Chapter 221: Pointing the Way
It turned out that this kind of “melon” that scrambled one’s sense of reality did not become any easier to digest just because a day had passed.
Gu Qinghuan looked at Bao Qingsong with a troubled expression. “How did you even find out something like this?”
It was the long break between classes. Discussing such matters in the classroom was too risky, so Qinghuan had called Bao Qingsong outside. The two of them were now talking in the small garden.
They stood at the center of the garden, surrounded by a ring of greenery—no place for anyone to hide. Qinghuan also told him to keep his voice low, just in case.
Bao Qingsong scratched his head. “Last time, when I was sorting out the Wei family’s information at home, my sister saw Xu Zhishu’s photo. She seemed very concerned, so she told me to pay extra attention to Xu Zhishu while investigating.”
“And then you found out she’s a human trafficker?” Qinghuan was stunned. Bao Qingsong’s information-gathering ability was getting a bit ridiculous.
“No, no, not like that!” Bao Qingsong waved his hands quickly. “Even the police couldn’t find anything after so many years. How could I possibly uncover it that easily?”
“I just found out how Xu Zhishu and Wei Yan met, and looked into her past a bit. Then I asked my sister, and she said she suspects Xu Zhishu used to be involved in human trafficking.”
After saying that, Bao Qingsong hesitated.
He had actually uncovered a bit more—for example, that Xu Zhishu was Wei Yan’s second wife, the conflicts with his first wife, and even… that Wei Yan’s child with his ex-wife was currently in Class Three.
But that involved a classmate’s privacy. Even with Qinghuan, he felt he couldn’t disclose it without permission.
Qinghuan didn’t notice his hesitation. She asked a bit more about what Bao Rujian had said, then pretended to think while asking the system internally:
“Was Xu Zhishu really a human trafficker?”
“More precisely, she was an accomplice.”
Qinghuan suppressed her reaction. “So she really was…”
The actual situation was close to Bao Rujian’s guess. The only problem was—there was no evidence.
Too much time had passed. Even if some of the people who knew Xu Zhishu back then were still around, or had already served their sentences, identifying her now would be extremely difficult. Bao Rujian’s suspicion was based solely on the scar in Xu Zhishu’s ear.
With the system as her cheat, Qinghuan knew the truth. But for Bao Rujian, without solid evidence, even proving her suspicion was already hard—let alone pursuing a case. And besides, Bao Rujian was now in economic crime investigation, not criminal investigation. Crossing departments could create further complications.
Qinghuan continued asking:
“Is there any evidence I could find—something that could get Xu Zhishu arrested?”
“No. After Wei Yan changed her identity back then, almost everything was erased. What remains is beyond your reach.”
Qinghuan gritted her teeth. “Using power to cover up crimes is just—… wait.”
Her eyes widened. “Wei Yan knows?!”
“No. To be precise, Wei Yan only knew Xu Zhishu’s previous identity, but not what she had done. He was unaware of her involvement in human trafficking.”
Qinghuan pressed her fingers to her temples. “Let me sort this out. Suppose Xu Zhishu’s original name was A. A hid the fact that she was a criminal, approached Wei Yan, and then Wei Yan gave her a new identity—Xu Zhishu. Right?”
“Yes.”
Qinghuan lowered her hands. “Then if it’s exposed that Xu Zhishu is actually A, can she be arrested?”
After a brief calculation, the system answered:
“Yes. Once A’s identity is confirmed, her household registration can be traced through the public security system. From there, her former acquaintances and relatives can be found.”
“They would know her appearance and past. Combined with testimony from traffickers involved in past cases, it would be enough to prove she was the accomplice.”
Qinghuan let out a long breath. “Alright. Then I know what to do.”
She looked up at Bao Qingsong, who was still waiting, and asked, “Do you have any direction for your investigation right now?”
Bao Qingsong replied, “I was trying to dig into Xu Zhishu’s past, but no matter how I checked, everything looked clean. It’s strange.”
Qinghuan pretended to reason it out. “All your sources are from the internet or public records, right? No field investigation.”
Bao Qingsong nodded. “Yeah. What’s wrong with that?”
Qinghuan paused. “What if… those records are fake?”
“Fake?” Bao Qingsong instinctively shook his head. “That’s impossible—”
Then he suddenly froze, as if something clicked. His expression turned serious.
“…Wait. Fake records… that’s actually possible?”
He immediately said, “I’ve got a lead. I’ll go check again!”
And just like that, he ran back toward the classroom.
Having “pointed him in the right direction,” Qinghuan felt much more at ease. Still, she didn’t expect Bao Qingsong to uncover much.
With his current abilities, finding flaws in something Wei Yan had covered up over a decade ago wouldn’t be easy.
So—what if she changed her approach?
Xu Zhishu was like a lock protected by a precise mechanism. If guessing the password was too difficult, then all she had to do… was bring in the person who knew it.
The one who created Xu Zhishu’s fake identity was Wei Yan.
If Wei Yan and Xu Zhishu fell out, he might expose her true identity himself.
The only question was—how to make them turn against each other?
Qinghuan thought it over but couldn’t come up with a good plan for now.
After all, she hadn’t even met Xu Zhishu yet. She had no idea what kind of person she was.
But judging from the fact that Xu Zhishu had once deceived Wei Yan, gotten him to fabricate an identity for her, and successfully married into the Wei family… she was definitely not simple.
As Qinghuan pondered, she returned to the classroom. Jiang Chuchu and Yu Xin looked up at her.
“What were you talking about with Bao Qingsong?” they asked.
“Something about the Wei family. Not confirmed yet,” Qinghuan replied. “By the way, have you met Xu Zhishu? Wei Xiao’s mother.”
“Yes,” they answered in unison. They had both attended a banquet hosted by the Wei family before.
“What do you think of her?” Qinghuan asked.
Jiang Chuchu thought for a moment. “She can handle hosting guests and such, but her level is average. She’s very beautiful—Wei Xiao resembles her more than Wei Yan.”
A flash of insight crossed Qinghuan’s mind, but she failed to catch it.
Yu Xin recalled, “At the banquet, the female guests kept their distance from her, but she maintained a smile the whole time. I don’t like what she’s done, but being able to endure like that… she’s quite restrained.”
Qinghuan thought for a bit longer, then asked:
“Is there any upcoming event where Xu Zhishu will be present—and where you can bring me along?”
Seeing once was better than hearing a hundred times.
She wanted to see for herself—what kind of person Xu Zhishu really was.
