Free Web NovelChapter 142: Chapter 141: Are you talking about him? [3rd Update]_1
The voice of Chen Yuge came thoughtfully from the other end of the phone, as if recalling yesterday’s events.
"I remember now, the old lady kept mentioning a name, it sounded like a reduplication, Mengmeng or Mingming, she had a Rizhao accent so I didn’t hear it clearly.
The old lady repeated it seven or eight times behind the woman, ’Mingming (you) need to look after her, that child bought such flashy trousers, and even wears red lipstick, don’t you take it lightly, huh? Every night there is a young man who escorts her home, you pretend not to see it, right?’
That’s all I can recall, as for the woman’s injuries, she didn’t ask, but Wang Wenjing’s injuries are a bit strange; they don’t seem to be caused by an electric scooter. I feel more like they were caused by something like a stick."
"Hit by something? Like a hollow-out imprints from a beating?"
Chen Yuge across the line replied with a laugh:
"Yes, yes, yes, that’s the term. I always like reading detective novels, but couldn’t quite remember the term at the time. We usually call them hollowed contusions, with two parallel strips of bleeding, a pale area of bleeding in between, and a corresponding fracture on the bone. It’s hard for a car accident to cause such an injury."
"Thank you so much, Doctor Chen, and please say thanks to Mr. He for me too, sorry to trouble you."
After exchanging pleasantries, Zhou Ning hung up the phone, Xu Dayuan looked at Zhou Ning with confusion.
"Why didn’t you ask for details about the injuries?"
Zhou Ning smiled.
"They’re doctors, not computers, asking like that would be a bit much. Mr. Zeng and the others have gone; they’ll be able to get Wang Wenjing’s X-rays. It’s enough for them to produce a new report. Besides, I’ve seen Wang Wenjing’s X-rays; those kinds of injuries can’t be caused by a wheel collision."
"Are you saying, Wang Wenjing lied?"
Zhou Ning nodded.
"She lied about the cause of the injury, but she was severely beaten. We just don’t know the reason why. However, what the old lady said might be a clue; Wang Wenjing’s daughter is not an easy child to deal with."
Xu Dayuan hummed, patting Mr. Zhao on the shoulder.
"Change course, we’re not going back to the station, let’s head straight to School No. 102." fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
Without any complaint, Mr. Zhao complied, but Zhou Ning couldn’t accept this, having run around with Xu Dayuan all morning. They were just forensic doctors; this was like pressing them into labor.
"Xu Da, don’t do this. You go investigate; why drag us into it? I still want to go back and see the autopsy results from Mr. Pang. After all, these two cases are somewhat related."
"There’s no rush. The body isn’t going anywhere."
Without further ado, he dialed Mr. Zeng’s number, instructing him to produce another set of X-rays for Wang Wenjing. Of course, the security footage from the door would also be needed, especially the part with the black Santana. He wanted the footage to be sent directly to Mr. Qu at the lab.
Silently, they arrived at School No. 102 by 11:02. Upon exiting the car and explaining their purpose, a vice principal was called out. Xu Dayuan shook hands with him and said.
"We’re just here to do some investigation; we don’t want to disrupt the students’ normal learning. Could you help us find Wang Mengmeng’s homeroom teacher from Senior Year Two? We just want to understand the situation; don’t worry, you may stay and listen."
The vice principal was quite cooperative, and soon after a phone call, the homeroom teacher arrived and ushered Xu Dayuan and his colleagues into a room behind the guardhouse. Xu Dayuan got straight to the point:
"Teacher, is Wang Mengmeng involved in a romantic relationship?"
The teacher was startled, such a direct question was unexpected, but having confirmed Xu Dayuan’s credentials as a criminal police officer, the teacher quickly replied, glancing at the vice principal:
"Well, since the second semester of Senior Year Two started, this child has been a little different. Her grades, which used to be in the top one hundred of her year, have fallen below six hundred. I’ve spoken to her parents, but there’s been no improvement, only resistance. Although she wears the school uniform, she secretly wears makeup, but as to whom she’s dating, I don’t know that."
Xu Dayuan nodded, appreciating the teacher’s diligence.
"In the last two days, has she shown any anomalies, such as asking for leave, being late, leaving early, sleeping in class, or carrying a mobile phone etc.?"
"Nothing unusual in the last two days. No tardiness in the morning, but yesterday at the start of morning reading, she began to vomit and suffered stomach pain. She went to the school infirmary, but there’s been no other issues."
