The next day, Zhou Song went to work as usual in the company, and passed a boring and busy day in a daze. Qiao Qi's death only made noise in the company for two days. On the third day, most people had forgotten about her.
He couldn't spare the energy to pay attention to the truth about her death. Only Tian Xin chatted with him about Qiao Qi during the lunch break, wondering if the police had made any progress on the case. Tian Xin asked him if he knew the progress of the police investigation;
Zhou Song said that he was not a policeman, so how could he know the inside story.
Tian Xin smiled and said: "The criminal police officer named Han came to our unit last time. I think you seem to be quite familiar with him. I thought you would have access to internal police intelligence."
Zhou Song only gave a perfunctory smile: "Just a casual acquaintance."
Han Feilu really didn't contact him in the past two days. It seemed that there was no progress in the Qiao Qi case and the mask. He was able to live a peaceful life for two days. The next day was the weekend, and he caught up on his sleep at home and slept until noon.
When he got up, the breakfast prepared by Sister Cai was already cold. He took a shower first, and then ate a few bites of the cold breakfast. He was just thinking about where to go for fun, when Han Feilu's call came.
"Where is it?" Han Feilu asked.
Zhou Song glanced at the clear sky outside the window: "Sleep at home."
Han Feilu: "Come down, I'm downstairs." After saying that, he hung up the phone.
Zhou Song carried the coffee cup to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down. He saw a car parked downstairs more than ten floors away. He looked at the car, slowly drank the coffee in the cup, and then went back to the bedroom to change.
Put on clothes and go out.
He walked out of the unit building, walked straight to Han Feilu's SUV, opened the door and got into the passenger seat.
Han Feilu was talking on the phone. As soon as Zhou Song got in the car, he hung up the phone with a few perfunctory words and asked: "Have you eaten?"
Zhou Song: "No."
Han Feilu put a paper bag into his arms: "I knew you didn't eat it."
Zhou Song opened the bag and looked inside: "Bread again?"
Han Feilu started the car and drove out of the community gate: "Don't you just like this thing?"
Zhou Song pouted: "I also like abalone, sea cucumber, and lobster. Why don't you buy them for me every day?"
Han Feilu responded in a good-tempered manner: "Next time, next time, next time, I'll buy it for you."
Zhou Song naturally thought he was talking nonsense, picked out a bag of breakfast bags, and asked: "Is there any progress in the mask investigation?"
Han Feilu: "How do you know?"
Zhou Song took a bite of bread, turned to look out the window, and said lazily: "If you don't go to the Three Treasures Hall for any reason, there must be a reason for you to come to me."
Han Feilu smiled: "Then I'll ask you to watch a movie next time."
Zhou Song turned his head slightly to look at him, but said nothing.
Han Feilu said: "The DNA matching results are out, pointing to a short-lived ghost sixteen years ago."
Zhou Song: "Who?"
Han Feilu: "Xu Bing, failed in business sixteen years ago, left a suicide note and committed suicide by jumping into the sea. He was 30 years old."
Zhou Song: "What is the relationship between Shao Dongcheng and this Xu Bing?"
Han Feilu: "The two of them have no cross-social relationship. Theoretically, they are two strangers."
Zhou Song: "Has Xu Bing's body been recovered?"
Han Feilu: "The conditions were limited back then, so the police gave up after searching twice on the sea but couldn't find it."
Zhou Song asked doubtfully: "How come you can't find it?"
Han Feilu: "It may have something to do with the delay in reporting the crime by Xu Bing's wife."
Zhou Song: "What do you mean?"
Han Feilu: "According to data from that year, Xu Bing jumped into the sea on August 10th, and Xu Bing's wife went to the police station to report the crime on August 17th. There was a gap of a week, and the body could have floated to the Pacific Ocean."
Zhou Song: "Why did it take so long to report the crime?"
Han Feilu: "This is also my question. Only Xu Bing's wife knows the answer."
Zhou Song: "Shall we go find Xu Bing's wife now?"
Han Feilu: "Yes."
Xu Bing’s wife is named Yao Zichen. She is a slightly famous painter and lives in Jiuli Jinting Community. This community is very high-end and has strict management. Foreign vehicles need to be registered to enter. In order to save trouble, Han Feilu found her outside the community.
We found a place to park, and walked into the community with Zhou Song.
Inside the community, there are rows of tall willow trees on the shore of an artificial lake. The two of them were walking under the willow trees. Zhou Song looked around, looking a little nervous.
