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墨書 Inktalez
"Where is my son?" Zhao Xiu's hand shifted from Captain Liu's arm to Old Shao's.
Old Shao gently patted Zhao Xiu's hand, noticing the cracks and calluses on her weathered hands. They were hands that had endured much hardship. The records indicated that this middle-aged couple worked as farmers.
"Come with me," Old Shao said, glancing at Wang Yedan.
Wang Yedan pulled out a tissue from her pocket and handed it to Zhao Xiu, encouraging her to wipe her tears.
"Thank you, young lady." Zhao Xiu took the pack of tissues but did not pull one out. She clutched the pack tightly and followed Old Shao forward.
"Wang Yedan, you don't need to go," Elder Shao said. "Captain Liu, take her to give her statement."
They exited the public security bureau's lobby and made their way to a secluded corner of the yard. Inside that building was where the body was temporarily stored. They walked down a long, dimly lit corridor, and at the end of it was the mortuary of Longcheng City Public Security Bureau. Xu Yiman pushed open the door to the mortuary, and with a sharp click, the cold fluorescent lights flickered on.
It was here that Xu Yiman had performed the autopsy.
On the cold iron table, beneath a white cloth lay the outline of a body. Xu Yiman slowly approached the table and glanced at Luben's parents. Zhao Xiu clung tightly to Old Shao's arm, causing him some discomfort. Meanwhile, Luben's father, Lu Wei, gritted his teeth and gripped the edge of the iron table with all his strength.
Xu Yiman lifted the white cloth, revealing a head with a sunken skull before everyone.
"This is your son, isn't it?" Yuan Jun asked.
No words were spoken; only sobs filled the air, but that was answer enough.
"My son! How did my son die?" Lu Wei's eyes were bloodshot, yet no tears fell. He gripped the bedside rail tightly, his voice strained like red-hot iron plunging into water, hissing as if his throat were being torn apart.
"Preliminary assessment suggests suicide," Old Shao said softly. "But we need to investigate further."
"It was suicide," Lu Wei suddenly declared. "But there must be a reason; he wouldn't have done it for no reason."
Old Shao looked at Luo Wei and said, "It takes at least three hours to get here from Shizhao Village, but we notified you and arrived in less than an hour. This means you are already in Dragon City. What exactly happened? Why are you in Dragon City?"
Luo Wei pulled an old Nokia phone from his pocket, scrolled through the messages, and handed it to Old Shao. "A few hours ago, Luben sent me a message. He told us to take care of ourselves because he was leaving first. At the time, we didn't understand what he meant, but we felt something was wrong. We quickly tried to call him; the call went through, but no one answered, so we rushed to Dragon City."
Zhao Xiu added, "On the way, we contacted my son's college classmates. They told us that my son went out with a female classmate in the afternoon and hasn't returned since. His roommate tried calling him, but he didn't answer. We were just about to call that girl."
Lu Wei said, "Just as we were about to reach out to her, you called saying my son was in trouble."
Zhao Xiu grabbed Old Shao's hand and said, "You need to find that girl immediately. My son went out with her in the afternoon and committed suicide that night; it must be her fault. My son lived for over twenty years without ever considering such a thing. How could he do this after going out with her? We must find her."
Old Shao patted Zhao Xiu's hand, trying to comfort her while deep in thought.
Zhao Xiu was right; Wang Yedan had proactively come to the police station and spoke about the incident. It was clear that Wang Yedan took this matter seriously and felt guilty. However, if Wang Yedan's account was true, then she bore no responsibility; Luben, as an adult, should have been able to control his actions. Wang Yedan's words were not the direct cause of his death.
Otherwise, if one were to delve deeper into this matter, most people would have uttered similar words at some point in their lives; thus, no one could escape blame.
However, given the current situation, investigating the reasons behind Luben's death would likely hinge on Wang Yedan's involvement. Even if it wasn't necessary now, it would soon become essential. After pondering for a moment, Old Shao said to the two middle-aged individuals, "Based on the current clues, it does appear that Luben committed suicide."
"Before your son took his own life, he was indeed with a girl—the one who just handed you a tissue—because your son was pursuing her. She rejected him and may have said some harsh words that could have affected his mood," Old Shao looked at Zhao Xiu.
