Chapter 113: Fang Po’s Request

Two days later, on Monday, Ren Xiaodong went to school with Tian Yun, while Liu Sheng sat in the living room on the third floor watching TV, which was broadcasting the morning news.

“The afternoon before yesterday, the renowned director Liu Haiyang, in a sacrifice for the sake of art, not only burned off all the hair on his body but also ran naked through the streets and alleys of Chong City. That very night, Director Liu announced his retirement from the entertainment industry and donated all his assets anonymously. Just like his naked run, perhaps he wanted to tell everyone that he is quitting the entertainment industry without leaving a single hair for himself. Truly a great artist of our time.”

Liu Sheng couldn’t bring himself to smile at all upon hearing this. Tang Xin had cast a heavy shadow over him. He constantly sought something to do to forget Tang Xin but didn’t know what to occupy himself with. The people he was waiting for didn’t come to find him, and Liu Sheng was even thinking of taking the initiative to reach out. Inwardly, he cursed Hu Ying countless times. “That unambitious Hu Ying—how could he possibly succeed? Liu Sheng’s the one who matters here!”

Suddenly, the phone rang.

Liu Sheng picked up the phone beside him and saw it was Fang Po calling. He thought, “Why is Fang Po calling? It must be trouble; otherwise, he wouldn’t be calling.”

“Hello, Officer Fang. Calling so early in the morning—are you inviting me to breakfast?” Liu Sheng teased.

“Liu Sheng, I’m dealing with a tricky case and want your help. Previous cases were cracked thanks to your tips. You have a knack for this. I’m short-handed right now, so come lend a hand. Since you’re studying psychology, consider it an internship.”

At that moment, the TV suddenly interrupted with breaking news.

“We interrupt for a news update: At six this morning, the remains of a woman were found in the ring canal of Chong City. Her hands and feet were bound, and a large stone was tied to her body to prevent it from surfacing. The remains were discovered by an elderly man fishing early in the morning. Now, here is the scene live.”

The screen switched to an elderly man who said, “I thought I’d caught a big fish, so I pulled hard, but it wouldn’t budge. Then I noticed the water was still, so I knew something was snagged. Worried about my new fishing rod, I jumped in. When I entered the water, I saw the remains and swallowed a lot of water out of fright. Luckily, I’m a good swimmer, or else…”

“Liu Sheng, are you still there?” Fang Po’s voice came from the phone; he couldn’t hear Liu Sheng’s reply and asked.

“I’m fine. Ring canal remains,” Liu Sheng replied.

“How do you know?”

“It just broke on the news.”

“Alright, come to my office at noon; we’ll discuss the strategy.”

After hanging up, Liu Sheng stared at the screen, memorizing the scene.

He smiled faintly—finally, something to occupy the unbearable hours.

At 12:30 p.m., at the police station, Liu Sheng ate a boxed lunch while listening to Fang Po’s briefing.

“The victim is female, aged between 15 and 18, cause of death drowning, time of death roughly three days ago. The body was in the water too long, and fish have eaten much of the flesh, so the face is unrecognizable. No identification found on the body, so identity is currently unknown.”

After Fang Po’s brief, Liu Sheng asked, “What about DNA testing? Can’t that confirm identity?”

“Still pending, but matching is underway. No leads so far. Liu Sheng, have you noticed anything?”

Liu Sheng put down his lunch and said, “No. Let’s confirm the identity first.”

Just then, a female officer rushed over carrying several A4 sheets. “The results are in. The victim is Yu Youyou, 16 years old, a senior at Chong City No. 1 High School.”

“Split up. Fang Po, go to Yu Youyou’s home for inquiries; I’ll go to the school,” Liu Sheng instructed.

The female officer looked at Liu Sheng, unfamiliar with him, and challenged, “Who are you? Team Leader Fang hasn’t spoken yet; why are you giving orders?”

“No matter. He’s the expert here, a psychology student at Chong City Normal University, whom I invited to assist,” Fang Po explained.

The female officer was still dissatisfied. “That’s not allowed. Outsiders need supervision, even if Team Leader Fang invited them.”

From her accent, Liu Sheng guessed she was also from the south. She was quite pretty and petite, but spoke sharply. Liu Sheng turned to Fang Po and said, “Team Leader Fang, I don’t care. I want her to supervise me, and he must follow my orders!”

Fang Po looked troubled. “Supervising you is fine, but having her obey you is inappropriate.”

“Then I’m leaving.” Liu Sheng said, deliberately moving to exit.

Knowing Liu Sheng’s talent, Fang Po quickly said, “Okay, I agree.”

“Team Leader Fang!” the female officer called.

Fang Po gave her a helpless glance. “Mu Jin, for the sake of the investigation, please bear with it. Liu Sheng’s a good guy and has money. Working with him means food, lodging, and travel won’t cost you anything.”

Mu Jin rolled her eyes, thought about it, and figured it wasn’t a bad deal. Her salary wasn’t high anyway, so she agreed.

At 2 p.m., Liu Sheng and Mu Jin arrived at Chong City No. 1 High School.

Knock, knock, knock—the door to the senior office was tapped.

“Come in,” a female teacher’s voice called.

Mu Jin entered, pulling out her ID, and began, “I’m from Chong City—”

Before she finished, Liu Sheng quickly stopped her and said, “She’s Youyou’s sister-in-law; I’m Youyou’s brother.”

