David turned his head to look.
Two police officers, both quite young—probably fresh graduates.
“Hello, inspection.” One of the officers spoke, “Please show your identification.”
“Of course.”
When speaking, he deliberately adopted Wei’s out-of-town accent and slowed his speech. While handing over his documents, he intentionally left out his driver’s license.
The officer looked at Wei’s photo on the ID card, then at David’s face, comparing them back and forth.
“Please remove your glasses.”
Without the slightest hesitation, David took off his glasses and placed them on the center console.
Before turning back, he blinked his eyes, which had flesh-colored double eyelid tape attached, making the crease appear deeper.
The officer, upon seeing David’s face without glasses, paused for a moment. Looking back at the ID card, he showed a puzzled expression and passed the photo to his colleague.
David maintained a calm smile. Wei’s ID card was from five years ago when he was thinner, and his features weren’t as developed as they were now.
After a good while, the two officers shifted their gaze and looked inside David’s car.
Besides the 50cm square aluminum box under the passenger seat, they found nothing unusual.
They recognized it as a makeup case—this was a film base after all, with many industry professionals around. Several cars that had passed through earlier had makeup artists carrying similar items.
“Please open the trunk,” the officer finally returned the ID to David.
One stayed in place while the other went to inspect the trunk.
A few minutes later, the officer at the back finally said, “You’re good to go,” turning his attention to the next car slowly approaching.
David unhurriedly put his glasses back on, adjusted his seatbelt, and only then drove away.
Several exits around the film base and hotel were now under strict security, with all vehicles subject to rigorous inspection.
To quickly locate Wen Peng and Zheng Xiaowen, Jiang Chengyi had Old Liu take some police forces to the city center first, while he stayed at the film base’s east exit, personally examining every driver.
Old Qin was conducting checks at the west exit.
Although he didn’t understand why Jiang Chengyi wasn’t personally searching for Wen Peng and instead insisted on watching for David, his years of professional experience led him to repeatedly remind everyone over the radio: “Captain Jiang specified that the suspect is around twenty-five years old, good-looking, works as a makeup artist, skilled in disguise. Suspect’s vehicle is a black Porsche coupe, license plate XXXX674. However, to evade detection, the suspect might be leaving in someone else’s private vehicle. Everyone during the inspection, pay special attention to vehicles carrying multiple passengers, especially those in the front passenger seat.”
Liao Qi called: “Captain Jiang, the crew members have left the film base and are resting at the hotel. I’ve found Cheng Zhou’s (David’s) room number and am going to check now.”
“Search thoroughly.” Despite these instructions, Jiang Chengyi knew that given the perpetrator’s perfectionist approach to crime, he wouldn’t leave any clues in the room, so he didn’t hold much hope.
Ten minutes passed with no discoveries at any exit, making him increasingly anxious.
“How’s it going at the south exit? How many vehicles have you checked? Any findings?”
“Nothing, Captain,” came the honest reply. “We’ve had several makeup artists pass through, but either the license plates don’t match, or the drivers don’t match. From their IDs and vehicles, they all check out as legitimate, and we’ve thoroughly inspected both the cars and trunks without finding anything suspicious.” After checking numerous drivers, the voice sounded weary.
Hanging up, Jiang Chengyi stopped the next car, showing his badge: “Hello, please cooperate with our inspection.”
Just then, Liao Qi called: “Captain, there’s an unconscious man in his twenties in Cheng Zhou’s room. He has no ID, and no one else is there. Cheng Zhou might have escaped!”
Jiang Chengyi’s face darkened: “Verify this person’s identity immediately.”
“But he has no ID… Well, never mind, I’ll check the system!”
“System? Can’t you think straight? Just go next door and ask the other crew members!” Jiang Chengyi shouted.
His rare display of anger startled his colleagues, making them slightly uneasy.
Soon, another call came: “Captain, that’s Wang Wei, Cheng Zhou’s assistant. He drives a silver Volkswagen Polo, newly bought, but they don’t know the license plate number.”
Minutes later, Jiang Chengyi personally checked the central surveillance footage and found the clip of the new silver Polo leaving through the south exit.
“That exit has a shortcut near the highway entrance. From the route, Cheng Zhou will likely head straight for the highway. Call the relevant departments immediately, and block the road sections no matter what. Everyone else, get in the cars and follow me.”
