SFTD -Chapter 314 Missing Memories (Part 6)

Looking at the indifferent Chu Menghan, Zhou Hai suddenly realized that he no longer recognized her. A deep sense of unfamiliarity brought a faint, dull ache to his heart.

It was just like when she had returned to the southeast this time, suddenly appearing before everyone again.

And now Chu Menghan felt like a completely different person—reserved, steady, and speaking with the broader perspective of someone in a position of authority. The impulsiveness she once had was gone. But in this transformation, she seemed to have lost her sincerity and warmth, and with it, the sense of closeness between them.

Thinking about it carefully, it made sense. At her position, she likely had to consider far more things. One couldn’t expect everyone to think the same way as oneself.

Zhou Hai stepped back slightly. The shock in his eyes had already faded.

When Chu Menghan saw Zhou Hai’s expression shift from shock to calm withdrawal after her words, a sharp pain rose in her heart. She knew that the distance between them had instantly returned to the starting point—or perhaps even farther.

But she could not back down on this matter, nor did she want to. This case was unsolvable—a dead end. Anyone who got involved would be dragged into utter ruin.

The young male officer had just shown her the online spread of Wang Xuchao’s murder case. Even though the police had not yet released official information, someone—whether journalists or others—had already exposed all the details about Wang Xuchao and Yu Xiuhong.

Even photos from the perimeter of the crime scene had been published. The local trending topics on Weibo and WeChat were full of reposts of the news.

Zhou Hai waved at the stunned Xu Biao beside him.

“Let’s leave it at that for now. We’ll return to the center. But I won’t abandon this case. If you think it’s inappropriate for me to hold the position of deputy director at the center, I can apply for suspension immediately!”

With that, he turned and walked toward his car. Xu Biao shrank his neck in fright.

He hurried after Zhou Hai, glancing back at the furious Chu Menghan and then at Zhou Hai’s hurried steps. He suddenly regretted telling Chu Menghan about this. He hadn’t expected Zhou Hai to be so stubborn about this case.

But at this point, there was no point in persuading him anymore. If Zhou Hai wanted to go crazy, then he would go crazy with him. If things really became unmanageable at the center, should he sign up for an English class? Maybe even cram English hard?

As he was thinking, Xu Biao bumped straight into Zhou Hai’s back.

Zhou Hai turned to look at him.

“Get in the car over there. What are you daydreaming about?”

Xu Biao responded with an “Oh, oh,” and quickly ran to the passenger seat, fastening his seatbelt. Zhou Hai floored the accelerator and the car shot forward.

Behind them, Chu Menghan sighed and got into her own car, dialing Liu Yong’s number.

“Something’s happened on my side?”

On the other end, a voice suddenly roared, “You brat! It’s your first day in office and you already have trouble?!”

Chu Menghan sighed again.

“Stop shouting. Here’s what happened…”

Zhou Hai’s car sped down the road. In the passenger seat, Xu Biao sat with his legs spread wide, bracing himself against the dashboard with his feet, gripping the door handle with one hand and covering his mouth with the other.

After a sharp turn, he cried out in alarm.

“Oh my god!”

“Zhou Hai, I was wrong! Don’t scare people like this!”

“Today I finally see it clearly—Chu deputy bureau chief is no longer the Chu beauty she used to be. I thought she would stand up for you this time, but I didn’t expect her to handle it this way.”

“If that’s the case, I’ll go with you. Whatever you say, we’ll do it—collect evidence, find witnesses, or even help Wang Xuchao forge evidence, I don’t care!”

“If I lose my job in forensic inspection because of this, so be it. But you have to pay for an English class for me—the kind that can get me abroad. I’ll follow you back to the U.S., and we’ll go mess with the Americans together!”

Zhou Hai tapped the brakes slightly, slowing the car, and glanced at him.

“Learn English?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Who said I was going to forge evidence?”

Xu Biao shrugged, spreading his hands innocently.

“It’s a dead end. Didn’t you see the report Sister Zeng sent over? I only told you part of it earlier.”

“In the police belt I found, there was Wang Xuchao’s DNA, and Yu Xiuhong’s blood.”

“And under Yu Xiuhong’s fingernails, there were traces of Wang Xuchao’s blood. In Wang Xuchao’s neck wound, there were fragments of Yu Xiuhong’s fingernails. The blood test showed no drugs or medication. And remember, Sister Zeng was careful—she ran the test four times!”

“Also, his blood alcohol level that morning was 37 mg per 100 ml. That means even after a night, he still wasn’t sober. Can someone drunk like that fully control his actions?”

“Who can guarantee he didn’t do something extreme? These aren’t things you can shoulder alone, Zhou Hai. Listen to me. Chu Menghan may not have said it nicely, but she’s also trying to protect you from getting dragged in.”

Zhou Hai took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag. Then he tossed the cigarette and lighter to Xu Biao, who also lit one.

The two of them smoked in silence. The car was quiet except for the blinking of the turn signal.

Only after finishing the cigarette did Zhou Hai start the car again.

“I will always remember last winter, when we got a call to the overpass on Binhai Road. I saw Wang Xuchao standing beside Sister Zeng. He was clutching his cap tightly, eyes red.”

“For that case, he risked everything to find evidence and interrogate suspects. That case was in Yong’an City, but he still insisted on taking it over just to give his master justice.”

“That kind of Wang Xuchao would never commit murder. Even if he lost control, even if he was pushed to the limit—he couldn’t do something like this. Because he is a qualified police officer.”

“Let me put it another way—if it were you or Chu Menghan who were arrested today, I would do the same. Understand?”

Xu Biao flicked his cigarette butt out the window, tears already glistening in his eyes.

“Alright… at least you ranked me above Wang Xuchao. That makes me feel better.”

“Anyway, I was going to sign up for English classes sooner or later. What’s there to be afraid of?”

“Finding evidence is our specialty. Come on, tell me what we do next.”

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes.

“Go to the Dongcheng Criminal Police Team. At this point, if the evidence is solid, he might already be sent to detention.”

The joking expression on Xu Biao’s face vanished instantly.

Yes—once the evidence was confirmed, the suspect would be sent to detention immediately. Sending Huang Zhongsheng over was likely for this reason as well.

After all, Wang Xuchao was in charge of the west district, and many people shared Zhou Hai’s way of thinking. At times like this, impulsive actions were very likely.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the West District Criminal Police Team—but they were still too late.

They had missed him. Wang Xuchao had already been taken away to the detention center half an hour earlier.

Huang Zhongsheng saw Zhou Hai and opened his mouth, but hesitated. After years of working with Wang Xuchao, this role was probably even harder for him.

“I’ll go to the detention center with you…”

“No need. None of you should get involved in this anymore.”

Before Huang Zhongsheng could finish, Zhou Hai shook his head and pulled Xu Biao to leave.

Huang Zhongsheng hurried after them, grabbing Zhou Hai’s arm and lowering his voice.

“I received a news headline about Wang Xuchao’s case. Don’t rush off—I’ll send it to you now. The entire case details have been exposed.”

Zhou Hai paused. He looked at Xu Biao beside him. Xu Biao shook his head—he hadn’t heard about this either.

Zhou Hai turned back.

“What news headline?”