Chapter 163 Xiao Nuannuan in Public and in Private

After that, the investigation into Xiao Nuan began.

The scope of the investigation was quite simple.

Based on the previous line of reasoning,

they were to investigate Xiao Nuan's whereabouts from yesterday afternoon until the evening.

If any anomalies were found, Xiao Nuan would become a suspect.

This would indirectly prove that they weren't just guessing blindly.

In addition, they needed to gather more specific personal information about Xiao Nuan.

This information included her personality over the years, her life experiences, and so on.

The reason for investigating these details was simple.

Judging by the methods used at the crime scene, the murderer had cleaned the hotel room until it was spotless.

To the police, this seemed like a very professional job.

But!

For an ordinary person,

this would be extremely difficult.

Cleaning up traces left at a crime scene is different from doing household chores.

It requires a certain level of experience as support.

For example, an understanding of Trace Technician work or knowledge of police investigative procedures.

These are things one wouldn't typically see in an ordinary person.

Without a doubt, this likely wasn't the killer's first time committing a crime.

Not only did they clean the crime scene thoroughly,

but there was also the element of framing someone else.

As mentioned before, trying to perfectly frame someone is actually quite difficult.

It's not as if the police will just believe you if you point at someone and say they're the killer.

The operational difficulty involved is very high.

The slightest lapse in attention could lead to the police seeing through it and finding clues.

This is because you have to arrange the framed person's motive, timing, and capabilities in advance—all evidence pointing to them being the killer.

Based on this, it's basically certain at this point that this wasn't the killer's first crime.

"All the information on Xiao Nuan has been investigated."

Long Hao walked over from a distance, a slight smile on his face.

The content of the files was very favorable for them.

How favorable was it?

It could essentially be said that they had locked onto the killer.

"Xiao Nuan, full name Xiao Nuannuan, 24 years old. She has been working at this hospital for two years since graduation."

"Her parents are currently doing business in the south, and she grew up with her uncle's family."

"None of the above is the main point. The main point is that during her school days, Xiao Nuan's level of affection for Zhou Ming was quite unusual."

"According to descriptions from her former classmates, she was in a state bordering on obsession."

"Following your previous logic, if we consider Xiao Nuan's feelings for Zhou Ming as her motive,"

"then the fact that she used to be so infatuated with him undoubtedly makes her even more suspicious."

His words were actually perfectly sound.

The reason they initially felt Xiao Nuan was suspicious was her affection for Zhou Ming, which gave her a motive for murder.

But suspicion is just suspicion without any concrete evidence.

However, the situation was now completely different.

With the fact that she used to be particularly fond of Zhou Ming,

the suspicion had undoubtedly increased significantly.

"What's the specific situation? Tell me about it."

Chen Mo looked curious. Under normal circumstances, there's a big gap between 'liking' someone and 'really liking' someone.

At least from Nurse Xiao Nuan's own words, she and Zhou Ming were former classmates, and one could see a clear fondness in her eyes.

But the investigation results showed a deep infatuation.

He was very curious about the extent of this affection that would make Captain Long use such strong terms.

"This situation was actually gathered by our people from Xiao Nuan's former classmates."

"According to one classmate's account, Xiao Nuannuan actually had a secret crush on Zhou Ming during school."

"The kind where she didn't dare to confess, only dared to watch him quietly, burying her feelings deep in her heart."

"The reason I say she liked him very much is that according to the classmate, it was very popular back then to fold paper stars and write things you wanted to say to the boy inside."

"But Xiao Nuannuan folded an entire jar's worth, about this big."

As Long Hao spoke, he spread his hands, gesturing a size as large as a honey jar.

"But as far as I know, a paper star is only about half the size of a pinky finger. To fill a jar that big would take a considerable amount of time and effort."

This wasn't hard to understand; Chen Mo had seen similar stories online in his later life.

This point alone could indeed prove that back in high school, Xiao Nuannuan was indeed very fond of Zhou Ming.

However, being very fond of him back then didn't mean she still was now.

The power of time is actually very formidable.

It can wear away much of the deep affection that the world believes in.

For example, if you see someone you once loved deeply after many years, you might still feel some affection, but it certainly won't be as intense as it once was.

If this example isn't appropriate or convincing enough,

then consider a toy you really loved as a child, something you dreamed of your parents buying for you.

Years later, you might still feel a touch of emotion when you see it again, but what's the probability you'd actually buy it?

One cannot rule out those who pay for nostalgia, but most people would just take a look and leave, certainly not lingering for long.

And they certainly wouldn't use their hard-earned money to buy those toys.

