Yu Hanjiang once again brought up the details of the five members of the girl group.
Ye Lan was the one with the highest level of education in the girl group. She was born in a scholarly family and both her parents were university professors. She had excellent grades since childhood and skipped a grade in junior high because of her excellent grades. She was admitted to a key university at the age of 17 and graduated with a master’s degree at the age of 23.
It stood to reason that a good girl born in such a family would rarely come to the entertainment industry.
Her debut experience was actually very simple. She loved singing since she was a child and won awards in singing competitions. She signed up for the talent show while she was studying for her master’s degree at the age of 22. She didn’t expect to pass all the way to the finals.
Her gentle voice and fresh temperament captured the hearts of many fans. Finally, she came third in the competition and signed with Starlight Entertainment. She applied for her thesis defense in advance, got her master’s degree and became a member of the 505 girl group.
In an interview with the 505 girl group, a reporter went to her house to interview her parents.
Yu Hanjiang brought up the interview video and watched it with Xiao Lou. Her parents were both university professors and were as gentle and kind as Xiao Lou’s parents. This made Xiao Lou feel like they were really familiar. There was a wall cabinet in her study that was filled with various famous books. According to her father, Ye Lan loved reading since she was a child and she had read all the books in this cabinet.
For this reason, fans liked Ye Lan more and more, they felt that she was a rare literary and artistic goddess in the entertainment industry. She was better than some stars who didn’t know how to recognize words and hadn’t read many books.
Xiao Lou finished watching the interview and wondered, “A girl born in this type of family is usually raised very well. She shouldn’t be the killer?”
Yu Hanjiang nodded. “Based on Sister Chen’s testimony, Ye Lan isn’t the murderer but there is something suspicious about her.”
Xiao Lou thought carefully. “That’s right. Sister Chen only heard the footsteps of Liu Xi leaving and returning with the tissue. During this time, Ye Lan didn’t go out. She should’ve stayed in the bathroom and wouldn’t have time to commit the crime.”
Yu Hanjiang opened the profile in Ye Lan’s file and pointed to one of the lines. “Look here.”
Xiao Lou read it carefully and was shocked. “The Seventeenth Central School? Isn’t this the school that Lin Yiyan attended?”
Professor Xiao’s memory was really strong. Lin Yiyan attended the Seventeenth Central School in high school and there was the school information on her profile. Yu Hanjiang had dealt with many cases so he subconsciously remembered these key points. Unexpectedly, Xiao Lou also remembered it clearly.
Yu Hanjiang looked over with appreciation. “The Seventeenth Central School is a bit special. It is divided into a ‘junior high school’ and ‘senior high school’. The two campuses are connected together and share the library, gymnasium and other teaching facilities. Calculating by age, Lin Yiyan is 30 years old this year and Ye Lan is 25 years old. In other words, when Lin Yiyan was in her second year of high school, Ye Lan was in her first year of junior high school. They happened to be in the same school.”
Xiao Lou, “………”
Group Leader Yu was really sharp-eyed. He actually connected the two cases through this small detail!
Yu Hanjiang added, “Moreover, I just went to the official website of the Seventeenth Central School to check some information. The year Lin Yiyan was in her second year of high school happened to be the 50th anniversary of the founding of the school. Xie Yuan also happened to be involved. He started doing charity in 2005 and set up the Yuanhang Charity Foundation to donate money to some schools.”
Xiao Lou’s eyes lit up. “Could it be that Xie Yuan donated some money to their school?”
“It is likely that is the case. Lin Yiyan was originally a good student who was immersed in studying and aimed to enter a key university. Her diary style suddenly changed and she became Xie Yuan’s fan. She called Xie Yuan her male god and husband in the diary every day. There must be a reason for her change.”
Yu Hanjiang opened some reports of the school celebration. 13 years ago, it was Lin Yiyan’s second year of high school and Ye Lan’s first year of junior high school. The school celebrated its 50th anniversary. It was too long ago and there were few relevant news reports. It was impossible to discover if Xie Yuan participated in the school celebration or not.
Xie Yuan’s ‘Yuanhang Charity Foundation’ was established exactly 13 years ago. At that time, Xie Yuan was the most popular actor in the entertainment industry. He took the lead in doing charity and it was well received. He donated tens of millions of yuan at a time to support outstanding students from poor families to enter university. The Seventeenth Middle School was also included in the scope of his donations.
“That’s me.” Yu Hanjiang looked up at him. “Are you… Mr Xie?”
“Yes.” Xie Yuan took off his sunglasses, scarf and mask. “His face was pale and his eyes were red. He stared at Yu Hanjiang and asked in a trembling voice, “Where is m-my wife?”
