The disappearance of Yang Chunhe was sudden.

Yesterday afternoon was supposed to be the regular discussion activity of the astronomy club. Each member would submit a report based on their stargazing experience from the past week, and everyone would sit together to share their insights on the report content.

The activity was temporarily cancelled, and everyone went their separate ways until yesterday when Minister Feng and the Fifth Young Master Wu went to look for Yang Chunhe after Ling Shu and Yue Dingtang left.

They discovered that she had not returned home at all.

The Yang family was of average means, belonging to the category of "not quite enough" but "more than enough compared to others". Children from such families either stopped studying after finishing middle school or went to free teacher training schools. They generally wouldn't choose expensive women's universities.

However, Yang Chunhe was diligent and hardworking, with excellent grades. She caught the attention of her teachers during the entrance exam and was admitted out of turn, exempt from tuition fees. She only had to pay for her living expenses and books, which allowed her to become a member of the school.

According to Yang Chunhe's parents, she was usually well-behaved and rarely went out except for school and home. She especially loved reading books and sometimes borrowed many books from the school library, disappearing into her room for half a day.

This was the first time she didn't come home after school, which was unprecedented.

Yang Chunhe's disappearance was so coincidental that it happened just as they were about to question her. It was hard to believe that it had nothing to do with Feng Zhenzhu.

But now that she was gone, there was nowhere to find her for questioning. Minister Feng had no choice but to have the police take Yang Chunhe's parents in for questioning and investigation.

That night, the Feng family received another eerie phone call.

This call was different from the previous ones.

Feng Liang, who answered the phone, swore that he really heard his sister's voice. He said that on the other end of the line, Feng Zhenzhu was crying and screaming for help.

Her voice was sometimes distant and sometimes close, as if she was in some desolate wilderness. The sound of the wind made it all the more chilling. When Feng Liang answered the phone, his hand almost slipped and he threw the receiver away.

Eldest Young Master Feng was a step too slow and when he rushed out, he only saw Feng Liang's face turn pale and his teeth clenched. He thought his brother was possessed by a ghost.

"When I grabbed the phone, the other party had already hung up," he said to Ling Shu.

"It took my younger brother a long time to recover. He said the person calling for help must be Zhenzhu, but the problem is that we have no idea where she is. Shanghai's outskirts are vast and we can't possibly find her. And, I have the worst possible scenario in mind."

"And what is that?" Ling Shu asked.

Eldest Young Master Feng was silent for a moment. "My little sister may have already met with an accident. These phone calls are actually..."

Actually, it was the ghost of Feng Zhenzhu crying out for justice to her family.

Ling Shu understood the unspoken meaning behind his words without him having to say it out loud.

Ling Shu simply didn't believe in ghosts, but he couldn't explain to Eldest Young Master Feng what was going on.

After the phone call from the Feng family, Ling Shu couldn't sleep and lay in bed with his eyes open, pondering.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Come in."

He didn't even have to guess, he knew it was Yue Dingtang.

And indeed, it was Yue Dingtang who came in.

But what made Ling Shu sit up straight in bed was the bowl of small onion dumplings in his hand.

The dumplings had thin skin, and the meat filling was faintly visible in the soup, tempting and irresistible at the same time. They were plump and floated up and down, occasionally dancing with the green onions. Just looking at them was a heavy blow to anyone who couldn't sleep at night.

"Thank you for coming to deliver the midnight snack in person, how can I accept this kindness?"

Ling Shu was polite, but his body was honest, and his hands had already taken the dumplings.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to sleep," said Yue Dingtang.

He went out and brought back a bowl of dumplings.

In the past, he never ate in the room, which was a habit that Yue Dingtang couldn't stand.

But now--

It can only be said that a person's tolerance increases as the other person continues to push the limits.

Since he couldn't eliminate the other person and had to live with them for a long time, Yue Dingtang seemed to be unaware that his bottom line was slowly being breached.

"I want to go see Yang Chunhe's parents tomorrow."

After eating a dumpling, Ling Shu was satisfied and half-closed his eyes. The second half of the sentence was unrelated.

"The Yue family's chef is really good!"

"Do you think the case is related to her?" asked Yue Dingtang.

"What do you think?" replied Ling Shu.

Yue Dingtang said, "Even if it was Yang Chunhe, a weak woman like her, who likes the Fifth Young Master Wu and envies Feng Zhenzhu, wouldn't have the courage to commit murder. She comes from an average family and only attends university on a scholarship. If she can graduate, her future is limitless. Why ruin her prospects for an unrequited love?"

Ling Shu replied, "When people are emotional, they are prone to doing things that go against common sense and reason. If Yang Chunhe truly had a secret love for the Fifth Young Master Wu and was unable to obtain it, will she take a risk and commit murder?"

Yue Dingtang shook his head. "But what about her parents? Even if her tuition is fully waived, the cost of books and various fees each year is not a small amount. It must be a family that truly loves and cares for their daughter to be willing to pay for this. With such parents, even if Yang Chunhe had wanted to kill someone, she would think about the consequences."

"Even if she is not the killer, she must be involved with the killer, or perhaps she is one of the killer's targets."

At this point, Ling Shu naturally thought of someone.

"Fifth Young Master Wu?"

Both of these women are related to the Fifth Young Master Wu.

