When they got to the ice cream tea shop outside the school, Gao Xiang kept asking Lin Dongxue about which flavor of ice cream was delicious. Lin Dongxue said, “Please pick one out for yourself. I don't eat this stuff.”

“Is Sister afraid of getting fat? You are in great shape!” Gao Xiang said charmingly.

“Can we speak seriously?”

“Sure!” Gao Xiang deliberately sat up straighter. “You can ask now. I promise to let you know everything.”

“What's your relationship with Jiang Hui?”

“Classmates, friends, buddies!”

“More than that, right? Your class teacher reported that Jiang Hui once said in the office that she liked you.”

“She was deliberately annoying the teacher of the class. I really don’t know who coined the term 'early love'. The school doesn’t teach you how to fall in love. Is it better for people who have graduated to fall in love? This phrase is very cool, huh? Jiang Hui was the one who said it. She’s very talented. She often writes novels and scripts to earn money. She’ll invite us out to eat as well. I’m really just friends with her, but we can talk about anything. Let me tell you a secret… I actually like girls like Sister here!”

Lin Dongxue deliberately put on a poker face and asked indifferently, “Has Jiang Hui mentioned anything about her family?”

“Yeah! Her stepmother is a psycho. She often scolds her and says nasty stuff. Sometimes, she even hits Jiang Hui, but she never hits her in front of her grandparents. Jiang Hui hates her the most and wanted her to die. She even discussed with me how to kill someone.”

“Are you sure that wasn't for the novel?”

“Maybe... Jiang Hui also said this: Every time she wanted to kill her stepmother, she would write a novel. She feels more comfortable after earning money.”

“How much does she earn in a month?”

“One or two thousand. She used it to buy CDs and books. She really likes to read books, unlike me.”

“How did you two get to know each other?”

“I can’t tell you actually. We often talk together. On several occasions, she got angry with her stepmother at home and ran out to find me. I treated her to beer... There’s really nothing between us. Jiang Hui has someone she likes and I also have… several girlfriends. I feel more relaxed with her. It’s like I’m with my brothers.”

“What about her relationship with her brother?”

“Very good. I think they often talk with each other and sometimes they even leave school together. I even asked her whether she was doing German orthopedics[1].”

“What German ancient lessons[2]?”

“Oh, this is a slang term. You can find out the meaning by checking it online. Let me continue talking about Jiang Hui! Jiang Hui seems very cool, but deep down I know she’s sad and bitter at heart. When she was a child, her parents divorced, and her father had another child with the little three[3]. The family also blatantly favors the son. Let me tell you something so that you understand a bit more. One time, there was heavy rain and Jiang Hui stood at the classroom door without an umbrella. She watched the stepmother drive to pick up her brother from the school. She could only go home in the rain and she even caught a cold. “

“Where do you think Jiang Hui would go?”

“The police officers who came over the past two days have already asked me, and I told them a few places. Her mother’s place, her friend's house, or her aunt's house. I don't know if you’ve looked already or not.”

Lin Dongxue thought that these were probably places Jiang Hui's family would have already searched. She didn’t forget her mission and asked, “Let me ask you something. Do you think Jiang Hui would kill someone?”

“No!” Gao Xiang was very sure. “Even if she killed someone, she would be killing her stepmother... Sister, did she kill someone?”

“I'm just asking a hypothetical question. Was there anything unusual about her before she disappeared?”

“No, it was very normal. Ah, our class and the next class over had a basketball game that day. I was the main force that day. I called Jiang Hui to cheer me on but she didn’t come because she had something to do at home.”

“What else do you want to add?”

“Well... I seemed to see Jiang Hui steal something from a chemical laboratory that day. It was a small bottle. I asked her what it was and she said it was for murder!”

“When was it?”

“The day before the disappearance!” Gao Xiang suddenly covered his mouth. “She wouldn't really kill anyone, right? Is that illegal at this age?”

“She didn't kill anyone. Don't guess and talk nonsense!”

“Understood!” Gao Xiang saluted clumsily. “Sister, can I add you on WeChat?”

“If I’m looking for you, I'll come directly to the school. You just have to go to school over the next two days.”

“No, I want to be a police officer too. I want to find out more about it from you,” Gao Xiang said with a smile.

“Study hard to get a chance to go to the police academy.” Lin Dongxue stood up and left.

Lin Dongxue returned to the bureau. Lin Qiupu was waiting for her in the office. Lin Qiupu asked, “Did you find out anything?”

“Jiang Hui made an appointment with her brother before going missing. When she went somewhere after school, she might have had a syringe with a drug in her possession, but I don't think she had the motive for killing her brother. From all the evidence at hand, it seems like their relationship with each other isn’t bad.” Lin Dongxue took out the diary. “Also, Jiang Hui usually writes novels and publishes them in some magazines. I read this again on the way back. I feel like this is not a diary entry, but an unwritten draft of the unfinished novel. At that time, the abuse suffered from the stepmother mentioned inside seems to be true, but even then, she has no motive to kill her brother.”

“What about the motive for revenge towards the stepmother? The most cruel revenge for a mother is to make her lose her child. She killed her brother and then ran away. Is this possible?”

Lin Dongxue thought about it. “If we talk about my opinion, well, I don't think so.”

“But it's undeniable that this possibility exists. Okay, you can continue to follow this case!”

“What have the local police checked?”

“They couldn’t find anything. They’ve gone to all the possible places they could draw relevance to. Tomorrow, you can go to the police station to find out more about it yourself.”

At the same time, Chen Shi came to the office while the police were off duty, trying not to be seen by the people of the second team along the way. He knew that Peng Sijue was definitely still at work. Sure enough, Peng Sijue was sitting in the office and drinking coffee in front of the computer.

Chen Shi said, “Come out with me. Let me invite you to dinner. By the way…”

Peng Sijue said, “What's the main point that comes after?”

“I want to see the corpse you mentioned to Dongxue.”

“Oh? You’re interested?”

“A bit interested!”

Peng Sijue took Chen Shi to the morgue in the basement and opened a cabinet. The male body had been frozen with a layer of frost. Seeing the branding on the neck of the corpse, Chen Shi's pupils shrank a bit and he reached out his hand subconsciously.

Peng Sijue threw a pair of gloves at him and Chen Shi snapped out of his daze before he put them on. Then, he checked the branding on the neck.

This is real!

The police had never disclosed this detail to the public. Even if someone had seen it, it couldn’t have been imitated to this degree. Chen Shi... No, Song Lang had seen it many times and the pattern was almost imprinted in his mind.

Zhou Xiao is back!

“Chen Shi... Chen Shi...”

Peng Sijue's call brought his thoughts back to reality. Chen Shi looked up and smiled. “I heard that it’s a wanted serial killer. I want to see the case file.”

“The archives personnel are off for the day. Come tomorrow!”

“Okay! Oh, let me invite you to dinner.”

“Save it! So fake.”

“Give me a chance to be real gorilla[4] then.”

Peng Sijue looked at him with scorn. “T-Bone steak!”

1. It’s a term that describes incest. The story was about a brother and sister having incest. The father broke the brother’s leg, and then the brother went on a Chinese version of Google to see who can fix his leg. He relied on German orthopedics to fix his leg.

2. Orthopedics and ancient lessons has the same pinyin – “Guke” and it sounds the same, so Lin Dongxue misunderstood.

3. Mistress

4. It’s a pun that Chen Shi used because he used the last two characters of “fake” which sounds like “gorilla”.