Madness of the Heart

"The police and the head teacher both called me and said Xiang Haoming..." Lai Cheng paused, his eyelids drooping, and his expression gloomy, "Said Xiang Haoming was killed. Let me cooperate with the investigation."

The Lai’s villa has three floors. The garden in front of the house faces the river. The wind blows from the river. Although it is too cold in winter, it is really pleasant in summer.

The villa was bought by Lai Cheng's father, but Lai Cheng usually lives alone. Ming Shu took a look on the first floor. There were game consoles and handles on the carpet in the living room, as well as a few boxes of game discs, and two English exercise books spread out on the coffee table. As the residence of a sophomore boy in high school, it is fairly tidy here.

"Xiang Haoming added your WeChat account, and you transferred him eleven times." Ming Shu said, "Your relationship is good?"

Lai Cheng had an obvious neck-up movement, "He sits diagonally in front of me, and is also a physics class representative. Sometimes I will ask him questions."

Ming Shu was slightly surprised, "You transferred to Xiang Haoming, wasn't it because he bought food and drinks for you?"

Lai Cheng was surprised and shook his head: "I never asked him to buy something for me."

"The money is..."

"Explanation fee."

Xiao Yuan turned around by the floor-to-ceiling windows, "Xiang Haoming charged you for lecturing? How long did it last?"

Judging from Lai Cheng’s look, he seemed to think that this was a normal thing, "It has been like this since the first year of high school. He has good physics and mathematics, but he is not good at chemistry and biology, and the liberal arts are more general. We asked him to talk about mathematics and physics. , He will collect a dozen yuan symbolically, at most dozens, right? I don't remember clearly."

"Does your teacher know about this?" Xiao Yuan asked.

Lai Cheng said: "The teacher should know that he is lecturing us and praise him for helping others."

"Wait a minute." Ming Shu interrupted, "You call Xiang Haoming's collection of more than a dozen yuan and dozens of dollars a'symbolic'?"

Lai Cheng didn't seem to understand, and he froze for a few seconds before saying, "Isn't it symbolic? The money is enough to drink a cup of flavored milk tea, you can't even buy milk tea boiled with milk."

Xiao Yuan patted Ming Shu on the shoulder.

Ming Shu immediately realized that Lai Cheng is a child of a rich family, and those students who asked Xiang Haoming to speak may have a family background similar to Lai Cheng. For them, dozens of dollars can be rounded up to a negligible small amount of money. Going to foreign language training schools and asking tutors can cost tens of thousands of thousands, so the money Xiang Haoming received is "symbolic".

"The teacher doesn't know, what about the classmate?" Xiao Yuan asked again: "Your seat is close to Xiang Haoming, so he will give you a topic. Is it an open secret among the students? Only the students near your seat know?"

"The whole class knows." Lai Cheng replied very positively this time. "But, there are actually very few people who ask him to talk about the topic. I think, besides me, there should be only Ye Huan, Zhou Jingjing, Yang Jiao, Cheng Xiaojiang, Xu Zhao...I don't know who else is there."

In Ming Shu's mind, the five people mentioned by Lai Cheng happened to be among the eight people who had contact with Xiang Haoming. In addition, there were Li Hua and Luo Yi.

"There are about 60 students in your class. Since Xiang Haoming can talk about topics, the charges are only ‘symbolic’.” Xiao Yu’an said: “Then why are only a few of you asking him to talk about topics?”

An obvious mockery flashed in Lai Cheng’s eyes, "Our class is not a good class. You will know that our class is basically poor students. Xiang Haoming was admitted, but his grades could not enter the experimental class. So we are assigned to our class. There are a few good students like him in every poor student class."

Ming Shu said, "Do you call your class the'Sorry Class'?"

"There's nothing hard to admit, right?" Lai Cheng said, "The difference is bad, but there are also some who want to improve, such as me and Xu Zhao. But we are a minority after all, and more people only know how to play a day. I will definitely not ask Xiang Haoming."

Ming Shu gradually described Xiang Haoming's appearance at school, and then asked: "Xiang Haoming has no friends in the class?"

"How do you know?" Lai Cheng rubbed his nose. "Indeed, he doesn't look at us very much. Good students are like this. He should really want to go to the experimental class, but he can't pass the exam. Minute."

Xiao Yuan said, "In addition to those of you who are looking for Xiang Haoming to speak, who else often comes into contact with Xiang Haoming?"

