SFTD -Chapter 323 Missing Memory (Part 15)

That single sentence left Zhou Hai stunned. He flipped through the records in his hand. The statement of three people in the KTV private room on the night of the 22nd—Yao Xin, Wang Pei, and Qin Tianhe—was already noted. But according to Wang Xuchao, there was another man in that room?

“How many people were there? Think carefully. Besides you and Yu Xiuhong, how many others were in the room?”

Wang Xuchao tried to recall the scene when he entered the room.

“At that time, Yu Xiuhong pulled me into the private room and introduced me to Yu Xiuli’s classmate Wang Pei, and Wang Pei’s boyfriend Qin Tianhe. Yu Xiuhong said this person was a well-known lawyer, just like her brother-in-law Wang Shouxin.

Then Yu Xiuli pulled over a man sitting on the sofa and said he was her childhood friend named Yao Xin, who worked at the First People’s Hospital as an anesthesiologist.

That was everyone. After that we chatted for a while. Yao Xin saw me reaching into my pocket and realized I was looking for cigarettes, so he handed me one.

After smoking, we left. What happened after that—I already told you.”

Childhood friend?

What conflict could a childhood friend have with Yu Xiuhong?

Even if Yu Xiuhong died, it shouldn’t affect him much. Could it be because of that piece of paper?

The key problem now was—no one knew what was written on that paper.

The group stood there for a long time without moving. Xu Biao stopped a waiter who was about to enter from behind. Wang Xuchao looked at Zhou Hai, knowing he was mentally reconstructing all possible scenarios. His memory was fragmented, so he couldn’t connect anything and could only wait.

After a while, Zhou Hai took out his phone and called Xiao Liu.

“Where are you?”

“Huh? Forensic Zhou, I’m at home.”

“Who is guarding the scene of the 7.22 case? Your people or Team Huang’s?”

Xiao Liu gave a bitter smile.

“To avoid suspicion as ordered by Chief Chu, our team has already withdrawn from the case. Now it’s all Team Huang’s people guarding the scene.”

Zhou Hai said he understood and hung up, then immediately called Huang Zhongsheng. This time the phone rang for a long time—more than ten rings—before it was finally answered, and Huang Zhongsheng was slightly out of breath.

Zhou Hai looked a bit awkward.

“Team Huang, are your people still guarding the 7.22 crime scene?”

There was a long pause before Huang Zhongsheng replied in a low voice: “I’m saying, Hai-zi, can you not call me about this at night? I also have a private life. It’s already past nine.”

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes.

“Wang Xuchao is right here with me. The evidence was insufficient so he was released. He can’t go home—his wife won’t let him in. I’m thinking of letting you host him for a few days. What do you say?”

Huang Zhongsheng immediately choked.

“Cough cough—are you trying to kill me or what?! I live in a two-bedroom apartment! You want him to come over so the three of us squeeze into one bed? Just say what you want, stop beating around the bush.”

Zhou Hai rubbed his nose and glanced back at the two people hiding at the door laughing.

“I want to go to the scene.”

“Chief Chu Menghan has already ordered it—no secondary inspection is allowed!”

Zhou Hai instantly flared up.

“That order was issued when Wang Xuchao was still a prime suspect. Now we’ve found evidence proving he was drugged. Director Liu has already agreed to release him for further investigation. So why can’t we inspect the scene?”

Rarely seeing Zhou Hai this agitated, Huang Zhongsheng realized he was truly upset and quickly tried to calm him down.

“Don’t get worked up. I’ll notify the officers at the scene. You can go directly—if anything happens, I’ll take responsibility.”

With that sentence, no one bothered with formalities. They hung up immediately. Zhou Hai grabbed his phone and walked out of the private room. The three of them headed straight to Golden Coast Residential Community.

Xu Biao yawned toward the window. It was almost ten, and he was getting a bit tired. Wang Xuchao glanced at Zhou Hai.

“It’s getting late. Should we go tomorrow?”

Xu Biao quickly shook his head.

“No way. If you say that, Hai-zi here will eat me alive. I’m not sleepy—just a bit full. Walking it off is fine.”

The car sped through the night and soon arrived at Golden Coast. In the darkness, the upscale residential complex was outlined by neon lights along its upper edges, looking grand and imposing from afar.

The officers stationed there had likely already informed the security gate. Seeing Zhou Hai’s car, they saluted and let them pass. The three went straight to the villa crime scene.

Zhou Hai took a deep breath. Suddenly a thought flashed through his mind.

“Yu Xiuhong is dead… why haven’t her fiancé and her sister come back?”

Xu Biao grunted twice.

“I asked about that. They said her fiancé was busy bidding on a project and couldn’t leave. Her sister is getting married on July 26th this weekend—if Yu Xiuhong hadn’t died, she would’ve been flying to the UK today.”

Zhou Hai suddenly understood. No wonder the victim’s family hadn’t appeared at the scene. But thinking about it made it feel even more tragic—despite living in wealth, no family was there to send her off. It was a sorrowful irony that left one sighing.

In the back seat, Wang Xuchao rolled down the window, staring at the villa and surroundings, narrowing his eyes as he tried to align his memory with reality.

Xu Biao was about to speak, but Zhou Hai raised a hand to cover his mouth, signaling him to stay quiet.

The two watched as Wang Xuchao opened the car door and got out. They followed him, but he did not walk toward the villa—instead, he headed to two parking spaces on the west side.

He squatted there, looking back and forth. Then he looked up at Zhou Hai.

“When I woke up, I was in this spot. I crawled down from the car and saw the lights in the house were on, and the door was open, so I walked inside. But at that time, I had completely lost control of my body. Then I heard crashing sounds and screams inside the house. After that, a figure ran out. When he saw me struggling to get up, he seemed startled and ran toward the west wall. I chased him a few steps, and then I remember nothing after that.”

As expected, coming to the scene allowed him to recall more valuable details. The moment Xu Biao heard “climbed over the west wall,” he immediately shone his powerful flashlight toward the ivy-covered fence.

Officers inside the villa, hearing the commotion, came out. Though Zhou Hai didn’t recognize them, most of them knew who he was. They had already been briefed by Huang Zhongsheng, so they quickly approached and asked if help was needed.

Zhou Hai pointed to Xu Biao’s position and handed them a flashlight.

“Help him search over there. See if anything was left behind.”

He then squatted in front of Wang Xuchao.

“Think carefully—what were you wearing when you woke up?”

Wang Xuchao looked at his arms and patted himself lightly, shaking his head.

“I didn’t pay attention… but when I fell after running a few steps, I felt pain in my shoulder.”

Zhou Hai recalled it immediately. There were indeed abrasions on Wang Xuchao’s shoulder, and the same abrasion appeared on his undershirt in that exact spot.

In other words, the killer had no intention of killing Wang Xuchao. He stripped him of his outer clothing and belt, threw him into the car, and made it so all traces pointed to him—turning him into a scapegoat.

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes. This level of planning was too precise—almost flawless. Ordinary people couldn’t think this far ahead.

Could it be someone within the judicial system?

Just then, Xu Biao suddenly shouted, pulling Zhou Hai back to reality.

“Hey Hai-zi! Come here—look what I found!”