Chapter 60
It was after noon when the two returned to Liu Tingmei's house. Now that he had a pretty good understanding of the situation, Li Qingyao was too lazy to play along with this family and instructed Xia Yongze to go forward and knock on the door.
Xia Yongze had a grudge against this family for a long time. He could no longer hide his inherent evil spirit and knocked on the door with a gloomy face: "Open the door! Police!"
Liu Tingmei's mother Ma Yilan, who came to open the door, was so scared that her face turned pale: "Police? What's the matter? Our family has not broken any law!"
Li Qingyao, acting like a bully, stood behind Xia Yongze and looked at him carefully - Ma Yilan had a thin face and high cheekbones, her eyes were dull, and she looked difficult to approach. She is in her sixties and her skin is covered with spots and wrinkles. Only the beautiful outline of her youth can be vaguely seen.
This is the mother, a most ordinary mother. She was not as morally corrupt and devilish as Xiang Siling's mother. She was just not good enough to her daughter. She was not good enough in every way. She hadn't done anything terribly evil. But it was that little bit of negligence and partiality that accumulated over time in Liu Tingmei's 19 years of life. In the end, the child was ruined because of their unintentional mistake. After leaving this home, Liu Tingmei encountered such a tragic fate. Seven years later, a series of brutal serial murders were caused by her - all of these seemed to have nothing to do with the person who gave birth to her into this world.
"We are from the missing persons investigation team of the Yuexi District Public Security Bureau. Didn't your daughter Liu Tingmei disappear nine years ago?" Xia Yongze said.
"Yes." Ma Yilan said hesitantly, "She hasn't been back for many years. We don't know whether she is dead or alive. She has nothing to do with our family."
Xia Yongze and Li Qingyao both glanced at her.
She didn't even ask if the person had been found.
The two showed their police IDs, and Li Qingyao's attitude was very serious: "In order to investigate her disappearance, we need to go in and take a look. I hope you will cooperate."
As soon as I entered the house, I found that it was even narrower and darker. The furnishings in the house were very simple, with some old furniture, and it was also very dirty. An old man in his sixties was sitting on the sofa watching TV, and next to him was a five-year-old child with dirty clothes and a runny nose. It can be seen that this family still lives a mess.
When Ma Yilan told her husband about the situation, Liu Qiangshun also stood up and said with a smile: "Why don't you pour tea for the police comrade?" He looked like an ordinary person, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and even had a loyal and honest look.
"No need." Li Qingyao said, "Is this your grandson?"
The two of them nodded quickly.
"Where's your son?"
"Out."
"What did you go out for?"
"play cards."
Li Qingyao didn't ask any more questions and said, "Take us to see Liu Tingmei's room."
The couple hesitated.
Xia Yongze: "Don't waste time, we have other tasks."
Li Qingyao smiled: "That's it, isn't it?"
Ma Yilan showed a stubborn look: "She hasn't come back for so many years. Even if she is alive, she definitely won't recognize her home. Why should I keep the room? It's sad to see. Her fall was an accident, and there was nothing we could do."
Li Qingyao didn't say anything else. Under the guidance of Ma Yilan, he walked around the house. In addition to the room where the old couple lived, there was also the room of Liu Yukun and his wife, and the room of his little grandson. There is also another room filled with old toys. There are also two small utility rooms.
There is no trace of Liu Tingmei's life in this "home" anymore.
"On what day did Liu Tingmei disappear?"
Liu Qiangshun remembered this because he had reported the case to the police, which caused a sensation in the whole village at the time.
“August 5, 2016.”
"How did she disappear? Wasn't she locked up at home?"
"We didn't know either. We all went to sleep that night. When we woke up, no one was in her room. We looked everywhere but couldn't find her."
"The door is not locked?"
"The door was locked. The police came and said she escaped by climbing through the window. There were fingerprints on the window. She had the same intelligence as a child at that time. She probably thought she was going out to play and ran away."⊙
——
Li Qingyao and his companion had just walked a short distance out of the Liu family's home when they saw a young woman running towards them, panting.
"Comrade police officer? I'm Shu Lili. I heard you were looking for me?"
The three of them found a quiet corner in a milk tea shop at the entrance of the village and sat down.
"Liu Huaixin really likes Tingmei." Shu Lili said confidently, "You are right to ask me. Tingmei was in the first year of high school and Liu Huaixin was in the third year. He wrote her love letters, more than a dozen of them. Tingmei ignored him. Liu Huaixin's conditions were okay, but there were so many boys in the grade who liked Tingmei. There were several who were more handsome and had better conditions than him. Who was he? Tingmei didn't like any of them. At that time, she just wanted to go to college, leave Mawei Village, and go to BJ."
"Later, Liu Huaixin was admitted to university, and Tingmei was still in high school. Are they still in touch?"
Shu Lili thought for a moment and said, "I think so. I remember that winter vacation, half a month before Tingmei broke her head, I went to play with her and saw Liu Huaixin passing by the door. I asked Tingmei if he was still pursuing her, and she was very unhappy and told me not to mention him, he was a bit annoying."
"Did anything special happen before and after Liu Tingmei disappeared?"
Shu Lili was stunned, lowered her head and thought about it, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "There is one thing I don't know if it counts. She disappeared in August. I was studying in another city and returned to school early during that period. My mother was afraid that I would run back, so she didn't tell me. When I came back during the winter vacation, she was gone.
I heard from my parents in private that they heard from people in the village that Tingmei's parents wanted to marry her to a rich, 40-year-old divorced man. They also guessed that Tingmei was not completely stupid, and ran away because she knew this. ”
Li Qingyao snorted. She once again saw that in this world, there are parents who love their children more than their own lives; there are also selfish parents who put themselves first in everything. Those people even live a mess of their own lives, how can we expect them to treat their children with a clear and selfless mind? As for the various pains that everyone encounters after growing up, is family the original sin? Li Qingyao didn't know.
Shu Lili wiped her tears and said, "Comrade police officer, Tingmei is my best friend and I have never forgotten her. Over the years, I often wondered if she was still alive and if she had encountered any bad things. Can she have enough food and clothes when she was out there alone? I only regretted that I returned to school early just for an internship opportunity. I should have spent more time with her, maybe she wouldn't have been lost.
To be honest, it was because of her that I chose to return to our common alma mater to be a teacher among several job opportunities. Of course, the school's job benefits are also good. Because I always feel that one day, she will come back. I want to see her and ask her how she has been doing these years. Every year, I keep an eye on the police station, but no one has ever seen her. Where could she go, alone?
If you find her, could you let me know as soon as possible? I'll definitely get there right away. If she...is still alive, even if her parents think she's a burden and don't want to raise her, I'm willing to do so. My boyfriend, who I'm about to marry, and I have already agreed on this. I'll just treat her as my younger sister. She'll be very well behaved even if she breaks her brain. If you see her, please tell her that I have been waiting for her and I will never forget our friendship and promise. ”
Li Qingyao and Xia Yongze were silent for a long time. This was the second person they had met today who was willing to support Liu Tingmei unconditionally.
Li Qingyao said, "Okay, I promise you, if I see you, I will definitely pass it on, regardless of life or death. Finally, I want to ask a question - was Liu Huaixin at home during the days when Liu Tingmei disappeared?"
Shu Lili was stunned for a moment, then answered, "He... is here! He should be here. I returned to school on July 28th and saw him a few times. He stays in his hometown every winter and summer vacation until school starts."
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