Chapter 56: Mascot

"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing? Stop pulling and dragging me, what does this look like!"

Tong Feng was forcibly dragged out of the sub-bureau building by Han Ling, protesting loudly all the way.

"Let go!"

Han Ling released his grip and cheerfully straightened Tong Feng's rumbled clothes, his gaze making Tong Feng's hair stand on end.

"What... what is wrong with you?" Tong Feng took half a step back, looking suspiciously at Han Ling in front of him. "You couldn't win the school belle's heart and lost your mind, didn't you? Let me tell you, you can find a girlfriend anywhere, but if you lose your mind, there's no curing it."

Han Ling smiled. "Want to come with me to investigate a case?"

Tong Feng was stunned. "Investigate a case? What case? Isn't the case already closed?"

Han Ling replied, "Let's look into it again. We have nothing else to do anyway. I've already spoken with Brother Zhou. You don't need to worry about anything, just follow me."

It took Tong Feng a long time to process this before his eyes widened. "You... you're treating me like a mascot!"

In principle, field investigations indeed required two police officers. Since Han Ling was temporarily assigned to the station and probably didn't dare to act rashly on his own, he had dragged Tong Feng along.

Han Ling said, "You can put it that way."

Seeing the other person admit it so shamelessly, Tong Feng flew into a rage. "I'm not going! The case is closed, what the hell are you investigating?"

"Fine, if you won't go, you won't go." Han Ling turned around and started walking away, saying as he went, "I'll go pet the dogs at the police dog unit, and by the way, tell all the trainers that you have a crush on their captain."

What?

Terrified down to every hair on his body, Tong Feng quickly chased after Han Ling. "Can you stop talking nonsense... Alright, fine, I'll go, okay? I give up on you. Where are we going?"

Han Ling said, "I don't know. Get in the car and we'll talk."

Tong Feng muttered inwardly, *You don't even know, what the hell! Acting all mysterious day in and day out, just because you caught a murderer once, you really think you're some kind of super detective.*

The two drove away from the sub-bureau.

The investigation into Yang Qi's case was essentially concluded; the forensic pathologist and trace evidence examiners had all wrapped up their work. Now it was just a matter of compiling the case files and submitting them for legal review.

Aside from Fang Zhou, no one in the team knew that Han Ling and Tong Feng were continuing their investigation.

"I'm telling you, Han Ling, what exactly are we investigating?" Tong Feng had already asked this several times.

Driving the car, Han Ling replied, "Checking to see if there are any other suspects."

"What the heck?!" Tong Feng gave a start. "Yang Qi is the one who committed the murder! Who else could the other suspects be? Zhao Zhiqiang? Yang Qi's mistress? Yang Qi's parents? Or Yang Qi's mother-in-law? Are you out of your mind?"

Han Ling glanced at him and said, "How did they teach you at the police academy? If there are doubts, you must verify them. Criminal investigation must be rigorous; otherwise, even the slightest mistake could lead to a miscarriage of justice."

Seeing that Han Ling was serious and not joking, Tong Feng fell silent for a moment before saying, "But... Yang Qi's case is airtight. The motive, the modus operandi, the crime scene, the timeline—they're all here. They completely match the clues and evidence we've gathered. Where could there be a mistake?"

Han Ling couldn't give a direct answer. "Just play the role of the mascot. Let me ask you one thing: is there anything wrong with being rigorous?"

Tong Feng conceded, "No, there isn't. As brothers, I'll support you, alright... Wait, where are you driving? We're about to leave Qingchang!"

Han Ling announced, "We're going to Yifeng City!"

"Holy crap." Learning that they were leaving Qingchang, Tong Feng adjusted his posture. "You really know how to get my blood boiling."

***

Han Ling met Wang Xin at four o'clock in the afternoon.

Wang Xin was an acquaintance from the deceased Hou Jiarou's hometown. Judging from call logs and QQ chat records, communication between the two was relatively frequent, making Wang Xin one of Hou Jiarou's few female friends.

In the early stages of the case investigation, the special investigation team had already called Wang Xin. After questioning yielded no useful clues, they hadn't contacted her again.

