"So why didn’t Su Xiao fancy Li Daqiang’s son? So many people came for matchmaking but she didn’t like any of them. Is there a reason? Does Su Xiao have someone she likes?" Luo Fei asked with a frown.
The village chief shook his head and replied, "I’m not sure about this, but usually Su Xiao goes home alone, and I haven’t heard that she’s been with anyone."
"Village chief, are there any boys or girls around Su Xiao’s age in the village who have a good relationship with her?" Yang Mei continued to ask.
"There should be no boys, but in terms of girls, Huang Yan and Liu Yu are close to her. The three of them were classmates and got along well, but Huang Yan and Liu Yu have both gone out to work."
It took Luo Fei and the others half an hour to finish asking the village chief, after which they went to see Su Xiao’s home.
However, the front door of Su Xiao’s house was closed at the time, and Luo Fei and the others couldn’t get inside to check. So they went to question Su Xiao’s neighbors.
It was basically the same as what the village chief said. The most talked about was Su Lao Han’s refusal of Li Daqiang’s 500,000 yuan betrothal gift, with some people thinking that Su Lao Han was really foolish, blindly following his daughter’s whims and rejecting such a good match.
At 3 PM, Luo Fei and the others drove away from the Woniu village.
"Uncle Zhang, there are water and bread in the trunk of the car, would you like something to eat?" In the car, Yang Mei first asked Zhang Haiyang.
Zhang Haiyang shook his head, "Forget it. I really can’t get used to eating bread. I’ll wait until we reach the county city to eat. If you two want to eat, go ahead, don’t worry about me."
"What about you, Luo Fei?" Yang Mei asked Luo Fei.
"I’ll also pass," Luo Fei shook his head as well. Although he hadn’t eaten lunch, he didn’t feel particularly hungry. Besides, he didn’t really like bread either.
Seeing that neither Zhang Haiyang nor Luo Fei wanted to eat, Yang Mei prepared to drive straight back to the county city.
"Yang Mei, how about I drive? You’ve been driving alone for quite a while, it must be exhausting." Luo Fei stepped forward and offered. He wasn’t thinking much, just felt bad seeing a woman driving while two men were sitting idly, so he courteously asked.
Actually, he had wanted to say this at the start, but since they had just met and Yang Mei seemed quite aloof and hard to approach, he hesitated. Now having been together for the better part of a day, they were more familiar, plus Yang Mei turned out to be easier to get along with than she appeared.
"It’s fine; it’s not that far anyway."
Since she said so, Luo Fei didn’t insist; he was just being polite.
Once in the car, Luo Fei couldn’t wait to ask, "Master, Yang Mei, did you notice anything strange when the village chief and the villagers were speaking?"
"Are you being mysterious with me? Hurry and tell us," Zhang Haiyang replied with a smile.
Luo Fei chuckled and said, "If I remember correctly, at the victim’s home, Su Xiao was using a new model phone launched by Apple last year, priced at least seven to eight thousand. Also, there were two pieces of gold jewelry at the victim’s home, together worth over ten thousand."
"At the time, I didn’t think much of it. A working woman without any family burdens, it wouldn’t be surprising for her to buy such items for herself. But you heard earlier, Su Xiao’s monthly salary is over three thousand yuan, and she has to give fifteen hundred to her parents; her expenses in the county city, accommodation, living expenses, and utility bills, plus clothing and shoes, would be at least a thousand. Calculating this way, she could only save a few hundred yuan a month. Working for over two years, she could save up to a little over ten thousand; where did she get the money for phones and gold jewelry?"
"Could it be that she bought the phone on installments? Nowadays, many girls are willing to do anything for an Apple phone. Didn’t the high school over there have two girls trading their bodies for an iPhone?" Zhang Haiyang asked.
"I think that’s unlikely. Master, consider this: if Su Xiao really bought them herself, why would she get gold jewelry worth thousands first and then buy a phone on installments? Plus, even with a year’s installment, she’d need to repay seven to eight hundred each month, and Su Xiao could only save a little bit of money monthly, she couldn’t afford it." Luo Fei replied.
"I agree with Luo Fei. I hadn’t thought of this before, but now that Luo Fei mentioned it, the phone and jewelry indeed have issues. Given Su Xiao’s sensible and well-behaved nature, it doesn’t make sense for her to buy gold jewelry worth tens of thousands and phones costing thousands." Yang Mei, sitting in front, agreed with Luo Fei’s words.
"So, were the phone and jewelry bought for Su Xiao by someone else? Is Su Xiao being kept?" Zhang Haiyang asked with a frown.
Luo Fei nodded and then said, "Su Xiao is definitely seeing someone, and this person seems to be financially well-off. It’s certain their relationship is kept secret; otherwise, Su Xiao wouldn’t hide it."
"If that’s the case, they’ve kept their relationship well-hidden. There wasn’t a single trace in Su Xiao’s room today."
At 5 PM, Luo Fei and the others returned to the county city.
Zhang Haiyang suggested that Yang Mei drop him and Luo Fei at the entrance of the police station since their task today was to accompany Yang Mei to Woniucun to gather information. Now that the task was done, Yang Mei could report back alone; there was no need for them to follow her to the criminal investigation unit.
Luo Fei actually wanted to go with Yang Mei to the criminal investigation unit to make an impression on Zhao Donglai, as he was hoping to work there in the future. However, since Zhang Haiyang had spoken, Luo Fei naturally didn’t say anything more.
Yang Mei dropped Luo Fei and Zhang Haiyang at the police station and then left.
As Luo Fei and Zhang Haiyang entered the office, they saw their colleagues packing, changing clothes, and getting ready to leave work.
"Oh, Haiyang, you and your protégé returned from the investigation. How did it go? Any leads?" Liu Haiquan asked with a grin upon seeing Luo Fei and Zhang Haiyang.
Zhang Haiyang smiled, somewhat proudly responding, "Of course there were leads, and quite significant ones at that. Just wait to be envious."
"Is it true?" Zhang Da, who had a good rapport with Zhang Haiyang, approached and looked at Luo Fei, "Luo Fei, I can’t trust your master’s words. Tell Zhang whether you really discovered something in the investigation?"
"Alright, alright, Luo Fei and I need to report to the station chief first. I’ll tell you all about it later. Luo Fei, let’s go find Zhou Weimin." Zhang Haiyang interrupted Zhang Da and called on Luo Fei to join him in finding Zhou Weimin.