Skin - Chapter 38

Chapter 38 : A New Possibility

　　No one spoke for a long while, and Lu Shichen asked again: “Do you want me to accompany you to that alley? We can have a meal nearby after that.”

　　”If you have time, that’s fine.” Meng Zhao replied. He wanted to go to that alley, but he hadn’t found the time to go there.

　　When Meng Zhao pulled up the address of the alley on the car navigation, Lu Shichen asked again: “How is Xu Yulin?”

　　”She has disappeared, but it happened ten years ago.”

　　”Two disappearances, ten years apart? Are these two cases related?”

　　”Yes, Xu Yulin’s boyfriend before her disappearance was the CEO of the company where Xu Yingying works as a broadcaster. His name is Wu Weihan.” Meng Zhao rolled down the car window to let in the wind. “I went to see him this afternoon. Of course, he wouldn’t admit anything. However, judging from his reaction, he can highly be a suspect… It’s impossible to get any information from him. We must find evidence that he is related to these two cases.”

　　”Wu Weihan? Wu Jiayi’s son?” Lu Shichen turned the steering wheel and turned the car right into the road. “It’s most likely that he is the mastermind behind the campus bullying incident from that year, right?”

　　Meng Zhao looked at him in surprise: “Do you know Wu Jiayi?”

　　Lu Shichen paused before saying, “He is one of the richest men in the city and a celebrity. As someone who works in finance, I have heard of him.”

　　”That’s right,” Meng Zhao nodded. “Wu Weihan’s father has money, power, and status. Apart from people like him, it’s hard for others to bully someone to death without having to take any responsibility after that.”

　　Lu Shichen asked again: “Is Zhou Yan’s case also related to him?”

　　”It’s hard to say… Zhou Yan’s case is very strange. If Wu Weihan was the mastermind behind all the bullying judging from his reaction today, he definitely wouldn’t want this matter to resurface and be brought up again for the public to see. Could it be that Zhou Yan had some evidence to overturn Zhao Tong’s case, and Wu Weihan wanted to kill him in an attempt to destroy the evidence after learning about it?”

　　Meng Zhao fell into deep thought: “Could this evidence be related to the painted wall? But what kind of substantial evidence can be found on a wall…?”

　　”Damn, my head hurts.” Meng Zhao said, and then he put his fingers into his hair and scratched his scalp.

　　The investigation had reached to a point that even a possible suspect had been identified, but he didn’t expect that the case would still be so difficult to solve. Meng Zhao raised his head and pressed his temples.

　　”Let’s take it one step at a time. Let’s first investigate the current case.” Lu Shichen suggested, glancing at Meng Zhao.

　　After the scratching just now, Meng Zhao’s hair became a little messy, and a few hairs on the top of his head stood up out of place.

　　The traffic light turned red, Lu Shichen stopped the car, took his right hand off the steering wheel, paused in the air for half a second, then put it down to help Meng Zhao straighten the few strands of hair that were sticking out of place.

　　”Hey, hey, hey,” Meng Zhao immediately looked up at him, “Why are you touching me?”

　　”Your hair is a little messy.” Lu Shichen withdrew his hand and put it back on the steering wheel as if nothing had happened.

　　Meng Zhao glared at him for a while, but seeing that it was useless, he decided not to bother with him anymore. He raised his hand to stroke his hair a few times, then leaned back in his seat to continue thinking about the case.

　　Lu Shichen drove the car across the intersection, and after driving two hundred meters, he stopped at the entrance of an alley: “We’re here.”

　　Meng Zhao pushed open the door and got out of the car. After closing it, he saw that not far ahead, police officers from the nearby police station were checking the nearby demolition area to see if there were any buried bodies there.

　　He observed the alley – the bluestone pavement was uneven, and the lane was about three meters wide, barely wide enough for traffic to pass.

　　”Captain Meng.” The police officer recognized Meng Zhao and trotted over to report the situation to him. “Most of our officers have been checking the area the whole day. We also checked the nearby demolition area, but we didn’t find any buried bodies…”

　　”I understand. Thank you for your hard work.” Meng Zhao said, and walked around in the alley to observe the surrounding situation.

　　The alley led to three forks in the road. Meng Zhao had checked the surveillance records of these three forks several times, but he hadn’t found a single trace of Xu Yingying.

　　Meng Zhao walked around and when he returned, he saw Lu Shichen also observing the surrounding situation. He walked up to the man and raised his chin towards the intersection not far ahead: “Xu Yingying came in from there. After she came in, the surveillance of this alley was broken, and the surveillance of the other three roads connected to this alley did not capture her leaving.”

　　Seeing that Lu Shichen seemed to be in deep thought, Meng Zhao asked, “What did you think of?”

　　”Can I see the surveillance footage?” Lu Shichen asked.

