Han Bin frowned. From his judgment, most of Wang Zhaodi's words were unreliable—maybe even completely false.
"How did He Yan leave the house?"
Wang Zhaodi thought for a moment. "She put the child down and left. I didn't chase after her to see."
"What exact time did she leave?"
"Around nine-something, I think."
"Did she say what she was going to do or when she'd be back?"
"No. Just said she had something to take care of," Wang Zhaodi replied.
"Did she take any spare clothes with her?"
"I don't think so."
"Does she often go out alone?"
"Oh, right… sometimes she does," Wang Zhaodi said vaguely.
"How long would she be gone before?"
"Just a few hours. Never this long."
…
After a few more questions, Han Bin realized Wang Zhaodi couldn't provide any useful leads. He switched topics.
"What was your son doing yesterday?"
"He was at work."
"Where does he work?"
"What does my son have to do with He Yan going missing?"
"Whether there's a connection is for the police to determine. You just need to answer truthfully," Han Bin warned.
"He works at a delivery company."
"As a courier?"
"I don't know for sure. That's just what he told me."
Han Bin noticed that whenever he asked about her son, Wang Zhaodi became defensive.
He closed his notebook, took out a cigarette, and gave Li Hui a look. "I'll step outside for a smoke. You keep taking the statement."
"Go ahead."
Han Bin stepped outside and sent a text to He Ru, asking her to bring out the younger daughter.
He waited at the gate, taking a few drags from his cigarette. Before long, He Ru came out with the little girl.
Putting out his cigarette, Han Bin looked the child over. "Miss He, how's your sister's relationship with her mother-in-law?"
"They've never argued outright. Typical mother-in-law and daughter-in-law stuff, I guess."
Han Bin had never been married, so he didn't fully grasp such family dynamics. "What's this little one's name?"
"Yuanyuan."
"May I ask her a few questions?"
"Sure," He Ru replied, then crouched down. "Yuanyuan, this is a police officer. He wants to ask you something."
"Police uncle, I'll be good. Please don't arrest me," the girl said, shrinking behind her aunt.
"What's that about?" Han Bin turned to He Ru.
"She's just a kid. Sometimes when she's naughty, my sister scares her by saying if she keeps crying, the police will come take her away, and she'll never see her parents again."
Han Bin shook his head. Children should be taught to seek police help when in danger. This kind of scare tactic could cost precious rescue opportunities if something really happened.
But as this was the parents' way of raising the child, it wasn't his place to lecture, and a few words wouldn't change the mindset anyway.
"Yuanyuan, do you miss your mom?" Han Bin asked.
The girl nodded. "Yes."
"I'm here to help find your mom." Han Bin pulled out a stick of gum and handed it to her.
Yuanyuan sniffed the gum. "Police uncle, when will my mom come back?"
"If you want her back soon, you'll need to answer my questions carefully."
"You can ask. I want my mom to come back quickly."
"How do your mom and grandma get along?"
Yuanyuan looked puzzled, not quite understanding.
"I mean, do they fight? Or say bad things about each other?" Han Bin explained.
"They don't fight, but Grandma often says bad things about Mom."
"What kind of things?"
"Whenever Mom's not around, Grandma says she's lazy and just plays on her phone all day. She tells me never to be like her when I grow up," Yuanyuan said seriously.
"Does your mom work?" Han Bin asked.
"I don't know."
"I do," He Ru cut in. "My sister quit her job late in pregnancy. After she gave birth, her mother-in-law couldn't handle everything alone, so my sister stayed home to help with Yuanyuan."
"Yuanyuan's in kindergarten now. Why hasn't your sister gone back to work?"
"She's tried, but after being out for so long, she couldn't adjust. She wanted to start an online store, but ended up losing money."
"So right now she has no job or income, and the family relies solely on your brother-in-law?"
"That's right," He Ru nodded.
Han Bin turned back to Yuanyuan. "Have your parents argued before?"
The girl nodded.
"When?"
She frowned, thinking hard. "Just a few days ago."
"Why?"
"I don't know. I was asleep. But they were really loud and broke things in the house."
"After your mom went missing, did your dad seem worried?" Han Bin asked.
Yuanyuan nodded, then shook her head—her answer unclear, as she was too young to express it well.
"Call your brother-in-law. Tell him to come home," Han Bin said to He Ru.
"Alright."
"Police uncle, when will you find my mom?" the little girl asked, eyes full of hope.
"I'll do my very best to bring her back."
"Thank you, uncle," she said before running back to her aunt.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs—Li Hui was coming down, rubbing his stomach. It was already 1 p.m., and he hadn't eaten yet.
"How'd it go?" Han Bin asked.
"Not great. That old lady talked forever but said nothing useful," Li Hui shrugged. "How about you?"
"I spoke to the little girl. Despite her age, she described the home situation pretty clearly. The family's financially strained, and there's a lot of tension. The missing woman and her husband argued just two days ago."
"So she might have left because of family issues," Li Hui reasoned.
"But then why turn off her phone and ignore her sister's calls?"
"Maybe she just wanted peace and quiet to think things over."
"And the child? Leaving without a word would hurt her deeply," Han Bin sighed.
"Binzi, people do all kinds of things. In my village, plenty of women from other places ran off when life got too hard, leaving their kids behind." Li Hui looked unfazed.
"Let's wait until we've taken the husband's statement before we draw conclusions."
"I still think it's more likely she left on her own—there's family conflict, and no ransom note," Li Hui said, spreading his hands.
"Officer Han, Officer Han!" He Ru rushed over, phone in hand.
"What's wrong?"
"I've called several times, but I can't get through. My brother-in-law's phone is also unreachable," she said, panic in her voice.
(End of Chapter)