Life is full of unexpected encounters.
Lu Chuan was filled with such emotions at this mont.
The woman who followed the manager of the examination center inside was actually the tall woman Lu Chuan saw in the underground parking lot of the Haizhou International Hotel last night.
But unlike the tassel dress from last night, today the woman was in a pink nurse outfit, with flats instead of high heels.
"Officers, this is Wang Manli, a nurse from our blood testing departnt."
"Manli, please cooperate well with the officers."
The manager instructed before leaving the reception room, carefully closing the door behind him.
Wang Manli was just as beautiful as she was yesterday, with light makeup perfectly applied, yet she had already forgotten Lu Chuan.
A beautiful woman always draws attention wherever she goes.
Yesterday, Lu Chuan was just one among many.
Moreover, Lu Chuan had changed his outfit today, making it even harder for her to recognize him.
"Officers, what can I do for you?"
Wang Manli’s expression showed a hint of nervousness, mixed with curiosity.
Liu Guodong did not beat around the bush this ti, directly showing his badge: "Miss Wang, hello, my na is Liu Guodong, and this officer is Lu Chuan."
"We are detectives from the city’s Criminal Investigation Team, no need to be nervous."
Wang Manli shook her head, calmly looking at Liu Guodong and Lu Chuan: "Officer Liu, Officer Lu, I’m not nervous, but..."
"What is it?"
"Officer Liu, could you call Nurse Wang, or Little Wang, or just Wang Manli?"
"Oh, Nurse Wang."
Liu Guodong realized the sensitivity in her preference for certain titles, anded his address, and took out a photo of Gao Sheng: "Nurse Wang, do you know this person?"
Wang Manli took the photo and looked closely: "He looks familiar... He seems to have had a check-up here."
In just two or three breaths, Wang Manli handed the photo back to Liu Guodong.
"Had a check-up?"
"Yes," Wang Manli nodded: "I don’t quite rember his na, but he should have had a check-up here."
"Nurse Wang, which departnt are you in?"
Wang Manli smiled at Lu Chuan who asked: "Officer Lu, I work in the blood testing departnt."
"What work does Nurse Wang do?"
"Analyzing blood samples for check-ups and issuing blood test reports."
Since Lu Chuan was speaking, Liu Guodong remained silent: "Nurse Wang oversees blood tests for check-up clients, why are you so familiar with them? You shouldn’t have much frequent contact with those getting check-ups, right?"
Lu Chuan’s question was exactly what Liu Guodong wanted to ask.
As a nurse in the blood testing departnt, Wang Manli’s work should be limited to the laboratory.
Her position shouldn’t require contact with the people getting check-ups.
So, why did Wang Manli say that Gao Sheng had a check-up at their center?
Furthermore, Wang Manli’s fingerprints appeared on Gao Sheng’s electric motorcycle, which was the most puzzling part.
A nurse from a blood testing departnt, driving a BMW, frequenting the most upscale hotel in Haizhou City, and yet left fingerprints on Gao Sheng’s electric motorcycle.
Why?
Lu Chuan had read Gao Sheng’s file — just an ordinary person, as ordinary as weeds by the roadside.
No impressive stature, no handso appearance, no stable job, and not from a well-off family.
The only thing he had was a mother who loved him.
Oh, and an electric motorcycle, a high-end model from Yadea, a second-hand one still 90% new could fetch 2,150 yuan.
Faced with Lu Chuan’s question, Wang Manli remained calm: "I don’t usually co into contact with those getting check-ups, but this person Officer Liu just showed is different."
Wang Manli pointed at the photo on the coffee table: "This person is my client."
"Client?"
Wang Manli nodded: "Yes, unlike public hospitals, our check-up center is privately funded, and each of us can bring in clients, for which the center gives a commission."
"The person you showed is my client, which is why I rember him."
"By the way, we have files for all our clients, which include the check-up manager’s information, and I’m his check-up manager."
"How did you know him?"
"WeChat, people nearby..."
"May we see your WeChat?"
"Well..."
"Rest assured, we just want to check the chat records with this person."
Frowning slightly, Wang Manli thought for a mont before unlocking her phone, operating it for a bit, and handing it to Liu Guodong: "What’s going on, did sothing happen to this person?"
Wang Manli displayed a typical normal person’s response of vigilance and curiosity.
Liu Guodong took the phone, seeing a WeChat chat interface with the note 78.
"Nothing much, just trying to get a sense of the situation," Liu Guodong didn’t directly answer Wang Manli’s question: "Nurse Wang, what does the note 78 represent?"
"My 78th client, each of my clients is marked like this, in nurical order."
The chat records hadn’t been deleted; they were just inquiries about the check-up information from the other party, along with so replies from Wang Manli.
The last ssage was from three weeks ago, a week before Gao Sheng disappeared.
The inquiry ended quickly.
Outside the check-up center, the manager personally saw Liu Guodong and Lu Chuan off.
Walking down the road, with the wind biting, neither Lu Chuan nor Liu Guodong called Zhang Hui.
"Master, this woman... I have a feeling there’s sothing off about her."
Adjusting his collar, Liu Guodong asked, "Oh? What seems off?"
Frowning, Lu Chuan thought briefly: "The fingerprints, her explanation of why her fingerprints ended up on Gao Sheng’s electric motorcycle seed a bit forced."
According to Wang Manli’s explanation, her fingerprints were on Gao Sheng’s electric motorcycle because, on the day Gao Sheng ca for his check-up, she went to et him and touched the motorcycle, thus leaving her fingerprints.
"Didn’t we just review the footage? On the day Gao Sheng ca for his check-up, Wang Manli indeed touched his electric motorcycle."
"And not just with Gao Sheng, she greets every client herself when they co for a check-up."
Liu Guodong looked back at the check-up center they had just left: "Isn’t every nurse from this check-up center like that?"
After questioning Wang Manli, Lu Chuan and Liu Guodong also reviewed Gao Sheng’s check-up report.
The client manager for the check-up was indeed Wang Manli, confird by the center manager.
Moreover, they also reviewed the surveillance footage from the day of Gao Sheng’s check-up.
Everything seed perfectly normal.
Wang Manli and Gao Sheng appeared to only have this brief encounter.
But in Lu Chuan’s mind, sothing still felt off.
This Wang Manli, she sohow felt familiar.
Not due to last night’s encounter, more like a vague, distant mory.
Where could it be?
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