Chapter 157

Chapter 157

In the end, they didn't have the sour soup noodles; the weather was too hot, and eating something with hot broth would only make it worse.

After Old Liu got home, he voluntarily changed the sour soup noodles to cold mixed noodles.

Blowing the fan, drinking icy soda, and eating cold mixed noodles, the heat could dissipate a bit.

Wang Heizi drank two bottles of soda in one breath, and when he burped, he felt a rush of air up his nose.

After finishing the soda, he took an ice lolly from the fridge, took a big bite, and while exhaling, he exclaimed how refreshing it was.

"Awesome!"

Unable to wash up in the car, he had been sticky for several days, not eating well or sleeping soundly. Now, after just washing up and having a full meal, although it was still very stuffy, he felt much more comfortable.

Old Liu walked around the house and found that everything was very complete, some of which were appliances he had only seen on TV.

There was even a phone in the living room, with a notebook beside it listing Zhai Hongyi's beeper number and several other phone numbers. Flipping through, he could also see Qian Shengnan's and others' numbers.

Learning that all this was arranged by Zhai Hongyi, Tang Qingqing hadn't worried at all, and Old Liu's gaze toward Zhai Hongyi finally became less critical.

"This place is decent enough."

Zhai Hongyi smiled, "If you feel anything needs improvement, just let me know. Qingqing is usually busy, but I have more free time, so if you need anything, just find me."

Old Liu raised an eyebrow at him, "Not bad for a kid like you."

Wang Heizi nudged Tang Qingqing with his elbow and whispered, "Brother Yi is really under Old Liu's thumb. Look at him; who would think he's a big shot outside?"

He glanced at Tang Qingqing again, "But to be fair, you're the one who's impressive."

Zhai Hongyi indeed respected Old Liu, remembering the favor of staying at his house back then, but more importantly, it was because of Tang Qingqing.

Old Liu was old and had not rested well after traveling for so long. After dinner, he started feeling sleepy.

"I'm going to take a nap. I can't sleep soundly if there's someone moving around the house. Qingqing, go out with them."

As he said this, he glanced at Wang Heizi.

After spending so much time together, Wang Heizi immediately understood the look.

It clearly meant he should be tactful and not stick around as a third wheel.

Wang Heizi couldn't help rolling his eyes; it had been a long time since he had seen Tang Qingqing, and they hadn't caught up yet!

Wang Heizi followed Zhai Hongyi and Tang Qingqing to their lodging and sent them off.

"I'm going to lie down for a while. Do whatever you want, just call me when it's time for dinner."

Walking out of the inn, Zhai Hongyi checked his watch.

"It's still early. Should I take you back to the Public Security Bureau?"

Tang Qingqing had taken the whole day off today. Although the bureau was very busy, she was just an intern and new, so her superiors were quite understanding and gave her leave.

Zhai Hongyi knew that Tang Qingqing had joined the special task force for the mass murder case. Due to the severe impact of the case, causing public panic, the bureau was under immense pressure, and many people had been working non-stop for a long time. For Tang Qingqing to take a day off at this critical moment was quite a luxury.

Until this case was solved, Tang Qingqing wouldn't be able to rest easy.

Tang Qingqing thought for a moment and finally shook her head, "If there's anything, the bureau will contact me. With Master here, taking a day off isn't a problem."

For years, Zhai Hongyi had always accommodated her, despite his own busy career. He always adjusted his schedule according to hers.

She would only get busier in the future, so since she had already taken leave, she decided to take this opportunity to temporarily put work aside and enjoy their time together.

Work was important, but life shouldn't be all about work.

Although Zhai Hongyi didn't say anything, Tang Qingqing could clearly sense his happiness.

The two went to see a movie. In the dim cinema, Zhai Hongyi held Tang Qingqing's hand, the warmth making both of their hearts race.

The movie wasn't particularly good, with a somewhat cliché plot, but they still enjoyed it very much.

Despite being in a long-distance relationship, it hadn't diminished their feelings or disconnected them from each other's lives. They often communicated and were always on the same wavelength.

