Monster - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Some of Lin Sandie's Past

Because the facial recognition search and cross-referencing of other information would take time, Xing Meilu began to move, investigating and questioning people connected to Lin Sandie. Her first subject was Lin Sandie's college classmate, Chen Meili.

When Chen Meili heard the questions were about Lin Sandie, she was very cooperative.

She was the same age as Lin Sandie, a bit on the heavier side, with a round face dotted with a few pimples. Her skin was a few shades paler than average, and she had large eyes behind a pair of round glasses, giving her a gentle appearance.

Although she had agreed to cooperate with the police's inquiry, her body language still betrayed her unease and nervousness when she saw the unsmiling Xing Meilu and the towering Shen Fan.

The questioning took place in Chen Meili's rented apartment. Like most young people struggling in the big city, she had not yet bought her own home.

Xing Meilu and Shen Fan sat on the sofa. Chen Meili poured them each a glass of water and then stood to the side, somewhat constrained.

"Ms. Chen, please have a seat," Shen Fan said quickly, a disarming, good-natured grin on his face.

Only then did Chen Meili nod and obediently sit on the sofa opposite them.

"You work in design?" Xing Meilu asked, glancing around the rented apartment. The living room wasn't large, but it was decorated with a rather artistic flair. Her sharp eyes spotted some design-related books on a small bookshelf on the wall.

"Yes, I majored in industrial design in college, so I went into this line of work after graduating," Chen Meili replied.

"Did Lin Sandie also major in industrial design?" Xing Meilu asked, following up. Beside her, Shen Fan had already turned on his phone's voice recorder and was jotting down what he thought might be useful information in his notebook.

"No," Chen Meili immediately shook her head. "She studied financial economics. Because there were very few girls in my major, they couldn't fill a whole dorm when assigning rooms, so I ended up in a dorm with students from her major."

Chen Meili's explanation wasn't perfectly clear, suggesting she wasn't the sharp-tongued type, but Xing Meilu and Shen Fan understood what she meant.

"How many students were in a dorm room at your school?"

"Four. At the time, I was the only one majoring in industrial design. The other three were all in financial economics." Perhaps because Xing Meilu and Shen Fan didn't seem intimidating, Chen Meili gradually relaxed, and her speech became more fluid.

"Were you and Lin Sandie on good terms?"

"Lin Sandie is very caring and easy to get along with." As she said this, the corners of Chen Meili's mouth turned up slightly.

Xing Meilu nodded. It was clear that Chen Meili's fondness for Lin Sandie wasn't feigned. However, unsure if she knew Lin Sandie was gay, Xing Meilu didn't bring it up rashly and simply continued asking:

"Besides you, who else was Lin Sandie close to?"

Chen Meili thought for a moment, then shook her head. "She got along well with all her other classmates. She has a great personality. Although she wasn't very talkative at times, she would still joke around with us. But it seemed like her family's financial situation wasn't great; she often worked odd jobs during the holidays..."

"Do you think there was anything particularly special about her?"

"Um... her hobbies were a bit strange. She liked watching horror movies, ghost films, that sort of thing. Every time she watched them in the dorm, we'd complain and tell her to wear headphones. She was very good-natured about it and never let her hobby disturb anyone."

At this, the smile on Chen Meili's face widened, likely recalling some amusing memories.

"Anything else? Anything you found strange?"

"...Oh, yes. Have you ever been on a pirate ship, a roller coaster, or bungee jumping?"

"Nope," Shen Fan said immediately. He couldn't stand amusement park rides that gave his heart a violent jolt.

"When we used to go, on rides that looked really dangerous, with big ups and downs, most people would scream, their hearts would race, right?"

Xing Meilu and Shen Fan nodded.

"But when we went on those rides, while everyone else was screaming in terror, Lin Sandie would be laughing, so happily. She really loves playing those kinds of dangerous games." It seemed Lin Sandie's reaction had left a deep impression on Chen Meili, as she still remembered it clearly even after several years.

"Oh, right, I have some photos from college. Would you like to see them?"

"Yes, thank you."

Chen Meili got up and quickly returned with a small, palm-sized photo album with a light green cover. It had to be said, she was indeed a person with an artistic sensibility; the album was simple and elegant, full of design sense.

She flipped to a page with Lin Sandie on it. She was on a roller coaster. Everyone else had their eyes squeezed shut, screaming in panic. Only Lin Sandie had a clear, joyful smile on her face. Her eyes were curved into crescents and her mouth was wide open, revealing two adorable little canines and faint dimples, a world away from the reserved and serious woman Xing Meilu had seen before.

"When we went to haunted houses, Sandie was always the one walking in front. Sometimes she'd even turn around and scare the staff members dressed as ghosts."

"It sounds like she has a thrill-seeking side."

"I guess so," Chen Meili said, her gaze fixed on the coffee table before her, as if reminiscing. "We haven't been in touch for a long time."

"Why is that?"

"Different industries, I guess we gradually ran out of things to talk about. And I'm very busy with work, and it seems she is too." At this, Chen Meili looked a little sad. It was clear she wished she could have stayed in touch with Lin Sandie.

Xing Meilu nodded, then took a photograph from her bag. She placed it face-up on the coffee table in front of Chen Meili and asked:

"Do you know this person?"

