HH Chapter 20

Just as they arrived at the station, Yan Ya handed a report to Cheng Ye. “Captain, take a look at this.”

Cheng Ye took the report and glanced over it, his brows furrowing immediately. He gripped the paper tightly. “What a goddamn monster.”

Pei Qinghuai took the report from Cheng Ye and looked at it. His face also turned grim. The report indicated that although Chen Caiyun was now just a pile of bones, her injuries were evident. Most of the broken bones were fractures from when she was still alive. It was hard to imagine what she had gone through while she still had flesh on her bones.

“Fang Yuan!” Cheng Ye called out, gritting his teeth. “You and Jiang Fei go bring Li Xiaoyan in.”

Fang Yuan and Jiang Fei stood up simultaneously. “Yes, sir!”

Cheng Ye nodded and turned to Pei Qinghuai. “You, come with me.”

Pei Qinghuai followed Cheng Ye, entering the conference room. Cheng Ye turned on a computer and placed it between them, showing a one-minute surveillance video.

“This is from the surveillance camera on the main road outside Chenghua Alley. Look here.” Cheng Ye paused the video. “It didn’t seem significant at first, but now it looks a bit strange.”

Although the video wasn’t very clear, it was still possible to make out the general attire. On the street near Chenghua Alley, a woman in a long gray coat was standing by the roadside, fiddling with the front of her coat as if trying to hide something. The woman looked somewhat bulky, and her clothes didn’t seem to fit well.

After glancing around for a few seconds, she turned and entered Chenghua Alley.

“This is from May 31st, five days before the incident,” Cheng Ye said.

Pei Qinghuai leaned forward, enlarging the paused image, and then clicked play again. “Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier?” He sounded a bit reproachful. Cheng Ye, knowing he was at fault, puffed out his cheeks and said, “There are hours of surveillance footage. This is just a minute-long clip, and this is a main road. Who would have noticed this?”

Pei Qinghuai raised his eyebrows slightly, leaning forward to scrutinize the screen again. “But you did notice it,” he said. “Look here.”

He rewound the video and played it again. “Pay attention to her hands.”

Cheng Ye stared at the screen, watching it several times before finally giving up. “What…is the problem?”

“Look at her posture,” Pei Qinghuai said, pointing at the screen. “After she adjusts her coat, her hands drop to her abdomen. Although the video isn’t clear, you can roughly see that her right hand overlaps her left and starts rubbing unconsciously.” He then turned to Cheng Ye. “Does that remind you of anything?”

Caught off guard, Cheng Ye hesitated for a moment, his mouth twitching slightly as he glanced aside. “What?”

Pei Qinghuai raised his eyebrows and leaned back in his chair, his expression calming. “You’ll understand soon enough.”

Just as Pei Qinghuai finished speaking, Zhang Yibao pushed the door open and entered. “Captain, we’ve checked the surveillance at Wencheng University. Tian Yunxin did leave midway.”

“Keep checking other places,” Cheng Ye instructed, as Pei Qinghuai began packing up the laptop.

Zhang Yibao closed the door. Before Cheng Ye could say anything to Pei Qinghuai, Yan Ya burst in again. Cheng Ye had to swallow his words once more, taking a deep breath and smiling at Yan Ya. “Don’t you all know how to knock before entering?”