Wu Donglai's response was equally straightforward.
"After he asked me for the layout of the area around the Fang Family that day, I guessed he planned to take action himself."
"There aren’t many alleys near the Fang Family that allow vehicles, and usually, hardly any cars pass through."
"I scattered some specially made paint mixed with a bit of fluorescent powder along the key routes."
"On the night of the incident, I went to check the alleys near the Fang Family."
"The car that hit her drove south after leaving the alley, and I followed the traces all the way to the Donggaodi area."
Donggaodi?
The two police officers conducting the interrogation paled at the mention of this.
Noticing Huo Tingzhou's unusual reaction, Jiang Si quietly asked,
"What kind of place is Donggaodi?"
Her knowledge of Capital City was limited to landmark locations, and she had never even heard of this one.
Huo Tingzhou explained, "That area is a planned aerospace city. The First Academy of the Seventh Ministry of Machine Building and the Fifth National Defense Research Institute are both located there, along with over a dozen other research institutes."
"These are all military-industrial units. The personnel records are classified, and entry requires strict approval."
"Are vehicle records classified too?"
Before Jiang Si could finish her sentence, Captain Liu had already rushed out in a frenzy.
No wonder their team had spent days searching without finding the vehicle involved in the accident—the issue lay here!
Since the matter involved military-industrial units and the police had a clear lead, Jiang Si didn’t dwell on it further.
However, the case progressed far more smoothly than she had anticipated.
The afternoon after Wu Donglai’s arrest, the Capital City police delivered good news:
The perpetrator had been apprehended.
To be precise, the culprit was an enemy spy.
According to their investigation, this individual had been embedded in the rocket assembly plant under the First Academy of the Seventh Ministry of Machine Building for over eight years.
As for why he targeted Fang Wenjun, the police didn’t elaborate.
But after hearing the details, Fang Wenjun had a rough idea.
Her attack was likely connected to Old Yu.
Before leaving, the officers also briefed her on Wu Donglai’s case.
Although he had tried to make amends afterward, given the involvement of an enemy spy and the severity of Fang Wenjun’s injuries,
he would most likely face the death penalty.
Initially, few knew about this development, but after the Wu family learned of their son’s arrest, they caused several scenes at the hospital.
Coincidentally, they ran into President Zhou and others who had come to visit.
Soon, word spread like wildfire throughout the entire art association.
Panic ensued.
Those who had previously been eager to compete for the mural coloring job now collectively lost interest.
President Zhou broke into a cold sweat.
The mere thought that he had brought Wu Donglai to visit Fang Wenjun made him want to slap himself twice.
But what worried him more was that there were only about ten days left until New Year’s Day.
If they couldn’t find a suitable replacement soon, the consequences would be dire.
With this in mind, he asked urgently, "Old Fang, last time you mentioned having a more suitable candidate. Have you finalized it?"
Fang Wenjun didn’t beat around the bush and cheerfully proposed Jiang Si as her choice.
"Jiang Si studied under Old Yu for over a decade. I don’t need to elaborate on her painting skills. Since she’s the one who drew this mural, having her handle the coloring would bring things full circle."
She then asked President Zhou, "What do you think?"
President Zhou naturally had no objections.
Over the past few days, the number of visitors admiring the mural in the square had grown exponentially. Even without coloring, it had already drawn gasps of admiration.
President Zhou could hardly imagine how stunning it would be once completed.
Perhaps due to the recent chain of events, Fang Wenjun had gained a deeper understanding of human nature.
Before the visitors left, she pulled President Zhou aside. "Old Zhou, Old Yu only ever had one prized student. Given my condition, I can’t be on-site, so I’m entrusting Jiang Si to you. If anything happens, I’ll hold you accountable."
President Zhou understood her meaning. "Don’t worry. With Little Wu’s example fresh in everyone’s minds, no one would dare cause trouble now."
That said, upon returning, President Zhou immediately called a meeting with all the team leaders.
Language truly is an art—the same words delivered differently can yield entirely different results.
After President Zhou’s skillful framing, Jiang Si’s takeover of the mural coloring was instantly portrayed as:
A heroic last-minute rescue for the collective good!
Anyone who dared disrupt things now would be an enemy of the collective!
With that declaration, far from causing trouble, the team members practically treated Jiang Si like a revered figure!
The next day, as soon as Jiang Si arrived at the square, everyone—whether acquainted or not—greeted her warmly.
The familiarity of the situation reminded her of her first day at the residential compound.
Back then, she had smiled until her face ached.
Fortunately, while she worked, only Huo Tingzhou stayed by her side. Otherwise, juggling work and socializing would have been overwhelming.
After steadying herself, Jiang Si threw herself into the task.
Compared to drawing, coloring was relatively easy for her.
The only challenge was the limited variety of domestically produced watercolors in this era.
With shades like purple, orange-red, and emerald green missing, mixing the right hues required extra time.
But this was no obstacle for Jiang Si. Thanks to her systematic training in her past life and her absolute color sense,
even the trickiest shades took her no more than half an hour to perfect.
Time flew, and soon the mural coloring neared completion. On the final day, all team members gathered in the square.
They had already witnessed Jiang Si’s skill in the meeting room,
but standing before the mural now, the impact was overwhelming.
"No wonder Jiang Si was chosen. She’s brought these figures to life!"
"Look, I’ve got goosebumps!"
Someone suddenly shouted, "Jiang Si, you’re amazing!"
Applause and praise erupted in waves.
Thankfully, Jiang Si had a strong sense of self—otherwise, she might have been swept away by the adulation.
Remembering something, she turned to Huo Tingzhou, who had been standing behind her.
At that moment, he stepped forward.
Gently, he used a damp cloth to wipe away the paint smudged on her nose and cheeks.
"Tired?"
Jiang Si paused briefly before shaking her head.
She wanted to say, "Everyone’s praising me. Aren’t you going to say anything?"
But a sudden cough interrupted their moment.
Seeing President Zhou approaching, Jiang Si quickly greeted him and added a reminder, "Watch your step."
President Zhou glanced at the two of them with a smile. "No worries, I just came up to take a look."
Noticing that he kept tilting his head to examine the mural, Jiang Si instinctively asked, "President Zhou, is there something wrong with it?"
"Not at all."
He shook his head, his admiration unconcealed. "You’ve done an excellent job. The color tones are precise. It’s just that a reporter from The National Daily came by earlier."
"They’re preparing a feature for New Year’s Day and wanted to schedule an interview with you. When would you be available?"
Jiang Si had thought it was something urgent. After a moment’s consideration, she asked, "Would the day after tomorrow work?"
She had been pulling overtime for a full week, and her brain was completely drained. All she wanted was to go home and sleep like the dead.
"Sure, no problem. Let’s make it 9 a.m. the day after tomorrow. You can come directly to the association’s second-floor office."
With that, President Zhou handed her the interview outline provided by the reporter.
"Here are some prepared questions. Take a look when you have time over the next couple of days."
"If anything’s unclear, feel free to ask me later."
Jiang Si thanked him. In these times, one could afford to eat carelessly, but words had to be chosen with utmost caution.
If not for this rare opportunity, she wouldn’t have bothered with the interview at all.
Just as Jiang Si was packing up to head home, a booming voice suddenly called out from below—
"Si girl—!"
