Chapter 44
When he saw Fang Kai, Li Qingyao was slightly surprised.
She originally thought that following Chen Pu in investigating a case was hard enough. But when she saw Fang Kai's obvious dark bags under his eyes, his unwashed face that seemed covered with a layer of dust, the circle of stubble on his chin, and smelled a faint sour odor on him, it was hard for her to connect the sloppy guy in front of her with the usually clean and respectable Brother Fang.
It’s only been a few days since we last met? Li Qingyao suddenly developed complicated emotions towards Mr. Ding Guoqiang, the chief commander of this case. There is emotion, there is awe... there is also a subtle sense of luck.
She glanced at Chen Pu, who was handsome and refreshing beside her, and found it hard to imagine that he looked as unsightly as Fang Kai. But when I thought about his experience of squatting in the trash can, which he was so proud of, I felt that sooner or later I would see him like that.
The two men were obviously used to it. Chen Pu patted Fang Kai on the shoulder and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
Fang Kai looked as haggard as an old flower about to wither, but his eyes were very bright. He gave them a thumbs up and said, "Awesome, you have dug out such a person. Report:
We checked Zhang Chaohua's background last night and found that he had no apparent relationship with Xiang Siling and their family. But late last year, his fifteen-year-old son developed a rare disease and needed a lung transplant. The application for lung sources and the 400,000 yuan surgery fee were all paid for by a charity foundation company called Yu Ai. Behind Yuai is Huayu Group, and Li Meiling is the legal representative and general manager of Yuai. ”
Hearing this, Li Qingyao suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.
Fang Kai continued, "I interrogated Zhang Chaohua for half a night. At first he was not very cooperative and said he didn't know anything. But his mental defenses were not strong, and he quickly confessed some things."
Fang Kai remembered that last night, when he showed the photos of Xiang Siling and Li Meiling to Zhang Chaohua, the other party had a blank expression, which did not seem like a disguise.
According to Zhang Chaohua, at the end of December last year, he was desperate and was sitting in the stairwell of the hospital smoking a cigarette. A woman suddenly appeared and said that she was in the hospital for treatment and saw that his family was so pitiful. She had a charity fund and could help him. Zhang Chaohua originally thought it was a scam and was half-believing and half-doubting, until half an hour later, when the doctor contacted him and said that a charity company had called and was willing to help him with the surgery costs and get a lung. Zhang Chaohua cried with joy and wanted to thank the woman, but she had already left.
As for what the woman looked like or how old she was, Zhang Chaohua said he didn't know. Because the woman wore a mask the whole time.
Fang Kai immediately contacted the hospital to retrieve the surveillance footage according to the date Zhang Chaohua mentioned, but half a year had passed and the hospital's surveillance footage had been automatically overwritten and deleted.
However, Fang Kai found out from the hospital medical records that Li Meiling had gone to see a doctor for stomach problems that day.
Hearing this, Li Qingyao glanced at Chen Pu, who was listening with a serious expression. Noticing her gaze, he nodded and raised his chin. Without saying a word, Li Qingyao understood immediately: I know what you are worried about, don't be anxious, just keep listening.
Later, Fang Kai asked Zhang Chaohua whether the woman took his night bus last Saturday.
Zhang Chaohua said, I don’t even know what she looks like, how can I know whether she has been in my car.
Fang Kai asked coldly, even if her face is covered, can't you recognize her by listening to her voice and looking at her figure?
Zhang Chaohua replied calmly that he couldn't recognize him.
Fang Kai had an idea and changed the way he asked: Was there a woman wearing a mask and a hat that covered her face who got into his car and hit him that night? Although there were no surveillance cameras on the bus, there were surveillance cameras on the road, and the relevant police had already been informed. He asked him to think it over before answering. Such obvious and abnormal physical features, coupled with the small number of passengers at night, would have been impossible not to notice. This is an important case and giving false testimony will result in imprisonment. ◆
Zhang Chaohua's expression changed after being frightened. After a moment of silence, he nodded: "It seems that there is a woman wearing a mask and a hat."
"Get on the bus at Yingzhu Town and get off at Huanhu East Road?"
