Chapter 301 - 301 270 Secret_2

Words : 1406 Updated : Oct 3rd, 2025

301: Chapter 270: Secret_2 301: Chapter 270: Secret_2 “Stabbed once, yet willing to be helped? So, actually, it was a relationship based on trust?” Wan Baoming also came to understand. Without confirming or denying, Jiang Yuan continued to objectively describe, “The victim lay flat on the bed, with a trail of blood flowing from the right side of her abdomen, creating a pool of blood on the bed. The area around the bed was kept clean and tidy, which also proves that the victim was murdered, because if she had pulled out the weapon herself, and if she intended to dispose of it, there should have been blood traces left behind.” Wan Baoming understood and said, “At that moment, the murderer left with the weapon.” Engrossed in the discussion, Tang Jia stepped forward and said, “The perpetrator and the victim had a trusting relationship, but this isn’t found within the scope of our investigated social network. Did the victim have a secret lover?” The detective responsible for this case frowned and said, “From what we understand, the victim was a well-behaved girl with no bad habits, doesn’t frequent nightclubs, doesn’t use luxury goods, and her daily expenses were also at a normal level. Her rented house was very cheap, right next to the school, mainly because her advisor had a project nearby... Moreover, this girl was only 25 years old, didn’t even have a boyfriend, and now you’re saying she had a secret lover?” Tang Jia said, “She’s already 25. If she were any older, she couldn’t be a secret lover anymore.” The detective helplessly said, “We checked all the contacts in her phonebook, including people on various messaging apps, and there was no sign that she had a boyfriend or a lover... ” “We’re talking about a secret lover here,” Tang Jia glanced at Jiang Yuan before adding, “If the murderer were a man with social status, an established identity, then it’s very likely that a girl like Ruan Sijing would agree to secret contact and even cover up the existence of the other party...” “What’s in it for her?” the detective asked bluntly. After giving it some thought, Tang Jia said, “If the other party was a prince, there would certainly be many obstacles, hiding one’s identity is just one of those obstacles.” “What’s in it for her?” the detective asked again, “No money, no gifts, no sense of ceremony, not even daily help, and she rented the place herself with such poor conditions? And he’s still a prince?” Tang Jia gave him a glance and said coolly, “Money, gifts, and ceremonies are the compensation ordinary people offer to a princess. Suffering and sharing moments of hardship with a prince, supporting each other in the hardest times, that is the romantic dream of a princess.” The detective looked dumbfounded, “Is it really like that?” Wan Baoming snapped his fingers twice and looked towards Jiang Yuan, asking, “Doctor Jiang, what do you think?” Jiang Yuan slowly said, “It’s indeed possible... I think we can start from two aspects. On one hand, we should ask the victim’s relatives and friends again to see how she got along with people around her. It’s not necessarily a lover; it could be a relative or someone else. On the other hand, regarding male-female relationships...” Jiang Yuan paused for a moment. Tang Jia continued the conversation, “We could start with how they communicated. If the victim Ruan Sijing was a graduate student, her English should be good, right? Maybe they used international social media apps? Such as ones with disappearing messages, like Quora, which is the international version of Zhihu, or even Tinder.” “What’s Tinder?” the detective asked. Tang Jia looked at him warily, “Why are you asking about that one specifically?” “Because you explained the others, like the disappearing messages and Zhihu,” he replied. After a few seconds of silence, Tang Jia said, “Tinder shows you four people a day based on your location. If both people add each other as friends, they can chat. If one person deletes the friend, all their messages disappear...” The detective was amazed, “Is that possible? How can we even investigate that?” Wan Baoming also said, “It really is convenient for hookups.” “But how do we investigate? There are so many foreign apps.” “What about Ruan Sijing’s phone? If she installed those apps, we should be able to see, right? Even if she deleted them, there should still be records.” The detectives in the meeting room had their thoughts opened up and began to offer advice and strategies. The tough, straightforward cop couldn’t help but throw cold water on the discussion, saying, “The phone was definitely thoroughly searched, and there would be a record of any deleted apps. If there were any strange apps, I would have remembered them...” “There has to be contact, right? Even if it’s a secret lover, they would still need to communicate, talk, arrange times.” The straightforward cop hesitated for a moment, sighed, and said, “It’s possible there was a second phone. We haven’t included this in the external case file, and it’s only been mentioned by very few people.” When detectives work on major cases, they often have the habit of keeping some small details to themselves. Sometimes it’s due to a lack of time to describe them or not including them in the case file, and sometimes it’s intentional. Someone, skeptical, went to extract evidence, trying to find any possible apps. But back in the meeting room, the discussion about the direction of the investigation continued. Tang Jia spoke up again, “What about surveillance footage? Was nothing found there either?” The tough cop replied, “No. We did look at quite a bit of footage, but at the time we weren’t considering the possibility of a secret lover. We were more focused on finding someone with vested interests, taking into account the girl’s work and study environments...” “Were there no times when she was alone with a man?” someone asked. “Just because they’re alone together implies a romantic relationship?” the tough cop countered. This left people stumped. After a while, someone gathered their thoughts again and began to ask, “No records in hotels, no records of abortions at hospitals, no gifts or money transfers? Such a transparent lover? That’s too exaggerated...” This was actually another argument against the idea of a secret lover. Jiang Yuan found himself deep in thought. Tang Jia looked at Jiang Yuan and said, “There are not many things that can lead one to face death calmly, love is one, perhaps. And it’s only this kind of sweet love, the envy of all once it’s revealed, that a girl would follow through life and death, right?” A bunch of men in the meeting room didn’t know what to say. Jiang Yuan cleared his throat and said, “I think we can change our approach. Let’s assume the victim had a secret lover, and the two of them communicated through a foreign app to avoid being seen in public places and avoid hotel records... They would still have meals together, right? Otherwise, how would they date?” Everyone in the meeting room turned to look. Despite the possibility of dating without dining together, in a normal sense, even a prince and princess would dine out. Jiang Yuan continued, “I suggest this: we send a few people to check the upscale restaurants in the city. There aren’t that many high-class restaurants in Changyang City. See if anyone remembers them. For a ‘prince,’ even if he doesn’t need to give gifts to the woman, at least they would eat something good, right?” Jiang Yuan still remembered the dried abalone takeout he ordered the day before. From the restaurant’s perspective, a customer like him would certainly be memorable. Then, Jiang Yuan turned to Wan Baoming and said, “I think we can re-verify the DNA samples, especially in the bathroom. If the killer and the victim were in a romantic relationship, there would definitely be their DNA and fingerprints everywhere.” Wan Baoming had no objections, only his head began to itch as if his brain was growing. The case seemed to be on the verge of a breakthrough.

Chapter 301 - 301 270 Secret_2

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