Zuo Xiangfeng couldn't accept that his girlfriend left him when he loved her the most. Even though four years have passed, he still misses her terribly, especially at this point in time.
In the winter four years ago, Shi Muyuan sent him a text message and then disappeared without a trace.
He actually mistook a completely unrelated person for her, and Zuo Xiangfeng couldn't accept himself like this.
He returned to his apartment, grabbed a bottle of wine, and sat down at the coffee table, drinking it sip by sip until his consciousness was completely consumed by the alcohol and he drifted off into a deep sleep, just like every time he'd thought of her over the past five years.
It wasn't until he woke up, saw the message sent by Hang Jiabai, and opened his mailbox.
When he saw the photo taken many years ago and recalled the statue he saw during the day, Zuo Xiangfeng sobered up from the remaining drunkenness.
He was a man who planned before taking action. During the time when he did not reply to Hang Jiabai, he had already found out all the information about Liu Chongsen.
A student of Huabai Academy of Fine Arts, he was unknown in school. After graduation, he found a school and started working as an art teacher without a formal position.
Six years after graduation, that is, two years ago, he created a statue of "Goddess of My Dream" and became an instant hit.
After that, two more sculptures were produced, and no more famous statues were produced in the two years since then.
As for his personal life, the year after graduating, Liu Chongsen married a woman he met through a blind date, introduced by family elders. The marriage lasted three years, during which time they had a one-year-old son. Later, due to a breakdown in their relationship, they divorced. The woman then left the country with the child and has not returned since.
The main reason why Zuo Xiangfeng believed that Shi Muyuan was the "Goddess of My Dream" was that the school where Liu Chongsen was an art teacher was the same school where Shi Muyuan was interning.
Shortly after Shi Muyuan disappeared, Liu Chongsen resigned from the school and left. He announced to the public that he was going to study in seclusion.
Two years later, "Goddess of My Dream" was released. During the period between his resignation and the release of "Goddess of My Dream", his wife divorced him and disappeared without a trace.
As a writer specializing in suspense and mystery novels, Zuo Xiangfeng's mind is particularly active. He is no stranger to the idea of people hidden in statues. He even has plots about sculptures of Tibetans in his past novels.
Another statement that proves that Shi Muyuan is in the statue is that Shi Muyuan said in the breakup text message that he is not romantic and she likes romantic authors.
Over the years, Zuo Xiangfeng had come into contact with countless authors, even becoming a member of the Writers Association. However, he had investigated almost every author whose pen name contained the word "romantic" or whose writing style was romantic, but he still couldn't find any trace of them.
But now, he found a Net of Pollack that only wrote modern poetry, and he understood what a romantic author was.
Xu Yu and Zhou Xuanlai were active police officers, so they could not go with them, but they could be the first police officers to arrive after the "sculpture was smashed."
In the end, it was Lin Shuyue, Hang Jiabai, and Feng Qinqin who went with Zuo Xiangfeng. Xu Yu and Zhou Xuanlai waited outside.
Zuo Xiangfeng came prepared. He picked up an axe and chopped directly at the lock of the exhibition hall.
Although Liu Chongsen has become quite famous in the art world, his income has not yet increased. He held this exhibition to enhance his reputation and lay the groundwork for future sales of his sculptures.
Due to lack of money, the exhibition venue was not good. Not only was there no night security, the venue was not even big, and the equipment provided by the organizer of the exhibition was rubbish.
Zuo Xiangfeng swung the axe and the lock became crooked. Apart from the clanging sound, there was no infrared alarm or anything like that.
They went straight into the exhibition hall.
Lin Shuyue raised her camera. Feng Qinqin now knew there was probably someone inside the sculpture. With a look of defeat on her face, she turned on the lights in the exhibition hall.
Although the exhibition hall was not good, the lighting was still very bright. When the lights came on, Feng Qinqin breathed a sigh of relief, but then she remembered that there were people in the statues around her. Her face fell and she couldn't help but move closer to Lin Shuyue.
Seeing the calmness on Lin Shuyue's face and the camera in her hand that didn't shake at all, Feng Qinqin was filled with awe. No wonder Lin Shuyue was able to report so many articles on the rule of law. It was this courage that she simply couldn't possess.
