CH 103

Translated by: Crooked

Edited by: Dust Bunny 

In the darkness…

A pair of drooping eyes watched Gu Xizhou coldly. Gu Xizhou realized he was lying on the icy floor, and the air was piercing cold.

Drip drip.

Drip drip. 

Blood dripped on the ground repeatedly.

On the floor, Gu Xizhou opened his eyes and stared unwaveringly at the owner of that gaze. The owner turned and opened a door, entering.

No…

Gu Xizhou gasped, waking with a start. After he awoke, he still felt cold. He subconsciously rubbed his waist, but there was no blood.

The sun shone in through a small crack in the curtains. There was no one else in the room. Then, the closed door off to the side was suddenly slammed open, but no one was visible in the doorway.

Noticing his surroundings, Gu Xizhou heaved a sigh of relief. He spoke to the ghost in the doorway: “I’m alright.”

Gu Xizhou rubbed his head, grabbing his phone to look at the time. It was already 7:40. Gu Xizhou originally wanted to go back to sleep. He hesitated for half a second, but he still changed clothes and got up.

Then, he remembered his car’s headlight was broken, and it was getting repaired. He couldn’t drive today. He even needed to stop by the station first to borrow a police car, otherwise he’d have to walk to Liao Shuang’s house today. 

After Gu Xizhou washed up and walked to the living room to eat a simple breakfast, he noticed a key ring on the table.

His brows furrowed, and he picked up the note Si Yu left behind: I left my car downstairs. When your car is repaired, return it to me.

Gu Xizhou imagined driving Si Yu’s Maybach to investigate a case and feared that he wouldn’t get to solve it before an investigation was opened on him.

“I’m leaving.” Gu Xizhou looked at the car keys on the table and hesitated, but he still put them in his pocket. Even if he couldn’t drive the Maybach to handle the case, he could still drive it to work. 

Gu Xizhou looked at the mature and steady Comrade Maybach and sat in the driver’s seat, smoothly driving to the police department. After he parked the car, he saw Fang Zhi and another officer standing beside the police car he’d already prepared to borrow.

“Si Ge’s car?” Fang Zhi asked quietly.

Gu Xizhou nodded. Then, the two headed straight to the victim Liao Shaung’s home. With the help of the victim’s Gege, Liao Jun, they successfully entered his home——

The kitchen showed no signs of use, and there was no food in the refrigerator, only bottled water. Clearly, the victim seldom ate at home. 

Gu Xizhou returned to the living room. Liao Jun prepared two cups of water and set them on the table.

Gu Xizhou looked at the water cups on the table and said casually, “You’re awfully familiar with your Didi’s home.”

Liao Jun replied calmly, “I came here basically every week. After his divorce, he didn’t look for another partner, and Mom and Dad constantly urged me to come and check on him. That’s why I’m quite familiar with the place.”

“That… Officer, will the murderer be caught?” Liao Jun inquired worriedly. 

Xe Wlhtbe uijcmfv ja tlw jcv rjlv, “Cr ibcu jr atf wegvfgfg lr uelias, atfgf klii mfgajlcis yf miefr.”

Qtfc Xe Wlhtbe kjixfv lcab atf yfvgbbw, tf mbeiv rff atja Oljb Aec kjcafv ab tfiq jcv vb rbwfatlcu. Lf rjk Xe Wlhtbe qertlcu bqfc atf yfvgbbw vbbg jcv rjlv ibevis, “Ktja’r atf rfmbcv yfvgbbw. Zs Glvl vbfrc’a riffq lc atja gbbw. Llr gbbw lr cfza vbbg.”

After he said this, he pointed at the room next door. Gu Xizhou ‘en’ed and entered the second bedroom to do a lap. After looking for a short time, he didn’t find anything unusual. After he finished, he went into the master bedroom next door.

He had just entered the master bedroom when he turned his head to look at Liao Jun, who’d followed him inside, and asked, “You and your Gege…” 

Gu Xizhou paused briefly, and Liao Jun frowned and interrupted, “Officer, I’m the Gege, Liao Jun. The one who died is my Didi, Liao Shuang. If you can’t even tell the dead from the living, I’m quite skeptical of your ability.”

“Sorry,” Gu Xizhou said leisurely. He’d intended to bluff him, but he didn’t expect Liao Jun’s reaction to be so big. “Not only do you look identical, but your hairstyles, builds, and everything are also the same. I couldn’t tell if it was the Gege or the Didi who died.”

Liao Jun’s expression turned unsightly. With a trembling voice, he said, “Then I’ll trouble you to try harder to tell my Didi and I apart.”

“Since you two look so alike, could it be possible that you offended someone and the other person killed the wrong one by mistake?” asked Gu Xizhou leisurely. 

“What do you mean by that?”

