Case Files Chapter 56: Campus Suspicions (18)

Translated by Vivian of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

 

Lu YunYang, who had narrowly ‘escaped death,’ was driving as he said, “Qin Xiao is a relative of my younger brother’s wife, and I also only recently learned of this. That kid doesn’t have any malicious intentions, he’s just a little too playful. Don’t mind him.”

Guan Jin humphed coldly. “You sure know a lot of people. Don’t you only have an older brother?”

“I have two siblings, and I’m the middle child. If you want to listen to the details, I can tell you about my family tree.”

“What does that have to do with me?!”

“I’m being so candid and empathetic, so can I please know where you know that Mr. Tony from?”

“No.” Guan Jin glanced at him. “Lu YunYang, can you be more normal? It’s pointless to hover around me all the time.”

“Okay, I won’t ask anymore. Let’s talk about more serious matters.” Lu YunYang changed the subject before Guan Jin could lose all of his patience. “When Lin Bai was searching through the school’s files, he discovered a contract. It was for a construction crew to repair the badminton court, since they were going to hold a tournament soon. It happened to be during March this year, which was when Cheng JiaoJiao died. Since they work at night and the badminton court is next to a path leading to the laboratory building, they already went to check whether or not someone saw anyone show up there that night.”

“Would the killer really be that bold as to walk right in front of the construction crew?”

“That’s the only path they could take, and after the murder, the killer couldn’t have stayed in the building the entire time, so they must’ve left. Cheng JiaoJiao died at around one a.m., so perhaps the construction crew really did see someone. Since the badminton court is a little far and the killer might have worn a disguise, they probably didn’t really care if they were seen or not.”

“I hope so.”

*****

“You’re sure it was one thirty in the morning on the fourteenth?” Gu Xiang asked the middle-aged person in front of him.

He nodded. “Yes, it was my daughter’s birthday that day. I wanted to take the afternoon off to buy her a cake. That night, the cement we received was the incorrect type, so we got off work early, at two a.m. When I was inspecting the edge of the court, I saw a person hurriedly walk by on the path. I even remember wondering why a student would be outside that late at night.”

“Which direction did they come from?”

“From the east, where the large building is, and they were walking west.”

So they had walked out of the laboratory building.

“Did you see what they looked like?”

“The lights weren’t very bright, so I couldn’t see too clearly. They were wearing a coat and the coat’s hood. I only saw their side profile, but I could tell that they weren’t short, so I’d say it was a tall female student.”

Gu Xiang’s eyes lit up. “Are you sure it was a girl? Didn’t you say she was wearing a hood?”

“I’m sure. That coat was made for girls, and the bottom of it was even surrounded by something that made it seem like a dress.”

“Lace?”

“It seems to be that, yes. My daughter has some clothes like that, and they’re sort of like dresses. And, that coat was pink.”

*****

“A girl?” Guan Jin was taken aback after listening to the information. “I’ve always been leaning towards thinking it’s a guy.”

“Lu MinMin and Tang ZiYou?!” Ding Ding began to think back to their actions.

“Tang ZiYou consulted Lu YunYang before, and she said that a person she knows suddenly had a change of attitude towards her. Could she have been talking about Lu MinMin? That girl was always a little neurotic,” recalled Guan Jin.

“When women get tough, I’m afraid they’re not to be taken lightly. But why would Lu MinMin want to avenge Gao Yun?” Ding Ding couldn’t make sense of it.

“Ah, my USB flash drive is missing, I think I left it at the drama club!” Lin Bai suddenly wailed.

“Was there anything important on it?”

“There’s not much information, but there’s a program I wrote that can break through firewalls. I’m going to go look for it…”

“I’ll go with you,” said Guan Jin as he looked at the dark night sky outside.

“Aww, Little Jin, you’re so kind.”

“I’ll also go, we’re a three-person team!” Ding Ding didn’t want to be left in Lu YunYang’s apartment by herself.

The three of them swiftly rushed to the rehearsal room of the drama club. Fortunately, the doors in that building weren’t locked at night.

Lin Bai searched through the seats, row by row.

