Chapter 112: The Youngest Takes Action

Huang Xiaotao flipped through the file from start to finish, then finally shook her head. "I really can't spot any inconsistencies here, Song Yang. Stop teasing me."

I pointed at the dossier. "The car left the parking lot at 10:03 PM, the brake failure happened at 10:05, and the collision took place two minutes later."

"And then?" Huang Xiaotao asked.

I shot back, "What were they doing before all that?"

"The file says from 9:48 to 10:00 PM, they were… well, being intimate inside the car. The parking lot's surveillance caught it," she explained.

"So, a little car sex," I said bluntly.

Huang Xiaotao smacked me with the file. "You've gotten thick-skinned. Saying stuff like that without even blushing."

I smiled wryly. "We're discussing the case, aren't we?"

Normally, I'm shy, but when it comes to case details, I don't hold back.

...

I went on, "Married just six months, in the honeymoon phase, and that night they were at it again in the car."

"That doesn't seem suspicious," Huang Xiaotao said.

I flipped to the evidence list and pointed at one item: "Then why is there an opened box of Viagra in the evidence?"

She scoffed. "What's so suspicious about that?"

"Think about it — the husband's only 30, married six months, and needs Viagra? Plus, car sex is usually spontaneous, but needing a boost suggests something's off," I said.

"Maybe he just wanted to last longer…" Huang Xiaotao blushed.

"The whole thing only lasted twelve minutes — that's average," I replied.

She punched me playfully. "Have you been learning those dirty jokes from your classmates? Coming up with all sorts of ways to tease me."

I scratched my head awkwardly. "Don't misunderstand, I'm just stating facts."

"Alright, alright. You can say what you want, but I don't think this counts as a real clue," Huang Xiaotao said.

"A clue doesn't overturn the whole case at once — it's just the start of suspicion," I said seriously.

The second clue is even more serious. At the moment of collision, the airbags deployed, glass shattered everywhere inside, and the airbags were pierced badly. But I noticed something: the airbags were pierced right where they shouldn't have been — directly in front of the victim's neck, where the fatal wound was.

Unfortunately, the evidence is gone now. The car was scrapped long ago, and the victim was cremated. If we could examine the airbags, we could tell whether the hole was made from the front or the back.

Huang Xiaotao looked puzzled. "Does it matter if it's from the front or back?"

I sneered. "Think about the force at impact — which way do you think the windshield shards would fly?"

"The opposite direction!" she blurted.

"Exactly. So that piece of glass didn't pierce the victim's throat during the crash. It was already there beforehand. The police are really clueless sometimes," I sighed.

Huang Xiaotao suddenly understood. "It's murder!"

I nodded. "The car was wrecked beyond recognition, glass everywhere inside. No one could tell whether the shard entered before or after the crash. The killer was clever. But now the evidence and the victim are gone. One photo alone isn't proof."

Furious, Huang Xiaotao said, "But the killer's still alive! I'm applying to set up a special task force!"

She fought hard to get approval, but superiors argued that the doubts weren't enough to reopen the case, and reopening a closed case wastes manpower and resources.

Huang Xiaotao almost wore out her mouth, even offering to pay for the investigation herself. Team leader Lin still refused and scolded her, warning against playing the hero.

Huang Xiaotao came back and vented to me. I said, "If worse comes to worst, we'll just do it ourselves."

She smiled. "We'll get reprimanded if caught."

I was about to say forget it, but she added, "Still, I believe in your instincts. We can overturn this case, but we have to keep a low profile. Don't let Team Leader Lin find out."

"Got it," I nodded.

Going over old cases might be a waste of effort, and Huang Xiaotao could lose her badge. But we shared one belief: no bad guy should get away.

She suggested we start by finding the husband who claimed the huge insurance payout, but I thought we needed to re-examine the evidence carefully first. Never fight unprepared.

"What evidence? It's all been destroyed after the statute of limitations," Huang Xiaotao said helplessly.

"What about the surveillance videos?" I asked.

"After a year, they're probably deleted," she replied.

"Nope. Anything saved on a computer can be recovered. I know an expert."

That expert, of course, was the youngest — Lao Yao. Huang Xiaotao had official duties, so I went back to the files and told her to bring the computer storing the surveillance data to school after work. I'd sneak it out early the next morning.

Stealing police computers like this could get Huang Xiaotao fired and land me in jail for half a year. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

After work, Huang Xiaotao told me to wait at the parking lot. After a while, she appeared with a small bag.

I asked, "Where's the computer?"

She laughed, "Are you crazy? Carry a whole PC? I took out the hard drive. I'll give it to you but you have to return it right after."

"Fine, hand it over!" I reached for the hard drive.

"Nope, I'm coming with you," Huang Xiaotao tucked the bag close.

Turns out the computer held many confidential files, so she wanted to watch over it. Plus, Lao Yao had helped us before, and she wanted to personally meet this computer whiz.

At school, it was rush hour. Huang Xiaotao's presence—a mature, elegant woman—attracted attention. She sighed, "Being attractive can be a pain." Then she tied up her hair and put on a baseball cap.

Even in disguise, she turned heads with her striking figure.

As we entered the male dormitory, the whole building erupted in noise. I just wanted to keep my head down, but Huang Xiaotao snapped, "What's wrong? Embarrassed to walk with me?"

"Not at all. You just attract too much attention. I don't want rumors," I said.

She smirked, "Want me to link arms with you?"

"No way. If I get on the school newspaper's front page tomorrow, I'm blaming you!" I panicked.

We struggled through the crowd to Lao Yao's dorm. He was crouched like a monkey playing League of Legends. When he saw us, he yelled, "Little Song, you ungrateful bastard! Finally decided to visit me!"

His shameless voice gave me goosebumps.

Then he noticed Huang Xiaotao. "Whoa, where'd you drag this knockout from? Versace T-shirt, classy! Hey, beauty!"

He knew designer brands so well, if he weren't gay, I'd write my name backwards.

Huang Xiaotao surveyed the pigsty of a dorm and frowned. "We haven't met, but talked on the phone."

Lao Yao thought for a moment, then grinned. "You must be Huang sir?"

"Don't call me sir. Reminds me of Anthony Wong in Infernal Affairs who died falling off a building. Call me Huang Xiaotao," she corrected.

Last time she tricked him, I thought he'd hold a grudge, but he was surprisingly friendly—moved a chair for her and kept praising her skin, asking about her skincare routine.

I cut off his nonsense and explained why we came — to recover some data.

Lao Yao scratched his foot. "Sure, but first, what's the price?"

Huang Xiaotao pulled out a small bottle covered in foreign text. "This is skincare oil my friend brought back from Paris. 600 euros a bottle, not sold in China. Makes your skin as soft as an egg. That's your payment."

Lao Yao's eyes lit up. "Deal! Let's start right now!"

I whispered to Huang Xiaotao, "Why give him such an expensive gift? He usually charges about a thousand."

She smirked. "It's a knockoff from Taobao. Cost me like 40 yuan."

I was completely convinced — I always thought rich, beautiful girls had no concept of money, but actually, they spend on themselves without hesitation and are the stingiest when it comes to others.