Chapter 363: Informants in School[1]

Chen Shi got in the car and Lin Dongxue followed right after lamenting, "Such a good and well-taught girl was actually killed like this. How pitiful."

"In fact, decapitation is the least painful of all deaths."

"I wouldn't feel comforted even if you said that. Would you dare tell that to the family of the deceased?"

"I think the murderer has a low social status and may live near the deceased. They have complex feelings towards the deceased's family and should be around the same age as the girl. They cut off the head and hung it at the door of the deceased's house. Their actions indicate a strong sense of revenge. The object of their hate includes the father of the deceased, so we can probably get a lead out of talking with him.”

"Why do you say they’re of the same age?"

Chen Shi smiled. "I’ll tell you the reasoning for this analysis later."

In the evening, the two went to Li Mengran's house. Mr. Li sat silently on the sofa and there were a lot of tear-stained tissues thrown on the coffee table. Aunty Wu held a bowl of noodles and said, "Sir, take a bite or your body will break."

Mr. Li gave no response, as if his soul was lost.

Entering this home, Lin Dongxue felt that the atmosphere was very depressing and suffocating. Mr. Li suddenly jumped up and asked, "Did the murderer get caught? Did the murderer get caught yet?"

Chen Shi said, "We are still investigating. We are here to ask you about something."

Mr. Li was indignant. "Why are the police so useless? Wouldn’t you know just by viewing the surveillance footage in the area? Even if no one is caught, you should quickly control the exits in the city. Don’t let that scumbag run away! Have you found my daughter’s body yet? Was she... Let me have a look at her!"

Mr. Li was a little confused at present. Chen Shi pushed him back to the sofa and said, "Mr. Li, I assure you that we will keep investigating endlessly. However, this also requires your cooperation."

Mr. Li punched his thighs and said, "Ranran is already dead. What's the use of catching the real murderer?! Officers, I won't ask for anything else. Just shoot that person when you catch him. No, let me shoot him with my own hands. I know this is in violation of the rules, but I can give you money. I beg you to fulfill this father's wishes... Everything is meaningless to me now. I just want to kill him and take revenge for Ranran!"

Mr. Li’s teeth made clattering noises as he ground them together with rage. Chen Shi followed the direction Mr. Li’s words were going and commented, "It seems you love Ranran very much."

"She is the pearl of my palm. The only meaning in my life. I worked hard because I hoped that she could live a good life. But now, everything is over! It's completely over!"

"I know this is a bit cruel to say, but I still ask you to accept the fact. Ranran wouldn’t want to see her father live so painfully. The police and the law will definitely give you and your family justice."

Listening to this, Mr. Li cried while covering his face. Chen Shi was a little relieved. The emotions he suppressed were released. They could finally question him properly.

After waiting for his crying to finish, Chen Shi asked, "I want to know about your interpersonal relationships."

"My relationships are very simple. First of all, Ranran’s biological mother..."

Mr. Li spoke about a few people briefly, and then Chen Shi asked again, "Can you please recall if you’ve ever financially helped a child around the same age as Ranran?"

"Why are you asking this?"

"I have my reasons."

"No." Mr. Li shook his head. "All my resources are used to invest into Ranran. My income isn’t high and my annual salary is only just over 400,000. How can I help other children?"

"If you think of anything, please contact me. This is my number." Chen Shi wrote down his contact details on a piece of paper.

"Okay, okay... By the way, I have a clue to provide. It was most likely this guy who did it!"

"Tell us!"

"Ranran has a little punk in her class. It's the kind of boy who doesn't study hard and just plays all day. He dated Ranran for a while. I inserted a few 'informants' in her class to supervise my daughter. They’re her classmates. I spent some money to bribe them so they could report to me regularly. Around March this year, I heard from an 'informant' that Ranran often left school talking and laughing with that little punk. I was so angry that I asked her what was going on that night. After getting her written guarantee, the matter was finally over. Of course, she didn’t hang around with that little idiot after that!"

"What written guarantee? Let us take a look!"

Mr. Li went to his study to open the safe, took out a guarantee. On it read: "I, Li Mengran, promise not to talk to Gao Xiang from now on. I will concentrate on my studies and be admitted to Peking University." There was a signature and inked fingerprint at the back.

Lin Dongxue was a little startled. Were there still such parents out there? Mr. Li seemed a little proud. "I wouldn’t say that my parenting is the best, but it’s one of the best among all parents. This kind of thing should be discovered early and killed off, otherwise endless troubles will occur!" He thought of the fact that Li Mengran was no longer there and became sad again. "But that bastard actually took my daughter..." As he said this, he was about to crumble up the written guarantee.

"Don't do it!" Chen Shi took the guarantee. He suddenly noticed that Aunty Wu’s expression was a little abnormal. "Do you have the contact details for this Gao Xiang person?"

"You can ask her class teacher to ask."

"You just said that you had ‘informants’ installed at the school. How much do you usually give to those students?”

"It's all people with family difficulties. I give them at least a thousand and as much as five thousand."

"Is there any way to contact them?"

Chen Shi was obviously quite interested in these "informants" as he recorded their names and contact information one by one.

Chen Shi looked at the noodles that had started disintegrating in the soup on the table and patted Mr. Li's shoulder. "Would you like to go out for a walk and have a meal? I have something to ask your nanny alone."

Mr. Li glanced at Aunty Wu and said, "Aunty Wu isn’t suspicious. Last night, we were together. Besides, she has been in our house for many years. She treats Ranran like her own child.”

"I'm not suspicious of her. I'm just questioning her as part of our standard procedure."

"Well then, I'll smoke a cigarette on the balcony."

After Mr. Li left, Chen Shi asked to go to Li Mengran's bedroom for a little look. Aunty Wu sighed and said, "Ranran usually studies and rests here. How can this happen to such a good girl…?" Then, her eyes became red.

Chen Shi asked, "Who has the key to this drawer?"

"There’s only one key which Ranran keeps to herself.”

"Ranran just took the entrance exam. Among the evidence collected, we have her stationery bag, exam admission ticket, pencils and the like. But I didn't see an ID card... Aunty Wu, are you hiding something?"

Staring at Chen Shi's sharp eyes, Aunty Wu was a little panicked and said, "Ranran came back last night!"

"What time?"

"About 10:00."

Lin Dongxue was startled. "So, you’re the last person to have seen the victim!"

1. The author wrote “eyeliner” instead of the word “informant”. These two words are made up of the same characters, but “eyeliner” has the two characters the other way around. In saying that, after translating the entire chapter, I’m pretty sure the author was trying to write “informant” unless this is a slang I don’t know about.