Chapter 93: Roommate

Chapter 93: The Roommate

Early the next morning, Teacher He, the counselor who had received the message in advance, was already waiting at the school gate.

After exchanging brief greetings, Shen Qingye skipped the small talk and went straight to the point: "Teacher He, how well do you know Zhou Yuanfeng?"

Teacher He, already aware of their purpose, nodded emphatically. "Of course I know him. How could I not?"

She continued, "Zhou Yuanfeng aces every final exam, always ranking at the top of his grade. He’s also the class monitor and the student council president, so we interact frequently."

Shen Qingye asked, "How is his relationship with his classmates?"

Teacher He thought for a moment. "From what I know, he gets along well with most of his classmates. They all trust and look up to him as their monitor."

Shen Qingye pressed, "Is there anyone he’s particularly tight with?"

"I’m not sure about that. But he probably has a good relationship with the other class committee members and his three roommates, given how much time they spend together."

Shen Qingye: "Has he ever had any conflicts with anyone?"

Teacher He: "No. He’s done an outstanding job as class monitor these years and handles things diplomatically. Even if there were disagreements, they wouldn’t escalate."

Shen Qingye nodded and then asked, "What about Qin Jiayu? Do you know her?"

Teacher He sighed. "Qin Jiayu... her grades are decent, but she's on the quiet side and not part of the class committee. I haven’t interacted with her much, so I don’t know her well. I’ve only heard rumors that she and Zhou Yuanfeng were dating."

Shen Qingye acknowledged this and glanced at the teaching building ahead. "Are all the classmates and their roommates currently at school?"

Teacher He nodded. "Yes. After receiving your message yesterday, I put out the word. Aside from a few local students or those who’ve already found jobs and rented places off-campus, most are here and waiting in the classroom now."

Shen Qingye nodded. "Thank you, Teacher He."

"No trouble at all. Cooperating with the investigation is our duty. I just hope it helps your case."

·

It was June already, and most classes were pretty much done. Given the circumstances, the school principal had cleared the entire teaching building to assist the police investigation. Apart from Zhou Yuanfeng’s classmates, no other students were present.

Meanwhile, the classmates who had been gathered early in the morning by their counselor were still confused. Sitting in small groups in the classroom, they were visibly anxious about missing work after being abruptly told they couldn’t leave campus.

With over thirty people buzzing with conversation, the classroom was inevitably noisy. Just as Teacher He was about to step in to restore order, Shen Qingye stopped her.

The group stood outside the window, first identifying Zhou Yuanfeng and Qin Jiayu’s roommates. After observing for a while, they had Teacher He call them out one by one.

"Quiet, everyone!" Teacher He stood at the podium, the normally easygoing young teacher looking uncharacteristically stern as she addressed the students. "Today is a special situation. We’re keeping you all here because of Qin Jiayu’s disappearance. The police are here now and need your cooperation. Give straight answers when they ask."

A male student raised his hand. "Teacher! What does Qin Jiayu’s disappearance have to do with us? I've barely exchanged two words with her in four years—I know nothing about this!"

Another added, "Yeah, Teacher! I have work today! If I don't show up out of the blue, my boss will definitely chew me out!"

"Right, we’re all worried about Qin Jiayu, but we don’t know anything. Why are we being kept here?"

The classroom erupted in protests. Teacher He’s expression hardened, and she slammed her hand on the desk. "Silence!"

She scanned the room coldly. "Qin Jiayu is your classmate. You’ve shared classrooms and dorms with her. Any information you provide could help find her. The police are here now, and cooperating with them is your responsibility. Do I really need to remind you of that?"

The students exchanged uneasy glances and went dead silent.

Teacher He continued, "As for your work situations, don’t worry. Once this is over, the school will contact your employers directly to ensure it doesn’t affect your jobs. For now, stay put in this classroom. No one leaves—period!"

Her eyes stopped, landing on a male student in the middle row: "Gao Xuefeng, come with me for a minute!"

"Huh?" The tall, broad-shouldered guy in the crowd froze for a second before slowly standing up. He exchanged a glance with his roommate beside him, then finally seemed to realize something: "Uh, okay, okay."

Watching their dorm leader follow the counselor out, Tang Hao and Ke Zhiwei exchanged looks, their faces full of worry.

·

In a quiet classroom down the hall, Gao Xuefeng sat in the empty room, staring at the two unfamiliar faces seated across from him. He swallowed hard—he hadn’t felt this nervous even during his thesis defense.

Shen Qingye spoke gently, "Don’t be nervous. We just have a few simple questions for you."

Gao Xuefeng probably already knew why they were here. He nodded stiffly, "Go ahead."

Shen Qingye looked through the case files in front of her. "You and Zhou Yuanfeng were roommates for all four years of university, right?"

Gao Xuefeng nodded, "Yeah, yeah."

Shen Qingye: "How was your relationship during those four years?"

Gao Xuefeng answered honestly, "We got along great. Over four years, we basically never had any conflicts."

Shen Qingye nodded. "What about the others? Did the rest of your dorm have the same kind of relationship with him?"

Gao Xuefeng: "Pretty much. Lao Zhou—uh, Zhou Yuanfeng—has an easygoing personality. He doesn’t get hung up on small things. Plus, he’s pretty well-off and would treat everyone to meals and things. Everyone had a good impression of him."

Shen Qingye: "Did any conflicts ever happen between you all?"

Gao Xuefeng thought for a moment. "No... not really."

