Free Web NovelChapter 445: Chapter 445: Su He? Lin He!
Lin Xi and Pan Huiping were meeting for the first time.
After some small talk, they got into Pan Huiping’s car.
Once inside the car, Pan Huiping began discussing the main topic:
"I’ve already found the owner of the massage parlor where Gao Qinfang worked in Hai City and conducted a preliminary inquiry with her. She told me that when Gao Qinfang was following her, she seemed to have already had a child."
Chen Xiao was a bit surprised and asked, "Did Gao Qinfang say that herself?"
"It’s both yes and no. The shop owner told me that she originally figured it out herself. Whether a woman has had a child can usually be seen unless the physical changes are not obvious. Anyone with experience can tell."
"The shop owner said she saw it, but she never saw Gao Qinfang’s child, so she asked her about it. However, Gao Qinfang never responded directly, she just smiled it off."
"During Gao Qinfang’s time working in Hai City, no man came to look for her, and she was sure that Gao Qinfang had no boyfriend during that time."
"Besides, during festivals, unless Gao Qinfang was not in Hai City, she was always at the shop."
Listening to Pan Huiping’s words,
Chen Xiao immediately analyzed two pieces of information from her words.
First: It’s almost certain that Gao Qinfang had a child, and it’s quite reasonable because a woman’s body changes after having a child.
Second: While Gao Qinfang worked in Hai City and even in Jiang Province, she had no interactions with any men, no boyfriend, and her family was never seen.
The information from Pan Huiping isn’t a lot.
Even these pieces of information are pretty much the most that can be found in a short time.
Seeing Chen Xiao get silent, Pan Huiping went on while driving:
"Finding the man who made Gao Qinfang pregnant, the wealthy family you mentioned, seems hard to me. There are too few criteria to go on. Just the ’wealthy family’ alone is enough for us to search, but how wealthy is wealthy is another question!"
"Indeed, so the priority now is to pin down exactly what kind of wealthy family it is." Chen Xiao responded to Pan Huiping, but Lin Xi then said:
"If you talk about characteristics, isn’t it quite obvious?"
Chen Xiao looked up and immediately understood what Lin Xi meant, but there wasn’t much surprise in his eyes.
"Of course, there are characteristics — possibly the surname Lin, possibly a curse in the family. For instance, the family might be dwindling in number, or declining year by year. Alternatively, the family’s business might not decline, but the person in power may face significant issues through generations."
Chen Xiao listed all possible scenarios.
"Based on these characteristics, we might conduct some filtering. If this doesn’t work, we could inquire among some people in Hai City’s business circles."
While Pan Huiping said this, Lin Xi chimed in:
"Let’s regard this wealthy family as a very rich family for now. Regardless of other factors, let’s start by eliminating possibilities. Earlier, didn’t we recognize someone from one of the top families in Hai City?"
Having an estate in a place as valuable as Hai City.
Shen Shuming’s family may not be the very top, but they definitely aren’t weak!
Chen Xiao looked at his wife with delight and laughed, "I knew my wife’s response would be quick. I honestly didn’t connect this to Shen Shuming."
"Yes, we’re clearly the most familiar with Shen Shuming among the three of us, yet neither of us thought of him. If we have him help look into this, the chances of finding a result would greatly increase."
Pan Huiping sincerely commended them.
But as they spoke, both Pan Huiping and Lin Xi noticed the confused look that suddenly appeared on Chen Xiao’s previously smiling face.
"Running into someone at the airport is normal, but doesn’t this seem too coincidental?" Chen Xiao said, looking at Lin Xi.
Lin Xi frowned, "From his situation, it does look like he just came back from a trip. Whether he actually got a few shades darker as he claimed depends on how you see it."
"Dark he is, indeed, and he seems to be coming back from somewhere. But if I were to ask him directly, there’s an uneasy feeling in my heart."
"Then what do we do? Find someone else to ask? If that’s the case, I’ll have to turn to my superiors. After all, I’m just a captain in the criminal police, I can’t easily access those influential figures in Hai City’s business world, or possibly even official ones."
Pan Huiping voiced her predicament, and Chen Xiao, after giving it some thought, said:
"No, investigate Shen Shuming! Look into his close friends, relatives, including his mother’s side." Chen Xiao spoke, supplementing his speech:
"Also check if Shen Shuming has any marriage prospects. Try not to overlook any connections. While cross-checking, pay special attention to anyone with the surname Lin!"
Pan Huiping nodded:
"Checking others might be hard, but checking on Shen Shuming isn’t an issue. He had a very close friend who ended up in my hands, and he’s currently in custody. He might not know about other things, but if it concerns Shen Shuming’s family relations, it shouldn’t be a problem."
"Then let’s not delay, let’s head straight to the detention center."
Pan Huiping nodded in agreement, took out her phone, made a call, and arranged to pick up the person, then turned the car towards the detention center.
After driving for a little over ten minutes, Pan Huiping brought Chen Xiao and his wife to the detention center.
Pan Huiping went to handle the procedures, and was then led by a prison officer to meet the person she’d mentioned.
The person was barely in their twenties and had a buzz cut.
When he saw Pan Huiping, a look of fear appeared in his eyes.
"Cap... Captain Pan, my case has already been tried, and I’m serving my sentence now, so... why are you looking for me again?"
Pan Huiping said, "I’m here to ask you about someone. You were pretty close with Shen Shuming before, weren’t you?"
The young man looked up, "Of course, Young Master Shen is my best brother!"
Pan Huiping didn’t even flinch, asking, "That’s good; to your knowledge, does Shen Shuming’s family have any relative with the surname Lin?"
"How close of a relative? The closest, or distant relatives?"
Pan Huiping hesitated for a moment and said, "Any relative at all. Do you remember anyone with the surname Lin?"
The young man thought seriously and even counted on his fingers.
After about half a minute, he shook his head, "No, at least he never mentioned it, and I haven’t seen one. Of course, I only know the ones who are closely related by blood; I don’t know the distant relatives."
Pan Huiping nodded and looked at Chen Xiao.
Chen Xiao asked, "Does he currently have a marriage prospect? Or among the girls he’s close with, is there anyone with that surname?"
"No, I know everyone in the circle. However, since I came in... well, that I..."
The young man spoke, suddenly hesitated, then thought a bit and said:
"Wait, didn’t Su He used to have the surname Lin, but then she changed it to her mother’s surname!"
