The three of them came to a small conference room. Qi Ruonan poured Meng Ling a glass of pure water, said a few words of comfort, and quickly got to the point. She took out a photo, handed it to Meng Ling and asked, "Do you know this man?" ”

Meng Ling took the photo and glanced at it, and replied quickly: "His name is Li Tianhua, and he is the vice president of Normal University. What, does he have anything to do with my mother's case? ”

At noon on May 22, Li Tianhua was killed in the office of the vice president of the Normal University. We suspect that the murderer of Li Tianhua is the same person who killed your mother. ”

"What? Li Tianhua was also killed? Meng Ling showed a surprised expression and asked in disbelief, "What the hell is going on?" Why did the murderer of Li Tianhua kill my mother? ”

Qi Ruonan shook his head regretfully and said, "We are still trying to investigate the murderer's motive for committing the crime. Judging from the current situation, it is likely that both cases were revenge killings. Can you think about who your mother had a grudge against during her lifetime? Especially those who can get involved with normal universities. ”

"Hmm......" Meng Ling looked very embarrassed, "My mother is an old man who is retired at home, and her life is very simple, I really can't think of anyone who will harm her." ”

"And what about before she retired? Have you ever offended anyone at work? ”

"My mother is very easy-going, she gets along well with her colleagues, and the students like her." After a pause for a few seconds, Meng Ling said half-jokingly, "No one will hold a grudge because of such a trivial matter as failing a course, right?" ”

"This ......" Qi Ruonan glanced at Fan Cong with a wry smile, and the latter shrugged his shoulders at her, revealing a helpless expression. Due to their work, they have come into contact with a variety of criminal suspects, and the reasons for killing can be described as varied. From the revenge of killing his father to the dispute caused by a few quarrels, some people even recall something unpleasant decades later, and go back and kill the person who provoked him back then.

The situation that Meng Ling said is not impossible. For example, if a student fails to get a degree certificate because he fails the course, which makes it difficult to find a job after graduation, which affects his entire life trajectory, then his resentment can be explained. If this person happens to intercede with Vice President Li because of the degree certificate, but is rejected by the other party, then the two cases can be related to each other.

However, such a hypothesis is only one of many possibilities, and they can certainly investigate this aspect, but there are many, many similar hypotheses that cannot be listed exhaustively. Sometimes, people can never guess which part of their life will touch the fragile and sensitive nerves of others, leading to a tragedy.

They don't want the murderers in these two cases to be the kind of psychopaths who are ready to get revenge. If that's the case, they don't have any clues, and trying to find the murderer in the vast sea of people is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

After a moment of silence, Qi Ruonan then asked, "Can you tell me about the relationship between Li Tianhua and your family?" I think the killer must have had his reasons for choosing these two victims. We have to find the connection and find out the motive of the murderer. ”

"Actually, I don't know him very well, we're just college alumni."

"You're all graduates of the Normal University, aren't you?"

"yes." Meng Ling replied while recalling the past of that year, "Li Tianhua is two years older than me, he was more active when he was studying, and he has always been a cadre of the student union, and many people in the school know him. ”

"Is Li Tianhua familiar with your mother?"

"I'm afraid there is no intersection. Li Tianhua was transferred to the Normal University as a leader five or six years ago, when my mother had been retired for many years. ”

"Who does your mother usually hang out with? Do you know more about her daily life? Fan Cong suddenly interjected. Meng Ling shifted her gaze slightly, and replied thoughtfully, "It should be Teacher Zhu." They used to be teachers in the mathematics department, worked together for decades, and after retirement, they often went out to exercise together, and occasionally asked other colleagues to play mahjong or something. ”

After sending Ms. Meng back to the hotel near the Normal University, Qi Ruonan and Fan Cong went directly to Building 8 in the family area. Teacher Zhu's home lives on the second floor, and the two of them easily found her.

For an old man who is nearly 60 years old, it is indeed unacceptable for a colleague who has known him for more than 30 years to be suddenly killed. When Qi Ruonan and Fan Cong revealed their identities and intentions, Teacher Zhu's face instantly showed a look of grief, but she still politely invited the two into the house.

"I've not been in good health lately, I haven't been out of the house much, and I haven't seen Lao Liu for more than half a month......," Mr. Zhu said with a sigh while sitting on the sofa, "I couldn't believe it when I heard my wife talk about it yesterday morning." She said and glanced at the old man who was boiling water to make tea in the kitchen, "Lao Qin goes to the park every morning to do tai chi. Yesterday morning he met an acquaintance in the park, came back a little late, passed by Building 4 when he saw a group of people downstairs, went up to inquire only to know that Lao Liu had an accident. Why do you say that the current world is like this, robbing money and grabbing money, why don't you even let go of an old lady who has no power to tie the chicken? ”

"Uh, Teacher Zhu......" Qi Ruonan paused, "This case is not a burglary, we suspect that Teacher Liu was killed in retaliation." So ......"

