The investigation quickly made a breakthrough. The police retrieved surveillance footage from key locations within the mall, and based on the height characteristics of the masked man, they quickly narrowed down the suspects to eight individuals.
One of the suspects caught Fang Rui's attention. This suspect had appeared in a group photo from Sun Xiaoning's company team-building event.
Fang Rui quickly discovered his identity. He was Chen Yuankun, a procurement officer in the procurement department of Jianhua Engineering Company, and the deceased Wang Yonghua was his direct supervisor.
Fang Rui brought Chen Yuankun to the interrogation room.
Chen Yuankun was dressed in a black suit, wearing black-rimmed glasses, a rigid young man, but he was quite handsome, somewhat resembling a popular celebrity.
He nervously clutched his trouser legs, "Comrade police, why did you suddenly call me in? Is it because of that traffic violation incident from a while ago? But that should be handled by the traffic police, right?"
Fang Rui scrutinized Chen Yuankun carefully. His hands and face showed no scratches. His skin was fair, but the man in the video had a wheat-colored complexion. His demeanor and posture also differed from the suspect in the video.
Fang Rui asked, "Mr. Chen, do you know Sun Xiaoning?"
Chen Yuankun squinted, trying to recall, and said, "Not really. She's in the administrative department, and our work interactions are minimal. Occasionally, I need data from their department, but I usually deal with her subordinate, Lin."
"How was the relationship between Wang Yonghua and Sun Xiaoning?"
"I'm not too sure about that."
"Did Sun Xiaoning often attend your department's team-building activities?"
"I don't remember."
"We've seen a photo of you with her."
"Oh, I remember now. She did come a few times." Chen Yuankun lowered his voice, "There were rumors in the office that our manager had an improper relationship with her. Manager Wang was quite promiscuous and often had unclear relationships with female colleagues in the company. I don't know if this gossip is true."
"Where were you between 8 PM and 11 PM on the night of June 23rd?"
"On the 23rd? I got home around 7 PM, made dinner, and after eating, I had a video conference from around 9 PM to 10:30 PM. There was an issue with the goods provided by a supplier. The model and size of one type of steel were different from what I ordered, and the quantity of another type of building material was also wrong. This matter was very urgent, so I had to work overtime with the supplier's salesperson to handle it."
Zhang looked at him, not seeing any signs of lying, and there was no reason to fabricate such an easily debunked lie. However, the surveillance footage clearly showed him shopping in the mall during that time.
"Are you sure you were at home during that time?" Fang Rui questioned.
"Yes, I remember very clearly. If you don't believe me, you can contact the supplier's salesperson; he can vouch for me." Chen Yuankun raised his voice, trying hard to defend himself.
"But the mall's surveillance footage shows that you were shopping in the mall that night." Fang Rui stared at him, "The surveillance camera captured it clearly; the man looks very much like you."
Chen Yuankun was shocked, "Impossible! I was at home then, how could I be in the mall? And I haven't been to the mall in a long time."
Seeing him still denying it, Fang Rui had Zhang play the surveillance video for him.
Chen Yuankun's face grew paler as he watched, muttering, "No, it's not possible. That's not me."
"But his face is exactly like yours."
Chen Yuankun stared closely at the screen and then exclaimed happily, "Comrade police, look, his hair is so rough and dyed; mine hasn't been dyed. This person isn't me; he just looks a bit like me."
Zhang compared the person in the surveillance video with Chen Yuankun. They looked almost identical, but the person in the video had slightly darker and yellower skin, yellow hair, and a rowdy demeanor, quite unlike Chen Yuankun.
Fang Rui asked, "Mr. Chen, do you have a twin brother?"
Chen Yuankun replied very confidently, "No, my parents only had me. I've never heard of having any other brothers."
Fang Rui said, "We found DNA samples at the scene that are suspected to belong to the murderer. Please cooperate with us for a DNA test."
"Okay."
After letting Chen Yuankun leave, Fang Rui called the salesperson from the building material supplier.
"Yes, I started a video conference with Manager Chen around 8 PM on the 23rd and it lasted until after 10 PM. We were checking the contracts because Manager Chen said there was a problem with the goods we provided and wanted to claim compensation.
I even went back to the factory to find the original documents and contracts. After checking, I found that it was their company's inspector who made a mistake. The inspector had checked the documents for the batch of goods arriving on the 24th, so the model and quantity were naturally mismatched. Manager Chen was very angry at the time, and after I explained, it didn't affect our subsequent cooperation with Jianhua."
Fang Rui asked, "Did you record the video conference?"
"No, this wasn't an official meeting, so we usually don't record it." the salesperson said.
"Given that it involved contract disputes, it should have been an important meeting. Don't you record it to keep evidence?" Fang Rui questioned.
"This... we... I was in a hurry, so I didn't record it." the salesperson stammered.
"Did you keep the video on throughout?"
"Of course. I have the start and end times of the video conference on my computer."
The salesperson was on a business trip out of town and had taken his computer with him. They would have to wait until he returned to investigate his computer.
After hanging up the phone, Zhang said, "Could it be that the salesperson and Chen Yuankun colluded? Chen Yuankun certainly couldn't have been at home having a video conference with the salesperson while also going to the mall to kill someone, right? He doesn't have the ability to be in two places at once."
The DNA test results wouldn't be available for a while, so Fang Rui and Zhang went to Jianhua Engineering Company for further investigation.
The procurement department of the company wasn't large, with over ten employees, mostly young people, and the majority were female.
Wang Yonghua was an old-timer at the company and also the boss's brother-in-law, so despite his poor reputation and mediocre work ability, he still controlled the most lucrative procurement department.
Although Chen Yuankun was just a procurement officer and had only been with the company for two years, due to his prestigious university background and strong work ability, he quickly became Wang Yonghua's right-hand man. Their relationship was also very good, and Wang Yonghua often took Chen Yuankun to important dinners and meetings.
Fang Rui and Zhang used Wang Yonghua's office as a temporary interrogation room and questioned each employee in the department one by one.
These employees, though young, were well-versed in office politics and spoke very diplomatically.
"What kind of person do you think Wang Yonghua is?"
"Our manager is diligent and responsible, kind-hearted, often mingling with employees, and is a very good leader."
"What is the relationship between him and Sun Xiaoning?"
"Colleague relationship and cross-departmental superior-subordinate relationship."
"How is the relationship between Chen Yuankun and Wang Yonghua?"
The employee paused, his eyes rolling around, then said, "Manager Wang values Yuankun a lot. Probably because he has the highest education and the strongest work ability." The tone was somewhat disdainful and sour.
After questioning several employees, they didn't find any useful clues.
Zhang looked around and found a female employee who seemed more outgoing and talkative, inviting her to Wang Yonghua's office.
The female employee was named Zhang Xiaoling. She came in and took the initiative to gossip, "Comrades in blue, has our Manager Wang gotten into trouble? Did the neighboring department's Sun supervisor also get into trouble? Are you suspecting Yuankun is the murderer?"
Fang Rui interrupted her, "We ask, you answer, don't speculate, okay?"
Zhang couldn't help but ask, "How do you know all this?"
"I've already gathered the questions you asked. And I have a strong ability to integrate information."
"……"
"Officer, Manager Wang and Supervisor Sun are having an extramarital affair. They hooked up about half a year ago. It was around that time when our manager asked me to order flowers for a Miss Sun. I immediately guessed it was for Sun Xiaoning. Later, I caught them kissing in the office, which confirmed my suspicions."
