Chapter 42: Investigation and Evidence Collection

Before the Arrival of Autumn, a light, misty rain fell overnight. The next morning, Jiang Xiaoyu pushed open the door to find leaves scattered on the stone path in the courtyard that hadn’t been tidied yet. A few cats and dogs huddled by the door, itching to head out into the yard to play.

“Don’t go.” Jiang Xiaoyu stopped them. “The ground outside is all muddy. Wait until the sun dries it out a bit before you head out.”

It was Thursday today. Last time, he and Ye Qingxu had agreed to go pick out furniture and building materials over the weekend, so Jiang Xiaoyu planned to call Ye Qingxu after work to confirm the time. It’d be best to get this courtyard sorted out sooner rather than later—otherwise, the cats and dogs would be cooped up in the house with nowhere to play.

When he arrived at the Case Handling Office, he greeted Jin Ge. Passing by Zhang Pangpang’s spot, he noticed there wasn’t any food laid out today for once.

The Orange Cat was two years older than Jiang Xiaoyu and a total gluttonous little fatty. Whenever it was around, there was always food on the table.

“Have you guys seen Zhang Pangpang?” Jiang Xiaoyu quietly asked a nearby colleague.

The colleague was a bit surprised that Jiang Xiaoyu had taken the initiative to speak, but he replied, “Fat Bro hasn’t shown up yet today. Aren’t you on that new case? He might’ve gone out to chase some leads.”

Jiang Xiaoyu frowned slightly, sent Zhang Pangpang a message asking about the situation, and then prepared to head to Wan Universe alone.

Getting into Wan Universe wasn’t smooth sailing. Jiang Xiaoyu got stopped at reception.

“I’m Officer Jiang from the Case Handling Office, here to investigate the Jiang Fei death case.” He flashed his badge, suppressing his aversion to talking with strangers, and calmly explained that he was there to look into the case and hoped for their cooperation.

The two receptionists looked troubled. “Officer, our company is of a special nature. Showing up like this out of the blue might spark unnecessary speculation and public opinion. Plus, per company policy, without a search warrant or prior notice, we can’t let you in directly for questioning.”

Only then did Jiang Xiaoyu realize he’d been reckless. In the last case, he’d mostly handled undercover evidence gathering and hadn’t gone through formal investigation procedures, so he’d completely forgotten about this step for a moment.

He put away his badge and stepped aside to a secluded spot to call Jin Ge and ask him to apply for a search warrant.

“Has dog food gotten into that cat brain of yours?” Jin Ge cursed. “Just leave the above-board stuff to Criminal Investigation. What are you going there for?”

Jiang Xiaoyu pursed his lips. “I want to ask around the people close to Jiang Fei, see what his relationship with Zhao Peng was like…”

“How many years of school did you go to, huh? Don’t you know the procedures at all?” Jin Ge sighed with a headache, rubbing his temple. “Fine, fine. You head back for now. Leave that side to Lu Wanhui. You just focus on tailing Zhao Peng.”

Jiang Xiaoyu hung his head, fiddling with a leaf nearby. After a long moment, he hung up the call with a deflated air, feeling like he really wasn’t professional at all. Maybe it was because of that 50 million investment—he’d clearly been too hasty on this case. Luckily, he’d only come to ask questions and hadn’t done anything substantial.

That’s what he told himself, but deep down, he was still grumbling that Criminal Investigation was too slow. It’d been days since the incident, and they still hadn’t started the formal investigation process. If Wan Universe wanted to cover things up, wouldn’t this give them plenty of time to prepare?

He considered turning into a cat and sneaking in to investigate, but he remembered that Yang Guo had already seen him at the Ye Residence. Plus, his cat form’s features were too distinctive—if Yang Guo spotted him, it’d definitely tip off the enemy.

Jiang Xiaoyu gave up on the idea. Just as he turned to leave Wan Universe, he heard someone nearby call out, “Qingxu?”

He froze for a second, then turned to look. He saw a middle-aged man surrounded by a crowd.