“That should be it.”
"Yes, yes. No, no. Is it or is it not?"
"……Yes."
"Did she say anything to you in the car, or contact you again?"
"No."
"Think carefully before answering!"
Zhang Chaohua's face turned red, and his lips trembled a little, but he still answered: "Really, no, we have never spoken. She always sits in the last row with her head down, and I never take the initiative to talk to passengers."
He said never.
As perceptive as Fang Kai was, he immediately asked the same question that Li Qingyao had asked: Before this, had the woman wearing a mask and a hat ridden in his car at the same time?
At first, Zhang Chaohua said he couldn't remember, but after being criticized by Fang Kai for a few more sentences, he said it seemed to have happened two or three times, but he really couldn't remember the specific day.
"Then why did you deny it when my colleague asked you in the car?"
Zhang Chaohua lowered his head and said that he had always felt that the woman was acting suspiciously by covering her face in the middle of the night. Today, Chen Pu and the others kept asking him questions, but he didn't know who they were. He was afraid of causing trouble, so he thought it was better to have less trouble than more, so he simply said nothing.
Fang Kai asked again why he drove so slowly in the first 2/3 of the journey and so fast in the last 1/3, and whether someone had told him to do so.
Zhang Chaohua insisted that he had not done so. He said he was driving slowly because he had a cold and felt a little dizzy. Later, when Chen Pu asked this question when he got off the car, he realized that he was afraid of delaying the rest of the route, so he sped up and finished.
Fang Kai interrogated him for a while, but couldn't get anything out of him, so he detained Zhang Chaohua temporarily and would release him at a certain time.
After reporting the situation, Fang Kai asked, "What do you think, two Lone Rangers?"
Chen Pu raised his chin towards Li Qingyao and said, "You speak first."
Fang Kai knew that he was trying to train new people, and he also looked at Li Qingyao.
Li Qingyao: "Zhang Chaohua must have recognized the woman in the car. She was the woman from the hospital, and also his benefactor - Xiang Siling. Xiang Siling had ridden in his car several times to scout the area, and I think he guessed something. That's why he concealed it from us at the beginning, and deliberately drove very slowly. When you lied to him and said that the surveillance camera had captured it on the road, he couldn't argue, and he might have been afraid of taking responsibility, so he admitted the existence of this woman."
Chen Pu said: "In any case, he personally admitted that this woman existed and walked this route on the night of the crime, which has proved that our speculation is correct. I think he really has never seen Xiang Siling's face. She has made this preparation from the beginning, just for today. Even if the driver is found by us, he still cannot serve as a witness."
Li Qingyao said, "Yes, even if we let Xiang Siling wear a mask and bring him in front of Zhang Chaohua, he can still close his eyes and say he doesn't know him, and there's nothing we can do. After all, it's reasonable for him not to recognize him, and subjective ability can't be considered perjury. I even suspect that Xiang Siling has reminded him of this, what to say and what not to say. Look at him, a driver who doesn't understand the law, how well he has grasped the situation."
Fang Kai tapped the table with his finger: "You two, although I don't know the specific progress of your investigation, I want to remind you that the general manager of the charity fund is Li Meiling, and the signature of the payment is also Li Meiling. I can also say that the woman is Li Meiling. Xiang Siling is completely clear of this, but the fact that she stayed at Yingzhu Mountain that night does not mean that the woman is her."
Sure enough, Li Qingyao thought, she had expected it from the beginning when it was said that the general manager of the fund company would be Li Meiling. First it was a wanted criminal, then it was the mysterious man in the floral shirt, and now it is Li Meiling. Every time when she and Chen Pu got a glimpse of the real murderer, a perfect shield would immediately appear. Their real murderer really knows how to play the game clearly. This is not just a cunning rabbit with three burrows, but he is also looking ten steps ahead before taking one step.
Zhang Chaohua has signed the transcript. They can be said to have made some progress, but not much. If this transcript is really submitted, anyone who reads it will think that it points to Li Meiling, Xiang Siling's biological mother.
"What should we do next?" Li Qingyao.
