When I followed Captain Zhou into the observation room, the interrogation was already underway.
The officers conducting the interrogation were familiar faces—the same pair who had played good cop, bad cop last time, swiftly extracting a confession from the middle-aged woman Liu Xiang had deceived into hiding a child. This time, too, they made quick progress. In less than fifteen minutes, the two detainees had confessed everything.
Surprising yet somewhat expected, the two had no knowledge of the bigger picture. They had simply been paid to pick up a child, with strict instructions not to use public transportation—only a private car. Their journey had been delayed due to a minor accident, and the moment they arrived and stated their purpose, they were apprehended.
Their identities were quickly verified: residents of Qiuning City, not too far from Shangshuang City. A high-speed train would take only six hours, but driving required significantly more time.
Guan Xia watched as the young, pretty woman in the interrogation room broke down in helpless sobs. "I really didn’t know anything," she cried. "I was just bored at home during my break. My boyfriend said a friend had asked him to help pick up a child. They covered all our expenses and promised a big bonus afterward. I thought, why not? It’d be a fun trip. How was I supposed to know the child was kidnapped? We even joked on the way, thinking it might be some rich guy’s secret love child, trying to keep it from his wife. That’s why they needed outsiders to help."
The young woman collapsed onto the table, weeping. "I haven’t even graduated yet. If I’d known, I’d never have agreed. Who’d have thought helping out could be illegal?"
The female officer showed no sympathy for her distress, maintaining a stern expression. "What friend? Did your boyfriend mention a name? What did this person look like? Have you ever met them?"
After a moment to collect herself, the young woman wiped her tears and answered, "No, I’ve never met them. I don’t know their name. My boyfriend just called him ‘Brother Chen.’ He showed me their chat logs, but I only noticed the 10,000-yuan transfer. I didn’t read the messages carefully—just caught something about keeping quiet and not letting anyone know. My boyfriend even joked that it was like something out of a novel, some rich man’s mistress running off with his kid. I thought it was weird but played along. I never imagined the child was kidnapped!"
The officer pressed further. "How many times did this ‘Brother Chen’ contact your boyfriend? Aside from the 10,000 yuan, were there other payments? Didn’t you two ask about the child’s situation? You drove all this way without knowing anything?"
The young woman burst into tears again, struggling to speak through her sobs. "From what I know, five times. The first was the night they transferred the money. My boyfriend took a 20-minute call. It was past 9 p.m., and we’d just finished dinner after a movie. He stepped outside to answer, then came back excited, saying he’d landed a big job. Once it was done, he’d have enough to take me on a trip."
She sniffled before continuing. "The second time was the next morning. We were packing while on a voice call when he suddenly hung up. He called back later, saying Brother Chen had phoned—the child needed to be picked up urgently, so we had to leave right away."
"Third time," she recalled, "was that afternoon, just as we were leaving Qiuning. Another call came, but this time it wasn’t to hurry us. Just a reminder to keep quiet, not to talk about the child, or the final payment would be reduced. I figured if it was a secret child, keeping it hush-hush made sense. Plus, we’d get another 20,000 yuan afterward, so we agreed."
"The fourth time was at a rest stop," she said. "Our car’s windshield got cracked by a rock kicked up from a truck. It was my boyfriend’s dad’s car, so he’d be in trouble if we returned it damaged. We had to get it fixed. Brother Chen scolded him for wasting time—said a crack wasn’t a big deal, the car could wait. The fifth call was this morning, right after we entered Shangshuang. He asked if we’d picked up the child yet. We said we were close and would call back once we had."
"And then you caught us," she whimpered, wiping her nose. "When you knocked, I was daydreaming about that 20,000 yuan and planning an overseas trip. I was even mentally reviewing passport application videos. Next thing I knew, I was pinned to the ground."
After confessing everything, the young woman looked up with red, swollen eyes. "Officer, I swear I didn’t know anything. I just thought I was helping my boyfriend’s friend. Will this affect my graduation? Will there be a criminal record? I wanted to take the civil service exam after graduating—does this mean I can’t now?"
Her questions drew mixed reactions. No one had expected such a major case to involve two clueless college students, lured by mere pocket change. Yet, seeing the genuine fear in her eyes—still untainted by the real world—it made sense. She was easier to fool.
Guan Xia felt a pang of sympathy for her, but her boyfriend was another story. Anyone connected to "Brother Chen" likely wasn’t as innocent as she claimed.
Once the interrogation concluded, Pang Le couldn’t hold back. "Kids these day are way too gullible. Thirty thousand yuan, and they’d drive across provinces without asking questions? If it wasn’t shady, why would someone pay that much?"
Guan Xia sighed, thinking of the girl’s tear-streaked face. "I doubt the buyer only paid thirty thousand. Brother Chen was clearly the middleman—profiting without taking risks. Even if caught, he’d probably feign ignorance."
Pang Le groaned. "What a letdown. I thought catching these two would lead us to the buyer. Instead, we’ve got more questions than answers."
Ji An smiled and said, "That's how investigations work—like peeling an onion, layer by layer until you reach the core. But at least it's good news. We have another lead now, and with the task force arriving, we’ve got plenty of manpower. The next phase will likely involve multiple lines of inquiry moving forward simultaneously."
Pang Le sighed, "Let’s hope so."
After observing the interrogation, Guan Xia and the others went out for a meal, took a short nap at the hotel, and then returned to Nanping Precinct.