Gu Xizhou glanced at Liao Jun and said, “It’s reasonable suspicion. After all, your own mother also can’t tell you and your Didi apart. If an outsider mistakes their identity, it’s possible for them to kill the wrong twin.”

When Liao Jun heard Gu Xizhou’s theory, he seemed to be stimulated by it. When he spoke, his voice trembled, “This… is really possible, but I haven’t offended anyone recently…”

“You’d better think carefully. This is important,” Gu Xizhou warned. 

Liao Jun wiped the tears from his cheeks. Gu Xizhou took out a napkin and handed it to him. Liao Jun cried while walking out, sitting on the sofa and seemingly seriously thinking about whether he’d offended anyone recently.

Gu Xizhou and Fang Zhi carefully searched Liao Shuang’s room. Finally, Gu Xizhou found a cell phone in a drawer.

Gu Xizhou put the cell phone in an evidence bag. It didn’t have a passcode and was very easy to unlock.

After he opened WeChat, the victim’s chat records were inside. They were quite vulgar, like records of using WeChat Shake to find girls to chat with. 

Basically, it was sexting. While chatting, this guy would send the other party some money and ask the target to send him a ‘photo’. This photo was of a strongly suggestive nature.

When Gu Xizhou opened one of the chats, the beginning was relatively tame. Later, there was a sudden voice message.

Gu Xizhou pressed the key to broadcast the voice message——

‘Aaah… ah… en… Husband…’ This voice message had just finished when, immediately afterwards, Liao Shuang’s voice message began to play. 

‘**…’ A man’s smooth voice rang out.

Gu Xizhou hurriedly pressed pause, and he and Fang Zhi were embarrassed. The victim could really play… Voice messages can be used like this?

This was quite flirty, very educational.

They looked at each other. The contents of these phone were a little unsuitable for children, but Gu Xizhou’s new hypothesis was that Liao Shuang might have been killed in a crime of passion. 

At the same time, Gu Xizhou heard a cell phone ringing in the living room.

In the living room, Liao Jun answered his phone. The person on the other end of the call stuttered three times, “Lao Liao, come back, quick! Your mother fainted!”

Liao Jun heard the other person was his wife and immediately rushed out the door. Gu Xizhou and Fang Zhi hurried outside. They glanced at each other and hastily followed Liao Jun to his parents’ home, then delivered the fainted woman to the hospital.

Sitting outside, Liao Jun wiped his tears. Gu Xizhou handed him a napkin. He noticed Liao Jun’s wife sat quite far from him. 

Liao Jun’s wife watched Liao Jun from a distance, hesitating to speak, as if she wanted to comfort him, but she bit her bottom lip and finally remained silent. She abruptly got up and walked over to Liao Jun. She said softly, “I won’t bring up that matter for now, but I also ask you not to forget. I’ll leave first.”

Liao Jun used the napkin to roughly wipe his face. “I… I know. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Good.” The woman didn’t speak further. She nodded at Liao Jun and then turned to where an old man was sitting and said, “Dad, my company is still busy, so I’ll leave first.”

Listening to the dialogue between Liao Jun and his wife, Gu Xizhou felt there was something between them that the two were hiding. He said to Liao Jun, “Since the doctor said there’s no major issue, then we’ll also leave first. We still want to go to your Didi’s company.” 

Liao Jun nodded listlessly without speaking, looking exhausted.

After saying goodbye to Liao Jun, Gu Xizhou and Fang Zhi followed Liao Jun’s wife, He Yunyun, into the elevator. Gu Xizhou looked at He Yunyun and asked quietly, “What was the matter you spoke about earlier? Is it convenient to tell us?”

He Yunyun was surprised. She said, “It’s not inconvenient. He and I recently discussed getting a divorce.”

“A divorce?” Gu Xizhou looked at He Yunyun a little oddly. “Why get a divorce?” 

He Yunyun was silent for a moment before she spoke with a somewhat evasive expression. “No reason. There’s just no affection.”

Gu Xizhou didn’t continue to ask after that. He changed the subject and said to He Yunyun, as if they were just chatting, “The brothers really look identical. Can you tell your husband and your brother-in-law apart?”

“I can’t.” He Yunyun shook her head with a bitter smile. “Let alone me, even their parents often mix them up.”

Gu Xizhou faintly raised his eyebrow, recalling the conversation between Liao Jun and his mother yesterday, when he was leaving. Because of that conversation, he was suspicious of Liao Jun. He continued to ask He Yunyun, “Their parents also frequently mix them up?” 

He Yunyun nodded. “That’s right. They didn’t before, but recently his parents are probably getting old, and their eyes aren’t that good. Several times, when Lao Liao and I went back, they thought Lao Liao was Xiao Shuang.”

He Yunyun only thought Gu Xizhou was making casual conversation, so she didn’t pay it much mind. After the elevator arrived, He Yunyun parted ways with them.