"How about we go talk to Xiang Siling directly?" Chen Pu didn't seem discouraged at all. He looked at her with a warm smile, "It's time to cut the grass and scare the snakes away."
Although Li Qingyao was still very aggressive these days, he was actually very convinced of Chen Pu in his heart. He naturally would not argue in front of outsiders and simply answered: "I listen to you."
Chen Pu raised his eyebrows and curled the corners of his lips slightly.
Fang Kai, who was standing by, was stunned.
How sharp are the old detective’s eyes? Li Qingyao was still normal, but the way Chen Pu looked at people, with that sticky and warm feeling, was completely different from the cold and noble Captain Chen of the past.
——
Xiang Siling remembered that the first time she attended a business cocktail party, it was Luo Hongmin and Li Meiling who took her there. She was the good daughter who was dressed up beautifully and exquisitely, following behind the couple. Soon someone noticed her, and Luo Hongmin's friend asked with a smile if she had a boyfriend and jokingly wanted to introduce his son to her.
Luo Hongmin laughed even more heartily. It was up to him to make the decision regarding his children's affairs.
Everyone looked at Xiang Siling, who had just graduated from college at the time. She lowered her head shyly and said, "I, I'm still young."
Everyone laughed. Li Meiling smiled faintly, and Luo Hongmin also laughed.
Later, she fell in love with Qian Chengfeng. From then on, she no longer had to follow the couple around. It was Qian Chengfeng who accompanied her to event after event. Xiang Siling asked herself, at that time, she really wanted to be a good husband and wife with him, and wanted to rely on this man to find happiness. She also kept her love for Luo Huaizheng deep in her heart. Even though that love had once caused her pain to the bone, and her entire body seemed to be rotting from the inside out.
But what did she get in the end for her sincerity towards her husband? It's nothing but endless insults and a clean break.
From then on, Xiang Siling became silent. It didn't matter to her who was around her or what kind of person she was.
Until today, when she, as the actual controller of Huayu Group, attended a cocktail party, it was Luo Huaizheng who accompanied her.
She was wearing an expensive evening gown, sitting on a dignified leather sofa, looking at Luo Huaizheng, who was dressed in a suit and had an extraordinary temperament not far away. She felt that this scene was like a dream that she had never dared to hope for.
But, Xiang Siling, didn’t your dream come true?
She drank the red wine in the glass, toasted herself, then placed the empty glass on the attentive waiter's tray, stood up, and walked towards the man who only appeared in her dreams in a swaying manner.
Luo Huaizheng was talking to someone with a faint professional smile on his face. He suddenly walked towards Si Ling and took his arm. Luo Huaizheng paused.
When the other party saw this scene, he smiled and greeted Xiang Siling again. Xiang Siling smiled like a flower and made the other person feel refreshed with just a few words. Then she said "don't disturb her" and politely left.
Luo Huaizheng immediately pulled his arm back.
Unexpectedly, Xiang Siling reached out and held his arm again, and she came closer and said, "There are so many people here, Huai Zheng, please give me some face. I did a good job today, didn't I? I introduced you to so many people."
She looked up at him. Under the bright lights, the beauty looked up, her face was beyond compare.
Luo Huaizheng was silent for a moment and said, "Thank you."
Xiang Siling shook his head and said, "This is nothing, just some petty gains, the real compensation is not this. By the way, do you want to study in Tsinghua again? Are you considering EMBA?"
Luo Huaizheng raised his eyes and looked at her.
Xiang Siling laughed and said, "Don't look at me with such a creepy look. I said that I want to do this for your own good. I want to make your dream come true. I really won't hurt you again."
After the cocktail party, Xiang Siling and Luo Huaizheng walked out of the hotel lobby together. The driver had already driven Xiang Siling's car over. Xiang Siling got into the car first, and Luo Huaizheng stood outside the door without moving.
She stuck her head out and called out, "Huaizheng, get in the car."
Luo Huaizheng had one hand on the car door handle, but he still looked like a sculpture. Xiang Siling followed his gaze and saw Chen Pu and Li Qingyao standing a few meters away.
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