SFTD -Chapter 12 The Faceless Female Corpse (Part 4)

Zhou Hai crouched down, softening his voice as much as possible.

“Please don’t panic, ma’am. Sit here and wait for the comparison results first. Maybe it still isn’t her.”

Xu Biao also stepped forward to comfort the father.

“Come on, let’s head upstairs to the lounge on the second floor and wait there. The seats are more comfortable.”

The couple was completely dazed, moving like puppets as they followed Zhou Hai upstairs. Xu Biao poured each of them a cup of water.

Zhou Hai asked, “Do you have any photos of Zhong Yishan with you?”

Father Zhong pulled out his phone and opened the photo album. There were group photos and solo pictures one after another, which he handed over to Zhou Hai.

Taking the phone, Zhou Hai saw that Zhong Yishan had a pair of lively, expressive eyes—eyes as pure as the sky itself.

Just looking at her made one feel how beautiful life could be. She was truly a girl in the prime of youth.

Thinking of the body stored in the freezer downstairs, Zhou Hai quietly put the phone down.

“Can the two of you try to recall what kinds of friends Zhong Yishan had? For example, classmates from middle school or high school, people she stayed in contact with often. Boys or girls, either is fine.”

The question gradually redirected their attention, pulling them slightly away from the crushing grief. Both tried hard to think.

Mrs. Zhong pondered for a moment before speaking immediately.

“Shanshan was cheerful and loved to laugh, so she had a lot of friends. There were more than twenty who had come to our house to play. But I can’t remember most of their names. I’m only familiar with a few of her closest friends. Ma Keke and Zhang Yang from Class 6, Grade 11 at No. 1 High School. Chen Qiushi from Class 7. Wang Yu from Class 9. The five of them grew up together. And our five families are also pretty close. Last year, all five families even went to Hong Kong Disneyland together.”

“Oh?” Zhou Hai responded. “Sounds like the parents are quite close too.”

Zhong Yishan’s father nodded.

“We all basically work in government agencies. And our neighborhoods aren’t far apart, so over time we became familiar with each other.”

As he spoke, he lightly kicked Mrs. Zhong under the table.

The movement was subtle, but Xu Biao, standing from the side, saw it clearly.

Zhou Hai continued asking about other details, but discovered that the couple had never noticed any signs of puppy love in their daughter.

Nor did they think she had offended anyone.

For a moment, even Zhou Hai felt confused.

Leaving Xu Biao to accompany them, he returned to the office and laid out all the evidence once again.

Four hours later, Zhou Hai’s phone vibrated.

Sister Zeng had sent him a WeChat message—a DNA comparison result.

Unfortunately, the victim was indeed their daughter, Zhong Yishan.

However, thanks to Zhou Hai’s earlier psychological redirection, the couple was no longer in the same state of collapse as when they had first arrived.

Zhou Hai held the phone in front of them.

“The results are out. I’m very sorry. The victim is your daughter, Zhong Yishan.”

Mrs. Zhong covered her face and burst into tears, while her husband struggled desperately to suppress the trembling in his cheeks.

“I want to see Shanshan.”

Zhou Hai shook his head. This was not the time to give in emotionally. Otherwise, the psychological trauma they would carry in the future would be even worse.

“I don’t recommend it. If her identity could’ve been confirmed by appearance alone, we wouldn’t have needed to go through the trouble of investigating every high school in Dongnan City. Right now, what you two should do is cooperate fully with the investigation. Catching the killer and making sure he doesn’t remain free—that’s the best comfort you can give Zhong Yishan.”

Father Zhong’s eyes turned red as tears and mucus streamed down his face, yet he still nodded forcefully.

“We won’t look. We won’t look anymore! Shanshan’s mother, we have to avenge Shanshan. We must cooperate with the police and catch the murderer as soon as possible.”

Mrs. Zhong wiped her face with a tissue, trying hard to steady her emotions. Her trembling hands grasped Zhou Hai’s tightly.

“Sigh…If you say we shouldn’t look, then we won’t. I can guess already… she must be in a terrible state. Please… help tidy up my Shanshan properly, alright?”

Zhou Hai gripped her hands firmly.

“Mm. I promise I’ll take good care of her. You can bring a set of clothes she liked—long sleeves and long pants. I’ll have someone change her into them.”

Mrs. Zhong nodded.

“Alright.”

Xu Biao cleared his throat.

“Ahem. Although this may not be the right time to ask, for the sake of catching the killer sooner, we need to go to your home and look for clues. Would that be alright?”

“That’s fine. We can go right now.”

Xu Biao nodded and glanced at Zhou Hai.

“Captain Wang has already arrived with his team. They’re waiting downstairs. Why don’t we head over together?”

Naturally, Zhou Hai had no objections.

The four of them went downstairs, where Captain Wang was indeed standing in the lobby with four officers.

Without wasting time on pleasantries, they exchanged introductions and prepared to leave.

Just then, the center’s glass doors were shoved open violently with a loud bang.

Two young figures rushed inside.

Zhou Hai’s pupils contracted.

He looked at Xu Biao, then at the body camera, before subtly glancing behind Xu Biao.

Xu Biao instantly understood.

Turning slightly, he used his body to block the view while removing the body camera and clipping it onto Xiao Liang’s chest.

No matter how slow Xiao Liang might be, even he understood the meaning behind it.

His phone vibrated.

Sure enough, Zhou Hai had sent him a WeChat message.

Stay behind and receive these two. Record everything carefully.
You can reveal Zhong Yishan’s condition of death.
Remember to collect fingerprints and blood samples.

The two youths who had rushed in froze upon seeing Mr. and Mrs. Zhong, then quickly hurried over.

The boy stared fixedly at Father Zhong.

“It really is Shanshan?”

The girl asked timidly as well, “Uncle… Auntie… is it really Shanshan?”

Father Zhong nodded, forcing the corners of his lips upward in an attempt to appear strong.

“Zhang Yang, Keke, why aren’t you in class? Why did you come here?”

Zhou Hai now knew these two were the classmates and close friends of Zhong Yishan.

The reason he left Xiao Liang to handle them was to see whether there was anything suspicious about them. After all, he could always review the recording later.

Ma Keke was already crying so hard that tears streamed down her face like pear blossoms in the rain.

She was slender and tall, and even the loose school uniform could not conceal her beauty.

That two girls this beautiful were close friends felt almost unbelievable.

“Auntie, we just wanted to come see Shanshan off. You don’t need to worry about us. Even if we can just stay a little closer to her, that’s enough.”

Mrs. Zhong glanced around at the many police officers waiting nearby and chose not to say anything more.

“How did you two get here?”

Zhang Yang pointed outside.

“I asked my dad to have a driver bring us over. Don’t worry, Auntie. We’ll head back to school in a little while.”

Mrs. Zhong stretched her neck to look outside at the car, then nodded with reddened eyes.

“Don’t stay too long. Go back to school early.”

After saying goodbye, everyone split into three cars and headed toward the Zhong residence.

Zhou Hai continuously sent messages along the way.

He, Captain Wang, and Xu Biao rode together in one car, while Xu Biao recounted the conversation and behavior of Mr. and Mrs. Zhong earlier.

Zhou Hai remained silent the entire ride.

The deep wrinkles on Captain Wang’s forehead never relaxed from beginning to end.

“At this point, we can only start investigating through the victim’s social relationships. But doing so will definitely affect the students in her class. Before coming here, I spoke with their homeroom teacher. The school’s attitude is very firm—they’re unwilling to cooperate. Political Commissar Hao is currently trying to persuade them.”