Logically, Jiang Si knew she shouldn’t interfere in this matter, but out of humanitarian concern, she couldn’t hold back.
Facing the puzzled gazes of those around her, Jiang Si voiced her thoughts, "Fourth Uncle Huo, I still think it’s more likely that Yu Manli went to find her boyfriend."
This time, Huo's fourth uncle didn’t dismiss her outright. Instead, he asked, "Are you suggesting the man lied?"
Upon reflection, this possibility wasn’t unfounded, especially since the two were deeply in love at the time.
If the man had learned that the Yu family was forcing Yu Manli into an arranged marriage, he would undoubtedly be devastated.
So, it was highly probable he’d find a place to hide Yu Manli first, waiting until the engagement fell through before returning to apologize.
Taking it a step further, if they took advantage of this time to "cook the rice" (consummate their relationship), the Yu family would have no choice but to accept it, however reluctantly.
Jiang Si nodded. "That’s just one of the possibilities."
Her tone implied there was a second theory.
Without holding back, Jiang Si continued, "Another possibility is that Yu Manli did go to find him, but something went wrong along the way, and she was taken by someone else before reaching him."
This was the most alarming scenario.
If she had simply been hidden by that man surnamed Mo, at least her life wouldn’t be in danger.
But the second possibility was far more uncertain.
Moreover, over ten hours had already passed since the incident—no one could predict what might have happened in that time.
Considering this, Jiang Si said gravely, "To confirm whether she went to find her boyfriend, it’s actually quite simple. At the time Yu Manli left the compound, the Capital City state-run taxi company wasn’t open yet."
"Her only option would have been the bus."
"You can check which bus route runs from Capital City to her boyfriend’s location, then ask the earliest shift’s bus conductor—they might remember her."
Early buses were less crowded, and Yu Manli’s refined appearance clearly set her apart from ordinary families. Add to that her swollen, tear-streaked eyes from the day before, and the conductor might very well recall her.
Sure enough, the next day, just after Jiang Si had completed her onboarding procedures with Huo Tingzhou, Huo's fourth uncle sent someone to summon her.
"You were right on the money," he said with a smile as soon as she entered.
"We looked into it—Yu Manli left the compound around 4:50 a.m. That was before the first bus, so she walked all the way to the Hujialou area."
Jiang Si knew Hujialou—it was near what would later become the CCTV headquarters. Walking there would take about forty minutes.
Huo's fourth uncle continued, "Mo Zhenyu’s family lives in Tong County. The only way from downtown to Tong County is Bus 342 from the Hujialou terminal. Yu Manli took the 5:30 a.m. departure and got off at Xinhua Avenue."
"From Xinhua Avenue to Mo Zhenyu’s village in Mojia Village, there’s still a stretch to walk. Captain Liu from the Criminal Investigation Unit went there early this morning with his team."
Huo's fourth uncle poured tea for the young couple. "Sit and rest for a while. They should be back soon."
Jiang Si nodded.
The three of them had barely talked for ten minutes when Captain Liu knocked and entered.
"Chief."
"Go ahead, take a seat."
Huo's fourth uncle waved him in, signaling for him to speak.
Captain Liu smiled without standing on ceremony. After sitting down, he laid out the details of the investigation one by one.
"Mo Zhenyu has already been brought in and is currently in the interrogation room. However, after investigating the village, it seems the kid might not have been lying after all."
"On the day of the incident, he didn’t leave his house until almost 8 a.m. After that, he went straight to the village committee office and stayed there waiting for a phone call until nearly 11 before returning home."
Huo's fourth uncle pondered for a moment. "What about before 8 a.m.? Did he go out at all?"
"Whether he went out or not doesn’t make much difference."
Captain Liu explained, "Yu Manli arrived at Xinhua Avenue at 7:45 a.m. It takes at least an hour to get from Xinhua Avenue to Mo Family Village, even for someone walking fast."
"For someone like Yu Manli, wearing those little leather shoes, it would’ve taken her until around 9 a.m. to get there."
Hearing this, Jiang Si understood.
Things were still heading in the most uncontrollable direction.
After absorbing the details, Huo's fourth uncle took a deep breath and looked at Jiang Si. "It seems things are still moving toward the worst possible outcome."
Between Xinhua Avenue and Mo Family Village, there were over a dozen branching paths.