Lai Cheng thought for a while, "Nothing."

Xiao Yuan said: "He is a ‘transparent person’ in the class?"

"You can say so." Lai Cheng said: "But the results are not'transparent'. He is the best in our class."

"You just said that each class will be assigned several top students like Xiang Haoming." Ming Shu asked, "Who are the other people?"

"Wen Chaolong, Qi Xiaozhou, Xiao Manman." Lai Cheng shrugged, "We only have four in our class. There are too few, and the average grade can't be improved at all."

Xiao Yuan walked to the coffee table, picked up the exercise book on it and looked at it, "Are you going to go abroad?"

Lai Cheng said: "Of course, I'm not going to study. I can't get into a good university in China."

"But you are more diligent than many of your classmates."

"They are rubbish, I'm a little better than them."

When Lai Cheng was talking with Xiao Yuan, Ming Shu kept staring at Lai Cheng.

For a moment, Lai Cheng might have noticed his gaze, turned his face, and asked innocently: "Do you think Xiang Haoming's death has something to do with me?"

Ming Shu raised his eyebrows, "Why do you think so?"

"Otherwise, why did you come to me?" Lai Cheng said, "I'm not stupid. Now that there are so many bullying on campus, you see me transfer money to him, so you regard me as a key investigation target. But I am not, I will give His money is the explanation fee. If you don’t believe me, you can ask other people. In fact, I know that he is gone, and I feel very uncomfortable. The other three good students in our class are not willing to talk to us at all. No one will give me questions in the next semester. Up."

Ming Shu frowned slightly.

The following passage of Lai Cheng made him feel a chill.

The classmates who lived together day and night were killed, and Lai Cheng's discomfort was only because there was no one to speak in the next semester.

Xiao Yuan said: "Since you took the initiative to mention campus bullying, let me ask you one more question. Has Xiang Haoming offended anyone in a foreign country? Or, as far as you know, is there anyone who doesn't like him?"

Lai Cheng said: "I can only guarantee that he has not offended me. In fact, he did not offend anyone. Only the offended person knows. Sometimes you scold someone in person, and you don’t necessarily offend the other person. Sometimes you don’t. Having been in contact with someone, he can't understand you inexplicably."

Ming Shu said, "You have some ideas."

Leaving Lai's house, Xiao Yuan asked, "How do you think about Lai Cheng?"

"It's not like lying, but a kid who can hardly empathize with others' suffering." Ming Shu said: "He gave me another idea-Xiang Haoming is the best student in the class. This may It has attracted jealousy for Xiang Haoming. But what is more contradictory is that the murderer’s modus operandi is extremely cruel, reflecting the murderer’s anti-social personality. If it is only because of jealousy that kills, it is highly unlikely that this can be done."

Ming Shu paused, "However, it does not rule out that the jealous person himself has an anti-social personality."

Xiao Yuan said: "Xiang Haoming collects money for lectures in the class. Lai Cheng thinks it is acceptable. Other students who pay may have similar ideas to Lai Cheng, but it is not ruled out that others are unfamiliar and look down upon."

A violent river wind blows, Ming Shu shivered from the cold, and stood still and sneezed several times.

Xiao Yuan took off the scarf from his neck and prepared to tie it on him.

"You wear it yourself." Ming Shu raised his hand to block it.

Xiao Yuan ignored his refusal and directly wrapped a scarf with body temperature around his neck.

The furry touch is against the chin, and the temperature of the side next to the skin is just right, and there is a very light smell of leather. Mingshu took a breath unconsciously, "The leader is the leader, and he doesn't ask for the consent of his subordinates when he does things."

Xiao Yuan glanced at him, "What kind of leader is he without privileges? Does this subordinate have an opinion?"

Ming Shu was bored in the scarf and said, "This subordinate dare not have any opinions."

Leaving from the community, it is bound to pass through the property management center. The owner and the property management have not finished the skin, and because the reporters came, the momentum became more and more fierce.

"It is essentially a contradiction between the owners on both sides. Property management chooses to stand on the side of the owners in the southern district. Now it has become a contradiction between the property management and the owners in the northern district." Ming Shu listened for a while and clarified the reasons for the dispute, and said: "The owners of the Southern District did not show up at all."

Xiao Yuan sat in the driver's seat, "Because the property management has reached an agreement with the owners of the southern district, the property management has become the'spokesperson' of the owners of the southern district."

