Sensing Pei Dai's gaze, Jiang Sui remained expressionless. Su Qing knew his calm demeanor.
Su Qing, looking at Pei Dai, couldn't help but explain things for the young man again.
"I went to the hospital at eight that morning. I'd told Jiang Sui about it, and I left at nine. I just happened to run into Tian Shasha at the door. It must have been a coincidence. There still had classes on Thursday."
One hour wasn't enough to accomplish much.
Besides, the journey from school to the hospital took over an hour during the morning rush hour.
If they met by chance, that proves what Tian Shasha was planning to do something when she went to the hospital that day.
Pei Dai's brows furrowed in thought, and he looked at Su Qing and Jiang Sui. "I know this, but our investigation hasn't yielded any clear answers or results yet, so you both have to wait."
Su Qing and Jiang Sui nodded.
"But the news you have today is also very important."
Pei Dai was anxious to leave because of the case, but before he left, he left a few words, "You both go back after dinner. I've already paid for the bill and just paid the 500 yuan advance."
After Pei Dai left, he looked at the gloomy sky and couldn't help but gasp.
He called Xiao Chen, "Xiao Chen, check who else lives in Tian Shasha's household. Especially, check who's at the hospital."
In reality, Su Qing's defense of Jiang Sui wasn't entirely valid. It could be valid or not, depending on which perspective.
Pei Dai pinched his brows and decided to start with Tian Shasha. After all, that girl was truly strange. She'd lost her phone, so why would she go to the hospital without it?
Lost for so long, then calling a number that was unavailable—it's really hard to explain.
Pei Dai rushed to the bureau. Less than half an hour later, as he was getting off the car, he got another call from Xiao Chen.
He just hung up and said he'd be back soon. When Pei Dai arrived at the bureau, he saw Xiao Chen already at the conference room door. He hadn't even had time to change his clothes before heading in.
"Brother Pei, big news."
Xiao Chen felt a surge of awe for Pei Dai. He hadn't expected this young man to be so impressive, and his eyes lit up as he looked at him.
Pei Dai, however, didn't seem to mind. His expression was gloomy, devoid of any extraneous color. Xiao Chen, having spent nearly a month with Pei Dai, knew his style. He didn't waste any time, placing a glass of water on his desk.
"You wouldn't have known about Tian Shasha until you checked. It was a shock to discover her mother was hospitalized."
Her mother in the hospital? Pei Dai piqued his interest and looked at Xiao Chen, waiting for his next words.
After taking a sip of water, Xiao Chen continued, "Tian Shasha's parents divorced a long time ago, but before that, Tian Shasha lived with her mother. Later, her mother became ill for some unknown reason, so she transferred from Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School to Wuzhen. She's always been a strong student, so her tuition and fees at Wuzhen No. 1 Middle School were waived."
"She transferred to Wuzhen No. 1 Middle School simply because her father lives in Wuzhen. After her mother became ill, she gave custody of her child to her father."
Another transfer student, also from Jiangcheng to Wuzhen.
Pei Dai narrowed his eyes. "Can you confirm the transfer date?"
Xiao Chen couldn't help but glance up at Pei Dai again. He couldn't help but admire Pei Dai, because this man had hit the nail on the head right away. "Sure, Brother Pei, if there's anything strange about this, it's this: This girl transferred to another school the day after the incident."
The day after...
That was a good time to delve into the details.
Pei Dai's eyes grew colder. "What's her mother's illness? What's her family's financial situation? What's her father's job?"
Pei Dai, once again asking about the key point, almost made Xiao Chen drop his jaw in surprise. He'd found it strange at the time, and so, to avoid further trouble, he simply checked everything about Tian Shasha's family, including which primary school she attended and where she lived.
These were all quite easy.
"Tian Shasha's father works as a gatekeeper at a construction site. Their family is very poor. Her mother has a terminal cancer, and the family simply can't afford it. But I asked the doctor, and he told me that the medical expenses have always been covered by a Mr. Li."
Li?
"What's the name?"
Xiao Chen immediately shook his head. "I haven't found anything. The name on the list is anonymous. These is well-intentioned donations."
The surname Li inevitably brought to mind Li Xu and the Li family.
When these complex relationships were sorted out one by one, they began to make some sense. Pei Dai, realizing something, looked at Xiao Chen and said, "Notice, emergency meeting. We'll sort through the timeline and then examine the motives."
The intricate connections finally became somewhat clear.
Everyone approached this task with a sense of vigour.
——
Jiang Sui and Su Qing, still unaware of all this, sat in a private room inside the restaurant.
A solemn, oppressive feeling hung in the air, making one feel utterly uncomfortable. Su Qing looked at Jiang Sui, "I didn't mean to hide what happened that Tian Shasha matters. I just didn't know about it, and I don't want to have anything to do with those people anymore."
Su Qing wondered when all this would end.
She couldn't understand why someone would choose to be a bad person. Couldn't they just be a good person?
The girl's explanation was faint, her voice trembling. Jiang Sui's hand held Su Qing's, never moving away.
"It's okay. I know."
The words "It's okay, I know" brought tears to Su Qing's eyes.
"Qing Qing, don't worry, everything will be fine. He will check it out. Didn't he just say your information is extremely useful? There's always a breakthrough."
"Really?"
She thought the storm was over, but unexpectedly, a darker gloom descended, and it was so sudden.
It left no one prepared for it.
"Really, Qing Qing, and there already slowly investigating. The truth will eventually come out."
The boy's resolute gaze reassured Su Qing, though her face remained a carefree paleness that made her look rather pitiful.
"Then, would you like to eat something?"
Su Qing nodded. Jiang Sui had to go back to Jiangcheng tonight, and she didn't want to spend the rest of her time feeling sad, so she nodded.
Seeing Su Qing agree, Jiang Sui's eyes lit up, and he called for the waiter.
He wanted to feed her more while he was there.