At this point, the missing person had already been gone for more than twenty-four hours.
If no new clues emerged today, finding her later would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
After hearing the full progress of the case, Jiang Si also felt the gravity of the situation.
Fortunately, she wasn’t burdened by pressure.
She could help where possible, but if it was beyond her, there was nothing more to be done.
After a moment of contemplation, Jiang Si said, "Fourth Uncle, is that ticket seller still here?"
"Yes."
Huo's fourth uncle nodded. "Come on, I’ll take you to see her."
On their way downstairs, he handed Jiang Si the notes he had just taken. "The ticket seller’s name is Zhu Xiaoping. She’s a long-time employee of the bus company. Thankfully, she recognized Yu Manli’s photo—otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to confirm Yu Manli’s whereabouts."
As they spoke, the group arrived at the interrogation room door.
Jiang Si glanced at the word "nervous" marked in the notes and felt a flicker of suspicion.
To test her theory, she whispered a few words to Huo Tingzhou.
"When you go in, try to look as intimidating as possible. Don’t say a word—just stare at her with a stern face."
Then she turned to Huo's fourth uncle. "Fourth Uncle, same goes for you. Don’t say anything once we’re inside."
Though puzzled, both men nodded in agreement.
After giving her instructions, Jiang Si’s expression darkened as well.
Moments later, the three of them entered the interrogation room with an unapproachable air.
Zhu Xiaoping had been waiting for over an hour since giving her statement, and her unease had only grown.
The moment she saw Jiang Si and the others enter, she immediately stood up.
"Officers, I’ve already told you everything..."
"Are you sure you’ve told us everything?"
Jiang Si cast her a cool glance, her tone carrying an unspoken authority.
"If a witness deliberately conceals crucial details related to a case or provides false testimony, they can be charged with disrupting public order."
"The penalty includes up to two years in prison or detention, along with dismissal from public service."
"Oh, and I forgot to mention—the missing woman is a nurse at the military hospital. If this goes to trial, you’d be looking at three to five years minimum."
Huo Tingzhou corrected her, "For serious cases, it’s at least ten years."
As soon as the words were spoken, Huo's fourth uncle slammed the table in agreement. "Will you confess honestly yourself, or should I call all the passengers and the driver here to interrogate them one by one before you tell the truth?"
"I... I..."
"I advise you to come clean. If you keep dragging this out, that female comrade might lose her life..."
Hearing this, Zhu Xiaoping didn’t dare hide anything anymore and hurriedly spilled everything that had happened on the bus that day.
It was pretty much what Jiang Si had expected.
From the moment Yu Manli boarded the bus, Zhu Xiaoping had noticed her.
"That girl was crying the whole time after getting on. When I called her to buy a ticket, it took her a long time to react."
"Most people taking the early bus to Tong County are workers heading to the Eastern Chemical Factory, and they all use monthly passes."
(1967 Capital City suburban monthly pass)
"She was the only one who bought a ticket. She handed me a ten-yuan bill, but I couldn’t make change for it."
"I told her to take the next bus or go exchange for smaller bills first."
"But who knew she absolutely refused to get off and even said to keep the change?"
Zhu Xiaoping had worked as a bus conductor for over fifteen years and had never seen a passenger so generous before.
Nine yuan and eighty fen was nearly ten days' wages for her—of course she was tempted.
So after hesitating for a moment, she took the money.
Naturally, she didn’t keep it all for herself; she split half with the driver.
"Officer, she was the one who refused the change. I didn’t deliberately overcharge her."
"That’s the only thing I hid. Everything else I said was the truth."
By this point, the three people in the interrogation room understood perfectly.
Yu Manli was already strikingly beautiful. Early in the morning, she had traveled alone to the outskirts and inadvertently revealed her wealth.
To anyone with ill intentions, she was nothing short of a plump, easy target.
But dwelling on that now was pointless. Jiang Si asked, "Do the workers going to the Eastern Chemical Factory also get off at the terminal stop?"
"No, no, they get off at the stop before."
Zhu Xiaoping rode this route every day—no one knew it better than her. "The Eastern Chemical Factory’s entrance is on the west side. Getting off at West Street Station is the closest."
Jiang Si nodded and asked the most critical question: "Then when she got off at the terminal stop, how many people were still on the bus?"
The moment these words were spoken, Zhu Xiaoping’s head snapped up as she stared at them—
