SFTD -Chapter 325 Missing Memory (Part 17)

Zhou Hai looked at the two of them. “I don’t know who he is, but I do know that Yu Xiuhong’s death must be close to a truth—and that truth is related to these photos, or to what is shown in them.”

Wang Xuchao was no fool. Now that everything had clicked into place, he grabbed the photos and carefully examined the surrounding details.

At one corner on the left side, there seemed to be a sign. The words “Zhanghua Road” were faintly visible. Wang Xuchao’s eyes immediately widened.

“This is the scene of the 4.14 case. Zhanghua Road is separated by just one wall from that sealed abandoned residential area. I remember there was a gap there—could this be the murderer who killed Wang Shouxin?”

Xu Biao had already walked over. Xiao Hu, having heard Zhou Hai’s words, hung up the phone and went to check Yu Xiuhong’s email. Breaking into an email account was not difficult for him.

Xu Biao bit his lip, leaned in to look at the photos again, then looked at Zhou Hai and Wang Xuchao.

“Are you saying the killer realized he was about to be exposed, so he killed Yu Xiuhong to silence her? And Brother Chao just accidentally got involved with Yu Xiuhong, so the killer used a ‘golden cicada sheds its shell’ trick to frame him? That way no one would continue investigating the case, and he’d be safe?”

Zhou Hai thought for a moment. “What Xu Biao said sounds a bit far-fetched, but it actually makes a lot of sense. However, that assumes the killer must know Wang Shouxin and Yu Xiuhong very well—otherwise how could he be so familiar with their movements?”

Wang Xuchao stroked his chin, recalling the details of the 4.14 case.

“Back then, this case was extremely serious and had a very bad impact. So we collected a huge amount of Wang Shouxin’s social connections, from his colleagues to law firms involved in competitive relations, and carried out extensive investigations. But we still found very little.”

Zhou Hai glanced at his watch and raised a hand to stop him.

“Xiao Hu will probably need some time. If we can prove that Yu Xiuhong’s email was tampered with, we can request to merge the two cases. That would naturally clear your suspicion. It’s already close to midnight. Let’s stop here for today. Xiao Liu has already given me a photocopy set of the 4.14 case files. I need to sort through them. I feel like something is missing, but I can’t pinpoint it yet. I’ll go back and think it over carefully.”

Seeing Zhou Hai say this, Wang Xuchao naturally had no objections. However, his expression was somewhat troubled. Zhou Hai knew he didn’t want to go home—after all, it was already late, and going back now would only worry his family. It was better to wait until there were results tomorrow.

Thinking of this, Zhou Hai took out a set of keys and tossed them to Wang Xuchao.

“It’s this late. Don’t go home and disturb your family. You two go sleep at my house in the back of Fushan. But remember—the study is off-limits. Everything in there belongs to Xixi.”

Xu Biao grinned mischievously. “No, no, Brother Chao gets the master bedroom, I’ll sleep in the living room. The renovation is done but I haven’t properly checked it out yet. Last time it was all because of those two idiots Fengzi and Xiao Liang, otherwise I could’ve enjoyed it more.”

Zhou Hai immediately thought of his own broken foot, and also of the little fragments of memory tied to Xixi.

Xu Biao realized he might have said something wrong, but seeing the gentle smile on Zhou Hai’s lips, he said nothing more.

After all, Xixi was Zhou Hai’s emotional knot. Being able to face it so calmly was a good thing for him and for everyone.

But he couldn’t help wondering—after what happened with Wang Xuchao, did Chu Menghan still have a chance with Zhou Hai?

Sigh… just thinking about it made him worried for Zhou Hai. A perfectly fine “model young man,” and yet he was being pursued by this “female devil.” If he ended up choosing her, wouldn’t he be getting abused every day?

Shaking his head, sleepiness finally overwhelmed him.

“Let’s go, let’s go. We’ve wasted enough brain cells today. Brother Chao, let’s head out.”

The two of them went downstairs. Zhou Hai didn’t need to arrange a ride for them—they left on their own. He took the photos and the 4.14 case files from the car and returned to the Lu residence.

He said he would rest, but in truth he wanted Xu Biao and Wang Xuchao to rest properly. As for himself, he needed to sort through all the information and try to find any overlooked clues.

He stayed up the entire night.

When Zhou Hai pulled open the curtains, the sky outside was already bright. He rubbed his sore arms, picked up eye drops from the table, and dripped them into his eyes. The cool sensation was refreshing, as if washing away his fatigue.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Unable to open his eyes properly, Zhou Hai could only call out, “Come in.”

A little loli walked in carrying a tray. Seeing Zhou Hai leaning back in his chair, with the desk lamp still on, she immediately guessed he hadn’t slept all night. Her brows furrowed slightly.

“Zhou Zhou, did you stay up all night?”

Only then did Zhou Hai realize it was her. Even with his eyes closed, a faint smile appeared on his lips.

“Don’t worry. The case was urgent yesterday. I just couldn’t figure out some connections in the middle. Now I finally understand a bit more.”

He rubbed his eyes and slowly opened them. The stinging sensation had eased. Seeing the tray in her hands, he quickly stood up and placed it on the small tea table by the window.

Only then did he notice the food on it: fried eggs, toast, butter, pickled cucumbers, a salad, and a glass of milk.

No need to ask—he knew it was her work. Warmth spread through his heart.

“My Luo Luo’s cooking looks pretty good. Let’s eat together?”

The little loli shook her head, slightly shy for once, pressing her lips together and looking at him seriously.

“This is the first time I’ve cooked. You can give feedback—but if you say it’s bad, I won’t accept it!”

Looking at her proud little expression, Zhou Hai held back his laughter, took a slice of toast, spread butter on it, and took a bite with egg and pickles.

It was actually quite good. The toast was slightly crisp on the outside but soft inside with a faint aroma.

Seeing his reaction, the tension in her heart eased slightly.

“Is it… okay?”

Zhou Hai drank a sip of milk and smiled.

“How can it just be ‘okay’? It’s really good!”

“My first time wasn’t this good. When I first went to the U.S., I didn’t know how to use a toaster. I ended up frying bread in a pan. As you can imagine, it turned into charcoal, and breakfast was ruined.”

The little loli sat across from him, watching him eat, and asked curiously: “Your Chinese cooking is so good. Why couldn’t you cook when you first went to America?”

Zhou Hai nodded.

“To be honest, American food was terrible. I couldn’t find cooking videos online back then either. So whenever I wanted to eat something, I’d search for a video, learn it, then cook it. Step by step, I gradually learned.”

He finished the salad and drank the last of the milk. The little loli pressed her lips together, trying hard to suppress her proud smile. Seeing him finish, she quickly picked up the tray and ran out.

“Luo Luo, slow down—thanks for breakfast!”

She didn’t respond and disappeared down the corridor.

Zhou Hai stood up and gathered the case files. Last night’s work had finally sorted out many of the tangled threads, and he now had some ideas.

Just then, his phone rang.

Seeing Chu Menghan’s name flashing on the screen, Zhou Hai paused.

Logically speaking, she should already know about Wang Xuchao being released yesterday. Yet she had held back and not called him. So why call now?

An apology?

Impossible—her pride would never allow it.

Then what was it?