Zou Shuyang and Captain He sat in the principal’s office at Jiangzhou No.4 High School. The bald principal sipped his tea slowly, casting a leisurely glance at the two of them.
The office was located on the top floor of the school building, and by craning his neck, Zou Shuyang could see the energetic students bustling below as they arrived for school.
I wonder if I’ll see Mengmeng, he thought, pursing his lips.
The next moment, his thoughts were interrupted by a nudge from Captain He, who bumped his leg.
Zou Shuyang snapped back to reality, shifting his gaze to the principal.
The principal had finally finished his tea and, after raising an eyebrow at his empty cup, adopted a slightly troubled expression. “You two know that what you’re asking about happened ten years ago, right? I wasn’t the principal back then.”
The implication was clear: I don’t know anything, so you might as well leave.
Zou Shuyang stared at the principal for a while, until the man’s movements became awkward and his palms began to sweat. Finally, Zou Shuyang smiled. “But according to Mr. Sun’s records, you were the dean of students ten years ago. And, to be honest, the dean usually has a closer relationship with the students than the principal, don’t you think?”
Faced with the sweat beading on his forehead, the principal forced a smile. “Well, like you said, I was the dean. I had to manage so many students across the school. How could I focus on just a few?”
Seeing that neither Zou Shuyang nor Captain He were buying his excuses, the principal awkwardly laughed again. “You know, that student, Ding Jing, wasn’t particularly notable. Her grades were so-so. Why would I pay so much attention to her?”
At this, Zou Shuyang wagged his finger from side to side. “That’s not right, Principal Sun. Ding Jing? Her grades consistently ranked in the top three of her year. Are you saying you didn’t notice her?”
The principal’s fingers twitched. “Oh, were her grades really that good? I don’t remember that.”
Seeing that the two officers still weren’t giving up, the smile on his face stiffened. After an awkward pause, he sighed and dropped the pretense. “The situation back then was messy. The previous principal resigned because of it. Are you sure you want to know?”
Captain He leaned forward slightly, his expression serious. “Principal Sun, as police officers, we’re not here for gossip.”
The principal sighed, visibly deflating. “Alright then, what do you want to know? But let me be clear—I don’t know much. If you want more details, you should ask the teachers from her class. Although, they might not be keen to talk about it either.”
The principal stood up and went over to the water cooler, filling his cup to the brim before continuing. “Back then, Ding Jing was somewhat of a celebrity in her year. At the time, the school was cracking down on relationships between students. Ding Jing was pretty, came from a good family, and had good grades. A lot of boys were interested in her.”
He took a sip of water and continued as he walked back. “But this Ding Jing was indifferent to everyone, carrying herself with an air of pride. That only made the boys more fascinated by her. I often received reports about boys bothering her.”
Zou Shuyang thought for a moment before asking, “And what was Ding Jing’s own response?”
“Ding Jing? She was a good girl. She politely turned down every suitor without making them feel embarrassed. I remember her reputation was very positive. Students said she helped those who were struggling and never looked down on anyone. If someone had a question, she would patiently explain it to them.”
At this, the principal sighed deeply. “What a good girl she was… How did something like this happen to her?”
Mid-sigh, the principal seemed to remember something. His movement to drink his tea froze for a moment, but then he quickly masked it with a look of sorrow.
Captain He narrowed his eyes. “Principal Sun, did something just come to mind?”
The principal froze, forcing a strained smile. “No, nothing came to mind.”
Captain He raised an eyebrow, his smile faint but knowing. “Oh? Is that so?”
Clearly unprepared for Captain He’s sharp observation, the principal’s strained smile faltered, his round face turning red from the effort of keeping it up.
Just as the principal looked like he might pass out from holding his breath, the bell rang, signaling the start of classes.
Relieved, the principal’s hand trembled slightly as he set down his cup. “Ding Jing was a good kid. Her disappearance all these years, with her fate unknown… It’s heartbreaking. But this whole thing… it’s not something to be proud of.”
Zou Shuyang and Captain He exchanged glances, seeing in each other’s eyes that the principal was finally ready to tell the truth.
The principal sighed again. “Ding Jing left school early the day she disappeared. You’re aware of that, right?”
When the two officers nodded, the principal reluctantly continued, “But Ding Jing didn’t go straight home. She stayed behind on school grounds.”
“She stayed at school?”
The principal shot a nervous glance at Zou Shuyang, then at Captain He. “I don’t know much about it. This is just what the security guard told me. He said… that after school, during his usual patrol, he heard a girl’s cries for help near the storage room at the far end of the first floor. It was just two cries. At first, he thought he might have misheard, so he was about to leave. But just as he turned around, he heard a heavy thud from inside the storage room.”
