonight, so I can't talk to you for too long."
Xia Mufan nodded, and walked with her to the nurse station. Seeing that there was no one around, he began to ask, "Does Shen Yitong have a close relationship with any man?"
Fang Yuanyuan did not answer immediately, but hesitated for a moment before saying, "No. Tongtong has traditional ideas and a cold personality. She has high standards for men and has never had a male friend who she can get along with."
Why hesitate?
Xia Mufan stared into her eyes: “In your eyes, what kind of person is Shen Yitong?”
Fang Yuanyuan looked down at a corner with an indistinguishable expression on her face: "Tongtong is pretty and talented. It's not an exaggeration to describe her as beautiful and intelligent. She doesn't like to dress up or talk. She is a cold beauty. She is a very good person and treats me very well. My parents didn't let me go to medical school before, and she lent me money so that I could graduate successfully."
Xia Mushi asked: "She is so good to you, why do you hide her news?"
Fang Yuanyuan raised her head and glanced at her quickly, and hurriedly explained: "No, I didn't hide anything."
Xia Mufan leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Let me ask you again, who is the man she is in close contact with?"
Fang Yuanyuan looked up suddenly, her face full of horror: "I don't know, I don't know anything!"
Xia Mufan is now certain that Shen Yitong's disappearance is related to an acquaintance.
Only an acquaintance could place a resignation letter on Wang Xiumei's desk quietly.
Only acquaintances can make Shen Yitong take the initiative to meet him after get off work, and try to avoid people.
Xia Mufan saw Shen Yitong's photo in the file bag.
Beautiful, elegant and tall.
Although she has a bare face, she is as beautiful as a lotus emerging from clear water, with charming aura.
If she were to walk on the street, she would definitely attract a lot of attention.
Then why were no colleagues, passers-by or acquaintances seeing her after she left the town government office building?
There is only one possibility - Shen Yitong took the initiative to hide her tracks.
Combined with Shen Yitong's dispute with her parents over marriage issues, it is highly likely that the other party is a man, and a man who cannot be seen in public.
Xia Mufan asked: "This person has a good relationship with Director Xiao, right?"
Fang Yuanyuan's body began to tremble.
Xia Mufan asked again: "This person has a good relationship with Director Cai of your hospital, right?"
Fang Yuanyuan turned pale.
Xia Mufan emphasized, "You want to be an accomplice and have tea at the Criminal Investigation Brigade?"
Fang Yuanyuan looked at Xia Mufan pitifully, shaking her head desperately, with tears flashing in her eyes.
Xia Mufan said: "You are Shen Yitong's best friend and only friend. I believe you also want to find her. Tell me what you know and I will handle it. Don't worry, we are the Criminal Investigation Brigade's Serious Crime Unit. No matter who the other party is, as long as he commits a crime, we dare to arrest him!"
The lights in the nurses' station were bright.
Under the bright light, the blue-gray terrazzo floor, dark green wall skirting and snow-white walls all looked so cold.
Tears rolled down Fang Yuanyuan's eyes.
She raised her hand to wipe away her tears, her voice choking with sobs: "Are you really not afraid of the people from the police station?"
Xia Mufan nodded: "The police station is under the jurisdiction of our city's Public Security Bureau."
Fang Yuanyuan spoke with difficulty: "Tongtong does have a man, but... I don't know who he is. I only know that Tongtong doesn't like him and is unwilling to be with him, but the other party is powerful and she has no choice."
Xia Mufan waited quietly.
There was silence all around. In order to ensure that the conversation could not be heard by others, Fang Yuanyuan lowered her voice and stood so close to Xia Muchan's face that her breathing could be heard.
"Tongtong has been in a lot of pain in the past few years. She wants to leave here and hide away, but she can only swallow her anger because she is worried about her parents. The man is not young, has a wife and children, but he has a good handwriting and is said to be a leader of the city calligraphy association."
"They have been together for about six or seven years. Tongtong was terrified at first. She cried in front of me and said she was bullied. I didn't know what to do. Call the police. Xinzhang Town is so small. If I call the police, it will definitely cause a sensation in the city, which will have a bad impact on Tongtong. Moreover, Tongtong said that the other party has a good relationship with Director Xiao and is not afraid of her calling the police at all."
