Chapter 16
At the end of the long cold winter, there was suddenly a warm smell in the air.
Lin Xian took the vegetable and mushroom buns and millet porridge that Lu Chengtian had bought, leaned against the car door, and ate slowly. Light filtered through the branches overhead, and he slowly raised his head, letting the warm sun shine on his face, squinting comfortably.
Lu Chengtian also leaned against the car door and tilted his head to look at Lin Xian.
Lin Xian's slightly raised profile and slender neck outlined a graceful curve, inlaid with a layer of gold by the sunlight, looking almost crystal clear.
Lu Chengtian didn't look away for a moment, nor did he notice Luo Xiaohei and Ma Qiang approaching.
Ma Qiang was very carefree and was about to yell to let his captain know of his presence, but Luo Xiaohei stepped hard on him and made a "hush" sound.
The blonde, 2D beauty watched the scene beneath the willow tree, feeling the world go silent. She suddenly realized that the young policewoman in the conference room was right. Captain Lu and Editor-in-Chief Lin were truly—an unusual match.
Fortunately, Lin Xian hadn't been so absorbed in basking in the sun that he ignored everything around him. Hearing footsteps, he greeted Ma Qiang and Luo Xiaohei, his smile still carrying the warmth of sunshine, bright but not glaring.
Seeing Luo Xiaohei, Lu Chengtian asked curiously, "Xiaohei, are you going out with us too? You're not researching AI in the office anymore?"
"I just want to know what the real life of a girl who discusses the universe with AI every night before going to bed is like, and what caused her to take that step of suicide." After saying that, the blonde girl continued chewing gum, blew a huge bubble, and let it deflate.
Lin Xian glanced at her with interest, then sat in the passenger seat of Lu's car as if he was in the right place, while Luo Xiaohei and Ma Qiang sat side by side in the back.
The city bureau's second-hand car let out a dissatisfied roar and drove towards Shenzhen-Hong Kong No. 15 Middle School.
Skyscrapers and roadside stalls flashed by outside the car window. Lin Xian looked in the rearview mirror at Luo Xiaohei, who was chewing bubble gum expressionlessly, and asked, "Officer Luo, you said Liu Yaoyao likes to discuss the universe with the AI late at night. Can you tell me what she talks about?"
After Luo Xiaohei unlocked Liu Yaoyao's phone, she sifted through nearly every app in her search for clues. She discovered that only when she was with the AI did Liu Yaoyao engage in conversations about different topics—neither the complaints and grumbling she'd reserved for the dark corners of social media apps, nor the polite distance she'd displayed in chats with real people.
"Maybe it's because the universe is so big, humans are as small as a speck of dust, and all suffering is fleeting and illusory, so what is the meaning of human existence? Questions like these." Luo Xiao□□.
"She really sounds like a middle school girl." Otaku Ma Qiang pushed his glasses and commented.
Luo Xiaohei rolled his eyes at him and ignored him.
"She must be very lonely and has no real friends in real life. Even if there is someone willing to listen to her, she would not talk to AI." Lin Xian lowered his eyes and fell into thought.
Ma Qiang retorted, "How could such a beautiful girl not be willing to listen to her? I'm just assuming that if I were her classmate and she chattered to me for 24 hours, I would also be willing to listen attentively."
"There's no cure." Luo Xiaohei shook his head repeatedly.
"For a girl of this age, beauty will actually intensify the feeling of being out of place and loneliness. If she were an extrovert, it would be fine, but she is obviously not. It is precisely because of her beauty that she encounters those dark things, and there is no one to talk to. This kind of active thinking about the universe and confession to AI shows that she is aware of her own problems and is trying to save herself. At least she is trying to convince herself from a cognitive level that the things she encountered are no big deal." Lin Xian sighed.
Lu Chengtian focused on the road and glanced at him out of the corner of his eye: "She is still very optimistic and strong. If she had met a kind person, she would not have taken the path of suicide."
"A kind-hearted person? What kind-hearted person?" Ma Qiang was confused, not understanding why the topic suddenly shifted to such a profound angle.
Lu Chengtian remained silent.
Lin Xian glanced at him, as if seeing the young man at the end of time again. "Maybe. Everyone has their own destiny. But whether there are kind-hearted people or not, you have to rely on yourself to get out of this in the end."
Now, even Luo Xiaohei couldn't understand what the two leaders were talking about.
