Chapter 125: 85. Night, Mystery Case 3
Shi Nian quickly regained her composure and rushed forward to separate the two.
"The police haven’t taken statements yet; why are you both suspecting each other like this?"
However, both of them were still angry and seemed unwilling to back down. Shi Nian could only grit her teeth and say, "...You all saw S’s condition. I suspect that before she died or while she was dying, she was being assaulted... You know, that makes it more likely the killer is a man. And both of you are women!"
Only then did Marina and Spicy Girl calm down a bit, staring blankly at Shi Nian.
Marina murmured, "A man? Which man hates her so much?"
Spicy Girl couldn’t help but retort, "She was so popular with men. Didn’t she always say all men loved her? How could she be killed by a man? Ha!"
"Spicy Girl!" Shi Nian quickly grabbed her wrist: "No matter how much she wronged you before, she’s now tragically dead!"
Spicy Girl then lowered her head and mumbled, "Sorry."
At this time, cries from downstairs came through the open window. Heart-wrenching, earth-shattering wails.
Shi Nian looked out sadly, realizing that it was likely S’s parents had arrived.
The crying also reminded her that, judging from the window, the crime scene wasn’t far from their room. After all, the crime scene was 404, and they were in 507, only separated by one floor and three or four windows.
Thinking about it this way, the screams she heard last night during the thunderstorm came from S. And the reason she felt it was distant was probably more due to the noise of the rain and thunder muffling it.
Realizing this, her heart ached sharply.
If she hadn’t been so afraid of the dark, if she had gotten up to check when she heard the screams, maybe—S wouldn’t have died.
.
The police finally finished collecting evidence from the scene, and the forensic officers left. Jia Tianzi came to 507 to take statements. They chose Tang Yanqing’s room and called the students in one by one.
Marina was called first, followed by Spicy Girl; then Jack, and Zhong Kui.
Shi Nian was the last one.
Shi Nian didn’t have the chance to see the expressions of the others, but she did see that Spicy Girl’s face was quite unpleasant when she returned.
Shi Nian understood that, from a witness discipline perspective, she shouldn’t ask Spicy Girl what she was asked or why she was upset, to avoid any suspicion of collusion.
Unable to hold back, Spicy Girl muttered to Shi Nian, "Just because of the conflict I had with her yesterday, even the detective sees me as the prime suspect, right? But why! If I’d known she would die last night, I wouldn’t have conflicted with her. Besides, if a conflict makes you a suspect, this case would be too easy to solve. I might as well give them the answer directly, what need is there for an investigation!"
Logically speaking, Spicy Girl indeed had a motive for the crime, so it’s not surprising that the police focused their questioning on her. But Shi Nian understood Spicy Girl’s resistance too.
First, Spicy Girl isn’t from M Country, second, her family isn’t well-off, and third, she’s under a lot of pressure studying abroad in M Country—if she gets involved in a murder case and can’t complete her studies, the cost would be too great for her life.
From this angle, Shi Nian also believed that Spicy Girl wasn’t the killer.
.
Shi Nian was finally the last one called into Tang Yanqing’s room.
The room, besides the standard furnishings, was empty.
Besides Jia Tianzi and a slightly familiar-looking police officer, there were also campus officer Sean, Tang Yanqing in a mentor role, and a spokesperson from the school.
Seeing this lineup, Shi Nian couldn’t help but take a small breath, feeling a bit nervous.
In traditional Chinese stories, there were only "three court interrogations," but now there were "five" in this room.
The university’s spokesperson started by introducing Shi Nian’s details to Jia Tianzi as per procedure. Jia Tianzi listened meticulously, showing no signs of recognizing her. It was the slightly familiar officer next to him who couldn’t hide his curiosity, his eyebrows raised, his gaze involuntarily sliding towards Tang Yanqing.
After listening to the spokesperson’s introduction, Jia Tianzi nodded slightly: "At least from the files, she can basically be ruled out as a suspect. After all, she’s only been here for a day and has no personal vendettas with S."
Shi Nian quietly let out a sigh, silently thinking, "Mr. Jia, much appreciated."
However, Sean frowned slightly, his gray eyes filled with bluish mist. In the end, he held back and said nothing.
Jia Tianzi routinely asked Shi Nian if she knew when S went out last night or if she had noticed anything unusual that night... things like that. Due to Sean’s presence, Shi Nian cautiously claimed she was sound asleep and knew nothing.
.
Jia Tianzi finally left, and by then it was past noon.
Tang Yanqing glanced at Shi Nian, and that afternoon, Shi Nian quietly visited Tang Yanqing’s office.
It was evident that Kangchuan University’s "Eastern Research Center" valued Tang Yanqing, not only giving him a private office but also a high-level office decoration. One side was a glass curtain wall overlooking the best view of the campus, with the big lawn and man-made lake, allowing a quiet observation of nearly every student on campus.
The walls were light gray, and the sofas and other furniture had a steady gray-blue tone. Serene, rigorous, yet transparent and not rigid.
Shi Nian looked around and sighed, "Mr. Tang, what do you think? We must bring the killer to justice... S died so unfairly."
Tang Yanqing squinted at her: "First, tell me your intuition."
Shi Nian took a deep breath: "The killer’s initial impression in my mind is like this: 1. Male—because of the possibility of sexual assault; and it takes great strength to subdue S and pose her in that way."
"2. Extremely calm personality, highly orderly thinking—because the crime process was completed in one go, every step and detail was meticulously planned. S had almost no chance to struggle, leaving few marks of resistance."
"3. He hates S, or rather, women like S—because he not only took her life but also humiliated her, leaving her body in such a pose."
"Is there anything else?" He supported his forehead with his slender fingers, calmly looking at her.
The life-threatening tension returned... She took a deep breath: "That’s all for now. Let me think some more."
He saw her tension but didn’t intend to let her off, instead, he stood up, walked around the desk to her side, and stared at her profile.
"It’s inaccurate again. What should I do, bad student, how should the professor punish you?"
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