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墨書 Inktalez
"Have you found Xu Man?" I asked.
"Yes," Gu Chen replied. "She’s working as a princess at River KV, singing and drinking with people. Mary discovered during her investigation of Jiang Xiaochun that the two had communicated on social media. However, Xu Man is quite straightforward and doesn’t seem to harbor any hatred towards Jiang Xiaochun. Hu Xiaoxue is Xu Man's daughter, but Xu Man has never seen her daughter and hasn’t looked for Hu Pei since then."
I frowned and said, "Then why did Jiang Xiaochun marry Hu Pei? And after all these years, they still haven't had a child together. Why is that?"
Gu Chen responded, "I don’t know; maybe they have some sort of agreement. What’s clear now is that there is no blood relation between Jiang Xiaochun and Hu Xiaoxue. However, it seems that the couple hasn’t told Hu Xiaoxue about this, perhaps because she’s still young and it’s not the right time."
I chuckled helplessly, tugging at my hair. "Alright, let’s continue investigating Jiang Xiaochun. It seems there’s more to uncover here."
"Sure," Gu Chen said.
I couldn’t understand why I didn’t sense how sorrowful Jiang Xiaochun was. It turned out that Hu Xiaoxue was not her biological daughter, and she didn’t seem to have any substantial feelings for Hu Pei either. From the ring that Jiang Xiaochun often took off, it was evident that she wouldn’t wear it when facing Hu Pei's family.
So what exactly was the nature of Hu Pei and Jiang Xiaochun's marriage? Their union didn’t seem to be based on love. I speculated that Jiang Xiaochun might have another lover, but if that were the case, why did she marry Hu Pei and become a mother to someone else's child at such a young age?
However, we didn’t have any more leads at this point; now there was also a woman named Xu Man involved.
We knew that Deng Xuemei was responsible for killing nearly twenty people, but we were still unclear about who had killed Lu Zhiqiu back then. Liang Mei had found evidence herself; in the photos she took, she spotted Hu Pei and believed him to be Lu Zhiqiu's murderer. Yet, Hu Pei was the first to die, leaving no one to corroborate anything.
But we didn’t know if Xu Man was aware of this situation. She had wanted to confront Lu Zhiqiu back then; it was uncertain whether she ever found him. At this moment, we also resolved one question: Hu Pei had been Lu Zhiqiu's boyfriend while Kori Chiu had been out almost all night without searching for him.
Looking back now, Hu Pei must have been dealing with matters related to Xu Man.
I checked the time; it was getting dark. It seemed just right to grab a meal before looking for Xu Man. With this thought in mind, we didn’t linger long and informed the administrator that the police would follow up on the investigation shortly before leaving.
During dinner, both Zhao Mingkun and I felt heavy-hearted. This case involved too many people and was incredibly complex. From the beginning, everyone had significant suspicions against them; as we followed one lead after another, we managed to eliminate some suspects. Yet every time we investigated someone new, it would bring up more names.
What was even more troubling was that all these people were indeed suspicious. I had never imagined that one person's death could benefit so many others. With Lu Zhiqiu gone, some people gained party membership, others received scholarships, and some landed their desired jobs.
Everything stemmed from the death of Lu Zhiqiu.
No wonder most people felt a twinge of schadenfreude at Lu Zhiqiu's demise; perhaps in their hearts, they had long wished for her to be gone. She had blocked the path for many who aspired to rise, which was indeed a pity.
If Lu Zhiqiu had lived to this day, she might have achieved something remarkable.
After finishing my meal, the sky had already darkened. Zhao Mingkun rode his motorcycle to River KV, and we traveled in silence.
When we arrived, the place was already packed with people. It seemed that this kind of entertainment was still quite popular among the masses. Most students and white-collar workers enjoyed coming here.
However, this place also attracted another group of people, a significant portion of whom came specifically to seek out the ladies. As a boss, Zhao Mingkun preferred the latter. Of course, high income also meant high risk, as it faced the danger of being shut down.
Those without certain capabilities naturally wouldn’t dare to open a KV with ladies.
Standing there, we could see that this KV was resplendent. Two beautiful girls greeted us at the entrance, and we walked in. The cost here was quite high; it required four hundred for a session, and we understood that this was a dividing line—people who came here were not primarily there to sing.
