The day Chen Yuehong heard that her son Zhou Chengze was missing, she immediately packed her luggage and left her hometown in the northeast to come to the coastal southern city.
She left in a hurry, and the plane tickets were hurriedly booked at the airport. An old person in her 60s, if not for the fact that she had been working in the countryside all the year-round so her body was still healthy, when she boarded that plane with this sad news in her heart, she could have suffered a heart attack.
Zheng Tianyi, Zhou Chengze's buddy was still lying sleeping in bed in the middle of the night, but as soon as he got a call from Chen Yuehong and heard that she was at the airport, he immediately got up, put on his clothes and drove to pick her up.
"Oh, auntie, you should have let me know before you came! I stood outside the airport in the middle of the night and waited for two hours. If something happened to you, how could I ever explain it to Zhou Chengze?!" When he got in the car, Zheng Tianyi let a sigh of relief, and couldn't help but voice his grievances, "Also, the police officers in your hometown may need to go to you to collect evidence. If you are not at home, the evidence will not be available. It won't be easy to check..."
"I know, I know. Thank you so much this time, Xiao Zheng. I really can't help it, I couldn't get a ride so late, and Chengze didn't give me Xiao Qiao's number, so I had no choice here. You're the only person I know, so I had to call you." Chen Yuehong sat in the back seat of the car, holding the back of the driver's seat with one hand and a big snakeskin bag with the other, "Don't worry, I have brought everything I might need. Kai Ming is not as smart as Cheng Ze, he is not good at reading, and he has only been able to write well since he was a child. I kept all his calligraphy works... as well as compositions, notes, letters... and I've brought all his old photos and clothes! I'll go to Xiao Qiao tomorrow and ask her to take all these things to the police."
Zheng Tianyi's heart skipped a beat from the first time he heard the word "Xiao Qiao", so he didn't listen to the rest at all. God, Zhou Chengze's old mother actually said "Xiao Qiao", it couldn't be... what he was thinking, right?
"That's good, that's good." He nodded absentmindedly, and then carefully looked at Chen Yuehong through the rearview mirror, "Uh... Xiao Qiao means... Qiao Yin?"
The old woman finally turned her attention from the big snakeskin bag to him, and nodded vigorously: "Yes! The girl must be desperate now, she and Chengze have been together for so many years, now that she is finally working in the city, this kind of thing happens..." She said this as her eyes became a little red, she raised her hand and wiped her eyes, "In the first two years, I urged them to quickly set a date and do the wedding first, but Chengze kept saying that his work was not yet stabilized and that there was no hurry..."
They've already broken up, it was exactly as he thought! Zheng Tianyi lamented secretly: It turns out that after Zhou Chengze broke up with Qiao Yin after finishing his undergraduate degree, he never told Chen Yuehong about it! No wonder even though Zhou Chengze didn't get with any other girlfriends, he never saw his family urging him to over the years.
Zheng Tianyi's eyes were a little panicked, he had to think of a way to cover it up first: "Oh... Aunt, that-" He made up a serious reason, "Qiao Yin, she is busy with work, and she has been even busier the last two days. If she's cooperating with the police in handling the case, she may not have time to take care of you. If you want to stay at my place first, I will help you send those things to the police station in the morning, and then ask in detail how the situation is now, okay?"
Fortunately, Chen Yuehong didn't ask any more questions, probably thinking that it would be the same anywhere without her son, so she agreed with a sigh.
The trouble was delayed for the time being. After Zheng Tianyi got home and settled Chen Yuehong, he went back to sleep at ease, but he didn't expect to wake up the next morning to find the old woman missing.
And so, Qiao Yin met Chen Yuehong at a law firm. Because of Zhou Chengze's disappearance, Qiao Yin has not slept peacefully for two consecutive days. She came to work in the law firm early in the morning, and her spirit was not very good. The weather in August was still hot, it was like being in a steamer. She just wanted to go to the air-conditioned office to cool down quickly but was stopped by Lu Feiteng at the door of the law firm.
"Xiao Qiao—" He grabbed her arm and pulled her aside, "When I came to open the door early in the morning, I saw an old woman sitting by the door of our law firm, she said that she was your boyfriend's mother who was looking for you." After he said that, he cautiously looked passed the door and asked her in a low voice, "Didn't you break up with Zheng Zihao? Why..."
"Ah?" The first thing that popped into Qiao Yin's head was Mother Xiao, who she had only met a few times. After hearing Lu Feiteng say this, she thought of Mother Zheng. But what does Mother Zheng have to do with her? The old lady never liked her.
So Qiao Yin entered the law firm suspiciously, she opened the door of the reception room, and was more surprised than even if she had seen Mother Zheng: "Auntie?"