Han Feilu saw that his expression was wrong and asked, "What's wrong?"
Zhou Song was silent and then said, "My family lives here."
Han Feilu also looked around: "Why are you nervous that your family lives here?"
Before he finished speaking, Zhou Song suddenly grabbed his arm and ran a few steps, squatting beside the bush. Han Feilu was almost dragged down by him: "What are you doing?"
Zhou Song secretly hissed, telling him to be quiet.
Han Feilu raised his head and looked out, and saw a young man wearing a T-shirt and sweatpants walking on the other side of the bush. He was carrying a bag of vegetables in one hand and a mobile phone in the other hand. He was making a call. It was Wan he had seen many times.
Secretary to the general manager of Heng Group, Liang Xiao.
Liang Xie didn't notice them and quickly walked into a unit building in Block A.
Han Feilu stood up and brushed off a few leaves stuck in his neck: "Isn't that your secretary? Why are you hiding from him?"
Zhou Song felt that this place was not safe, so he dragged Han Feilu forward quickly: "He is very nagging. If he sees me coming here, he will definitely question me for a while."
He rushed forward without thinking, and before he had gone far, he was pulled by Han Feilu: "Stop, stop, stop, we are here."
They stopped in front of the public area gate of a unit building. Han Feilu made a call: "Hello, is this Yao Zichen? I am the police officer who contacted you just now. We are downstairs. Could you please open the door?
."
He hung up the phone and waited for a few seconds. The glass door opened to both sides. Zhou Song followed him in, walked through the lobby and entered the elevator. Han Feilu pressed the 11th floor. This is a building with one staircase and one apartment. The elevator door
As soon as it opened, there was an outer porch full of cabinets. The outer porch was followed by the entrance door. The door was ajar, and a tall golden retriever ran out from inside.
Seeing the menacing approach of the golden retriever, Zhou Song immediately hid behind Han Feilu. The golden retriever was very enthusiastic and jumped on Han Feilu, sticking out his tongue and wagging his tail. Han Feilu rubbed its head and said with a smile: "Hello
ah."
A woman in her fifties wearing an apron opened the entrance door and called the golden retriever: "Liangliang."
The golden retriever named Liangliang heard the call and went back to the house obediently.
The woman asked: "Are you the police?"
Han Feilu showed his ID and said, "Yes, I just contacted Yao Zichen. Is she at home?"
Woman: "Yes, please come in."
This is a large flat floor apartment of more than 200 square meters. The woman led them to the reception room. A woman with her hair tied up and wearing a dark green double-breasted cheongsam was sitting on the sofa reading a book. The woman said: "Madam, they are here."
The woman put the book back on the table, tightened the shawl on her shoulders and stood up, saying, "Hello, who is Officer Han who just spoke to me?"
Han Feilu said: "I am, are you Yao Zichen?"
Yao Zichen nodded and raised his hand to the sofa opposite: "Please sit down." Then he said to the nanny, "Sister Qin, pour tea for the guests."
Zhou Song sat next to Han Feilu and paid attention to the target he was meeting. Yao Zichen was in her forties and well-maintained. Her skin on her cheeks was smooth and fair, with only a few fine lines appearing at the corners of her eyes. Her hair was black and tied up in a bun.
Wearing a round bun, a jade hairpin, and a cheongsam with embroidered flowers, the whole person exudes an elegant and dignified ancient charm, and has the gentle and restrained beauty of an oriental woman.
Yao Zichen held a round fan, shook it slowly and said with a smile: "You guys came just in time. If you had called me later, I would not be in the city."
Han Feilu: "We disrupted your work plan?"
Yao Zichen: "Not really, it's because I don't live at home very often. I only come back once every weekend. I usually live in the studio in Changfeng Valley."
Changfeng Valley is a suburb of Yucheng with rich water systems and pleasant scenery. Now it is vigorously building B&Bs to develop tourism.
Han Feilu: "Why do you live so far away?"
Yao Zichen: "It's a bit far, but the air is good and it's quiet. Compared to the noisy urban area, it's a paradise."
Only then did Han Feilu remember that she was a painter by profession. It seems that artists have very high requirements for the environment and prefer quiet countryside to cities.
Sister Qin brought two cups of tea, and Yao Zichen invited them to use it. Han Feilu took a sip meaningfully, and then went straight to the point: "Ms. Yao, I think your time is valuable, so I won't beat around the bush.
This time I came here to learn about the suicide of your husband Xu Bing."