No matter how many letters they wrote or how long they talked on the phone, nothing compared to being together in person.

The cinema wasn't far from their residence, so they decided to walk back instead of taking a car.

The local customs were relatively open, and intimate actions between couples on the street wouldn't attract strange looks.

Their hands never separated, holding onto each other tightly, unwilling to let go.

Tang Qingqing: "This year, I'll spend the New Year with you in the capital. We can finalize our plans. What do you think?"

Zhai Hongyi, of course, thought it was great!

He had been waiting for this day for a long time. Even though they had planned it before, bringing it up formally still couldn't hide his excitement.

"We'll bring Master along and celebrate the New Year in the capital."

Zhai Hongyi always made time to return to his village during the New Year, sometimes even spending New Year's Eve with Tang Qingqing and her family.

However, when Tang Qingqing was studying in the capital, she often visited the elderly Zhai family.

Initially, she didn't plan to visit frequently, considering the special status of the elderly Zhai family. Visiting too often might not be a good thing.

But the elderly Zhai family often invited her over, and knowing that Zhai Hongyi was most concerned about their well-being while away, she gradually began visiting more often.

Although the two elders were not short of people to take care of them, having a younger person around, especially Tang Qingqing, their favorite grandson's girlfriend, made them very happy, somewhat compensating for Zhai Hongyi's frequent absences.

Tang Qingqing often chatted with the two elders about things outside, the current state of society, and especially the attitudes of young people towards openness.

Although the two elders had retired and no longer held high positions, they remained deeply concerned about the welfare of the people. Due to their status, they inevitably had limited access to information, making the information Tang Qingqing brought particularly important to them.

Tang Qingqing had another set of memories, which gave her a deeper understanding of certain social phenomena, allowing her to see things that many people could not.

This led to the two elders initially liking her mainly because of Zhai Hongyi, but after several exchanges, they genuinely liked and admired Tang Qingqing as a junior, often praising her in front of others.

With the approval of the two elders, some people who knew she was Zhai Hongyi's partner did not disturb her out of curiosity or other reasons, allowing her to continue her studies in peace.

Zhai Hongyi also had plenty of family matters, but he never brought them up to Tang Qingqing, always finding ways to resolve them himself.

Zhai Hongyi stayed in Jiang City for another day, taking the old man and Wang Heizi on a tour of the city before leaving with Wang Heizi.

Wang Heizi adjusted his business, now having even closer ties with Zhai Hongyi. He would not abandon his business back home, but he would shift his focus to the south.

This way, he could see her more often, which made Tang Qingqing very happy.

Although Tang Qingqing now had many good friends, those closest to her were still the few from her hometown.

After Old Liu recovered, he joined the special task force investigating the clan extermination case, assisting with the investigation.

The chief, upon learning that Tang Qingqing's master was coming to Jiang City, naturally did not want to miss such a skilled talent.

Old Liu was someone who couldn't stay idle; he preferred staying in the village rather than becoming a burden to Tang Qingqing.

Moreover, he truly enjoyed studying footprints, especially after serving as an advisor for a few years, which made it hard for him to let go.

Thus, they came to an agreement. Although Jiang City was relatively chaotic, its economic conditions were better, and the subsidies provided to Old Liu were much higher than those in his hometown.

Old Liu didn't want people to think he was a waste of money, so he and Tang Qingqing would head out early every morning to search for clues at the crime scene and its surroundings, returning home only when the sun set.

If it weren't for their unfamiliarity with the area and the increased chaos at night, Old Liu would have worked until late into the night.

Hard work paid off, and they finally found a partial footprint in a corner.

The footprint was extremely blurred and would have been easily overlooked if not for their thorough search.

Based on their analysis of the perpetrator's actions at the time, this footprint was likely left by the killer.

Zhou Zhibin said, "Finally caught this guy! I really want to see what kind of person could leave no trace."

However, Tang Qingqing had to remind him, "Don't get too excited yet. The owner of this footprint is just a major suspect and cannot be confirmed as the killer."

"Ah..." Zhou Zhibin's face fell immediately.