Upon hearing Old Shao's words, Zhao Xiu became agitated: "It's that girl! She's the reason my son committed suicide! You need to capture her and punish her severely!"
Old Shao shook his head. "Your son, as an adult, should be responsible for his own actions. Moreover, they parted ways in the evening; your son committed suicide later that night—there were still about four hours between those events during which we need to investigate."
"What happened during those four hours is the direct cause of his death—not just a single comment from that girl."
Old Shao's statement was somewhat subtle; he did not mention the Criminal Consultant involved behind the scenes. However, he understood that during those four hours—when the task force members were investigating Li Erdan's body—this Criminal Consultant should have been with Luben at that time.
"Don't worry, even though your son committed suicide, we will definitely investigate the reasons behind it," Jiang He said from the side.
"No." Zhao Xiu immediately grabbed Old Shao and tried to pull him outside. "That woman must have caused my son's death. She seduced him; she deserves to die."
Old Shao remained unmoved, while Yuan Jun pulled Zhao Xiu away.
Jiang He asked, "Your reaction seems a bit excessive. If she were to commit suicide because of what you just said, should we execute you?"
Jiang He's words were cold and somewhat lacking in compassion, but it was precisely what he wanted to ask. Zhao Xiu's reaction was indeed a bit over the top.
Zhao Xiu spoke up, "My son rarely spent money; he was generally very frugal. But ever since he started liking a girl and wanted to pursue her, we gave him an extra three hundred yuan each month so he could buy her gifts. Nowadays, girls love gifts."
Zhao Xiu frowned and gritted her teeth. "But it's been over a year now, and with three hundred yuan each month, I don't know how much he's spent on that girl. Yet she still won't agree to be with him. My son has given her snacks and cosmetics; is this girl just playing hard to get?"
"Three hundred yuan a month for gifts—don't you think that's quite a lot?" Zhao Xiu said fiercely. "For a young lady, what can't she buy with three hundred? Clothes, cosmetics, snacks—my son has treated her well enough, yet she still won't agree and keeps dangling my son along. She's nothing but a b*tch!"
Hearing Zhao Xiu's words made Xu Yiman feel a headache coming on. Different people view situations through different lenses; it's not anyone's fault. However, forcing others to agree with one's perspective is where Zhao Xiu went wrong. For Wang Yedan, three hundred yuan might just be enough for a meal out, but for Zhao Xiu, it seemed like an astronomical figure.
"Auntie, you shouldn't think like that. If someone likes you, they do; if they don't, they don't. You can't force it," Xu Yiman said.
Zhao Xiu finally seemed to notice Xu Yiman. She replied, "Look at you; you're also a girl. Three hundred yuan isn't a small amount for students like us; where can we spend that much? And look at her—she's not even that pretty, her figure isn't great for having kids, yet she still looks down on my son."
Xu Yiman felt somewhat helpless and asked, "Your son is an only child, right?"
"Yes," Zhao Xiu said, tears still staining her face.
"Other people's daughters are also only children; their parents wouldn't treat them poorly either. The truth is, three hundred yuan really isn't much for her," Xu Yiman explained.
"A girl, morning and night, is just someone else's possession, just a commodity that costs money. Why spend so much? Can a girl carry on the family line? My family has houses in the village; what is she complaining about? My son's death was caused by her. No, I must seek justice from her!"
Old Shao knew that such conversations were pointless and could only say, "No matter what you want to do in the future, you can sue her if you wish; that's your business. For now, just sign the documents and go through the procedures, and then you can take your son's body."
At this point, Zhao Xiu looked at Luben's corpse and couldn't help but cry again.
Half an hour later, they had calmed down somewhat. Old Shao led Zhao Xiu outside.
As they reached the courtyard, they happened to see Wang Yedan coming out of another building.
Zhao Xiu spotted the girl who had just handed her a tissue; she still clutched the unopened pack of tissues in her hand. She rushed towards Wang Yedan, her plump body surprisingly agile. In just a few breaths, Zhao Xiu was at Wang Yedan's side.
She threw the tissue onto the ground and grabbed Wang Yedan's hair, pulling her closer. Wang Yedan was caught off guard and stumbled before finally falling to the ground.
Zhao Xiu straddled Wang Yedan, pinning her down firmly. As she yanked on Wang Yedan's hair, she shouted, "You shameless woman, give me back my son! You shameless woman, give me back my son!"
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