Ding Ding looked around and rummaged through the props curiously, but she accidentally knocked over a pot of water.

“Ah, my pants and shoes are wet!” Ding Ding stumbled backwards.

Guan Jin stood to the side, unmoving, as if this had nothing to do with him.

“Guan Jin, don’t just stand there, help me find some paper towels.”

“Where do I look?”

“I saw that their cabinet seems to have some towels in it.” Lin Bai was crouching and groping around underneath a chair. “Ah, I found it. Luckily, no one took it!”

Guan Jin and Ding Ding went to a cabinet next to the podium. “It’s locked.”

Ding Ding felt like crying, as her pants were still dripping with water.

“Step aside.” Guan Jin took out a thin length of wire from his pocket and used it to poke around in the keyhole for a while. With a click, it unlocked.

Ding Ding and Lin Bai were dumbfounded. “You can pick locks?!”

“Isn’t this a required skill for the police?”

“This is a required skill for thieves!”

Guan Jin shrugged and opened the cabinet. “Go ahead.”

It was very messy inside, and Ding Ding poked her head in to search for a while. She cheered, took out a box of tissue paper, and used it to wipe off the water.

Guan Jin was about to close the cabinet doors when his gaze landed on something. He bent down and dragged out an item of clothing from a tattered pile. It was a pink coat with a hood, and there was a long, lacy hem…

“What did you find?” Lin Bai walked over to him. “A coat? Pink and lacy… Isn’t this the one that that construction crew leader saw?!”

Ding Ding was also shocked. “I’ve secretly looked at their wardrobe before, and although I only took a quick look, I don’t remember seeing this coat.”

“I’ve seen this before.” Guan Jin looked up. “On a photo. The person wearing it was Gao Yun.”

Ding Ding and Lin Bai suddenly felt a chilly breeze sweep past their backs.

“Let’s call the police…”

*****

“Le Fan already brought back the evidence you found to run tests on it, so let’s just wait for the results,” said Wen JingHan.

“I really didn’t expect that the killer would leave this in the drama club’s cabinet instead of elsewhere,” Ding Ding said in surprise.

“The safest hiding spot is within the crowd,” Guan Jin said indifferently. “The same goes for objects.”

“It indeed is a good spot. No one would be suspicious of something that appeared in the cabinet, and at most, they’d just think that it was a costume someone else got.”

“The coat and the gas mask… they really are fully equipped.” Wen JingHan looked at the photos. “The killer is indeed an expert, and the day of Gao Yun’s incident, she was wearing the same coat. They used some excuse to lure Cheng JiaoJiao out, wore Gao Yun’s coat, and appeared in the laboratory. Cheng JiaoJiao, who was frightened, hid in the corner, and didn’t dare to come out. The killer was wearing a gas mask, and after they spread the poisonous gas, they stayed in the laboratory and didn’t leave. The guilt and fear that Gao Yun would come back to kill her for revenge made Cheng JiaoJiao neglect the effects from the poisonous gas, and even if she did know, she would’ve already lost the courage to rush out.”

“How ruthless…” Lin Bai clicked his tongue.

“This discovery was only by pure luck.” Guan Jin wasn’t that happy.

“Luck is also a very important factor of success. Since luck is on our side, that means that the killer’s luck has run out.”

Gu Xiang called. “Boss, Gao Yun’s family said that Gao Yun bought that coat online. After her passing, the family burned the coat in memory of her. This coat is a different one. I sent Gao Yun’s Taobao ¹ account to you, but no one knows the password.”

“Little Bai, I’ll leave that to you. Find out who sold this coat and see if you can find out who bought this coat after.”

Soon afterwards, Lin Bai had news. “This coat was designed by the seller themself, and it’s only sold by them. Since it’s not that popular, there currently aren’t any knockoffs. And, this coat was already out of stock in May this year. I looked into the seller’s records, and the only coat that was shipped to Nanhua University near the beginning of February was to a person who lives in Area A of Dormitory Building 1, Wang GuiHua.”

…Everyone looked at one another.

“Dammit, where did this Wang GuiHua come from?!”