Free Web NovelChapter 279: Chapter 276 ’Running Away from Home’_1
"Sure, sure, come in and have a seat," he said.
Following Chen Zhonghe, the group entered an office and the others left. Xu Dayuan took out his police ID and said,
"We’re here today to ask Director Chen some questions. We heard that your third son, Chen Ningyu, was classmates with Xu Dan from Renjiazhuang Village. Do you know where he’s studying or working now?
We checked in the police service system and found that he hasn’t updated to the new version of the ID card, so we couldn’t find detailed information, that’s why we came to verify with you."
Chen Zhonghe gripped the armrest of the chair tightly and stared intently at Xu Dayuan’s face, saying excitedly,
"Officer, is there news about my third son? Have you found him? Or did he commit some kind of crime?"
This reaction from Chen Zhonghe caught Zhou Ning off guard.
It seemed that his guess was correct; this third son of the Chen family, Chen Ningyu, might well be the person who "ran away from home."
"Don’t be agitated; we just came to understand the situation. Sit down and tell us slowly about Chen Ningyu. Was he Xu Dan’s classmate? Has he really not contacted home all these years?"
Chen Zhonghe nodded his head.
"Chen Ningyu and Xu Dan were classmates; they even dated for a while in high school. We felt they were too young back then, and the family didn’t approve. I wasn’t too opposed to it, though. But after my son’s poor performance in the college entrance exam in 2002—nowhere as successful as Xu Dan—he was determined to retake the year. I couldn’t persuade him otherwise and arranged for a school, but at the end of August, he suddenly left. He left a note to Xu Dan, saying he couldn’t take the pressure and would return after making something of himself.
Occasionally over the years, he’d send a text message from Jiangzhe Province or Hudong Province just to let us know he was safe, but calling him would just result in the call being hung up or his phone being turned off. My other two sons went looking a few times but never found him, and in the past two years, there have been no more messages."
Zhang Sannian was the first to speak,
"When was the last time you saw Chen Ningyu?"
Chen Zhonghe stood up but didn’t rush to answer. He walked over to a desk, and with a key from his waist, opened a drawer and took out a notebook, handing it directly to Xu Dayuan.
"These are all times I’ve recorded. I was afraid I would forget because of my age, so I wrote everything in this notebook. On August 12th, 2002, he hadn’t come home by evening and we were very worried.
Around nine o’clock, Xu Dan arrived looking panic-stricken, saying Chen Ningyu had been over to her place that morning with a large bag, speaking a lot of sentimental words that sounded like a farewell. Then he left an envelope for her to deliver to my family the next day.
Feeling that something was off, Xu Dan opened the envelope and read it. It said he was extremely disappointed with himself and wanted to try his luck in the south. Fearing that if he retook the exams, he might do even worse than that year, he didn’t want to struggle anymore.
He also wrote that we should not look for him and that if he settled down, he would call, but if we went looking for him, he would kill himself, or he might become a monk, and we should think of him as if he had never been born.
When I saw that, I panicked. My wife passed out and was taken to the hospital where they found she had a brain hemorrhage. She died not long after. After dealing with my wife’s death, I and my two sons thought about looking for him, but I was so angry, I said as if we never had such a disobedient son.
However, during the Spring Festival, my eldest son received a text message from Chen Ningyu with a Jiangzhe Province number. It was a simple message saying he was managing alright in Jiangzhe, could make ends meet, and asked my eldest son to pass on his regards.
In the span of a year, we’d receive one or two messages like that. We had the police station check the number, but it was unregistered. My sons went searching a few times, never found him, and eventually, we let it go. Chen Ningyu also changed numbers a couple of times, but from 2010 until now, we haven’t received any messages, and those phone numbers are all out of service."
By the end, Chen Zhonghe looked utterly fatigued and helpless.
Xu Dayuan glanced at Zhou Ning, who nodded slightly. Leaning forward, Zhou Ning took out a rended composite image based on the sculpture and handed it to Chen Zhonghe.
"Director Chen, take a look at this image. Does this person look familiar to you?"
Chen Zhonghe took the phone and instantly his face displayed shock; he stood up shakily, took out his wallet, and from it, he pulled a photo that was clearly old and worn, as if it had been handled frequently. The face in the photo was almost identical to the reconstructed image Zhou Ning was holding, with only the hairstyle being different.
"This is Ningyu, but as he looked when he was eighteen. Could it be that he... Could it be that he’s done something wrong?"
Xu Dayuan patted Chen Zhonghe’s shoulder, signaling him to sit down.
"It’s not that Chen Ningyu did something wrong. We found skeletal remains, and the forensic doctor reconstructed the skull. However, due to severe damage to the skull, we can’t make matches in the system, and we haven’t found a match in the missing persons’ DNA either. We wanted to come to ask you for recognition. Your family hasn’t reported a missing person, right?"
Chen Zhonghe nodded dumbly; Xu Dayuan’s words were too much for him to grasp at once. Zhou Ning had already opened the investigation box and taken out a syringe.
"Director Chen, I’ll need to draw some blood from you for comparison to determine the identity of the deceased. Of course, if your son comes in to provide a sample too, the comparison will be quicker."
Chen Zhonghe took out his phone and dialed a number. He couldn’t explain clearly, so Zhou Ning took over the call and explained the situation. After waiting for about fifteen minutes, two men barged in, looking stunned to see so many police officers.
"What happened? Did you find the third brother?"
