"What are you doing here?" Meng Zhao was a bit surprised. No wonder he felt the Porsche Panamera in front of him looked familiar at a glance.
"Handling some business nearby," Lu Shichen didn't elaborate. "Is this an investigation?"
Since it was Lu Shichen, Meng Zhao felt there was no need for much small talk. He focused on the young man in front of him. "Give me the phone."
"W-what phone?" The young man looked flustered.
"You tell me."
"I don't know…"
Zhou Qiyang caught up and quickly searched the man. "Brother Zhao, nothing found."
Meng Zhao grabbed the man's collar, tossed him to Zhou Qiyang, then opened the car door and leaned inside. Under the control panel, he found Zhao Yunhua's phone.
Last time at Zhou Yan's house, when he had Zhao Yunhua show Zhou Yan's messages, he remembered her phone's unlock password. Now he easily unlocked it, but the screen that appeared changed Meng Zhao's expression—the last page Zhao Yunhua had opened before losing her phone was the article about accidentally killing Zhou Yan!
Meng Zhao grabbed the driver. "Did you see the owner of this phone at the West Bus Station? Describe her."
"A woman in her forties or fifties, a bit hunched…" The man was clearly intimidated by Meng Zhao, speaking haltingly. "I just stole a phone, didn't do anything serious, officer…"
Lu Shichen walked over, took the phone from Meng Zhao, and swiped through it thoughtfully.
Meng Zhao ignored him and continued questioning the driver. "Which direction did she go? Leaving the station or heading to ticket inspection?"
"I don't know…"
"Think carefully," Meng Zhao pushed him toward the car. "Judge by direction!"
"Leaving the station… yes, yes, leaving the station!"
Leaving the bus station… where to? Could she be going to the train station? No, the bus station had looser ticket checks than the train station. If Zhao Yunhua had originally planned to take the bus home, she wouldn't suddenly change her mind to take the more easily noticed train.
"Did you notice her state?" Meng Zhao asked again.
"Not really… but I almost bumped into her, and she didn't react much, seemed lost in thought… oh right, she seemed to be crying…"
"Xiao Zhou, take this guy back to the bureau first. I'll interrogate him when I return."
Meng Zhao said as he opened the van's passenger door, shoved the thief inside, and handcuffed one of his wrists to the handle above.
After closing the door, Meng Zhao walked to his own car.
Recalling Zhao Yunhua's expression when leaving the bus station, Meng Zhao had to consider the worst possibility—after learning she had accidentally killed Zhou Yan, Zhao Yunhua might have chosen to commit suicide!
The timing of that public article was too coincidental. This case was definitely not so simple… but the most important thing now was to find Zhao Yunhua. If she really committed suicide, all clues about the case might be cut off.
Where would Zhao Yunhua go… Meng Zhao pondered. The article mentioned Zhao Tong had jumped to her death near a chemical plant. Would Zhao Yunhua also choose to end her life there?
He could only go check. Meng Zhao took out his phone and called colleagues at the city bureau. "Help me find the chemical plant closest to Wenzhao High School… none? Then check the map from ten years ago. It's urgent. Send it to me as soon as you find it."
After the call, Zhou Qiyang sat in the driver's seat but hesitated to start the car. While waiting for the address from colleagues, Meng Zhao walked over. "What's wrong?"
Zhou Qiyang tried turning the key again. "Brother Zhao, this old car seems dead. I've tried several times but can't start it."
"Call the bureau to send someone to pick us up," Meng Zhao frowned. Leaving a policeman and a handcuffed prisoner standing on the street might attract some idle person to post it online. "You wait in the car with him."
At that moment, Lu Shichen spoke beside them, addressing Meng Zhao. "Where are you going? Take my car. I'll give you a ride."
Meng Zhao turned to look at him, or rather, appraised him carefully.
That dog hair and… was Lu Shichen's appearance here a coincidence?
"Have your colleague drive your car back to the bureau," Lu Shichen said calmly, ignoring the scrutiny.
Would Lu Shichen be so kind? Or did he have ulterior motives? Meng Zhao decided to go along with it. It would give him a chance to test Lu Shichen.
"That's perfect," Meng Zhao relaxed his expression and tossed the car keys to Zhou Qiyang. "Drive my car."
"Huh?" Zhou Qiyang was surprised Meng Zhao accepted the offer so easily, but relieved to get the keys. Either way, whether taking a taxi or waiting for the bureau to send someone, dealing with the thief was troublesome.
Meng Zhao got into Lu Shichen's car, buckled his seatbelt, and asked, "What business do you have nearby?"
"Banking matters," Lu Shichen started the car.
There seemed to be a bank nearby. Meng Zhao recalled the area they had just passed.
