"That's the situation. Yan Yang claims to be Sheng Qingqiu's ex - boyfriend. After they broke up in March this year, he's been writing to her non - stop to try and get back together, but Sheng Qingqiu never replied to a single letter."
"According to Yan Yang, Sheng Qingqiu is a decent woman. Her only flaw is that she's vain and always flirts with other men. She has a lot of male friends. Although Yan Yang noticed this, he never fell out with her over it. So up until now, he still can't figure out why Sheng Qingqiu was so determined to break up with him. Also, Yan Yang said he has no idea about Sheng Qingqiu's current relationship status."
"There aren't any other useful leads," Yang Heng sighed, his tone tinged with disappointment.
Jiang Cong stared out of the window. The rain was pouring harder, constantly coming and going without cease. The night was closing in.
He thought silently for a while and finally said, "Start investigating from Sheng Qingqiu's social media accounts. Remember to send me a copy of all the chat records between her and the suspected individuals."
"Are you suggesting that Sheng Qingqiu fell in love with someone else?" Yang Heng nodded thoughtfully and murmured to himself, "That makes sense. Sheng Qingqiu met the murderer for the first time two months after the breakup, and no one else knew about it. It's very likely that the murderer was her online dating partner."
"Yeah," Jiang Cong responded and then fell silent.
Yang Heng said a few polite words of farewell and quickly hung up the phone.
It was completely dark. The little insects deep in the grass outside were whispering to each other. The moon had stripped away all the veils of the night, leaving no dignity.
In the morning, the sun was shining brightly and the air was fresh.
People were coming and going in the office building. The criminal policemen carried files and hurried briskly among the various offices.
In the conference room, Qin An, sitting in front of the table, was dressed in a white shirt and a khaki pleated skirt. Her black hair reached her shoulders, making her look fresh and capable.
"Professor Jiang, following your instructions, we found three male contacts who met the criteria on Sheng Qingqiu's Hello forum. Their nicknames are 'Lonely Traveler', 'Mesa' and 'Yang'."
Qin An opened the file and analyzed clearly and seriously, "First, there's the user with the nickname 'Lonely Traveler'. We checked the background information on the website and found that he got to know Sheng Qingqiu at the beginning of January this year. Their chat content was mostly dull, just complaining about the trivialities of life to each other. According to the real - name registration on the website, he's 26 years old, lives in another province and has never met Sheng Qingqiu in person."
Jiang Cong leaned back in his chair, picked up the file with one hand and nodded slightly at Qin An, gesturing for her to continue with his eyes.
"The second user is 'Mesa'. He's an 18 - year - old American. He and Sheng Qingqiu got acquainted in the comments section of a post about world cuisine. They mostly chatted in English, and the content was unimportant with very few messages."
Jiang Cong listened quietly, his fingers tapping gently on his knee. The soft morning sunlight shone on his sharp features, making him look hazy and charming.
He's thinking, Qin An thought to herself.
Qin An cleared her throat and continued her report, "The third user with the nickname 'Yang' is Yan Yang. After the breakup in March, he kept harassing Sheng Qingqiu, and she blocked him without replying to a single message. This is consistent with Yan Yang's statement."
"That's all. There were no other social media apps on Sheng Qingqiu's computer, and her phone was lost during the case. We can't locate it."
The two soon fell silent again. Qin An looked out of the window dejectedly. The leads had broken off again. Obviously, none of the contacts were directly related to the case, and they were back at a dead end.
"When did Sheng Qingqiu register her social media account?" Jiang Cong suddenly asked.
"Last February."
"How many contacts does she have?"
"Eight in total. Most of them are female friends."
"Does she spend a long time online every day?"
"Um..." Qin An tilted her head and thought carefully for a moment, then quickly replied, "She probably doesn't go online very often. Her browsing records on the computer don't show up very frequently."
Jiang Cong rolled up the cuffs of his shirt, picked up his cup and took a sip of tea. He said unhurriedly, "We're on the wrong track."
"… What?" Qin An asked softly. She was a bit confused.
"It's simple. To carry out the plan successfully, the murderer must have 'accidentally met' Sheng Qingqiu on the apps she used regularly." Jiang Cong looked up at Qin An and asked indifferently, "Does Sheng Qingqiu have any gaming hobbies?"
"Ah! Yes!" Qin An suddenly realized, her face lighting up with joy. "She likes to play an online game called 'FCH'! It's the only game app on her computer desktop!"
"Go and check it out," Jiang Cong closed the file and looked at the overjoyed Qin An beside him. There was a hint of relief in his eyes.
However, things didn't go as smoothly as they had expected.
Although Qin An successfully found out all of Sheng Qingqiu's game friends, and the investigation team also contacted the FCH game's back - end, unfortunately, the FCH software had been updated recently. The back - end information database had been cleaned up, and all users who logged in with guest accounts were forced to be cleared.
This meant that the murderer's hidden account would be untraceable, and the leads had broken off again.
"This 'murderer' is really lucky!" Yang Heng's anger flared up. He slapped the table and complained resentfully, "He was right in front of us, but he got away!"
Qin An beside him gave Yang Heng a helpless look and retorted listlessly, "You're wrong. Actually, the murderer had it all planned out. The online complaints about the game's security had been so hot recently that the back - end's rectification and update were inevitable."
Yang Heng could only let out a soft "oh". He seemed embarrassed, and his cheeks flushed red instantly.
"Professor Jiang, in your opinion, what should we do now?" Qin An asked humbly.
Jiang Cong glanced at his watch, but his expression remained as calm as ever.
"Go to Sheng Qingqiu's school," he said.
"Go and inform Director Wang. We'll set off right away."
At noon, the sun was blazing.
The classroom was unbearably stuffy, and the cicadas outside kept chirping non - stop, adding to the irritation.
Chen Er looked back at the shabby air - conditioner behind her. There was a thick layer of dust on its cover.
The electricity bill was too expensive, so the school didn't allow the air - conditioner to be turned on.
The big fan above her head was spinning "whoosh whoosh whoosh". Chen Er curled her lips disdainfully.
She threw the pen in her hand and slumped back on the seat.
"… Have you guys heard? The school beauty from Senior Two is dead!"
It was a fat guy wearing glasses with pimples all over his face. At this moment, he was shaking his head and his eyes were darting around.
The good - for - nothings in the back row immediately gathered around. Without a teacher on duty, they were free to do as they pleased.