“The weather wasn’t great that day—cloudy and windy. After hearing the noise, he walked toward the storage room. Through the door, which hadn’t been fully closed, he saw a girl being pinned to the ground, with half her clothes already torn off.”
“The girl being… was… Ding Jing?” Zou Shuyang slammed his hand against the table, producing a loud, startling noise.
Captain He glanced over to see that Zou Shuyang’s hand had turned bright red.
The principal grabbed a tissue to wipe the sweat from his forehead. “Yes, based on the guard’s description, it matched Ding Jing.”
Captain He frowned. “Then why wasn’t this mentioned in Ding Jing’s disappearance report?”
The principal’s face twisted in discomfort. “I only found out a few years ago, when that security guard retired. He said that when he saw what was happening, he knew it was bad. He didn’t think it was something that should be brought to light, so he was afraid it would affect his job. So he kept quiet. Later, when the police were taking statements, he was worried he’d get in trouble for not stopping it, so he kept it hidden.”
“Did he see who was assaulting… Ding Jing?”
The principal shook his head. “He only took a quick glance. He was too scared to look further.”
Zou Shuyang and Captain He exchanged looks. Zou Shuyang asked, “What’s his name? Where is he now?”
The principal waved his hand. “You want to ask him? It’s no use. He passed away a few days ago.”
“Passed away? Where did he go?”
The principal hesitated. “They say it was a heart attack. He died.”
The timing and cause of death sounded eerily familiar to Zou Shuyang. “Could it be…”
He trailed off, only to see Captain He nodding at him.
——
By the time they left the principal’s office, it was nearing noon.
As they walked out of the school building, Zou Shuyang felt like a headless fly, his mind a chaotic mess. It seemed like there were clues, but whenever he tried to grasp them, they slipped away.
It wasn’t until they got back to the car that Zou Shuyang finally spoke. “That security guard… was the old man who approached me the other day. He died after telling me what he knew.”
Then something struck him. “But wait, that man took medicine when he was talking to me. I saw that the medicine was for treating heart conditions.”
“So you’re wondering why he still died of a heart attack?”
Zou Shuyang nodded. “I’m curious about the autopsy results.”
At this, Captain He’s expression darkened. “There was no autopsy on the security guard.”
Seeing Zou Shuyang’s confusion, Captain He explained with a grim look, “His children believed that since he died of a heart attack, it was a natural death, so there was no need for an autopsy.”
“But…”
“And besides, there was no sign of a third party at the scene other than you. There’s no evidence to support the idea that he was murdered.” Captain He shrugged. “We can’t force the family to agree to an autopsy.”
“What about now?”
“He was cremated that same afternoon.”
Zou Shuyang froze. “That quickly?”
Captain He started the car for him. “Which is why I’m very suspicious that the family knows something.”
After thinking it over, Zou Shuyang called Xiao Tang, instructing him to assign someone to monitor the security guard’s family and to investigate the financial activities of Shen Jun and the others. He wanted to see if their families were aware of any unusual transactions.
After giving all the necessary instructions, Zou Shuyang leaned back in his seat, letting the cool air from the air conditioner wash over him as he let out a long sigh.
“I wonder just how many people this case will end up involving.”
Hearing Zou Shuyang’s grumbling, Captain He didn’t even spare him a glance. He fiddled with the controls and switched on the car radio.
“Top Ten Outstanding Youths of Jiangzhou, 2022…”
Zou Shuyang let himself be downcast for a brief moment before pulling himself together again. “At least we now know what happened before Ding Jing disappeared.”
He sighed once more. “Though honestly, I wish I didn’t know.”
After all, according to the old principal, Ding Jing was a good girl. But in just half a year, she had gone through so much.
When Captain He didn’t respond for a while, Zou Shuyang turned his head in confusion, only to find Captain He holding a cigarette, his brow furrowed as if deep in thought.
“Captain He, did you just think of something?”
Captain He sat quietly for a moment before saying, “I remembered that Old Shen came to see me before the incident.”
He paused, then added, “At the time, Old Shen seemed off. He sat at my place for a while, then suddenly asked me if sentencing for minors was lighter.”
Zou Shuyang snapped his fingers. “We may have just uncovered the reason for Shen Tinglan’s death.”
Captain He looked over. “What do you mean?”
Zou Shuyang lowered his voice. “According to Mengmeng’s statement, the day Ding Jing disappeared, Shen Tinglan came to her, asking if she had seen Ding Jing. And now you’re telling me Shen Tinglan asked you about the sentencing for minors. So, it’s almost certain that Shen Tinglan knew what happened to Ding Jing when she went missing. And the person who… assaulted Ding Jing…”
Captain He picked up where he left off. “Was very likely the one who hired someone to kill Old Shen.”
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