Chapter 4: The Forbidden Zone, a Corpse Discovered Again (4/4)

The police cars quickly raced into the school with their sirens wailing, and under the curious, gossiping gazes of clusters of students, they stopped in front of the entrance to the back hill forest. Once the police line was set up, the police and forensic examiners walked into the back hill forest amid the buzzing discussions of the students.

Such earth-shattering news spread through the school in no time: the deceased was none other than Principal Dong Lixin's daughter—Dong Qian.

Zheng Huiwen and Mu Ningxiang were first taken to the police station to give statements. Sitting across from them was the young detective He Shaobin. Judging by his epaulettes and uniform, he was probably a first-class officer; beside him was someone who looked even younger, likely a trainee officer.

He Shaobin asked first, "Ladies, before you went into the forest, did you notice anything unusual nearby? Tell me one at a time."

"No," Zheng Huiwen said first. "When the two of us went, we didn't see anyone else, and besides, the building closest to that area is just a warehouse that's been locked up all year round—hardly anyone goes there normally."

"Same here," Mu Ningxiang said, more briefly than Zheng Huiwen. "The two of us were out running when we ended up there. From the moment we went in, we didn't see a single person."

"Then why did you go in? Isn't that area off-limits?"

Mu Ningxiang said, "We were just curious. I know curiosity killed the cat, but if we hadn't been curious just this once, who knows how long that girl would have rotted in the woods."

"Right, the two of us just went in on a whim to take a look."

He Shaobin continued, "So as the first ones to discover the deceased, was there no one else at the scene besides you two?"

"No, I didn't notice anyone."

Zheng Huiwen thought briefly and also said, "No."

"All right," He Shaobin finally said. "Thank you both for cooperating and answering our questions. We'll have a police car send you back to school shortly. Please be careful on your way back."

The two girls thanked He Shaobin and then walked out of the police station led by an officer. On the way, they saw a group of reporters crowded around Dong Lixin and Mrs. Dong at the processing counter, camera flashes going off again and again. Such big news had already been broadcast live on the city news, and many teachers and students were watching this freshly breaking news through their phones, computers, and TVs. Even Ren Jie and Tang Haoyang, who normally paid no attention to outside affairs, were watching the news report with rapt attention.

Mrs. Dong had already given up on maintaining appearances, sobbing and wailing before the cameras with tears and snot streaming down her face. Dong Lixin, by comparison, remained fairly composed, still able to speak normally in front of the cameras. A reporter asked, "Principal Dong, we understand the pain of losing a child. As her father, do you have any idea who might have killed Miss Dong?"

"I don't know," Dong Lixin said sorrowfully. "Qianqian was always very well-behaved and lovely, and she never offended anyone. I really can't imagine who would do such a thing to her. This murderer is utterly heartless—an absolute beast."

At this point, the classmates watching the news couldn't help but show expressions of disgust and revulsion. Ren Jingting's three roommates were also gathered around a computer, discussing.

"Well-behaved? Lovely? Dong Lixin must have some misunderstanding about those two words."

"Maybe Dong Qian was just really good at pretending? One face in front of us, another in front of her parents—who knows with people like that?"

"Exactly, how many people did she offend? Just in our class alone…"

The three girls simultaneously thought of the same thing and glanced over at Ren Jingting's bed—only to find no one there. That same girl then asked, "Do you think... could it be Ren Jingting?"

"I don't know."

"Not likely, right? If she had the guts to kill someone, why wouldn't she have had the guts to just fight it out with Dong Qian directly? Dong Qian was so short, and Ren Jingting is much taller than her—she could totally have beaten her in a fight."

"True, Ren Jingting is just too soft-natured."

"Then who could it be? Someone bold enough to kill a person like that, and still here in the school."

"Who knows. It's not me, anyway."

Faced with the reporters' endless questions, all sorts of irrelevant things got asked too, and Dong Lixin began to feel quite irritated. At this point, the police came over and dispersed the reporters, inviting the Dong couple inside to a quiet setting for questioning.

Zheng Huiwen and Mu Ningxiang also got into the car heading back to school. For some reason, Zheng Huiwen remained silent the whole way.