Chapter 4
The video, shared by the onlookers, went viral. A high school student's death by jumping from a building sparked a myriad of bizarre speculations in the comment section, enough to fill a multi-million-word suspense thriller.
On the roof of the 78-story Jinyuan Building, the night wind whistled past, no different from the sound echoing in the urban village.
There was a half-person-high concrete wall on the rooftop, and the girl's backpack was placed casually on it. It was a common pink and white style for little girls, with a bunch of strange cartoon character badges hanging on it, and the zipper of the backpack was half open.
"If she wants to jump off the building, she must first climb out of the roof. Most people's legs would probably go weak the moment they climb out. This girl is really eager to die." Ma Qiang leaned out half of his body and looked down at the bottom of the building. The hustle and bustle of traffic turned into blurred dots of light, and the passers-by seemed to be the size of ants. The wind, carrying the smell of the sea, whistled and made his cheeks hurt.
Lu Chengtian accepted the disposable rubber gloves Ma Qiang handed him and carefully searched the schoolbag, finding an old phone with a cracked screen, a nearly empty pack of sanitary napkins, a set of house keys, and a lighter. Inside the schoolbag was a plush, lined, doggie-shaped wallet. Inside was a hundred-yuan bill, several five- and ten-yuan coins, a pair of wrapped headphones, and a student ID card.
The green and white student ID card belonged to Shenzhen-Hong Kong No. 15 Middle School. The girl in the ID photo had delicate features, a small oval face, and bright eyes that couldn't be hidden by her heavy bangs.
Lu Chengtian held a flashlight in one hand and looked at the information on the student card with the other, and sighed imperceptibly.
Liu Yaoyao, a student of the Class of 2023 of Shenzhen-Hong Kong No. 15 Middle School.
"Such a beautiful girl, attending the best high school in Shenzhen-Hong Kong, why can't she let go, alas..." Hearing this, Lu Chengtian did not look back, and even his lament exuded an lingering dandy atmosphere. It was naturally Zhao Yiqing.
"The surveillance results are out?"
"The deceased got off a taxi at the entrance of Building B of Jinyuan Building at 6:35 PM, took the top-floor elevator out at 6:43 PM, and then left the surveillance range. Their top floor is a sunroom where they grow plants and such, and no one usually goes up there except for those doing the landscaping. After she went in, the top-floor elevator surveillance system stopped detecting anyone else." Zhao Yiqing pulled an e-cigarette from his trouser pocket, took a puff, and continued, "But the witness saw her fall at 8:25 PM. What was she doing during the intervening hour and forty-two minutes? Was she hesitating?"
"Have you checked the stairway surveillance? Are you sure no one reached the top floor before or after her?"
"Don't worry, I've checked every frame, and there's definitely no one else going up to the top floor."
Lu Chengtian unlocked the girl's phone. A doggie pattern appeared, followed by a password entry screen. "Let's get Xiao Hei to unlock it when we get back. We'll see who she contacted before she died. If she doesn't come home at this hour, her parents will definitely call."
After handing the cell phone and other evidence along with the schoolbag to the technical investigation personnel behind him, Lu Chengtian took off his gloves, only to see Lin Xian turning on the flashlight on his cell phone, followed by a girl who looked like a college student, both of them looking for something.
A young detective at the side stepped forward to stop them: "This is a murder scene, what are you doing?"
Lu Chengtian was about to step forward to help, but he saw Lin Xian with a textbook-like elegant smile on his face, and said shamelessly: "I am a consultant hired by your team to assist in the investigation. Any questions?"
Lu Chengtian: "..."
He dislikes the media, and especially hates media hype, distortion of right and wrong, obfuscation of public opinion, and unscrupulous attempts to gain traffic. He dislikes even major media outlets like Mirror View, which prides itself on in-depth investigations and positive social impact.
He once risked his life to rescue a carload of people from a criminal gang, sustaining a gash over ten centimeters long on his waist and requiring over two weeks of hospitalization. For this, he was awarded a second-class merit award. Deputy Director Liang Long specifically sought media coverage of the incident, but he locked himself in his office for the entire morning, unresponsive to calls until the reporters left.
"Is it necessary to publicize something just because you've done it?" He interrupted Liang Long, but Director Liang didn't argue, saying, "People don't live in the air. When you reach my age, or even before, you'll understand that self-promotion is more important than getting things done."
Hearing this, Lu Chengtian turned around and left.
He was a bit of a thorn in the city bureau's side, but despite his face, which had captured the imaginations of countless men and women, he was also a righteous and upright figure. Combined with his efficiency in solving cases, his prioritization of his comrades' lives over his own, and his private sponsorship of the education of many children of serious criminals, he rose from a Public University graduate to the position of deputy captain of the city bureau's Criminal Investigation Division in just a few years, despite having no connections or connections. Due to the poor health of the division's captain, Old Yan, who had undergone heart stent surgery and had essentially retired to the sidelines, he became the de facto leader.