To his colleagues, Lu Chengtian was a mysterious figure. Besides work, his only hobby seemed to be morning jogging, a persona quintessentially minimalist. Zhao Yiqing's distinguished family background was well known, but no one had considered the occupations of Lu Chengtian's parents.
A graduate of Public University, he always comes in first in fighting, and when confronting criminals head-on, he always protects his subordinates behind him. He looks like a cold-faced devil, but in fact, he is a very gentle person at heart - this is all we know about him.
The only person who knew about his past was Zhao Yiqing, who had great connections thanks to his family background.
Because he knew his past, Mr. Zhao, who had seen countless people, fell in love with him and couldn't help himself. Unfortunately, Team Lu prided themselves on being upright and unyielding, which caused Mr. Zhao to stumble.
But the Lu detachment has recently been doubting its own orientation.
·
No. 15 Middle School is the best high school in Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Almost all the students in the first two classes are admitted to 211 and 985 universities, and there are more than a dozen students admitted to Peking University and Tsinghua University every year. Most of the students come from wealthy or noble families. There are many students who have reached level 10 in piano and professional performance level in dancing.
Lin Xian graduated from No. 15 Middle School.
Although Liu Yaoyao came from a poor family, she was admitted to the best Class 18.
"This child studied very hard. He might have been admitted to Tsinghua University or Peking University. At the very least, he would have been admitted to Fudan University or Shanghai International Studies University. We really didn't expect such a thing to happen. This is also our dereliction of duty as teachers." In the office, a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a black jacket raised his glasses frames and wiped away tears.
He is the Chinese teacher and head teacher of Class 18, Luo Hua.
It was class time and the office was empty. Luo Hua happened to have no class, so Lu Chengtian and his group made an appointment to meet at this time.
"Teacher Luo, we apologize for your loss. We came here this time to learn about Liu Yaoyao's relationship with her classmates at school. Has she ever had any conflicts with her classmates?" Lu Chengtian took a tissue from the table and handed it to him.
Luo Hua wiped her tears and put her glasses back on. "Impossible. This child has always been well-behaved and obedient. She's usually quiet and introverted, so she shouldn't easily get into conflict with others. However, there are some hooligans outside the school who sometimes block her at the school gate. I encountered them once and helped her out."
"Do you know those gangsters? Did she tell you their names?" Ma Qiang asked, holding a notebook.
"Now that you ask, I remember that there was someone who often came to see her. I think his name was Huan, just two words. I'm old now, and I can't remember it for the moment." Luo Hua put one hand on his forehead, closed his eyes, and seemed to be recalling with great effort.
"Qi Huan?" Luo Xiaohei, the quiet and beautiful girl beside him, asked suddenly.
"Yes, yes, that's the name. She told me about it." Luo Hua smiled gratefully at Luo Xiaohei.
Luo Xiaohei took out the evidence bag from his pocket, which contained Liu Yaoyao's cell phone. After turning it on, she made a voice call.
"Qi Huan? I'm from the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Public Security Bureau. Did you know that Liu Yaoyao jumped off the building? Okay, please come to No. 15 Middle School and cooperate with our investigation. Okay, see you in half an hour."
This operation left the onlookers stunned.
"What are you looking at? I thought I might need it, so I temporarily called it from the evidence room." Luo Xiaohei glared at Ma Qiang, whose mouth was wide enough to fit an ostrich egg. He quickly complimented him, "I admire you. You are worthy of being the number one technical detective in Shenzhen and Hong Kong."
Luo Hua, who was standing by, also showed a look of surprise and asked, "Officers, is there anything else you can do?"
Lin Xian's gaze fell on the stack of weekly diaries on Luo Hua's desk, and he seemed to be thinking about something.
Lu Chengtian seemed to see through his thoughts, or perhaps he had the same idea as him, and said to Luo Hua: "Would you please provide us with Liu Yaoyao's weekly diary before her death?"
Luo Hua hesitated for a moment, then said, "Okay, I'll look for it first and bring it to you guys later. By the way, Captain Lu called earlier and said he wanted to know more about school bullying. Our school really doesn't know much about this. If the officers have any leads, I can assist them."
Lu Chengtian glanced at Luo Xiaohei, and the blonde girl understood. She blew a bubble and asked, "Where is Class 18? Can we go over now?"