Zhou Ning paused; he remembered that Wang Wenjing had said her child was sent to school at 6:10 AM. During this time, the child had left the classroom, which immediately alerted him. He nudged Xu Dayuan from behind and passed him the pre-typed text on his phone.
After a glance, Xu Dayuan smiled at the teacher.
"Can we ask the teacher in the infirmary? Or does anyone know when Wang Mengmeng returned to the classroom? We’d rather not ask the child directly to avoid affecting her. Of course, the teacher can also call one or two class leaders to talk about it."
The teacher looked at the vice principal, who immediately made a phone call. The teacher went to the classroom, and soon after, the vice principal hung up first.
"The infirmary teacher said Wang Mengmeng had stomach pains due to her menstrual cycle. She gave her a painkiller and let Wang Mengmeng rest for a bit before she left," explained the vice principal.
"When did the infirmary teacher leave?"
"After giving the medicine, the teacher left, and Wang Mengmeng left shortly after."
Zhou Ning came over and interjected.
"Principal, there’s a student in the first year named Sun Yannian, who comes from another place to study. I am not sure if he is an auditing student or a regular one. Could you help us check his class attendance and arrival time at the school yesterday?"
This time the vice principal was very obliging, smiling as he directly called the first-year grade teacher. Xu Dayuan glanced at Zhou Ning, surprised because he too had been polite, but the vice principal hadn’t been so enthusiastic before. Could it be because Zhou Ning was good-looking?
Soon, a teacher returned the call, and the vice principal thoughtfully switched to speakerphone.
"Teacher Wang, I heard Sun Yannian is in your class. Is he an auditing student?"
"Yes, he joined mid-semester and has been barely keeping up with the courses."
"Oh, what time did he arrive yesterday morning? Do you remember if he asked for leave?"
At this point, the vice principal looked at Zhou Ning, who gave him a thumbs-up to affirm the accuracy of his questioning.
"He came in very early yesterday morning; I was just outside the classroom when I saw him messing around in the corridor with a mop. The glass between the classroom and the corridor was smashed. I told him to reflect on his actions in the corridor and to have his family come to fix it in the evening.
"However, during the last class in the morning, which was mine, I went to the classroom before the bell rang. He wasn’t there. Another student who was punished to stand outside told me Sun Yannian’s mom took him away because his father had died in a car accident. I didn’t inquire further. He hasn’t shown up today, and his family hasn’t called in for leave. I guess they forgot about it too. It’s understandable."
Seemingly recalling Xu Dayuan’s earlier question, the vice principal’s intelligence was instantly ’online’.
"Yesterday morning you had Sun Yannian stand outside the classroom. Who saw him standing there the whole time? When did he leave? Ask that other student who was punished to stand with him now. We need to check the surveillance; if it doesn’t match up, he will be disciplined—just say that."
The teacher didn’t hesitate and, without hanging up the phone, immediately called a student. After intimidating him with a few words, the child told the truth.
"As soon as the teacher left, he ran away. He asked me to cover for him and even gave me a hundred yuan."
After scolding the child, the teacher spoke to the vice principal:
"Yesterday morning, I arrived at the teaching research office at 6:10. At 6:40, our first-year level needed to collect money for test papers, so..."
The vice principal cut off his explanation and hung up the phone. Xu Dayuan smiled at the vice principal and nodded slightly.
"Thank you, Principal. We now have a pretty good understanding of the situation. Wait..."
Just then, the high school second-year Teacher Wang, who had been there earlier, arrived with a female student.
"This is the class president of Class 27, second year. She has some knowledge of the students’ personal matters. Don’t be afraid; just tell these three police officers what you told me," said Teacher Wang.
Xu Dayuan glanced over, feeling like they had no other option by this point.
The girl was quite tall and seemed mature. Her gaze was very clear. She nodded without any embarrassment and opened a small notebook, obviously used for discipline records.
"Wang Mengmeng has received quite a few love letters. This notebook records five boys she has dated, including people from our own class and grade, as well as from the third and first years. However, she has been getting close to a transfer student from the first year recently. I don’t know his name," she said.
All three officers paused and looked at each other. Zhou Ning immediately took out his phone and looked up the photos they had taken at Yu Meili’s place, flipping to the one of the desk and handing it to the female student.
"Take a look—is this the first-year transfer student you mentioned?"
The girl glanced at the photo and quickly nodded.
"That’s him!"
