Chapter 163 Clues

Chapter 163: Clues

Yang Wenming grew increasingly puzzled, unsure why she was asking these questions, but he answered honestly nonetheless: "Yeah, a daughter."

Shen Qingye asked, "Is your daughter with you or your ex-wife?"

"My ex-wife," Yang Wenming replied, then quickly added, "But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about my child! She’s my only daughter. If her mom hadn’t fought tooth and nail to keep her, afraid I’d be a bad influence, there’s no way I would’ve let her take the kid away!"

"Even now, I keep in touch with my daughter all the time. I call her at least four or five times a month, and I always send gifts for holidays. Every winter and summer break, I invite her to come stay with me—"

"Look, Officer, I’ll admit I was a lousy husband, but I’ve always been a decent father to my daughter!"

Shen Qingye didn’t respond directly, instead thinking it over, lost in thought.

Having a child…

That knocked out some theories.

Yue Lingchuan asked, "Where were you last night around eleven o’clock?"

"I was at home," Yang Wenming said, looking miserable. "Come on, Officer—where else would I be that late?"

He now deeply regretted breaking up with his girlfriend a week ago. If they were still together, she might’ve been able to vouch for him last night!

He explained, "I had to work today, so of course I went to bed early last night. Whatever went down with Zhou Xiangyun, I had nothing to do with it—I had no reason to kill her, Officer..."

He kept insisting, feeling sick, wishing he could slap his past self for ever getting involved with Zhou Xiangyun.

Why, of all things, did he have to get tangled up in this mess?

Shen Qingye and Yue Lingchuan exchanged a glance before standing up. "Alright, we’ve got the picture. Thank you for your cooperation."

Yue Lingchuan added, "For the time being, stick around town. We might need to bring you in again at any time. And—"

He gave Yang Wenming a steady, no-nonsense look, his tone measured. "If you remember anything, contact us immediately."

"Yes, yes, of course! I won’t go anywhere, I promise!" Yang Wenming finally relaxed, jumping up to see them out. Putting on his best cooperative smile, he added, "I also hope you wrap this up quick so I can get my life back!"

Yue Lingchuan shot him a look and said flatly, "Don’t worry."

·

After leaving the office, the two didn’t rush off. Instead, they made the rounds at the company, consulting some of Yang Wenming’s colleagues to learn more about his usual behavior.

As expected, Yang Wenming had a reputation for playing the field, indiscriminately pursuing women. He frequently changed girlfriends, and sometimes, when working on external projects, he’d make moves on suitable women.

These weren’t serious relationships—most were short-term things that ended amicably after a while.

Since Yang Wenming was decent-looking, kept himself in shape, and had some money, plus a good eye for women, those he approached rarely turned him down. Afterward, they’d walk away happy.

Given his lack of restraint, his reputation as a serial cheater was well-known.

This wasn’t the first time something like Zhou Xiangyun’s situation had happened.

When asked about his family, some long-time employees knew more and confirmed what Yang Wenming had said.

He was a serial cheater, repeatedly caught by his ex-wife but never changing. In the end, she divorced him in anger and took their child away.

Although his ex-wife took the child away, she didn’t cut off Yang Wenming’s access to her. During winter and summer breaks, the child would come over to spend some time with him. Sometimes, when Yang was too busy with work to look after her, he’d bring her to the office to keep herself occupied. As a result, his coworkers were somewhat familiar with the situation.

“We won’t judge his love life, but when it comes to his daughter, he really is a decent father,” a female colleague remarked.

Shen Qingye took it in. She then asked colleagues who had worked with Yang Wenming on the project involving Zhou Xiangyun's company whether Yang had shown any dissatisfaction or made any remarks after Zhou rejected him. Everyone said no.

·

Once they left the building, Shen Qingye let out a soft sigh and turned to Yue Lingchuan. “What do you think, Captain Yue?”

Yue opened the car door, gesturing for her to get in, and shook his head. “Doubt he’s our guy.”

Killers need a reason, but Yang Wenming's motive isn’t strong enough. According to his colleagues, others had rejected him before, and he never made a big deal out of it—he moved on pretty quick. The same seemed true for Zhou Xiangyun.

If it were somehow related to his child, that doesn’t add up either. Yang had a daughter and maintained a good relationship with her, so it was unlikely he would be provoked into committing such a brutal act over that.

“Then who could the killer be?” Shen Qingye frowned, completely stumped.

A woman, a child.

What’s the link?

Yue Lingchuan unscrewed his water bottle and handed it to her, casually messing up her hair. “Don’t stress yourself out. Lao Zhou and Jiang Cheng are still chasing leads.”

“Could be they’ve got something.”

Shen Qingye leaned back in her seat, took a sip of water, and let out a frustrated sigh.

“This whole thing just feels…”

She couldn’t wrap her head around what could drive someone to harm an unborn child.

The SUV rolled to a stop at a red light.

Yue Lingchuan turned to look at her, his expression gentler now. “You run into cases like this.”

Most of their work was with the dead.

And where there was usually someone wronged.

At first, Yue Lingchuan had struggled with it too. Over time… though it still got to him, he had learned to manage his emotions.

“Want a piece?” He suddenly pulled a piece of candy from his pocket and offered it to her.

Shen Qingye shot him a glance, surprised. “Isn’t this…?”

The same mint candy Gao Ruiyang had given her before?

“I noticed you liked it, so I bought some.”

Yue peeled off the wrapper and held the small candy to her lips.

Shen Qingye accepted it with a brief glance.

Her moist lips brushed against the man's broad palm, gone in an instant.

Yue Lingchuan's fingers twitched slightly, his fingertips rubbing against his palm as if relishing the lingering feeling.

The traffic light ahead turned green. Keeping a straight face, he started the car and drove on.

Shen Qingye watched his profile, sinking into the seat as a faint smile slowly surfaced in her eyes.

·

Back at the station, Zhou Qiming and Wei Zhengyi had already returned, while Jiang Cheng and Luo Kaiyang were still absent.

Yue Lingchuan asked Ge Weiqing’s colleagues if they had any leads, but Zhou Qiming shook his head, with a hint of frustration.

"According to Ge Weiqing’s coworkers, he’s been completely normal lately—both at work and at home, with no signs of anything unusual."

"They also said Ge Weiqing is usually honest and is well-liked by everyone, but his straightforwardness has kept him from advancing. He doesn’t know how to play office politics or flatter, so after all these years at the company, he’s still stuck in a middling role as a junior team lead."

"I also asked their supervisor about his business trip. It was a sudden assignment, and Ge Weiqing had no prior notice."

"I even checked with the company in Chufang. Ge Weiqing was indeed there the past few days. Yesterday, they finished dinner around nine, and he left to return."

"All things considered, Ge Weiqing really doesn’t seem to have a motive or the time to commit the crime."

Yue Lingchuan nodded. Though there were still no solid leads, this made Ge Weiqing seem even less suspicious.

He glanced around the office and was about to call Jiang Cheng to ask when they’d return when an excited voice suddenly came from the doorway:

"Boss, Brother Qiming and I have a lead!"

Everyone turned to look. Wei Zhengyi burst into the office, grinning. "According to Zhou Xiangyun’s best friend, her mother-in-law—Ge Weiqing’s mother—seems to have issues with her!"