The two met several colleagues who had a good relationship with Lin Hui. One colleague said that Lin Hui had always been very motivated and never made any mistakes. After joining the company for a few years, she was promoted to deputy supervisor. Her husband worked in a neighboring city, Lieyang. His work and house were both over there, and it takes four hours to drive there from Long'an. So, Lin Hui rented a cheap apartment nearby and usually stayed there, only returning home on the weekends.

Chen Shi asked this colleague for Lin Hui's photo. He looked at the photo for a long time. Lin Dongxue asked, "Is that the woman from last night?"

Chen Shi picked up a mirror on the table, set it up, and put some distance between them. The two could only see each other from the rear-view mirror. He said, "Last night, I just saw her from the rear-view mirror. It was dark and she was wearing sunglasses. I could only see a woman with long hair."

"You mean it might not be the person herself?"

"I just wanted to say that uncertain things should be left in doubt for a while!"

Next, they met a second colleague. They talked about how Lin Hui recently quarreled with her husband. Once, she went to Lin Hui’s apartment as a guest. She and her husband quarreled over the phone for half an hour. The problem seemed to be about the house.

A colleague later asked about it and Lin Hui revealed that her husband seemed to have cheated on her. The two had plans to divorce.

Also, Lin Hui didn’t return home on her holidays recently, and the couple seemed to be in a state of separation.

The colleague finally said, "I’m only guessing regarding the separation and divorce. She didn't tell me about the specific situation."

Chen Shi asked, "When you saw her for the last time, what was her hairstyle like?"

"She usually wears her long hair in a ponytail!"

"Was it as long as this?" Chen Shi gestured around his shoulder.

"Yes."

Then, they met several other colleagues, but they didn’t provide any fresh clues. The two left the company, went to the apartment that Lin Hui rented, and asked for the key from the landlord to open the door.

The house was small, with only one bedroom and one bathroom. It was specifically rented to nearby office workers.

However, the house was clean and the garbage was completely discarded. Lin Dongxue said, "It seems that she was going to go out for some time when she left."

"Your observation skills are getting better and better." Chen Shi praised.

"However, there seems to be no sign of raising a dog." Lin Dongxue sniffed. "Houses with dogs usually don’t smell this good.”

"It's a bit painful to raise a medium-sized dog in this small place. Those colleagues didn't mention anything about her keeping a dog. The dog might have been raised at her other house.” Chen Shi pulled open the drawers one by one and inspected the house. It was so clean that he wasn’t sure if he could retrieve any DNA.

"Look at this!" Lin Dongxue opened a drawer with a pile of letter papers inside. A resignation report was drafted using pencil. The reason for her resignation was to go home and try for a baby. Lin Hui didn’t have a good relationship with her husband and she could earn over 10,000 a month. Would she quit her job so hastily like this and stay at home to raise children?”

"The reason for her resignation is definitely a guise. Did she get a lot of money recently and didn’t plan on working anymore?" Chen Shi speculated.

Before leaving, Chen Shi didn’t forget to take pictures of all the areas of Lin Hui's residence.

After going downstairs, the two discussed whether to go to Lieyang. A round trip would take 8 hours. Lin Dongxue proposed, "I want to use a simpler method. Let's call and ask about the situation."

Chen Shi shook his head. "If the husband is the suspect, this call would be tantamount to giving him a vaccination, giving him enough time to respond. Either we make the call, or we’ll have to go there and question in person.”

"But a return trip would mean we’d come back at night. If something happens during this time..."

"There are some things we just have to do. If we continue to hesitate, we should go by train. We’d be there in two hours."

"Okay! I'll book the tickets."

On the way to the train station, Lin Dongxue giggled with joy. Chen Shi asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"I was thinking about what kind of relationship a husband and wife has. It’s obviously the combination of love, but the cells of society mean that as long as something goes wrong, the first person to be suspected is always the spouse."

"Actually, I already discussed this with Old Peng. Monogamy may not be a good thing."

"What is good? Polygamy?"

"No, because there’s no better system than monogamy, that’s why this system is popularized. The so-called cell of society, I think, is an individual thing rather than a family. That’s why Old Peng planned to be single."

"Listening to your tone talking about Captain Peng, it seems that you’ve known each other for a long time."

"It’s like we’ve known each other for a long time ever since we met."

"Tch, how sour[1]!"

On the train, Lin Dongxue sent a text message to inform Lin Qiupu of their actions. Lin Qiupu told them to be careful on the road, and to go to the local police if they needed assistance.

At noon, the two arrived in Lieyang and looked at the architecture in the foreign land. Lin Dongxue said, "This is the first time I’ve gone outside the city ever since becoming an officer, and it’s a business trip.”[2]

"Let's go and travel when we’re free!"

"Free? There are cases every day, when can I be free?"

"Then, wait for retirement!" Chen Shi laughed.

The train back was at 6:00 in the evening, so they weren’t tight for time. Chen Shi found a Hunan restaurant with a good reputation according to public comments. After eating, they found Lin Hui's husband, Li Xiang's, house.

Before meeting, Chen Shi urged, "You ask while I observe. Don't mention the money. If he takes the initiative to mention it, then something’s wrong.”

Li Xiang was an IT man. When he went downstairs to see the two, Lin Dongxue saw his black t-shirt with the words "Sony Dafa[3] is good" and was confused.

Li Xiang was shocked to learn that his wife was missing, but Chen Shi felt that his reaction was slightly exaggerated.

"Did you find her yet?! Has the case been filed?"

"It's because we couldn’t find her that we visited you."

"No..." Li Xiang pointed at himself. "Are you suspecting me?"

"You are her husband. Of course we’ll come to understand the situation."

"Oh, then ask away!"

"Your family owns a husky, right?"

"Yes, its name is Haha."

"Is it this one?" Lin Dongxue showed him the picture.

"Yes, is Haha with you?"

"In the Public Security Bureau. When was the last time you saw your wife?"

"The night before. She came back and took the dog away. We... quarreled."

"Why?"

"I really want to say that this has nothing to do with the case, but if I don’t make it clear, you guys probably wouldn’t let it go. That is, she thinks that I don’t do anything all day and earn less money than she does. I suspect that she’s having an affair outside because she hasn’t been back recently. I’m not afraid of you guys laughing if I told you - We haven’t had couples’ time in over a month.”

"Do you have any evidence that she had an affair?"

"It’s just a feeling. She’s been very cold to me recently. I went to her place once and she was still working. Then, a lawyer came over to find her and left when he found that she wasn’t at home. I saw the lawyer's car saying xx office. I found out that it was a place that handled divorce proceedings, so I suspected that she had an affair. Otherwise, she wouldn’t take the initiative to consult a lawyer to discuss countermeasures. This woman is very calculating."

1. She’s jealous.

2. I’m aware she’s mentioned that she’s been on a plane previously in the timed plane case, but this is what the author wrote, so I’m rolling with it.

3. It’s an unofficial slogan for Sony supporters.