Xiao Lou stood up. “Mr Xie, please come with me. Mrs Liang Ting’s body is temporarily placed in our forensics centre.”
Xie Yuan followed Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang to the forensics identification centre next door.
The freezer of the morgue was pulled open by Xiao Lou. The moment he saw Liang Ting’s face, Xie Yuan’s legs softened and he knelt down directly in front of Liang Ting, his face full of disbelief. “Ting Ting… how can this be? This…”
He clung to his wife’s already cold hand, placing it on his face and breaking down in tears. The man’s cries echoed in the quiet morgue and was heart-wrenching. Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang looked at each other and temporarily left the morgue to give him time to calm down.
After 10 minutes, Xie Yuan walked out with red eyes. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. “What the hell is going on? My wife doesn’t have heart problems. How could she suddenly die?”
Xiao Lou explained, “Someone poisoned the water in her thermos. She was murdered.”
“Murder?” Xie Yuan’s eyes widened when he heard this and the veins on the back of his hand bulged as he violently punched the wall. He roared in a hoarse voice like a wounded beast. “Who killed her? My wife has no grievances with others. How could she be poisoned and murdered?! Officer, you must catch this beast!”
Yu Hanjiang watched him calmly. After a while, he interrupted by asking, “Mr Xie, do you know Ye Lan?”
Xie Yuan was taken back for a moment. “I don’t know.”
Yu Hanjiang continued, “What about Lin Yiyan?”
Xie Yuan took a breath and tried to stay calm. “You previously called to question me about Lin Yiyan’s matter and I told you. She and I only met once at the company’s annual meeting. She said I was her idol, toasted me politely and asked if I could add her on WeChat. I added her as a friend out of politeness but I never chatted with her in private.”
Yu Hanjiang raised his eyebrow. “Is that all?”
Xie Yuan was angry. “What do you mean? My wife just died and her body is in the morgue. Why are you asking me about Lin Yiyan instead of investigating her murder? Is the murderer Lin Yiyan?”
Yu Hanjiang told him solemnly, “Lin Yiyan is also dead.”
“…What?!”
Xie Yuan was clearly shocked by the news and his face was full of horror.
“You are the key to connecting the two cases. Lin Yiyan really admired you and she entered the entertainment industry because of you. It is a routine procedure to investigate you. Mr Xie, I know that Liang Ting’s death is a big blow to you. Please calm down and follow me to the interrogation room to cooperate with the investigation. I still have some questions to ask you.”
Xie Yuan’s face was white. He had just learned about Liang Ting’s death and as a result, Lin Yiyan was also dead… He grabbed his hair with both hands before hitting his head hard. Then he followed Yu Hanjiang to the interrogation room.
Yu Hanjiang asked about 13 years ago. “Tell me in detail about the establishment of the charity foundation.”
Xie Yuan’s face was calm. “The Yuanhang Charity Foundation was indeed established 13 years ago. At that time, I won several awards and my income was considerable. I couldn’t spend it all myself so I wanted to do some charity and help a few students from poorer families. It is normal for celebrities to do charity. If you suspect that I am laundering money, you can check the detailed accounts of my foundation. Every donation has a clear record.”
Yu Hanjiang asked, “Have you ever donated money to the Seventeenth Central School?”
Xie Yuan thought about it for a long time and nodded. “During junior high school, I studied at the Seventeenth Central School for a year and can be considered an alumni. It happened to be the school’s 50th anniversary and I donated money to build the library. In addition, I gave scholarships worth several million to the school for students with poor backgrounds but excellent grades.”
“Did you participate in the school celebration on that day?”
“Yes but I did it in secret. It feels vain to publicize things like charity. I just wanted to keep a low profile and donate to the school. I briefly spoke a few words at the ceremony and the media and the school didn’t report on it too much.”
This was why Yu Hanjiang couldn’t find the relevant news records. No matter what Xie Yuan was like as a person, he could be called an excellent example for the entertainment industry in terms of doing charity.
Yu Hanjiang continued to ask. “Did the school send a student representative to give you flowers or something on the day of the school celebration?”
“It seems there was a girl who offered me flowers but it was too long ago. I don’t remember.”
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang glanced at each other. It was very likely that this girl was Lin Yiyan.
Lin Yiyan had close contact with the young and handsome Xie Yuan and was probably crazy in love with him since that day. She yelled ‘my male god’ and ‘my husband’ in her diary every day. In order to get close to Xie Yuan, she took the art exam in her third year of high school and went to a movie school to study and become a popular star in the entertainment industry. Ye Lan was in her first year of junior high school and must’ve also participated in the school celebration. She knew that Lin Yiyan came on stage to give Xie Yuan flowers.
