The voice of Chen Yuge ca thoughtfully from the other end of the phone, as if recalling yesterday’s events.
"I rember now, the old lady kept ntioning a na, it sounded like a reduplication, ngng or Mingming, she had a Rizhao accent so I didn’t hear it clearly.
The old lady repeated it seven or eight tis behind the woman, ’Mingming (you) need to look after her, that child bought such flashy trousers, and even wears red lipstick, don’t you take it lightly, huh? Every night there is a young man who escorts her ho, you pretend not to see it, right?’
That’s all I can recall, as for the woman’s injuries, she didn’t ask, but Wang Wenjing’s injuries are a bit strange; they don’t seem to be caused by an electric scooter. I feel more like they were caused by sothing like a stick."
"Hit by sothing? Like a hollow-out imprints from a beating?"
Chen Yuge across the line replied with a laugh:
"Yes, yes, yes, that’s the term. I always like reading detective novels, but couldn’t quite rember the term at the ti. We usually call them hollowed contusions, with two parallel strips of bleeding, a pale area of bleeding in between, and a corresponding fracture on the bone. It’s hard for a car accident to cause such an injury."
"Thank you so much, Doctor Chen, and please say thanks to Mr. He for too, sorry to trouble you."
After exchanging pleasantries, Zhou Ning hung up the phone, Xu Dayuan looked at Zhou Ning with confusion.
"Why didn’t you ask for details about the injuries?"
Zhou Ning smiled.
"They’re doctors, not computers, asking like that would be a bit much. Mr. Zeng and the others have gone; they’ll be able to get Wang Wenjing’s X-rays. It’s enough for them to produce a new report. Besides, I’ve seen Wang Wenjing’s X-rays; those kinds of injuries can’t be caused by a wheel collision."
"Are you saying, Wang Wenjing lied?"
Zhou Ning nodded.
"She lied about the cause of the injury, but she was severely beaten. We just don’t know the reason why. However, what the old lady said might be a clue; Wang Wenjing’s daughter is not an easy child to deal with."
Xu Dayuan humd, patting Mr. Zhao on the shoulder.
"Change course, we’re not going back to the station, let’s head straight to School No. 102."
Without any complaint, Mr. Zhao complied, but Zhou Ning couldn’t accept this, having run around with Xu Dayuan all morning. They were just forensic doctors; this was like pressing them into labor.
"Xu Da, don’t do this. You go investigate; why drag us into it? I still want to go back and see the autopsy results from Mr. Pang. After all, these two cases are sowhat related."
"There’s no rush. The body isn’t going anywhere."
Without further ado, he dialed Mr. Zeng’s number, instructing him to produce another set of X-rays for Wang Wenjing. Of course, the security footage from the door would also be needed, especially the part with the black Santana. He wanted the footage to be sent directly to Mr. Qu at the lab.
Silently, they arrived at School No. 102 by 11:02. Upon exiting the car and explaining their purpose, a vice principal was called out. Xu Dayuan shook hands with him and said.
"We’re just here to do so investigation; we don’t want to disrupt the students’ normal learning. Could you help us find Wang ngng’s horoom teacher from Senior Year Two? We just want to understand the situation; don’t worry, you may stay and listen."
The vice principal was quite cooperative, and soon after a phone call, the horoom teacher arrived and ushered Xu Dayuan and his colleagues into a room behind the guardhouse. Xu Dayuan got straight to the point:
"Teacher, is Wang ngng involved in a romantic relationship?"
The teacher was startled, such a direct question was unexpected, but having confird Xu Dayuan’s credentials as a criminal police officer, the teacher quickly replied, glancing at the vice principal:
"Well, since the second sester of Senior Year Two started, this child has been a little different. Her grades, which used to be in the top one hundred of her year, have fallen below six hundred. I’ve spoken to her parents, but there’s been no improvent, only resistance. Although she wears the school uniform, she secretly wears makeup, but as to whom she’s dating, I don’t know that."
Xu Dayuan nodded, appreciating the teacher’s diligence.
"In the last two days, has she shown any anomalies, such as asking for leave, being late, leaving early, sleeping in class, or carrying a mobile phone etc.?"
"Nothing unusual in the last two days. No tardiness in the morning, but yesterday at the start of morning reading, she began to vomit and suffered stomach pain. She went to the school infirmary, but there’s been no other issues."