"Public opinion will definitely highlight the opposition between the rich and the poor." Ming Shu leaned on the co-pilot and rubbed his temples. "In this situation, it is obvious that the property management has not handled it properly, and the developers are also responsible."

Xiao Yuan clicked on the navigation, "Next to Cheng Xiaojiang's house."

The red confetti and the remaining firecrackers in the pit of Fanglong Alley were collected. Xiao Man and other tracers analyzed them in batches, and finally found that some of them were not purchased by residents of Fanglong Alley.

Xiao Man rushed to the office of the Crime Squad, preparing to catch the individual and go to the market to investigate with him, just in time to see Fang Yuanhang carrying a box of lunch upstairs.

"Don't eat." Xiao Man knocked the file in his hand on Fang Yuanhang's head with a "pop", "Come out with me."

When Fang Yuanhang heard that he was going to check the source of the firecrackers, he quickly put down his lunch, took his coat and left.

Everyone was in a hurry to solve the case. Before getting on the bus, Xiao Man was very kind to him. He went to the convenience store on the road to buy a few breads and a few boxes of milk.

Fang Yuanhang spit out while gnawing on the bread: "I went out to work with Xiao Ming, and Xiao Ming bought me hot egg-filled biscuits."

Xiao Man was not angry, "I only have bread here. I love to eat but not to eat."

Fang Yuanhang tore open the plastic paper on the outside of the straw and deliberately said: "Milk is still icy."

Xiao Man choked: "Xiao Ming is your mother?"

Fang Yuanhang said: "You can drink milk, but you can't talk nonsense."

Xiao Man drove fast, squeezing into the traffic, "Xiao Ming is so good, why didn't you go out with him today? Are you not his proud disciple? Why, did he take in new disciples? Who brought him today?"

Fang Yuanhang's eyelids twitched, "It is not an apprentice I brought with you today."

"Who is that?" Xiao Man said, "Yi Fei is still conducting investigations in Fanglong Alley."

"What I brought today is..." Fang Yuanhang coughed, "Xiao Ju."

Xiao Man took a long voyage and said with a smile: "No wonder I didn't take you."

Fang Yuanhangsheng was afraid that Xiao Man had understood his master’s secrets, and rebuked: "Drive your car well, you can't understand it when you look ahead!"

Although cities have strict regulations on the production of fireworks and firecrackers, it is not easy to find producers and sellers based on the red confetti left by the explosion.

Xiao Man and Fang Yuanhang traveled to several sales points in the urban-rural fringe of Dongcheng District, and finally a 50-year-old proprietress said: "We have this kind of firecrackers in our house."

Fang Yuanhang said, "Thank you for showing it to me."

The lady boss simply moved out a box from the warehouse, "Look, see, this year is about to pass, and firecrackers can't be sold at a good price. If you want it, I will give you a 50% discount!"

Fang Yuanhang noticed the manufacturer on the box, "Zhuyun Township, Fuyue County?"

Zhuyun Township is far away from the main city of Dongye City, while several other major firecracker producers are located near the main city.

"Yes, Zhuyun Township." The proprietress showed a smug look. "This is relatively remote, and the transportation is not very convenient. The cost of shipping is high. So few sellers go to them to buy goods. They usually sell. Go to the next province. But the price offered by this store is cheap. I have calculated it. Even if the freight is high, if it is just a trip, the total is still cheaper than getting the goods from other manufacturers."

Fang Yuanhang asked: "Only your family buys goods in Zhuyun Township?"

"Hmm..." The lady boss thought for a while, "There should be others who have calculated the total cost, but it is certainly not much. At least our sales point is the only one that sells this kind of firecrackers."

Xiao Man eagerly said: "Before New Year's Eve, will anyone come to buy this kind of firecrackers in bulk?"

The lady boss was taken aback by Xiao Man’s look, and asked in doubt: "Who are you? What are you doing?"

Fang Yuanhang took out his credentials and said, "The police investigate the case."

The lady boss became nervous, "I...I am not causing something, am I?"

Fang Yuanhang shook his head, "It has nothing to do with you. Thank you for informing us where this type of firecrackers are produced. Could you please recall carefully if anyone buys this type of firecrackers in large quantities."

Maybe it was because I was afraid of dealing with the police, maybe because I didn't want to cause trouble, a cold sweat soon appeared on the lady's forehead, "It's big, everyone buys a lot. How can I remember this."

Fang Yuanhang asked: "Do you have a daily turnover record?"

