Chapter 586: What If It Doesn’t Exist?

After Chen Xiao sent Zhu Nianhong back home.

It was time to say goodbye to Zhu the Third.

Zhu the Third was not happy.

It wasn’t because Chen Xiao had docked his wages at the last minute.

On the contrary, Zhu the Third’s subsequent actions made Chen Xiao, who initially considered docking his wages, change his mind.

Besides paying the usual wages, Chen Xiao gave an extra three hundred yuan.

It wasn’t because he was flush with money; it was because Zhu the Third had helped with matters outside his duties.

For example, persuading Zhu Nianhong.

This wasn’t part of his job.

At the farewell, Zhu the Third looked at Chen Xiao with reluctance.

"Boss, you are a good person. Even though I don’t know if you can find any clue about Yingzi, I hope you won’t have to return here again."

"If you absolutely have to come, you should still find me, not someone else!"

Old Gui didn’t have a good impression of Zhu the Third.

After all, what kind of decent person leads others to a graveyard on their first meeting?

"Keep finding you, so you can make a fortune?"

"Although I indeed made some money, I’m not saying this because of money! I’m impressed with the boss’s ability and character! So if you think I’m just here for the money, then I’ll give it back to you!"

"Returning the money—didn’t you work hard for nothing these two days?"

"It’s fine; a man shouldn’t constantly worry over a small amount of money, right? Boss, take your money back. If you want to give me, Zhu the Third, some face, just treat it as if I’ve bought you a meal!"

Old Gui was dumbfounded by Zhu the Third’s words.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course, I am serious! Although I don’t know what a consultant is, I suspect you’re not regular cops. And by your way of doing things, clearly, you’re not people strapped for cash."

"So neither of you is on official business nor are you here for money, which means you must be here out of camaraderie. So, treating you two to a meal is the least I should do!"

"Everyone in Zhu He Village has the surname Zhu. By generation, Yingzi is my younger sister, so as her older brother, it’s my duty to care for her!"

As for what kind of person Zhu the Third truly is, Chen Xiao wasn’t eager to pass judgment.

But Chen Xiao didn’t intend to shirk the hardship payment due to Zhu the Third, so after thinking for a bit, he said:

"If that’s the case, then use that extra three hundred to treat us to a meal; after eating... it might be hard for us to meet again in this lifetime."

Zhu the Third momentarily looked wistful: "Okay, I’ll drive you a bit longer, and after the meal, we’ll part ways!"

In this way, at Zhu the Third’s insistence, the three of them returned to the county.

Chen Xiao and Old Gui randomly picked a restaurant and ordered some local specialties.

After filling their stomachs, the three parted ways.

Chen Xiao and Old Gui continued driving to the city, where they returned the rented car, then made their way to the Provincial City by train.

It wasn’t until they were on the flight back to Shencheng City that Chen Xiao finally settled down, starting to seriously contemplate the case of Zhu Nianying.

However, while Chen Xiao was pondering, Old Gui, who had napped, suddenly perked up.

"President Chen, you’re still sorting out the business with Zhu Nianying?" Old Gui rubbed his face, glancing at the paper on the table in front of Chen Xiao.

On the paper, Chen Xiao had drawn a picture.

The woman in the drawing—Old Gui could recognize—was likely Zhu Nianying.

That’s why Old Gui posed the question.

Chen Xiao put down his pen and posed a question to Old Gui:

"What do you think Zhu Nianying’s mental state was the night she disappeared?"

"That depends on why she left her place. You told me she left because her teacher called her to see a patient with a tricky condition, but now I believe the real reason she left wasn’t the patient."

Chen Xiao smiled noncommittally: "Why?"

"Simple, after you’ve investigated this much, regardless of the reason, the element of randomness in what you’re saying is unlikely."

Chen Xiao nodded.

Old Gui indeed overthinks, so he habitually approaches things with logic.

The possibility that Zhu Nianying was randomly targeted by criminals was almost non-existent.

Because, there’s still a sum of money associated with Zhu Nianying that couldn’t be found!

That money was very likely the cause of Zhu Nianying’s disappearance!

"Then, among the reasons I’ve told you, which one do you think is most likely?" Chen Xiao asked again.

Old Gui furrowed his brows in deep thought, then said: "Thinking it over, I feel there’s an issue with the money, considering she could spend several hundreds of thousands on her younger brother in that year, which indicates she must have had access to much more money."

"And you’ve checked her transactions—she never used her own bank account when transferring money to her younger brother."

At this point, Old Gui paused: "Wait, President Chen, then why haven’t you checked her brother’s account transactions? To see who was sending him money and analyze the other party’s account to determine the money’s source?"

Chen Xiao nodded with a smile: "Yes."

"So, how are we getting back to Shencheng?"

"We’ll get the results by the time we land. Someone will send the transaction information to my email," Chen Xiao explained.

Old Gui suddenly understood and laughed: "I thought so. If even I can figure it out, there’s no reason why you can’t."

"Your thinking is good too, but what matters now is that whether it’s you or me, or anyone aware of the situation, the consensus should be that the money is crucial, right?"

"Yes, isn’t it important?"

"Suppose the transaction information determines it’s unrelated to her disappearance; what should we do then?"

Chen Xiao’s question left Old Gui gaping.

But as he was about to speak, he hesitated, his brow furrowing once more.

"What is it? Feel like saying something but just can’t find the words?"

Old Gui nodded repeatedly: "Yes, my instinct tells me that even if it’s unrelated, there’ll still be a lot to do. But when I try to verbalize it, I realize I have no idea what to actually do!"

"So we need to plan ahead and never place all our hopes on one imminent outcome!"

Old Gui finally understood.

Though it seemed that sorting out these thoughts was nearly his mental limit.

So after contemplating, Old Gui said with a headache: "Then, President Chen, have you thought of what to do next?"

"I’m considering this: that everything we’re about to do seems dominated by that sum of money. If the money has a direct link to Zhu Nianying’s disappearance, it means we were on the right track."

"But if the money only feels related to the disappearance but isn’t the underlying cause of the case, then how should we determine the truth about this money?"

Old Gui: "President Chen, I don’t quite understand."

"Simply put, how do we determine whether the money truly exists or doesn’t exist at all?"

Old Gui widened his eyes in surprise: "Doesn’t exist at all? That’s impossible; the facts strongly suggest there was definitely money!"

Once again, Chen Xiao smiled noncommittally: "Is that so? I’m not so sure."