Yao Zichen's fan stopped, and the edge of the fan gently touched his chin. He looked at Han Feilu with a soft and calm expression and said, "It's so sudden. Can I ask why?"
Zhou Song kept looking at her. At this moment, he felt that the beauty in front of him had never aged; there was a kind of woman who never grew old. Yao Zichen was this kind of woman. Although she was old and fine lines appeared on her face, she
Her demeanor and spirit have not aged, she is still as smart and clever as a girl. Her beauty is in her bones, not in her skin.
Han Feilu did not directly answer her question, but asked: "Do you know Shao Dongcheng?"
Yao Zichen turned his wrist outwards and lowered his fan: "Who?"
Han Feilu: "Shao Dongcheng, he lives in the workers' family building of Dafeng Garment Factory in the old city. He used to be a garment factory worker."
Yao Zichen lowered his eyes and thought carefully for a moment: "I don't recognize this person, what's wrong with him?"
Han Feilu said half-disclosed: "Shao Dongcheng's identity is complicated. We found some things belonging to your husband Xu Bing in his house. We suspect that Xu Bing had contact with Shao Dongcheng before his death."
Yao Zichen said: "I don't know about this. Lao Xu was doing business and knew many people during his lifetime. I have never met most of his friends. But I don't understand, what does this have to do with Lao Xu's suicide?"
Han Feilu would not let her dominate the conversation, and quickly turned from passive to active: "I want to know why you didn't go to the police until a week after Xu Bing committed suicide."
Yao Zichen looked down sadly, his eyes sparse and sad: "This is his last wish."
Han Feilu: "What is your last wish?"
Yao Zichen didn't answer, got up and went to the bedroom. After a while, she brought back a palm-sized carved wooden box. She returned to the sofa and sat down, put the box on the coffee table, opened the lid, took out an envelope from it and handed it to her with both hands.
Han Feilu: "Please take a look."
The envelope was yellowed and old, and its texture became brittle. Han Feilu opened the envelope carefully and took out a letter that was also brittle and yellowed. The first line of the letter read: I love Zichen, and the words are as clear as the face.
This is a letter written by Xu Bing to Yao Zichen, and it is also Xu Bing's suicide note. In the letter, Xu Bing detailed the beginning and process of his love affair with Yao Zichen, and expressed his unswerving love for Yao Zichen until death. As his love grew stronger, he
With a sudden change of pen, he wrote about his failed investments, the loss of his family fortune, and his deteriorating body tortured by cancer. He believed that he had only a short time, and it was meaningless to continue living. It was a huge drag on Yao Zichen, so he
I decided to die gracefully and gracefully before the disease killed me.
After I go, don't look for me. I like the sea, so just let me go back to the sea. This is the last sentence in the suicide note. At the end of the sentence is a line of date: August 8, 2006, 4:12 at night.
Yao Zichen looked at the letter in Han Feilu's hand in fascination, as if he was evoked infinite sentimental memories: "In the winter of 2004, he was diagnosed with hemorrhagic cancer. He was treated for more than a year and the treatment got worse. He committed suicide twice in the hospital.
He came back, but I stopped him. In the summer of the next year, he suddenly said he wanted to go see the sea, so I found a small house in a southern fishing village and lived with him in the house by the sea. I could see the sea when I opened the window.
During those days, he was very happy, and I thought he would slowly get better, but one day before dawn, he drove his fishing boat out to sea and never came back."
Han Feilu put the letter back and asked, "Why didn't you call the police immediately to save people?"
Yao Zichen shook his head, with a sad expression: "He left at night, and I didn't find this letter until dawn. The neighbor dragged his fishing boat back, and he has been missing for five or six hours. He took my soul with him, too."
After disappearing, I always felt that he would come back, so I sat on the shore and waited for him, and waited and waited... On the seventh day, I thought he was unwilling to come back, so I went to the police and asked the police to take him away.
He found him. But the police searched for him for two days and couldn't find him. I knew he must not want to come back, so I gave up."
After hearing her story, Han Feilu and Zhou Song looked at each other, and both of them knew that this trip was in vain.
The door was suddenly pushed open, and a girl in sportswear walked in.
Sister Qin went over to pick up her schoolbag: "Mulan is back, is it hot outside?"
The girl handed her schoolbag to the nanny, stood still, and looked at her mother and two strange men in the living room. She looked about sixteen or seventeen years old, tall and slender, with snow-white skin and medium-length shoulder-length hair.
