Chapter 553: An Empty Hole Invites the Wind[1]

Chen Shi turned on Ah Zhen’s computer, and it automatically logged in to QQ. A lot of messages had appeared over the past few days after her death. First, Ah Qiang’s message said, "Death may not be the worst thing. Let those of us who are alive bear the burden you have left behind. I’m not the person of your ideals. I can only apologize for this. I hope that in your next life, you can find your ideal man."

Then it was Liu Qin’s message, “I’m a bastard. I should have noticed it that day. I blame myself for drinking. Sorry, sorry, sorry... Ten thousand sorrys! I wish for you to find true happiness in another world.”

There were some other friends and classmates leaving messages. It seemed that the news had spread quickly.

One person's message attracted Chen Shi's attention. The person's online name was "Silent Bamboo". He said, "Who killed you? Can you tell your brother through a dream? I must make them pay a painful price!"

Liu Qin said, "This is her brother, Ai Guowei."

"Is this man in Long'an?"

"He resides outside the city."

"Dongxue, write it down and investigate this person later."

Ah Zhen's signature had indeed been modified, because the signature had been synchronized, and one could see that the modification time was around 9:00 last night. Chen Shi said, "Ask a colleague from the information department to come over to check the last login location."

There were many things written in Ah Zhen's diary, but they were written in an overly delicate and reserved way. They couldn’t understand the situation based on the text alone. It seemed that the girl had been immersed in depression and troubles every day. Chen Shi thought that her mental state was unhealthy and that she should have perhaps gone to a psychiatrist. However, her brother had roughly sent her to an unregulated treatment facility at that time, which resulted in a fear of psychiatrists.

Liu Qin told Chen Shi to read posts from four years ago, when Ah Zhen was still in school. There was a diary entry that caught Chen Shi’s attention: "...Some gossip is spreading among the classmates. I clearly didn’t do anything, but even he is starting to suspect me. How can he doubt me like this? Am I that kind of girl in his eyes? I obviously even gave him my first time…”

Liu Qin said, "The rumors may have been spread by Sun Jun. I don't know the specific details."

Chen Shi asked, "You’re so close to Ah Zhen, so why don't you know about this?"

"Sun Jun wasn’t in the same department as us. I guess that Ah Qiang must have heard the rumors first, so he went to question her. We didn’t hear anything on our side at all.”

Chen Shi said, "Let's go and look for the other classmates."

Later, the colleague from the information department arrived and discovered that the last login location was actually their current location, which showed that the person and the deceased had a very close relationship.

Chen Shi asked the colleague to look at the computer log again and he concluded that the computer had not been turned on last night.

Glancing at the blinking demodulator next to the computer, Chen Shi said, "This person may have stood at the door, connected to the WIFI, and logged into Ah Zhen's QQ. This shows that they were very close to Ah Zhen and had been here before.”

Lin Dongxue said, "An introverted girl like Ah Zhen is unlikely to tell her others her password. It seems that her brother is the most likely suspect."

"I don't think that way. QQ is a very private thing. Will she let her elder brother know the password? But we’ll investigate it!"

When they were leaving, Chen Shi asked the colleague from the information department to go to the housing district to get the surveillance footage from last night. The other party said, "I belong to the information department!" Chen Shi said, "And I drive a taxi. Please!" The other party went helplessly.

At noon, the three of them had lunch together. Liu Qin treated them to the meal. Chen Shi asked, "Are you okay with not going to work?"

Liu Qin said, "With this happening, how can I go to work? I took annual leave. I’m really afraid of being killed. It’s still safest for me to follow you… In fact, I’m not afraid of death. It’s just that the process of death is very horrifying to think about!” He said as he shuddered.

Chen Shi said jokingly, "Have you ever thought about the possibility of a ghost haunting?"

"It's impossible, right? Although I'm not an atheist, I don't think that ghosts will kill people."

"Haha, if ghosts can avenge themselves, the police would have it too easy."

Lin Dongxue said, "Old Chen, are you an atheist?"

"I don’t count as one. Although I’m not religious, I think the universe is big and there are many unsolved mysteries in the world. There must be some unclear, unknown power!"

"As a police officer, I don't want this mysterious power to appear in a case."

"Haha, I wish that I experience such cases in my lifetime and challenge the impossible."

"What kind of solitary and defeat-seeking[2] psychology is this! Cases in the human realm are no longer challenging for you?"

Liu Qin suddenly asked, "Is this Officer Chen very good at solving cases?"

Chen Shi uncharacteristically replied without any humility, "Crime solving rate is 99%."

"Oh..." Liu Qin's expression suddenly looked a little intriguing.

In the afternoon, they went to visit a roommate of Ah Zhen. The roommate saw Liu Qin and was very cordial. The two of them made small talk with each other for a long time before getting to the topic. When talking about Ah Zhen, the roommate said, "I was very surprised when I heard the news. From my impression of her, Ah Zhen was an easy-going girl who loved to laugh. I really didn’t know that she would commit suicide for such a trivial matter as a love affair."

Liu Qin said, "You don't understand Ah Zhen. She was always like this in front of outsiders, posing as a gentle girl who was harmless to both humans and animals."

"What? We were together for four years, and I still count as an outsider?" The roommate was a little envious.

Chen Shi interrupted. "Let’s not talk about this. Do you know that there were rumors about her in the school?"

"Well... I have a friend from another department who said that Ah Zhen and a teacher were very close, and the two... had a relationship with each other."

"This was the rumor spread by Sun Jun?"

"I don’t know if Sun Jun was the one who started it, but it spread in the other department. As Ah Qiang was from the other department, I remember that one night, Ah Zhen and Ah Qiang argued over the phone for a long time, and that Ah Zhen cried for one whole night. However, she refused to tell us what had happened."

Liu Qin suddenly realized. "I understand now. At that time, Ah Zhen didn’t look too well and she was still taking medicine. Later, Sun Jun said at the banquet that Ah Qiang was someone who picked up someone’s discarded girlfriend. These matters were related!"

Chen Shi pondered, "In other words, when the rumors were spreading wildly, Ah Zhen had become pregnant, and Ah Qiang took her to get an abortion. Due to this rumor, Ah Qiang suspected that she might not have been impregnated by him, but by the teacher, so the two of them quarreled.”

The roommate covered her mouth in shock, "Ah Zhen couldn’t be that kind of person!"

"Public opinion is powerful enough to melt metal[3] and people in love are very sensitive. It was normal for Ah Qiang to suspect her, but it’s obvious that the boyfriend’s doubt had done great harm to Ah Zhen, and this gradually caused a crack in their relationship which had far-reaching consequences.”

After bidding farewell to the roommate, Lin Dongxue asked, "Would you like to find this teacher? He works in Long'an."

Liu Qin said, "The rumor can't be true! Sun Jun had a glib tongue."

Chen Shi said, "The murderer might not think that way. Call the teacher! See if you can arrange a time to meet."

Liu Qin got the teacher’s number from his network of friends and Lin Dongxue dialed it. After speaking over the phone, she looked a little worried. "It was the police at the local police station who had answered the phone. That teacher had been attacked!"

1. Rumors are not baseless claims.

2. 獨孤求敗 is a character in a Jin Yong novel, who was basically someone who found it boring that he was never defeated and sought challenge/defeat.

3. Rumors can cause great harm.