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Du Ziguo had also gone missing.
On New Year's Day, the police came knocking on our door, and as Boss put it, it was quite an unfortunate situation. However, despite our reluctance, we could not leave just yet. When we inquired about Du Ziguo, Boss at Shitong Auto Repair Shop informed us that Du had quit over a month and a half ago.
According to Boss, Du Ziguo was a very down-to-earth young man who had been doing well at Shitong Auto Repair Shop and was known for his hard work. But for some unknown reason, over a month ago, three young men had approached Du Ziguo. After that encounter, he decided to resign.
Boss, seeing that Du was a good kid, tried to persuade him to stay several times. However, Du Ziguo seemed determined to leave, and Boss felt there was little more he could say.
"Three young men?" Guan Zengbin said as he pulled out three stolen photos to show Boss.
Upon seeing the photos, Boss nodded seriously: "That's them."
"Do you know where they went?" I asked.
"I'm not sure," Boss replied.
Gu Chen started moving the car while saying, "A month and a half ago was when those three were released. Right after they got out, they went to stir things up with Du Ziguo. I think these guys are just waiting for the right moment to make trouble for Hao Ren's family. They're nothing but parasites in society; it's infuriating."
I lightly tapped my watch and said, "But if that's the case, I'm afraid Zhao Li and Wang An won't be spared from these three either. The question is, where did they go? Hao Ren is missing, Du Ziguo has disappeared—what about Zhao Li and Wang An? Could they have gone missing too?"
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
I spoke up again: "Let's find Wang An. Which school is he at? We should contact his homeroom teacher."
Fortunately, Mary had provided us with comprehensive information; everything regarding Wang An was there. After contacting the principal of the school, we were given a phone number—the number of Wang An's homeroom teacher, an elderly teacher in her fifties.
When we asked about Wang An, Teacher Zhao candidly replied that Wang An was currently at home. On the phone, Teacher Zhao informed us that about a month ago, Hao Ren had left her three thousand yuan to help take care of Wang An.
Teacher Zhao was quite puzzled and asked Hao Ren what he intended to do since there was only a month left until the New Year. Hao Ren did not answer but simply shook his head. Being ten years younger than Teacher Zhao, she regarded him as her younger brother and understood that it wasn't easy for him to take care of several children alone; in the end, she agreed to help.
It seemed that when Wang An was brought here a month ago, even if Hao Ren hadn’t said much, Wang An must have known some details about the situation.
As we drove into the area, we found that the street was "occupied" by a group of children.
A group of children was gathered, one of them holding a long firecracker, their pockets stuffed with opened firecrackers. They squeezed the firecrackers in their hands, lighting them and throwing them around, having the time of their lives. Among this group of children stood a young man who was quite conspicuous; he was joyfully throwing firecrackers just like the rest.
The young man wore overalls and a dark sweater. From the cuffs of his sweater, it was evident that he wasn't wearing anything underneath. In the dead of winter, he was only dressed in that sweater, but given his plump figure, he seemed unfazed by the cold. Judging by his expression and demeanor, it appeared that he might have some mental issues.
At that moment, a mischievous friend threw a firecracker at the young man, which went off with a loud "bang." Simultaneously, a hole was blown into his sweater as flames flickered past. It seemed like Columbus discovering a new world; the other children quickly followed suit.
They lit firecrackers and hurled them at the young man, the sounds of explosions filling the air.
This scene was infuriating to watch, and we immediately got out of the car to intervene.
The young man dodged left and right but couldn't escape all the firecrackers. In a panic, he spun around until he suddenly fell onto the ground, crying like a child.
One of the kids shouted, "The big fool is crying again! The big fool is crying again!"
This taunt only made him cry harder while the other children burst into laughter.
Just then, another child ran out from behind a building. He held a stick in his hand and shouted as he approached the young man, "You guys better not run! I’ll beat you if you do! Stand still!"
Seeing this child coming over, the others scattered in all directions, still mocking as they ran away: "Orphan! Big fool! There's an old hag at home! Orphan! Big fool! There's an old hag at home!"
