Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t lecture about it.

The bonus was earned through Daisy’s hard work, so she could spend it however she wanted.

After congratulating Daisy briefly and hanging up the phone, Xia Xiaolan soon received a fax.

There were five courses in total, some required and some electives she had chosen herself.

Her lowest grade was an “A-” in an art appreciation course, and even this was the result of her best efforts. A money-focused practical woman trying to improve her aesthetic sensibilities deserved the chance to progress gradually.

The rest were either A’s or A+’s.

What surprised Xia Xiaolan was that Professor McCarthy had given her an A+ in “Structural Elements”… She had thought he would be very disappointed in her after she declined the P&W firm’s invitation and his hints about staying at Cornell.

“He was disappointed that I failed to meet his expectations, but I had underestimated Professor McCarthy’s professionalism.”

If her exam papers and coursework performance met the A+ standard, McCarthy wouldn’t lower her grade to an A or below just because of personal preferences!

When Daisy mentioned that all three group members received “A” ‘s, Xia Xiaolan was already 80% confident that McCarthy would give her an A+!

Xia Xiaolan’s transcript was probably the only piece of good news in recent days.

By now, Zhou Cheng must have already returned to China and gone back to his original workplace after parting ways with the inspection team.

Considering the time difference between the two countries, Xia Xiaolan didn’t immediately call back home.

Besides Zhou Cheng, she also needed to tell Mao Kangshan and Tang Hongen!

Grandmother Yu had said:

“Good things come in pairs. This is good news, so the skull reconstruction must bring good news too!”

It was a shame that Ah Fen, who had rushed to San Francisco right after arriving in America, must have wanted to see Cornell University where Xiaolan studied.

Grandmother Yu both feared and eagerly anticipated the results.

Waiting was the most torturous process.

“It must be good news!” Liu Fen emphasized strongly.

Tang Hongen had also been following the situation these past few days.

Without Tang Hongen and Zhou Cheng’s joint efforts, the Chinese Embassy in the US wouldn’t have gotten involved so quickly.

Having so many people helping provided great comfort to Grandmother Yu.

Wen Manni hadn’t lied. Under pressure from multiple parties, the skull reconstruction results came out quickly. Just two days after Xia Xiaolan received her grades, the San Francisco police informed Grandmother Yu:

“The deceased was an Asian male around 30 years old, which matches the 1967 autopsy report. The skull shows signs of blunt force trauma. It’s believed the victim had a violent altercation before death, lost consciousness after being struck by a blunt object, and died from smoke inhalation. The fire only charred his body and wasn’t the actual cause of death.”

Jim’s investigation was correct.

The fight and arson were real, essentially reconstructing the circumstances of the case. Xia Xiaolan’s dollars weren’t wasted.

The police had suspected this too – carrying large amounts of valuables naturally made one a target for criminals.

Grandmother Yu nodded stoically:

“I understand all this, but the skull reconstruction results…”

Grandmother Yu needed to see the skull reconstruction results herself.

Truthfully, Asian facial features aren’t as distinct to Westerners, who often have difficulty distinguishing between Asian faces.

With only 60-70% similarity and comparing it against Xu Zhongyi’s old photo provided by Grandmother Yu, the San Francisco police found it difficult to make an identification.

They asked Grandmother Yu to identify it.

Grandmother Yu clutched Xia Xiaolan’s hand as she stepped forward, staring intently at the reconstructed head model:

“No, this isn’t Zhongyi! Xiaolan, look, this isn’t Zhongyi!”

Xia Xiaolan also thought it didn’t look like him.

The reconstructed model had protruding lips, while in the old photo Grandmother Yu provided, Xu Zhongyi, though not exactly handsome, had standard facial proportions and features that were well-balanced, giving him a gentle, pleasant appearance.

The protruding lips didn’t match.

The cheekbones were also somewhat prominent, giving a fierce appearance.

“I don’t think it looks like him either.”

“Right, this isn’t Zhongyi. Zhongyi is still alive!”

Grandmother Yu had felt something was wrong before leaving China, but she had suppressed her negative thoughts and hadn’t cried.

In New York, after hearing Zhou Cheng’s words, she hadn’t cried.

During the exhumation, watching the police unearth the remains, she still hadn’t cried.

But now, confirming the remains weren’t Xu Zhongyi’s, Grandmother Yu broke down in tears.

Liu Fen supported her while crying herself: “This is good news, you should be happy!”

The San Francisco police were confused.

They confirmed several times, but Grandmother Yu kept insisting it wasn’t Xu Zhongyi.

This was strange – someone had died in Xu Zhongyi’s rented house, matching his age and ethnicity. If it wasn’t Xu Zhongyi, who could it be?

“If Xu wasn’t the victim, he might be the killer.”

Grandmother Yu completely rejected this bold conjecture.

“Zhongyi would never kill anyone. He was gentle-natured, even finding chicken slaughter too bloody, let alone killing a person!”

The police didn’t believe this explanation at all.

All killers’ families defend them when they’re caught, saying they couldn’t possibly be murderers.

Things had reversed too quickly – initially believing the deceased was Xu Zhongyi, then the skull reconstruction proving it wasn’t him, and now Xu Zhongyi being suspected as the murderer… The police’s logic had some basis: this unidentified person was burned to death in the house rented by Xu Zhongyi’s family, who then disappeared without a trace. If he had killed someone and feared arrest, he might have gone into hiding.

This hiding lasted 19 years!

Grandmother Yu didn’t believe it, and Xia Xiaolan also felt uncomfortable about the situation, but the San Francisco police wanted to reinvestigate this 1967 case.

The landlord and nearby residents from when the murder occurred were all investigated. The police wanted to identify the unknown man – identity determines one’s social connections, and knowing who died would help clarify his connection to Xu Zhongyi and possible motives for murder.

Grandmother Yu was furious:

“Do these American police know how to do their job? I asked them to find someone, not to treat Zhongyi as a fugitive murderer!”

The San Francisco police’s attitude seemed to have already determined Xu Zhongyi was the killer.

The San Francisco television station hadn’t expected such plot twists and wanted to interview Grandmother Yu even more.

Xia Xiaolan thought for a moment, “I think you should accept the interview. Now that we know the deceased isn’t Uncle Xu, only finding him will reveal what happened back then. We can’t let Uncle Xu bear false accusations while hiding, can we?”

Did Xu Zhongyi kill someone and go into hiding?

If the San Francisco police’s deduction was true, why would Xu Zhongyi kill someone?

This completely overturned Jim’s investigation – Jim believed Xu Zhongyi had been carrying substantial valuables and had become a target for local gangs.

The fact that the deceased wasn’t Xu Zhongyi had already greatly surprised Jim. He refused to believe the San Francisco police’s deduction:

“Xia, have you found the buyer of that vase?”