Chapter 12
Li Qingyao supported her hands on the bathroom countertop and took a deep breath. She felt that she had been impulsive just now, but she had done it and she didn't regret it, no matter what others thought.
After washing her face, she stared at herself in the mirror. She had no makeup on, her face was thin, and her eyes were slightly red. She smiled to herself and walked out of the bathroom.
The restroom on this floor was in the middle of the corridor, with dim lighting and private rooms on both sides. The 2015 where they were having a party was on the right, and on the left, separated by seven or eight private rooms, were the stairs and the small hall. Li Qingyao glanced to the left inadvertently and saw a man and a woman standing in the small hall, talking about something.
It was Luo Huaizheng and Xiang Siling.
Luo Huaizheng had his back to her, one hand in his trouser pocket, seemingly silent. From the back, he looked much taller and stronger than he was seven years ago. He must have done a lot of physical work in there. A part of the neck is exposed outside the collar, and the skin color is darker.
Xiang Siling hugged herself and looked up at him. This posture makes her figure look slimmer and more charming. She had a smile on her face the whole time, and was saying something. I don't know if she noticed Li Qingyao or not, as she never once looked over here.
Li Qingyao sneered in his heart. Is it true that time can smooth out everything? These two people can stand together and talk affectionately. She turned and went into the private room.
Li Qingyao didn't know that the content of the conversation between the two was actually not pleasant. Luo Huaizheng left the private room and Xiang Siling followed him out.
Xiang Siling said, "I came here today for no other reason than to apologize to you for what happened back then. You did this for me... No matter what others think, I feel like I owe you too much in this life. If there's anything I can help you with in the future, just let me know."
Luo Huaizheng replied: "If I knew you would come today, I would never come. Xiang Siling, I don't want to see you again in my life, and I don't need you to make up for anything. I don't owe anyone anything anymore."
——
They had almost finished drinking, and the three people who had left the table returned one after another, and the dinner was over soon. Ma Junhong paid the bill and everyone arrived at the restaurant entrance, some took a taxi and some called for a cab.
Xiang Siling pressed the car key, and the lights of a blue Porsche came on. Some classmates were amazed, but they knew from previous conversations that Xiang Siling is now the vice president of a company and lives in a big villa, so it is not surprising that he owns a Porsche. Xiang Siling was still graceful as ever. He walked to the car, waved goodbye to everyone, stepped on the accelerator, and was the first to leave.
Li Qingyao hardly looked at Xiang Siling tonight. After leaving the hotel, she greeted everyone and without even looking at Luo Huaizheng, she went to the roadside to wait for the car she had called. The car came quickly and she turned and got in without even looking over here.
The classmates were mostly leaving in groups of three or four. Ma Junhong lived nearby, so his wife drove over to pick them up. Ma Junhong drank a little too much, and took Luo Huaizheng's hand, saying with a thick tongue: "Brother, I'll take you there."
Luo Huaizheng smiled and said, "No, I live far away, in the industrial park, and it's very convenient to take the subway. It's already late, so don't bother you."
Ma Junhong refused and tried to persuade him a few more times. Luo Huaizheng simply stopped talking to him, pushed the man into his wife's hands, and walked quickly towards the subway station.
Ma Junhong was thrown into the car by his wife in a daze. Looking at the figure of Luo Huaizheng walking alone towards the subway station on the road ahead, his nose suddenly felt sore and he lowered his head and covered his eyes.
His wife asked, "What's wrong? How much did you drink? Why are you crying?"