It was the third class of the morning, and Class 28 of Senior 2 was holding a chemistry class. A tall, thin female teacher with glasses and a stern gaze saw them approaching the door, so she asked the class leader to maintain order and came out to inquire about the matter.
"Teacher, I'm really sorry to disturb you in class. We'll just take two or three minutes and ask a few children to come out." After Lu Chengtian said this politely, Luo Xiaohei walked into the classroom with a face that looked like a beautiful killer.
She pulled out her cell phone and made a call. A boy in the second-to-last row pulled out his vibrating phone. She dialed a few more numbers, and the classroom, so quiet it was practically pinpricks apart, began vibrating again and again. Three girls and two boys received these "death calls" and were summoned from the classroom, lined up in the hallway.
"How do you know their phone numbers?" Ma Qiang asked quietly in surprise.
"I locked down their IP based on their social media accounts and tracked down their registered mobile phone numbers. Does that sound difficult?" Luo Xiaohei looked puzzled.
"I see." Lin Xian looked at Luo Xiaohei with admiration.
"This is the boss's idea. It's more direct." Luo Xiaohei pointed at Lu Chengtian, who was looking at the five students in front of him with a serious face.
One girl had wavy brown hair and wore a bright lipstick that stood out from the crowd. Another had a school uniform painted with various "non-mainstream" markings, punk-style earrings, and short, curly purple hair. One of the two boys had dyed blond hair and wore a nonchalant smile. The other, a tall and stocky man wearing a uniform that was noticeably too short and sporting a small triangular scar under his eye, stared blankly at the teacher and several strangers.
Lin Xian's gaze fell on the girl in the middle. She was dressed neatly in her school uniform, with a clean collar and cuffs. Her smooth black hair was half-tied back. She had a delicate and fair face. Her large, innocent eyes looked at Lin Xian, who seemed the gentlest among the group. Her voice was gentle and delicate, "Teacher, could you please tell us to come out? What's going on?"
Since they came to the school to investigate a case, Lu Chengtian and others were all in casual clothes. Several students were unable to understand the situation for a while and thought they were teachers from other classes.
"You guys posted malicious messages attacking Liu Yaoyao online. Now Liu Yaoyao has committed suicide. You must be aware of this, right?" Lu Chengtian was already majestic even when he wasn't smiling. At this moment, his tone was ice-cold, and several students couldn't help but show fear in their eyes.
"What? Yaoyao committed suicide? I'm sorry, I really didn't know, but I always considered her a friend... What do you mean by posting malicious attack messages? I don't understand what you mean..." A few clear tears slid down the face of the girl in the middle. Her eyes were full of "shock", "disbelief" and "innocence", but the only thing missing was the "fear" of being exposed.
Even the serious chemistry teacher beside him couldn't bear to watch. He took out a pack of tissues from his pocket and handed it to the crying girl. He patted her on the back a few times and looked at Lu Chengtian with some reproach: "Du Han is a good child. His academic performance and character are impeccable. He would never do such a thing. Is there some misunderstanding? And these other students, although they look a bit free and undisciplined, are all good students who can enter Class 18. How could Liu Yaoyao's suicide be related to them?"
Hearing this, Lu Chengtian seemed to remember something and said, "Don't worry, teacher. We are just taking these children back to take a statement. If there is no problem, we will send them back to class soon. We will also notify their parents."
After he finished speaking, Ma Qiang and Luo Xiaohei took several students back to the police station.
"Interrogate them separately and don't give them the chance to collude with each other." Lu Chengtian sent a text message to Ma Qiang. When he looked up and saw Lin Xian staring at the weekly test report card posted at the classroom door, he walked up to him, patted him on the shoulder, and winked at him.
Lin Xian understood, and the two of them returned to Luo Hua's office together.
Luo Hua was rummaging through drawers looking for something when he saw the two men suddenly come back and the notebook in his hand fell to the ground.
Lu Chengtian stepped forward to help him pick it up. When he lowered his head to look at the notebook, his eyes fell on the back of his neck.
It was a scar left by a burn, triangular in shape with a flame pattern in the middle - he felt that the scar was extremely familiar and quickly searched for it in his memory.
He had an excellent memory, clear thinking, and was very good at eliminating unnecessary junk information. He quickly followed this familiar feeling and recalled where he had seen this mark.
After Chen Yi performed an autopsy on Liu Yaoyao, he showed this mark in his PPT report - there was also a similar mark on the back of Liu Yaoyao's neck.
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