S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 6 Chapter 79

The Culinary Murderer 31 – Suspicious Vehicle

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Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were going over the files on the only survivor among the three missing girls, when they spotted a familiar name – Zhu Yi.

That's right! It was the same female tenant who had seen the instant noodle alien during the fake landlord case a few days earlier, and who was currently living in a police safe house, the video blogger, Zhu Yi.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang even suspected it might just be someone with the same name, but when they checked the photo, although her hairstyle and makeup had changed and she had grown up quite a bit, her facial features had remained largely the same, it was almost certainly her!

Everyone looked at one another – Could this... really just be a coincidence?

As strange as it was, it did come with one benefit, they no longer had to go to the trouble of finding the survivor. She was right there in front of them, they could simply go and ask her directly.

And according to the case file, Zhu Yi had been found after reportedly running away from home. Could it have just been a coincidence?

Zhan Zhao called Zhu Yi to ask if they could come by to ask her a few more questions.

Zhu Yi said she didn't mind, she was quite free every day anyway.

The two of them drove out to see Zhu Yi. Wen Xiaorou, who had nothing else to do, said she wanted to come along too, so Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang brought her along.

On the way, the two brought up the subject of Guan Xiaohong... Not the one who had previously died by jumping from a building, but the one who was said to be Tan Wen's daughter, Guan Mei's daughter, Guan Xiaohong.

Wen Xiaorou said she had met Guan Xiaohong before, when the latter had come to the school to see Guan Mei. She had left quite a strong impression. Guan Xiaohong had a gentle personality and was reportedly a top student, but after that, she never saw her again, just heard about her from a few friends.

Zhan Zhao asked if there was anything in particular about Guan Xiaohong that caught her attention. Just now, when she looked at the photo, she seemed very sure.

"Guan Xiaohong once brought me something to eat," Wen Xiaorou said with a smile.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were intrigued. "She brought you something to eat?"

"Right. Back then I often had competitions in the afternoon, I'd attend my morning classes, then go to Teacher Guan's office at noon to get a permission slip, and take the bus to the competition venue..." Wen Xiaorou said. "My mom would bring lunch to the stadium and wait for me there, but sometimes, if the match was early, I wouldn't eat, I'd wait until it was over. One time, Guan Xiaohong bumped into me and asked if I had a morning or afternoon match. I said morning, and she handed me a box of pastries and told me to eat them on the bus so I wouldn't have to compete on an empty stomach."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were rather surprised. "Did she bring those pastries especially for you?"

Wen Xiaorou nodded. "She said she'd heard from Teacher Guan that I often skipped meals because of competitions. She really loved the pastries from that place, so she bought an extra box to bring to me."

"Ai..." Thinking of the sketch they'd seen earlier, Wen Xiaorou couldn't help feeling a bit regretful. "She was such a lovely girl, gentle and kind... I really hope it's just a misunderstanding, and the real Guan Xiaohong is all right."

Naturally, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang also hoped she was all right, but all the signs suggested that things weren't so simple.

"Don't you still have contact details for some old classmates? Has anyone seen Guan Xiaohong?" Zhan Zhao asked. "As long as someone saw her after graduation, then it should..."

But after thinking it over, he felt that something wasn't right. If someone had never met the original Guan Xiaohong and only saw the current one, they might not be able to tell the difference.

Wen Xiaorou also tried to ask around, but after checking with a few people, it seemed that everyone only knew she had gone abroad for her studies and later became a designer. No one knew whether she was currently abroad or back in the country, whether she had married, there was no concrete information at all.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both frowned – Things are starting to move in an ominous direction...

......

When they arrived at the neighbourhood where the safe house was located, Wen Xiaorou muttered as they got out of the car, "Wouldn't it be better if my parents, Meimei and Maomao lived somewhere like this? Why did they have to go all the way out to the countryside?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both laughed at her. "They seemed quite happy to be living out in the countryside."

Wen Xiaorou shot them both a sidelong glance.

