CH 101

Translated by: Crooked

Edited by: Dust Bunny 

Gu Xizhou looked at the two people, then turned around and went to the bathroom first.

“You’re going, too?” Gu Xizhou raised an eyebrow at Si Yu, who was following him.

Si Yu raised his chin and asked blankly, “I can’t?”

“No…” 

After he left the bathroom, Gu Xizhou saw Xiang Yuan, face pale, chest heaving. Gu Xizhou looked at him. “Why do you look so pale? Feeling sick?”

Xiang Yuan gasped for breath, dragging Gu Xizhou to the parking lot. He pointed outside. “Fuck, you have no idea. I just went out to buy some mineral water and caught a glimpse of this guy. He scared the shit out of me!”

“Alright, who could scare you, ah?” Gu Xizhou laughed. “You touch dead bodies every day. Can anyone scare you?”

Xiang Yuan went on: “I saw a car out of the corner of my eye while I was buying water. I glanced over, and I saw the face of the dead man! I thought it was just my eyes playing tricks, so I rubbed them and looked again, but it was real! That man looked just like the victim! I was scared stupid, so I ran back to find you.”

Xiang Yuan gestured with his hands as he spoke. It didn’t look like he was lying. Gu Xizhou replied, “Why did you come find me? It’s not like I can communicate with the dead.”

“Are you working too much and starting to crack?” Gu Xizhou asked, thinking aloud.

Xiang Yuan seethed, glaring at Gu Xizhou. “You believe me?!”

While the two people were speaking at the doorway, Si Yu came out. He had clearly heard their conversation, and he said, “I don’t think Forensic Investigator Xiang saw wrongly.” 

Xiang Yuan looked touched, and spoke to Si Yu in an especially intimate tone. “Your words are music to my ears!”

Si Yu nodded. “You saw someone who looked exactly the same as the victim. There’s another possibility besides ghosts.”

Gu Xizhou raised an eyebrow and looked at Si Yu, watching him indifferently dry his hands with a paper towel. He said, “He’s the victim’s twin brother.”

“That’s possible! Just now I heard the victim’s parents make a phone call to his Gege.” Xiang Yuan clapped his hands together, wiped his pale face, and dragged Gu Xizhou over to the parking lot. 

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“Xiao Shuang- Xiao Shuang is dead…” The two old parents wept bitterly, clutching the man’s hand as they cried.

The identical man wiped some tears, but his mood was still relatively stable. Gu Xizhou walked over. The man turned around, and Gu Xizhou was slightly shocked by the sight of the man’s face that was identical to the victim. Then he held out his hand and said, “Hello, are you the victim’s Gege?” 

The man reached out and shook Gu Xizhou’s hand. He nodded, choked with emotion. “Yes, that’s right. I am… Xiao Shuang’s Gege. I’m Liao Jun.”

Gu Xizhou carefully sized up the victim’s older brother, Liao Jun. He tilted his head and recalled the victim’s look earlier. The two brothers actually looked so alike. Besides the different clothes, these two were simply carbon copies. Even their hair was the same.

“We just saw each other this morning. How could this happen…” Liao Jun covered his mouth and began to cry. “Officer, you must catch the murderer! I beg you! You must catch them, ah!”

“Are you the only one who came? I remember he has a daughter. She didn’t come?” Gu Xizhou asked. 

Liao Jun said, “My Didi is divorced, and my niece has always followed my sister-in-law. She’s not in Ningqing. She’s in another part of the country. We’ve already notified her, and she’s hurrying back.”

“Oh.” Gu Xizhou nodded at Liao Jun. Then, he briefly explained the situation. “I saw that you were very upset. Is your relationship with your Didi very close?”

Liao Jun nodded. “Yes. My… Didi and I have always had a very good relationship.”

Gu Xizhou continued, “As far as you know, did he have any recent enemies? Has he confided with you about any disagreements? Has anyone threatened to harm him or anything?” 

“No.”

Hearing Liao Jun’s short answer, Gu Xizhou wrinkled his brows. “Think carefully. The murderer followed him to the mall and killed him. Their technique was very skilled, like a professional hitman. Someone must have hired a hitman.”

Liao Jun scratched his head, earnestly thinking for a while. He said, “En… I don’t think it would be that person… She doesn’t have the courage to do something that big…”

“Who?” Gu Xizhou asked Liao Jun. 

“Huang Yuzhen.” Liao Jun hesitated before he mentioned a name. Gu Xizhou noticed that his complexion looked rather poor when he said this woman’s name. “Huang Yuzhen is my Didi’s coworker, but she leads another department. It was last month, ba. Huang Yuzhen accepted a bribe from a second party and was discovered by my Didi. My Didi didn’t give her the money. Ever since then, Huang Yuzhen has thought of him as an eyesore.”