Lu Yan waited in her room until after eleven, growing drowsy, when finally one of Captain Jiang’s officers brought Dr. Yu.
“Dr. Lu.” Upon seeing Lu Yan, Yu Zheng immediately shook hands with her, self-deprecatingly saying, “We’re both in the same boat. Your competition was canceled, and I was sent to this room by Captain Jiang. We’ve both lost our stages to perform, but it’s alright. Although the suspect managed to escape, after more than four hours of pursuit, we’ve now locked down his escape route. With Captain Jiang’s abilities, the suspect should be caught soon.”
Lu Yan was somewhat surprised and quickly invited Dr. Yu to sit.
Though it was nearly midnight, the television still broadcast related reports, updating almost in real-time judging by the speed of news updates.
The whole country was following this case’s progress.
No one in the room spoke, all eyes fixed on the screen.
“When the doctor mentioned the suspect earlier, did you mean Wen Peng?” Lu Yan tentatively asked, noticing Dr. Yu watching with unusual intensity.
“Wen Peng?” Yu Zheng showed slight surprise. “How could it be him?”
As he said this, he caught Lu Yan’s slightly relieved expression: “Dr. Lu, do you know that Wen Peng isn’t the culprit?”
Lu Yan then told Dr. Yu about being stalked for over a month years ago.
“Of course, this stalker might not necessarily be the later murderer, but because the timing was coincidental, and the perpetrator’s usual modus operandi seemed to include ‘stalking’ as an inherent characteristic, I still shared this information with Jiang Chengyi as a reference. However, until now, I can’t confirm if that person was from No. 7 Middle School, but if he wasn’t from our school, why would he have our uniform?”
Yu Zheng crossed his hands over his round belly, thinking for a moment: “On the way to the film base, I used those two hours to thoroughly research the families of both Wen Peng and the other suspect, Cheng Zhou.”
“Cheng Zhou?” Lu Yan was completely unfamiliar with this name.
“That’s Zheng Xiaowen’s makeup artist,” Officer Xiao Zhou interjected. It was nearly midnight, and he was hungry but didn’t dare order takeout, so he opened Lu Yan’s home-bought cookies and shared them with everyone.
By this time, everyone was drowsy but forcing themselves to stay awake for news.
To help everyone stay alert, Dr. Yu took out his instant coffee and made a cup for each person.
The aroma of food spread through the room, making the atmosphere slightly more relaxed.
Yu Zheng took a sip of coffee and said, “Even during his time living in Shuilongtan, Cheng Zhou had close contact with Zhou Zhicheng’s family, though Zhou Zhicheng probably didn’t know Cheng Zhou’s true personality, just treating him as an ordinary kid from the neighborhood. I think Cheng Zhou’s later knowledge about No. 7 Middle School all came from Zhou Zhicheng.”
Lu Yan puzzled: “In that case, Cheng Zhou and Zhou Zhicheng should have had a good relationship, so why later did he—”
Suddenly, footsteps and low conversations could be heard outside, suggesting quite a few people approaching.
Everyone in the room fell silent.
Shortly after, someone knocked: “Xiao Zhou, it’s me, Old Qin. Quick, open the door.” It was Old Qin’s voice.
Xiao Zhou cautiously peered out before opening the door with unexpected joy: “It is Old Qin! Has the suspect been caught?”
Besides Old Qin, several other team members were present.
“The suspect has been taken to the branch office by Captain Jiang, but we still don’t have leads on Zheng Xiaowen and Wen Peng. We need to conduct overnight interrogations,” Old Qin said, his eyes bloodshot and face showing exhaustion. “Dr. Yu, Dr. Lu, let’s go. Time is crucial, we need to get back to the city quickly.”
Did they catch him?
Everyone was stunned for a moment before reacting.
Yu Zheng excitedly rubbed his hands: “Good, good, good.”
Lu Yan felt inexplicably emotional and quickly grabbed her bag.
Even after reaching downstairs, she couldn’t quite calm her emotions.
When she finally processed this news, her feelings were mixed, but simultaneously, it felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders, making her feel somewhat lighter.
As she walked, even the night wind against her face didn’t feel so cold anymore.
Just then, her phone rang.
It was a text from Jiang Chengyi, just one short line:
Wait for me at home, I’ll return when I’m done.
Lu Yan’s eyes reddened, and she smiled silently, with a slight bitterness.