"Later, Tongtong became submissive, hoping that the other party would get tired of her after a while. But for some reason, the other party was still very interested in her and even said that he wanted to divorce his wife to marry her. Tongtong didn't want to marry him at all and told me that she had to get rid of this person."
"A week before she disappeared, Tongtong excitedly told her that she had found out something wrong with that man and that they would be able to break up smoothly soon. She told me that after the breakup, she would discuss it with her parents and resign to go to the south to develop her career. By then, she would be far away from home and could live a relaxed and happy life."
"But I didn't expect Tongtong to disappear! Really, when Teacher Shen came to ask me, I was completely confused. I didn't dare to say anything. Tongtong said that if her parents knew about these things, they would be furious, so I didn't say anything. Later, the police from the police station came to investigate. Chief Xiao had a serious face and asked me to be careful when answering. How could I dare to say anything? Later, Chief Xiao called me to the police station alone and said that he had the final say in this town and he had a gun. He locked me in the room and shone a light on me. I was scared, I was really scared..."
The secret had been kept in her heart for too long, and Fang Yuanyuan could no longer breathe. Now that she had finally spoken out, Fang Yuanyuan became more and more excited. She took Xia Mufan's hand and said, "Officer, please help Tongtong! She must have been locked up by that man. Please go and save her."
Xia Mufan stared into her eyes and remained silent.
Fang Yuanyuan's heart suddenly sank, and she looked at Xia Mufan pleadingly: "Tongtong is still alive, right?"
She has always refused to admit it, but now she is forced to face the reality. Twelve days have passed since Shen Yitong disappeared. Can she survive by using the evidence against the other party to demand her freedom?
Ding-a-ling…
The phone at the nurses' station suddenly rang.
Fang Yuanyuan seemed to wake up and ran over to answer the phone.
Xia Mufan looked at her from a distance.
Fang Yuanyuan's face was pale and her voice trembled.
"Yes, it's me."
"Hello, President Cai."
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
After hanging up the phone, Fang Yuanyuan walked up to Xia Mufan and said, "Yes, it was Dean Cai. He told me to work hard and not to say anything I shouldn't say. Otherwise, he would make me fired."
Xia Mushige said: "Tell me everything you know, and I will keep it a secret for you until we catch the person."
Fang Yuanyuan has been feeling like years in the past ten days. Her heart feels like it is being fried in a frying pan and the pain is unbearable.
On one side was the friendship between her besties, and on the other was her own life. She had no idea what to do. She couldn't sleep all night long and felt much older all of a sudden.
Xia Mufan said she was from the Municipal Public Security Bureau. Seeing her so determined and strong, Fang Yuanyuan suddenly gained courage. He told Xia Mufan everything he knew.
When Xia Mufan returned to the ward, Yu Jing and others had already finished talking with Teacher Zhou Luanfeng.
When he first learned that his daughter was missing, Teacher Zhou, who already had high blood pressure, almost collapsed and suffered a stroke. Now that her mind was gradually recovering, she recalled some of the strange things her daughter had done before she disappeared.
Before Shen Yitong quarreled with her father, she would come home to stay every weekend.
Return on Saturday morning and leave on Sunday afternoon.
One day in mid-March, Shen Yitong came back with a file bag. She looked very excited and held her mother's hand and talked for a long time.
Zhou Luanfeng said: "Tongtong has rarely been so happy since she started working. That day she hugged my arm like a little child, acted like a spoiled child, asked me which city I liked, and said she wanted to take me to see the southern islands, saying that the winter there is warm and her father's old cold legs will not recur."
Yu Jing realized the problem and asked, "Where is the file bag?"
Zhou Luanfeng didn't know where the file bag was. She said Shen Yitong took the file bag away on Sunday and did not leave it at home.
When Xia Mufan heard this, his hair stood on end.
If the file bag was left at the Shen family, Xiao Zhenwei would have brought people to search it long ago, and the two old people would have been dead!
After extracting Shen Yitong's fingerprints at Shen's house and taking away her diary, the three finally set out on their return journey.
The night wind blew, and the three of them sighed at the same time.
Yu Jing: "Shen Yitong may have mastered some people's secrets and was silenced."
Sun Xianbing: "There is definitely something wrong with Chief Xiao of the police station."
Xia Mushige: "Let's go home."
This town is too dark and too cold.
There are warm lights and a gentle mother at home.
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