To their surprise, as soon as they pushed open the office door, they saw Lu Tingfeng sprawled across several chairs, using his jacket as a makeshift blanket, fast asleep. Hearing the noise, he cracked an eye open, glanced at them, then lazily sat up and stretched. "Oh, you're back," he said.
Guan Xia had just turned on her computer when she heard him. She glanced over and casually asked, "Why are you here? Weren’t you supposed to be investigating Liu Xiang’s social connections with Wang Yu?"
Lu Tingfeng moved the chairs back into place and yawned widely. "The task force showed up, and Wang Yu got called into a meeting. I wrapped up what I had and came looking for you guys. Didn’t expect you’d gone back to the hotel to sleep. Didn’t feel like running around anymore, so I just crashed here. So, any breakthroughs on your end?"
Pang Le summarized the interrogation from earlier. Lu Tingfeng didn’t seem fazed, merely remarking, "Kids these days are so easy to fool," before shifting the topic back to Liu Xiang.
After exchanging updates on everything that had happened over the past two days, Guan Xia asked, "You’ve been digging into Liu Xiang’s social circle for three days. Found anything?"
Lu Tingfeng handed her a bulging file folder, nodding toward it. "Here’s everything. Three days in, and it feels like we’ve barely scratched the surface. If we really wanted to map out all of Liu Xiang’s connections, we’d need way more than just the two of us running around. These records are duplicated—Wang Yu took the other set to the meeting. I figure the task force will take over from here."
Guan Xia flipped through the documents as Lu Tingfeng rambled on.
After a pause, he added, "But honestly, it’s for the best. A case this big needs higher-level coordination. We’re stretched too thin as it is. We’ve done what we can, but pushing further might just tip someone off. The task force can handle the multi-pronged approach."
Hearing this, Pang Le chuckled. "You cops really are trained the same way—your phrasing is almost identical. Ji An said the exact same thing before you got here. Perfect timing, though. You can help us out now."
Pang Le had already fired up the computer next to Guan Xia and was brewing coffee, clearly preparing for an all-nighter.
Lu Tingfeng leaned over to glance at the surveillance footage on the conference table and immediately caught on. "Trying to track down the other accomplices through the vehicle used to transport the kid?"
Guan Xia nodded. "I suspect the van used to move Yan Xingyu might be the same one that took Ning Xin and her daughter five years ago. According to the case files, Ning Xin died in a crash during transport. If it’s the same vehicle, even after five years, there could still be traces of their DNA."
Lu Tingfeng pulled up a chair. "Alright, then. Guess the legwork’s off our hands now. Time to dust off my old skills—kinda nostalgic for my days on the force."
It took Guan Xia a while to finish reviewing the documents. Liu Xiang’s social network was staggering—at least a fifth of the records were her call logs from the past six months.
Her daily communications were extensive. Guan Xia didn’t tally them precisely, but a quick count showed at least 20 outgoing calls a day, all to different numbers, and even more incoming. No wonder Lu Tingfeng had complained that three days of work barely made a dent.
Beyond call logs, there were bank statements. Guan Xia skimmed through them—spending was infrequent, but a dozen transactions stood out, marked in red by Lu Tingfeng for their unusually large sums. Transfers, however, were frequent, often several a day, mostly peer-to-peer. Guan Xia spotted Fan Ya, Ge Qing, and Gao Cuicui’s names repeatedly. Clearly, these were among Liu Xiang’s many "friends"—though whether they were genuine or just pawns like Fan Ya remained unclear.
After reviewing the profiles Lu Tingfeng’s team had verified, Guan Xia looked up and asked, "What’s the deal with these red-marked transactions? Did you trace the money?"
Lu Tingfeng, still typing, didn’t look up. "Those are payments scanned via QR code to the supermarket where Liu Xiang worked. All round figures, unusually large. We suspect the supermarket’s involved, but to avoid tipping anyone off, we only did a surface check. Still unclear what the money was for."
Guan Xia flipped back to confirm the timeline. The twelve transactions were spread evenly over the past three years, roughly one every few months, ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 yuan.
Individually, the amounts weren’t outrageous, but over three years, they added up—nearly 100,000 yuan. And with the money going to her workplace, it raised questions.
After a moment of fruitless speculation, Guan Xia snapped photos of the records and messaged Xu Nian, asking him to investigate and update her.
Halfway through typing, rapid footsteps echoed outside the quiet office. Everyone froze, setting down their tasks in unison.
Ji An, closest to the door, had barely stood when it burst open. A Nanping Precinct clerk they’d seen before rushed in, excited. "Captain Zhou sent me—the tech team made a huge breakthrough!"
The group exchanged glances before following her. "What kind of breakthrough?" Guan Xia asked as they hurried down the hall.
The short-haired clerk spoke rapidly. "Two biological samples. When they ran them through the database, they got matches—you’ll never guess who."
Without waiting for a response, she blurted, "Ning Xin and Ning Ping’an."
Stunned silence fell. Ji An recovered first. "Where were the samples collected from?"
The administrative officer replied, "It was collected from a van regularly driven by a suspect named Ge Qing. The forensics team followed standard procedure—no one expected such a significant discovery."
Hearing the name Ge Qing, Guan Xia felt the question marks in her mind solidify into something almost tangible. Ning Xin and her daughter had gone missing five years ago—how could they be connected to Ge Qing? How did that van end up in his possession? Could Liu Xiang have given it to him?
A side note: The cold medicine upset my stomach, so the update is a few minutes late. I’ll try to be punctual tomorrow. Love you all!
