Chapter 2, The Wings of Angels II

I have a question, if there is only this one corpse, Su Junzi interjected, his voice particularly deep and gentle, when speaking to others he would seriously fix his gaze on the other person's face, "Can we not assume that the other children are still alive?"

So far, there have been four missing children reported this month. An Yining lined up a series of photographs of the children, both boys and girls, all of whom are quite good-looking. The missing children are mostly around eight or nine years old, well-behaved in school, and come from uncomplicated family backgrounds. Their parents have simple social connections and do not belong to high-risk groups, which basically rules out the possibility of revenge killings. Furthermore, all the families are middle class, living comfortably, but not particularly wealthy. The kidnappers have not made a single phone call to the families, which does not seem to indicate a ransom demand type of situation.

The speaker is a young man sitting next to Su Junzi, with a pair of peach blossom eyes that sparkle with a captivating charm. When he looks at someone, it seems as if a layer of flowing light dances in his eyes, making him appear particularly focused, almost creating an illusion of deep affection—though it is merely an illusion. This is Sheng Yao, the most charming man in the entire bureau, whose "reputation" has spread far and wide, regarded by female police officers as akin to a drug; they wish to keep their distance yet cannot help but feel tempted.

"My family is over there, and my grandfather is an early immigrant from Britain." Jiang Hu lowered his head, took out a few photos from the folder, and placed them together. Shen Yexi noticed that the photos were all group pictures of a bunch of little children dressed in white during a choir performance.

Upon arriving at the Angel's Home Choir, Shen Yexi left Jiang Hu outside, allowing him to converse with a few children who had come for training in a sparse manner, while she herself went inside to find the choir's director

Teacher Mou, we have a few questions that require your cooperation

Uh... what? Jiang Hu suddenly raised his head, as if he hadn't reacted yet, his expression quite bewildered. After a moment of daze, he nodded and said, "Oh, right, I just received my degree and returned from the United States"

After he finally managed to escape from that Teacher Mu, who was as annoying as a faucet, he came out and happened to see Jiang Hu sitting on the ground, surrounded by a group of children—presumably of similar psychological ages—chattering away, seemingly sharing a common language, though it was unclear what they were discussing. Shen Yexi knocked on the side door and nodded to Jiang Hu: "Doctor Jiang, let's go"

Shen Yexi said calmly: "Do you perhaps have a score for the performers of the choir?"

"It has appeared several times in children's programs and is quite popular." Sheng Yao shot a flirtatious glance at Su Junzi, "You must be watching it with your little daughter, the model father of the five good virtues."

This person is quite good overall, with a decent attitude towards cooperation, but tends to talk a bit too much. They keep dragging Shen Yexi into a torrent of grievances, starting with the fact that the murderer is a despicable scoundrel, then lamenting that there are fewer and fewer people who truly understand art these days, moving on to the issue of children placing too much emphasis on exams rather than education, and finally returning to the point that the murderer is indeed a despicable scoundrel

Su Junzi coughed lightly and said: "In fact, given Dr. Jiang's appearance, he would be quite suitable for visiting the children's choir. My daughter, Xiaoran, also likes him quite a bit. Last Friday, he came over to play, and after spending some time with Dr. Jiang, she has been insisting on finding Uncle Jiang to play with these past two days"

At this moment, a short-haired woman in her thirties pushed the door open, her heels tapping rapidly against the floor, holding a stack of materials in her hand: "I have gathered all the materials regarding the several missing children... Oh, Ye Xi, what brings you back?"

Captain Shen worked hard for half a day before successfully retrieving his sleeve from Teacher Mou's clutches. He tried to maintain a gentle and refined expression, calmly feigning ignorance, and interrupted the other party's lengthy speech: "Oh, by the way, you see, we are still at work, and you would also like us to catch the murderer as soon as possible, right? So, please contact us as soon as you remember any details. Thank you, I will take my leave now"

"Human traffickers generally do not take lives. Even if they truly want to silence someone, it would simply involve killing the person, " said An Yining, as she produced another set of photographs, revealing a dark, disgusting sewer filled with various types of garbage, along with the head of a girl mixed among the refuse. "The head of the deceased was severed with a very sharp tool, and no other parts were found. Just think about it, how much effort would it take to kill such a large child? A moderately strong adult man could strangle her to death with one hand; why go to the trouble of specifically severing the child's head?" "The head of the deceased was severed with a very sharp tool, and no other parts were found. Just think about it, how much effort would it take to kill such a large child? A moderately strong adult man could strangle her to death with one hand; why go to the trouble of specifically severing the child's head?"

