Chapter Forty-Two: Delivered to the Door

“What kind of person is it?” Yan Xue asked, noticing how hurried Kong Ge was, her curiosity piqued about who could be looking for them. “A witness?”

“It’s not clear if she’s a witness, but her identity is quite definite—she’s either Xu Wenrui’s ex-girlfriend, or perhaps even the one before that,” Kong Ge replied, his tone tinged with a bit of mystery. “I heard she’s pretty worked up too.”

“Deng Chun? She actually came to the police station to find us?” Yan Xue was surprised. “Why is she so proactive? It’s rare for someone to be this cooperative—it’s a bit hard to get used to! And what do you mean, ex-girlfriend or ex-ex-girlfriend?”

“Well, didn’t Wu Beibei claim that she’d cut ties with Xu Wenrui after breaking up? So, out of respect for everyone involved, we’re keeping things neutral!” Kong Ge replied with his usual unserious air, grinning broadly.

Yan Xue was always quick on her feet. Even though Kong Ge was nearly a head taller, he never needed to slow his pace for her. The two hurried back to the car and sped toward the police station.

“There’s something I’ve been puzzling over,” Yan Xue said to Kong Ge on the drive back. “It just doesn’t make sense to me—how did someone as introverted and quiet as Zhuang Fukai become friends with someone as outgoing and boisterous as Xu Hao? Isn’t it said that birds of a feather flock together? Realistically, it’d be good enough if they simply stayed out of each other’s way, maybe even found each other annoying. How could they possibly have become friends?”

“That’s where you’re missing the point! Besides birds of a feather, there’s another kind of relationship in nature: mutual benefit and cooperation,” Kong Ge said, clearly having considered this before. “Ever heard of the crocodile and the plover bird? In the wild, you’d think the most fearsome predator and a tiny bird would have nothing to do with each other—or that one would eat the other. But the plover hops right into the crocodile’s mouth to pick out bits of meat, and the crocodile even holds its jaws open to help. It never harms the bird at all.”

“Now I get it!” Yan Xue laughed. “But between Zhuang Fukai and Xu Hao, who’s the crocodile, and who’s the plover?”

Kong Ge shrugged. “Hard to say for now. We barely know either of them—it’s all just surface impressions.”

“Well, let’s not speculate about things we don’t know. For now, let’s go meet Deng Chun! After the cold shoulder we got from Wu Beibei, I’m honestly a bit curious to see what this one is like,” Yan Xue teased.

“Remember to play dumb when we go in,” Kong Ge reminded her. “We haven’t even met her yet.”

“Don’t worry, I know the drill!” Yan Xue agreed readily.

Back at the police station, as soon as they returned to the office, they spotted a young woman standing off to the side, looking utterly at a loss. She seemed about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and while everyone else was busy with their own work, she stood alone, glancing around anxiously, her face etched with worry as she paced restlessly.

“There you are!” a colleague greeted them, nodding toward the young woman. “She’s been waiting for you. Wouldn’t touch the water I gave her, wouldn’t sit down either—seems awfully nervous.”

So this was Deng Chun! Yan Xue was secretly surprised. According to what they knew, Deng Chun had been in the same year as Xu Wenrui, so she should be about the same age, just in her early twenties. But the woman in front of them looked much more mature—it was hard to tell if she’d started school late, or if she just appeared older than her years.

Now that her identity was clear, Yan Xue and Kong Ge approached her. Deng Chun turned around just then, and as soon as they met, she blurted out, “Are you the ones investigating Xu Wenrui’s case?”

“Yes, and you are… Wu Beibei?” Yan Xue nodded, feigning confusion as she confirmed the woman’s identity.

Hearing Wu Beibei’s name, a flash of displeasure crossed Deng Chun’s face. She shook her head. “My name is Deng Chun.”

“Oh, sorry! Our colleague told us Xu Wenrui’s girlfriend was here to see us, and from what we’d gathered, his girlfriend was named Wu Beibei—so I thought you were her.”

“Wu Beibei isn’t Xu Wenrui’s girlfriend. She was with him before me, that’s all.” There was a hint of anger in Deng Chun’s voice, as though she felt slighted, but she forced herself to remain composed because of Yan Xue’s position.

“Ah, now that you’ve explained it, the relationships are much clearer,” Kong Ge said, giving her a friendly smile. “Sorry for the mix-up! Why don’t we sit down and talk? No need to tire ourselves out standing.”

Only then did Deng Chun reluctantly take the seat beside Yan Xue’s desk, her expression troubled.

Having just met Wu Beibei, Yan Xue couldn’t help but note the stark contrast between Xu Wenrui’s two ex-girlfriends. Wu Beibei was the quintessential sweet, pretty girl—delicate, almost dainty, perhaps lacking a certain sophistication, but charming in her petite, fair-skinned, youthful way, brimming with the aura of a “first love.”

Deng Chun, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. She wasn’t short, but her frame was exceptionally thin. Her face was long and gaunt—at an age when a woman should be at her prime, she looked almost haggard, her cheeks slightly sunken, her features etched with hardship, as if life had already drained all her energy and passion.

This was the perfect face for a tragic heroine, Yan Xue thought to herself—the kind of woman who cares for the elderly, raises children, toils endlessly for her family, rises before dawn to stoke the fire and cook, and by nightfall lights the lamp to mend her husband’s shoes. Even if the world disappoints her a thousand times over, she remains steadfast and uncomplaining.

“What brings you to see us today?” Yan Xue asked.

“I heard about what happened to Xu Wenrui at school. At first, I thought it couldn’t be true, but the more details people shared, the more anxious I felt. I went to the local police station to ask about it, but they said it wasn’t their case and told me to check with the precinct. So I went there, and after they looked into it and asked how I was connected to Xu Wenrui, I told them I was his girlfriend and knew him well. They told me to come here to see you.” Deng Chun’s face was drawn, her eyes quickly filling with tears. “I only have two reasons for coming today—the first is to find out exactly what happened to Xu Wenrui.”