Chapter 22: The Case of the Headless Female Corpse (10)

While brushing her teeth, bubbles filling her mouth, Xiaoman did not forget to remind Zhou Lin: "Dad, remember to bring breakfast to eat on the way!"

"Got it. Xiaoman, go eat breakfast downstairs in a bit. Dad will come home early after finishing work." Zhou Lin looked at her.

Xiaoman waved her little hand: "Bye-bye, Dad!"

After freshening up, she went downstairs and ate some steaming hot buns. She saw her grandfather reading the newspaper in the living room; although it was the digital age of the internet, the old man still kept his old habits.

After finishing breakfast, Xiaoman walked up to her grandfather: "Grandpa, don't you need to go to the company today?"

Zhou Zhenghong put down his newspaper: "Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, so the company is closed today. Does Xiaoman want to go play somewhere?"

Xiaoman tilted her head and thought: "Is Grandma coming too?"

The old lady, still feeling lingering fear from what happened at the Garden Expo Park yesterday, said, "Grandma needs to prepare New Year's goods, so I won't go."

Xiaoman nodded: "Grandma, thank you for your hard work. Grandpa, can I go see Changjing University?"

"What a good child, that's a great goal! One of the top three universities in the country!" Zhou Zhenghong beamed, "Let's go right now!"

As the grandfather and granddaughter were about to leave, Blade ran over, barking: [Little Man, I want to go too!]

"Grandpa, can we take Brother Blade with us, please?" Xiaoman immediately asked.

Zhou Zhenghong nodded: "Let's take him! As a police dog, whether in training or during the dangers of his missions, Blade has been a remarkable furry warrior. Now that he's retired, he should enjoy life!"

With a leap, Blade hopped into the back seat of the car.

Xiaoman hugged her grandfather's arm: "Grandpa, you are actually proud of Dad, right?"

She had lived in the Zhou household for a few days. Although her grandfather would complain about her father every time he saw him—saying he didn't care about the company or the like—she knew he still felt that being a police officer was a glorious profession.

Zhou Zhenghong tapped her forehead with his finger: "You really are a little rascal!"

The grandfather and granddaughter visited Changjing University. Since the university was on winter break, there were very few students on campus, and it was very quiet. Zhou Zhenghong ran into an old friend and sat on a bench to chat, while Xiaoman rode on Blade, running around the campus to play.

In a corner of the campus, a mouse poked its head out, squeaking: [Little Man, we saw your dad near the bar outside the school!]

Xiaoman said proudly: "Dad is there investigating a case! No matter how difficult this case is, the truth will eventually come to light."

***

At this time, Zhou Lin had arrived at the Chaoyang Bar with his team members.

Bars usually do not open for business in the morning, but when the police arrived, the bar’s actual manager, Zhang Rui, hurried over.

Lin Nan took out a photo: "Manager Zhang, have you seen this young woman in the bar?"

"Sorry, there are too many people coming and going in the bar; I don't have much of an impression," Zhang Rui shook his head.

He called over a waiter who had worked there for a long time: "Xiao Chen, take a look at this person!"

"That's Yi Nan! Just like the line from the poem: 'Who does not remember the south?'" Xiao Chen recognized her immediately. "She was pure and beautiful. I heard her say she was a student at Changjing University. Many people in the bar liked her, but she... she especially liked 'fishing' for wealthy second-generation heirs! But she hasn't appeared for a long time!"

Lin Nan put the photo away: "Do you know if she had a boyfriend?"

"I don't know about that. As for her reputation in the bar, how should I put it?" Xiao Chen paused. "It’s like that female celebrity from Hong Kong back in the day; she was keen on dating rich men, aiming to marry into a wealthy family. But wealthy families have their own standards for choosing a spouse. It’s fine for a fling, but marrying in is harder than ascending to heaven."

Lin Nan persisted: "Tell me specifically, which wealthy men did she date? Or rather, which wealthy family was she targeting?"

Xiao Chen said enthusiastically: "Oh, Officer, here in Changjing City, the first choice is naturally the wealthy Zhou family..."

Lin Nan glanced quietly at Zhou Lin. Others might not know that Zhou Lin was a scion of a wealthy family, but many in their police team did. Zhou Lin, however, was very low-key and did not allow the Zhou family to expose his identity.

Zhou Lin’s expression remained unchanged: "Which member of the Zhou family did she target?"

Xiao Chen, who had been speaking quite freely, shivered when he saw the cold, stern expression of the criminal police captain: "It was Zhou Kai! The fourth young master of the Zhou family loves the glamorous world; clubs and bars are his hunting grounds for beauty..."

Zhang Rui cut him off: "Xiao Chen, Captain Zhou didn't ask you about that."

"It's fine, let him speak!" When Zhou Lin investigated a case, he never shied away from the Zhou family; everything was based on facts.

Having spent many years navigating society, Xiao Chen realized that since the manager called him Captain Zhou, he didn't know if it was the Zhou family of Changjing City, but he didn't dare to act up anymore.

"Captain Zhou, there's no one else."

"Besides Zhou Kai, who else? Tell the truth!"

Xiao Chen looked at Zhang Rui, who also dared not offend anyone. Every young master of the Zhou family held power or wealth; dealing with ordinary people like them was as simple as crushing an ant.

Zhou Lin’s sharp eyes swept over Zhang Rui and Xiao Chen, making both of their hearts thump.

***

"Hurry up and tell Captain Zhou everything," Zhang Rui glared at Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen dared not hold back: "It was those few from the Changjing young master circle: Gu Chen, Huo Jing, and Li Ju..."

After Lin Nan wrote it all down, he and Zhou Lin prepared to leave.

Zhang Rui followed them: "Captain Zhou, I want to ask, what happened to Yi Nan?"

"The case is still under investigation; I cannot disclose anything," Zhou Lin turned and left.

After Zhou Lin and the others left, Xiao Chen hurried to ask: "Manager Zhang, who is this Captain Zhou..."

Zhang Rui glared at him fiercely: "The second young master of the Changjing Zhou family!"

Xiao Chen was incredulous: "That's a super-wealthy family. He has more money than he could spend in several lifetimes without doing anything, so why would he become a police officer?"

Zhang Rui thought to himself, how would he know why Zhou Lin wanted to be a police officer? And a criminal investigator at that! Criminal investigators handle criminal cases. Could it be that Yi Nan... He had to notify the four playboy masters of Changjing immediately!

Zhou Lin walked to his car, lost in thought.

Lin Nan took the car keys from him: "Captain Zhou, Yi Nan is a fake name. Her real name is Tang Hong. She is also from Jiang Province, but her college entrance exam score was very low. Not to mention attending a prestigious school like Changjing University, she couldn't even reach the score for a vocational college. She created a persona as a talented college student to attract the attention of many wealthy second-generation heirs."

"What is Tang Hong's family situation? She has been missing for a year; did no one in her family ask about her?" Zhou Lin frowned.

Lin Nan sighed softly: "She was adopted by the Tang family. Her adoptive parents later had a biological son, and she was often beaten and scolded at home. She came to Changjing City right after the college entrance exam. It’s a pity, she had just turned 18 when she died..."

"Check for any intersection between Tang Hong, Zhu Yan, and Li Ping first," Zhou Lin said as he opened the car door and got in.

"Yes!" Lin Nan started the car.

Zhou Lin furrowed his brows: "The most important thing is to find Tang Hong's head."

But where could her head be?