Xiao Lou stared at Xie Yuan and asked softly, “Do you love your wife?”
Xie Yuan’s mouth twitched and he replied without hesitation. “Of course! I have been with Ting Ting for 10 years and we have two lovely children. Why wouldn’t I love her?”
Yu Hanjiang questioned him sharply. “Did you have an affair with Ye Lan or Lin Yiyan? This is related to two murders. Please answer truthfully.”
Xie Yuan’s fists on the table trembled violently. He seemed to be conflicted and his eyes were full of struggle.
Yu Hanjiang’s voice was cold. “Liang Ting is the mother of your two children and she just died. Once your children grow up in the future, how are you going to explain it to them?”
Xie Yuan, “……”
The sentence was like a sharp knife that stabbed straight through Xie Yuan’s heart.
Xie Yuan’s psychological defenses finally collapsed when thinking of his children in the family. He hugged his head tightly with both hands and answered in a pained manner. “I and Lin Yiyan… only had one experience. On the day of the company’s annual meeting, she toasted me and I was a bit drunk. Lin Yiyan offered to take me home. As a result, she drove the car to a private villa.”
Yu Hanjiang wondered, “The Yuehu Villa?”
Xie Yuan nodded. He recalled the experience that night and his face was full of regret. His head hung down and almost touched his chest. “Lin Yiyan said that she has always liked me since over 10 years ago. I was her dream and would always be the male god in her heart… I was probably possessed by a ghost at the time. I saw her saying all these things in an admiring manner and couldn’t control it for a while. She and I…”
Yu Hanjiang frowned. “It was just a night? Did you get in touch with her afterwards?”
Xie Yuan hurriedly shook his head. “No! I regretted it once I sobered up. Lin Yiyan also said it was just a momentary impulse and acted like nothing happened. If you don’t believe me, you can check her phone. I haven’t talked to her or contacted her.”
He paused and added, “I was afraid that Liang Ting would divorce me if she knew about this. She has a serious cleanliness habit. If she knew that I spent a night with someone else, she would definitely never forgive me.”
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang glanced at each other. Liang Ting had a serious cleanliness obsession… could she have killed Lin Yiyan after knowing that her husband had sex with Lin Yiyan?
Yu Hanjiang immediately asked, “Where were you and Liang Ting on the 16th and 17th of this month?”
“My daughter was sick and hospitalized. Liang Ting and I were in the hospital with our children.”
“Were you there all day?”
Xie Yuan answered, “She accompanied my daughter during the day and I took over at night. We took turns to change shifts.”
“In other words, you don’t know where she went at night?”
Xie Yuan replied, “She should’ve gone home to rest.”
“You’re not sure, are you?”
Xie Yuan fell silent. He obviously wasn’t 100% sure if Liang Ting went home after leaving the hospital.
Yu Hanjiang then wondered, “What about Ye Lan? Do you have anything to do with her in private?”
Xie Yuan gritted his teeth. “No, I really am unfamiliar with Ye Lan but Lin Yiyan should know her. That time I was with Lin Yiyan at the Yuehu Villa… after getting up in the morning, I hurriedly left the villa but I ran into Ye Lan at the intersection. She gave me a shocked look and pretended not to see me. She turned around and left.”
Yu Hanjiang raised his eyebrow. “So Ye Lan knows about your private affair with Lin Yiyan?”
Xie Yuan nodded with an ugly expression. “She ran into me at the intersection next to Lin Yiyan’s villa. It was obvious what happened. I was afraid Ye Lan would say something but it wasn’t easy to ask her. I just pretended that nothing happened. After that, I exchanged a few words with Lin Yiyan and said I was drunk last night. It wouldn’t be good for any of us if this incident was revealed and caused a scandal. We shouldn’t contact each other any further. Lin Yiyan also agreed with this method of handling it and we deleted each other’s WeChat accounts.”
Xiao Lou frowned thoughtfully.
If Xie Yuan wasn’t hiding anything in his testimony, what was the relationship between Lin Yiyan and Ye Lan? Ye Lan ran into Xie Yuan at the door of the villa and knew that Xie Yuan and Lin Yiyan spent the night together. Would she tell anyone this shocking news? For example… Liang Ting?
Was Lin Yiyan’s death related to Liang Ting or Ye Lan? The two cases were connected. The clues had increased but it also became more complicated. Xiao Lou felt like his head was going to explode.
Yu Hanjiang finished questioning Xie Yuan and let him leave. He saw Xiao Lou pressing a hand against his temple and lightly patted Xiao Lou’s shoulder in comfort. “Don’t worry, things will be straightened out soon. We will interrogate a few more people tomorrow. Ye Lan isn’t the murderer but she should know many secrets.”