They both nodded at her – Xiaofei wasn't bad at all, you should give it some thought.

Wen Xiaorou turned her face away, but didn't say she was unwilling.

When they reached Zhu Yi's door, they could already hear music coming from inside. Wen Xiaorou thought it sounded familiar. "Ah! That's emotional regulation yoga!"

"Emotional regulation?" Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at her as they knocked on the door.

Wen Xiaorou nodded. "I've got several sisters in the force doing this, they say it's great to practise when you're feeling irritable and want to punch something."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were both amused. Zhu Yi probably did need some emotional regulation.

Before long, the door opened and Zhu Yi invited them in. There was a yoga mat laid out in the middle of the living room.

Zhu Yi turned off the television, asked the three of them to take a seat, and brought over some tools, asking if they'd like some coffee.

Even as she asked, she was already getting started on making it.

Bai Yutang initially thought that, as it was already afternoon, he shouldn't drink any more or he wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

Zhan Zhao, however, shook his head and stopped Bai Yutang from declining. He thought they should just accept whatever Zhu Yi offered. She'd probably been feeling suffocated in the safe house, and it was good for her to have something to do.

Wen Xiaorou, on the other hand, was in real need of coffee. Sitting by the coffee table, she took a whiff and leaned in closer to look at the machine. "It smells amazing!"

Zhu Yi smiled and introduced the beans to her, they were grown in Yunnan, and she had blended and roasted them herself. Domestic coffee beans these days are excellent too.

When the coffee was ready and everyone had a cup, they were all surprised, it was genuinely good!

Bai Yutang rather liked coffee, though he was picky about it. He thought Zhao Zhen's pour-over and Gongsun's siphon-brewed coffee were both very good. Bai Chi could only make milk tea, coffee wasn't his strong suit...

But so far, the best coffee Bai Yutang had ever tasted was a latte that Uncle Ye had once made for him at his home. He'd always assumed lattes were sweet drinks, but that one had completely changed his mind... Zhu Yi truly lived up to her reputation as a professional, she also made them lattes, and the flavour was surprisingly close to Uncle Ye's.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both nodded in approval, she had real skill!

Wen Xiaorou was tempted to suggest that Zhu Yi open a shop of her own. Zhan Zhao, thinking it was rare to come across such talent, gave her the address of Zhao Jue's dessert shop and told her to be sure to go for an interview once the case was over.

Zhu Yi looked at the address and thought the location was great, right next to the police station. It gave her a sense of security!

"Do you still have questions about the case to ask me?" Zhu Yi asked.

Bai Yutang and Wen Xiaorou both looked at Zhan Zhao, clearly meaning – This one's tricky, you handle it!

Zhan Zhao took out the original report and closure file from the disappearance case and said, "I'd like to ask you about this."

Zhu Yi took the case file and looked at it for a while. Her brow furrowed, and once she put the paper down, her whole demeanour changed.

Zhan Zhao noticed her breathing begin to quicken and her emotions fluctuate quite drastically, so he quickly signalled for Wen Xiaorou to sit beside her.

Xiaorou sat next to Zhu Yi and gently patted her back to calm her down.

Zhu Yi took a few deep breaths and gradually composed herself, though her face was still very pale.

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao.

The moment Zhan Zhao saw Zhu Yi's emotional reaction, he concluded that she hadn't simply run away from home all those years ago, she had likely been kidnapped or gone through something equally traumatic... She was clearly suffering from severe psychological trauma.

"Did you catch him?" Zhu Yi asked, her eyes filled with a hint of hope. "You've caught him, right?"

"We're trying to," Zhan Zhao asked her, "So you didn't run away from home back then?"

Zhu Yi shook her head.

Zhan Zhao assessed her condition and, reaffirming his earlier judgement, felt that the girl had the psychological resilience to cope, so he asked whether she could recall what had happened at the time.

Zhu Yi nodded and began recounting a terrifying experience she had had as a student.