The man had a tall, upright figure like a green pine, exuding the dignity and arrogance of someone in a high position. He was very handsome in a purely rugged way—a sharply angular face, skin so fair there were hardly any wrinkles, save for a bit of white at his temples indicating his age.

He was surrounded by a group of people—middle-aged men in suits and stylish young folks, probably company executives and celebrity artists. They stood fawningly or respectfully by the man’s side, smiles of flattery on their lips.

The man paid them no mind and instead scrutinized Jiang Xiaoyu closely. Realizing he’d mistaken him for someone else, his hawk-like sharp eyes narrowed as he asked, “Do you know Ye Qingxu?”

This was the second time Jiang Xiaoyu had been mistaken for Ye Qingxu. Given how similar they looked—even he got confused sometimes—he just paused before snapping back and saying, “Yeah, I know him.”

The deep furrows between the man’s brows deepened. “What’s your relationship?”

What relationship? Acquaintances? Friends? Employer? A senior he got along decently with?

Jiang Xiaoyu didn’t know how to define it. Appearance aside, they’d really only met a few times. But explaining would be too much trouble, so he quietly replied, “Ordinary friends.”

Wan Keyao seemed to relax, the tension between his brows easing. Not his father, good… He mulled over Jiang Xiaoyu’s “ordinary friends” and couldn’t help pondering: They look so alike but aren’t relatives? And they know each other? What kind of coincidence is that?

He suppressed the flurry of thoughts in an instant and smiled faintly. “What’s your name? Got time to come in and chat for a bit?”

One of the receptionists behind him hurriedly bent down to whisper something. The man didn’t look down or respond, just smiled and said, “Perfect timing, then. We’re happy to cooperate with police work. Let’s talk somewhere else.”

With that, he turned to give a few instructions to his assistant nearby and led the way into the company. Jiang Xiaoyu had no choice but to steel himself and follow, subtly taking in his surroundings as he went.

Even though this was just Wan Universe’s branch in Pine City, it was still luxurious and stylishly designed. Probably because it was an entertainment company, everyone coming and going was dressed fashionably—few wore ordinary clothes or had average vibes.

Jiang Xiaoyu was good-looking. Wherever he went, he might not cause a full-on spectacle, but girls passing by would definitely sneak extra glances, giggling and whispering with friends if they were together. He wasn’t the oblivious handsome type—Jiang Xiaoyu was used to it.

But inside Wan Universe, with so many glamorous, attractive people around, he didn’t stand out as much.

“Mr. Jiang, have a seat.” They entered an office, and a secretary brought tea. “President Wan will be right with you.”

Jiang Xiaoyu politely thanked her. Once she left, he got up to look around. It seemed like a personal reception room—not large, but tastefully furnished. What caught his eye most was a painting on the wall.

A silver saddle on a white horse, pride swelling in the spring breeze.

Jiang Xiaoyu was struck by the unbridled youthful spirit in the painting, and even more shocked by the flamboyant signature at the bottom: Ye Corporation’s Ye Lianzhi.

Ye Lianzhi… Just one character off from Ye Lian, but Jiang Xiaoyu knew it was him. Yet it didn’t quite match— the wild style of the painting was worlds apart from the man’s current refined and gentle demeanor. He touched the characters through the cool glass, realizing then that Ye Lianzhi had once been so full of youthful vigor and early success.

“This is a work from one of my young friends.” Wan Keyao had his jacket draped over his arm, his tall frame standing behind Jiang Xiaoyu.

Jiang Xiaoyu let go and calmly sat back on the sofa. “What does Mr. Wan want to talk about?”

In front of outsiders, Jiang Xiaoyu’s calm and aloof demeanor was somewhat intimidating. But Wan Keyao was old enough to be his father and saw right through the slight unease beneath the facade. He was surprised inwardly—could someone with this personality really be a cop? Not assertive at all, and not all that professional either.

“Shouldn’t Officer Jiang be the one asking what you want to know?” Wan Keyao lit a cigarette and sat down across from him.

