Free Web NovelChapter 536: Chapter 506 Stop Babbling to Me_1
Xu Dayuan grabbed Mr. Qu, who was about to walk by, giving him a scare that almost made him drop the computer.
Xu Dayuan quickly caught the computer and gestured towards Mr. Qu.
"What’s up, boss?"
"Nothing’s up, get in the van and tell Zhou Xiaozhou what you just found out."
Mr. Qu made an acknowledging sound, quite obediently sat in the Iveco next to Zhou Ning, opened up his computer, and showed Zhou Ning the information.
After glancing at the content, Zhou Ning was slightly surprised.
Liu Sina, Mr. Liu’s full name, graduated from Yanshan University with a degree in Economics, was 26 years old. Her involvement with Huajin Group was primarily through Mr. Liu Tiesong, who she had referred to as Mr. Liu. He served as the general manager of the subsidiary Jin Hua Film and Television, which had produced shows like "Jing City Past Events"...
The following section was densely packed with shooting details, which Zhou Ning didn’t examine closely. According to this introduction of Liu Sina, it seemed she looked down on this Li Mubai because he got into the group through nepotism, his father having saved Mr. Fang’s life, and he was known for flirting everywhere. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Seeing Zhou Ning so focused, Mr. Zhao came over too, while Xu Dayuan turned his head and smiled at Zhou Ning.
"How is it? Complicated, right? I’ve asked Fang Mu to stay behind, work with the local police station, and do an internal investigation within the group. We need to see if Li Mubai really has been womanizing as Liu Sina described, and we also need to look into their relationship. Of course, most importantly, we need to keep an eye on Liu Sina. I always felt like she’s up to something."
This arrangement was quite meticulous. Mr. Zhao, rubbing his chin like a love expert, said thoughtfully,
"It can’t be a case of love turned to hate, right? A rejected confession, watching the man she likes chase after pretty girls and being indifferent to her? That kind of blow is devastating. But this has nothing to do with the case at hand now, does it?"
Xu Dayuan didn’t respond to Mr. Zhao and turned to Mr. Qu.
"On the 27th, as per the time frame he mentioned, is there really a call record on Li Mubai’s mobile phone?"
"Yes, I just confirmed it. That phone number does indeed belong to Liu Tiesong, but..."
"Keep going, what’s with the hesitation?"
Mr. Qu scratched his head and gave an awkward smile.
"I can’t quite articulate it, but it just feels odd for the boss of a film company and the driver of a group chairman to have seemingly no need to communicate or arrange anything work-related."
Zhou Ning nodded, continuing Mr. Qu’s train of thought.
"For a group ranked in the top three of Qindao, the divisions of labor among departments are very detailed, with not much overlap. According to what Li Mubai said, even if it were borrowing Mr. Fang’s private house for a party, Liu Tiesong could directly contact the assistants instead. Giving tasks to the chairman’s driver seems like reaching over the stove to make the bed—an unnecessary step."
Mr. Qu quickly agreed.
"That’s exactly what I mean. Even if the big boss is away on a trip, the driver should just stick to his driving duties. Li Mubai didn’t refuse or say anything, which suggests this wasn’t just a random occurrence."
Mr. Zhao, leaning over the seat, caught on to their conversation and gave Mr. Qu a pat on the head.
"You’ve got a sharp mind there, Mr. Qu. If Mr. Fang had left instructions before he left, then what Liu Tiesong did was fine. If not, then it’s quite a distasteful matter. But from your discussion, it seems Li Mubai can be ruled out as a suspect?"
Xu Dayuan and Zhou Ning shook their heads together. Xu Dayuan was in a good mood and imitated the interrogation process and what Li Mubai had said, startling Mr. Zhao.
"A living person who can make a call and just disappear like that, there’s no network for the surveillance, right?"
Mr. Qu nodded.
"It’s not an externally operating hotel, so the police station didn’t mandate networking. We can’t retrieve any check-in information and have to go there to see for ourselves."
At this moment, they clearly felt they were climbing a slope, and after the bump of a speed breaker, the driver Mr. Wang said,
"We’ve arrived. Are we following the lead car into the backyard too?"
"Let’s follow."
As the vehicle came to a stop, someone approached. Zhou Ning had seen clearly earlier that the leading police car took advantage of a gate moment when another vehicle was exiting; the boom barrier wasn’t lowered, and it drove straight through. Since it was a police car, it was assumed the other side didn’t dare to put up resistance, and the following vehicles also entered.
If one were to pass by outside, they would never imagine that the ordinary-looking yellow building facing the street hid such a wonder inside.
The courtyard was not small, with a little cherub peeing fountain sculpture in the center, reminiscent of the one in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. However, the surroundings were quite fancy, with the cherub standing on flowers and fierce animals, and it seemed the sculpture had been around for a while.
Beside the courtyard were many European-style statues, hidden among the trees, with stone paths winding from the main gate to the exterior L-shaped yellow building, extending finally to the front of the central Stone Building.
Called the Stone Building, at first glance, one could see big stone chunks only in the staircase and base parts. The rest of the Stone Building’s exterior, apart from the window openings, was enveloped in ivy, making it look like a green building. The exposed stones through the gaps showed very clear historical traces.