"Xiao Qiao! You are here..." Chen Yuehong who had just been sitting on the sofa nervously looking out the window immediately stood up to meet her, grabbed her hand very excitedly, and looked down at the snakeskin bag tightly tucked under her arm, "I have brought everything that the police may need for investigation. Let's check which ones are useful, then send them to the police station quickly!"
Qiao Yin hadn't completely recovered from the shock. She only glanced at the snakeskin bag under her armpit and connecting that with what was just said, she guessed the reason the old woman appeared here. So Qiao Yin took the old woman's hand back and asked two questions first, hoping to stabilize the other person's emotions: "Aunt, when did you come here? Are you alone?"
"Last night at two o'clock by plane, Chengze didn't give me your phone number, so I contacted Xiao Zheng - Zheng Tianyi, Chengze's roommate back then, do you remember? The young man is really nice, he drove over right away to the airport and took me home. He said that you were busy these days and asked me to stay with him first, but I thought with Chengze missing at the moment, you must be anxious, so I immediately came out to find you." Chen Yuehong rapidly told her what happened. Then she suddenly slapped her forehead, "Oh, not good, I forgot to leave behind a message for Xiao Zheng..."
Having calmed down, Qiao Yin patted the back of her hand to reassure her, and whispered, "It's okay, Auntie, I have Zheng Tianyi's phone number here, I'll call him first and tell him that you are here with me, and then talk to him. Then we'll go to the police station together, okay?"
Just as the old woman nodded, Zheng Tianyi called. Qiao Yin quickly walked to the side and answered, told him that Chen Yuehong was at her law firm. Zheng Tianyi was still gasping for breath, he must have been anxiously looking for her. When he heard that the old woman was fine, he let a sigh of relief: "Sister Qiao, I have to tell you something...I only found out when I picked up auntie yesterday. Brother Cheng never told his mother about his breakup with you the past few years. In addition, Brother Cheng was transferred from Beijing this time, and auntie thought you two were planning to get married, and so decided to work in the same city."
He paused, and couldn't help but sigh: "It's definitely not fair to you to say this, but you also know that the old woman is not in good health. If you explain it to her when Brother Cheng comes back safely, she won't take the hit too hard. If Brother Cheng... doesn't come back, there will be only auntie left in the family. The old woman knows that her son had a girlfriend, and even if he didn't get married, at least she still..." Having said this, Zheng Tianyi finally realized that he had said something bad. He gritted his teeth and wanted to cut his tongue, "Tsk, what nonsense am I saying?! Forget it... You know that I can't speak in my mind, so just take it that I didn't say anything just now."
"Alright." Qiao Yin responded and turned to look at Chen Yuehong. This old woman lost the father and a son, she ran from the northernmost part to the southernmost part of China alone, and she was naturally anxious and uneasy at heart. Qiao Yin had only met her a few times when Zhou Chengze was in college. After seven years, no matter who her son's girlfriend is, she wouldn't ordinarily be as emotional and dependent as she is now if not for this situation. The old woman has no other family, and in such a big city, she must feel that she can only rely on Qiao Yin, the "girlfriend that her son has been with for many years".
Qiao Yin pursed her lips and told Zheng Tianyi, "I have my own thinking, don't worry."
After hanging up, she tried to contact Xiao Yang again, wanting to say hello to him in advance. But after calling for a long time, seeing that he didn't answer, she thought he was probably busy. Qiao Yin explained the general situation to Lu Feiteng, and then drove Chen Yuehong to the police station.
After they arrived at the police station, Yan Cong picked out a few items from what Chen Yuehong brought and sent them for the handwriting identification, and then led them into the inquiry room. "Old Xiao was called by the boss, he will be back later." He poured a glass of warm water for each of them, and just as they were about to sit down, Xiao Yang pushed the door open and came in.
He also sat down behind the inquiry table, reached out and shook hands with Chen Yuehong slightly: "Hello, I'm Xiao Yang, the police officer in charge of this case." Then he nodded to Qiao Yin to say hello. Xiao Yang still didn't have many expression as usual, and his tone was as flat as usual, but somehow Qiao Yin got the feeling that he was not in a good mood.
"According to the current clues, the possibility that Zhou Kaiming is an accomplice cannot be ruled out. So now there are a few things you need to recall." Yan Cong grabbed the pen and opened his mouth, looking up at Chen Yuehong's face, "Zhou Kaiming, Before Kai Ming disappeared eight years ago, he said he was going to work abroad. Do you remember if he mentioned where he was going to work?"
It was the first time that she was questioned by the police at the police station, and Chen Yuehong was inevitably nervous. She subconsciously grabbed Qiao Yin's hand, looked up at her, and when she patted the back of her hand reassuringly, she turned and met Yan Cong's gaze, then shook her head: "No. He only said that he would go to the south to make some money for Chengze to go to graduate school." As Chen Yuehong said this, she took out a bundle of postcards from the snakeskin bag on her lap and handed it to Yan Cong. “In the first year, he also wrote to me. I don't think the addresses are the same, so I think he must have been running around...”
