Chapter 559: Enthusiasm Means a Request!

When Chen Xiao asked Qin Fei whether his family had rented out any houses to others.

Qin Fei almost instantly slapped his forehead.

"Right, the rental! It’s about the tenant!"

"I remember years ago a young girl rented a house from my family, and... she was studying Chinese medicine!"

When Qin Fei’s memories merged together.

This coincidence made Chen Xiao speechless once again.

But since Zhu Nianying was a tenant of Qin Fei’s family, Huang Zhao filed a report, so Qin Fei should have still been a police officer back then, right?

Did he remember it?

Thinking of this, Chen Xiao asked:

"Captain Qin, regarding that tenant of yours, do you remember if anyone reported her case?"

"Of course I remember, my dad told me about it. But I wasn’t working here at the time, I was in another police station, and I was just a junior officer then."

Chen Xiao realized: "I see."

Qin Fei nodded slightly and then said, "Is this missing persons case important to you? If you have time, why don’t I take you to meet my parents?"

It was clear that Qin Fei genuinely wanted to help Chen Xiao.

Chen Xiao certainly wouldn’t refuse such a kind offer.

"Sure, thank you, Captain Qin."

"It’s no trouble, as long as you’re investigating a case, it concerns me. Even if the case isn’t urgent for me right now, clearing piled-up case files is still serious business for me."

Chen Xiao didn’t say any more polite words, following Qin Fei as they left together.

After Chen Xiao left, Duoduo, who had been hiding in the distance, returned to its bowl.

However, at this moment, Chen Xiao wasn’t in the mood to care about it.

Straight to the Qin family’s house, he met Qin Fei’s parents.

Qin Fei wasn’t very old, barely thirty.

At this age, becoming the captain of the criminal police team in one of Shencheng City’s divisions, his future seemed bright.

After Qin Fei introduced Chen Xiao, Father Qin enthusiastically shook Chen Xiao’s hand:

"So you’re the famous detective Chen Xiao that Xiaofei often talks about! So young!"

"Hello, Uncle Qin, hello, Auntie."

"Good, good, you’re also good, please have a seat." Father Qin warmly invited Chen Xiao to sit on the sofa.

Mother Qin quickly brought a cup of iced tea.

"The weather is still somewhat stuffy, Detective Xiaochen, have some iced tea."

"Thank you, Auntie."

Mother Qin smiled, shook her head, and walked away.

Qin Fei then spoke about the matter at hand:

"Dad, do you remember that female tenant who was reported missing before?"

Regarding Zhu Nianying, Father Qin’s impression was even deeper.

He almost didn’t need to recall, immediately remembering:

"Xiaozhu! Of course, I remember!"

Chen Xiao promptly picked up the topic:

"Uncle Qin, at that time, when the police came to investigate, do you remember what questions they asked?"

"I remember some, they seemed to ask whether she was acting normally before she disappeared, and if any strangers had interacted with her during that period."

"At that time, I was living on the ground floor because there were too many rooms in the house unused, so we rented them all out. She lived on the third floor, studying Chinese medicine. Qin Fei’s grandparents were still alive then, so I often asked her to help check on their health."

"If nothing had happened, she would surely have become an excellent and kind-hearted doctor."

Years later, mentioning a former tenant again, Father Qin still sighed deeply.

Even though these sighs seemed to have little help for the case, Chen Xiao patiently listened.

After Father Qin finished sighing and drank the iced tea, Chen Xiao continued to ask:

"In your memory, she probably showed no abnormalities back then, right?"

"No, nothing unusual. The morning she went to work, she greeted me with a smile, nothing like someone with a problem. That evening she came back from work, she had dinner at our place."

"She wasn’t a big eater, at most one and a half bowls. If a person had something on their mind, you can see it in their eating habits. That night, she ate like usual, and my wife even made her favorite dish, she almost rolled up her sleeves to eat it."

Thinking only from these words.

Zhu Nianying likely didn’t know what would happen that evening.

But as a detective, Chen Xiao’s thoughts can’t just limit to dinner.

"Then did Uncle Qin know what Zhu Nianying typically liked to do after coming home, and whether she acted the same as usual that night?"

Father Qin was stunned for a moment, then shook his head: "They were renters; even with good relations, we wouldn’t disturb a young lady."

After Father Qin finished speaking, Mother Qin came over and said:

"That night was the same, when a tenant’s light bulb was broken, I happened to have one so I took it over. Passing by Xiaozhu’s room, she was inside reading medical books."

"Didn’t she close her door at night?"

"It’s not that she didn’t close the door, it was that the room had been stuffy all day with a strong odor. The living conditions back then were much worse than now, and admittedly, to earn more rent, we’d divide one room into two."

"Because of that, the ventilation and sunlight were terrible. Since Xiaozhu was a doctor, she required some ventilation. But she couldn’t open the windows because of the mosquito problem, so she’d close the door before going to sleep."

Chen Xiao nodded: "I see, do you remember if the books she was reading were the same as before?"

"How would I know? I only know during the times I saw her, she was taking notes, working very hard!"

Hearing this, Chen Xiao still didn’t learn anything valuable.

But at this stage, not hearing valuable information is also normal.

Chen Xiao’s luck was quite good; not only did he quickly find Zhu Nianying’s landlord, but he also confirmed Zhu Nianying’s landlord was Qin Fei’s parents.

The latter then proactively asked: "Mr. Chen, how about joining me at my team to check the case files?"

Chen Xiao thought for a moment, Zhu Nianying’s missing case was one he needed to investigate.

No matter which issue with Dragon Cauldron went first, they all needed handling. So without much hesitation, Chen Xiao agreed.

After saying goodbye to Father and Mother Qin, Chen Xiao followed Qin Fei once again to the criminal police team.

Regarding Chen Xiao’s matters, Qin Fei was quite enthusiastic.

But this enthusiasm could be understood.

Qin Fei becoming the police team captain was partly thanks to Chen Xiao who helped elevate him.

He was the one who brought Xie Wensheng to meet Huang Zhao.

If Xie Wensheng hadn’t left, Qin Fei’s chances wouldn’t be high within a few years.

Moreover, Qin Fei was able to remove the temporary title of deputy captain thanks to Chen Xiao solving the Yang Lake Phantom case during his tenure.

Such a significant case being solved, as the police team leader, would naturally yield rewards from the success.

Of course, Chen Xiao could also see Qin Fei came to him with enthusiasm probably because he had something to ask!