Zuo Xiangfeng walked straight towards the "Goddess of My Dream." He stood before the statue for a long time without moving, his hand gripping the axe loosening and tightening, tightening and then relaxing.
The anger he had felt all along the way had turned into calmness at this moment. His hands were also shaking slightly.
He was afraid she was inside. At this moment, he would rather believe that she had followed someone. She had followed the romantic author in her text messages.
There were footsteps coming down from upstairs. Lin Shuyue saw from the good and evil radar that there were two people coming, both of whom had low good and evil values. They were the staff of the exhibition hall coming down from upstairs.
"Who are you? What do you want to do by breaking into the exhibition hall so late at night?" The person who spoke was the receptionist who was impatient with Lin Shuyue during the day, and the one who nodded and fawned to the police in the afternoon.
They finally reached the stairs and saw Zuo Xiangfeng holding an axe and Lin Shuyue holding a camera.
Their memories were still pretty good, so the receptionist said directly, "Xiao Wu, go upstairs and call the police. Tell them someone broke into the exhibition hall with a weapon and intended to kill someone."
The young man behind the front desk had never encountered such a thing before, so he ran upstairs. After a while, he heard loud voices calling for help.
Zuo Xiangfeng ignored the receptionist, who was standing at the stairs and didn't dare come over. He had already recognized Lin Shuyue and Feng Qinqin. He looked at them with angry eyes. Obviously, in his mind...
Lin Shuyue and Feng Qinqin's friend got lost in the exhibition hall, but they couldn't find her no matter how hard they looked, so they came to the exhibition hall to cause trouble.
If eyes could be knives, Lin Shuyue dared to believe that they would have died countless times under the eyes of the front desk clerk.
Lin Shuyue's phone was constantly on the line with Hang Jiabai. Three minutes after Xiao Wu finished calling the police and came downstairs with a mop, they finally arrived. Xu Yu and Zhou Xuanlai, who were beside him, had already changed into their police uniforms.
Hang Jiabai came in with them.
Zhou Xuanlai acted as if he didn't recognize Lin Shuyue and the others. After looking around, he set his sights on Zuo Xiangfeng, who was holding the axe. He took out his baton and pointed it at him: "Drop your weapon."
Zuo Xiangfeng pretended not to hear anything. He raised the axe with both hands and smashed it at the "Goddess of My Dream." With a snap, the plaster used for the sculpture shattered. The broken plaster pieces fell to the ground, but miraculously, the plaster statue did not break and still maintained its original shape.
A ball of slightly yellowed gauze appeared before their eyes.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh" Zuo Xiangfeng's wailing reached everyone's ears at this moment.
Lin Shuyue was holding the camera lens, and at this moment, it shook.
Feng Qinqin had already hugged Lin Shuyue's arms, tears streaming down her face.
The receptionist and Xiao Wu didn't know what this meant. The receptionist stared at the plaster on the ground, his teeth clenched. "Are you guys crazy? Huh? Even if a friend is missing, there's no need to smash things in the exhibition hall, right?"
"Do you know how much this sculpture is worth? Do you know how much insurance the organizer of this exhibition has paid for these statues? You are screwed, I tell you!" The receptionist shouted angrily.
He seemed to see himself being kicked out! Ten years ago, they started renting out houses for various exhibitions.
These exhibitions are small, and many people organize them just to satisfy their own vanity, but in reality, they don't bring any fame at all. Those works are lost, and that's it.
But Liu Chongsen was different. He was already famous before the exhibition hall was opened! Their boss attached great importance to this event, and this importance was reflected in the fact that he was left on duty at the exhibition hall!
They were originally watching TV upstairs, but who could have imagined that there would be someone so bold as to directly smash the people in the guild hall and come in to destroy the sculpture?
They were even so arrogant as to smash things right in front of the police! The receptionist was going crazy. He couldn't even imagine how furious the boss would be if he knew about this. The anger from the afternoon hadn't died down yet!
Xu Yu and the others ignored the receptionist's fury. He took out his phone and called the serious crime squad. After he said there was a person hidden in the plaster statue, the receptionist, who was still roaring in anger, was like a rooster with its neck strangled, unable to utter a word.
