Even with subtle microexpressions and small details betraying his attempts at concealment, they were ultimately unable to do anything about him.
Noticing our silence, Xiao Yuanba looked at us coldly. "Alright, I have to go to class. Don't delay my work. Teachers don't earn much to begin with!"
With that, Xiao Yuanba turned and left without acknowledging us. Liu Yuning and I glared at his retreating back. It seemed we could only approach Xiao Yuande. Only if he confessed could we bring Xiao Yuanba back for She Jiashu to identify him. Then, we could at least detain Xiao Yuanba under the pretense of theft while we continued investigating the murder of the model.
Of course, even now, we could have He Xin find Xiao Yuanba's communication records. We needed to find information linking him to the models on WeChat, other apps, and call logs. Additionally, we needed to investigate his connection to that workshop. I distributed the tasks, instructing everyone to investigate from multiple angles. I refused to believe that Xiao Yuanba could escape us even with all this.
However, just as we were all busy, Xiao Yuande returned on his own accord.
The moment he appeared, Gao Mingqiang was the first to grab him.
"Hey, hey! Yuande, what's going on with you lately? You don't answer calls, and no one can find you in the dorm. What are you up to? Do you know we're investigating you?"
"Did you guys see..."
Before Xiao Yuande could finish, I grabbed him from behind and twisted his neck. "Yuande, do you know what you're doing? You understand obstruction of justice. If you continue like this, I won't be able to help you!"
"I'm not! Team Leader He, I just went back to my hometown. The signal was bad there, so I couldn't contact you!"
"You..." This guy was saying the same thing as his brother.
"Did you go back with your brother?" I asked tentatively.
"Yes, why?"
It seemed they had coordinated their stories. I became increasingly anxious, releasing Xiao Yuande. "I'll ask you one more time, Yuande. Do you know what you're doing?"
"Of course I do. Didn't I come back? If I really had something to hide, would I have the guts to come back!"
Xiao Yuande sounded genuine. His reactions and explanations seemed reasonable, as if we were wrongly accusing him and the problem wasn't with him at all.
I said, "I hope you haven't done anything to betray our police force. We are currently investigating Xiao Yuanba. Did you know that?"
"Why are you investigating my brother? Didn't we just go back to our hometown?" Xiao Yuande asked curiously.
The sallow color in Xiao Yuande's brows twitched uncontrollably. "Yuande, stop pretending. We saw the footage of you at the residence."
This time, Xiao Yuande's pupils contracted deeply, and he was silent for a moment. He finally stopped pretending. "Actually, I'm also investigating my brother."
"Oh? But why were you doing it so secretly? Is there some hidden reason? Are you undercover? Who told you to do this?" I bombarded him with questions. However, Xiao Yuande replied, "No, I just didn't want to be seen with you, otherwise they would suspect me."
"And now? Because he's back at school, you feel the pretense is no longer necessary?"
"He doesn't know I'm a police officer!"
"What? Then what if he finds out you returned to the police station?"
"I need to retrieve some things. Here, take these." With that, Xiao Yuande handed me his police ID and gun. He also mentioned he had just returned to his dorm. I asked, "You weren't discovered by anyone?"
"Trust my observational skills!"
"Then what did you mean just now?"
"Nothing, just a joke."
I felt a wave of embarrassment. I thought Xiao Yuande was hiding something. Gao Mingqiang walked over. "Uncle, be careful. Don't get exposed. That person is your brother."
"Don't worry, I won't..."
"You shouldn't get involved in this matter. It's police regulations. Since you've handed in your things, go back and rest!" Director Zhang's voice came from outside the criminal investigation office. Xiao Yuande looked somewhat embarrassed, as if he shouldn't have returned at this time. Director Zhang patted his shoulder. Although it seemed like Yuande agreed on the surface, I could see a subtle exchange in their eyes that felt unusual.
I suddenly understood something silently in my heart...
After Xiao Yuande left, Director Zhang told us to continue our work. Nothing unusual had happened at Xinyu Middle School recently. I wondered if Xiao Yuanba had stopped. How could we continue this case then?
Recently, He Xin had dug up everything about him. The surveillance team was also watching him, but they found no source of illegal income. He also had some strange habits: every Thursday, he would bring a few men home. The surveillance officer suspected he might be gay.
However, I believed he was involved in some illegal activities behind the scenes. The officer insisted that these men would only leave after spending the night, sticking to his own conclusion. I didn't argue and let him continue surveillance. One afternoon, I went to He Xin's side, and she suddenly said to me, "Dad, I have a plan!"
"What is it?"
"Just waiting like this isn't a solution. I need to become a student. Do you understand what I mean?"
"You want to infiltrate Xinyu Middle School?" I asked.
"Exactly. This is a plan He Xin and I have discussed for days. I actually suggested it a while ago, but she thought it was too dangerous."
I rested my chin on my hand and thought. He Xin's method was indeed good, and I couldn't think of any better alternatives. This time, I had to rely on He Xin's scheme.
"Alright, I agree. I'm the team leader now, so even if she objects, she has to listen!" I said triumphantly. Unexpectedly, my ear was violently grabbed. "He Sheng, you've gone too far. Are you not even listening to me now?"
"My dear aunt, what are you doing! You always do this when you come up. My ear doesn't hurt!" I protested, trying to pull away from the troublesome hand, but it felt as if it were enchanted by Loki's magic, immovable!
"He Xin is your daughter. How can you bear to let her do such a thing?"
"This plan is excellent. Besides, He Xin is also a police officer. Why can't she accept such a mission?"
"You say it so casually. You're acting like her mother!"