He said this to avoid causing panic at the school.

Mu Jin shot Liu Sheng a murderous glare for taking advantage of her, and Liu Sheng shivered at her look.

Knowing there’d be a scolding later, Liu Sheng pressed on. “Youyou hasn’t come home for several days—this is the fourth day. The family is worried, so I came to ask if Youyou has been to school recently.”

One teacher said, “I’m Youyou’s homeroom teacher,” then added suspiciously, “I’ve never heard of a brother. I’ve been in contact with her parents these days and never heard of a brother.”

“That’s the situation. I’m Youyou’s sister-in-law, working in the north, and heard Youyou was missing, so I hurried back to check,” Liu Sheng lied again.

The teacher accepted this without much thought. “Youyou stopped attending classes Friday. I contacted her parents, hoping she’d come Monday. This morning, they called, saying she still hadn’t returned home.”

“Were there other classmates absent recently? Or close friends?” Liu Sheng asked quickly.

“Strangely, Liu Jing, Youyou’s closest friend, hasn’t attended school either. Her family called, saying she’s sick and bedridden,” the teacher said, marking papers.

“Did Youyou exhibit any problematic behavior?”

“No, she was an excellent student with no known misconduct.”

Liu Sheng didn’t linger. After getting Liu Jing’s address, he left the school. The teacher comforted them, saying children go through rebellious phases and might return soon.

On the way to Liu Jing’s home, Mu Jin sat in Liu Sheng’s car and asked, “Is this your car?”

“Yes,” Liu Sheng replied thoughtfully.

Mu Jin continued, “Do you know how a college student can be this rich?”

“Can you ask me something related to the case?” Liu Sheng, busy pondering Liu Jing’s possible involvement, sounded impatient.

Suddenly, Mu Jin punched Liu Sheng’s ribs, making the car shake with his pain.

“Are you trying to kill me? I’m driving!” Liu Sheng gritted his teeth, clutching the wheel.

Mu Jin shrugged. “I don’t even have a boyfriend, and since you said I’m your wife—”

Liu Sheng, amused, teased, “No wonder you’re so fiery—because you have no boyfriend. Want me to cool you down tonight?”

Thinking his hint was subtle, he was caught off guard when the car shook again.

“Damn! That really hurts! Okay, okay, let’s get serious. If you hit me again, Chong City will have another homicide!” Liu Sheng gasped, then continued, “Liu Jing is the prime suspect. After Youyou vanished, Liu Jing never returned to school. If Liu Jing isn’t the murderer, she must have seen or known something and is scared to go back.”

“How do you know Youyou was murdered?” Mu Jin asked, puzzled.

Liu Sheng rolled his eyes. “Do you have family mines or connections or what?”

“What do you mean?”

“How did someone with your IQ become a cop? I can understand someone wanting to die by drowning themselves with a stone tied to not let them float, but to bind their own hands behind their back? That’s incomprehensible!”

Liu Sheng thought, “No, Youyou definitely didn’t commit suicide. But there are no other wounds, which makes suicide seem plausible. But how could she bind her own hands? Did Liu Jing help Youyou kill herself? And why would Youyou need someone’s help to die?”

At that moment, Fang Po called.

“Liu Sheng, I’ve been to Youyou’s home. She has a younger brother. Since his birth, the parents have shown serious favoritism toward the boy, neglecting Youyou. Her father has a drinking problem and often beats Youyou when drunk.”

Liu Sheng fell silent, then thought, “Youyou, crushed by family troubles, sought help from her friend Liu Jing to die by suicide. But why would Liu Jing assist? And why would Youyou need someone else to help her kill herself?”

He said into the phone, “Team Leader Fang, I have a new lead. Here’s the address; come find me.”

Liu Sheng parked beneath Liu Jing’s building but waited outside until Fang Po arrived with an undercover officer. The four of them ascended to the sixth floor.

Knocking, a man opened the door—Liu Sheng assumed he was Liu Jing’s father. Fang Po showed his credentials and explained their purpose.

After waiting ten minutes in the living room, Liu Jing appeared, accompanied by her mother. She looked terrified and slowly moved to the center of the room with her mother’s support.

Before anyone spoke, Liu Jing said, “I didn’t mean it. It happened suddenly. I didn’t have time to tie the rope to pull Youyou up.”

Then Liu Jing showed a video on her phone to Fang Po. The four crowded around to watch.

The video, recorded by Liu Jing, showed Youyou bound in ropes on a bridge. A large stone was tied to the bridge railing, connected by a rope to Youyou.

“Mom, Dad, ever since the baby brother was born, you’ve ignored me. All the good food and drinks go to him, and you say he’s your child because he’s younger. What about me...”

At that moment, the stone suddenly fell off the other side, pulling Youyou into the river, and the video ended.

The four exchanged glances, realizing Liu Jing didn’t intend harm but couldn’t understand why they did this.

“Why?” Liu Sheng asked.

“Youyou didn’t have a phone, so she asked me to help film a video to scare her parents—to make them pay more attention to her. We planned to film this and then tie another rope to record her jumping, but the stone slipped unexpectedly.”

Having finished, Liu Jing began to cry, trembling as if terrified.

At that moment, Liu Jing’s father spoke, “Sorry. Liu Jing told us that night. We hid it for the sake of her future. She’s taking the college entrance exam next year. We didn’t expect you to come so soon.”