Ma Junhong looked up, pointed in the direction that Li Qingyao took a taxi, and said, "That was the girl that Luo Huaizheng loved to death back then. Now she's a police officer and has a boyfriend who's a police officer. She doesn't even look at Brother Zheng anymore." He then pointed behind him in the direction where Si Ling drove away, "That was the girl who harmed Brother Zheng back then. Now she lives in a big villa and drives a Porsche. She's so comfortable. Wife, each of us has a happy and bright future as described in the textbooks, except Luo Huaizheng. He was so awesome back then. He was the only one in the school who was recommended to Tsinghua University. Everyone thought that he would have a brilliant life and live better than any of us. But now, who is Brother Zheng? He's a labor camp prisoner! What kind of life does he lead? He has to risk his life to survive in such a small, broken company. I can't even imagine how miserable Brother Zheng is. Wife, it hurts to see him like that. It's really too painful."
Naturally, Ma Junhong told his wife about what happened that year. His wife hesitated for a long time and said, "But...didn't Luo Huaizheng plead guilty to murder in court back then..."
Ma Junhong wiped away his tears vigorously, his expression stiff and gloomy, and he remained silent.
——
After sending Li Qingyao off, Chen Pu drove directly home.
He packed all the paper materials related to Li Jincheng into a big box. As soon as he got home, he dragged out the box, and soon found a photo.
Although it was seven years later, the photo has become a little yellow and brittle, and the person in it looks young. But just now in the restaurant, Chen Pu recognized the person at a glance.
Luo Huaizheng, the criminal in that murder case.
Chen Pu has a complete set of photocopied files in his hand, which clearly records the course of the case.
On Thursday evening, April 13, 2017, Luo Huaizheng went to visit Xiang Siling's home as instructed by his class teacher.
According to Xiang's mother, Xiang Siling was not feeling well that day and did not go to class. She was busy with the business in the store and forgot to ask for leave and did not bring her cell phone with her.
Luo Huaizheng claimed that when he arrived at Xiang's house, he found the door ajar and the lights were not on. He heard Xiang Siling crying and she was pressed down on the sofa by a man who intended to rape her. In desperation, Luo Huaizheng stepped forward and started fighting with the man.
The man was drunk and attacked Luo Huaizheng to death. Luo Huaizheng claimed that he was forced to defend himself. While the two men were fighting, Xiang Siling hid in the room. Luo Huaizheng picked up the iron candlestick on the coffee table and hit the man's head several times. The man fell in a pool of blood. But Luo Huaizheng was also knocked unconscious by the man with a heavy ashtray.
When Luo Huaizheng woke up, the man had already died. Xiang's mother, who had just returned home, saw this and immediately called the police.
Because the dead man was Xiang Siling's father.
Xiang's mother firmly denied Luo Huaizheng's claim that "father raped daughter" and accused Luo Huaizheng of taking advantage of her daughter's illness and sleep with the intention of raping her. The thief cried "stop thief" and her husband died in the fight with him.
Xiang Siling was so frightened that she kept crying for a long time, like a frightened bird, and was unable to speak.
The case involved two high school students who had just reached adulthood, one of whom was an outstanding student who had been admitted to Tsinghua University. The impact was very serious. The police immediately conducted an intensive and detailed investigation.
The survey concluded that there are three main things:
First, there is insufficient evidence that “father raped daughter” and insufficient evidence that Luo Huaizheng acted in self-defense. No semen or DNA of her father Xiang Wei was found in Xiang Siling's vagina or underwear. And the most powerful evidence is that Xiang Siling underwent a physical examination and was found to be a virgin. Moreover, according to the investigation results of neighbors, Xiang Wei has always treated Xiang Siling as a normal father and daughter and is quite loving. She has not exhibited any abnormal behavior for many years. Xiang Wei himself has a relatively well-behaved private life and does not have any extramarital affairs.
Second, there is insufficient evidence to prove that Luo Huaizheng intended to rape Xiang Siling. The same reason applies. There was no physical evidence at the scene showing that Luo Huaizheng had any criminal behavior or intention towards Xiang Siling.
