Chapter 160 Purpose

Chapter 160 Purpose

Zhou Qiming asked, "What time was it when you returned?"

Ge Weiqing thought for a moment. "It should have been... just after six. The train arrived at around 5:10, and after getting off, exiting the station, and taking a taxi, the ride was smooth. It took about forty minutes to get home, so it must have been just after six."

As he spoke, he looked at them and asked, "Officer, when... when did my wife...?"

Zhou Qiming and Yue Lingchuan exchanged glances before Zhou replied, "According to the forensic estimation, Zhou Xiangyun's time of death was approximately ten hours ago. The crime likely happened... around 11 or 12 o'clock last night."

"11 or 12?" Ge Weiqing frowned deeply. "At that time, she would usually already be asleep. Ever since she got pregnant, her routine has been very regular—she usually rests by around 9 p.m."

Shen Qingye said, "The killer likely chose this time precisely because the neighbors would already be asleep."

Ge Weiqing was stunned for a moment before quickly realizing, "You mean—the killer was probably someone Xiao Yun knew?"

Shen Qingye nodded. "There were no signs of a break-in at your front door. At the time of the crime, Zhou Xiangyun was in the living room, not the bedroom. Additionally, none of the neighbors heard any cries for help. Based on this, we think the killer was likely someone familiar to Zhou Xiangyun."

She paused before adding, "Moreover, we found a call log on Zhou Xiangyun’s phone from last night at 10:08 p.m. When we tried calling that number, no one picked up."

Ge Weiqing’s face turned pale as he blinked slowly. "So... it’s very possible the killer called Xiao Yun beforehand, and she was the one who let them in..."

The room went quiet.

Zhou Qiming asked, "Have you or your wife had any enemies?"

"No," Ge Weiqing answered almost immediately. But after a moment, he carefully reconsidered, running through every person they had interacted with in his mind—yet he still couldn’t think of any leads.

He grabbed his head in frustration, his tone agitated. "No, really, there’s nothing. I truly can’t think of anyone who would hate us this much!"

"I’m not the sharpest and not great at socializing, but in all my years working, I’ve never had any serious conflicts. Xiao Yun was even less likely—she was well-liked at work, and I never heard her mention any disputes."

"And our friends? That’s even more impossible. We’ve known them for years, often gathered together—why would they? Why would they?"

Ge Weiqing clutched his hair, his expression crumbling. "Why... why would this happen?!"

They had lived honestly all these years, finally had hope for the future with a child on the way—why did this have to happen now?

The others shared uneasy looks, their expressions pained.

No leads meant they would have to check everyone connected to the case, one by one.

Zhou Qiming reached out and silently patted his shoulder. "The killer would’ve left something behind. We’ll do everything we can to find out who did this."

Ge Weiqing covered his face with his hands, his voice breaking. "Please... please..."

"My parents and Xiao Yun’s parents still don’t know. How do I even tell them... how am I supposed to say it...?"

Zhou Qiming gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze and waited for him to calm down slightly before saying, "Alright, walk us through—who were the people Zhou Xiangyun saw the most?"

Ge Weiqing swiped at his tears with his sleeve, pulled himself together, and began listing names. He explained how they had met, how long they had known each other, and even shared some details about their usual interactions.

Wei Zhengyi and Luo Kaiyang jotted things down, while Jiang Cheng, who had been listening in, suddenly spoke up. "You still got your train ticket?"

"What?" Ge Weiqing, who was carefully trying to recall if he had missed anything, was caught off guard and was slow to respond. "What?"

Jiang Cheng asked, "The train ticket from your return trip."

"Oh, oh, yes, yes!" Ge Weiqing said. "It should be... Did I shove it in my bag? No, in my pants pocket, it must be in my pants pocket!"

As he spoke, he fumbled through both pockets of his pants and finally pulled out a hastily folded square ticket.

Jiang Cheng took it, unfolded it, and saw it was a ticket from Pingjiang, the provincial capital of Chufang, with a departure time of 11:23 p.m. the previous night and an arrival time of 5:16 a.m. that morning.

It lined up with his story—no red flags.

The group exchanged glances. Ge Weiqing, finally catching on, asked, "You... suspect me?"

Jiang Cheng looked up at him. "Sorry, but protocol requires ruling you out as a suspect."

Ge Weiqing was silent for a moment before slowly shaking his head. "It's fine, it's fine."

"It's necessary," he said, managing a weak smile and murmuring, "I've... also seen on TV how some men snap and kill their wives. I understand."

"...As long as you can crack the case soon, I'll cooperate however you need."

Zhou Qiming said solemnly, "We’ll give it everything we’ve got."

"And we hope you can go over everything once more. If you have any leads related to potential suspects, please contact us promptly."

Ge Weiqing closed his eyes. "I will."

...

Homicide Unit Three’s office.

A group of people leaned back in their chairs, poring over reports from the Forensic Team and the Trace Examination Unit, completely stumped. "What exactly was the killer's motive? If he hated Zhou Xiangyun or Ge Weiqing, a crime of passion would make sense. But why did he remove the fetus after killing her?"

"Did he hate Zhou Xiangyun so much that he wouldn’t even let the fetus live?"

Wei Zhengyi added, "Exactly. Never mind his sloppy technique—which could easily have harmed the fetus—even if the fetus was forcibly removed from the mother at just three months, it had no chance of surviving."

"And he took the child away. What was the point?"

Yue Lingchuan scanned the Forensic Team's report, tapping his fingers on the desk, his forehead creased in thought.

He looked at Shen Qingye. "What do you think, Xiao Shen?"

Shen Qingye said, "There’s one thing bothering me."

Everyone turned their attention to her. Shen Qingye scanned the room and said:

"Was the killer targeting Zhou Xiangyun—or the fetus?"