Using hard-earned money to buy a toy loved in youth...

...can actually be understood as Xiao Nuan choosing to commit murder because she loved Zhou Ming.

What they needed to do now was find a way to prove that Nurse Xiao Nuan still loved Zhou Ming after all these years.

Otherwise, the case would currently be unable to move forward.

It would be stuck here.

"To be honest, we can't find that yet."

Long Hao naturally understood what Chen Mo meant; after all, he was a veteran criminal investigator.

But proving that Xiao Nuan still loved Zhou Ming was not easy.

Unless she admitted it herself.

The other way would be to look for clues in Xiao Nuan's daily life.

"I know it's hard."

"Does she have a boyfriend?"

"To be more precise, did she have a boyfriend during her university years?"

Long Hao lowered his head and flipped through the files upon hearing this.

He soon provided an answer.

"No, I've checked. During university, Nurse Xiao Nuan didn't date anyone."

"But we can't rule out things we haven't found, though as you know, that possibility is small."

He shrugged as he spoke.

"If she didn't have a boyfriend, and if we were to make a forced inference, is it because she could never let go of Zhou Ming in her heart?"

"Actually, I've been wondering about one thing: if she liked Zhou Ming so much, why didn't she confess to him?"

"Compared to her burning passion, that should have been very easy."

Long Hao scratched his head at this question.

He didn't understand what young people were thinking these days either.

If you like someone, you should speak up boldly.

"Let's ask Zhou Ming. Anyway, the person involved is right here with us."

As Chen Mo spoke, he pushed open the door to the hospital room.

At this moment, Zhou Ming's mood still seemed very low.

He was hugging his knees, staring out the window, looking as melancholic as could be.

"There's a very important matter I need to discuss with you."

Chen Mo pulled up a chair and sat down.

Fortunately, after their previous pleasant exchange,

Zhou Ming turned his gaze back from the window upon hearing Chen Mo's words.

He looked at Chen Mo, waiting for him to speak.

"Did you know that Xiao Nuannuan is very fond of you?"

The words reached Zhou Ming's ears, causing a flash of surprise to cross his face.

He seemingly hadn't expected the officer's question to be this.

This was normal; after all, from beginning to end, Xiao Nuannuan had essentially been an outsider to this case.

She had no intrinsic connection to this crime.

The only link was that he had asked her to help prove he was at the hospital from yesterday afternoon until the evening.

"Officer, this matter can't possibly have anything to do with Xiao Nuan."

"Please don't overthink it."

He looked somewhat anxious.

It wasn't that he was afraid the police would hurt Xiao Nuan, but rather he was worried they would scare her.

Even more so, he didn't want his own affairs to involve an outsider.

From this perspective, Zhou Ming was essentially a decent person.

"Don't be nervous, I'm just asking casually."

Chen Mo signaled for Zhou Ming to relax and picked up an apple from the table to eat.

These were the apples Xiao Nuannuan had washed for Zhou Ming earlier.

This action of his might seem somewhat inappropriate.

After all, how could a policeman eat the people's food?

But there are two sides to every story.

On the surface, he was eating an apple.

But looking deeper, he was closing the distance with Zhou Ming.

While letting him relax, it also gave the other party a feeling that 'we're on the same side.'

This actually involved some psychological elements.

It was the same principle as taking off one's jacket when interrogating a prisoner.

It seemed like an insignificant little gesture.

But to the prisoner's senses, it would feel much more comfortable.

It also made it easier to build rapport and get them to talk.

"I did indeed know that Xiao Nuan liked me."

"Although she never said it to my face, Officer, you know that we humans are, after all, creatures with brains who can think."

"So even though she didn't say it, I could feel that she liked me a lot during school."

"It's the same now."

When saying these words, Zhou Ming didn't display a superior attitude because someone liked him.

Instead, he called it as it was, sticking to the facts.

"The next question is the key."

"Since you feel it so clearly, does she still like you now?"

"Have you two been in contact since high school graduation?"

"This is very important for us to catch the person who murdered your girlfriend, Yan Lili."

"I hope you won't hide anything."

Upon hearing Chen Mo's serious words,

Zhou Ming's expression also became tense.

He wasn't a fool, nor was he an idiot.

In three sentences, he immediately understood what the officer meant.

Every sentence revolved closely around Xiao Nuan.

Clearly, the police currently suspected that Xiao Nuan was the one who killed Lili.

But!

How could that be possible?

Xiao Nuan was such a gentle person; she was someone who would probably be sad for a long time if she stepped on an ant.