Investigating Yang Qi further at this point was a dead end; they needed to start with Hou Jiarou—that was Han Ling's train of thought.

If there were truly any flaws, they were usually hidden within the victims who could no longer speak, including the victims' interpersonal relationships.

In his past life, Han Ling had always done it this way, and the results were obvious.

Outside the beverage shop, Han Ling handed a milk tea to Wang Xin, who accepted it and offered a polite expression of thanks.

"I only have twenty minutes. I still have to go to work, so... please make it quick," Wang Xin said. Had it not been for Hou Jiarou, she wouldn't have taken half an hour off to come out.

Wang Xin wore her hair tied back, had an ordinary appearance, and was still dressed in her work uniform. She was an employee at a logistics company in Yifeng City.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Han Ling began. "We came here today just to chat casually. Regarding Hou Jiarou... we now have suspicions about her husband, Yang Qi."

"Yang Qi?" Wang Xin frowned. "Hou Jiarou should have left him the last time he cheated!"

As she spoke, anger and sorrow surfaced on Wang Xin's face. Her relationship with Hou Jiarou wasn't close enough for her to break down in tears, but she still felt deeply saddened inside.

After all, a living person was gone, and moreover, a good friend of hers.

Han Ling asked, "Regarding Yang Qi and Hou Jiarou, besides what you told us last time, is there anything else you'd like to add?"

Wang Xin shook her head. "I answered whatever you asked and told you everything I knew. Ever since Hou Jiarou got married, I rarely saw her anymore. We only occasionally made phone calls or chatted on QQ.

I've certainly forgotten what we talked about, but you guys should be able to check the chat logs, right?"

Han Ling pressed on, "We need to know more. For instance... did Hou Jiarou ever have conflicts with anyone in Yang Qi's circle? Aside from Yang Qi's affair partners."

Sipping her milk tea, Wang Xin thought carefully before answering, "I'm not sure. She never mentioned anything like that to me."

Han Ling asked, "Did Hou Jiarou tend to resist intimate relationships?"

Mentioning this, Wang Xin sighed. "Yes. It probably had something to do with her mother. I even went to the hospital with her once for... what was it called? Ah, right, avoidant attachment personality."

Han Ling prompted, "How so?"

Wang Xin explained, "It means her emotional needs weren't met during childhood, so as she grew up, she feared being abandoned and deliberately reduced intimate interactions with her partner. It usually happens in single-parent families.

Also, Hou Jiarou's mother constantly drilled into her head how awful her father was. Over time, Hou Jiarou's psyche was bound to develop problems. Anyway... it's pretty complicated, and it all traces back to her mother."

Han Ling pondered for a moment and asked, "Did she crave protection from men while simultaneously resisting intimacy with them, and also fear being abandoned? Was she the contradictory type?"

Wang Xin nodded. "Yes, pretty much. That's why Hou Jiarou never even thought about leaving Yang Qi. She told me before that no matter how Yang Qi messed around outside, she would never divorce him."

These last words struck like a clap of spring thunder, suddenly exploding in the ears of Han Ling and Tong Feng.

"What? Hou Jiarou would never divorce Yang Qi??" Han Ling pressed urgently.

Wang Xin looked surprised by his reaction. "That's right, she definitely wouldn't divorce him."

Tong Feng also realized the gravity of the issue and asked again, "Not even for soliciting prostitutes?"

"Soliciting prostitutes?" Wang Xin looked at Tong Feng. "Did Yang Qi solicit prostitutes? Even then, she wouldn't. Hou Jiarou said no matter how he messed around, she'd never get a divorce."

Holy crap!

Goosebumps broke out all over Tong Feng's skin. Didn't this ruin everything?

Han Ling's gaze deepened.

If Wang Xin was telling the truth and Hou Jiarou's bottom line for enduring the marriage was infinitely low... then Yang Qi had lied.

The motive for the crime didn't add up.

This was a deeply serious problem.

Since Hou Jiarou was so indulgent toward Yang Qi—accepting even infidelity and soliciting prostitutes—what on earth could have happened to bring about her murder?

Recalling everything he had seen, heard, and investigated so far, Han Ling felt an ominous premonition, along with... a hypothesis.