While the others were relatively calm, Peng Shinian was bubbling with excitement, just about to speak when Mr. Zhao grabbed his neck and whispered a warning,
"Poet, stop staring already. We will go in to check the scene in a moment. I know what you mean, these plants here are very similar to those in the video, aren’t they?"
Peng Shinian nodded vigorously and averted his gaze. By this time, some people were already gathering around. However, upon seeing Li Mubai standing with Liu Yufei, they all paused mid-step and quickly nodded in greeting.
"Mr. Li, good day. May I ask if you require accommodations or if you need a private dining room to be prepared?"
Li Mubai shook his head, his expression one of barely suppressed fury.
"I’ve brought the police over for a visit. Also, where is the surveillance room? We need to check the video as a guest has lost an item. And bring me the registration books for guests who have checked in and dined here, including which executive arranged everything. I want to know it all.
Don’t go, what’s the hurry? I haven’t finished giving instructions. Check who was on duty on April 27th, just here at Mr. Huang’s service desk. There was a short girl, very thin, with quite a number of pimples on her face and a Ludong Western Region accent."
The man who looked like a manager had a troubled look and shook his head while pointing to his earpiece,
"Mr. Li, how about I call out every staff member from the 24th so you can see if the person you spoke of is among them, okay?"
Li Mubai glanced at Xu Dayuan and, seeing him nod in agreement, spoke firmly,
"Let’s head to the main hall on the first floor of the Stone Building. You, take us to the surveillance room."
The manager hurriedly relayed the order through the walkie-talkie, and Mr. Qu and Zhang Ping had already approached him. He was very polite, leading the two towards a corner of Mr. Huang’s building.
Li Mubai led Xu Dayuan and the rest into the Stone Building. The first floor was spacious with many old photos on the wall. It was apparent that these were pictures of the villa from the past. A few famous actors taking photos in the courtyard were also displayed on the walls.
Before long, one after another, girls came in. Each wore a cheongsam, not revealing much flesh but oozing charm. They all had name tags: Bai Zhi, Dragon Hollyhock, Zisu, Linglan, Su Ye, Qiusang, Pei Lan, Qingdai.
Zhou Ning raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over these girls. Such appearances and figures seemed a bit too much for mere service staff. Why give them such poetically charged names of medicinal herbs and have such people as service staff? The implications were self-evident.
Liu Yufei stepped forward and looked around,
"Everyone stand in two lines and prepare your ID cards. We’re going to verify each one. Don’t tell me you didn’t bring it. Even if you’re working here without your original ID, have the person in charge here prepare copies of your IDs."
With that statement, everyone started chattering away, but after Liu Yufei cast a look around, the voices of discussion quickly died down.
Seeing that things had quieted down, Liu Yufei didn’t say anything else but glanced at Li Mubai beside her.
"You ask, okay?"
Li Mubai had already given the room a once-over, and the flurry on his face had already indicated that none of the many people standing there was the girl who had spoken to him that night. Zhou Ning looked around; could it be that there were also shift rotations here, and that person was on the night shift?
"Where is the person who went to get the shift schedule?"
Just as Li Mubai was asking, the manager from outside ran in, holding two folders. One was opened to reveal employee registration forms—each form was filled in by the employee, and an ID card copy was attached. The other folder contained the shift attendance information.
After a glance, prompted by Xu Dayuan, Li Mubai quickly asked,
"I need to know who was at the front desk of Mr. Huang’s building on April 27th, the girl who received me. And information about the guests she received these past days, why didn’t you bring that?"
Instead of the expected panic, the manager smiled cryptically, spreading his hands and saying,
"I don’t know who Mr. Li is referring to. Our personnel turnover here is extremely high. Forget a few days; it’s possible for someone to come today and not show up tomorrow. This place isn’t open to the public, and everyone knows what these girls are staying here for. Do I need to spell it out?
"Isn’t it because they value the Huajin Group brand and hope to be discovered by some director or film company and get a chance for publicity? For a better future, these unspoken things—do you really want to recite them to the police?"
Li Mubai seemed not to have recovered, being catered to respectfully every time he came here. This was the first time someone spoke to him like this. Li Mubai became irate, his eyes bulging.
"Cut the crap. I know whose man you are. The police are here, and you’re not cooperating. Isn’t that interesting?"
With that, he stepped back and stood next to Xu Dayuan, who watched the manager and extended his hand.
"Your ID card, and the check-in and dining records from April 27th to today. Bring them to me within five minutes. Also, find a waiter to unlock all upstairs rooms; we need to conduct an inspection.
"We are from the Criminal Investigation Division, not the Public Security Brigade. Do you understand what the Criminal Investigation Division does? Hindering a case investigation and being detained for a few days is not a big deal. I can satisfy your curiosity. Of course, if you don’t wish to comply, then don’t make me repeat myself."
The manager raised his hand and quickly instructed someone over the walkie-talkie. Soon after, someone brought over a notebook.
Meanwhile, Liu Yufei finished verifying and, holding a sign-in book, walked up to the manager and pointed at a name,
"What’s the real name of this ’Banxia’ and why, after clocking in on the morning of April 27th, is there no fingerprint information for clocking out or leaving the station that night?"