They had been working hard for so long without much progress, and during this period, many other cases had occurred. If things continued like this, they might have to withdraw resources and put this case on hold temporarily.

This was a result no one wanted, but with the current low efficiency in solving cases, they sometimes had to set aside difficult ones.

This did not mean they would abandon the case; they would never give up on uncovering the truth, and some cases might take decades to solve.

Zhou Zhibin quickly regained his spirits, "Regardless, it's good to have a lead. What if the owner of this footprint is the killer?"

Things did not go smoothly, however. Although they found the footprint, due to the passage of time, Tang Qingqing and Old Liu failed to find any further traces of the footprint's owner, making it impossible to track him down.

This meant they had very little information. While they could analyze physical characteristics, they could only roughly estimate height, weight, age, and gender, not directly identify the killer.

In the vast sea of people, it was difficult to determine who the killer was.

Especially since the killer was likely there to steal, meaning he probably had no connection to the victim's family, making it hard to investigate through the victim's circle.

Tang Qingqing could only try to gather as much information as possible from the footprint, sketching a rough image of the suspect to narrow down the investigation. She even drew a silhouette based on her speculations.

Though it was just a silhouette, it revealed a lot.

Tang Qingqing and Zhou Zhibin took the silhouette to the crime scene and nearby areas to ask residents if they recognized it.

Old Liu, on the other hand, was assigned to another investigation team to work on different cases.

Tang Qingqing and Zhou Zhibin searched for three days without success.

Zhou Zhibin handed Tang Qingqing a cold cola, took a big gulp himself, and said:

"Today is the last day. If we don't find anything, we'll have to give up on this lead."

Both were reluctant but couldn't afford to waste more time.

Tang Qingqing pursed her lips and drank her cola quietly.

Another day passed without any leads, and they had to return home.

It seemed today was destined to be unlucky. The bus they were on broke down, and they had to get off and look for another one.

By then, it was already dark, and both were hungry.

Zhou Zhibin suggested, "That restaurant has great food. Why don't we eat there before going back?"

Tang Qingqing had no objections and followed Zhou Zhibin into a small restaurant.

The restaurant was small but well-maintained, looking quite old but very clean.

Zhou Zhibin said, "The scallion oil chicken here is delicious. Do you want to try it?"

"I'm fine with anything. You decide."

Zhou Zhibin, now more familiar with her, ordered one meat dish, one vegetable, and a soup without hesitation.

"The slow-cooked soup here is also exceptional, no less delicious than what Mom makes."

After Zhou Zhibin finished ordering, he casually placed the documents in his hand on the table.

The boss recognized Zhou Zhibin and greeted him warmly, glancing at Tang Qingqing.

"This beautiful lady is your...?"

Hearing this, Zhou Zhibin hurriedly interrupted, "She's my colleague!"

The boss understood and quickly changed the subject, lavishing praise on Tang Qingqing, "You're even prettier than the stars in Hong Kong City!"

Zhou Zhibin: "This table is a bit dirty. Do you have a cloth to clean it?"

The boss immediately stopped the conversation, went to the kitchen to fetch a cloth, and wiped the table very efficiently.

While cleaning, he glanced at the documents Zhou Zhibin had placed on the table, his brow furrowing slightly.

His gaze shifted away but couldn't help returning to the paper with the silhouette.

Zhou Zhibin noticed the boss's gaze, "What are you looking at?"

The boss quickly averted his eyes, "Oh, I didn't mean to. I just saw it by accident. It's not important, right?"

"Does this silhouette look familiar to you?"

The boss nodded and shook his head, "It does seem familiar, which is why I took a second look."

Zhou Zhibin and Tang Qingqing exchanged a glance, "Take another look, more carefully. Do you recognize anyone like this?"

Despite the number of customers, the boss pulled up a stool and sat down, examining the silhouette closely, chin in hand, brow furrowed in concentration.

Tang Qingqing took out her file, "Look at this. Does it jog your memory more?"

The pages in the file were flipped through quickly, bringing the silhouette to life, making it more vivid.

"Oh! This person, I know him, yes, it's definitely him, I can't be wrong!"