"Mr. Huang? Is he your boss?"
"That's right, I've always been his mistress. We got together right after I started working. He actually arrived earlier, and only came down from his room after the incident."
"Did you see him and Xiang Yingzong go into the restroom together?"
"How could I have seen that? After being intimate with him, my attention was on the bar counter. The restroom is quite a distance from me, and there's a wall in between. I wasn't going to the restroom at the time!"
Observing Song Meiqin's micro-expressions, I could tell she was likely not lying. Of course, this could be verified with surveillance footage at any time. I didn't dwell on it and continued to ask, "Does Mr. Huang know about you and Xiang Yingzong?"
"Uh, that, he probably doesn't know, right?"
"Probably?"
"He doesn't know! Because I was very careful!"
"But Mr. Huang was at the bar then, how can you be so sure?"
"He was sleeping upstairs, he couldn't possibly know!"
Song Meiqin said with certainty. I thought this woman probably had many men around her, and such people's private lives were quite chaotic. Having one or two more like this wasn't unusual. However, if this was a murder driven by emotion, it seemed different from the previous victims.
I didn't ask any further. It wasn't until He Xin found some information that I realized Xiang Yingzong no longer had parents. However, besides his relationship with Song Meiqin, he actually had another girlfriend, and they lived together near Huawei Apartments.
As soon as he had the accident, we notified this girl named Tai Qiaotong. The moment the girl arrived, she cried even harder than Song Meiqin. After a period of questioning, she took us back to the apartment.
In the apartment, Liu Yuning, Xiahou, and I conducted a thorough search of the place where Tai Qiaotong and Xiang Yingzong lived. Their rooms were very elegant, suggesting they were both people who knew how to live. Although not wealthy, they seemed to be quite happy.
In front of Tai Qiaotong, I mentioned the woman Song Meiqin. However, Tai Qiaotong seemed to have no knowledge of this person, indicating that she was still in the dark about Xiang Yingzong's infidelity.
I noticed Tai Qiaotong's complexion was a bit pale, as if she hadn't been feeling well recently. When I asked her what was wrong, she told us she had been sick lately, but didn't specify what illness.
Then I brought up Mr. Huang, but Tai Qiaotong also claimed to be unaware of this person. As for the bar, Tai Qiaotong surprisingly told me that Xiang Yingzong never went to places like that.
I was speechless. This girl was truly being fooled around.
At that moment, I didn't dare tell her the truth, thinking it would be useless even if I did, as she didn't seem to know the deceased very well. Then I changed my line of questioning: "How long have you and Xiang Yingzong been together?"
"Three years. We have a very good relationship, and Xiang Yingzong is a very good person. I just don't know why he would... Who did this? You police must seek justice for me!"
"We will certainly do so. Therefore, Ms. Tai, you must tell us everything you know. For example, when was the last time you saw Xiang Yingzong?"
"It was on the morning of the incident. He told me he was scheduled to work overtime today and then left!"
I thought Xiang Yingzong had lied to Tai Qiaotong again at that time. He wasn't going to overtime, but to fool around.
I realized that concealing the truth was no longer useful. In the end, I explained the real situation to Tai Qiaotong. At this, she directly collapsed onto the floor, crying out in shock and despair: "How can this be? I've aborted several children for him in the past two years, and he treated me like this?"
"Aborted children?" Liu Yuning asked curiously.
Tai Qiaotong then sobbed and said, "Yes, this time we... In any case, the doctor said I can't have any more abortions, or I won't be able to have children in the future."
"So you recently had a child?" I stared at her sternly.
"No, no! Didn't you see? My complexion is very pale!"
At that moment, Liu Yuning looked at me with confusion, not understanding why I was asking. But she said nothing. At this moment, I kicked something under the sofa and picked it up: "Don't you recognize this?"
"Ah!" Tai Qiaotong's face changed drastically upon seeing the pregnancy test stick.
"Fortunately, I discovered this accidentally just now. This pregnancy test stick was probably left behind by you carelessly. Double lines, you're pregnant again. This time, you probably didn't abort the child, because I also found this!" At some point, I had picked up a baby bottle, its nipple clearly used.
I had found the baby bottle earlier while searching the room but hadn't mentioned it. Realizing the situation couldn't be concealed any longer, Tai Qiaotong sat weakly on the sofa: "We, we..."
A few minutes later, we had rushed out of Tai Qiaotong's house and driven to a nearby construction site. It was said to be abandoned for a long time. Tai Qiaotong led us to a patch of cement and, kneeling on the ground, cried and said, "It's here!"
Liu Yuning and I took out the prepared shovels and began to dig. At first, there was no sound. After a few shovels, we heard crying. I never expected the child was still alive!
We immediately picked up the baby. It was an infant about four months old. The baby's face was already turning blue, likely due to lack of oxygen.
I didn't have the heart to deal with this heartless woman at the moment. I immediately called an ambulance. They actually abandoned the child here because they didn't want to take care of it. Now I seemed to understand why the killer had done what they did. Besides being unfilial, abandoning one's own child was also deeply infuriating.
However, I knew the killer likely intended to harm Tai Qiaotong as well, as she was involved in this matter. I asked Xiahou to come and protect her. Although she was annoying, she was still a human life, just like the other surviving women. Other police officers were also watching her.
Perhaps because of this, the killer had no opportunity to kill them for the time being.
He sought out other male targets and continued his crimes.
Upon arriving at the hospital, the infant was immediately rushed to the emergency room.
Tai Qiaotong wept incessantly with regret. I knew she had a desire for repentance, and now that she had clearly understood Xiang Yingzong's true nature, she had no lingering attachment. Her only solace now was her child. Without him, the woman would truly have nothing left...