"We're at the intersection. Don't know why you don't slow down," Meng Zhao continued to probe, "Normally, you should turn left and yield to oncoming traffic."
"If this happened with someone else, you might be held fully responsible."
"But isn't it you I ran into?" Lu Shichen said.
"Exactly, you just happened to run into me…"
"I saw you."
"Hmm?" Meng Zhao glanced at him.
"Weren't you trying to force that car next to you to stop?" Lu Shichen drove on, "Just helping you out, didn't you notice?"
"You'd be so kind?" Although he said this, Meng Zhao felt uncertain. Lu Shichen's driving just now had a strange sense of direction. Explaining it as helping him force that car to stop was plausible, but the cost seemed a bit too high…
Lu Shichen didn't reply to this. Meng Zhao noticed that although he hadn't urged him, Lu Shichen had already consciously increased the speed to 110 km/h and overtaken several cars in a short distance. Meng Zhao considered himself a fast driver, but Lu Shichen, who usually seemed rational, was now overtaking without hesitation.
Although Lu Shichen appeared calm on the surface, judging by the speed, Meng Zhao felt his attention to this case was unusually intense.
Meng Zhao judged the direction the car was heading: "Hey, do you know where I'm going?"
Lu Shichen's voice sounded calm: "Isn't it the chemical plant near Wenzhao High School?"
"How do you know?"
"That article on Zhao Yunhua's phone just mentioned that Zhao Tong committed suicide there."
"So?"
"Without any other clues, the likelihood that Zhao Yunhua would choose to commit suicide there is the greatest. Didn't you think Zhao Yunhua might also go there to commit suicide?"
Meng Zhao clicked his tongue. Aside from other things, being with Lu Shichen was very reassuring. Before he even spoke, Lu Shichen had guessed most of his deductions based on a public account article — and this was without Lu Shichen knowing the case details. But…
"Do you know who Zhao Yunhua is?"
"Isn't she the nanny from the upstairs apartment? I've seen her," Lu Shichen said, "That driver just said a woman in her forties or fifties, so I guessed."
"So you only just found out?" Meng Zhao assessed Lu Shichen's knowledge of the case.
"Yeah."
There was still some distance to Wenzhao High School. Although Lu Shichen's driving skills weren't much worse than his own, Meng Zhao estimated it would take at least ten more minutes to arrive.
He took out his phone and called the local police station, asking them to check near the chemical plant and prepare anti-suicide equipment to prevent Zhao Yunhua from committing suicide.
"If you need to claim insurance for your car, contact me anytime. You have my contact info," Meng Zhao said, feeling a bit pained. Although the insurance company would reimburse the repair costs, because Lu Shichen's car was expensive, the insurance premiums would likely rise significantly next year.
He had expected Lu Shichen to be polite out of their modest friendship, but Lu Shichen just nodded: "Okay."
*
Zhao Yunhua climbed upstairs and reached the edge of the rooftop, still catching her breath.
Nine floors was too high for her, but she hadn't dared to stop for a moment just now. She was afraid the police would catch her.
It didn't matter if she spent the rest of her life in prison, but if she really accidentally killed Zhou Yan, how could she face that cruel truth in the long time ahead?
She stood at the rooftop edge, looking at the students having PE class on the Wenzhao High School playground.
Once upon a time, Zhao Tong had come running to her with an acceptance letter, saying "I got in," with that smile. She recalled it every day, but now it was already somewhat blurry.
When Zhao Tong said he didn't want to continue high school, why hadn't she asked clearly, instead scolding him for being useless?
When Zhao Tong said he couldn't sleep, why hadn't she suspected he was being bullied at school?
Zhao Yunhua recalled the scene of Zhao Tong in a red dress lying in a pool of blood. How much humiliation had her son suffered to jump from the building like that…
The TV said justice would prevail, but it was all nonsense! She had never stopped searching for the truth. She had reported to the police and fought lawsuits, but all was useless!
The day before, Zhao Tong had argued with her about wanting to attend university out of town. Zhao Yunhua disagreed and scolded him for being ungrateful. That meal ended unhappily between mother and son. Unexpectedly, the next day, while she was at work, she suddenly received news of Zhao Tong's death…
Everyone said Zhao Tong had committed suicide by jumping, but Zhao Yunhua didn't believe it. How could someone planning suicide still discuss which university to attend the day before?
Zhao Tong was dead. She had no support left in this world. She had thought about suicide herself, but without clarifying Zhao Tong's true cause of death and punishing the murderer, she couldn't die unwillingly…
But was Zhou Yan, whom she had strangled with her own hands, really the true culprit who drove Zhao Tong to death? Zhao Yunhua's mind flashed through moments with Zhou Yan —
"Aunt Zhao, I'm back! Look what I brought you, a scarf! Does it look good? Try it on! You're not young, but not old either… It suits you perfectly. My taste is amazing!"