Zhang Sannian got up, took the man who appeared to be the eldest aside, and explained the situation. The man returned with reddened eyes and went straight to Zhou Ning, extending his arm.
Zhou Ning drew blood from the two men. Mr. Chen immediately asked:
"Officer, I want to ask, where were my younger brother’s skeletal remains found?"
Zhang Sannian looked toward Xu Dayuan, who slowly said:
"On February 28, Doctor Xu’s daughter-in-law filed a report in Renjiazhuang Village that she had found some bones in the attic of the old house. When we came to investigate an old open case, we took the opportunity to look into it. I want to ask you, did Chen Ningyu have a set of dark gray wool Jagar suits?"
The silent second elder brother of the Chen Family stepped forward and said:
"The suit belongs to me. We thought that the third brother had taken my clothes. It was the suit I had prepared for my wedding."
Mr. Chen looked towards Xu Dayuan, feeling that he was the leader, given his distinctively different shoulder insignia.
"Officer, I want to know, is the murderer a member of the Xu Family?"
"Young man, don’t rush. The case is under investigation. First, we must determine if the deceased is Chen Ningyu. This requires sending for testing at the city bureau, and we will know the results tomorrow. Give me your contact information, and we will need you to come in to make a statement later, but for now, what’s urgent is that you recall the details before and after Chen Ningyu’s disappearance."
Zhou Ning stood up and gestured to Xu Dayuan with the three test tubes in hand, indicating they needed to be sent for testing. Xu Dayuan nodded.
Zhou Ning quickly went out and handed the test tubes to Mr. Bai, solemnly saying:
"These must be delivered to Mrs. Cui as quickly as possible. You should personally take them. I don’t trust anyone else with this. Ask Mrs. Cui to compare the DNA with the deceased’s and email me the results as soon as possible."
Bai Ruixin packed the test tubes and hurriedly drove off. Zhou Ning glanced at the crowd outside the village committee building, a throng of people, many officers maintaining order. Yet, even as they urged everyone to leave, no one did.
Zhou Ning shook his head; it was the same everywhere, the curious onlookers were impossible to disperse. Turning back into the room, he saw that Xu Dayuan’s questioning was almost over.
"Let’s go over this again. See if there’s anything missing," said Xu Dayuan as Zhou Ning took photos of Director Chen’s notebook, making sure to capture all the timestamps.
"On August 12, Chen Ningyu went to the Xu Family early in the morning. When Chen Ningyu didn’t return in the evening, Xu Dan visited your home, bringing with you a handwritten letter from Chen Ningyu. Half a year later, Mr. Chen received a text from Chen Ningyu saying he was in Jiangzhe Province. After that, you occasionally received messages from him, and his phone number kept changing, is that correct?"
Chen Zhonghe and his two sons all nodded. Xu Dayuan reviewed the notes once more, then continued:
"And Chen Ningyu’s mother passed away three days after he left home. Now think back, after Chen Ningyu left, did you ever go through his personal belongings? Are any of Xu Dan’s mentioned backpack, or Chen Ningyu’s clothes missing?"
Chen Zhonghe shook his head.
"I usually don’t meddle with my child’s stuff, and I have no idea if any of his clothes are missing. However, there was a philosophy book clasped on his desk. He always wanted to study philosophy and become a teacher in that field."
Mr. Chen pondered for a moment, glanced at his second brother, then slowly said:
"Officer, to be honest, my second brother and I were most puzzled by this. Chen Ningyu just used a trolley case when staying at school, one that I had discarded. Besides that, he absolutely didn’t have any large backpack.
"As for things at home, and the money, there were no signs of them being touched. However, his identity card and wallet were not at home. As for a mobile phone, he didn’t have one, so my second brother and I have always suspected that something happened to Chen Ningyu.
"Yet, Xu Dan asserted so confidently and the note produced was indeed in Chen Ningyu’s handwriting, which convinced us of everything. Besides, the text messages kept coming and the tone was just like Chen Ningyu, always stubborn and obstinate, with a tendency to dwell on issues."
Zhou Ning interrupted Xu Dayuan, who was about to speak, and turned to Chen Zhonghe.
"Director Chen, do you still have the letter that Chen Ningyu left behind?" fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Chen Zhonghe smacked his thigh and quickly stood up, finding an archive bag in the back drawer. He then took out an envelope. Zhou Ning, seeing him about to touch it, quickly stopped his motion. He put on gloves and took the envelope from him.
It was a regular kraft paper envelope, with the edges flared out, slightly darkened in color, and a faint crease in the middle. It was apparent that Chen Zhonghe had preserved this envelope quite well, unlike a photograph often taken out for viewing.
After all, reading the farewell words from his son upon leaving home would only add to his sadness. Moreover, because of Chen Ningyu’s ’running away from home,’ and his mother’s death, he dared not look at this letter.
"You haven’t been opening this letter frequently, have you?"
Xu Dayuan understood Zhou Ning’s implication and quickly took over the questioning.
Chen Zhonghe nodded.
"After Xu Dan delivered the letter, the eldest and I read it. Then with my wife’s passing, the letter was stored in my desk drawer. Honestly, I blame the third for this. If not for this letter, my daughter-in-law would not have..."
At this point, Chen Zhonghe covered his face and began to cry. Zhou Ning rummaged through his bag, took out a bottle of quick-acting heart relief pills, and passed them to Mr. Chen. He nodded gratefully, promptly helping his father take them. Xu Dayuan and Zhang Sannian stood up.
"Wait for the news. We should know the results by tomorrow."