"Revenge killing?" Without waiting for Ruonan to finish speaking, Teacher Zhu's eyes widened and said, "This is impossible, Lao Liu is so good, I have known her for decades and I haven't seen her blush with anyone, how can anyone retaliate against her?" ”

"So, don't you have a clue who Mr. Liu has had a conflict with?" Qi Ruonan asked with some disappointment.

Teacher Zhu frowned, pondered for a while, and shook his head helplessly, "I really can't think of it, this is incredible......"

While a few people were chatting, Mr. Zhu's wife walked out of the kitchen with a tray. He put the tray on the coffee table, picked up two cups and handed them to Fan Cong and Ruonan, and greeted warmly: "Come, two police officers, drink tea." ”

"Thank you, Teacher Qin, you are so polite." Fan Cong embarrassedly took the teacup, took a sip, and then asked, "Teacher Qin, you and Teacher Liu have known each other for many years, right?" ”

Teacher Qin moved a rattan chair from the window, sat opposite, pushed his reading glasses with his hand, and replied slowly: "We are all colleagues in the same school, and we have been working together since the late seventies of the last century. ”

"Can you think of anything about who Mr. Liu has had a conflict with?"

Teacher Qin also shook his head and sighed: "I don't have a clue for the time being, alas, ......"

"It's okay if I can't think of it, I'll just ask." Fan Cong was afraid that the old man would be in a hurry, so he hurriedly changed the question. "I heard that you go out to exercise every morning, but when was the last time you saw Mr. Liu? Was there anything noteworthy going on at that time? ”

"One last time, let me think about it......" Teacher Qin crossed his arms, staring at the rising heat in the teacup, and suddenly thought of something. Oops, it seems that the morning before yesterday, I saw Mr. Liu coming back from grocery shopping near Building 3. ”

"Did you talk to her at the time?"

"No, because it's still a bit far, I didn't say hello. And ......," Teacher Qin paused and continued to recall, "She bought a lot of vegetables that day, and it seemed that she was a little struggling to carry it. Then a young man came over to help, and I took a few looks and left, and I don't know what happened next. ”

"Do you know that lad?"

"I don't know."

"Have you seen it before?"

"It doesn't seem to be. But it was far away at the time, and I didn't see it too clearly. ”

"Can you describe what he looks like? The more detailed, the better. ”

"I want to think about it...... The man appeared to be wearing a dark tracksuit, a hat, and a school bag on one shoulder. Height, about 1.73 meters, not fat or thin, normal figure. I didn't see my appearance clearly, but I felt quite young, estimated to be in my twenties, very much like a student at a normal university. After saying this, Teacher Qin asked with some confusion, "What's the matter, is there anything wrong with that person?" ”

"No, we just want to know who Mr. Liu was in contact with before he was killed. Continuing with the person you just mentioned, do you think Mr. Liu knows that young man? ”

"I don't know. However, Ms. Liu retired more than ten years ago, and her youngest student is also in his early thirties, so that person should not be Mr. Liu's student. ”

"Maybe it's just a college student passing by." Teacher Zhu interjected with some relief, "Although young people nowadays generally like to sleep lazy, there are also a small number of people who insist on exercising. ”

"Maybe......" Fan Cong smiled noncommittally. Then, he asked a few more questions related to Li Tianhua. After the old couple retired, they obviously did not have much contact with the outside world, and they knew little about the "5.22 campus homicide". Fan Cong felt that he couldn't ask for any valuable information from them, and he didn't explain too much, so he chatted casually and prepared to leave.

At that moment, the door to the innermost bedroom was opened. A little girl, about four or five years old, dressed like a doll, walked out of it with a teddy bear in one hand and a sleepy eye rubbing the other. When she opened her eyes wide and saw two strangers coming to the house, she suddenly ran behind Teacher Qin's rattan chair and hid, poked out her little head, and asked curiously, "Grandpa, who are they?" ”

Teacher Qin patted the little girl's head and replied with a smile: "They are policemen, they came to ask grandpa and mother-in-law about something." ”

"Police?" The little girl blinked her big watery eyes, as if she had thought of something, and the expression on her face changed from initial nervousness to some excitement. "Will Uncle Xiaosong come too? I haven't seen him in a long time, I miss him so much......"

Hearing this, Qi Ruonan and Fan Cong couldn't help but look at each other. After being stunned for a few seconds, Qi Ruonan suddenly looked at the little girl and said, "You are the legendary little bell, right?" ”

"yes, I'm the bell." The little girl smiled and nodded, and walked out from behind the rattan chair generously and came to Qi Ruonan.

Qi Ruonan smiled and touched the girl's face and said, "We are friends of Uncle Xiaosong. If you have anything to say to him, we can help you relay it to him. ”

"Really?" The little girl raised her little face and said to Qi Ruonan very seriously, "Uncle Xiaosong said that my father has gone to work in a far away place. I just want to know, when the hell will my dad come back? ”