Is Dr. Jiang a recent graduate, and which university did he attend

Teacher Mou's eyes flashed quickly for a moment, then he shook his head vigorously: "No... no, I don't think there is any special connection, except that they all came here for training."

Jiang Hu turned his head to look at him. Perhaps due to the obstruction of the lenses, Shen Yexi could not discern the meaning behind the gaze of this childlike psychologist. He only saw Jiang Hu smile slightly and say, "Thank you"

"Is there any background information on the Angel's Home and the activity schedule around the time of the incident?" Shen Yexi asked

Indeed, oh you don't know that child, it's Zhang Jing. She just left my place. I told her it wasn't safe to wait for her father, but she wouldn't listen, she insisted on walking back by herself. So I called her father, and the parents said they were waiting at the intersection, stuck in traffic and couldn't come over, telling the child to walk over by herself. How much time and how long a distance is that? Just like that, the child is gone, gone!

The work of this day began in such a harmonious manner

Oh, emotions are quite the glutton. Shen Yexi is not particularly good at conversing with others either. At this point, she can't think of any other topics to discuss, so she can only smile perfunctorily. "In our country, not to mention anything else, just the comfort of eating something that is not half-cooked is far better than abroad. There are a few good restaurants here; I will introduce them to you another day. By the way, you just returned not long ago, right? If you have any difficulties or are not adapting well to life, please don't hesitate to let us know, and don't stand on ceremony."

Evacuate the accident scene swiftly

Shen Yexi coughed lightly and said, "Teacher Mou, please remain calm. We need your cooperation for our work"

No, I have just investigated these individuals, and there is no history of pedophilia or other mental disorders, and they all have relatively perfect alibis for several of the incident times said Yang Man, while An Yining looked up at her with an expression of admiration for her efficiency

Shen Yexi observed his expression and furrowed her brows: "Please think carefully again. This concerns several lives."

Then how about this, please write down the list of individuals you can think of who have had any contact with the choir, no matter how minor the interaction may be. I will leave you a phone number; feel free to call me if you remember anything.

"Not welcome, you are not well-liked," Yang Man joked, tapping him on the head with the materials. After a moment's thought, she tapped Jiang Hu on the side again, "In the blink of an eye, you wouldn't know where you ran off to."

"Study abroad background?" Shen Yexi couldn't help but glance at him again; this truly was the highest level of education in the office

The children of the choir are standing in rows in the photo, each truly resembling little angels, holding music scores, smiling, and with clear eyes. Jiang Hu pointed to the child in the middle of the second row and said: "The first two missing children were both standing in this position. The children in the choir just told me that the first missing child was the lead singer. Later, the teacher found a replacement for her, but not long after, that child also disappeared. Perhaps even the choir teacher realized that something was amiss and moved the lead singer to another position. As a result, the child standing here, although no longer the lead singer, still went missing." Jiang Hu pointed to the child in the middle of the second row and said: "The first two missing children were both standing in this position. The children in the choir just told me that the first missing child was the lead singer. Later, the teacher found a replacement for her, but not long after, that child also disappeared. Perhaps even the choir teacher realized that something was amiss and moved the lead singer to another position. As a result, the child standing here, although no longer the lead singer, still went missing."

"There is, let me catch my breath first." Yang Man, sitting at the adjacent table, casually picked up Sheng Yao's cup and took a sip of water

The person in charge is a middle-aged man with the surname Mou, wearing a pair of glasses. He has relatively long hair, giving him a somewhat artistic appearance. His voice is not loud; he speaks softly and tends to have a rather delicate tremor in his tone. He is particularly expressive, and whenever he talks about the children who are no longer with us, he becomes emotional. In his agitation, he takes out a handkerchief from his pocket, bows his head, and is overwhelmed with tears and snot.