　　”It’s in the car. I’ll get it.” Meng Zhao said, walked a few steps towards his car, opened the door, and took out the tablet with the hard drive connected.

　　It was not against the law to reveal the surveillance content to Lu Shichen. Purely out of trust in Lu Shichen’s intelligence, he felt that Lu Shichen might be able to provide a new angle for the investigation.

　　Lu Shichen took the tablet and asked, “You just said that after Xu Yingying came out of the sanatorium, she walked directly to this alley?”

　　”Yes.”

　　Lu Shichen watched Xu Yingying walk out of the sanatorium: “From the sanatorium to this alley, one has to turn two corners in the middle, and the distance is not short, but she looks like she has a clear idea of it in her mind…”

　　Meng Zhao noticed that Lu Shichen’s eyebrows were furrowed, and he asked, “What did you think of?”

　　”What is Xu Yingying doing in the sanatorium?”

　　”I don’t know. The staff we spoke to said that one of the staff took her in. She must have come to observe the conditions of the nursing home. But it’s also very strange. I’ve been to Xu Yingying’s home. She obviously has a bad relationship with her family. It’s unlikely that she would be willing to let her family live in such an expensive nursing home…”

　　Lu Shichen finished watching the video of Xu Yingying entering and leaving the sanatorium, then adjusted the remaining videos to six times the speed. He quickly finished watching them, and then returned the tablet to Meng Zhao.

　　”How is it?” Meng Zhao asked, “Do you have any ideas?”

　　”Let’s eat first,” Lu Shichen said, “I’ll think about it for a while.”

　　It seemed that Lu Shichen didn’t have any ideas after watching the surveillance video. Meng Zhao thought that it was normal. Criminal investigation not only depends on talent, but also on experience. No matter how high Lu Shichen’s IQ is, it would be difficult for him to find a breakthrough without prior experience.

　　The two found a Cantonese restaurant nearby and went in.

　　Meng Zhao had no appetite. Although, earlier he had not had time to eat lunch, his mind was still full of mysteries surrounding Xu Yingying’s disappearance, and he was in no mood to eat.

　　Lu Shichen, on the other hand, seemed to have a good appetite and ordered almost everything on the menu.

　　”Let’s eat first,” Lu Shichen said, “If you keep diving into the case, you might get trapped. Stop for a while and think about it. Maybe you’ll find another angle to look at it from.”

　　”You sound like you are very experienced.” Hearing his words, Meng Zhao laughed.

　　”It’s just like solving a puzzle.” Lu Shichen looked at him and spoke meaningfully, “If a puzzle can never be solved, it may be because the original method was wrong.”

　　Hearing the hidden meaning in Lu Shichen’s words, Meng Zhao asked: “What do you mean? Have you come up with another solution to this case? Tell me about it.”

　　”Let’s talk after we finish eating.” Lu Shichen pushed the shrimp dumplings brought by the waiter towards Meng Zhao who was sitting in front of him.

　　Meng Zhao had no choice but to pick up his chopsticks and pick up a shrimp dumpling.

　　The shrimp dumpling was well made, with chewy dough and a whole, fresh shrimp inside. After swallowing it, Meng Zhao felt his stomach regain consciousness. He began to feel hungry.

　　He was so hungry that he quickly cleaned up most of the food on the table.

　　Looking at Lu Shichen’s leisurely eating style, he felt like the man ate even Cantonese food like French cuisine.

　　Meng Zhao was full, and while waiting for Lu Shichen to begin his explanation, he, himself, did not stop thinking.

　　Lu Shichen was right. If one focuses on a case from a particular angle for a long time, one might end up in a dead end and go around in circles. But if one stops and thinks for a while, there may be other angles that one might not have previously thought of.

　　Thinking of this, Meng Zhao did not delve on the question of where Xu Yingying disappeared after she entered the alley. Instead, he focused on the situation before Xu Yingying entered the alley. Why did Xu Yingying go to that alley after getting out of the sanatorium? Where was she going after passing through that alley?

　　Seeing Meng Zhao frowning, Lu Shichen took a napkin and wiped the corners of his mouth, then asked, “Have you come up with a new possibility?”

　　”Xu Yingying once revealed during a live broadcast that she has a poor sense of direction and relies heavily on navigation when going out. The records of her taxi app usage also showed that she is a heavy user of taxi apps. As long as the distance exceeded 800 metres, she would definitely choose to take a taxi. But look at this…”

　　Meng Zhao took out his tablet and dragged the surveillance video directly to the alley where Xu Yingying went. He pointed out the part that puzzled him: “After Xu Yingying came out of the sanatorium, she neither used navigation nor asked for directions. Instead, she walked 1,500 metres with a clear sense of direction while wearing her high heels which were at least eight centimetres high. She almost sprained her ankle during the walk, but she still walked to that alley with surveillance. It doesn’t seem to be consistent with her habits…”

　　Meng Zhao felt that he could not explain Xu Yingying’s rather abnormal behaviour.