Zhou Ning paused; he rembered that Wang Wenjing had said her child was sent to school at 6:10 AM. During this ti, the child had left the classroom, which imdiately alerted him. He nudged Xu Dayuan from behind and passed him the pre-typed text on his phone.
After a glance, Xu Dayuan smiled at the teacher.
"Can we ask the teacher in the infirmary? Or does anyone know when Wang ngng returned to the classroom? We’d rather not ask the child directly to avoid affecting her. Of course, the teacher can also call one or two class leaders to talk about it."
The teacher looked at the vice principal, who imdiately made a phone call. The teacher went to the classroom, and soon after, the vice principal hung up first.
"The infirmary teacher said Wang ngng had stomach pains due to her nstrual cycle. She gave her a painkiller and let Wang ngng rest for a bit before she left," explained the vice principal.
"When did the infirmary teacher leave?"
"After giving the dicine, the teacher left, and Wang ngng left shortly after."
Zhou Ning ca over and interjected.
"Principal, there’s a student in the first year nad Sun Yannian, who cos from another place to study. I am not sure if he is an auditing student or a regular one. Could you help us check his class attendance and arrival ti at the school yesterday?"
This ti the vice principal was very obliging, smiling as he directly called the first-year grade teacher. Xu Dayuan glanced at Zhou Ning, surprised because he too had been polite, but the vice principal hadn’t been so enthusiastic before. Could it be because Zhou Ning was good-looking?
Soon, a teacher returned the call, and the vice principal thoughtfully switched to speakerphone.
"Teacher Wang, I heard Sun Yannian is in your class. Is he an auditing student?"
"Yes, he joined mid-sester and has been barely keeping up with the courses."
"Oh, what ti did he arrive yesterday morning? Do you rember if he asked for leave?"
At this point, the vice principal looked at Zhou Ning, who gave him a thumbs-up to affirm the accuracy of his questioning.
"He ca in very early yesterday morning; I was just outside the classroom when I saw him ssing around in the corridor with a mop. The glass between the classroom and the corridor was smashed. I told him to reflect on his actions in the corridor and to have his family co to fix it in the evening.
"However, during the last class in the morning, which was mine, I went to the classroom before the bell rang. He wasn’t there. Another student who was punished to stand outside told Sun Yannian’s mom took him away because his father had died in a car accident. I didn’t inquire further. He hasn’t shown up today, and his family hasn’t called in for leave. I guess they forgot about it too. It’s understandable."
Seemingly recalling Xu Dayuan’s earlier question, the vice principal’s intelligence was instantly ’online’.
"Yesterday morning you had Sun Yannian stand outside the classroom. Who saw him standing there the whole ti? When did he leave? Ask that other student who was punished to stand with him now. We need to check the surveillance; if it doesn’t match up, he will be disciplined—just say that."
The teacher didn’t hesitate and, without hanging up the phone, imdiately called a student. After intimidating him with a few words, the child told the truth.
"As soon as the teacher left, he ran away. He asked to cover for him and even gave a hundred yuan."
After scolding the child, the teacher spoke to the vice principal:
"Yesterday morning, I arrived at the teaching research office at 6:10. At 6:40, our first-year level needed to collect money for test papers, so..."
The vice principal cut off his explanation and hung up the phone. Xu Dayuan smiled at the vice principal and nodded slightly.
"Thank you, Principal. We now have a pretty good understanding of the situation. Wait..."
Just then, the high school second-year Teacher Wang, who had been there earlier, arrived with a female student.
"This is the class president of Class 27, second year. She has so knowledge of the students’ personal matters. Don’t be afraid; just tell these three police officers what you told ," said Teacher Wang.
Xu Dayuan glanced over, feeling like they had no other option by this point.
The girl was quite tall and seed mature. Her gaze was very clear. She nodded without any embarrassnt and opened a small notebook, obviously used for discipline records.
"Wang ngng has received quite a few love letters. This notebook records five boys she has dated, including people from our own class and grade, as well as from the third and first years. However, she has been getting close to a transfer student from the first year recently. I don’t know his na," she said.
All three officers paused and looked at each other. Zhou Ning imdiately took out his phone and looked up the photos they had taken at Yu ili’s place, flipping to the one of the desk and handing it to the female student.
"Take a look—is this the first-year transfer student you ntioned?"
The girl glanced at the photo and quickly nodded.
"That’s him!"
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