That year, Zhu Yi was still in middle school. She had a rather introverted nature and was very shy. After starting school, her mother, hoping to help her become more outgoing, had signed her up for various extracurricular activities, like hobby groups, outdoor excursions, sports clubs, and so on.

Zhu Yi recalled that it had been a summer day, very hot and muggy, with rain expected in the afternoon. Her mother had packed her a rain poncho and a water bottle and sent her off to attend the school's swimming club, which met at a swimming complex in S City.

Zhu Yi swam for a bit, then packed up and left early, heading instead to a city music and video shop. Her favourite band had just released a new album, and her mother had given her some pocket money before she left home. After buying the CD, she also treated herself to an ice cream and ambled home.

It started raining as she passed near the park... It was the park where the art exhibitions are held nowadays. She had originally planned to go around the park, but wanting to save time, she put on her rain poncho and decided to take a shortcut through the park.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both frowned... They had also grown up in S City and knew that the park wasn't usually busy. It was enormous, and on weekdays, especially in bad weather, it could be quite deserted.

Zhu Yi had hurried along a small path through the park. The weather was grim, and as expected, not a single soul was in sight along the path. She was completely alone on the tree-lined walkway.

After a while, she suddenly heard a noise, as if someone were behind her, so she turned around.

But the path ahead and behind was completely empty. The trees on both sides were dense, and the rain was heavy, she couldn't see clearly.

Zhu Yi kept walking quickly. Just then, her phone rang. She picked it up and saw it was her mom calling... Suddenly, someone burst out from the woods beside her.

Zhu Yi saw a figure wearing a black raincoat. Judging by the build, it looked like an adult man. She didn't even get a proper look at his face, just saw him reach out, seemingly holding something. The next instant, she felt something strike her head with great force, and everything went black.

When Zhu Yi woke up, she found herself in a dark space. It was difficult to see clearly. It felt like some sort of tunnel, and she could hear the sound of water dripping... like a tap that hadn't been fully shut.

Her head hurt terribly. When she reached up to touch it, her hand came away wet and sticky, and she had no idea what it was.

Fortunately, although she had been terrified, she had managed to stay relatively calm. Her limbs could still move freely, and her schoolbag had been placed beside her. The zipper was open. She fumbled around inside, but there was no cell phone, only her swimsuit and the CD she had just bought.

Then, from within the darkness, Zhu Yi heard footsteps, someone was approaching.

In a panic, she opened the CD case in her bag, groped for the disc, snapped it in half, and clutched the jagged shard in her hand...

Just as she gripped the CD piece tightly, a hand landed on her shoulder, and she felt someone's breath close to her ear. She suddenly spun around with all her strength and fiercely drove the sharp edge of the broken CD straight into the person behind her.

She immediately heard a scream of agony from that person.

Zhu Yi shoved the person away and broke into a run.

She ran a few steps and bumped into a wall. In the dark, she fumbled around for a while and grabbed something that felt like a door handle. With a strong pull, she opened an iron door. It was already dark outside, but there were lights, it was the street.

Zhu Yi didn't stop to think, she ran as fast as she could. She had no idea where she was, but it didn't seem remote or desolate, more like the outskirts of a city.

She ran towards where there were more people, kept running... until she was so exhausted she couldn't go any further. She collapsed onto the steps in front of a shop to catch her breath.

Just then, the door to the shop opened, and the scent of coffee wafted out.

An aunt came out and asked what she was doing.

Zhu Yi finally remembered to call for help. The aunt, seeing that her head seemed to be injured and covered in blood, quickly called the police.

Zhan Zhao, Bai Yutang and Wen Xiaorou listened to her entire account of the abduction and escape, and just hearing it was nerve-racking enough.

Despite the peril, the three of them couldn't help but admire. This girl wasn't just brave, she was incredible. Not only had she managed to escape with her life, she had probably left the attacker with a very noticeable mark...

‿︵‿︵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: June 13, 2025 by Angel

Edited: September 4, 2025 by Soojin