Yan Cong removed the rubber band that tied the postcard, took a general look, and then passed them to Xiao Yang. The postcards were all organized according to the date, most of them were just general words, a calm report with no substance. The only thing of note was that the location of the first letter was Kunming up to Nanchang in the last, it roughly showed a trend of shifting from west to east. At a closer look at the time interval, it showed that Zhou Kaiming was in Guangxi for the longest time.
“At that time, there were more opportunities in Beijing than in the south." Xiao Yang raised his eyes and fixed his gaze to Chen Yuehong, “Did he ever say why he didn't go to Beijing, but went further south?"
The old woman shook his head. Qiao Yin also felt that Xiao Yang's speculation was reasonable, so she patted her hand and persuaded her: “Think about it carefully, maybe there was something that you thought was strange at the time? ”
Compared with the two strange policemen, Qiao Yin's words calmed Chen Yuehong down more. She thought about it carefully, and she really remembered something: “It seems that he said that a classmate of his made a fortune in the investment business in the south, so he asked him to help. "After speaking, she looked at the postcards again, frowned and pursed her lips, “But I don't think the cities he runs in are big cities, so I suspect that he just wanted to go to the south to break in, so he used his classmates as an excuse to fool me." ”
Xiao Yang and Yan Cong exchanged glances.
“Did he say which classmate it was? ”
Shaking her head again, Chen Yuehong said, "... But he has only been to elementary school, so it should be a classmate from elementary school. ”
“Was it an elementary school in the countryside? Xiao Yang immediately asked her.
Chen Yuehong was taken aback and nodded.
“Most of the classmates should be from the same village. "He continued, lowering his eyes to scan the postcards, and then he looked back to her face, "Do you have any memory of children from the village, who would be the same age as Zhou Kaiming next year, disappearing in recent years?" ”
She sighed and shook her head, “Too many of the children from the village rush to leave."
Xiao Yang turned his head and motioned to Yan Cong: “Go check it out. ”
The other party understood, got up and left the inquiry room.
Important clues have been obtained, and the inquiry was almost over. Xiao Yang glanced at the snakeskin bag in Chen Yuehong's arms. It was full of things that Zhou Kaiming had left at home. Yan Cong had already checked them before and it was not useful, but seeing the old woman carrying it like a baby, hoping that they could help her find her son, he didn't say it straight.
Chen Yuehong was still holding the bag tightly, it looked as if she was worried that these important clues would be lost. Xiao Yang noticed her movements, thought for a moment, and finally asked her: "These things may also be helpful, we need to keep them all, is that okay?" ”
“I agree, of course, I agree! I brought it specially for this, it would be great if it is helpful!" As soon as she heard that these things were useful, Chen Yuehong excitedly stood up and handed the snakeskin bag to Xiao Yang. Then her eyes turned red, she grabbed Xiao Yang's hand, and tears rolled down as she said again: "Policeman, please help me find Chengze...Kaiming will absolutely never harm his younger brother. He is a good boy...Please help me find them..."
She was an old woman in her 60s, with a thin body and a fragile back. When she said this, her knees were bent, it was as if she was about to keel over. Hot tears dripped down her wrinkled face, and her eyebrows were full of pain and anxiety that had been suppressed for a long time. Anyone who saw this would not be able to bear it.
Xiao Yang was silent for two seconds, then he raised his hand and covered her aged hand, his calm expression remained unchanged, but his voice held more assurance and a slight softness that would not normally be heard on weekdays: “Don't worry, we will try our best." Then he glanced at Qiao Yin and motioned for her to come over to comfort her, “You will go back first today, and we will find you again when we need you." Then he smoothly asked, “Where are you staying now?" ”
Qiao Yin had already stepped forward to support the old woman's shoulder and was stroking her back to soothe her. After hearing Xiao Yang's question, she was going to answer, but the old woman wiped her tears and spoke first: ”I'm staying in Xiao Qiao's house,“ She sobbed and placed a hand over the hand Qiao Yin's had on her shoulder. She looked up at Qiao Yin, she was seeking that last bit of comfort, "She is Chengze's girlfriend.”
MiraiSaesang's Notes: Hello, Mirai here, I will be picking this up now, it'll probably go slowly though, I have a lot on my plate but I shall do my best!😁... Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Surprisingly, it made me laugh - I feel bad for the old woman but the whole awkwardness of this situation for Qiao Yin is a lot, your ex-ex-bf's mother suddenly showing up at your door like this still thinking you're her daughter-in-law in the making - all this made even more awkward by the fact that not only is her current bf the investigator handling the case, he also lives right across the hall where said ex's mother will be staying because no way can she turn down the old woman right now! 😖
P.S: I re-organized the chapters to match the raws, hence the sudden switch from 41 to 20, it's less confusing for me this way 😅
~Thank You for Reading, Please Comment Below~
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