Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
There were four girls in the photo including Wu Fangfang. One of the girls clinging tightly to Wu Fangfang had her face scratched out by a knife. This photo belonged to Wu Fangfang, so she must have been the one who scratched out the girl’s face. Thinking about it, it was obvious Wu Fangfang had something against this girl. Tsk, tsk. Recalling his interactions with Wu Fangfang, Zhao Yu realized it’d be stranger if she didn’t have conflicts due to how bad her temper was.
To go as far as damaging the photo, Wu Fangfang must really have had a vendetta against this girl! If she didn’t want to see the girl in the image, wouldn’t it have been easier to just destroy it completely? If someone had flipped through the album, wouldn’t it have been awkward?
Zhao Yu flipped through the rest of the album with some doubts hovering in his mind. After looking through a few pages, he discovered many faces had been scratched and defaced with a penknife.
Initially, Zhao Yu thought that Wu Fangfang must be a vengeful person to have so many enemies, but after carefully studying them, he realized all the images where the faces had been defaced showed the same girl!
The girl was of a similar build to Wu Fangfang but her manner of dress suggested much higher standards. In some of the group photos, the girl wore a Hennessy dress with an exquisite jade bangle on her right wrist. Although the photos had no timestamps, judging by their looks, it was clear they took this photo back when they were 17 or 18 years old. Thinking back, the girl whose face had been scratched out was not only rich but dressed rather maturely as well.
Taking another look, Zhao Yu was shocked to find that the girl appeared in Wu Fangfang’s family photos and Shi Hai’s group photos! Wow! Zhao Yu was covered in goosebumps. This girl and Wu Fangfang… their relationship was something else.
Looking through a few more pages, the girl no longer appeared in photographs after Wu Fangfang began wearing her police uniform. It appeared as though after Wu Fangfang enlisting in the police academy, the two had lost touch.
Zhao Yu examined the scratch marks. They were probably a few years old seeing as they were slightly yellow. These hadn’t been damaged by Wu Fangfang recently, which meant that the tension between them should have since exploded! If that was the case, what was their problem with one another?
But… no matter what the conflict between Wu Fangfang and this girl was, it should have no bearing on the case. This seems like just a personal grudge between the two. Zhao Yu thought. Girls… sigh.
Zhao Yu shook his head and laughed as he continued to flip through the photos of Wu Fangfang after her enlistment. He had barely flipped through more when something dawned on him and he hurriedly flipped back. That’s right!
Looking at the girl whose face had been scratched out, Zhao Yu realized it might actually be a good thing that there was some sort of conflict between them! After all, someone’s statement against an enemy would definitely be the most truthful! If this girl held a grudge against Wu Fangfang, then the information she gave about her could possibly be more reliable!
If Zhao Yu wanted to know about Wu Fangfang’s private life, asking her neighbors and friends might be pointless, as they may have reservations about being completely honest due to her position as a cop. But an enemy… that would be different, right?
That’s right! Zhao Yu tapped on the photo. If he could find this girl, perhaps he’d be able to uncover a different side of Wu Fangfang. Thinking about this, he sent a message to Wu Xiumin and requested she see what she could find about this girl.
Almost immediately, Wu Xiumin replied. “Leader Miao, I noticed this previously. It wasn’t just their teenage years. The girl had appeared throughout Wu Fangfang’s entire childhood. So, I contacted all of Wu Fangfang’s friends and classmates to find this girl’s information. Give me a second…”
Ten seconds later, Wu Xiumin continued to respond. “That girl is indeed remarkable. She’s now a director of one of Gao Lanqi’s largest livestock cultivation companies. Her father used to be the best livestock cultivator in Meng Town before he passed away.” Zhao Yu nodded. No wonder they were so rich!
“Her name is Cheng Lingfei and she was a year older than Wu Fangfang. The two weren’t just close, they were also neighbors at one point. That’s why Cheng Lingfei, Wu Fangfang, and Shi Hai were all childhood friends!” Zhao Yu realized that this girl was close to Shi Hai as well!
“Although she was a year older, their parents managed to arrange it so that Cheng Lingfei and Wu Fangfang were classmates. They had been together from elementary school up until middle school! I even asked their classmates and they said that the two were extremely close; practically inseparable. But after growing up, because of some incidents, their relationship went downhill and they stopped hanging out,” Wu Xiumin explained.
“What incidents?” Zhao Yu asked.
“Apparently it was because of Shi Hai!” Perhaps it was too much effort to type it out, as Wu Xiumin sent this as a voice message instead. “Shi Hai was handsome, and Wu Fangfang and Cheng Lingfei both liked him. But in the end, he chose Wu Fangfang, so their relationship became complicated.”
Ah… as expected, a love triangle. Zhao Yu had already foreseen this… But if Wu Fangfang had won then shouldn’t Cheng Lingfei be the one with the grudge? Could there be another reason she hated her… something like Wu Fangfang and Jiang Ke’s scandalous photo?
“When I was investigating,” Wu Xiumin continued, “one of Wu Fangfang’s old classmates told me something. Last year, they organized a mini gathering in the capital. However, because the organizer didn’t know about the incident, both Cheng Lingfei and Wu Fangfang attended. In the end, something happened at the dinner table…”
Oh? What happened? Zhao Yu typed quickly.
A few seconds later Wu Xiumin’s reply came. “The dinner hadn’t even started and they had already begun to fight! Cheng Lingfei mercilessly scolded Wu Fangfang and said Shi Hai’s death was her fault. She said if Shi Hai had chosen her, she wouldn’t have put Shi Hai in danger. Then the fight escalated. Wu Fangfang picked up a wine glass and splashed it in Cheng Lingfei’s face… the two of them ruined the evening before the dinner even started.”
Oh god… Zhao Yu shook his head. Throwing liquids again? Wu Fangfang was demoted to the Gem Protection Squad precisely because she threw water at her previous superior. That woman…
Another text from Wu Xiumin came in. “Leader Miao, I tried to call Cheng Lingfei earlier, but the call didn’t go through. I’ll send you her details now, it says she’s still living in her old house! I have a feeling she knows quite a lot about Wu Fangfang.”
“Alright!” Zhao Yu typed. After replying, he quickly called Miao Ying. Putting her on this case was a priority.
“Hello…” Miao Ying picked up the phone. Her voice was quieter than usual, as if she was in the midst of a meeting. In the background, elevator music was playing. Zhao Yu didn’t think much of it, telling her about Cheng Lingfei and what he wanted Miao Ying to do.
Surprisingly, Miao Ying started laughing. “Zhao Yu, guess what? I’m already here!”
“Oh?!” Zhao Yu exclaimed. “What do you mean?”
“Did you forget, silly?” Miao Ying laughed. “The computer and my phone are synced. I’ve been reading the conversation you’ve been having with Wu Xiumin the whole time. Coincidentally, I was just passing by the neighborhood Wu Fangfang used to live in and, seeing the news about Cheng Lingfei, I decided to come over and have a look!”
“Oh…” Zhao Yu said.
In the brief pause where no one was speaking, the background music became clearer. It seemed to be the sound of a cello. “Okay, I’m ringing the doorbell!” Miao Ying said. “I’ll let you know what happens later…”
Zhao Yu heard a creak before the phone call ended. Perhaps someone had opened the door?
But something was amiss. Wait… Zhao Yu thought he noticed something. Why was the sound of the cello so familiar?!
