Chapter 26
Chen He stretched out her hand from the armrest of the sofa, her fingertips just reaching the soft filigree. The pale wrist exposed from the cuff was like a piece of moonlight, and the black and white crystal bracelet hung loosely, like stars surrounded by moonlight.
"On the day the base caught fire, I picked up a handful of seeds in the small studio. I planted them in a flowerpot afterwards, and they just bloomed a while ago."
Chang Ting's expression changed slightly: "What small studio?"
"The small studio on the west side of the first-floor corridor is used for high-quality art classes. Hanging inside are some excellent works by teachers and students, as well as some plaster models, painting tools, and other things. That day, Qiu Yue disappeared, and the teachers and classmates were all looking for her, and so was I. When I entered that small studio, I found the seeds."
Chang Ting remembered what Xiao Pingyuan had said about rescuing Chen He from a room on the first floor. It turned out that when Xiao Pingyuan found her, she was picking flower seeds.
Picking up seeds in a burning building was out of the ordinary. He asked suspiciously, "How did you notice such a trivial thing?"
"I didn't notice it when I went in. I looked around and saw no one in the room. It was only when I walked out that I realized there was a spill near the door."
Chang Ting thought: "The fire is so big, you wouldn't stay here for no reason just to pick up a few inconspicuous seeds. You know they are seeds of the red spider lily."
"Yes, I know." She looked back calmly. "When Qiu Yue was talking to me about red spider lilies, she said the seeds were easy to get and could be purchased online. She even opened Taobao and showed me pictures of the products. At that time, I remembered the appearance of the seeds: the size of mung beans, black, and a little angular. So I recognized it at first sight."
"Do you think Qiu Yue bought the seeds and left them there?"
Chen He slowly shook her head. "I don't know. But one thing is for sure: Qiu Yue's fantasies about death were actually random fantasies she had when her condition was serious. Since having a pacemaker implanted, her condition has stabilized. When she talked to me about this topic, she was already relaxed. She said she wouldn't die and that she could live for many years, so she didn't have to have that beautiful yet sad dream anymore."
——But Qiu Yue didn’t live many years. She died, and the red spider lily bloomed where her bones were buried.
Chen He suddenly felt that Song Zhou's hands were very cold. She held his fingers and asked, "Are you cold?"
"A little." Song Zhou picked up the big shawl on the sofa and wrapped himself and Chen He together.
Chang Ting ignored the oncoming dog food and asked, "You mean, Qiu Yue didn't buy the seeds?"
"I'm not sure."
Chang Ting thought: If Qiu Yue had purchased the seeds online, there would be an order record, which could be checked later. But if it wasn't Qiu Yue, then who was it? Had someone orchestrated Qiu Yue's death, just as she had imagined?
He asked, "Besides you, does anyone else know about Qiu Yue's fantasy?"
"I'm not sure." Chen He still answered.
Chang Ting was silent for a while, then asked, "Do you have any guesses about Qiu Yue's murderer?"
Chen He leaned forward slightly, his eyes like a deep lake: "I dare to guess, do you dare to listen?"
Chang Ting's expression changed slightly. He suddenly realized that Chen He, who was good at making up stories, had already led his thoughts astray with a true and false cartoon.
Guessing and reasoning are very similar. However, guessing is often influenced by emotions, while reasoning should be rational.
Chen He never produced any real evidence, but only relied on his professional expertise to keenly capture all seemingly plausible information and engage in divergent thinking.
She was clearly making up stories, but her stories had a strong spiritual appeal and could even guide the thinking behind solving the case.
Having your judgment clouded is a major taboo in investigating a case and will lead to mistakes. What if Chen He has other motives and is intentionally misleading the direction of solving the case?
This woman is too dangerous. Chang Ting reminded himself: Don't rely on others, you should calm down and look for evidence in a down-to-earth manner.
"Forget it." He said with difficulty.
Chen He noticed his struggle, suppressed her smile, and asked, "Haven't you already arrested Xu Candong? Shouldn't you be able to find out something from him?"
Chang Ting looked embarrassed.
Chen He had already heard from the comic's comments section that Xu Candong had been released, but she still asked knowingly, "Why?"
Chang Ting looked up and down: "Well, that... let it go."
Chen He said coldly, "Isn't it a crime for him to abuse a child? Why should we let him go?"
"There's insufficient evidence. So Chen He, if you or your friend have other evidence, we still have hope of bringing Xu Candong to justice."