"What about outside the dorm?" Shen Qingye asked. "Were there people outside your dorm who had it out for him, badmouthed him, or resented him in any way?"

Gao Xuefeng hesitated. "Probably... not?"

He seemed uncertain but thought carefully before adding, "From what I know, Lao Zhou got along with most people. Everyone looked up to him. I never heard about him having any issues with anyone..."

Shen Qingye pressed, "Maybe not major grudges, but even small conflicts—nothing like that either?"

Gao Xuefeng opened his mouth but couldn’t say for sure. He just shook his head. "As far as I know, there shouldn’t be anything."

Shen Qingye exchanged a glance with Yue Lingchuan and nodded. "Alright, I see."

She tapped her pen. "One more question. I heard you’ve already found a job, is that right?"

Gao Xuefeng nodded. "Yeah."

"Which company?"

Gao Xuefeng: "Rixin Tech."

Shen Qingye smiled at him. "That’s a good company. They’ve been growing pretty fast in recent years, haven’t they?"

Gao Xuefeng forced a small smile. "Yeah, yeah. I got lucky—they happened to be hiring, and I managed to get in."

"Luck counts too," Shen Qingye said. "You must have been excited when you got the offer?"

Her casual tone made Gao Xuefeng relax a bit. "Excited? I was ecstatic!"

He scratched his head, smiling awkwardly. "When I got the interview, I couldn’t believe it. I even told my roommates that if I really got in, I’d take everyone out to eat—and then it really happened!"

Shen Qingye's expression remained unchanged: "So you kept your promise to treat everyone to a meal?"

"Absolutely!" Gao Xuefeng replied. "We did it the next day at lunch!"

Shen Qingye asked, "Was Zhou Yuanfeng there that afternoon?"

"Of course, all four of us from the dorm were there—" He trailed off as he realized the gravity of the situation.

Shen Qingye maintained her smile: "How was Zhou Yuanfeng doing that day?"

"Doing?" Gao Xuefeng hesitated.

Shen Qingye prompted him: "For example, when did he arrive? Did he seem off in any way?"

"Oh, right!" Gao Xuefeng quickly responded. "He did arrive quite late that day. Apparently, he went back to the dorm first to change clothes. We later learned he’d been out drinking with friends the night before, got wasted and crashed at a hotel without even changing. When he woke up the next morning, he said he smelled awful and couldn’t stand it, so he went back to the dorm first."

"As for his condition..." Gao Xuefeng thought carefully. "He looked rough, rubbing his head like he was still hungover."

Shen Qingye lowered her eyelids slightly: "Got it."

She looked at him: "You’re free to go."

Gao Xuefeng paused before mumbling an 'okay'. After standing up, he hesitated for a moment before finally asking, "Officer... can I ask... is Lao Zhou alright?"

Shen Qingye met his gaze and, after a brief silence, replied, "The case is still under investigation. We can’t share details right now."

"Oh... okay." Gao Xuefeng nodded awkwardly under her steady gaze. He opened his mouth as if to say more but didn’t dare press further, leaving the room weighed down.

Once he was gone, Shen Qingye turned her attention back. Yue Lingchuan flipped through the notes and asked, "You think Gao Xuefeng’s a likely suspect?"

Shen Qingye thought for a moment before shaking her head slowly. "Too soon to tell. But based on that meal alone, he’s probably not involved."

Yue Lingchuan gestured for her to continue.

She paused before explaining, "From what we know, Gao Xuefeng had his interview on the 27th and promised to treat everyone if he passed. At that time, they were already aware of the class graduation gathering the next day. If Gao Xuefeng had planned to frame Zhou Yuanfeng, he could’ve just done it at the class gathering. Zhou Yuanfeng also frequently returned to campus, so accessing his car wouldn’t have been difficult. No reason to add another meal. Plus, Gao Xuefeng had no way of knowing if he’d even get the job. So personally, I think that meal wasn’t part of the perpetrator’s plan."

She added, "But he’s not off the hook yet. We’ll need to investigate further."

Yue Lingchuan nodded. "Makes sense."

After exchanging a glance, they asked Teacher He to call in two more individuals.

·

Tang Hao, another roommate of Zhou Yuanfeng, backed up Gao Xuefeng’s story almost word for word. They had also been dormmates for four years with no real beef, and his assessment of Zhou Yuanfeng was similar:

"My relationship with Lao Zhou was great. He was generous and easygoing—a solid roommate and friend."

"Enemies? Nah, not that I remember."

"Past stuff? Nothing serious—just occasional arguments during group projects, which is normal... Oh, once he had a minor clash with someone from the basketball team, but they squashed it in a couple days..."

"Lao Zhou really wasn’t the type to hold grudges. He didn’t sweat the small stuff and was chill to be around..."

When asked about the idea of gathering more before graduation, he looked puzzled:

"Yeah, that was my suggestion."

"The reason was that around that time, the guys next door had all landed jobs and moved out one after another, leaving the last guy flying solo, barely able to get people together. It made me sad, knowing we’d soon be in the same boat, so I suggested we hang out more before officially graduating. Since Lao Gao hadn’t found work yet and only Lao Zhou was busy with his company outside, the suggestion was mainly directed at him."

"I brought it up first, and Lao Gao and the others agreed, so we went with it."

"His off-campus place? Yeah, we all knew about it. He even invited our classmates over for his birthday once. We knew he lived alone and only occasionally visited his parents..."

He was straight-up, just confused, not hiding anything.

Ke Zhiwei, the last roommate, said pretty much the same thing.