However, she wore a three-quarter bang, which was very unfashionable at the moment, and the hair on her forehead covered her left eye tightly. The exposed right eye was dark and bright, but her face had no expression, so her temperament looked very gloomy.
Yao Zichen said: "This is my daughter, her name is Mulan. Mulan, these two are police officers, please say hello."
Yao Mulan stood silently, her eyes drifting back and forth between her mother and the two policemen several times. Sister Qin brought the slippers and placed them at her feet. Then she stepped off the sneakers and put them on.
Slippers walked to his bedroom and waved to the golden retriever lying at Yao Zichen's feet.
The golden retriever immediately got up and ran into her room, and then she shouted and closed the door.
Yao Zichen smiled apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, my daughter was spoiled by me."
Han Feilu said: "It doesn't matter."
Yao Zichen: "You guys sit down for a while and I'll go see her."
Zhou Song saw her walking to Yao Mulan's door, opened the door and walked in, but quickly exited, stood outside the door and asked inside: "Where have you been? Did you go to the library? Who were you with? Look.
You are sweating all over. Go and take a shower. Don't let Liangliang get into your bed. You will be noisy and itchy at night. Your piano teacher said that you haven't gone to class for three weeks. What's going on? Forget it.
Yes, I won’t go if I don’t want to go. What do you want to eat later? I’ll take you to eat hot pot?”
Their mother-daughter relationship didn't seem to be very harmonious. Yao Zichen stood at the door and talked endlessly, but Yao Mulan didn't say a word. She seemed to be talking to an empty room.
The golden retriever Liangliang suddenly ran out of the room, holding a stuffed rabbit in his mouth, and ran towards the living room whirring.
Zhou Song heard the sound of people getting out of bed in a panic in the bedroom, and then Yao Mulan ran out and chased Liangliang, seemingly trying to get back the doll that Liangliang was biting.
Yao Mulan chased Liangliang and ran to the sofa, pulling the doll in Liangliang's mouth. She looked very anxious, but she still didn't speak and only made a low hum. Liangliang shook her head, and the doll fell to Zhou Song's feet.
At the side, Zhou Song bent down to pick up the doll, and saw Yao Mulan rushing to grab it.
Yao Mulan was kneeling on the floor, and he was sitting on the sofa. Yao Mulan grabbed the doll and raised her head. The hair covering the left side of her face slid back, revealing a palm-sized red birthmark from her left forehead to her lower eyelid; her face
She is very beautiful, but that red birthmark is like an ugly mud tire spliced onto her beautiful face.
Zhou Song was stunned when he first saw her birthmark.
Seeing Zhou Song's eyes, Yao Mulan's expression froze instantly. She snatched the doll with all her strength, lowered her head and quickly returned to the bedroom, closing the door again.
Zhou Song understood the reason why Yao Mulan was taciturn and silent. She was a beautiful young girl with congenital defects on her face. Not everyone could accept her imperfect self.
Yao Zichen apologized to Zhou Song for her daughter's rudeness, and then asked Sister Qin to clean the dirty floor. Sister Qin brought a mop over, and Han Feilu picked Zhou Song up with a look, and then said goodbye to Yao Zichen.
Yao Zichen felt guilty for his daughter's rudeness and insisted on sending them downstairs. After sending them outside the unit building, he shook hands with Han Feilu and said, "I'm really sorry, I didn't entertain you well today."
Han Feilu said: "It's okay. If you think about Shao Dongcheng, you can contact me at any time."
Yao Zichen: "Okay, I will ask my husband's friends during his lifetime. They should know more than me -"
As she spoke, she seemed to suddenly see something. Her eyes shifted and she looked up high, wondering: "What is that?"
Zhou Song turned back and followed her line of sight to the heights of the unit building opposite; there was a person lying on the terrace on the roof of the unit building. The floors of the one-staircase apartments were not high, only twenty-three floors.
If you look carefully, you can see a person lying on the roof of the building, a woman with long hair. She stretched her arms out as if she wanted to catch something, and her body fell out little by little.
Han Feilu reacted very quickly. In his desperation, he forgot whether the woman could hear him or not, so he shouted: "Don't move!" and then ran towards the unit building opposite.
Zhou Song stood there, looking up at the woman hanging on the edge of the roof, knowing very well that it was too late.
The woman fell from the roof for just a moment. She was like a swallow blown over by the wind, with its wings broken. She flew leisurely and briefly in the air, and then fell to the ground...