"Aunt Zhao, come listen to this song? Does it sound good? Really good? You're my first listener, don't fool me. If it's good, I'll release it!"
"Happy birthday, Aunt Zhao! You probably don't even remember it yourself? I love celebrating others' birthdays. The feeling of growing a year older with someone is great… What's aging? You're growing up too. Who isn't a baby?"
Her mind flashed to the moment Zhou Yan was strangled, the disbelief in his eyes.
In fact, when she first put the rope around Zhou Yan's neck, he didn't struggle violently at first but made muffled sounds, as if wanting to ask why she was doing this.
But how could Zhao Yunhua give him a chance to speak? She hated him. He had killed her child and deceived her for so many years!
Zhao Yunhua heard the desperate, hoarse sounds Zhou Yan made before dying. That once vibrant child…
The "uh uh" sounds Zhou Yan made before death echoed continuously in Zhao Yunhua's mind, growing louder until it seemed to shatter her head.
If it weren't for Zhou Yan…
If it weren't for Zhou Yan…
Zhao Yunhua painfully raised her hand to cover her ears, turned around, and stepped back.
*
Similar to Huai'an District, the area around Wenzhao High School was also undergoing major construction. Some old buildings were being demolished and rebuilt.
The abandoned chemical plant from ten years ago was gone, replaced by a newly built housing complex, now a cluster of gray, unfinished buildings.
Getting out of Lu Shichen's car, Meng Zhao looked around. It was the brightest time of day, and the glaring sunlight made him squint.
He raised his hand to shield his eyes. After a few seconds, he saw a small, hunched figure on the rooftop of a nearby building — Zhao Yunhua!
Meng Zhao immediately ran toward the building, with Lu Shichen quickly following.
The cement walls still smelled of drying concrete. The nine-floor mid-rise building, Meng Zhao took three steps at a time, quickly heading to the rooftop.
A ladder was set up at the entrance to the rooftop, probably for construction workers.
They climbed the ladder one after another and saw Zhao Yunhua standing at the rooftop edge, looking toward Wenzhao High School, where Zhao Tong had spent three years.
"Zhao Yunhua," Meng Zhao climbed onto the rooftop, ignoring his breathing to cautiously approach her. He saw her face, older than her actual age, streaked with tears. "Calm down, calm down first…"
"I know what you want to do. Please don't do this. The investigation isn't finished. Zhou Yan and Zhao Tong's deaths might not be so simple. If you jump from here, all clues will be cut off, and the truth might never be uncovered! How Zhao Tong really died and who killed him might never be known… So please, don't die. Please live!"
But Zhao Yunhua seemed to collapse. She interrupted Meng Zhao, crying and shouting, "Don't come closer! I saw it, I saw it… I clearly heard it… He is the murderer. He forced Zhao Tong to die!"
Meng Zhao stopped and simultaneously held back Lu Shichen beside him. In this situation, any blind approach could lead to irreversible consequences.
Meng Zhao saw a police car already heading toward the building. He mentally calculated the time needed to set up an air cushion below. As long as they delayed, they could stop Zhao Yunhua from committing suicide!
"Okay, I won't come closer," he tried to soften his voice, "You…"
"You came here to see Zhao Tong, right? I won't disturb you; you can look at him a little longer…"
Zhao Yunhua suddenly broke down in tears, sobbing uncontrollably. She couldn't hear a word Meng Zhao said, her mouth repeatedly whispering, "He is the murderer, he is the murderer… he is the murderer, I don't know… I don't know…"
Downstairs, the police from the local station began setting up an air cushion. Just as Meng Zhao was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Zhao Yunhua seemed to hear the rescue sounds from below and took a step back.
Seeing Zhao Yunhua at the rooftop edge about to misstep, Meng Zhao reacted immediately, rushing over to try to grab her.
But it was too late. Almost at the same moment, Zhao Yunhua fell off the building—she jumped to commit suicide!
Her will to die was so strong that Meng Zhao barely had any chance to intervene.
Meng Zhao stood at the rooftop edge, looking down at Zhao Yunhua lying in a pool of blood below.
A sharp buzzing filled his mind, and his thoughts became chaotic.
Where exactly did things go wrong?
How did it come to this?
How did it escalate to this scene before his eyes?
He noticed Lu Shichen walking beside him, raising his hand to grip Meng Zhao's wrist, as if afraid he would lose his footing and fall.
Meng Zhao endured a severe headache, forcing himself to stay rational—less than 48 hours had passed since discovering the body, and the investigation had progressed faster than usual. Every step had been taken promptly, so why was he still one step too late? Where had the rhythm been disrupted?
