Chapter 2: A Suspect?

Upon hearing this, Tang Jianing nodded and cast her gaze around the room.

The house’s total floor area was just over seventy square meters, with the actual usable space amounting to about fifty square meters.

A quick glance revealed everything except the closed bedroom door.

The crime scene had not been cleaned; aside from the items taken by the police, everything remained as it had been at the time of the murder.

Only some items had lost their original appearance due to the passage of time.

Recalling the prompt on the door handle from earlier, Tang Jianing paused in thought before reaching out to touch the torn fragments of the coffee table.

Upon contact, a white prompt box instantly appeared.

[The old glass coffee table seems to have been deliberately smashed by the murderer.]

Tang Jianing glanced at the prompt, then methodically touched several other objects as if conducting an experiment.

[The tattered sofa has suffered multiple damages; it appears these were inflicted intentionally by the murderer.]

[Blood seeped into the floor, clearly marking this as the primary crime scene.]

[The outdated television, now discontinued, appears to have been broken during a struggle.]

With each prompt that surfaced, Tang Jianing’s eyes grew brighter.

Though she did not yet understand how these prompts appeared, the information clearly held vital clues related to the case.

Linking the newly surfaced evidence in her mind, Tang Jianing’s eyes sparkled with insight.

Although the police had taken a large number of items as evidence, the prompts allowed her to reconstruct a rough picture of the murder.

It was evident the murderer knew Chi Ziqi well and had a close relationship with her.

He had stayed at Chi Ziqi’s home until late at night, culminating in a fierce argument between the two.

The murderer, either overwhelmed by emotion or harboring a long-standing grudge, ultimately struck her down.

To conceal the crime, he deliberately destroyed much of the furniture and appliances, taking many valuable items to stage a robbery.

Seven years ago, surveillance cameras were not as widespread as they are today, and in a border city like Mountain City, break-ins and robberies were not uncommon.

After reviewing the prompts, Tang Jianing quickly identified the key points.

Most of the living room’s items were deliberately smashed, except for the television, which was broken during a struggle.

As her fingers continued to touch objects, a green prompt box suddenly appeared.

[Look, a small diamond hidden in the sofa’s crevice—could it be linked to the murderer?]

Tang Jianing reached into the severely damaged sofa and retrieved a diamond weighing about ten carats.

“Zhou Lu, send this for testing—check for DNA or see if we can trace the purchaser.”

Seeing the diamond in her hand, Zhou Lu’s eyes lit up as he swiftly retrieved a dust-free bag and placed the gem inside.

After a brief exchange with the bodyguard, someone was dispatched to their company’s specialized lab for detailed analysis.

Having nearly examined the entire living room, Tang Jianing removed her gloves and extended her hand toward Zhou Lu.

“The suspect list, and the victim’s relationship chart.”

Zhou Lu quickly handed over two sheets of A4 paper, then could not help but ask,

“Miss, have you come up with any ideas?”

Having grown up watching this young lady, Zhou Lu knew her well.

Unlike other girls her age, she had loved detective novels rather than dolls.

While others were enjoying the carefree days of high school, she was training her physical abilities.

Many in the group had remarked that she resembled the boss in his youth.

The difference was that Tang Jianing pursued these activities to become a criminal investigator.

However, after learning of Tang Liqian’s underworld past during high school, she ultimately chose to study sociology.

Though she did not become a detective, her deductive skills earned the respect of the group’s older members.

“I have some ideas,” Tang Jianing nodded slightly, focusing on the suspect list as she contemplated all possibilities.

The list was quite long, totaling over thirty names.

But based on her deduction—that the murderer was someone Chi Ziqi brought home—she could eliminate those unfamiliar to her.

After narrowing down, only six names remained, including her own father.

“Honestly, if I were in their shoes, I might have caught you too!” she joked.

With that, Tang Jianing sifted through the files of the remaining five suspects.

The police had interviewed these five back then, asking about their whereabouts on the night in question.

One, Chi Ziqi’s best friend, was out with her boyfriend at multiple locations and had hotel records, making it impossible for her to have committed the crime.

After careful consideration, Tang Jianing excluded her and turned her attention to the other four.

There was a boyfriend, a classmate, and two close colleagues—all lacking solid alibis.

According to Tang Jianing’s own ranking, the boyfriend was the prime suspect, the two colleagues tied for second, and the long-time classmate last.

“Do we have any information on this person?” she asked, pointing to Chi Ziqi’s boyfriend and looking toward Zhou Lu.

“Yes. He currently works in our group’s procurement department,” Zhou Lu replied.

He paused, then added after looking at the names Tang Jianing circled,

“The other three also work in the group; I have complete files on them.”

Hearing this, Tang Jianing couldn’t help but quip,

“So our group’s hiring policy is to recruit anyone with a connection to someone’s life?”

Zhou Lu scratched his head in response,

“That’s abroad. Here at home, everything is perfectly clean!”

Tang Jianing rolled her eyes and turned her gaze back to the files in her hand.

“Wang Ming—have I heard that name before?”

At the mention of the name, Tang Jianing frowned in thought.

“Yes, last year he was in charge of procurement for the annual meeting you were organizing. I met him once or twice.”

Hearing Zhou Lu’s explanation, a specific image formed in Tang Jianing’s mind.

Recalling the timid young employee who even stammered when speaking to her, she nodded and refocused on the files.

Wang Ming was an ordinary person among the masses.

An average family background, average looks, and average education.

He was the kind of person who would go unnoticed in a crowd.

Tang Jianing, having studied sociology seriously for four years and planning to pursue graduate studies in psychology, quickly constructed a detailed profile of Wang Ming’s personality in her mind.