Chapter 629: Portrait Comparison Under the Power of Sculpting and Painting

"What did you say her name was?"

Chen Xiao thought he might have misheard, so he asked Xiaoji once more.

"Xiao He."

"Xiao as in desolate? He as in lotus?"

"No, it’s He as in grain."

The shock on Chen Xiao’s face dissipated quite a bit at that moment.

At this point, Xiaoji also asked, "Bro, who is this Xiao He you’re talking about?"

"A very mysterious woman. The first time I heard about her was during the Zuo Shu murder case, back when I sent you and Black Cat to Shencheng City to investigate the Qi Family."

"I see. But was Xiao He involved in the Zuo Shu case? Why can’t we find her?"

"This woman seems to have left the country. Of course, I’ve also suspected that she might have changed her name."

Upon hearing Chen Xiao say this, Xiaoji immediately said:

"Then Black Cat and I will stay another day, and tomorrow we’ll mainly look into the matter concerning Xiao He."

Chen Xiao hesitated slightly, but Xiaoji seemed to have guessed his thoughts and just hung up the phone.

Listening to the beep of the phone, Chen Xiao smiled wryly, feeling that he ought to trust his brother more.

Without thinking about anything else, Chen Xiao began mulling over the Xiao He that Xiaoji mentioned.

Undoubtedly, the name had already caught Chen Xiao’s full attention.

It wasn’t just the sound of the name that was similar.

More importantly, the age also matched.

According to Qi Wei’s father, Qi Kai, Xiao He appeared in their lives when Qi Wei had a miscarriage.

If you calculate the time, it was already nearly twenty years ago.

Qi Kai had investigated further, only to find out that besides Xiao He being originally from Haojiang and her being in her thirties then.

However, President Zhuang’s widow Xiao He is currently in her forties or fifties.

At this point, Chen Xiao found this Xiao He very suspicious.

Thus, after a brief thought, Chen Xiao took out his phone and dialed Qi Wei’s number.

"Hello, Mr. Chen, are you looking to understand the current situation in Li Hai?" Qi Wei answered the call, unsure of Chen Xiao’s intentions.

Chen Xiao replied, "No, your father is still at the city bureau cooperating with the investigation. So, I wanted to ask you about that Xiao He from back then; did you ever talk to your father about her in detail?"

"I did, but why?"

"Don’t be anxious. First, let me ask you, do you know about Hai City’s Zhuang Group? The former chairman, Zhuang Hongxin, passed away a couple of years ago."

Chen Xiao inquired, and Qi Wei hesitated, "I think I’ve heard of the person, but I can’t remember where."

"So, you’re not familiar with them?"

"Yes," Qi Wei responded, then curiously asked, "Why are you suddenly asking me about this person?"

"His widow’s name is Xiao He."

"What?!"

Qi Wei’s tone was suddenly filled with astonishment on the other end of the call.

"The He in her name is He as in grain."

"So, you’re suspecting she might be the one who swindled me out of three million over ten years ago?" Qi Wei’s tone was somewhat icy.

To a prominent family like the Qi Family, three million wasn’t a significantly large amount.

Even back in the ’90s, it was the same.

But being swindled out of three million and spending three million are worlds apart.

"I’m not sure, but when I heard this name, I was quite shocked, although you don’t seem to be familiar with Zhuang Hongxin or his family."

Chen Xiao said this, and Qi Wei replied, "Thanks, Mr. Chen, for always remembering these things of mine. I’ll arrange for someone to investigate. If there’s any news that might interest you, I’ll inform you immediately."

"No need to act rashly; my people are already investigating. I called you not just because of your matters. I also need to confirm some things through her now."

Qi Wei was also a smart person.

She knew very well that Chen Xiao was investigating Zhu Nianying’s disappearance case, so she suspected this might be related to the case.

However, regarding the case, Qi Wei had little understanding nor interest in it.

After a pause, just as Qi Wei was about to find a topic to discuss, Chen Xiao proactively asked:

"Li Hai is becoming unsettled. Does President Qi have the confidence to root out the mole lurking within it?"

"Of course. As soon as he makes a move, I’ll detect it immediately. So, I’m not worried about him making a move, just worried if he does nothing at all."

"It shouldn’t come to that. But if he moves, it means he’s confident of winning. President Qi should thoroughly reconsider if there are still any loopholes in Li Hai’s power structure."

"Hmm, I will pay attention."

Listening to Qi Wei, Chen Xiao smiled and didn’t say much more.

He had more pressing matters to attend to, with little thought left for Li Hai.

After hanging up, Chen Xiao glanced at the house with its lights already out, sent a message to Qin Fei, and then drove back to his place.

Once in the study, Chen Xiao immediately spread out a sketching paper, opened his computer, and clicked on the email Qin Fei had sent him.

The email contained only one photo, and no matter how Chen Xiao looked at it, he felt it was the photo of Huang Zhao’s late wife, Li Muhong.

Regardless of whether it was a memorial photo, for Chen Xiao, he needed to use this photo to depict the appearance of Li Muhong in her youth.

For Chen Xiao, accomplishing this task through the Power of Sculpting and Painting was challenging but doable.

Chen Xiao observed while sketching.

If someone familiar with Chen Xiao’s art was present, they’d surely notice he was drawing very slowly this time.

Time silently slipped away as Chen Xiao sketched.

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Xiao finally completed the upper half of Li Muhong’s face.

After finishing, Chen Xiao paused briefly, then picked up the photo for comparison.

After the comparison, Chen Xiao’s gaze tightened.

From his perspective, there were some resemblances.

But only a few, and he couldn’t confirm if they were exactly the same.

Thinking about this, Chen Xiao also called Old Gui in.

The latter brought Chen Xiao a cup of tea and started comparing as well.

"Jeez, how do you see this? One’s a granny, and one’s in her prime. President Chen... maybe you should just finish it?"

Chen Xiao was speechless but could only suppress his impatience.

Picking up the brush again, Chen Xiao’s speed increased.

The facial structures of both were now etched in his mind.

He no longer needed to observe and then draw slowly.

Watching Chen Xiao’s brush move faster and faster, Old Gui was amazed.

Finally, Chen Xiao completed the full facial depiction.

Comparing the portrait with the photo on the computer again, before Chen Xiao could speak, Old Gui exclaimed:

"Whoa! President Chen, did you intentionally draw it like this, or do you really have expertise in this area!"

Squinting, Chen Xiao glanced at Old Gui, then replied somewhat out of context:

"Seems like it’s time to arrange a paternity test for Huang Zhao and Huang Hao!"