Chapter 83: Premeditated Body Disposal
"By the way, Jiang Li, do you remember that kid, Zhao Anlan? He’s been hanging around the police station entrance ever since his school break started.
I’ve gone out to ask him a few times, and he says he wants to see you."
Hearing Ji Qinghe, Jiang Li looked up and glanced outside. Sure enough, she saw a small, thin figure with a backpack.
"Are his grandparents okay with him being here?"
Ji Qinghe sighed. "His grandmother was so devastated she couldn’t take it and passed away. Now he and his grandfather only have each other. The old man is getting on in years, too; he can’t really manage him."
"I’ll go see him." Jiang Li nodded, got up, and walked outside, looking at the boy who had been so arrogant just a few months ago.
"You were looking for me? What is it?"
Zhao Anlan heard Jiang Li’s voice and turned to look at her, nervously tightening his grip on his backpack straps. "My grandpa said my name was taken from a saying: ’A future as bright as your wishes, and a life of endless peace.’"
Jiang Li pressed her lips together, seeing the anxiety and caution in his eyes.
"And?"
Zhao Anlan’s eyes reddened, and he burst into tears. "WAHHH, I shouldn’t have called my mom useless! She really loved me.
It was Dad who said Mom only knew how to sweep and cook, that she couldn’t do anything else. Dad said she was just a housewife, that she was the most useless and didn’t help the family at all.
I was wrong! I really know I was wrong now! WAHHH..."
Jiang Li watched Zhao Anlan bawl his eyes out. "I don’t believe you couldn’t feel your mother’s love. The moment you chose to help your father hide the truth, you became an accomplice in her murder.
Zhao Anlan, telling me this is useless. I’m not your mother. And besides, if you were really being considerate, you’d try to make your grandfather worry less."
Jiang Li saw Mr. Xu running toward them from a short distance away. She hadn’t seen him in a few months, and he had aged a great deal.
"An’an, why did you run off again!" Mr. Xu said, forcefully pulling Zhao Anlan away.
Zhao Anlan looked back at Jiang Li’s expressionless face and turned away, crying. Only in the days after his mother was gone did he realize she wasn’t useless at all.
There was no one left to love him or care about him.
Jiang Li watched them leave and returned to the station. She thought about what Zhao Anlan had said back then. ’It’s a good thing Xu Wan can’t hear this, or she’d be heartbroken.’
"Miss Jiang, I’m heading to Zhou Zihang’s university. Are you coming?" Zhao Shuo asked, glancing at the seated Jiang Li.
Jiang Li stood and followed him. "Sure."
Zhao Shuo first took Jiang Li to the body disposal site. The lake had been cordoned off, and Lu Xingye, Zhou Tiancheng, and their team were still inside, analyzing the scene.
Lu Xingye was examining the tracks on the ground. Jiang Li had said it rained that night. Based on her description, the car must have driven right in.
Looking at the impressions left in the mud, Lu Xingye followed the tracks and soon discovered a section where the indentation was uneven.
"Captain Zhou, look at this. Doesn’t it look like the car suddenly got heavier, creating a deeper impression?"
Zhou Tiancheng was watching the dive team. They had the whole body except for the head, but so far, they had found nothing. He walked over when he heard Lu Xingye’s voice.
Fan Zhenkai, who had been searching the surrounding area, also came over to look at the impression he was pointing to.
"Based on the tracks, the car must have driven straight in from the road, drifted to a stop in this position, then drove a bit further. When it reached this spot, the tire marks changed.
The killer went back and got something, put it in the car... the murder weapon, plus the weight of a head...
A roadster...
The BMW Z4 has wider rear tires. It has to be that model."
Fan Zhenkai looked at the tracks. "Didn’t Jiang Li also mention a yacht?
Even a one-person yacht would be eight to ten meters long. If it was towed away, it’s impossible that there wouldn’t be any marks at the scene.
It’s been so many days, and there’s no yacht in sight. Someone must have towed it away."
"But there are no tow marks nearby, which means the killer acted alone.
As for the yacht, I suspect it’s still in this lake."
Fan Zhenkai took a sharp breath. A lake of 534.7 square kilometers, with a depth of over two hundred meters.
"But our underwater cameras haven’t filmed anything."
’A boat that big can’t just vanish into thin air, can it?’
Lu Xingye looked back at the lake and suddenly noticed Jiang Li and Zhao Shuo.
Jiang Li followed Zhao Shuo over to the group.
"Still no luck?"
Lu Xingye turned his head to look at her, his expression serious and composed. "I suspect the killer might have noticed something was wrong when he was leaving, so he came back and took the head with him. But that’s just a guess."
Jiang Li nodded in surprise. ’If they can’t find it, that’s a possibility.’
"But where on earth could such a large yacht be?" Lu Xingye muttered, frowning at the calm surface of the lake.
"The killer had to get back to shore. He couldn’t have just abandoned the yacht in the middle and swum back," Jiang Li said, looking around. "Maybe we should check if it’s hidden somewhere?"
Lu Xingye nodded and led his men to search along the various waterways connected to the lake.
Zhao Shuo exchanged a few words with Zhou Tiancheng, then walked over to Jiang Li. "Miss Jiang, let’s go. We’ll head to Zhou Zihang’s university and ask his teachers some questions."
Jiang Li took one last look around before heading to C City University with Zhao Shuo. Once at the campus, they went directly to Zhou Zihang’s academic advisor to learn about the situation.
The advisor was taken aback by their questions, then pulled a leave request form from his drawer.
"Well... I’m not too sure. He said he had a family emergency and requested time off."
Zhao Shuo took it and glanced at it. Reason for leave: Zhou Zihang’s grandmother was sick and he needed to take care of her at the hospital.
"Has Zhou Zihang shown any unusual behavior recently?"
The advisor thought carefully. "Nothing too out of the ordinary. Zhou Zihang doesn’t come from a wealthy family, so his classmates have always looked out for him.
You could ask Student Gu Zisheng. He and Zhou Zihang are best friends.
He helps Zhou Zihang out a lot. He should be in the library right now."
After speaking, the advisor also showed them a photo of Gu Zisheng.
Jiang Li and Zhao Shuo left the office and went to the library, just as the advisor had suggested.
As soon as they reached the entrance, they saw Gu Zisheng sitting by a window inside, looking particularly conspicuous.
"This Gu Zisheng is quite popular," Zhao Shuo said, watching the group of girls gathered around Gu Zisheng, all with adoring looks on their faces.
Jiang Li’s brow furrowed the moment she saw it. ’It’s like this again.’
She walked forward and knocked on Gu Zisheng’s table. "Hello, we’d like to ask you a few questions."
Gu Zisheng looked up at Jiang Li as the students around them watched curiously.
"Who’s that girl? She just went right up to him!"
"Alright, one moment." Gu Zisheng packed up his things on the table and followed her out.
"Hello, what can I help you with?"
Gu Zisheng’s voice was clear and crisp, very pleasant to listen to.
"Hello, we’re here to ask about Zhou Zihang’s disappearance," Jiang Li said, looking at Gu Zisheng with a calm expression.
Seeing him come out, Zhao Shuo straightened up and walked over. "Hello, Student Gu. When was the last time you saw Zhou Zihang?"
Gu Zisheng thought for a moment, then pulled his phone from his pocket. "Last weekend. He said he needed to see me about something."
Zhao Shuo glanced at the contact date on the phone. His expression tightened—it was the night Zhou Zihang disappeared.