Chapter 179: Chapter 22 Declaration of War Chapter 179: Chapter 22 Declaration of War “`
“Zhou Duanyun, he…
went after that taxi.”
Gao Yang sighed:
“Your attention was all on Tang Xin at the ti; you probably didn’t notice what was happening around you.
As soon as the taxi drove off, Zhou Duanyun got in a car and told the driver to turn around and chase after it.”
“I contacted him just now, and he said he didn’t catch up.
In the end, the taxi got away, but the dashboard cara still captured quite a bit.
He’s planning to go directly to the police station and hand over the video from the dashcam to the police.
With this footage, the police will have an easier ti looking for that car.”
Lin Xian didn’t speak…
He indeed harbored strong suspicions about Zhou Duanyun, almost certain that he was definitely involved in the plot to murder Tang Xin.
...
But they handled it very cleverly.
Zhou Duanyun had no direct motive or action to murder Tang Xin, and even if the police were to investigate, they would not be able to find any evidence.
Even if he presented all his deductions to the police, all these speculations were too subjective and without any objective evidence, they were nothing but empty words.
If anything required extra caution…
If the killer behind the deaths of Xu Yun and Tang Xin was indeed the group consisting of Xu Yun’s ntor and Zhou Duanyun…
Then they were most likely playing “Catch If You Can” with him.
He, Xu Yun, and Tang Xin were all their targets; it was only a matter of ti.
“Wait for it, mice!”
…
The next day, in Chu Anqing’s hospital room.
Lin Xian pushed the door open.
Chu Anqing, sitting on the hospital bed, looked up and smiled faintly:
“Senior Lin Xian, you’re here.
I was just thinking of getting in touch with you.”
Lin Xian placed the gift on the bedside table:
“No problem, just rest up.
You’re not seriously hurt, right?”
Chu Anqing scratched her head awkwardly:
“Not at all…
I actually didn’t have any problems.
It’s just that I’ve always been squeamish about blood…
that’s why I fainted then.
It was also my dad being too anxious and not letting be discharged, insisting on a bunch of tests, but really, I’m fine.”
Having said that, Chu Anqing’s expression imdiately dimd, looking at Lin Xian:
“Sister Tang Xin, she…”
Biting her lip, she paused.
Lin Xian shook his head:
“She couldn’t be saved, she died on the spot in the car accident.”
Chu Anqing sighed:
“My father said that the Donghai City Police Departnt is also fully investigating the matter.
It seems that because there is footage of the specific escape route of the vehicle…
there are quite a number of leads to follow.”
Lin Xian rembered what Gao Yang had said…
The video from the dashcam was most likely provided by Zhou Duanyun.
He thought that this vehicle, too, would vanish into thin air just like the one involved in Xu Yun’s death, but…
according to what Chu Anqing said, the police actually had quite a few leads this ti.
This surprised Lin Xian:
“What did your father say exactly?
Can the police find the murderer?”
“My father said that because there’s been no breakthrough in Xu Yun’s case to this day, the pressure on the police in Donghai City is imnse.
They’ve thought of many ways…” Chu Anqing got off the bed, stood up, and continued:
“Especially with Sister Tang Xin’s case, it’s easy to link it with Professor Xu Yun’s previous case.
The police in Donghai City are more eager than anyone to solve it.
Therefore, they’ve enlisted the help of a very skilled ‘outside expert.'”
“An outside expert?”
Lin Xian pondered for a while:
“Like a private investigator, or soone called in from another province?”
“I’m not sure.” Chu Anqing shook her head:
“My dad didn’t tell that much.
He said it’s still a secret that shouldn’t be disclosed publicly, and the Donghai City Police Departnt doesn’t want the public to know about it.”
“But my dad told that this ‘outside expert’ is extrely smart.
He quickly understood the intricacies of the case and formulated a corresponding investigation and arrest plan.
He estimates that the murderer will be apprehended soon!”
“That impressive?”
Lin Xian scratched his head, feeling like he was hearing about ‘Detective Conan.’
But since the information was coming from Chu Shanhe’s mouth, it had to be true.
His stature was significant both in public and in shadows in Donghai City, naturally giving him access to much that others wouldn’t know.
Moreover…
This case had almost implicated his precious daughter, so how could he rest easy without a thorough investigation?
“Speaking of which, Senior Lin Xian, my dad is very grateful to you!” Chu Anqing said with a smile:
“He says that after these few days are over, he wants to properly thank you, to repay you for saving my life.”
“No need, that’s too kind.
I was just doing what I could, it wasn’t really a life-saving favor…
Actually, I ca to see you today because I wanted to understand more about what happened when Tang Xin left the makeup room.”