Zuo Xiangfeng knelt on the ground dejectedly, tears streaming down his face.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau in the capital city wasn't far from here. The leader of the Second Serious Crime Unit rushed in with a forensic doctor and others. The forensic doctor first examined the smashed statue.
After more than ten minutes of careful examination, they concluded: "This is a human body. The internal organs have been removed and filled with plaster. Preliminary assessment shows that the body is a young woman between 22 and 30 years old. The time and manner of death require further investigation."
Zuo Xiangfeng sat on the ground with his hands covering his eyes. His girlfriend Shi Muyuan was 23 years old when she disappeared. Her life had just begun, but it came to an end.
After hearing the forensic doctor's conclusion, the leader of the third team of the serious crime squad said, "Smash all these plaster statues!"
The axe next to Zuo Xiangfeng was taken away by the criminal police, and they smashed the nearest plaster statue, the one called "Son of the Sun God".
The plaster also exploded, revealing a body wrapped in gauze inside.
Inside the "Mother Goddess", there are two corpses, an adult woman and a baby over one year old.
The receptionist of the exhibition organizer and Xiao Wu were so scared that they sat on the ground. After hearing the police announce that there were only four bodies, the receptionist climbed upstairs tremblingly to call the boss.
At the same time, the serious crime squad drove to Liu Chongsen's home.
Liu Chongsen, from Fengshan District in Beijing, quit his job four years ago and used all his family's savings to buy a plot of land on a mountain in Fengshan District and build a house as his first studio.
In the past few years, whenever he had some free time, he spent it here.
But just in case, the police had already rushed to his home and rented studio in the city.
When they arrived at the house in Fengshan District, the heater was still on and there was a table full of uneaten dishes.
Smoked chicken and pork head with cucumber are all here, as well as a glass of high-end Fenjiu that has not been finished.
But there was no trace of human presence inside or outside the house.
The leader of the serious crime squad listened to the team members' reports about the existence of the basement and that someone had just escaped, and looked at the high-end down jacket discarded on the kang.
He sneered and said, "Leave some people to search Liu Chongsen's residence inside and out, and don't miss even the rat holes. There are a few grains of rice that the rats have stored in there. Count them all for me."
"The rest of you, follow me into the mountains. That bastard, that bastard, isn't wearing a coat. It's over 20 degrees below zero outside, so he can't walk far."
"Let's go." Following the order from the leader of the third team of the serious crime squad, the police were divided into two groups to conduct an investigation.
In the basement, they found a large amount of plaster and a pool filled with formalin liquid.
•••••
Lin Shuyue didn't know all this. After all, this was not Guangyue or Hang Jiabai's territory. Therefore, neither Lin Shuyue nor Hang Jiabai had any room to interfere in the investigation of this case.
They followed Feng Qinqin and Zuo Xiangfeng and sat in the hall of the Criminal Investigation Brigade, watching the criminal police busy coming in and out.
Feng Qinqin had already vomited once. She couldn't even drink water at the moment and was so weak that her whole body was shaking.
After Zuo Xiangfeng explained everything to the police, he sat on a stool with his head in his hands, not saying a word.
After a long time, someone came. Lin Shuyue and the others turned their heads to look. The person who came was a woman in her forties. She was very beautiful and exuded a gentleness all over her body.
After she came in, she looked at Zuo Xiangfeng with her red and swollen eyes, opened her mouth but said nothing, and under the guidance of the police, went to take a blood sample.
When she came out, she was still standing in front of Zuo Xiangfeng.
Zuo Xiangfeng raised his head: "Auntie."
He hadn't spoken for so long that his voice was fragile.
"Xiang Feng, look forward, okay?" As the woman said this, tears began to fall.
Reason told Zuo Xiangfeng that he should nod, but he really couldn't do it.
Zuo Xiangfeng's parents also arrived. They and Shi Muyuan's mother have been acquaintances for many years. Because of the relationship between the two children, their relationship was once as close as a family.
Later, with Shi Muyuan's departure, Zuo Xiangfeng was no longer even considered the most competent policeman, and the two families didn't spend much time together.
Zuo Xiangfeng's mother saw Shi Muyuan's mother. She reached out, took Shi Muyuan's mother's hand and patted it.
Shi Muyuan's mother burst into tears, and the sadness in her voice made the onlookers feel a lump in their throats.