Fang Zhi drove, and Gu Xizhou sat in the front seat, thinking about the information they got just now. The twins’ parents can’t tell them apart. Maybe he was just thinking too much before.

The two went straight to Liao Shuang’s company and found his personal assistant to ask about his affairs. 

“Liao Ge? En, if you want to ask anything, then do it. I’ll tell you what I know.” The female assistant said with a nod.

“Did Liao Shuang offend anyone during this time?”

“No, ba. During this time our financial affairs department doesn’t have anything to do, and we haven’t audited any accounts. As you know, of course, the financial affairs department investigates accounts and is classified as a supervisory branch, so the other departments don’t like us very much.”

“Think again. It doesn’t matter if it’s a bit further back.” 

“This… En. Liao Ge had a fight with Chief Huang over a month ago.”

“Huang Yuzhen?” asked Gu Xizhou.

The female assistant was surprised. Obviously, Gu Xizhou saying the name astonished her. She nodded. “Right, Huang Yuzhen. Previously, Liao Ge discovered that she’d received a bribe. Originally, Liao Ge simply didn’t approve her funding application. Who knew it would be discovered by the group leader, and he fired her directly.”

Gu Xizhou nodded. “Is there anyone else in your company besides Huang Yuzhen?” 

The assistant thought deeply and said, “There’s no one else who’s made an impression.”

“How was his relationship with his female coworkers?”

The assistant was puzzled, and she didn’t know why Gu Xizhou would ask that. “Very good.”

Gu Xizhou lowered his voice. “Then was there anyone he was having intimate relations with?” 

The assistant immediately became vigilant. She looked at Gu Xizhou and whispered, “You think Liao Ge was sleeping around?”

Gu Xizhou explained, “I only want to understand more about the circumstances, nothing more.”

The assistant thought for a while, then shook her head. “No.”

“Okay, thank you,” Gu Xizhou thanked her with a nod and followed the assistant’s directions to Liao Shuang’s office. 

All the documents were neatly arranged in file cabinets inside the office. Gu Xizhou didn’t look through the cabinets. Instead, he went to Liao Shuang’s seat to look for any clues. He searched with gloved hands, but he didn’t find anything useful.

After a discussion with the company’s people, the other party quickly agreed to Gu Xizhou’s request to seal the victim’s office temporarily and not move anything.

The assistant sent Gu Xizhou and Fang Zhi off downstairs. Before leaving, Gu Xizhou asked her for Huang Yuzhen’s contact information. “I don’t know if Chief Huang has changed her phone number, but this is the number I have. Is Chief Huang a suspect?”

“There’s enough suspicion.” 

She had just taken two steps away when she said to Gu Xizhou and Fang Zhi, “In any case, I don’t think it’s Chief Huang. Even if Chief Huang is strong, she doesn’t look like that kind of person, being so thin and petite…”

Gu Xizhou sat in the police car and took out his phone to dial that number. Luckily, she hadn’t changed numbers, and the call went through.

“Excuse me, may I ask who you’re looking for?” A sharp female voice came from the other end of the phone.

“Hello, is this Miss Huang Yuzhen? This is Ningqing city’s Jinluo Police Department. There’s a matter we’d like to ask you about.” 

“I am, but I’ve already left Ningqing. Hasn’t the matter in the company already been settled? Are they suing me?” Huang Yuzhen asked hesitantly.

“Oh, no, this is a different matter. You don’t need to be nervous,” Gu Xizhou explained patiently. “Excuse me, where are you located now?”

Huang Yuzhen replied, “I’m in my hometown in Yulin.”

Gu Xizhou: “How was your relationship with your coworker Liao Shuang?” 

“Him?” Huang Yuzhen sneered, “He and I have a very ordinary relationship.”

“After you were fired by the company, did you want to kill Liao Shuang?” Gu Xizhou asked directly.

“No, ah. What does this have to do with him? All he did was not approve my funds. I was fired because other people in my department wanted the top position. They fucked me over and disclosed this matter to the leader. It has nothing to do with him.”

“Why would I kill him?” Huang Yuzhen suddenly realized, “Hold on, nothing happened to Liao Shuang, right?” 

“He died?” Seeing that Gu Xizhou didn’t reply, Huang Yuzhen continued, “I knew this person… something would happen sooner or later.”

Gu Xizhou and Fang Zhi glanced at each other and asked hastily, “Miss Huang, what do you know? I’ll trouble you to speak about the situation in detail!”

“At noon about a month and a half ago, I went to look for him for something. At the time, he was the only one in the office on the financial affairs side, and there was no one outside. I originally wanted to go in and look for him, but I heard him having an argument with someone on the phone. I listened for a while. He seemed to be in debt to a loan shark… eh… At that time I really didn’t hear clearly.”

“Did he have a large amount of debt?” Gu Xizhou asked. 

Huang Yuzhen: “It should be. Anyway, I only heard a few details… not much.”