Chapter 575: He Came Looking for Her!

Sometimes I look back and think.

Chen Xiao feels that his teenage years were actually quite blank.

Especially during his middle school period.

There aren’t many people he can remember.

Except for Teacher Wang Dahe and his son, he can only recall a few others faintly.

Although he didn’t go through the phase of teenage camaraderie.

He has heard that it’s in such relationships where complex emotions often arise easily.

Because at that time everyone was young, and because emotions were just budding.

If you don’t believe it, randomly interview someone on the street and ask them who they remember most nostalgically, most of their answers would be from that period.

Chen Xiao looked at Kang Mao.

Kang Mao lowered his head, ignoring the attention from Sun Ning and Qian Zhu.

However, Chen Xiao could see clearly.

Sun Ning was interested in Kang Mao, but Kang Mao was devoted to Zhu Nianying.

Qian Zhu was interested in Li Hao, who couldn’t make it, but Li Hao seemed to have feelings for Zhu Nianying too.

Two days ago, Chen Xiao decided to come to West Origin to explore a new investigation path.

And now it seems, he has indeed discovered some unusual information.

The entanglement among these five people runs deep!

Even after graduating school for years, the emotional ties between them haven’t diminished much.

After allowing their emotions to ferment for a while, Chen Xiao finally spoke again:

"On the night of June 17, 2000, or that day in general, did any of you receive a call from her?"

They all shook their heads almost simultaneously.

"No, back in 2000, most of us hadn’t started working. And even if we had, it wasn’t likely we could afford a handy mobile phone."

Chen Xiao nodded in realization, and then asked: "Before that, when did you receive her last letter?"

Kang Mao couldn’t help but look towards Qian Zhu and Sun Ning: "She stayed in touch with you both more frequently, the last letter I received from her was two months before her incident."

"Pretty much the same, after receiving that letter, I immediately wrote back, but never heard from her again," Sun Ning said.

Qian Zhu also nodded in agreement.

Chen Xiao asked: "Do you still have that last letter?"

Qian Zhu shook his head: "I lost it during a move."

After saying this, Qian Zhu looked at Sun Ning.

Sun Ning nodded: "She sent it to me, it’s still here, and..."

Saying this, Sun Ning took the letter out of his bag.

"Knowing there was a detective investigating her case, I dug out the letter last night after receiving the call and put it in my bag."

Chen Xiao took the letter.

Girls do tend to be meticulous with keeping things.

The letter was well-preserved, although the handwriting was a bit faint, it could still be clearly deciphered.

Chen Xiao opened the letter and read.

The contents were about a girl expressing the challenges of life.

Of course, it also contained warm wishes for her friends.

Simple and clean content.

Chen Xiao closed the letter and handed it back to Sun Ning.

The latter asked: "Any differences noticed in the letter?"

"Did you bring only this letter?"

"I have more."

Sun Ning immediately took out more letters from his bag.

Having clearly memorized the contents of the previous letter, Chen Xiao was quite pleased when Sun Ning handed over the others.

At least he had something for comparison.

To find out if there’s a change in the writer’s inner feelings, comparisons needed to be made meticulously.

Chen Xiao opened letters one by one, thoroughly cleared the table in front of him, and laid them out to review.

The group didn’t dare to disturb him.

Old Gui stood quietly at the back, seemingly memorizing everyone’s expressions intentionally or unintentionally.

Yet, he felt a decision needed to be made and did so quietly in his heart.

This decision wasn’t instructed by Chen Xiao.

It was something he frequently did when working with Guo Qing, a practice he finds rather unethical.

His arms slightly embraced, as if holding them before himself.

But his fingertips stealthily pressed a certain object.

Chen Xiao was oblivious to all this, still engrossed in reading the letters.

Finished reading them, Chen Xiao frowned deeply.

Kang Mao couldn’t resist asking: "Advisor Chen, any discoveries?"

Chen Xiao shook his head: "Sorry, I want to step out to make a call, please wait here."

He had already cross-referenced the letter contents multiple times, but no matter how he compared, from tone, writing, to content, he couldn’t detect any clues.

This discovery filled Chen Xiao with the urge to call Huang Zhao.

Once Chen Xiao decides, he immediately acts.

Opportunities often don’t wait.

Feelings are the same.

Chen Xiao stepped out of the cafeteria and called Huang Zhao from the corridor.

Before making the call, Chen Xiao had already composed his words internally.

The main reason for the call was one.

Whether Zhu Nianying ever told Huang Zhao about having four cherished friends.

Moreover, these four friends sometimes cause her trouble!

After all, their relationship was overly intricate, and judging from Zhu Nianying’s age.

Even if she remained resilient and sensible, as long as she considered Kang Mao and the others as her life’s dearest friends.

She would definitely perceive what kind of feelings Kang Mao and Li Hao had for her.

And what feelings Sun Ning and Qian Zhu shared with Kang Mao and Li Hao.

The call connected.

Huang Zhao was quick to answer, with a voice full of anticipation:

"Mr. Xiaochen, did you call because of a major discovery?"

Huang Zhao’s anxiety was something Chen Xiao deeply understood.

This was a knot in Huang Zhao’s heart.

Perhaps, Huang Zhao always believed deep down that he was intricately linked to Zhu Nianying’s disappearance.

That night, if he hadn’t asked her to go to the clinic, would everything have stayed the same?

Because of these feelings, Chen Xiao’s every call made the seasoned herbalist lose his composure.

Chen Xiao chuckled: "Elder Huang, please give me a moment."

"Ah, apologies Mr. Xiaochen. It’s just that I know a bit about her family from my visit, so I always felt either you wouldn’t call, or when you do, you’ve discovered something substantial."

"Indeed, I’m calling to ask if Zhu Nianying mentioned her friends before her incident?"

"Friends?"

"Yes, the friends she met during school."

"Let me think... Friends, seemed like she did mention! Including herself, three girls and two boys, right?"

Huang Zhao remembered, confirming Zhu Nianying indeed referred to them before him!

"So, what did Zhu Nianying say about them?"

"It’s a bit vague, just recalled that she talked about them quite conflictedly every time. Oh, and a boy came to Shencheng City to see her!"

At this, Chen Xiao’s eyes quickly narrowed: "Who!"

"Seemed last name Kang, yes... Kang, named Kang Mao!"