Wang Yu acted quickly. Shortly after Xu Nian consulted Guan Xia and made a decision, Wang Yu put down his phone and said, "I've checked. With the recent increase in tourist numbers, there are several additional flights from Yongquan City to Linshan City. While tickets are in high demand, not every flight is completely sold out. We still have time to buy tickets after discussing and understanding the situation."
With Wang Yu's reassurance, everyone relaxed further.
After briefly tidying up the conference table—moving away the bulky computers and scattered USB drives—they gathered around the table, eating late-night snacks while listening to Xu Nian and the others explain their findings.
As usual, Wang Yu took the lead. Standing at the head of the table, he pointed a laser pointer at a photo of Wang Huiqin and began, "Let me start with Wang Huiqin's background."
He continued, "Wang Huiqin, born in 1983, is from Shangshuang City, Ningyun Province. She is the second child in her family, with an older sister and a younger brother. Her sister committed suicide in July 2011, and her brother, Wang Mingzhe, along with their father, Wang Jianxue, and mother, Liu Jinchun, were all killed in March 2012."
Aside from Xu Nian and those already aware of this information, even Ji An looked visibly shocked.
Pang Le remarked, "Second child, an older sister and a younger brother—this setup is almost identical to Meng Lan's."
Guan Xia added, "No wonder this woman, Wang Huiqin, is so invested in Meng Lan. It seems not only did Meng Lan resonate with her words, but Wang Huiqin also deeply empathized with Meng Lan's suffering, which is why she refused to give up."
"There’s still a difference," Zhong Xiaoyu interjected. "Compared to Meng Lan, Wang Huiqin seems far more ruthless. If I had to guess, didn’t Wang Huiqin assist in scouting locations and providing weapons before her father and brother were killed, just like Zhang Weiyan? Speaking of the 2012 case—Ji An, weren’t you still in police academy back then? Did you hear about it?"
Ji An thought for a moment and replied, "I vaguely recall it. But from what I remember, this case was quite different from Zhang Weiyan’s. The perpetrators were caught the same day they committed the murders."
This surprised Guan Xia, who glanced at Wang Yu for confirmation.
Wang Yu nodded. "Ji An remembers correctly. At first glance, Wang Huiqin’s experience seems similar to Meng Lan’s, but after our investigation and discussions with colleagues in Shangshuang City, the differences are night and day."
He then used the laser pointer to highlight two other photos.
At first, Guan Xia assumed the men in the photos were Wang Huiqin’s father and brother, but upon closer inspection, their ages didn’t match. In 2012, Wang Huiqin was 29, meaning her brother would have been even younger, but the men in the photos were middle-aged.
Sure enough, Wang Yu explained, "These two men are Lin Cheng and Xu Hongliang—the actual perpetrators behind the murders of Wang Huiqin’s parents and brother. Not only were they arrested the same day, but they were also shot dead after resisting arrest and taking hostages."
As Guan Xia listened, her mind raced. No wonder Wang Yu said the two cases were vastly different. Based on the information so far, the contrast was stark—the killer in Zhang Weiyan’s case was cunning and methodical, like a professional hitman, while the murderers in Wang Huiqin’s family case sounded more like violent criminals.
Wang Yu continued, "According to our colleagues in Shangshuang City, the deaths of Wang Huiqin’s parents and brother didn’t resemble a typical homicide. It seemed more like they were tragically caught in the crossfire. On the afternoon of March 27, 2012, around 4 PM, Wang Huiqin’s parents and brother were on their way home from the hospital when they encountered Lin Cheng and Xu Hongliang, who were fleeing after a robbery and assault. The three were riding a tricycle that accidentally scraped against Lin Cheng and Xu Hongliang’s car. Wang Huiqin’s family demanded exorbitant compensation, and in the heat of the moment, Lin Cheng and Xu Hongliang stabbed them severely before fleeing. Police pursuing the two arrived shortly after and rushed the victims to the hospital, but they ultimately died from their injuries. Lin Cheng and Xu Hongliang were shot dead around 11 PM that night after resisting arrest and taking hostages."
The group listened thoughtfully.
Pang Le said, "From the sound of it, it really does seem like a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. If I didn’t know Wang Huiqin might be linked to that criminal organization, I’d probably believe it. But considering how deliberately she approached and stalked Meng Lan—not to mention her connection to Yao Qingyan—I can’t shake the feeling there’s more to this case."
Zhong Xiaoyu asked, "Were there no red flags in the case at all? What about the families of the two killers? Did their lives change afterward?"
Guan Xia immediately understood Zhong Xiaoyu’s point. If this was truly a case of random misfortune, the families of the killers would only face worsening circumstances. But if the robbery was just a cover and Wang Huiqin’s family was the real target, then the killers’ families would have experienced drastic changes after the incident.
Wang Yu replied, "We considered that during our investigation and already asked our Shangshuang City colleagues about it. We’re still waiting for a detailed response—likely by tomorrow."
