"The truth?"
"But your hands are already telling us that you're not speaking the truth."
Hearing Jiang An's cue, Captain Li Jian also set his gaze on Yang Tao's hands.
At that moment, Yang Tao became even more nervous.
Her hands gripped each other more tightly.
Faintly, you could hear her heavy breathing.
Captain Li Jian hurriedly said, "Today is our second meeting. We hope you can honestly tell us the situation."
Yang Tao glanced up at Jiang An.
This young man's face was very unfamiliar.
Last time, during the inquiry, only Captain Li Jian was present.
Jiang An's gaze was fixed intently on Yang Tao.
The eyes are the window to the soul—someone lying would surely avoid eye contact.
The atmosphere in the room instantly grew tense.
Jiang An asked in a deep voice, "You were Li Rui's homeroom teacher before she died. For a boarding school like yours, you should have interacted quite a bit, right?"
Yang Tao nodded mechanically.
"In this situation, if you say you don't know, doesn't that seem a bit unreasonable?"
"You're both women, and you've experienced the age of blooming girls. Do you not feel sympathy or compassion for Li Rui's death?"
Jiang An used psychological tactics, trying to breach Yang Tao's defenses from a humanistic angle.
However!
The room remained silent, Yang Tao lowered her head, saying nothing at all.
Clearly, this method wasn't working.
First with courtesy, then with severity.
Soon after, Captain Li Jian took on a stern demeanor and said seriously, "Ms. Yang Tao, helping us solve this case is not an obligation."
"But if you intentionally withhold crucial information, that would obstruct justice, and you'll face legal consequences."
"I have always believed that the law will eventually catch up, even if you're silent, we will obtain evidence through other means."
Then, Captain Li Jian continued in a deep voice, "Once the case is cracked, you might not have another chance to speak."
After a long time, Yang Tao slowly raised her head and said, "I'll speak!"
"Alright!"
"Over the past month, Li Rui's attention in class was not very focused. As her homeroom teacher, I approached her multiple times to ask if she had any difficulties."
"She only mentioned that the pressure to study was high."
"Nothing else?"
Yang Tao trembled as she said, "Two weeks ago, I noticed bruises on her arms. I called her into my office to ask about it. She simply said she fell."
"I had my doubts at the time, but since she claimed she fell, I didn't press further."
As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang An pressed on, "Doubt?"
"What did you doubt?"
"Did you suspect bullying on campus?"
While speaking, Jiang An deliberately emphasized the words "bullying."
Yang Tao nodded gently.
"Do you know who it might be?"
Yang Tao shook her head.
"I really don't know, I just heard that other students have been bullied as well."
"The school manages this very strictly, no discussion or spreading the word allowed."
"In cases like these, it's usually the school's top leadership who know about it."
After Yang Tao finished, Captain Li Jian asked sternly, "Not a whisper of it?"
"I... I..."
"I heard some rumors, but I'm not sure if they're true!"
"Regardless, tell us, and we'll investigate and verify ourselves."
After a long pause, Yang Tao mustered her courage and said, "I heard that a relative's child of Director Zhang from Logistics is not very decent!"
"Director Zhang from Logistics?"
"Is it a female student?"
Jiang An quickly asked.
"Yes!"
"Is she in your first-year grade?"
"Uh-huh!"
Yang Tao nodded lightly.
Immediately, she said, "Officers, I'm also very saddened by Li Rui's death. I feel guilty for not telling the truth last time."
"But I still have to work here, can I ask you not to spread what I just said? I worry it might affect my job later on."
Li Jian said, "Rest assured, we will certainly keep it confidential. Only the three of us are here."
"Thank you. Please make sure to solve the case soon and bring the culprit to justice."
Just as Yang Tao was about to leave, Jiang An asked, "How are this female student's grades?"
"I heard they're very poor, almost always in the bottom three in every monthly exam."
Jiang An nodded, saying, "Thank you for your cooperation, you may leave now."
As soon as Yang Tao stepped out of the principal's office, Zhang Yean and Wu You immediately walked in.
"Mr. Li, we've finished questioning everyone in the conference room."
Zhang Yean reported.
Captain Li Jian nodded, lit a cigarette, and said, "As Jiang An analyzed and predicted, this very well could be a bullying case."
Pausing for a moment, Captain Li Jian sighed.
"Although we suspect bullying, we have no evidence in hand."
Wu You also said, "Exactly! Often in such cases, it's not all about physical contact or violence, but psychological pressure."
Zhang Yean suggested, "We could round them up and interrogate them one by one."
Captain Li Jian said thoughtfully, "That's indeed a good method, but we have no solid evidence."
"Although the reason for Li Rui's death is respiratory paralysis, she wasn't directly stabbed or strangled by someone."
"Without strong evidence, interrogations will be troublesome."
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the principal's office dropped to freezing point again.
The recently ignited hope was doused with cold water.
Thinking of the victim's pale body in the forensic autopsy room, Zhang Yean stamped her foot in frustration, saying anxiously, "Are we just going to let the culprit roam free?"
"How can we ensure the city's safety then?"
In a critical moment, Jiang An had a sudden flash of inspiration, thinking of a good idea.
He said solemnly, "Maybe this will work!"
Like a spark igniting, all three stared at Jiang An wide-eyed.
"What's the idea?"
"Quick, tell us!"
Captain Li Jian hurriedly stubbed out his cigarette, asking excitedly.
Zhang Yean quickly ran over, grabbed Jiang An's arm, and asked, "Big brother, what's the brilliant plan?"
Jiang An said, "We saw many willow leaves under the hanging willow tree, these are the traces of Li Rui's struggle."
"So, when a person is hanging, do you think they'd only grab at willow leaves?"
"What do you mean?"
Zhang Yean asked curiously.
Jiang An said, "Based on our earlier analysis, there were others under the willow tree at the time."
"According to the timing of human skin healing, one week later is just when scars drop off."
Suddenly, Wu You's face changed drastically, and he shook his head in regret.
When examining the victim's body for the first time, thinking it was a suicide, they overlooked extracting the biological material under the victim's nails.