"May I ask, uncle, what is your full name?"

Chen Xiao started asking.

The man did not hesitate, immediately replying with a smile:

"Ran Hua, the ’Ran’ as in ’rising slowly.’"

"Ah, it’s Uncle Ran, a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, no need to be so formal, come inside quickly."

Chen Xiao followed him into the house.

After sitting down, it was Qiao Zhong and Ran Hua who kept chatting.

As for what they talked about, it was a bit of a headache for Qiao Zhong.

To him, the topic itself wasn’t a good one, but to find something to discuss, he could only talk about the car crash years ago.

Ironically, Ran Hua either had a slight deficiency in emotional intelligence or had his own little thoughts.

He kept expressing gratitude for President Qiao’s help back then, saying that without him, his family wouldn’t have been able to build a new house again.

Chen Xiao sat beside him and could see Qiao Zhong constantly suppressing his anger in his eyes.

Soon, Chen Xiao’s gaze again fell on the children’s clothes.

At Madman Zhang’s house, Chen Xiao had also seen quite a few children’s clothes.

However, a lot of those clothes looked old and worn out, whereas most of the clothes in Ran Hua’s house were new.

"Young man, do you have children at home?" Ran Hua noticed Chen Xiao’s gaze and asked.

Chen Xiao shook his head, which puzzled Ran Hua: "Then why do I see you staring at the children’s clothes? I thought you had kids at home and liked those clothes."

"I have plans, so I think about how my future children will look in beautiful and cute clothes."

"Haha, that’s only human nature! But the clothes we produce in these small workshops aren’t worth much."

"As long as the clothes are comfortable to wear, they’re fine; more expensive clothes aren’t necessarily better—sometimes they just take consumers for a ride."

Ran Hua gave a thumbs up: "I agree with that. Ever since I got into the clothing industry, the thing I hate most is those branded clothes. They utterly deceive consumers."

Chen Xiao smiled but didn’t continue the topic.

Seeing this, Qiao Zhong continued chatting with Ran Hua.

The conversation wasn’t very meaningful.

Qiao Zhong occasionally shot a pleading glance, but Chen Xiao acted as if he hadn’t noticed. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

He wandered around Ran Hua’s house on his own.

"Ahem."

Qiao Zhong deliberately coughed.

Chen Xiao turned around, stopped concealing his identity, and asked with a smile:

"Uncle Ran, mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Of course, go ahead, young man."

"Do you know Zhang Cheng?"

"Zhang Cheng? Who’s that?"

"The Madman Zhang from Yingshan Village in Yumen Town."

"Oh, of course, he knows him. Yumen Town is right next to the county seat. We live nearby, and Madman Zhang is a famous person." Ran Hua nodded repeatedly.

Chen Xiao chuckled and then asked, "Do you know Jiao Guoxuan?"

"Hmm... this name sounds familiar."

Qiao Zhong said bluntly: "The current boss of Shenghuang Textile."

"I don’t know him, but the name sounds familiar."

Chen Xiao explained: "He’s the father of the girl who was sent to the hospital after the crash that hit your house back then."

"I remember now, I was wondering where I’d heard it!"

"She’s dead."

Chen Xiao said flatly, and Ran Hua first froze, then reacted: "What? Who died? The girl? Or her father!"

"Both of them are dead."

Ran Hua’s eyes widened directly.

Chen Xiao watched his expression change.

Whether it was those eyes or the facial expressions, Chen Xiao kept a close eye.

However, judging by his facial expressions and eyes, Chen Xiao saw no problem.

And the heart-picking case in the entire Yangguan County was actually still under control, so the case hadn’t been publicized.

Seeing that Ran Hua’s reaction was largely fine, Chen Xiao said: "Mr. Ran, I’m from the police department, and their deaths haven’t been made public yet. I hope you can keep this secret."

"Oh... okay, I’ll definitely keep it secret! But, how did they... how did they die?" Ran Hua asked, looking shocked.

Chen Xiao just smiled slightly and then winked at Qiao Zhong.

Qiao Zhong didn’t want to keep pretending, so seeing Chen Xiao signaling to leave, he swiftly departed.

Leaving Ran Hua’s house, Chen Xiao and Qiao Zhong both returned to the car.

The latter asked confusedly: "Mr. Chen, do you trust Ran Hua that much? What if he reveals the case, causing a bad impact?"

"I did that on purpose."

"What?"

Qiao Zhong looked puzzled, but Chen Xiao didn’t intend to explain.

In fact, he planned to use Ran Hua’s words to spread this case out.

Some cases, when they happen, keeping them under control can naturally prevent the spread of panic.

But as for the heart-picking case investigation to this point, both Chen Xiao and Lin Xi shared a consistent perspective.

That the motive behind the killer’s actions might not be anything significant, but this case and Jiang Anguang’s act of murder over a dog were completely different.

Jiang Anguang killed out of sheer hatred.

This case’s motive could very likely be something minor.

Moreover, the site displayed clear characteristics of the killer.

Such as clean methods, arranging the corpse post-murder in unique scenes, or frankly, a form of murder art.

These characteristics all lead Chen Xiao to think rather than hide the case, it would be better to make it public and see.

If made public, would the killer become agitated as a result?

Once he gets agitated, the chances of slipping up increase.

As for whether he would commit more crimes, it actually has nothing to do with making the case public or not.

Based on the methods observed, Chen Xiao actually thinks Han Zai’s judgment of the killer is completely accurate on one point.

The reason Han Zai agreed to arrest Qiao Zhiyuan, besides what he said, and his vendetta against Jiao Guoxuan, was more important because he has a criminal record!

The term "criminal record" for Qiao Zhiyuan isn’t simply about attempted murder; the larger reason is that he’s been in a detention center.

Those places are full of criminals.

Some people act obediently under supervision, earning rewards to reduce sentences.

But once turned around, who can guarantee there are no ulterior motives?

Chen Xiao had Lin Xi focus some attention on Xiong Nan for the same reason.

Because of one point, Chen Xiao, Han Zai, and Lin Xi didn’t need to spell it out.

That is, who dares say that someone who makes such a unique case is a novice?

Especially someone who can render the crime scene so clean, with the corpse arranged in such an eerie manner—a truly new psychopath couldn’t do it so perfectly.

These things Chen Xiao, Lin Xi, and Han Zai don’t need to verbalize; they can recognize with just one glance.

At this moment, Chen Xiao didn’t need to say much to Qiao Zhong either.

Late in the day, Chen Xiao went to the criminal investigation team.

Chen Xiao found the task force; Lin Xi hadn’t gone out, and she had long concluded her questioning of Xiong Nan.

Now she was seated in front of the blackboard in the office, continuously jotting down things with a marker.

Chen Xiao walked closer to look; on the board was a timeline Lin Xi had laid out based on the current case details!

At the start of that timeline, Lin Xi placed one event at the forefront.

"The death of Zhang Tongtong!"