"And after that?" Guan Xia pressed. "What happened to Wang Huiqin after her parents and brother died? Also, what about her sister? And I recall you mentioned earlier that Wang Huiqin is divorced—she split in 2014 and moved to Linshan City in 2015. What happened to her between 2012 and 2015?"
Wang Yu said, "To understand Wang Huiqin and her sister Wang Huifang, we have to start from their birth."
For the next half hour, Wang Yu detailed Wang Huiqin’s life from birth until 2015.
Wang Huiqin and her sister Wang Huifang were born in Shangshuang City, Ningyun Province, but their parents weren’t originally from there. They had moved to the city for work when they were young and eventually settled down. Their mother was hardworking and resilient, but their father was a gambler and an alcoholic. Because of this, even after marriage and having children, they never managed to save much money. As the children grew up, they couldn’t afford to buy a home and continued living in rented houses.
From what Wang Yu and her colleagues learned in Shangshuang City, Wang Huiqin and her sister had a relatively bearable childhood—though their family was poor, and they sometimes endured beatings from their drunken father, their mother at least protected them enough to ensure they had food, clothing, and some schooling. However, everything changed after their brother was born. Their father continued gambling and drinking, while their mother became consumed with worry about their son’s future—how he would afford a house, find a wife, or pay the betrothal gifts and dowry.
A few years after their brother’s birth, Wang Huiqin and her sister barely finished middle school before dropping out. At first, they helped their mother with odd jobs, but once they turned 16, their lives descended into a living nightmare.
Both Wang Huiqin and her sister Wang Huifang went through multiple marriages. Starting at 16, they were married off—without legal registration, only ceremonial banquets—and sent to their husbands’ homes with nothing but a few ragged clothes. Under their parents’ demands and supervision, they stayed with each husband for no more than two years. Once they gave birth, they were immediately taken back home. After recovering from childbirth, they were quickly married off again to another family.
In 2011, Wang Huifang, then 35, gave birth to her sixth child. Suffering from severe uterine prolapse and other critical gynecological conditions, she jumped to her death the same day. That September, Wang Huiqin gave birth to her fourth child. Perhaps influenced by her sister’s suicide, she wasn’t taken back by her parents after recovery. Instead, she legally married her husband—though it only lasted until 2014, when they divorced.
On the day her parents and brother died, Wang Huiqin was working as a cleaner in a mall. When she arrived at the morgue to identify the bodies, the Shangshuang City police noted that she didn’t shed a single tear—instead, she smiled. She didn’t arrange a funeral, staying only a few minutes as if to confirm their deaths before leaving. Later, her phone became unreachable.
In the end, some of her parents’ old neighbors and factory colleagues pooled money to cremate the three bodies. But with no one buying burial plots, their ashes were returned to the rented apartment, which had less than half a year left on the lease. After the lease expired, no one knew where the ashes went—though rumors said Wang Huiqin had flushed them down the toilet.
After all her relatives died, Wang Huiqin’s life remained unchanged. She continued working as a cleaner in the mall and took on part-time jobs at small restaurants in the evenings. Though she returned to her marital home, neighbors reported she barely spoke to her husband’s family or interacted with her child, becoming increasingly withdrawn. By late 2013, she was rarely seen in the neighborhood.
Then, for reasons unknown, she suddenly filed for divorce at the end of 2013. Since her husband was already involved with someone else, and Wang Huiqin chose to leave with nothing, their divorce was finalized in February 2014 after the New Year.
She stayed in Shangshuang City for a few more months before moving to Linshan City in early 2015.
Her life in Linshan City followed the same pattern—odd jobs, mall cleaning, part-time restaurant work, and occasional weekend gigs cleaning and cooking in people’s homes.
Apart from the Meng Lan incident, there was nothing unusual about her. Like countless ordinary people, she toiled day after day just to survive.
By the time Wang Yu finished recounting Wang Huiqin’s story, it was nearly 1 a.m. After a moment of heavy silence, Pang Le finally spoke: "Murder is wrong, but given what Wang Huiqin and Zhang Weiyan went through, it’s understandable—an eye for an eye."
Guan Xia, however, focused on another angle. Hesitantly, she said, "Looking at their experiences—Wang Huiqin, Zhang Weiyan, and Meng Lan—all three suffered terribly. But the subsequent cases show stark differences, especially Wang Huiqin’s. Based on similar past cases, it’s likely her parents and brother weren’t just unlucky victims but were deliberately killed, disguised as accidents like the others."
She paused briefly before continuing, "And Yao Qingyan—if I remember correctly, her case shares similarities. Her parents, stepmother, and half-sister all died in a car crash. In that sense, Yao Qingyan’s case resembles Wang Huiqin’s family’s deaths—though not entirely."
Guan Xia trailed off, lost in thought.
Pang Le frowned, rubbing his temples. "This case just gets more convoluted. My brain’s about to short-circuit. ‘Similar but not similar’—how can the same criminal group have such wildly different methods?"
His words struck a chord with the others, and thoughtful expressions crossed their faces.