As they rushed past our car and ran off into the distance, Gu Chen had initially planned to educate these kids. However, upon hearing their last remarks, he stood there in shock, unsure of what to say. Such words coming from children were particularly disheartening. This should have been an age of innocence and purity, yet their words were filled with malice.
We walked over to the young man while the boy who had run over dropped his stick and helped him up.
The boy patted the young man's head and spoke in a soothing tone as if comforting a child: "Those are just bad kids. I told you not to play with them. They always bully you; did you hear me?"
The young man rubbed his eyes upon hearing the boy's words and said with great grievance, "You never play with me. I don’t want to play alone. If you don’t play with me, I’ll find them instead. But they all call me a fool and keep bullying me. Am I really that foolish?"
The boy frowned seriously and replied, "Guo Feng, you are not a fool. You just haven't found your own path yet. You are not a fool; remember that."
"But they all think I'm a fool," Guo Feng still couldn't believe it.
The boy seemed a bit annoyed, but he patiently said, "Let's make a pinky promise. You're not a fool. How about I buy you some candy later?"
Hearing about the candy, Guo Feng was very happy and exclaimed, "Great! I want candy!"
With that, Guo Feng stood up and took the boy's hand to head outside.
I noticed that the boy had dark bruises on his face, as if he had been beaten by someone.
Guan Zengbin had already walked up to the two of them and asked Guo Feng and the boy, "You were really brave just now, little brother. What's your name?"
The boy didn't speak, but Guo Feng chimed in first, "This sister is so pretty."
"Thank you," Guan Zengbin replied gracefully.
However, the boy looked at Guan Zengbin and us behind her with a wary expression. Guan Zengbin realized that the child thought we didn't seem like good people, so she said, "Alright, sister is not a bad person. Do you know someone named Wang An?"
The boy furrowed his brows and replied, "What do you want with Wang An?"
Guan Zengbin naturally couldn't discuss the case with a child, so she said, "Sister has something to ask him. You two go play. If anyone bullies you again, just tell this brother here and let him help you."
With that, she pointed to Gu Chen.
I looked at the boy and asked, "Are you Wang An? I'm here to ask about your father."
"Wang An?" Guan Zengbin glanced at the boy.
I looked at Wang An and calmly said, "Someone who writes regularly will have calluses on their middle finger. It's not surprising for a student of your age to have such calluses due to heavy schoolwork. But if someone also has calluses on their thumb and they're only eight or nine years old, it clearly indicates that this person has been practicing martial arts. If you look at Gu Chen's thumb, you'll see that his calluses are even thicker than yours."
Wang An looked at me with evident surprise, seemingly unable to believe that I could deduce his identity just by looking at his hands.
"This has been built up over many years," I said, looking at Wang An. "It's hard to fake. Your father, Hao Ren, has been practicing martial arts for a long time and he would teach you as well, right? Don't worry, we are not bad people; we are the police."
"Uncle Police, Auntie Police!" Guo Feng clapped his hands.
Wang An nodded, his guard lowering against us.
I continued, "I called your teacher Zhao earlier. There are some things that might not be suitable to discuss with you, but for now, you're the only one we can reach. Do you know where your sister Zhao Li is?"
Wang An's expression turned a bit gloomy. He said, "I don't know. A month ago... how about this: Guo Feng is Teacher Zhao's son. Come with me; we can talk more clearly at home."
We nodded and followed Wang An.
As we walked, Wang An spoke to us, "My dad left me here for over a month. He said he would come to pick me up after the New Year. But now I haven't even received a phone call; no one answers when we call. I just tried calling yesterday, and it showed that the phone was off. Now that the police are here, something must have happened."
At this point, Wang An stopped and turned to look at us. Then he asked, "Uncle Police, what exactly happened to my dad?"
I sighed and looked at the serious Wang An. "About this matter, I want to ask you too. To be honest, after searching for your father, we also looked for your older brother Du Ziguo, but he is missing as well."
Wang An nodded and replied, "Before I was sent here, my brother had already disappeared. My dad has mentioned this several times; my sister Zhao Li and Fang Qi also don't know where they went. I feel like I've been abandoned again."
Looking at Wang An, I slowly said, "Your sister Fang Qi... she committed suicide..."
"My sister... committed suicide..."
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