Third, there is sufficient evidence that Luo Huaizheng committed manslaughter. Luo Huaizheng's DNA was found in Xiang Wei's skin and wounds, and the fingerprints on his neck matched Luo Huaizheng's fingerprints. On the candlestick, the murder weapon, there were only Luo Huaizheng's fingerprints and their bloodstains. There were also a lot of signs of fighting at the scene, and the identification personnel could almost replicate the entire fighting process. Luo Huaizheng himself suffered a serious head injury, but he did not die.
In addition, there was no surveillance installed downstairs in the building, so it was impossible to prove whether anyone else entered the Xiang family during the time of the incident. That afternoon, Xiang's mother was working in the clothing store at the entrance of the community and took a nap. She did not leave the store, as evidenced by the two sales clerks and the store's surveillance cameras. She didn't have the time or motive to kill. Xiang Wei is a lazy and idle man, but he has no enemies or creditors.
Later, Xiang Siling spoke up. According to her, her father wanted to beat her because her grades had dropped, but Luo Huaizheng came in and misunderstood, and her father was drunk, so the two of them started fighting. It was all an accident.
However, the court still found Luo Huaizheng guilty of manslaughter. Luo Huaizheng confessed to hitting Wei with a candlestick and strangling him, causing him to have difficulty breathing. In the end, Luo Huaizheng was sentenced to five years in prison, and Tsinghua University soon revoked his admission qualification.
…
Strictly speaking, Li Jincheng did not disappear while investigating the Xiang Wei case. At that time, Li Jincheng was just a rookie who had just graduated. Although he was involved in this case, he was just playing a supporting role and running errands.
The case was basically concluded within less than half a month. At that time, the focus of the criminal police team where Li Jincheng worked had shifted to new cases.
The reason why Chen Pu judged that Li Jincheng might still be investigating the case was that, first, Li Jincheng had mentioned it to two colleagues that year and he wanted to investigate further; second, Li Jincheng always had the habit of carrying a notebook when investigating cases. On the night he disappeared, after taking a shower, he left the notebook at home and happened to not bring it with him. A lot of information about the Xiang Wei case was written on it.
Chen Pu also read the case files of Xiang Wei repeatedly. Regardless of whether Luo Huaizheng was kind-hearted or it was a misunderstanding, there was solid evidence that he accidentally killed Xiang Wei. So Chen Pu couldn't understand what Li Jincheng was doubting about. Is there any other hidden secret in this case?
He even wondered, was the case really still being investigated when Li Jincheng disappeared? Did he disappear for some other reason and has nothing to do with the Xiang Wei case?
Chen Pu knew that Luo Huaizheng and Li Qingyao graduated from the same high school, but he had never connected the two together, nor did he know that they had been in the same class.
Li Qingyao never mentioned it either.
But today, looking at the behavior and eyes of those two people, Chen Pu saw for the first time a look of distraught look on this crazy woman Li Qingyao. Luo Huaizheng wasn't much better, his eyes were wide open.
If they hadn't been having an affair before, Chen Pu would have gouged out his own detective eyes.
It turns out that she is not heartless and reckless, she just judges people by their appearance - this thought flashed through Chen Pu's mind.
He sat cross-legged on the ground with his arms on his thighs. He sat there in a daze for a long time, and finally cursed "fuck" under his breath.
He thought again, if this happened to someone else, a woman who had such a vague and obscure relationship with the Li Jincheng case, he would definitely investigate her thoroughly and never let her go easily.
But she happens to be Li Jincheng's biological sister. For Li Jincheng, she even gave up her comfortable and smooth life and came to the front line to follow this old criminal policeman, and lived a hard and dangerous life from then on.
Chen Pu suddenly realized something.
In the more than one month they had known each other, he made a mistake towards Li Qingyao that an old criminal policeman should never have made.
It must be because she is Li Jincheng's sister, and he loves her so much that he always tells himself that Li Qingyao is like this and Li Qingyao is like that. No matter what she did, he automatically found reasons and explanations for her.
But in fact, he didn't know what kind of person she was in the past. And now, what is she thinking in her heart?
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