The Same Fate Awaits All Sins Chapter 37

Suspicion – 07

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"The victim's family has arrived," a police officer at the door reported.

"Tell them to follow me," Gu Yanta replied.

Ever since the last case, Lai Jingjing had not only been deeply shaken but also found herself doubting her professional abilities, leaving her in a persistently low mood. At one point, she even considered giving up her career as a psychiatrist, so Lin Feiyu had to take an extended leave to accompany his wife on a trip to help her recover. The forensics department's newly seconded forensic pathologist was unfamiliar with the situation, so much of the work was being handled by the criminal investigation team.

Two couples and an additional middle-aged woman entered from outside.

"Ouyang Xue!"

"Us..." A bespectacled man answered first. Judging by their scholarly appearance, this couple seemed to be Ouyang Xue's parents.

"Wang Shan!"

"Here..." A middle-aged woman with a perm was sobbing continuously. A man in a suit was supporting her by the shoulders, softly comforting her. The pair were Wang Shan's parents.

"Follow me to identify the bodies," Gu Yanta gestured, and the two couples followed him out in a single file line.

The other middle-aged woman, who had dull eyes, remained standing in place, visibly at a loss. She was still dressed in a rubber apron and boots typically worn by seafood market workers, which she hadn't had time to take off.

"And you are?" Lu Zheng approached her, handing her a cup of hot water.

"I'm Bai Xiaoting's mother," the woman said as she cautiously took the paper cup. "Ah... thank you..."

"And her father?"

"Her... her father passed away when she was very young, I raised her on my own..." The woman paused as she said this, her voice choking up. "What happened to my Ting Ting... That officer just said... what... identifying a body?"

"No, there may have been a miscommunication when our staff contacted you. Bai Xiaoting is not here, she was attacked last night and is currently in the hospital. Her life is not in danger, but she's emotionally unstable," Lu Zheng said as he guided the woman to sit down.

The woman's face went pale. "What exactly... happened..."

"As you can see, two girls from Bai Xiaoting's dormitory died within two days, and another roommate is missing. We're doing everything we can to find her. Bai Xiaoting was fortunate to escape an attack by the perpetrator, suffering only minor injuries."

"Then... when can I go to the hospital to see her?" The woman's voice trembled a bit, but hearing that her daughter's life was not in danger, she was relieved.

"Anytime."

The woman immediately stood up, but Lu Zheng hesitated for a moment before saying, "However, I'd still like to ask you something."

"Ah... okay..." The woman obediently sat back down.

Bai Xiaoting's mother looked like the kind of middle-aged woman who couldn't be more honest. Having to make money and raise her daughter alone, she must have suffered a lot and had to be submissive in every aspect of her life, never daring to put up the slightest bit of resistance to others.

"Has she ever mentioned anything about her dormitory to you, such as the relationships in the dorm or whether she had conflicts with anyone..."

"I don't talk to Ting Ting much. Officer, as you can see, I sell seafood, it's exhausting work, I have to get up early to buy stock and come home very late. Since Ting Ting started university and stayed in the dorms, we've hardly seen each other. Even during holidays, she doesn't come home. I've gone to see her a few times, but she avoids me. She says I smell of fish and that I embarrass her. I know, but there's nothing I can do..." The woman said sadly, and she lowered her head to wipe away her tears. "I have to pay for her university education, I have to make money..."

Just as Bai Xiaoting's mother finished speaking, a heart-wrenching wail echoed from the morgue. It frightened her so much that she jumped to her feet, looking toward the end of the corridor with an embarrassed expression.

The two couples emerged from the morgue, supporting one another. Ouyang Xue's mother, frail and having remained silent with gritted teeth until now, could no longer stand on her own and had to be held up by her husband. Wang Shan's mother, dishevelled and tear-streaked, collapsed to her knees as soon as she stepped out of the room.

The grief of losing an only child in old age is not something an ordinary person can bear.

A woman who loses her husband is called a widow, a man who loses his wife is called a widower, and a child who loses their parents is called an orphan. Yet, there is no term for parents who lose their only child, because the tragedy is too profound to encapsulate in words.

Bai Xiaoting's mother stared at the two devastated couples in mute disbelief. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but swallowed the words back down.

"Let's go, I'll take you to see your daughter," Lu Zheng stood up.

"Can... I change my clothes first?" the woman nervously rubbed her fingers. "I'm afraid my smell is too strong, I don't want to upset Ting Ting..."

Lu Zheng nodded.

The atmosphere of the hospital was as uncomfortable as always, the air thick with the scent of disinfectant. Medical staff rushed around, and patients sat dejectedly in every corner.

Bai Xiaoting's mother had changed into a set of worn but impeccably clean clothes, clearly the only one she had. She cautiously peered through the glass on the door to the hospital room. Seeing that her daughter appeared to be unharmed, she finally exhaled a long sigh of relief.

"Let's go in first," Lu Zheng prompted from behind her.

She nodded awkwardly. Just as she was about to reach out to push the door, she winced and shrank back. "I..."

"Auntie, don't be afraid, she's the daughter you raised on your own, how could she look down on you because of your status? Indulging her like this is not right," Lu Zheng said, frowning.

Bai Xiaoting's mother's eyes wandered, hesitating for a long time before finally mustering the courage to push open the door. "Ting Ting..."

It was lunchtime, and Bai Xiaoting was sitting on the hospital bed eating. She looked up and saw her mother standing at the doorway in a restrained manner. With a faint snort, she turned her head to the side. But when she noticed Lu Zheng walking in behind her mother, she suppressed the emotions that were about to flare up.

"Bai Xiaoting, your mother is here to see you. How about this, I'll let you two talk for a while, when you've thought things through and are ready to communicate with me, just let me know. Does that work for you?" Lu Zheng spoke out to break the awkward atmosphere, then turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.

He had barely taken two steps when the sound of something smashing to the ground came from the hospital room. Lu Zheng shook his head, This Bai Xiaoting really is an ungrateful child! In this world, there were no parents who didn't have their children's best interests at heart. Yet, children often took everything for granted, resenting their parents for not providing them with a better life.

Irritated, Lu Zheng walked to the smoking area at the end of the corridor and lit a cigarette. His thoughts suddenly wandered to his own father. Though his father had always been busy and had neglected to care for him, Lu Zheng had summarised from his older brother's words that the old man did care about him. His father, bound by pride, might not have expressed it directly, but Lu Zheng suspected he was often on his father's mind... Ai, forget it, like my brother said, once this case is over, I'll take a trip to the States to see the old man.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the corridor. "Please move aside!" A mix of the hurried footsteps of the medical staff and the rolling sound of a gurney approached from a distance.

A few bystanders were whispering amongst themselves.

"Oh, I heard it's a student from the agricultural university, they jumped off the river bridge..."

"If they fell into the water, there's still a chance to save them. But if they hit the ground, even the gods can't help!"

"Kids these days are so mentally fragile, threatening to commit suicide all the time. Back in our day, we had nothing to eat or wear, but we still managed to survive."

"Exactly. Hey, look, the video has gone viral..."

Lu Zheng glanced at the person's phone screen and suddenly took off running. In the video, the person who had jumped from the bridge wasn't a stranger, it was Liu Le, the girl who had been missing since last night!

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: January 13, 2025 by Angel

Edited: February 18, 2025 by Angel