SFTD -Chapter 293 Bride Who Fell from a Building (Part 2)

Zhou Hai waved at Fengzi. Fengzi came over and helped him lift the victim’s head out of the pool of blood, tilting it slightly toward him.

The moment he saw the face, Zhou Hai suddenly remembered—this was the runaway bride from that wedding on Saturday, the one where the bride’s mother had suddenly raised the price and demanded an additional betrothal gift.

And now she was wearing the same wedding dress, fallen from a building. What exactly had happened?

Zhou Hai knelt on one knee and leaned closer to the victim’s face. Her eyes were not fully closed, and her mouth was slightly open. The skull, nasal bone, left cheekbone, and jaw were all fractured. When he touched it lightly, he could clearly hear the sound of bone crepitus. The entire left side of her face had collapsed inward, a horrifying sight.

There was no need to check further to know the torso also had multiple fractures, with the left side being the most severe. Only the leg bones on the right side were broken.

The victim still had jewelry on her ears, neck, and fingers. Zhou Hai picked up the end of her necklace and examined it with a magnifying glass. The engraving read “Chow Sang Sang.” From the matching style of the jewelry set, it was clearly a complete set—and authentic. If robbery had been the motive, these valuables would not have been left untouched.

He then lifted the victim’s arm. The side of the wedding dress had completely torn open, likely from the impact of the fall. Apart from that, her clothing was relatively intact, showing no signs of struggle or assault.

Xiao Liang and Zhang Wenqi had already completed multiple rounds of on-site inspection. All scattered small items had been bagged as evidence, including the victim’s high heels.

Zhou Hai closed his eyes briefly, recalling the wedding dress she had worn before. That one had a very long train that required someone to hold it up, otherwise even turning around would be difficult. But this one was much lighter.

It was embroidered with three-dimensional colorful flowers. Although her hair was styled up, she was not wearing a veil. All signs suggested that this so-called “wedding dress” was more like something used for engagement photos rather than a formal wedding gown. This realization made Zhou Hai pause slightly.

Just two days ago, she had been getting married—now, on Monday, she was preparing for an engagement again?

If he remembered correctly, this woman had been pregnant, which was why she had hastily married Zhang Ziliang. They had not even managed to register the marriage certificate in time. The more Zhou Hai thought about it, the deeper his confusion became.

He stood up and looked around. Beneath the fall point were several trees. Though they were ornamental landscaping trees, they were real fir trees, likely reinforced with metal frames for structural support.

During her fall, she had been scraped by the branches, which explained the abrasions on her face and arms. However, the posture really did resemble a jump. Yet her wide-open eyes and slightly parted mouth suggested extreme fear and panic—unlike typical suicide victims who usually have closed eyes and “crow’s feet” abrasions at the corners.

“Which floor did the victim live on?” Zhou Hai asked.

Xiao Liang quickly stood up. He had been the one to ask around and immediately took out his notebook.

“The victim’s room was 527. Her relatives were also staying on the 5th and 6th floors. Directly north of here is the location of Room 527, where a police officer is stationed.”

Following Xiao Liang’s pointing finger, Zhou Hai looked over and indeed saw a police officer standing at the edge of the corridor. From where he stood, the railing was below his chest level.

For an adult male, anything below chest height would be at least 1.2 meters. At that height, accidental falling could be ruled out—at the very least, it would not be easy to climb or tip over.

Zhou Hai stood up and ordered:

“Send the body back to the center. Xu Jun, coordinate with the victim’s family and sort out her social relationships as quickly as possible.”

Just then, Xu Jun walked over briskly and smiled at Zhou Hai.

“Dr. Zhou, I’ll go investigate the victim’s social connections right away.”

Zhou Hai raised a hand. “Stop.”

“The victim—I saw her on July 18th. I was attending her wedding on the third floor here. But her mother suddenly demanded an additional 500,000 yuan in bride price, or the marriage would be called off and the child aborted.”

“After the victim and her family left, the groom Zhang Ziliang completed the wedding with the bridesmaid.”

His simple two sentences instantly stunned everyone around him. The amount of information was so heavy that it took them several seconds to process it.

Xu Jun finally reacted and grabbed Zhou Hai’s arm.

“Dr. Zhou, what does this Zhang Ziliang do? Do you have his information? He’s a key suspect!”

Zhou Hai slowly pulled his arm back, but Xu Jun still didn’t let go, grabbing his hand instead. Fortunately, they were wearing gloves, otherwise Zhou Hai would have found it unbearable. He glanced at him helplessly.

“Zhang Ziliang’s father is the vice dean of Southeast University. He himself is a lecturer there. You can go verify it. That’s all I know. The bridesmaid’s name is Zhu Sha.”

Xu Jun finally released him and nodded vigorously.

“Thank you, Dr. Zhou! This information is crucial. I’ll have someone bring him in for assistance right away.”

Zhou Hai hooked his finger at him. Xu Jun looked confused but quickly leaned closer anyway.

Zhou Hai lifted his hand, pulled off his glove, and said:

“Go wash your hands. I just examined the body—there’s blood on your hand.”

Xu Jun’s expression changed several times instantly. He looked at his palm; indeed, there were smears of blood. His cheeks twitched as he forced a stiff smile.

“It’s fine, I’ll go wash up. I’ll arrange for the body to be moved first, then investigate her social connections. We’ll contact you if there’s any news.”

Without waiting for a response, he fled.

Fengzi and Xiao Liang were already laughing uncontrollably on the side, while Zhang Wenqi tried hard to suppress his smile.

Zhou Hai waved his hand.

“Let’s go. We’ll check the fifth floor.”

They took the sightseeing elevator upstairs. Downstairs, the body had already been transported away, and staff quickly used a large tarp to cover the scene from the second floor. The arrangement was efficient—Xu Jun might be afraid of blood, but he handled things well.

With a “ding,” the elevator stopped on the fifth floor.

The four of them stepped out and walked toward Room 527 on the north side. The corridor had already been cordoned off, with police stationed on both sides, and almost no guests watching.

Zhou Hai did not rush in. Instead, he stood at the door observing carefully. The entire fifth floor formed a circular corridor layout—essentially the whole Lijing Grand Hotel was designed in this ring-shaped structure.

No matter where you looked from, the visual perspective was similar. Opposite Room 527’s railing stood a police officer.

Zhou Hai walked up to him. As the officer was about to move, Zhou Hai placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Stand here and don’t move. Otherwise we’ll have to re-identify your footprints.”

He crouched down and took out a magnifying glass. Beside the officer’s feet were four clear impressions, evenly spaced and orderly.

Xiao Liang and Zhang Wenqi leaned in—and their eyes widened instantly.

“Chair leg impressions!”