Tong Meng was frantic, unable to find Yue Bo. She complained to Li Han every day, "What's wrong with you? You can't even find one person. Have you really been in the criminal investigation team for so long for nothing?"
Li Han had tolerated it the first two times. After all, she was a woman, and he didn't want to fall out with her if she became his superior in the future.
But after a few more instances, Li Han decided he'd had enough. "If you're so capable, find him yourself. Look at you, besides eavesdropping on others' autopsy results and worrying about whether you look pretty, what have you accomplished?"
Li Han didn't return to the police station. He sat nearby, smoking, enjoying the scenery, and slacking off. Tong Meng, furious, threatened to get someone else. Li Han gave her a dismissive look, "Come on, don't offend everyone."
While Tong Meng was causing a ruckus, Lü Qingqing, on the other hand, was heading in a new direction.
Since they couldn't find Yue Bo, they would investigate Wen Feixue's social circle.
First was Wen Feixue's brother, Wen Fei.
Wen Fei was a young man who was still reeling from his sister's death. According to Wen Fei: on the morning of March 6th, his sister dropped off their little dog at his house. She said she was going to attend a friend's wedding.
Wen Fei didn't ask many questions. He thought his sister would pick up the dog that evening, but no one came the next day. However, in the meantime, on the evening of March 6th, Wen Fei's wife had encountered Wen Feixue on the road. Wen Feixue said she was going to Yue Bo's hospital to inquire about something, as Yue Bo was out of town.
"But the next day, I found out my sister hadn't returned. I went to my brother-in-law's hospital, but they all said my sister hadn't inquired about my brother-in-law that evening."
So, was Wen Feixue lying? Or did she change her plans on her way to Yue Bo's hospital and meet with misfortune?
"I think the problem still lies with Yue Bo," Guan Jinsong said. Often, the spouse of a victim is highly suspected. Now, Yue Bo is missing, and Wen Feixue met her fate while on her way to find Yue Bo. Even if Yue Bo himself is not involved, someone close to him might be.
Lü Qingqing completely agreed with Guan Jinsong's analysis.
"By the way, Yue Bo's hospital said he wasn't out of town. Why did Wen Feixue say he was? Was Wen Feixue lying, or was Yue Bo lying?"
Lü Qingqing felt that both of them were not simple people. A casual investigation revealed that not a single word they said was true.
Guan Jinsong had already investigated this matter.
Three days before Wen Feixue's incident, on March 3rd, Wen Fei heard his sister mention, "Your brother-in-law is going to Chengdu on a business trip again. He didn't say anything before leaving; someone sent a message back last night." Guan Jinsong then added that when he examined Wen Feixue's drawer, he found a diary entry stating that the couple often argued, and this time they had a big fight over trivial matters. Perhaps still upset, Yue Bo left on a business trip without saying goodbye in person, which made her very sad and feel that maintaining their marriage was difficult.
"Where's the notebook?" Lü Qingqing asked.
"I didn't bring it. It's back in the drawer," Guan Jinsong replied.
Lü Qingqing was startled. She then remembered that she was in a competition with Tong Meng and couldn't take evidence with her.
But she still felt something was wrong with what Guan Jinsong had recounted. She pondered, "Let's go back and look at the notebook again."
...
Not long after they left, Tong Meng also came to see Wen Fei.
"What did they ask you just now? What did you answer? Tell me everything," Tong Meng said, crossing her legs arrogantly, which stunned Wen Fei. Why was another person coming right after one left?
Although Wen Fei found the other party's attitude unpleasant, he repeated what he had told Lü Qingqing.
After hearing this, Tong Meng had some difficulty understanding. "That's it?"
"That's it!"
"I advise you, kid, don't hide anything from me."
"How dare I? It was really just those questions."
Tong Meng pouted, "We already knew Yue Bo wasn't on a business trip, and we already knew Wen Feixue was murdered after attending a wedding. What's the point of her asking? Hmph, it seems she's not that smart after all."
Li Han, hearing Tong Meng's murmuring, felt utterly despairing.
Tong Meng had a clever plan: she wanted to follow Lü Qingqing's investigation of the case. Whatever Lü Qingqing investigated, she would investigate too. In simple terms, she was trying to find the final answer by following Lü Qingqing's lead.
However, Tong Meng's skills were insufficient. From this conversation, Li Han clearly grasped the key point and guessed that Lü Qingqing would next investigate the lie about Yue Bo's business trip. But Tong Meng completely failed to realize the importance of this lie.
Li Han said nothing, just watching Tong Meng anxiously. Seeing his expression, Tong Meng's anger flared. Just as she was about to say something, Li Han turned and walked away.
Tong Meng glared at him hatefully, "Hmph, very good. When Tong Hua has thoroughly investigated your file, let's see how long you can remain smug."
...
"Look, how do you interpret this word 'again'?" Lü Qingqing flipped through Wen Feixue's notebook.
"'Again'? Doesn't that just mean one more time?" Guan Jinsong, though he found Lü Qingqing's question a bit weak, knew she wouldn't ask idly.
"Not necessarily. Perhaps it also implies 'frequently'," Lü Qingqing tapped the notebook with her finger. "Yue Bo frequently went to Chengdu."
What was so strange about that? Guan Jinsong was confused.
"Yesterday, when we were at the hospital, didn't a batch of medicine arrive? The head of their pharmacy department even said that for this batch of medicine, they had to change several cargo ships," Lü Qingqing said, blinking her eyes, hinting at Guan Jinsong.
But Guan Jinsong still didn't understand what Lü Qingqing was trying to say, making Lü Qingqing want to crack open his head and dig around.
"Where are you from?"
"Nanchuan."
Lü Qingqing said "Oh," so that explained it.
"If you grew up by the Yangtze River, you would understand what I'm saying," Lü Qingqing explained. The hospital's mention of changing several cargo ships meant that this batch of Western medicine should have come from downstream of the Yangtze River and passed through the Three Gorges. "You know that Western medicine is now shipped from places like Shanghai, right?"
Guan Jinsong nodded.
"Since Yue Bo is responsible for the hospital's drug procurement, if he were to go on a business trip, it would be to cities downstream of the Yangtze River. What was he doing in Chengdu?"
Guan Jinsong finally understood Lü Qingqing's meaning. Even if there were business dealings between the hospital and Chengdu, there wouldn't be any related to medicine.
In other words, even if Yue Bo had to go on a business trip, it wouldn't be to Chengdu.
Once would be understandable, but multiple times!
Something was wrong!
To prove their deduction was sound, the two went to the hospital again. The result was indeed as they suspected. Not only had the hospital not sent Yue Bo on a business trip, but even if they had, it wouldn't have been to Chengdu.
So, why did Wen Feixue say Yue Bo was going to Chengdu again?
Furthermore, who was the person who conveyed the message to Wen Feixue, saying Yue Bo was on a business trip?