Shi Muyuan's mother would rather believe that Shi Muyuan had followed someone else and ran away than believe the news that she had been murdered.
Shi Muyuan is her first child. Her appearance combines all the advantages of herself and her ex-husband. She has a gentle appearance and a gentle and soft temperament. Just where she stands is worthy of her pride.
At first, she received a message from Shi Muyuan, in which Shi Muyuan said that she had found her true love and that she had lived with her for many years and suffered a lot. She wanted to leave her and live her own life.
Shi Muyuan's mother was shocked and sad at the time, and then she was in disbelief. She knew Shi Muyuan's school and heard the school leaders say that Shi Muyuan had resigned. As for where she went, no one knew.
Shi Muyuan's mother reported the matter to the police and has been searching for her continuously over the years. Last year, Shi Muyuan's half-sister got married and had a child, so Shi Muyuan's mother gave up the search for Shi Muyuan because she had to take care of the child.
But Shi Muyuan's mother never thought that the next time she heard from her eldest daughter, she would be asked to come to the Public Security Bureau to assist in sampling. From the moment she received the call, Shi Muyuan's mother knew that her daughter Yuanyuan was in great danger.
The police had just given her the details of the plaster statue that was suspected to be Shi Muyuan. Shi Muyuan's mother was heartbroken.
How uncomfortable, painful, and aggrieved must she be to have her internal organs removed, filled with plaster, and then sculpted?
Mother Zuo thought of the girl whom she once thought would be her daughter-in-law, and she also started crying.
Zuo Xiangfeng hadn't hidden his relationship with her from anyone. They were a recognized couple in high school, and Zuo's mother and husband were very pleased with Shi Muyuan. She was gentle, sensible, and filial. They had watched her grow up and knew her inside and out.
Before Shi Muyuan disappeared, they were already looking for a new house for them. Who would have thought that just after they had decided on the new house, Shi Muyuan sent a text message to break up with Zuo Xiangfeng.
As satisfied with Shi Muyuan as Zuo's mother and father were at the beginning, they hated her even more after that incident, especially after Zuo Xiangfeng quit his job as a police officer.
But as time went by, they regained their senses and began to believe their son's judgment. Shi Muyuan's disappearance might have been an accident, and the text message that year might not have been sent by her.
Mother Zuo gave Zuo Xiangfeng four years to investigate. During this time, she had been forcing Zuo Xiangfeng to go on blind dates. Who would have thought that at this critical juncture, Zuo Xiangfeng would actually find Shi Muyuan?
It was found in this way. Mother Zuo knew that Zuo Xiangfeng might never get married again in his life.
She had been mentally prepared before, and now, she felt that the dust had settled.
She felt sad for that gentle and sensible girl. Why was her life so miserable?
The two mothers hugged each other and cried bitterly.
It took more than half an hour for the two to calm down, but their hands were still tightly clasped.
At one o'clock in the morning, the police who went to arrest Liu Chongsen returned.
Liu Chongsen was handcuffed and wearing a sweater. His shoes had been blown off at some point, and one of his eyes was shattered.
Zuo Xiangfeng saw him being escorted in, stood up, and hit him in the face.
Seeing this, Liu Chongsen actually smiled. "Zuo Xiangfeng, right? I heard many times Shi Muyuan mentioning you. She used to always tell me how outstanding and wonderful you were at school."
Zuo Xiangfeng had been held down by the police. When he heard Liu Chongsen saying Shi Muyuan's name, he struggled and kicked Liu Chongsen again.
Liu Chongsen's face was distorted with pain, but he still looked at Zuo Xiangfeng provocatively.
In the end, Zuo Xiangfeng was dragged and carried out of the Criminal Investigation Brigade by mother Zuo and father Zuo.
Lin Shuyue was also at the scene. As she passed by Liu Chongsen, she received a system prompt: [ Do you want to spend 300 points to view the life of the criminal Liu Chongsen? Yes/No. ]
Lin Shuyue clicked yes. Liu Chongsen was escorted in, and Hang Jiabai sent Lin Shuyue and Feng Qinqin back to the hotel.
Feng Qinqin felt much more relieved at this moment. She felt that as long as Liu Chongsen was caught, He Wanqing would also be found.