“After that, their company boss somehow learned about this matter and fired Huang Yuzhen. Then, Huang Yuzhen was very unhappy. She called to curse at my… Didi. Sometimes she sends texts. Anyway, they’re very vulgar…”

“But I don’t think it’s her… She has a vicious mouth, but she shouldn’t have the guts to hire a hitman.” Liao Jun frowned and continued, “Plus, I’ve heard she’s already left Ningqing.”

Liao Jun finished speaking, and Gu Xizhou frowned. He asked, “Is there anyone else? Did your Didi have any enemies?” 

Liao Jun thought, then shook his head and said, “No… I don’t think so. That was the only thing he told me.”

Gu Xizhou looked at him and spoke leisurely, “You know your Didi’s friends very well.”

“Ha?” Liao Jun was a little flabbergasted, and his complexion wasn’t good. He explained hastily, “We work very close to each other, in the same plaza. At noon we eat lunch together if we’re not busy, so I hear him chat a lot.”

Gu Xizhou nodded slightly. He turned his head to look at the two old parents off to the side. They were sitting on the ground, and the middle-aged woman stood quietly beside them, handing over tissues. He heard the woman speak gently, “Dad, Mom, don’t grieve. The police will definitely catch the killer. Wouldn’t brother-in-law be hurt if he saw you like this?” 

“But Xiao Shuang is dead, how… How could he be dead? He…”

Gu Xizhou couldn’t believe it. Before, the two parents were well dressed and seemed barely put together, but now they looked like they’d lost their souls. Their waists seemed to bend in a split second, and their backs also began to droop.

The old parents saw Gu Xizhou look at them and used their wrinkled hands to lightly wipe their tears.

Looking at their pathetic appearance, Gu Xizhou didn’t really have the heart to go over and ask them those painful questions. 

The victim’s father was old and gray-haired, he wore spectacles, and he dressed like a scholar. The victim’s mother was similar, but now the two sat there, trembling and shaking as they nestled into each other. Their tearful eyes gleamed as they looked at him, like they were about to keel over right there.

They gazed at Gu Xizhou for a while. After a moment, the victim’s father sucked in a sob and said, “Officer, you must catch the killer!”

Gu Xizhou looked at him. After a moment of silence, he nodded. He thought he should give the old parents some hope. Also, catching the killer was his responsibility since he replaced Gu Ji Ji.

“Definitely.” 

Hearing Gu Xizhou, the old parents looked like they were grasping their last hope, and their eyes regained a little light. Apparently, they believed him.

Those two also didn’t know how long they were crying. Finally, with the appeasement of their elder son and daughter-in-law, they stopped weeping. Gu Xizhou took advantage of their mood stabilizing and asked, “Did Liao Shuang have any disagreements recently?”

The parents shook their heads. “We don’t know. He shouldn’t have. I haven’t heard anything.”

“Then has he mentioned anything about work recently?” 

The parents spoke with a sigh, “He never brings up work with us two old people. Those brothers both never let us worry about them.”

“Alright.” Gu Xizhou asked, “Did he look for a new partner after his divorce? We need to contact anyone he’s involved with. Maybe we can get useful information.”

“No…” The elderly parents cried, “This child hasn’t looked for anyone since his divorce sixteen years ago. He’s always lived alone. We tried to persuade him, but he didn’t listen. He said he’d rather spend time with us. He was very filial, and he came back to visit every week.”

Gu Xizhou was surprised. The victim divorced sixteen years ago and didn’t look for anybody else. Could it be that he still had feelings for his ex-wife? 

Gu Xizhou asked a few things, but he discovered the victim’s parents knew nothing at all about his private life.

Sixteen years of celibacy for his ex-wife? That was intriguing.

“Okay, ba.” It seemed like there was nothing left to ask. The victim’s parents knew nothing about him. Gu Xizhou said helplessly, “Thank you.”

Afternoon——18:35:25 

The dead body was already taken away, the photographs were taken, and the surroundings were still cordoned off with police tape. Gu Xizhou patted the shoulders of the old man and woman and said softly, “It’s been hard for you. You go back first, ba. We’ll contact you if there’s any progress in the investigation.”

The two dropped their eyes and nodded absently. Beside them, the victim’s Gege and his wife immediately went to support them.

“Xiao Shuang, ah, your Gege is dead…”

When Liao Jun heard his mother, he said, choked with sobs, “Mama, you’re wrong. I’m the eldest, Xiao Jun, ah!” 

The old woman heard this and used her hand to touch Liao Jun’s face. She stroked it for a while and asked, “Xiao Shuang, you really aren’t Xiao Shuang…”

“Mom, you can call me that if you want to. Didi is dead. I’m your Xiao Shuang.” Liao Jun cried and hugged his mother.