investigative chronicle

Chapter 41
As expected, Ji Si'an passed the road test without any risk.Luo Li and Yuan Mu met to celebrate with her, and they chatted until very late before breaking up.

Luo Li walked home, but Yuan Mu waited for Ji Si'an at the same place.Ji Si'an guessed that Yuan Mu had something to say to her, so he invited her to stay at home.

Yuan Mu readily agreed, but Ji Si'an became more and more uneasy.She knows Yuan Mu too well, this guy must have something important to tell her.

She was apprehensive all the way and managed to get home. Before Yuan Mu could sit down, she couldn't wait to ask, "Is it about the case?"

Yuan Mu handed her the notebook as usual. "We interviewed several investigators and hotel staff who were involved in the case during this period, and reorganized the suspects. Three people related to the case disappeared."

"Disappeared? What do you mean? Was he killed?" Ji Si'an straightened his back.

"It's hard to say, they have cut off all contact with the City God, and they don't know where to go." Yuan Mu motioned her to read the notes first.

After many years, the hotel staff and the police who participated in the investigation of the case have vague memories of the case, but the key details are basically the same as those recorded in the files.

"One of the three people who disappeared was Chen Bin, a staff member of the hotel. On the night of the incident, he was in charge of the front desk of the hotel. According to the cleaning staff, he had been in room 506 that night, and he had talked with your mother before. So we have List him as a suspect," Yuan Mu said.

"But he said that he went to check after receiving a call from the front desk." Ji Si'an opened the note and pointed out the entry.

"The memory is really good. According to the record, he received a call from a man who claimed to be your mother's friend, saying that your mother was in a bad mood that night, so he asked him to check it out. And according to his colleagues, he went to room 506 for a few minutes He returned to the front desk and continued to work. His suspicion was quickly ruled out."

"Chen Bin's family is out of town. After the incident, he went back to his hometown and has lost news since then."

Ji Si'an nodded. She had seen all of these suspects and thought about them carefully. This Chen Bin was not one of her main suspects.

"Isn't it troublesome to find someone who has lost news?" Ji Si'an asked.

Yuan Mu took a sip of water. "Well. It's not easy. After he returned to his hometown, he went out to work again within a few months. He returned home a few years ago, but he didn't even go home in recent years."

"Then let's focus on other people first." Ji Si'an was decisive.

"The second suspect who disappeared was an itinerant thief named Wang Qiang. He went to the front desk of the hotel that night while the staff were not paying attention and stole some change and room cards. After he stole these things, he went to a nearby chess and card room to play cards until I left only the next morning." Yuan Mu continued to introduce.

The alibi of this Wang Qiang is very sufficient, and he is not the person Ji Si'an focuses on.

"The third person who disappeared was Zhao Wenbin, a college classmate of your mother. He called the front desk of the hotel to say that your mother was in a bad mood, and he was the one who asked to check the situation. He was not listed as a suspect by us, but he was on the case. Not long after he posted it, he left Chenghuang. Not only that, he also lost contact with all his classmates, and they didn't know his whereabouts."

When Yuan Mu said this, Ji Si'an understood what she meant.Among these people, this Zhao Wenbin was the most suspicious.

"It turns out that my mother also studied at Chenghuang University. Is this fate? Without knowing it, I went to the same university as her."

When Ji Si'an said these words, his eyes kept looking into the darkness outside, as if he was talking to himself, but also as if he was waiting for an answer.

Yuan Mu sat next to her.They are all wounded little beasts, and the wounds linger for a long time, like a hole that prevents them from being a complete self again.

The same experience connects them tightly, without polite language, without sympathy or pitiful comfort, they naturally understand each other.

The next day, they came to Chenghuang University together. The ancient red brick walls, shady old trees, and the century-old library exuded a strong historical atmosphere.They walked here as if they had entered the passage of reincarnation.

"This library has been closed to the public for a long time. There are still several ancient book rooms inside that are sealed and kept mysteriously." Ji Si'an introduced.

"Fortunately, the information we want to check is not in it, otherwise I would have to disguise myself as the principal and come here to check." Yuan Mu made a not-so-funny joke.

They came to the file room on the second floor along the somewhat old circular staircase. After Yuan Muliang revealed his identity, the aunt in charge readily agreed to their request.The door of the room where magazines and newspapers are stored has not been opened for a long time.Sunlight shines into the room through the dark glass, and countless dust dances happily on the scattered rays of light.

Ji Si'an sneezed several times with some discomfort, and when he turned around, the administrator had already left.It seemed she knew quite well what was going on inside.

Yuan Mu pinched his nose and turned on the light. The chandelier with complicated patterns was a blemish, and the dim yellow light only illuminated a limited area.

Series journals and classmate books were piled up at the corners of the bookshelves in a mess, and the thick dust almost completely covered up the handwriting on them.Ji Si'an hesitated and didn't come forward, Yuan Mu thought she was afraid of getting dirty, so she went forward and wiped off the surface dirt with a wet towel.

In fact, she is a little homely and timid. After staying here for four years, she didn't know that her mother was also a university student here.No wonder her father had a weird expression when she got the admission notice back then. He probably thought she did it on purpose.

"What's the matter?" Seeing that Ji Si'an was still behind, Yuan Mu couldn't help asking.

"It's nothing. It's just...it was okay when I didn't know it before, but now I know...it feels weird." Ji Si'an's eyes were slightly moist.

Yuan Mu understood this feeling.Walking on the road she used to walk, sitting in the seat she used to sit, imagining that she was doing the same thing many years ago..., the distance of interlaced time, she and her gradually overlap.

"Thinking about it this way, it seems that this school suddenly changed." Tears rolled down the corners of his eyes, but Ji Si'an quickly wiped them away.

They struggled for a long time among the decaying piles of paper, and finally found the classmate catalog and several school magazines.

"Mother is actually a cadre of the student union." Ji Si'an said softly while touching the somewhat yellowed photo.

At that time, my mother had long flowing hair, was white and moist, and had a smile on her face. She was a complete beauty.

"She's still a talented woman. This essay is written freely and recklessly, with a strong character." Yuan Mu pointed to the article in the school magazine.

"I didn't even know she was so good..." Why did this top student in the Chinese Department of Chenghuang University return to that small county, and why did he marry his father?That man... was not good enough for her in any way.

"This Zhao Wenbin is so handsome." Yuan Mu's exclamation brought Ji Si'an back to reality.

The eyes are like stars, the nose is straight and the lips are thin. The person in the photo looks very upright.Looking at the photos, Ji Si'an found him and her in the graduation photos, and seemed to sense something.She picked up the school magazine and found their articles one by one.

Yuan Mu read the text inside, although the emotion contained in it was implicit, it made people yearn even more.

"They?" Yuan Mu realized that one of them was Ji Si'an's mother, so he didn't continue.

"They should be lovers." After Ji Si'an said these words softly, he felt a little relief in his heart.No wonder my father doesn't like me, it turns out...not because of her, but because of my mother...

(End of this chapter)