QTIMP -Chapter 299 Character Persona – Violent (Part 27)

Along the windowed wall, there was a row of low cabinets holding seasonal shoes.

The remaining two walls were lined with cupboards, filled with off-season clothes, quilts, fabrics, and other supplies, along with several suitcases she had brought with her.

After nearly finishing the tidying, Si Qiu finally let out a sigh of relief. Having her own private space meant she could finally stop feeling constrained. Her “space” storage had also freed up a bit.

She boiled a large pot of hot water on the stove. While washing up, she also used the steam to fumigate the heated brick bed. Kang beds were usually built from earth and bricks, so they were prone to rodents digging holes.

But occasionally burning a fire and smoking it out not only prevented dampness but also kept mice from tunneling in.

There wasn’t much entertainment. By the time she lay in bed, it wasn’t even nine yet. Si Qiu rummaged through the books in her spatial storage and took out something to read.

She mainly looked for professional books related to her field. Her space could guarantee her basic living needs. And when her desire was strong—sometimes for a month or even a whole year—it would also provide items she needed.

For example, last month it had given her a psychology textbook. Because she had been living in shared dorms before, she hadn’t had the chance to read it.

Now was a good time to study it. It would be useful for future work—and even if she ended up in another world someday.

The next morning, she woke up a bit late. After washing up, she stuffed a few small pastries into her mouth, then put on a pale yellow Lenin-style uniform, a leather belt, and a brimless soft cap.

In Si Qiu’s eyes, it looked rather ugly, but in this era it was a strikingly fashionable sight.

When she pushed the door open, she happened to see Ye Shubai. He had just raised his hand holding breakfast, and in the next moment Si Qiu hurried past him like a gust of wind.

Her voice drifted over with the morning breeze.

“Sorry, sorry! I’m going to be late for work!”

By the time he came back to his senses, she had already disappeared.

Si Qiu arrived at her unit on time, but newcomers really couldn’t afford to arrive at the exact last minute. She went to her assigned desk, hung her bag on the side, picked up a basin from the windowsill, and prepared to fetch water to mop the floor and wipe the desk.

Just as she turned around, she heard Section Chief Song speak.

“Xiao Qiu is here. Planning to clean? Don’t clean yet—put it aside and come out on a case with me.”

She hadn’t expected to be sent out on a case so soon. Si Qiu didn’t hesitate. She immediately put down the basin, slung her bag back over her shoulder, and followed her superior outside.

She saw him mount a Type 28 bicycle, glance back at her, and ask, “Can you hop on?”

Si Qiu nodded. “Master, not only can I hop on, I can ride too. Should I get one for myself?”

“Just hop on.”

As he spoke, the bicycle was already moving. Si Qiu quickly ran a couple of steps and jumped onto the back seat.

The chief continued, “I know you can ride, but this bicycle is an important asset of the bureau. When I say important, it means we don’t have many.

Our bureau has one jeep, two sidecar tricycles, six bicycles, and two donkey carts.

The jeep is rarely used. The sidecars are for distant or urgent cases. Normally we use bicycles. Donkey carts are for long-distance but non-urgent trips.

Out of the six bicycles, at least one or two must stay in the bureau. Coincidentally, two broke down yesterday, and another was taken to the countryside by some kid.

So right now, this is the only usable one.”

Si Qiu silently thought to herself: Things really are tough here. The most surprising part was that they even had donkey carts.

The bicycle moved onto the road, and Song Tingyu began explaining the details reported by the informant.

“The person who reported it was a seven-year-old child. The deceased was a girl from the neighboring household in their courtyard. He said the girl was poisoned by her grandmother.”

“Master, why would the child say that?”

Song Tingyu let out a sigh. “The girl was gone, and the grandmother wanted to take her out of the city to bury her. She said the child had been beaten by her stepmother yesterday and, unable to bear it, drank rat poison herself.”

“But the child said that couldn’t be true. Yesterday they were playing together. The little girl even said she would teach him how to write when he got back from school, and that she wanted to grow up and live a better life on her own. There was no way she would commit suicide just because she was beaten.”

Si Qiu asked again, “Then why did the report come to us?”

“He reported it to Xiao Sun, who also lives in the same courtyard.”

The bicycle was pedaled at full speed, and they arrived in just over ten minutes. By then, the courtyard was already noisy, with a large crowd gathered at the entrance.

The bicycle bell rang sharply—ding-ling-ling—and the two of them stopped, leaning the bikes to the side. Song Tingyu didn’t forget to lock his bicycle.

Someone spotted their uniforms and shouted, “Quick, quick! The police are here, make way!”

The crowd instinctively opened a path for them. As they walked in, they saw an old woman tearing at Xiao Sun.

“Get out of my way! I’m going to beat that little brat to death! How dare he falsely accuse my daughter-in-law!”

Behind Xiao Sun stood a child clutching his mother’s trousers, staring at the old woman across from him.

The child’s mother was neatly dressed and refined-looking, but her face had turned pale with anger at the old woman’s filthy insults.

At that moment, the old woman’s claws were already reaching for Xiao Sun’s face. Officer Song quickly stepped forward and grabbed her wrist.

Si Qiu looked around and finally noticed the girl lying in a corner. She quickly walked over.

Just as she was about to squat down to examine the body, a man stopped her.

“What are you doing? The dead deserve respect! Who allowed you to touch my daughter?”

Seeing that he looked anxious rather than grief-stricken, Si Qiu pushed him aside. “Police are handling a case. Do you want to obstruct official duties and come with me for questioning?”

The man immediately stepped back. The woman beside him tightly grabbed his sleeve.

Si Qiu knelt down again to examine the body and found that the child’s face was already bluish-purple—she was indeed dead.

She put on gloves and conducted a brief examination. Even without advanced forensic methods, it was easy to tell the girl had been strangled.

She stood up and walked back to Song Tingyu. “Master, the girl’s cause of death should be asphyxiation from strangulation of the neck, not poisoning as the old woman claimed.”

Before anyone else could react, the old woman suddenly lunged at Si Qiu.

“You little wretch, what do you know? My granddaughter died from drinking poison!”

“Shut up! If you don’t behave, I’ll cuff you and take you in for questioning one by one!”

Song Tingyu’s roar stunned the old woman. She shrank back, muttering under her breath.

“Alright, now listen to my questions and answer truthfully. Who was the first to discover the body?”

After a long moment, a woman timidly raised her hand.

“It was me. I went to the Liu family’s wall to pick a scallion. Passing by their doorway, I glanced inside and saw Liu girl lying on the ground. Xiao Tao was kneeling beside her. At that time, the girl’s face was toward the door, eyes wide open, lips bluish-purple. It scared me so much I screamed.”