Free Web NovelChapter 1876: Chapter 1876: Lost Wilderness (33)
Ding-dong——
"Is this Liu Chuzheng’s home?"
The servant who opened the door was startled by the person outside and nodded after a moment: "Yes..."
"Is Liu Chuzheng in?"
"In... in the garden." The servant answered instinctively.
"Could you call her, please?"
The servant responded with an "Oh," and quickly went to find her employer.
The employer, upon hearing the inquiry, showed no reaction and instructed the servant to bring the guest to the garden.
On the vast lawn, a young boy sat on the ground, with a white pet resembling a rabbit by his side, which he was feeding.
A girl sat nearby on an oval swing chair, holding a book, but her eyes weren’t on the book—instead, they watched the boy.
From afar, it was a warm sight.
Chuzheng noticed someone coming in, glanced over, stood up to pat the boy’s head, kissed his forehead, and walked over with the book.
"Hello, Miss Liu, we are from the XX precinct." The visitors in uniform first showed their IDs to Chuzheng.
Chuzheng remained indifferent: "What do you need from me?"
"We’d like to ask about your roommate, Li Tian."
Chuzheng raised an eyebrow: "Let’s talk inside. Take good care of him."
The latter sentence was directed at the servant.
"Yes, Miss."
The two visitors glanced towards Xin Zhu: "And who is that gentleman?"
"Boyfriend."
"..."
-
"Miss Liu, do you remember the last time you contacted Li Tian?"
"Around July, I think."
"Do you recall the exact day?"
"It’s been so long, who can remember?"
"... Miss Liu, please try to think carefully."
Chuzheng took out her phone, directly found the call records, and showed them.
After taking notes, they asked: "After that, Li Tian hasn’t contacted you?"
"No." Chuzheng paused: "What happened to her?"
The two exchanged glances and said, "Li Tian’s family hasn’t been able to reach her, so they’ve reported her missing."
"Missing?"
"Yes, so please cooperate with our investigation, Miss Liu."
Chuzheng neither agreed nor disagreed.
"We asked other people in your dormitory earlier, and they mentioned that you have a good relationship with Li Tian. During the last time she contacted you, was there anything unusual, or did she say anything to you?"
Chuzheng recalled the events of that day.
It was the day before their departure. Li Tian asked her out to talk about Lan Chen, naturally.
They didn’t do much, just went shopping and watched a movie.
Perhaps because Lan Chen wanted to hide something, no one knew Chuzheng joined them on the outing.
This made things easier for Chuzheng.
After returning, Chuzheng threatened the King’s Account to delete anything related to her and Li Tian’s travel plans.
So, she felt entirely at ease now.
Chuzheng answered their questions without missing a beat. freewēbnoveℓ.com
"Lastly, where were you during that period, Miss Liu?"
"I went abroad to inherit a relative’s estate." Chuzheng said calmly: "Is there a problem?"
She saw them off to the door, watched the car leave, and expressionlessly closed the door.
-
In the car, the one responsible for taking notes found it strange: "She seemed to have a good relationship with Li Tian, so why didn’t she seem worried about Li Tian’s disappearance?"
"It is odd. Let’s put a focus on this."
Soon enough, they checked Chuzheng’s itinerary during that period.
Indeed, as she said, she went abroad to inherit a relative’s estate, temporarily ruling out suspicion.
"Li Tian and her boyfriend are adventure enthusiasts, always going out whenever there’s a holiday. Do you think they got trapped somewhere?"
"Keep investigating. This also involves a young master from the Lan family."
"If we find them, and they’ve just wandered off to some remote hill, my heart attack might just act up."
"Alright, alright, let’s get to work..."
-
Li Tian’s matter was causing quite a stir at school, and Chuzheng saw a lot about it in the groups she was in as the original owner.
Also missing were Xie Ningfeng and Lan Chen.
After some observation, Chuzheng confirmed that none of the three mentioned her coming along with them when she did.
They truly had no good intentions.
Even if Lan Chen hadn’t planned to kill the original owner, he must have intended to gain control over her and use her as leverage.
After returning, whatever the original owner said wouldn’t matter.
Now, they were facing the consequences of their actions.
Whether or not they could be found would depend on their luck.
In the following week, those two came to question her twice more. Though Chuzheng’s reaction seemed odd, her answers were always straightforward. Without any evidence tying her to the incident, they could only continue focusing on investigating Li Tian’s side.
Chuzheng only occasionally paid attention to the situation, not overly concerned.
Xin Zhu, holding a thermometer and a phone, came downstairs swiftly and sat beside Chuzheng.
Behind him, a doctor’s assistant was urgently speaking: "Mr. Xin, I just wanted to..."
Xin Zhu clung to Chuzheng’s arm, staring at the assistant with evident wariness and disgust on his face.
"What happened?"
"He touched me," Xin Zhu muttered with the thermometer in his mouth.
"Hmm?"
The assistant hastily explained, "No, Miss Liu... I just noticed Mr. Xin’s clothes were wet and wanted to help him change them."
Xin Zhu frowned and insisted, "He definitely touched me."
The doctor’s assistants, who were around him every day, Xin Zhu could tell the difference between accidental and intentional.
"Go get the surveillance footage," Chuzheng instructed the servant next to her.
Xin Zhu’s pupils slightly contracted, seemingly surprised that Chuzheng had surveillance installed in the room—it was his bedroom, after all...
The assistant’s face also changed subtly upon hearing Chuzheng’s words.
The servant quickly retrieved the footage.
The monitoring angle wasn’t great, but it was still discernible that the assistant’s actions appeared more intentional.
Chuzheng’s expression remained unchanged after viewing the footage. She took the thermometer from Xin Zhu’s mouth, checked it, handed it to the servant, and coaxed him, "Return to your room for now. I’ll handle this."
"..."
Xin Zhu hesitated but eventually trudged upstairs.
Xin Zhu didn’t know how Chuzheng handled it. When he was called down for dinner, the assistant was already gone.
Servants were changing the carpet in the living room; even the tables and sofas were being replaced.
"Why is it being changed?" Xin Zhu asked the servant perplexedly.
"The Miss said it felt oppressive and uncomfortable, so she wanted a different color," the servant replied respectfully, "Mr. Xin, do you not like this color? The Miss said if you don’t like it, she can switch it to one you prefer."
"N-no, I don’t dislike it."
Xin Zhu hurried to the dining room to find Chuzheng.
The doctor was bending over, standing, while the other assistant stood pale in a corner—the dining room atmosphere was off.
Instinctively perceiving danger, Xin Zhu stopped at the entrance.
"Let’s put an end to this matter here, no more talk."
The doctor wiped away cold sweat, repeatedly agreeing, before hastily leaving with the assistant.