At the dinner tonight, he didn't know why he acted on impulse and took the initiative to "invite" Lin Xian to stay and interview at the crime scene - this completely violated his attitude and principles towards the media.
Perhaps it was the purple kiss mark on his neck and the horrific scar growth on the inside of his wrist - he didn't understand whether Lin Xian really liked Zhou Mubai or was just self-degrading.
Although Lin Xian always presented an impeccable "adult" facade, he had seen the Lin Xian of nine years ago, a gentle, passionate, and idealistic young man. In contrast, the Lin Xian of today looked like a shaky dummy.
Lu Chengtian had grown up in the gutter, so of course he knew what homosexuality was like, having witnessed the tragic death of an AIDS patient. After graduating from the police academy, he had been pursued by homosexuals, but he could ignore them, play dumb, and be indifferent. As long as they didn't get involved, he could love whoever he wanted—even Zhao Yiqing.
But when he saw Lin Xian and Zhou Mubai together, the first feeling that arose in his heart was anger, as if he saw a peerless flower in a secluded valley being trampled on.
Therefore, when the young detective came forward to confirm whether Lin Xian was the expert he had invited, he nodded without comment.
As long as he doesn't get together with that bastard named Zhou, anything is fine.
Deputy Captain Lu's performance left young reporter Chen Fei flattered. She scratched her messy bun and wanted to hug Lin Xian's thighs right there and then, "Editor-in-Chief Lin, you're amazing! That's Lu Chengtian, the Lu Chengtian who had Old He from the social news department next door waiting all morning for and still hadn't shown up!"
Lin Xian, wearing the heavy down jacket Lu Chengtian had wrapped around him, used the flashlight from his phone to illuminate a crack in the rooftop wall. Hearing this, he smiled faintly, "He's not that difficult to talk to. You can handle it, too."
Chen Fei: Do you think I can’t tell you’re teasing me?
As if discovering something, Lin Xian squatted down by the wall. Chen Fei's phone flashlight immediately followed, illuminating the inconspicuous ashes in the crack of the wall.
"This looks a bit like the incense ash in the temple?" Chen Fei moved closer and saw Lin Xian smear a little with his finger and then put it to the tip of his nose to smell it.
Lin Xian stood up and met Lu Chengtian's gaze. "This isn't ordinary incense ash. Captain Lu, get your men to collect the evidence."
Lu Chengtian squatted down, rubbed a little incense ash on his fingertips and sniffed it: "It does smell different from ordinary incense ash, but how can Editor-in-Chief Lin conclude that this can be used as evidence just by smelling it?"
As the night deepened, the wind grew stronger, as if mixed with ice chips.
Lin Xian clutched her down jacket tightly in one hand and asked curiously, "Didn't you find a lighter in her schoolbag? It rained the day before yesterday, and the wind has been so strong lately. How could it have been left here if it hadn't just been burned? Since it's likely related to the deceased, it's certainly evidence."
Lu Chengtian had actually figured it out as well. He just didn't expect that Lin Xian, a journalist, would have such keen insights and analytical reasoning abilities.
"Editor-in-Chief Lin is always full of surprises." He glanced at Lin Xian, then called Ma Qiang over to take the incense ash sample back.
Seeing Chen Fei looking at Lin Xian with starry eyes, Lu Chengtian also looked at his thin figure in the night thoughtfully - Lin Xian graduated with a Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University, why is he so talented in criminal investigation?
Facing Lu Chengtian's gaze, Lin Xian stepped forward calmly, took off her down jacket and returned it to him. "Captain Lu, it's a cold and windy night, you should put it on. I'm a middle-aged man and can't make it through the night, so I'll excuse myself. This is our key reporter, Chen Fei. I hope Captain Lu can take good care of you."
Lu Chengtian took the spare down jacket from the car from Lin Xian. It still had a hint of unfamiliar body temperature on it, but it was quickly blown away by the cold wind.
Lin Xian was caught in a cold after suddenly taking off his down jacket. He turned his back and started coughing, covering his mouth.
"How heavy is your idol burden?" Lu Chengtian forcefully put the clothes back on Lin Xian, grabbed his cold wrist, and quickly stuffed it into the half-length sleeve. He also pulled the zipper all the way to the tip of his chin and put the hat on him tightly.
His warm fingers accidentally brushed the kiss mark on Lin Xian's neck. Lin Xian subconsciously dodged and was seen clearly by Lu Chengtian.
Lin Xian, who was wrapped up like a bear, no longer had that shaky and miserable aura about him, and even looked a bit like a college student.
Lu Chengtian nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, Editor-in-Chief Lin can go back now."
Lin Xian: ...
Chen Fei covered her face and muttered, "So this is forced love..." She was silenced by a glance from Lin Xian.
Watching Lin Xian leave, Zhao Yiqing patted Lu Chengtian on the shoulder and said, "Captain Lu, do you think that when you stare at him, he looks like a drug dealer you've been tracking for over a decade?"
Just as Lu Chengtian was about to say something, Zhao Yiqing leaned close to his ear and said in an almost inaudible voice, "I understand. It's because of the mole on his neck."
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