The police hadn't mentioned He Wanqing's death, which meant she was still alive. Feng Qinqin felt she could finally explain herself to He Wanqing's parents.
Back at the hotel, Hang Jiabai didn't go back home, but rented a room downstairs to sleep in. Lin Shuyue and Feng Qinqin lay on the bed, neither of them fell asleep.
Because Feng Qinqin knew that He Wanqing's parents were coming. Even though she knew that He Wanqing was fine now, Feng Qinqin still felt suffocated in her heart when facing He Wanqing's parents.
"Shu Yue, when Wanqing's parents come, if they hit me, stop them." Feng Qinqin said, then immediately said, "Forget it, forget it, don't stop them, or you'll get hurt too. Just call the police for me."
Lin Shuyue looked at Feng Qinqin's frightened expression and couldn't help asking, "Qinqin, have you ever thought about staying away from Wanqing?"
"Yes, of course." Feng Qinqin sighed and took a sip of mineral water. "Ever since I was humiliated by Wanqing's mother for the first time, I wanted to stay away from Wanqing."
"It was autumn, and it was raining heavily. I was sleeping in the middle of the night when I heard Wanqing call. She was downstairs in my house, soaked to the skin. She was shivering from the cold, her face pale. And that's how it was. The first thing she said to me was, 'Don't be angry, I didn't mean it.'"
"I softened my heart. The second time, it was snowing heavily when she came to see me. The snow was almost knee-deep, and she wasn't wearing much clothing. What else could I say?"
As soon as Feng Qinqin finished speaking, there was a knock on the door. Feng Qinqin immediately jumped out of bed and stood against the wall.
The knocks on the door had turned into banging. Feng Qinqin's face turned pale. It was already past two o'clock. Lin Shuyue was afraid of disturbing the people next door who were resting, so she went to open the door.
An angry woman saw that she was not Feng Qinqin, and pulled her angrily, trying to push her aside.
But Lin Shuyue's ground was stable. She tried to pry but couldn't budge. Lin Shuyue's eyes swept over her and the middle-aged man behind her: "Auntie, who are you? Not only did you come here to bang on our door in the middle of the night, but you also want to rush in?"
"Are robbers nowadays so brazen?"
"You little bitch, keep your mouth shut! Who's the robber? I'm here to find Feng Qinqin." He Wanqing's mother was spewing filth. After she finished talking to Lin Shuyue, she shouted inside, "Feng Qinqin, you little bitch, come out right here! Where did you take my Wanqing?"
"I'm telling you, if you know what's good for you, hand her over right away. Otherwise, I'll make you pay." He Wanqing's mother's voice was as sharp as the one on the phone, and her words were even fouler.
While she was talking, Lin Shuyue saw the rolling pin sticking out from her sleeve. Her heart skipped a beat and she pushed her away and slammed the door in her face.
"She's armed. We can't just let this go peacefully. Call the police."
Feng Qinqin didn't expect that He Wanqing's mother really wanted to hit her, so she trembled and picked up the phone to make a call. While she was talking, Lin Shuyue's phone also rang.
The caller was Hang Jiabai. "Ah Yue, Xu Yu just called and said that the serious crime squad has finished interrogating Liu Chongsen. He confessed to killing Shi Muyuan, his wife Wu Lili, his son Liu Xiangchao, and his brother-in-law Wu Shengzong. But he didn't admit to kidnapping He Wanqing."
Lin Shuyue frowned: "What about the police's search results?"
"No information related to He Wanqing's identity was found at Liu Chongsen's three residences."
"The police retrieved surveillance footage from the area and found He Wanqing at the entrance of a shopping mall about 300 meters from the exhibition hall. She had changed her clothes and got into a taxi alone."
"Through inquiries with the taxi company, the driver who picked her up yesterday said that He Wanqing was going to the bus station. She was very happy in the car and chatted with the driver for quite a while."
Lin Shuyue frowned: "What do you mean? Does it mean that He Wanqing left on her own?"
"We'll have to wait until we find He Wanqing to find out the details."
Lin Shuyue raised her eyes and looked at Feng Qinqin. After Feng Qinqin called the police, her eyes were already filled with tears.
[ Ding ~~~ Do you want to check out the life story of the great villain Feng Qinqin? Only ten points are needed ~~~ ]