The Assistant’s Tie

After a full day of questioning, the Major Crimes Unit compiled a series of statements from the deceased’s family and friends.

Mother, Feng Yu: “My son was very filial and sensible. Even though the company was busy, he would drive back every week to accompany us, have dinner, and buy us many things.”

Father, Guo Fuqiang: “Chong’an was my eldest son—very outstanding. I handed the company over to him, and this year he even took on a 40-million-dollar project. Beyond work, he had many friends. Over the years, I couldn’t even count the people who sent us gifts. I can’t imagine who he would have a grudge with.”

HR Director, Du Ying: “President Guo was very gentle and humble in his dealings; he never lost his temper with anyone. Even though he was getting married, there were still many young girls in the office who secretly liked him.”

Assistant, Xie Jia: “President Guo was my Bole (talent scout). It was very hard for me to find a job right after graduation, but President Guo recruited me and even promoted me to Senior Assistant. Without President Guo, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Officers, you must help me catch the killer.”

Receptionist, Song Xiaowen: “We are a real estate firm, so the pressure is a bit high, but the rewards are great, which keeps everyone motivated. There are rival companies, but we compete fairly; no major conflicts have ever occurred. Last time an employee accidentally snatched a project from the company next door, and they were very angry, but as soon as President Guo stepped in, they dropped the matter.”

Friend of the Groom: “Miss Fang is a writer; she’s published several books. She’s very gentle and stays out of trouble. As far as I know, the couple had a great relationship—respectful toward each other. I never heard of any conflicts.”

Relative: “My cousin was always good to people. Officers, I think you should investigate Miss Fang. I heard she had many suitors. Maybe one of them didn’t want them to marry and committed a crime of passion.”

Company Staff: “I also think investigating Miss Fang is better. Last time they came to the office, Miss Fang hardly spoke, as if she didn’t have much feeling for President Guo. We were all worried he was being scammed by her.”

Friend of the Bride: “I’ve been friends with Fang Qing for years. She had suitors, yes, but she always kept her distance, let alone having someone kill for her. Though it’s not nice to say, officers, I think you’d better check Guo Chong’an. After all, the killer went for him. Maybe he did something himself that we don’t know about.”

*************************************************

After a full day of questioning, everyone’s evaluation of Guo Chong’an was the same: gentle, humble, exceptionally talented, and kind in his dealings.

There were no negative comments whatsoever.

In contrast, Fang Qing, who had fainted the moment she saw the body, became the target of public suspicion.

“When will Fang Qing wake up?” After reading through all the written transcripts, Zhao Yu sat in contemplation before the screen full of text.

“Unclear.” Chen Doudou had called the hospital this morning. “The doctor said she suffered a massive shock and is in a very bad state.”

“Very bad?”

“Yes. In yesterday’s video, she looked very frail as well.”

Qin Song scratched his head while looking at the transcripts in the shared drive:

“Captain Zhao, I feel like the bride is the breakthrough point. It’s just a wedding—why would she be so frail? It’s possible the groom abused her or treated her poorly, and she harbored a grudge, killing him in a fit of rage. Her current coma could be a mental breakdown after the murder.”

Zhao Yu remained unconvinced: “Judging by the angle of the dagger’s insertion, the killer should be a man. The profile also points to a male.”

“But a profile is just a deduction. The angle of insertion is related to height. I just checked: Fang Qing is 171 cm. With high heels, she’s completely at a man’s height. It’s not impossible for her to be the killer.”

“We can investigate the bride. After all, on the wedding day, she and the groom were the only protagonists. If the killer wasn’t after her, they were after the groom.” Clarifying the bride’s information would also help analyze who could harbor such a deep hatred for the groom.

“Alright, I’ll take Han Bing. We’re on it!” Qin Song was suddenly full of energy.

Zhao Yu nodded, signaling them to go. She then turned and drew a relationship web centered on the deceased on a small whiteboard, finding that his social circle wasn’t particularly complex. She followed this by drawing a “Cross Analysis” diagram next to the web.

A group gathered around to watch. Liu Huisheng nudged Chen Doudou’s arm, asking with her eyes what Zhao Yu was doing. Chen Doudou covered her mouth with her notebook and whispered:

“This is Captain Zhao’s self-created ‘Cross Analysis’ method. She categorizes murder motives and then we investigate each branch.”