"You said, what if I walk a little further to see her off? But I still have a bunch of kids waiting for someone to pick them up, I can't leave..." Teacher Mou sniffed hard again, "I regret it, I truly regret it!"

Teacher Mou forcefully blew his nose: "Of course we have to stop, just look at how many people are still here for training, it's all this bastard's fault. Catch him! I will definitely skin him alive!"

An Yining fell silent for a moment: "This possibility cannot be ruled out, but it is best not to hold out any hope—Zhang Jing, she is the deceased, the last of the four missing children."

Sheng Yao widened her peach blossom eyes: "Goodness, I must cherish this cup." A slap landed on that beautiful head.

Teacher Mou, please remain calm

He picked up his coat and walked out, while Jiang Hu hurriedly jogged to catch up, not forgetting to turn back and smile as he waved to a few people.

"There is really nothing to it. Please do not listen to the rumors outside; they are just the wild guesses of the children. Could I make a joke out of this?" Teacher Mou said with a look of distress.

Sheng Yao covered his face and said: "Beautiful lady, at least leave some room for us useless stinky men to survive"

I seem to have heard of it... Su Junzi pondered while resting his chin on his hand, "Has it appeared on television?"

This person was like a faucet, perfectly fine at first, but upon hearing that Shen Yexi was a police officer specifically investigating cases involving children, they immediately broke down in tears as if they had seen a long-lost relative. The sense of grievance and sadness was palpable, and they seemed ready to throw themselves into Shen Yexi's broad embrace seeking comfort. However, the remarkably agile Officer Shen managed to evade them, leaving the person to cling to the doorframe in a posture reminiscent of an ostrich, exclaiming: "Poor child, Officer, what kind of world is this? What kind of person is so heartless as to harm such lovely children?"

The leader always reserves the most challenging tasks for himself

Yang Man stroked her chin and said, "What a polite child this is"

These children live in different districts, their parents have no professional connections, and they attend different schools, yet they are all members of the same choir. Yang Man took out a piece of paper and tapped it with her pearlescent nails, saying, "This is it, the children's choir called 'Angel's Home'.

Shen Yexi thought that this young comrade, sitting there without speaking or moving, indeed gave people a slight illusion of being deep and reliable

Shen Yexi leaned against the door and waited for a few minutes, yawning. There was a clear sense of seeing him off for eighteen miles. On his first day back at work, he felt a deep sigh welling up within him.

He took out the photos he had just deliberately put together, hesitated for a moment, and then quietly said to Captain Shen Yexi: "Captain Shen, the children just told me a bit about the situation..."

"I met a friend during a road trip in Chicago, and we hit it off quite well. He introduced me here." Jiang Hu smiled, his Mandarin sounded quite standard, with a gentle tone and a slow pace, but his enunciation was particularly clear, as if he had learned it from television broadcasts. "I like Chinese food, so I came back."

Shen Yexi rolled her eyes without making a sound and cleared her throat to divert the increasingly off-topic conversation led by Yang Man: "Is there any connection between the children?"

Ah, no problem. Teacher Mou readily agreed, "Police officer, comrade police, you must definitely stand up for us and catch this bastard!"

Jiang Hu covered the place where she was hit, blinking her eyes, looking at her with a mix of grievance and embarrassment

Shen Yexi, Captain Shen, is the leader of the Special Investigation Team for major cases in the bureau, rumored to be Director Mo Cong's secret weapon. This man clearly does not take others seriously in his heart, yet he puts on a facade of warmth and calmness. Although he is troubled inside, he does not forget to feign politeness on the surface. He is indeed quite a unique person

Teacher Mou was taken aback: "Oh dear, who can say this well? We have all kinds of performances here, and this is recorded in the studio. Who knows who will be able to see it?"

Sheng Yao chuckled softly, stood up unsteadily, and threw a flirtatious glance at Yang Man: "Let's go, beautiful lady, let's have a date at the sewer entrance."

