The Brain Science Case 53

Chapter 53: The Lonely Killer – 2

“Besides, I have you by my side, don’t I?”

The smile that appeared on her lips was, for some reason, dazzling to Yingli.

“Even I’m not sure I can hold you back every time,” Yingli gazed at her, her smile fading. “Besides, I won’t always be here to help.”

Zhou Jinglin’s body tensed slightly, but Yingli quickly changed the subject. “But I’m not planning to leave anytime soon. I just got this, and…” she waved her ID card and rested her chin on her hand, “as I get to know everyone better, I’ve started to feel a sense of belonging here.” She smiled, her voice dropping a little. “A little sense of belonging… that I’ve finally found.”

“Huh?”

“In any case, I would still recommend you get a brain scan. It won’t take too much time.”

“I know. I’ll seriously consider it.” Zhou Jinglin turned and walked a few steps away, then, as if she had thought of something, she hurried back. “This afternoon’s investigation, do you want to come with me, Teacher?”

Yingli quickly covered her phone screen. “Ah… not right now. I have other things to do.”

After staring at her for a few seconds, Zhou Jinglin silently turned and left.

Returning to her seat, before she could even put down the file, she heard Fang Zijun shout, “Everyone, your attention, please.”

All the detectives who could, looked up, and even those who were in the middle of their work quickly put it down.

“We have an urgent case. This morning, Director Ou’s daughter went missing for unknown reasons.”

“Missing?”

“Director Ou… is that the director who used to be the head of the Criminal Investigation Division?”

“How did a missing person case get transferred directly to the Criminal Investigation Division?”

He coughed twice. “I know everyone has a lot of questions. Missing person cases are not usually our direct responsibility. Director Ou has already dispatched police to search, but…” he sighed with a sense of helplessness, “the director has a lot of confidence in our abilities, especially after we’ve solved several serial murder cases in a row. Some of you may not know, but the Criminal Investigation Division has a very good reputation recently.”

“To put it bluntly, he’s just pulling out all the stops to find his daughter as soon as possible,” Lu Tingfeng’s words, though not very loud, were enough for the surrounding detectives to hear, and the scene suddenly became awkward.

Fang Zijun glared at him. “I’ll explain the details to those involved in this case later. Now, who is willing to assist in the investigation of this case?”

As expected, almost no one volunteered. “No one?”

“Um… Chief,” Cai Yuwei raised his hand, “couldn’t it be that she just ran away from home? I mean, does this case really need our investigation?”

“Mrs. Ou is very clear that it’s impossible. She said their daughter is very obedient and is usually picked up and dropped off by a driver or herself for school and tutoring. Her social circle is also strictly controlled, so it’s unlikely she has a boyfriend.”

A sarcastic tone rose again. “That’s hard to say. ‘Strict officials breed cunning thieves.’”

“Big Head, watch your mouth,” he snapped, forcing Lu Tingfeng to shut up. “And because she was dropped off at school this morning, and they watched her go in, the possibility of her being taken by someone on the way to school has been ruled out.”

“If she already entered the school, then she must have just skipped school… right?” It was Cai Yuwei who spoke again.

“The problem is, she arrived at school at 6:40, and it wasn’t until 8:00 that her mother received a call from her teacher. The director’s daughter has an excellent record and has never skipped school before. Because it happened so suddenly, it’s particularly worrying.”

“Missing after entering the school… could she have been kidnapped?” Cai Yuwei muttered to himself.

“In any case, the director has left other clues for us to track. Since everyone has their own cases, I won’t assign anyone… I’ll ask again, who is willing to take this on?” He paused for a moment and emphasized, “It’s about the life of a high school sophomore.”

In an atmosphere of “it’s better to do less than more,” a hand was raised high, drawing a lot of attention.

It was Cai Yuwei.

“Ah Wei, good. Anyone else?”

A more senior detective nudged Lu Tingfeng, who reluctantly raised his hand. “Ah Fu and Big Head…” Fang Zijun seemed to have thought of something. “By the way, Teacher.”

She, who was curled up in the corner, crossed her legs. “Yes?”

“Director Ou has long admired your abilities and has specifically invited you to join this investigation team, hoping that your criminal profiling and psychological analysis will be useful in this case.”

“I’m not sure if I can be of any use…” she pushed up her glasses, “but I’ll do my best.”

“One more?”

The hand holding the file loosened and then tightened. Zhou Jinglin took a deep breath and, after a few beats, finally raised her hand.

“I’ll go too.”

**

After all, the victim’s identity was special, so despite it being close to lunchtime, everyone still set out under the midday sun.

“Ou Anpo, a second-year student at the First Girls’ High School, with excellent grades and many talents…” Staring at the photo for a moment, Yingli covered her phone and frowned. “I have a feeling of déjà vu.”

Zhou Jinglin, who was sitting in the passenger seat, couldn’t help but retort, “Are you talking about yourself?”

“Oh, how did you know?”

“It’s not the first day I’ve known you.” She rolled her eyes.

“Haha, the teacher must have been very outstanding in her school days.” Since they were in a service vehicle, Cai Yuwei had volunteered to be the driver. “By the way, did you also go to the First Girls’…”

His question was ignored. “By the way… I didn’t think you would raise your hand.”