As she spoke, the permanent marker in Zhao Yu’s hand had already filled the four quadrants of the cross with their respective categories: Power, Money, Emotion, and Personal.

“The deceased was a General Manager of a real estate firm. Excessive power can attract enemies. Xiao Chen, you and Xiao Fei are responsible for checking internal personnel to see if anyone had a fallout with him.

Brother Zhong, you’re in charge of investigating the deceased’s financial transactions to see if there have been abnormal accounts in the last three months. Also, check the company’s operations and whether there are property disputes between him and his brother.

Xiao Yu, check his past history, specifically looking for anyone with a grudge.

Old Qin and Han Bing have gone to check on the bride. Since she hasn’t woken up yet, Sheng, it’s up to you—pull out anyone with potential emotional conflicts.”

After the unified assignment, everyone stood up abruptly:

“Received!”

Liu Huisheng stood up a beat later, adding:

“One thing—please keep this in mind during your investigations.”

“What is it?”

“Record the questioning process. I want to see everyone’s micro-expressions and body language.”

“No problem! Sister Sheng, I promise you high-definition close-ups!”

Ten minutes later, the Major Crimes Unit scattered to their respective posts.

Only Liu Huisheng entered the screening room alone.

“Not out investigating? What are you doing here?”

Zhao Yu leaned against the doorframe, car keys already in hand.

Liu Huisheng turned on the equipment. The 46-inch screen above displayed the computer logo. She then bent over, fumbling to plug in a hard drive, her lean spine arching high like a feline stalking prey.

“Didn’t you put me in charge of emotional conflicts? The wedding video is three hours long, plus the company anniversary videos—that’s enough to study for a while.”

Saying this, she immediately played an anniversary video.

Zhao Yu approached: “Liu Huisheng, I think your focus should be on the deceased’s past girlfriends.”

Without looking back, Liu Huisheng set the video to 2x speed: “He has no ex-girlfriends. Fang Qing was his only girlfriend.”

“First love?”

“A first love he knew for only three months.”

“How do you know that?”

“Watching the wedding scene video yesterday, I felt the groom and bride weren’t very familiar with each other, so I asked around.”

“Not very familiar…”

Liu Huisheng opened the wedding video on the smaller monitor to the right and paused it at 14 minutes and 28 seconds:

“Here, they were taking photos of the groom picking up the bride. The groom naturally puts his arm around the bride’s waist. But look at the bride’s hand the moment he touches her.”

She clicked play. The footage continued—Fang Qing’s right hand, which had been hanging down, suddenly lifted to waist height. She looked back at the groom, and only after receiving his gaze did she lower it again. Simultaneously, her left hand hung straight down between the two of them.

“She lifted her hand because she wasn’t used to him holding her waist; it was a physical reflex to block him. And her left hand—”

Zooming in on the left hand, she continued:

“If two people are emotionally close, her upper body should lean toward the groom—she’d either be arm-in-arm or, like him, have her hand resting behind him. But she didn’t. Instead, her arm acted as a barrier between them. This shows she wanted to keep her distance from the groom.”

“She didn’t love Guo Chong’an.” This realization struck Zhao Yu with some surprise.

“Large families, political marriages—love isn’t always that important,” Liu Huisheng said as if it were common knowledge. “What I’m curious about is: the deceased was 33 and successful, so why had he never had a girlfriend before?”

“It’s normal. When work gets busy, there’s no need for romance.”

“Captain Zhao is ascetic, but not everyone reaches your level of enlightenment.”

Zhao Yu was momentarily stifled. She ground her teeth before asking, “So? How do you want to investigate now?”

“Starting with the deceased’s social circle. I have a feeling his interpersonal relationships aren’t as simple as they seem on the surface.”

As they spoke, the company anniversary video on the main display continued to play. At the 12-and-a-half-minute mark, Liu Huisheng’s eyes suddenly jolted—

“President Guo is a very capable and responsible person. I’ve been with the company for three years, and he has always taken care of me; he is my Bole.”

In the footage, the assistant Xie Jia was answering the question, “What kind of person is President Guo in your heart?” He maintained a professional smile throughout, but one specific action stung Liu Huisheng’s eyes—

When mentioning Guo Chong’an, he loosened his tie.