Suddenly, Yue Dingtang said, "Have you noticed that Minister Feng's attitude is also a bit strange?"

Ling Shu asked, "What do you mean?"

Yue Dingtang said, "At the time, when you were asking if they had offended anyone, Minister Feng did not reflect on his own interpersonal relationships first, but instead asked about the Fifth Young Master Wu."

Ling Shu nodded, "Yes, that's right."

Yue Dingtang asked, "Why is he so sure that there's a problem on the Fifth Young Master Wu's side, and not with himself?"

Perhaps he was innocent in his heart.

But a normal person, upon hearing Ling Shu's question, would definitely start by looking at the people around them.

Minister Feng's reaction was too quick, without any time for thought.

Ling Shu said, "A tiger doesn't eat its own cubs. Minister Feng, no matter what, wouldn't harm his own daughter, right?"

Yue Dingtang carefully chose his words, "Could it be that he doesn't want the Feng family to marry into the Wu family, but doesn't want to openly break ties? So he came up with this plan to temporarily hide his daughter, and when the storm passes, the Wu family won't want a daughter-in-law like her?"

Ling Shu applauded, "Old Yue, since you've been following me, your imagination has become richer and you can come up with stories effortlessly without even blinking your eyes!"

Yue Dingtang raised an eyebrow, wondering who was following whom exactly.

This was a serious question that deserved a thorough discussion between the two of them.

But Ling Shu soon had no time to ponder about the ghost phone call incident.

The next day, they left at noon and headed to the concession police station.

Yang Chunhe's parents were being held there.

The Yang family did not live in the concession, and the police station was overstepping its boundaries. However, this case was a continuation of the Chunshan Club case, and the police station had extended its reach. The police department also didn't want to offend the foreigners, so they turned a blind eye.

The Yang family used to run a small business and were relatively well-off, but they were just ordinary people without any connections. Once they were arrested, they could only leave their fate to chance.

The news of their daughter's disappearance and possible involvement in a murder hit them hard, and after just one night, they looked haggard and unrecognizable.

Although Ling Shu had never met them before, he could tell that they were not always in such a state.

"Hello, my surname is Ling, and you can call me Ling Shu. I was sent by Minister Feng to understand the progress of the case."

Ling Shu took the confession book handed to him by Shen Renjie and flipped through it.

Inside were the statements of the Yang couple. They knew nothing about their daughter's situation, only that she had excellent grades and was loved by her teachers. In this day and age, being able to attend university with a full scholarship was a great honor, and they were always proud of it. Their neighbors even saw Yang Chunhao as a role model for their own children's studies.

Suddenly, it was like a bolt from the blue, something that an ordinary person would find hard to accept.

"Mr. Ling, Chunhe is a very honest child. She couldn't possibly have committed murder! Please investigate this thoroughly!"

"Yes, please help us find our child! She must have been kidnapped by someone. We are law-abiding citizens, and Chunhe wouldn't even dare to kill a chicken!"

They were like frightened animals, pouring out their inner anxiety.

Ling Shu comforted them and asked a few more questions, all of which were ordinary questions that were already in the testimony.

Ling Shu said to Shen Renjie, "I don't have any more questions to ask."

Shen Renjie was speechless, thinking to himself, 'What kind of questions have you even asked? Where do they live, how many people are in their family, how does Yang Chunhe usually get along with them, and what did they do yesterday? Aren't these all written in the confession?'

He even suspected that Ling Shu didn't really want to investigate and was just going through the motions.

Ling Shu said, "I want to go to Yang family's house and take a look. We need them to show us the way. Apply to your superiors and let them go for now."

Shen Renjie widened his eyes and exclaimed, "Do you think the patrol station is run by my family?"

Ling Shu innocently replied, "Didn't I ask you to apply?"

Shen Renjie raised his voice, "Even if I apply, it won't work. These two are relatives of the suspects and could be accomplices!"

Ling Shu raised his chin at Yue Dingtang and said, "Old Yue, I'll leave it to you. I'm going to catch up with Lu Zude and the others."

With a wave of his hand, he left in a carefree manner.

Shen Renjie pulled Yue Dingtang into another room and explained with a bitter smile.

"Captain Yue, please don't make things difficult for me. Although I've been promoted a bit, I'm still a small fry. The missing person this time is Minister Feng's daughter. If we let the tiger go back to the mountain, no one can bear the consequences."

Yue Dingtang replied, "You saw their performance just now. These two are not accomplices. But if Yang Chunhe is really the culprit, and we release them, she may not be able to resist visiting her home. You can wait for her there. Besides, these two are old. If there is a mistake in prison, after all, they are two living people. I'm sure you wouldn't want to see that, right?"

Shen Renjie looked hesitant. "Um..."

Yue Dingtang said, "You are a capable investigator, that's why you got promoted. If you can achieve another great feat, like helping Minister Feng find his missing daughter, would you really want to stay here for the rest of your life?"

Shen Renjie gritted his teeth. "I'll try to apply for it, but if you, Captain Yue, are there, it will definitely be more efficient."

Yue Dingtang nodded. "I'll go with you."

Meanwhile, Ling Shu saw Lu Zude.

Lu Zude was still the same as last time, crazy and erratic, smiling foolishly at everyone.