“I was spurred on by the phrase ‘it’s about the life of a high school sophomore’.” She had originally hoped to have time to investigate Li Yuejiao’s case. “Although I have a feeling she just ran away from home and we don’t need to worry too much. What do you think, Teacher?”

“Yes, I think so too,” Cai Yuwei chimed in.

“It’s not clear yet. We’ll see after the investigation.” Her index finger on her glasses, she lowered her voice. “I’m very curious about her relationship with her classmates… I wonder if it was the same as mine back then.”

He was ignored again. He turned to Zhou Jinglin with a sad face. “To the school first?”

Yingli did not express an opinion, so she made the decision. “Let’s go to the First Girls’ High School and ask around.”

When they arrived at the campus, the fourth class of the morning was almost over.

Because she was the daughter of a precinct director, police had already been to the school to investigate before them. Two police cars were parked at the school gate—and with them, that made three.

But they didn’t see Lu Tingfeng, who had left before them. “I don’t see the senior. Did they go somewhere else to search?”

“Probably. They probably thought we would come here,” Zhou Jinglin answered, unbuckling her seatbelt.

The three of them got out of the car one after another. The two detectives stood where they were, and Yingli, with her hands in her coat pockets and her other hand combing her hair, looked up at the century-old school building.

Yingli gestured with her chin for them to go first. “Go on, what are you waiting for?”

“Huh? Didn’t the teacher go to this…” He had expected Yingli to take the lead.

“Ah, to the teacher’s office. Let’s ask the homeroom teacher first.”

The three of them fumbled their way to the office like rookies. Cai Yuwei couldn’t help but mutter, “Didn’t the teacher go here?”

“No, she said she went to the same school as her brother from elementary to high school. I just forgot…”

Perhaps because of the previous round of questioning, Ou Anpo’s homeroom teacher seemed a little impatient, but at least his account allowed them to quickly grasp the key points.

As Fang Zijun had said, Ou Anpo was in the math and science gifted program, and her grades were always in the top twenty in the school. She also had other musical talents and was a good student with excellent conduct.

“How did you find out that Ou was not in school this morning?”

“She’s usually very early, especially since she’s driven by her parents, and she never misses a class. I thought it was strange when I didn’t see her during morning self-study, and then when I didn’t see her in the first class, I contacted Mrs. Ou, but she said she had dropped Anpo off at school at 6:40…”

6:40? The first class was at eight, so there was a gap of eighty minutes before she was confirmed to be missing.

“Have you searched other places on campus?” Cai Yuwei asked. “The restroom, the nurse’s office, and so on?”

The homeroom teacher shook his head definitively. “We’ve searched. We’ve also asked the school security and others, but no one has seen her.”

“What about her phone?”

“She doesn’t have a phone.” The homeroom teacher’s answer was unexpected. “Mrs. Ou dotes on Ou Anpo, but she’s also very strict with her. She’s basically forbidden from bringing her phone to school.”

“How can a student live without a phone these days?” Cai Yuwei clicked his tongue.

“Then is she close to any of her classmates?”

“Well…” for the first time, he looked uncertain. “She’s very quiet. I don’t think she’s particularly close to any of her classmates… it’s also partly because of her parents.” The last part was said in a very low voice.

“What do you mean?” Zhou Jinglin asked. “What about her parents?”

“Don’t say I said this…” the homeroom teacher sighed. “Well, her parents strictly limit her social circle. They ask her to avoid talking to her classmates as much as possible and only to be with the classmates they approve of. I can understand that parents are worried about their daughter being led astray, but to go to such lengths…”

“The ones they ‘approve of’?” she asked, her eyes wide. “What’s that… do you need a background check to be friends with their daughter?”

The homeroom teacher gave a wry smile. “It really is like that.”

“I would go crazy if it were me,” Cai Yuwei said.

“Uh, is that all?” The homeroom teacher spread his hands awkwardly. “It’s almost lunch break. You can go and ask her classmates. I have other things to do.”

“One last question. Does she participate in any school clubs?”

He thought for a moment. “I remember she’s in the reading club.”

It seemed that was all they could get. “Thank you. I’m sorry to have bothered you.”

Leaving the office in a hurry, the two of them looked at each other. “What were you going to say?” As soon as the words were out, they both chuckled. “You go first.”

“Ahem. Although I haven’t asked her classmates yet, the possibility of her running away from home is getting higher and higher. What do you think?”

“She arrived at school at 6:40, and it wasn’t until around 8:00 that she was confirmed to be missing. A lot can happen in over an hour.” She lowered her head in thought. “She has every reason to run away… after all, her parents are so strict with her.”

“Right? The no-phone thing is just ridiculous.”

“And the restriction on her social circle.” Ou Anpo’s grades were so good, and the pressure to study must have been immense. If she didn’t have any friends to confide in, it would be easy for her to develop a psychological burden. “In any case, let’s go to her class first…” Halfway through her sentence, Zhou Jinglin suddenly stopped. “Wait, don’t you think something is wrong?”

“What, what’s wrong?”

She widened her eyes and turned. “The teacher is gone.”