Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Nan Mu was staring at the photograph, lost in thought, when he suddenly heard a familiar voice from outside the door. He looked up and was surprised to see Qiu Ziyu.

“So this is where you were?” Qiu Ziyu stood outside the door, poking his head into the room.

“Didn’t you say you were busy today?”

Somewhat taken aback, Nan Mu stood up and walked toward the door. He noticed a man in a police uniform following behind Qiu Ziyu.

“Official business.” Qiu Ziyu pointed to the young officer beside him. “One of mine, Fang Yue.”

He then pointed at Nan Mu. “A childhood friend, Nan Mu… You can just call him Brother Nan.”

“Hello, Brother Nan.” Fang Yue looked like a young man fresh out of the academy, full of vigor and high spirits. Even his voice was exceptionally resonant.

Nan Mu smiled and greeted him. Afterward, Qiu Ziyu asked Fang Yue to take the orphanage staff aside to record their statements first.

“What happened?”

Qiu Ziyu shrugged. “Someone was hiking this morning and found a skeletonized body at the foot of Zhennan Road Lion Mountain. There was an ID card next to the body. I found out the deceased used to stay at Happiness Orphanage, and I figured you’d definitely be here today. So, I thought I’d take this chance to come over and do some preliminary investigation.”

“Were you the ones who called the Director over just now?”

“Yeah.” Upon hearing this, Qiu Ziyu realized that the Director must have been with Nan Mu right before meeting them. “Did you make any progress on your end?”

Nan Mu shook his head, sighing as he looked around the room. “Nothing.”

“Do you want me to go ask again? Did they tell you the truth?”

“It shouldn’t be a lie.” Nan Mu shook his head. “They didn’t seem to have any reservations about discussing Wen Miao’s affairs.”

Qiu Ziyu gave him a thumbs-up. “Looks like you don’t need me after all. When it comes to people skills, you’re definitely the best.”

“They’re only being cooperative for the sake of the donations.”

“Oh~, so it’s the power of money.” Qiu Ziyu showed a hint of envy. “If I’d known, I should have followed you to start a business. Even if I couldn’t be the chairman of a listed company, being a shareholder would have been nice.”

Nan Mu’s parents were both scientific researchers, and his ancestors came from a long line of scholarly families. Nan Mu had initially studied biology at A University of Science and Technology, intending to follow his parents’ wishes and pursue a career in research.

However, after witnessing Wen Miao die on that examination table in the Biology Research Lab, Nan Mu developed PTSD. Whenever he saw a biological specimen placed on an examination table, he would suffer from vertigo and headaches. It grew worse over time, until even the sight of blood made his head spin.

After struggling through to complete his master’s degree, Nan Mu simply left academia and struck out on his own to start an environmental protection company. To outsiders, it sounded like he was just dealing with trash, which didn’t seem very high-class. Thus, no one could have predicted that Nan Mu would complete a Series D funding round based on a single patent for “harmless treatment of organic pollution.” The Nan Huan Group now held nearly a thousand such proprietary technologies with completely independent intellectual property rights.

Nan Mu arched an eyebrow. “Just because you want to come doesn’t mean I have to take you. I don’t want you.”

Qiu Ziyu spat in mock annoyance. Seeing Fang Yue walking over from a distance, he headed toward him first.

Fang Yue said, “Captain Qiu, the statements are all done. Gu Zhishu never returned to the orphanage after being adopted at the age of seven. I don’t think we’ll find any more useful information here. Should we head straight to the parents who adopted Gu Zhishu?”

Qiu Ziyu took the notebook and gave it a quick scan, then glanced back at Nan Mu. “Coming along?”

Nan Mu swept his gaze across the room, tucked the photograph into his pocket, and closed the cabinet door.

As the three of them walked downstairs, they happened to run into the Director coming toward them.
“Are you leaving?”

“Yes.” Nan Mu stopped in his tracks. “I’ll be heading out now. Regarding the donation, I’ll have my assistant follow up to see if we can turn it into a long-term public welfare project.”

Upon hearing that Nan Mu would provide long-term support, the Director couldn’t help but get emotional. “Thank you, thank you. I truly thank you, President Nan, for your help to our children.”

“Brother Nan is going to donate to the orphanage?” Fang Yue’s respect for him grew instantly, and the way he looked at Nan Mu changed. “What a great philanthropist.”

“Indeed, President Nan has a kind heart.”

Qiu Ziyu couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly as he watched Fang Yue and the orphanage Director heap praise on Nan Mu.

After finishing her conversation with Nan Mu, the Director didn’t neglect Qiu Ziyu and Fang Yue. She spoke a few words about the case before adding, “We will definitely cooperate with the police. If there’s any news regarding Gu Zhishu, we’ll report it immediately.”

As she spoke, she looked at Nan Mu with a bitter smile. “I don’t know what’s been going on lately; it’s like a season of troubles. I only just mentioned Xiao Shu to you this morning, and then in the blink of an eye, I’m told that Xiao Shu is dead too.”

Nan Mu froze for a moment, wondering if he had misheard her.

“What did you say? Xiao Shu?” he asked.

“Yes.” The Director nodded. “After Xiao Shu was adopted, his name was changed to Gu Zhishu. I only just learned from these two officers that Xiao Shu’s body was dug up at Lion Mountain?”

Nan Mu whipped his head around, his gaze fixed darkly on Qiu Ziyu.

Qiu Ziyu was still a bit stunned and hadn’t fully processed the situation. He looked at Nan Mu blankly. “What? Do you know Gu Zhishu too?”

***

“You’re saying Wen Miao and Gu Zhishu knew each other?”

Even for someone as experienced as Qiu Ziyu, he was truly shocked by this surreal crossover between the two cases.

He thought about it. “Actually, it makes sense. After all, they both stayed at Happiness Orphanage… but wasn’t Gu Zhishu adopted when he was seven? Did they stay in touch? So many children come out of that orphanage…”

“They weren’t just in touch; they likely had a very close relationship.” Nan Mu handed the photo from his pocket to Qiu Ziyu. “Do you think Xiao Shu could have been killed by Xu Lei as well?”

Qiu Ziyu looked at the three people smiling brightly in the photo. “I don’t think it’s likely. After all, the way Wen Miao and Gu Zhishu died is quite different… Wen Miao’s body was placed in a school where people come and go, but Gu Zhishu’s body was buried in the deep mountains. These represent two completely different mindsets. The former killer was very confident in his methods and wasn’t worried about the body being discovered at all, but the latter clearly didn’t want anyone to find Gu Zhishu’s remains.”

Nan Mu was silent for a while. “When did Gu Zhishu die?”

“He’s been dead for a long time. The forensic examiner estimates it’s been about ten years. However, we found that in April 2022, Gu Zhishu’s father went to the police station to report him missing. I suspect he had already been murdered by then.”

As he spoke, Qiu Ziyu patted the shoulder of Fang Yue, who was driving. “Don’t go back to the station. Go straight to Gu Zhishu’s house.”

“Got it.”

Qiu Ziyu looked at Nan Mu, who was leaning against the back of his seat with his eyes closed. “What do you think? Do you believe their deaths are related?”

Nan Mu opened his eyes and stared at the roof of the car for a moment with his head tilted back. “I don’t know… but this is the only lead we have, isn’t it?”

Qiu Ziyu knew what Nan Mu meant. Regardless of whether they were connected, he would treat it as a lead to investigate, because it was the only path left to walk right now.