"No, you've misunderstood. My senior sister asked me to help her open a card, and then she threw away her old one, so this card was opened using my ID," Zhao Qingsheng explained.
"Then why didn't you say so earlier?" I questioned.
Zhao Qingsheng shook his head. "I didn't recall. After all, my senior sister had been using this number for a while. What can we do now? Haven't you found any trace of her?"
"She hasn't been answering her phone."
"How could that be? Could it be she knows I've been caught?"
Zhao Qingsheng mumbled to himself. I didn't pay him much attention for the moment. After walking out, I instructed He Xin and the others to keep an eye on the phone. The other party's phone was still on. Following the phone signal, we returned to the academy. However, upon reaching a place above the girls' dormitory, we discovered she was gone. But Liu Yuning and I learned the truth about this senior sister from some of the girls there.
A short-haired girl said, "Chi Lingxuan is in our class. It's said she has a younger boyfriend, but Qiao Miaozhen isn't a good girl. Ever since she came to our school, she seems to have had several boyfriends, all from the year before her. We used to joke that she liked older men chasing younger women, but she's very beautiful, so it's normal for many people to like her."
"Do you know if her relationship with Zhao Qingsheng was good?" Liu Yuning asked.
Another girl, who looked very cute, said, "It's not particularly good or bad. I suspect Chi Lingxuan was just playing with him. Zhao Qingsheng is actually quite weak. Although he's good at studying, such bookworms aren't very popular in college. Nowadays, more people like handsome rich second-generation heirs."
"We're not interested in that. Have you seen Chi Lingxuan interacting with any strangers, say, people not from the school? When did she leave?"
"She's a bit strange. She doesn't like to communicate with us much. Even in the same dormitory, we don't have many opportunities to chat. Actually, this is the first time I've seen such a cold girl. I even feel like she's not our age, her thinking is very mature, as if she's been through a lot. As for when she left, it was probably last night, but we don't know the exact time because we were already asleep. We just got back after class and met you." the cute girl replied.
"Did Chi Lingxuan not attend class?" I asked.
The short-haired girl said somewhat impatiently, "No. She often skips class, but for some reason, her grades are always very good. The professors are too lazy to care. We work ourselves to death every day and get lectured by the professors, who still tell us to learn from Chi Lingxuan."
I could tell that they didn't really like Chi Lingxuan. They all thought she was a weirdo, much like Zhao Qingsheng. Now that she was missing, we could only continue tracking her. The phone signal was likely useless, as her phone was left on the bed.
I placed the phone in an evidence bag. Liu Yuning continued to ask, "Is Chi Lingxuan's unmanned technology very good?"
"It's a major in our school, extremely difficult. Many people fail. However, Chi Lingxuan and Zhao Qingsheng are both very good at it. We sometimes wonder if they got together because they had common interests. Perhaps Chi Lingxuan would settle down then, but that's their private matter. We're usually busy with our studies and don't have time to concern ourselves with their affairs," the cute girl said.
The short-haired girl chimed in, "Yeah. They're probably isolated by us. But people say that the invincible are the loneliest, and that probably describes people like them!"
Liu Yuning and I didn't answer. If Chi Lingxuan wasn't a suspect, she might just be an ordinary college student. However, her technical skills were indeed suspicious, especially her peculiar actions at this moment. If there was nothing wrong, why leave her phone and run away?
As we were leaving the dormitory, Chi Lingxuan's phone rang. I took out the Apple phone from the evidence bag in surprise. I saw a message appear on it: "Heh, I know you're looking for me, but it's useless. If I could be found so easily, then my unmanned technology would have been learned in vain. Don't think you're so great just because you have a hacker. In front of us, hackers like you are a dime a dozen."
Bastard! She dared to send a message and deliberately mock us?
When Liu Yuning and I saw the message, we were both a little angry. We immediately rushed back to the provincial headquarters and had He Xin check. She and technical police officers like Yuan Hezheng exerted all their efforts, their keyboards worn out, before they managed to capture some data. However, the other party quickly turned off their phone. They could only pinpoint the spot where the phone signal disappeared: Kang Fu Lai Plaza!
This was a plaza that had recently opened in Guangming City. It housed many shops, as well as a swimming pool and an aquarium. We found the location immediately and saw a huge fountain at the entrance. In the center was Guangming City's symbol, a giant carp, representing the East Rising. In this region, such giant carp are actually the famous Crispy Carp. Countless splashes of water rose around it. Many children were playing nearby, with various toys scattered around.
Adults held their hands nearby. There were people dressed as clowns holding colorful balloons, and others dressed as Winnie the Pooh distributing candy to the children. Not far away, a band was performing. Nearby, vendors selling various educational products were holding promotional events. Many parents were eagerly grabbing souvenirs to please their children.
Some elderly women were dancing the plaza dance nearby to loud music, their swaying movements particularly captivating. They held flamboyant colorful silks, twirling them around their bodies. It was bustling and vibrant. Perhaps it had been a long time since we had experienced such a lively place. In an instant, our blood seemed to be re-energized, and we felt a surge of warmth.
Seeing how lively it was, Liu Yuning said, "Chi Lingxuan coming to such a lively place, it must be intentional, right?"
"Exactly. With such a large crowd, even if we tracked her down immediately, it would be difficult to identify her." At that moment, I saw that the entire plaza was packed with people. It was likely because it had only recently opened, and everyone was curious, flocking to play there. Coupled with it being a holiday, the crowd was naturally larger than usual.