Chen Meili picked up the photo. On it was a woman with exquisite makeup, whose looks were in no way inferior to those of any popular celebrity.

"Yan Ting? I see her online a lot," Chen Meili said immediately.

"Do you know if Lin Sandie knew her?"

A puzzled expression appeared on Chen Meili's face. She thought the two officers, one tall and one short, were joking with her. She knew Lin Sandie didn't come from a family that could associate with such a famous person—and neither did she, of course. But seeing their serious expressions, she immediately began to think hard.

However, after a long while, she still looked up in confusion. "I can't remember. Sandie knows Yan Ting?"

"During your college years, did Lin Sandie date anyone?" Shen Fan asked impatiently. He was now filled with all sorts of curiosity about Lin Sandie, Yan Ting, and the suspect named Lou.

"Let me think..."

"Or was anyone pursuing Lin Sandie?" Xing Meilu followed up.

"Of course people pursued Lin Sandie..." Hearing Xing Meilu's question, the floodgates of Chen Meili's memory opened. "The monitor of her class pursued her back then."

"Male or female?" Shen Fan asked, immediately earning a sharp glare from Xing Meilu.

"A man, of course. That guy was disgusting," Chen Meili said, a little angry. "He didn't even have the guts to pursue her properly. He just made all these creepy little advances, so Sandie couldn't even formally reject him. She just ignored him. Later, at the graduation party, their class went to a pub across from the school for dinner and drinks, planning to come back for a group photo afterward. Sandie had a bit too much to drink, and that bastard took the opportunity to forcibly kiss her!"

"What happened after?"

"Later, Sandie called me and asked me to help her back to the dorm. When I came out, that bastard was still trying to hug her. Luckily, their classmates were there, so he didn't get to take too much advantage of her. After I got her back to the dorm, Sandie told me what happened, that's when I found out she'd been forcibly kissed," Chen Meili said, grinding her teeth.

"What happened between them after that?"

"The next day, the class monitor came to apologize, saying he was drunk, but none of us wanted to talk to him. Sandie never spoke to him again after that. I think he just used being drunk as an excuse to take advantage of her."

"What was that class monitor's name?" Xing Meilu asked, signaling for Shen Fan to write it down.

"I think it was Huang Run, or maybe Huang Lang. I can't remember clearly."

After finishing her story, Chen Meili glanced at Yan Ting's photo on the table again. "Did Yan Ting used to run a red wine company?"

"Yes, she's currently the CEO of the Dudian Red Wine Company."

"Then I remember!" Chen Meili's eyes lit up. "I think it was during our sophomore year. Sandie was in the student union, and one time she was called to help out. Every year during graduation season, a lot of companies would come to our school for campus recruitment fairs. They needed people to move tables and chairs, hang banners, set up tents, and all that."

"Most universities have recruitment fairs like that," Xing Meilu nodded, encouraging Chen Meili to continue.

"Sandie went to help out. She said she met a really beautiful CEO at the fair, said the woman was a total winner in life, and that she even told Sandie she could try applying to her company after graduation. Anyway, Sandie was really envious of that female CEO at the time. I was curious, so I went to take a look too. It was this woman, Yan Ting."

Xing Meilu and Shen Fan exchanged a look. Lin Sandie and Yan Ting had indeed known each other for a long time.

But Chen Meili didn't notice their strange expressions, lost in her own memories. "I think Sandie started dating someone later on, but that's just my guess. She's actually a bit introverted. How should I put it... she doesn't trust others easily. Even with me, she said she wasn't seeing anyone. But she would often sneak out to make phone calls, and she'd be on her phone late into the night. She was always going out on weekends, and she often brought us snacks..."

As if just now realizing, Chen Meili's eyes widened. A woman's intuition told her that things weren't so simple.

"The person Lin Sandie was dating... was it Yan Ting?!"

"We don't know. We're investigating."

"It must be. Lin Sandie likes women," Chen Meili said, becoming more certain of her guess. "Because she never showed any interest in any guys. Although she'd chime in when we talked about male celebrities, she was always very cold toward men. On the other hand, the people she got along with best were all girls, and she was much nicer to girls than to guys..."

"Ms. Chen, I hope you won't share this speculation with anyone else. And please don't tell anyone that we came to see you today, including Lin Sandie," Xing Meilu reminded her sternly.

"Why? Is Sandie in some kind of trouble?" Chen Meili asked with concern.

"That's not something you can know for now. But please cooperate with our work, and don't make a special effort to contact Lin Sandie. Trust us, this is for your own good." Xing Meilu suspected that Yan Ting had some kind of hold over Lin Sandie. Although she didn't know to what extent, with so many people already dead, she couldn't remain indifferent to the people around Lin Sandie.

"Okay, okay... But, can you tell me, is Lin Sandie in danger?"

"She's fine. We won't let anything happen to her."

After Xing Meilu and Shen Fan left Chen Meili's apartment, Shen Fan tactfully made a call to headquarters, asking them to check on the current status of Lin Sandie's college class monitor.

By the time they were in the car heading back to headquarters, the results were in.

Huang Run. Four years ago, on his way home from work, he was mugged. After being robbed of all his valuables, he was stabbed to death on the spot.

Upon hearing this information, Xing Meilu's expression grew even colder.

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