Song Zhou said coldly, "Catching bad guys is your job as police officers. Coming to our house to look for evidence is the wrong place, isn't it? It's getting late, so I won't keep you for dinner."
The word "drive away" was written on his face.
Chang Ting had no choice but to stand up and say goodbye. "Well, Chen He, if you think of anything, feel free to contact me."
Chang Ting walked out of the terrace door.
Song Zhou didn't stand up, but turned sideways and rested his forehead on Chen He's shoulder. Chen He noticed something and asked, "What's wrong?"
Song Zhou was silent for a moment before he spoke in a suppressed voice, "That child suffered so much, and the bad guys still go unpunished. Why?"
Chen He understood. Her little sheep was the kindest. She stroked Song Zhou's curly fur and said, "It's okay. The child has been taken away by his mother. As for the punishment..."
The door that was not closed tightly was suddenly pushed open, startling the two people who were still hugging each other.
It turned out to be Chang Ting who had gone and returned. Song Zhou was very annoyed and looked up and asked, "Officer Chang, why haven't you left yet? Is there anything else?"
Chang Ting looked past him, stared at Chen He and said, "It's Qin Xiuzhu."
Chen He's face changed, and by the time she came to her senses and tried to hide it, it was too late. She could only stare at Chang Ting in silence, like a cat with its fur raised, ready to fight.
Chang Ting knew that he guessed right.
"I just figured it out. The friend lurking around Xu Candong wouldn't do this for no reason. He must have some grudge against Xu Candong.
"When Zou Li was leaving the complex with her child, he called out 'Auntie Qin' to a curly-haired woman. I assumed she was the neighbor who had taken them in, and didn't think much of it. Just now, as I was going downstairs, I suddenly remembered that Teacher Feng's daughter's surname is Qin, and her name is Qin Xiuzhu. Of course, I wasn't certain, but your reaction just now gave me a positive answer."
Chen He's face looked unhappy: "You can't go to her, what if Xu Candong finds out..."
Song Zhou spoke first, his tone sneerful and sarcastic: "Officer Chang can't catch criminals, but he always catches good guys."
Chang Ting's face flushed. After a pause, he said, "There's no point in looking for her right now. I won't bother her."
"That's good. Are you going?"
“…” Chang Ting turned around and went downstairs with a lot of anger.
When I walked to the first floor, I passed by a short-haired cleaning lady who was mopping the floor with her head down, and I didn't realize it was Qin Xiuzhu.
As soon as he got into the police car, his apprentice sent him a message, reminding him to check the Internet.
He glanced at his phone and saw that several terms had become trending searches on various media platforms.
#Comic exposes a man surnamed Xu who livestreamed a donation scam, claiming a child with a terminal illness was fed drugs#
#Comic "Prophecy of the Other Shore" exposes child abuse and donation fraud#
#Comic prediction comes true, Xu's identity is suspected to be related to the arson and murder case five years ago#
#Xu was detained and released 24 hours later, netizens questioned the protection behind him#
…
Before he finished reading, Xiao Pingyuan called him and scolded him, saying that there was enormous pressure from public opinion and asked him to resolve the case as soon as possible, either by finding evidence of a crime and arresting Xu Candong, or proving Xu Candong's innocence and arresting the cartoonist.
Chang Ting threw his phone into the passenger seat in annoyance, leaned back on the car seat, covered his eyes, pinched his eyebrows until they turned red, and tried to grasp a thread in the tangled mess.
Red spider lily seeds.
This thing is not common. The seeds Chen He found in the small studio and the ones that took root and blossomed at Qiu Yue's burial site must be the same batch. We need to find out where the seeds came from.
The person who left the seeds behind must be related to Qiu Yue's death...
Thinking of this, a sudden idea popped up in his mind, which almost made him jump out of his seat.
What if Chen He lied?
Xiao Pingyuan hadn't seen clearly whether she was actually picking up seeds in the studio that year. Everything was just her one-sided account.
Shouldn't the person who has flower seeds and grows red spider lilies in his own pots be the most suspicious?
Why didn't I doubt Chen He at all when I saw the flowerpot? Why did I believe everything she said?
Although Zhou Zhengzheng had already verified with Chen He's former roommate that Chen He had stayed in the dormitory the night Qiu Yue disappeared, her absence didn't necessarily mean she wasn't involved. What if she was the mastermind?
In my mind, Chen He’s pair of evil cat-like eyes kept shaking.
"We also need to check Chen He's online shopping records at that time..."
Chang Ting gritted his teeth and talked to himself, secretly reminding himself to be more sober in the future and never fall into Chen He's trap.
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