Shen Yexi occasionally glanced at the burdensome gentleman beside him in the rearview mirror, mentioning that he was a psychologist. On the surface, one could hardly tell. During the time he was injured and hospitalized, he had undergone numerous evaluations by various psychologists, each differing in age and gender. However, they all possessed a pair of unsettling eyes, as if they could see right through a person. Every word they spoke carried an air of probing, and even casual conversations could be labeled with a term known as "unstructured diagnosis". Each psychologist, regardless of their age or gender, shared that same disconcerting gaze, as if they could see right through a person. Every word they uttered was laced with an investigative tone, and even a few casual remarks could be assigned a name, referred to as "unstructured diagnosis".

The crowd laughed as Sheng Yao continued to be violently suppressed by Yang Man

Rest assured, we will definitely apprehend the suspect as soon as possible and find the children

We have noticed that a few days before the children went missing, there were choir performances. Could you please pause them for now

Shen Yexi was taken aback for a moment, then straightened up and asked, "What is it?"

Specifically targeting children of the same age and type, without ransom... This sounds like pedophilia or human trafficking.

How did you think of returning to work in your home country? The benefits here are probably not as good as those over there

Su Junzi smiled gently with a good temper

That is within the scope of our responsibilities

Two seconds later, Yang Man was defeated. She clutched her chest and sighed deeply: "Little cutie, you are truly exceptional as a psychologist, every cell is exuding healing little hearts."

However, Jiang Hu sat quietly to one side, not initiating any conversation with him, silently observing the materials in hand. Her slightly curled bangs brushed over her neatly shaped eyebrows, and the black-framed glasses obscured half of her face, revealing only her sharp chin. She remained silent, did not ask questions, nor offered any comments

Sitting quietly beside her, Shen Yexi smiled and said, "What's wrong, Sister Yang? Aren't you welcoming me?"

He sat crookedly on the chair, his long fingers propping up his chin, creating a pleasing sight.

"There are past, present, and future ones." Yang Man took out a few schedules and handed them over, "Shen Tou, I think we should contact the person in charge of this choir, because every time a child goes missing, they have just participated in a choir performance."

Do you suspect the leader of the choir

Having freed himself from this group of little rascals, Jiang Hu sat in the car, adjusting his disheveled coat and shirt. He has one-eighth British ancestry, and in his gestures, there is indeed a hint of the old foggy gentleman's demeanor. His shirt is buttoned meticulously, his attire is appropriate, and his speech is neither too warm nor too cold

He paused for a moment, raised his head, with the back of his hand facing himself, and lightly adjusted his glasses with his index finger: "They all say this position is cursed"

Jiang Hu turned his head to look out the window, the cold buildings and wide streets receding behind him, the city awakening, and evil slowly crawling to the surface

"Comrade Police..." Teacher Mu grasped Shen Yexi's sleeve—"You just blew your nose, didn't you?"—with her watery, blinking eyes, managing to give the psychologically resilient Shen Yexi goosebumps.

"I will cooperate, I will cooperate with all my strength..." Teacher Miao cried so hard that he was hiccuping, a burly man like him, his shoulders shaking. Shen Yexi felt her heart also trembling. "Just tell me how to cooperate, as long as we can catch this bastard. Look outside, the children are too scared to come now, we can't go on living like this."

"A gentleman finds peace in tranquility, and with a little effort, let us visit the families of the victims. Sheng Yaoyang, you and Zhang Jing should go to the crime scene of the body. Also, please contact the forensic expert in charge of this case. I will go..." Shen Yexi paused, his gaze sweeping over Jiang Hu, who was looking at him with raised eyes, his brow slightly twitching. "Dr. Jiang, I would appreciate it if you could accompany me to visit the choir of the Angel's Home."

Jiang Hu received the farewell from the group of children surrounding him. Despite only a short time together, the group of kids were quite reluctant to part with him, tugging at his sleeves, holding his hands, and clinging to his waist, all in a playful manner. A little girl beside him, with her lips pursed as if she could hang an oil bottle, insisted that he promise to come back and play next time

"Is there any special connection between the missing children?" Shen Yexi asked