Pausing, Lin Xian continued:
“Can you tell about what happened from the end of the performance backstage to the point Tang Xin left you?”
“Of course, I can.”
Chu Anqing nodded and said:
“After we ca off the stage, we just chatted together the whole ti, did our makeup and changed clothes…
Then soone called Sister Tang Xin, and she hurriedly packed her things and left.”
“Do you know who called and what was said?”
Chu Anqing shook her head:
“`
“`
“I don’t know about that.
After she ran out, I realized she had forgotten her phone.
So I quickly packed up my stuff and chased after her…
Then you know what happened.
It was right in front of the theater’s entrance.
I was about to catch up and give her the phone when you pulled back.”
“Was the phone taken by the police?”
“I suppose so…
I woke up in the hospital and have no idea what happened during the ti I was unconscious.”
I see…
Lin Xian had planned to check the call history or WeChat ssages on the phone.
It’s not that he didn’t trust the Donghai City Police Departnt…
It’s just that Lin Xian had his own plans.
But based on the current speculation, it wasn’t hard to guess that the person who called Tang Xin at that ti was Zhou Duanyun, definitely urging her to go to the theater entrance to pick sothing up.
“Okay, I’ve got it.”
Lin Xian stood up, ready to leave:
“You should rest well.
I won’t disturb you any longer.”
“Senior Lin Xian…”
Chu Anqing walked over, grabbed his sleeve, and looked up into his eyes:
“I really appreciate you saving , otherwise I…”
She fell silent, unable to find the words to continue as she thought of Tang Xin’s tragic fate.
She knew Tang Xin was Lin Xian’s high school classmate.
At this ti, Senior Lin Xian must be feeling heartbroken, right?
She had survived, but Tang Xin was dead…
If she hadn’t been there at that ti, would Lin Xian have been able to save Tang Xin?
At this thought, she once again felt distressed.
“It’s okay.”
Lin Xian clearly saw Chu Anqing’s guilt and comforted her:
“Don’t worry, everything will co to light eventually.”
…
Two days later, Tang Xin’s parents ca from Hang City to handle her affairs.
They collected Tang Xin’s ashes from the Donghai City crematorium.
Tang Xin’s parents were not very old, in their pri, and their family appeared quite well-off.
But at this mont, they were devastated, initially grieving vehently and then becoming numb from excessive sorrow, unable to communicate normally.
The arrangents were all handled by Tang Xin’s younger brother.
He was three years younger than Tang Xin and still a college student, but with his sister gone, he had beco strong.
Lin Xian, Gao Yang, and three mbers of the Tang family t, exchanged so words, but it was as if nothing was said.
What could words do when a person was dead?
Several more days passed…
Tang Xin’s ashes were buried, the noise of the funeral dissipated into the fields, and the unburned joss paper on her grave flew into the sky and earth with the spring breeze.
In just a few days.
This girl, young and fond of laughter, beca a handful of earth on this world, embarking on a journey to slowly be forgotten by ti.
Perhaps, in decades to co, many classmates will have forgotten this girl nad Tang Xin.
Just as she once ca in a hurry and left in a hurry.
On the lonely fields…
Lin Xian stepped on the newly sprouted crops, walking step by step towards the grave mound that was barely a half-ter above the ground.
It was one of the few noticeable mounds in the entire field.
Under various policies to protect the farmland, more and more graves would flatten over ti, fade away, be turned into farmland, planted with rice, and return to the earth.
Lin Xian stood there, his feet muddy in the bloody red afterglow of the setting sun.
For a long ti.
He bowed his head:
“Tang Xin…”
He spoke softly:
“Your research could have changed the world, changed the future, made this world a better place.”
“But what’s despicable is…
there’s a group of people in this world who seem unwilling to see the world beco a better place.
They dislike science; they dislike change.
They see all uncertainty as an enemy.”
“I don’t know what their goals are…”
Lin Xian looked up, watching the sun gradually sink into the earth:
“But…
no matter how many reasons they have, I don’t believe they are right.”
He bent down, placed a bouquet in his arms on the grave, and stood up:
“Wait for a while…”
“Wait until I uproot them altogether, then I’ll co to see you again.”
He turned around.
The sun had completely disappeared below the horizon, only leaving behind a blood-red sky as evidence of its previous ascent.
The spring breeze passed through.
It lifted the hem of Lin Xian’s clothes,
It lifted the tender sprouts he had flattened,
It lifted the newly green willow branches beside the field,
It lifted the bundle of lilies in front of the mound of earth…
They swayed as if nodding in agreent.
“`
Reviews
All reviews (0)