Jiang Xiaoyu didn’t smoke and didn’t like the smell. But almost everyone he knew did—Jin Ge, Lu Wanhui, and Yan Feilang together could cloud up like immortals ascending, and even Ye Lianzhi smoked occasionally.

He’d never encountered such an overbearing, choking smoke before. Covering his nose, he coughed lightly, a bit awkwardly saying, “I’d like to learn about your employee Jiang Fei’s interpersonal relationships.”

Wan Keyao had a domineering, impatient personality. He didn’t care what others thought, couldn’t be bothered with people’s lives or deaths, let alone whether his smoke was bothering anyone. But perhaps because this man resembled that person so much, his mind flashed unbidden to that man—eyes tearing up from the smoke but still coming over to curse him out.

He stubbed out the cigarette, suddenly losing all interest in talking. “Of course. I’ll have someone cooperate with your work.” With that, he stood and left. Their entire interaction hadn’t even been ten minutes.

Once he was alone, Jiang Xiaoyu finally let himself relax, looking a bit bewildered.

What an inexplicable guy…

Luckily, though Wan Keyao’s actions were baffling, someone did come to assist with Jiang Xiaoyu’s work. Shortly after the man left, a few staff members arrived to receive him and led him to a small conference room.

There, Jiang Xiaoyu met several employees close to Jiang Fei, including his apprentice and the artists under him. He questioned them one by one about Jiang Fei’s situation before his death—recent work arrangements, relationships, emotional state, and so on.

Everyone gave positive evaluations of Jiang Fei, saying he was capable and highly professional. He occasionally lost his temper with artists, but overall, he was pretty easy to get along with. As for any intense conflicts with others before his death, they all denied knowing anything.

The questioning was one-on-one. When it came to Jiang Fei’s apprentice last, Jiang Xiaoyu asked, “What was Jiang Fei’s relationship with Zhao Peng?”

Jiang Fei’s disciple hesitated a bit, unsure if he should speak. After all, Jiang Fei was dead, and he was now working under Zhao Peng. If Zhao Peng found out he had spoken ill of him…

“Please cooperate fully with the police,” Jiang Xiaoyu said without urging, simply stating it calmly.

Perhaps because this officer was too handsome, with emerald green eyes like a forest that inspired goodwill, Jiang Fei’s disciple relaxed somewhat and lowered his voice. “The two of them had a fight not long ago. The company recently signed a promising rookie, originally planning to assign them to Zhao Peng. But the rookie switched sides on their own and insisted on being under Jiang Fei. Artists in the company normally have no say in their agent’s assignment, but since the rookie had good potential, the company allowed it. Zhao Peng felt like his master had deliberately stolen his resources, and they had a big argument right there in the company.”

Jiang Xiaoyu thought for a moment before asking, “Do you know Luo Xi?”

Jiang Fei’s disciple shook his head. “No.”

“Does your master have a lover?”

At this, Jiang Fei’s disciple’s expression turned awkward. “Master… has a pretty messy private life. He probably doesn’t have anyone he’s seriously dating, but several of the artists under him have that kind of… relationship with him…”

He didn’t spell it out too explicitly, but Jiang Xiaoyu got the picture and inwardly despised Jiang Fei’s behavior. Turns out it wasn’t just two-timing—he was more like an octopus.

Poor Luo Xi, not only treated as a spare tire but also having his compositions stolen and fed to others.

After several hours of questioning, Jiang Xiaoyu finally wrapped up with the last witness. Next, he held formal meetings with Wan Universe’s HR and legal departments, completed the necessary procedures, and only then left the Wan Building.

It was raining outside again. Jiang Xiaoyu pulled out his phone and checked the time, only to find that after all this time, Zhang Pangpang still hadn’t replied to his messages.

His instincts told him something was wrong. He called the Case Handling Office to ask if the guy had returned. Upon learning that Zhang Pangpang hadn’t shown up at the office at all that day, his heart sank. Without time to think too much, he reported in to Jin Ge and set off to find him.