SFTD -Chapter 126 Campus Gunfire (Part 7)

“So what you mean is, this person always carries their gun on them, but today they weren’t in uniform, so the gun might also be at home. Only in that case could someone have taken it, so maybe it hasn’t been discovered yet. If we make a big fuss and call them now, it might alert the suspect.”

Zhou Hai nodded. Director Hu looked at Zhou Hai with a flash of disbelief. Such a small detail—no one else had noticed it, yet he had picked up a clue from it. His mind was extremely meticulous; he was simply born for criminal investigation.

He quickly took out his phone and made a call. After giving instructions, he hung up and nodded to Director Song and Liu Da.

“Let’s wait for news tomorrow.”

Liu Da began arranging some of the work for the next day. Zhou Hai was also assigned to go with Chu Menghan to the hospital to check on the condition of the surviving victim and see if they might be able to provide any information about the killer if their condition improved.

Zhou Hai asked Chu Menghan to send him all the photos. He glanced at his watch—almost ten already. Thinking of that noisy little girl at home, he felt uneasy for no reason. Everyone left the meeting room and headed out.

Chu Menghan caught up with him. “Hey, what’s wrong? Did someone owe you money or something?”

Seeing the beauty approaching, Xu Biao hurried over with a grin.

“Chu beauty’s actually showing concern now. Looks like our Hai-zi is going to have trouble in the coming days dealing with a little girl, so he’s a bit distressed. Let’s not bother him.”

Chu Menghan raised an eyebrow and sized Zhou Hai up.

“A little girl? Your daughter?”

Xu Biao covered his face. “He’s not even that old, what daughter!”

“It’s his teacher’s adopted daughter. He’s been asked to take care of her for half a year. That little girl—”

“Oh right, how old is she again?”

“Fifteen.”

“I’ll look at those photos later. I just feel like the killer is right in front of us, but we can’t find any trace. Xu Biao, you and Xiao Liang get Fengzi to send you back. I’m leaving first!”

With that, he ignored Chu Menghan and Xu Biao and walked away.

Chu Menghan looked at Xu Biao. “What’s going on? Why is Zhou Hai taking care of his teacher’s child?”

Xu Biao shook his head. “It’s a long story. Chu beauty, give me a ride—I’ll tell you on the way.”

Chu Menghan didn’t refuse. That was rare. Xu Biao knew she wanted to learn more about Zhou Hai, meaning she was interested in him—and his chances were shrinking. Still, spending a little more time with her was enough for him.

At 10:20, Zhou Hai carefully opened the door. The room was very quiet—Lu Xi must have already taken Charlotte to sleep. Coming home to someone inside gave him a strange feeling, unfamiliar but not unpleasant. From the dining table, he saw food left for him.

He changed his shoes and was about to return to his room when—

A gunshot sounded from Charlotte’s room, followed by two muffled screams.

He dropped what he was holding and rushed to the bedroom door, pushing it open.

In the dim room, a computer screen flickered. Zhou Hai turned on the light.

A big and a small girl were hugging each other tightly, wearing one-piece pajamas shaped like a rabbit and a crocodile. Seeing him burst in, they screamed:

“Get out! Get out!”

Zhou Hai quickly backed out and returned to the living room, poured himself a glass of water, and sat on the sofa.

After a while, Lu Xi came out. Seeing his exhausted face, her cheeks flushed slightly.

“Hi, sorry, we overreacted a bit just now. We were watching a horror movie.”

“You looked extremely tense. Your face turned pale earlier.”

Zhou Hai straightened up slightly, making room on the sofa. Lu Xi, wearing a green crocodile onesie, sat down on the single chair. It looked a bit funny—Zhou Hai glanced at her. She had seemed capable and refined before, but in that outfit she looked no different from a high school girl.

Zhou Hai rubbed his fingers.

“Today I took on a case—a campus shooting. I didn’t plan to talk about it at home, but when I walked in and heard a gunshot and your screams, I overreacted. So I should be the one apologizing.”

Lu Xi hugged her knees, curled up on the sofa, staring at him with wide eyes.

“Why say that? You were worried about us. We’re very touched. Charlotte is a bit proud, but she’s a very cheerful girl. You can try talking more with her.”

Zhou Hai nodded.

Lu Xi suddenly raised three fingers in a vow.

“I promise I won’t tell anyone. But can you at least tell me which school the shooting happened at?”

Charlotte walked out at that moment. Seeing them speaking Chinese, she pouted and came closer, standing at the edge of the living room.

Lu Xi quickly waved her over. “Hey, come here! Your Brother Hai caught bad guys today. Didn’t you want detective stories? Why give up such a good chance?”

Charlotte looked at them, shrugged, and slowly walked over.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. I don’t want to interrupt your work.”

Zhou Hai patted the seat beside him. “Sit. I didn’t want to tell you because I was afraid you’d be scared, but since you want to hear it, you have to keep it secret. I also need to ask your teacher something.”

Charlotte sat obediently beside him, hugging a pillow.

“Today’s campus shooting happened at Lu Xi’s school—Dongnan University.”

Lu Xi froze. “Really? What happened?”

Zhou Hai briefly explained the situation of the two girls, though he avoided the most graphic details. Charlotte wasn’t scared at all—instead she looked fascinated.

“What happened next?”

“There’s no next yet. Investigation continues tomorrow. I don’t want a fourth person to know about this case.”

Lu Xi agreed immediately, then leaned forward.

“You’re trying to ask me about those two girls, right?”

Zhou Hai nodded. “There shouldn’t be many students involved in performances at your university, right? Do you recognize them?”

Lu Xi thought for a moment, looking at the photos.

“I really can’t tell them apart. They look so similar, and they always swapped clothes or bought the same ones. We often thought they were twins—but their names show they aren’t related.”

“Wait! I remember there was a threatening post on the school forum—it seemed to be about one of them. Let me look for it!”

Barefoot, Lu Xi ran back to get her laptop, the crocodile tail swaying behind her. Charlotte looked at Zhou Hai.

“Lu Xi’s cooking is better than takeout. Can she stay here?”

Zhou Hai looked at her in disbelief. This was the first time she had actively made a request.

But Lu Xi was a teacher at Dongnan University, only helping during her vacation to tutor Charlotte in Chinese. If she stayed, wouldn’t she basically become a maid?

“She’s a teacher, not our housekeeper. How about we hire a cook instead to handle meals every day?”

Charlotte’s smile slowly faded. Then she seemed to think of something and paused as if about to leave.

“Then just make her your girlfriend. If she lives with you, we can have good food too. Don’t you want to sleep with her?”

Cough.

Charlotte was really putting effort into Zhou Hai’s happiness. Sigh.