The lady boss said: "Yes."

Fang Yuanhang said sternly: "Let me see!"

"Each order is relatively average. The highest order appeared on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month, but it was lower than my estimate." Taking the record copied from the proprietress back to the car, Xiao Man frowned and said: "If The murderer did not buy in batches, so it shouldn't be this one."

"It's okay, at least it's already eye-catching." Fang Yuanhang set fire, "The murderer lacks knowledge of the remote towns and villages around Dongye City."

"Huh?" Xiao Man turned his face, "how do you know?"

"If the murderer knows enough, he, they would definitely not buy this kind of firecrackers." Fang Yuanhang said calmly: "Zhuyun Township is remote and the transportation cost is high. Except for the patience of calculating the total price like the lady boss just now, no Some sellers will go to Zhuyun Township to purchase goods, which leads to very few firecrackers from Zhuyun Township on the market, which is conducive to police investigations. The murderer ignored this and even didn’t even know where Zhuyun Township was. I think this is a lack of life. Common sense, or lack of knowledge of the bottom society. From their psychological analysis, they neither personally go to Zhuyun Township to buy goods, nor do they buy in batches. They did not realize that there was a problem here. Let’s go again. Go to a few other sales points to see, there is a high probability that there will be gains."

Xiao Man "tsk", "Finally a little Xiaoming's demeanor."

It took Ming Shu and Xiao Yuan a day to find five students who had financial relationships with Xiang Haoming—the other three were on vacation with their parents and are currently not in Dongye City. The information they received was consistent with Lai Cheng, but compared to Lai Cheng's indifference, the other four showed sad and unbelievable emotions. Yang Jiao cried and said that she knew that Xiang Haoming’s family conditions were not good. In fact, she didn’t particularly like to study, so she didn’t know how to do many questions. She asked Xiang Haoming to ask questions, and the main purpose was to transfer money to Xiang Haoming. Let Xiang Haoming's life a little easier.

"I can't think of anyone who would harm him. Except for his good grades, he really has no sense of presence in the class." Yang Jiao said: "Even Yuan Ai and the others don't bother to pay attention to him."

Ming Shu asked, "Who is Yuan Ai?"

"Yes, it's the boss of our class."

The team led by Yi Fei had completed their visits to Fanglong Alley and the surrounding area. On the way back to the Criminal Investigation Bureau, they received a call from Ming Shu and immediately turned off to a club in Nancheng District.

According to Zhou Yuan's positioning news, Yuan Ai is there now, and it seems that he will not leave in a short time.

When Yi Fei opened a private room door, Ming Shu parked his car at Lantian New Street, Dongcheng District.

Although this street is called "Xin Street", it is quite old, not comparable to the environment along the Chunchao River, and even worse than Fanglong Alley.

Wen Chaolong, whom Lai Cheng mentioned, lives in it.

"Brother, be careful." There are dense buildings, potholes where pedestrians can cross, and few street lights are on. Ming Shu is walking in front. Although he knows that Xiao Yuan can't fall down because he can't see the road, he reminds him.

The two stopped in front of the building marked "Building 12" and heard a curse before they went upstairs.

It is still during the Spring Festival. There is a saying in society that "you are not angry during the New Year and the holidays", but the owner of the curse is obviously frustrated. Ming Shu vaguely hears "Why are you so unbelievable" and "You can't enter the experimental class during the monthly exam at the beginning of school. Just go to death, my old lady is too lazy to support you."

Under the dim light, a teenager rushed downstairs, breathing very fast, still wearing a winter school uniform.

Xiao Yuan shouted: "Wen Chaolong."

The boy stopped and turned around.

Ming Shu saw his red eyes and the sharp slap marks on his face.

At night, the sales of fireworks and firecrackers in Xicheng District are extremely hot. Seeing that the new year is about to end, vendors are selling them at discounts.

Fang Yuanhang roared in the noise: "Please show me the delivery note before New Year's Eve!"

This is already the 43rd stall where he and Xiao Man ran. The boss, like the previous proprietress, made careful calculations and bought the goods from Zhuyun Township. He said impatiently: "Then you wait."

The one who took out the list was the boss’s son, who was in his twenties, and he was a fool, "Do you need me to explain it to you?"

Xiao Man took it.

A few minutes later, Fang Yuanhang pushed Xiao Man abruptly, "Look at this, the twenty-seventh twelfth lunar month, 12 boxes!"