　　”Since the start, your focus has been on the alley. Why don’t you look ahead?” Lu Shichen looked at him. “What do you think are the factors that lead to changes in a person’s behaviour habits?”

　　”Either they have been deliberately correcting their behaviour for a long time, in which case their original behaviour will be partially retained; or they have suddenly encountered some major life changes, and the psychological pressure forces them to make changes unconsciously.”

　　Lu Shichen asked again: “How do you want to explain Xu Yingying’s behaviour?”

　　Meng Zhao pondered, “Xu Yingying’s change happened suddenly. There was no long-term correction. She hasn’t encountered any major changes recently… Her behaviour doesn’t fit into any category.”

　　Lu Shichen looked at him and said, “So, everything you see with your naked eyes must be true, are you still ignoring a possibility?”

　　Meng Zhao thought for a few seconds, then suddenly looked up at him: “It wasn’t Xu Yingying who walked out of the sanatorium?!”

　　”Well,” Lu Shichen said calmly, “If a person’s behaviour habits have changed a lot compared to before, is it possible that he or she has changed into a different person?”

　　”It’s possible…” Meng Zhao thought about the possibility of such a bold assumption. If the person coming out of the sanatorium was of a height similar to Xu Yingying, then if she changed into the outfit Xu Yingying wore while entering the sanatorium, then as long as she didn’t show her face to the camera, it would be very likely to look just like the real Xu Yingying!

　　Meng Zhao took the tablet and quickly reviewed the surveillance video again. Sure enough, on the road from the sanatorium to the alley, although there were no flaws in her walking posture, ‘Xu Yingying’ wore a mask after coming out of the sanatorium, kept her head down, and the camera did not capture her face at all.

　　Meng Zhao frowned: “Could it be that Xu Yingying encountered an accident inside the sanatorium?”

　　According to Lu Shichen’s speculation, the real Xu Yingying had been replaced in the sanatorium, and the Xu Yingying walking out of the sanatorium and disappearing in the alley were all traps set by the murderer to mislead their investigation. And, Meng Zhao ended up walking into his trap!

　　‘Damn… the criminal is really cunning. However, Lu Shichen’s thinking is really open-minded.’ Meng Zhao looked at him and said, “Have you had this guess since the beginning?”

　　Lu Shichen smiled, said nothing, and continued eating.

　　Meng Zhao continued his speculation, “I have asked someone to find out about the situation at that sanatorium. That day, if Xu Yingying was brought in by a staff member to see the conditions at the sanatorium, she must have been accompanied by a staff member the entire time, so it is unlikely that an accident would have occurred. If an accident had occurred… Was there something wrong with that staff member?”

　　”Maybe it’s not just the staff, there might be problems within the nursing home.” Lu Shichen stated, tapping his fingers slowly on the table twice.

　　Meng Zhao pondered for a few seconds. He had been focusing his attention on the alley where Xu Yingying was seen last. He had completely ignored the sanatorium. Now it seemed that there was indeed something fishy about the sanatorium.

　　”If Xu Yingying’s disappearance is related to Wu Weihan, could the sanatorium be the Wu family’s property…?” Meng Zhao said, took out his cell phone and called Cheng Yun.

　　”Help me check if Wu Weihan’s family owns Wen Yi Nursing Home. Also, check out all his assets. Not only his own, but also his father Wu Jiayi’s. Check everything related to him… Is Zhou Qiyang here? Let him answer the phone.”

　　A few seconds later, Zhou Qiyang’s voice came from the other end of the line: “Hello, Brother Zhao?”

　　”Hurry up and apply for a search warrant, and then bring a few people to Wen Yi Nursing Home.” Meng Zhao said, “Cooperate with me to search the entire sanatorium.”

　　”Is there something wrong with that sanatorium?” Zhou Qiyang asked in surprise, “Didn’t Xu Yingying come out of the sanatorium?”

　　”It’s just a guess. Let’s talk about it when we get here.”

　　Meng Zhao hung up the phone, and Lu Shichen on the other side was still eating slowly. Meng Zhao had no time to wait for him. If Xu Yingying’s disappearance was indeed related to the sanatorium, he had to search it immediately.

　　”I’m leaving now. Take your time eating,” Meng Zhao said to Lu Shichen after he stood up. “Go home straight after you finish eating. This meal is on me.”

　　After he finished speaking, he went to the front desk to settle the bill and then walked out of the restaurant quickly.

　　Seeing Meng Zhao walk out of the restaurant, cross the road, and walk straight towards the nursing home, Lu Shichen stopped eating. He picked up the teapot on the table, poured half a cup of tea into the cup in front of him, then took a sip of the tea, his face looking like he was in deep thought