Zhao Mingkun seemed unfazed by this; I had no idea how much cash he had on him. We rented a private room and ordered some beer and fruit platters. Zhao Mingkun appeared ready to spend lavishly, which naturally attracted the attention of many ladies.
Many inmates had ended up in prison due to involvement in organized prostitution. A senior once told me that some of the girls in the KV were cultivated within its walls, while others could "do business" here after paying a certain percentage of their earnings to the KV.
It seemed that upon seeing Zhao Mingkun with a woman, some people were hesitant.
I casually took five hundred yuan from Zhao Mingkun and handed it to a woman who looked like she belonged in this industry. This place was indeed bustling; some sold smiles while others sold their bodies, creating an atmosphere of indulgence and hedonism.
I gave her the five hundred yuan and asked her to find me a girl named Xu Man.
The woman flashed me a flirtatious smile and said, "Oh dear, you don’t seem like someone who comes here often; you even know Manyao's real name! Don’t worry, I’ll get her for you right away."
I shrugged; in places like this, it was certainly better to use an alias.
Not long after, Xu Man walked into our private room. Judging by her age, she should be around thirty. She had a good figure and wore heavy makeup, which made her look quite attractive in the dim light. However, for someone in this line of work, she seemed a bit too old; I wondered why Xu Man was still here.
Upon seeing us, Xu Man greeted us warmly, "Why aren't you singing, big brother? There's no atmosphere at all."
I smiled and said to her, "Have a seat."
Xu Man seemed to sense that the mood was off; after all, where do guests come in and act so cold? But for the sake of making money, she couldn't just leave.
She sat down nonetheless.
I spoke up, "Xu Man, since we’re here and we know your name, it means we know quite a bit about you. There are some things we need to ask you, and we hope you'll answer truthfully."
Xu Man looked puzzled and said, "You don’t seem like you’re here for fun. Who exactly are you?"
"You don’t need to worry about that," I replied. "Seven years ago, you were pregnant with Hu Pei's child, weren't you?"
At my words, Xu Man turned to leave without giving us a second thought.
I reached out and grabbed her hand, saying, "Xu Man, we just want to have a serious talk with you..."
But it seemed she was very uncomfortable hearing Hu Pei's name. She broke free from my grip and tried to walk away while shouting, "Brother Feng! Brother Feng!"
Her voice was loud enough to carry outside the KV Room. I felt helpless; did I really look like a bad person?
"We are..."
Before I could finish my sentence, several people wearing short sleeves entered the room. One chubby man pushed the door open and asked, "What's going on?"
Xu Man replied, "These two seem like they're here to cause trouble."
I released Xu Man's hand and said slowly, "We're not here to cause trouble; we just want to understand the situation. We are police officers."
"Police?" The fat man laughed heartily. "It doesn't matter who you are; I see you as undercover agents. Let me tell you, this place is under my protection. You won't find anything here, and don't even think about prying into what kind of person Brother Feng really is."
"Oh, there's a woman too," Brother Feng said. "Come on, brothers, strip these two of their clothes and check if they have any cameras hidden inside. Then give them a beating and throw them out. As for the woman, I'll handle her personally. You really chose the wrong path; hell has no door, yet you've walked right in."
I smiled helplessly; it seemed these people had dealt with reporters conducting undercover investigations before. They probably thought we were here to investigate prostitution.
Just as I was about to take out my police badge, I noticed several people had already entered the private room. Suddenly, the space felt a bit cramped, and it seemed that no matter what we pulled out, these people were not afraid.
Brother Feng said, "Don't make a fuss. We know what kind of person our Boss is. You're still just police; why don't you leave? Besides, this is just a brawl. Even if you're police, what can you do if we beat you up? At most, you'll be back on your feet in a month. If you don't hand over your camera, don't blame me for being rude. Who knows what you've captured?"
I shrugged and remained silent, returning to sit on the sofa.
Brother Feng was still aggressive and seemed unwilling to let us go.
He stepped closer to Zhao Mingkun and said, "I don't know what a girl like you is doing in this mess, so I'll check you first."
He pointed at me and added, "You better not move. If you do, I'll break your legs—understand?"
I waved my hand and replied, "I won't move at all..."
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