Chapter 220

According to the medical equipment supplier who hosted that dinner, he had known Chen Junyang for years; that night, Chen happened to be in Zizhen on business, so he invited him to catch up—and coincidentally, he ran into one of his major clients, Zhang Zhiyuan of Junhe Hospital.

That night, Zhang Zhiyuan had no prior plans, so he thought of drinking with someone—and of course, he wouldn’t pay himself. He called the supplier, who, as a major client, couldn’t afford to refuse—but he’d already made plans with his old friend, who wasn’t just anyone. He was torn, until he realized Zhang’s visit wasn’t a formal business meeting; bringing his friend along might help both sides expand their networks. Thus, the impromptu gathering was arranged.

But for some reason, that night Zhang Zhiyuan brought along a strikingly seductive woman. At first, others assumed she was his mistress, yet their manner of speaking didn’t suggest such a relationship... No one dared ask, but no one knew that when the gathering ended, the slightly drunk Chen Junyang left with that woman.

Gu Changzheng never expected Zhang Zhiyuan would reappear in his sight under such circumstances!

This is curious—why would Zhang Zhiyuan appear at a gathering with his friend, bringing Lou Zhen? (Even if he needed a favor from the supplier, bringing his actual “stepmother” to such a setting was inappropriate, wasn’t it?)

And as for Lou Zhen and Chen Junyang, who had been exchanging glances at the gathering, why did he pay no attention, make no move to stop them? What mindset or motive lay behind that?

Whether Chen Junyang and Lou Zhen’s meeting was accidental or deliberately arranged is now critical! After all, he never believed the world had so many coincidences!

Another odd thing troubled him—Xiao Hai’s testimony! Was the child lying?

If Chen Junyang and Lou Zhen’s meeting was deliberately arranged, this whole affair was terrifying.

After ending the interrogation of Chen Junyang (strictly speaking, this “interrogation” was more like an unusual “case analysis session”), Gu Changzheng swiftly shifted his thinking: Zhang Zhiyuan’s presence at Lou Zhen’s fall scene was far more complicated than he claimed.

Zhang Zhiyuan, Huang Li, Xiao Hai, Chen Junyang, Lou Zhen…

All these people appeared at the same time and place!

It was time to re-examine everything. Gu Changzheng closed his eyes and mentally replayed every detail after Lou Zhen’s fall.

Indeed, inconsistencies emerged.

Chen Junyang claimed his room was on the seventh floor; Lou Zhen took the elevator to the eighth, then descended one floor via the fire escape to the seventh. But he remembered that Boss Tian had installed iron doors on the fire escape of every floor—how did Lou Zhen get down?

According to Chen Junyang, he and Lou Zhen never left the seventh-floor room. Afterward, as planned, Lou Zhen took the elevator from the eighth floor to leave. So why did she go to the roof midway? And the roof door was wide open. Everything seemed prearranged.

Xiao Hai claimed he followed Lou Zhen to Tian Yang Hotel, yet they met on the roof—how did he know they were on the roof?

Someone is lying. Perhaps everyone is lying. The only one who could tell the truth now was Lou Zhen—the corpse.

Gu Changzheng rubbed his temples and immediately turned to stride toward Old Zheng’s forensic lab.

He needed to know: had Lou Zhen been injured before falling? The rooftop railing wasn’t low—if she hadn’t been subdued first, how could she have been pushed so easily?

Old Zheng listened, thought for a moment, then said: “I noticed this during the autopsy. But I can confirm there were no signs of resistance injuries—all wounds were from the fall.”

“But!” Just as Gu Changzheng’s face fell, Old Zheng added: “If she was first drugged unconscious and then carried to the rooftop railing, there would still be no trace on her body.”

Gu Changzheng asked: “What about pressure marks or bruising around her mouth or nose?”

If she’d been drugged orally, there’d be a delay between ingestion and effect—during which she’d likely struggle. But both had ruled out poisoning via drink, since the autopsy found no trace of sedatives in her stomach.

This was strange. Gu Changzheng said: “There must be another method. Given Lou Zhen’s experience, she wouldn’t have gone to the rooftop edge without suspicion.”

“But,” Old Zheng whispered, “if she inhaled some anesthetic or hallucinogen slowly, without resistance… the autopsy wouldn’t detect it.”

“What did you say?” Gu Changzheng’s mind flashed with insight: “Old Zheng! Do you remember my experience in the hospital basement?”

Old Zheng turned to him in surprise: “You mean…”

“Yes! Peyote! Lou Zhen had that!”

“She wouldn’t use it on herself, would she?” Old Zheng said.

“Let’s assume,” Gu Changzheng said, “that after her meeting with Chen Junyang, Lou Zhen left the room satisfied—only to meet someone she couldn’t avoid. Under his request, she took the fire escape to the rooftop. During their conversation, he released peyote extract early. Unaware, she inhaled it, fell into hallucinations, and under his deliberate guidance, climbed the railing and jumped. And when she climbed, he even helped her.”

“Your theory is interesting,” Old Zheng said, “but only Lou Zhen had the peyote. How did someone else get it? According to your case analysis, two people at the hotel that night were her acquaintances—but what motive would they have, if your theory is right?”

“It must be this,” Gu Changzheng said, stroking his chin. “Otherwise, how do you explain the forged suicide note? But that note was truly unnecessary.”

“Zhang Zhiyuan must have slipped away from the group that night. Maybe those people were his distractions?” Gu Changzheng said. “And Zhang Zhiyuan has the keys to the hotel’s fire escape stairs. I need to re-interview those who were with him that night—there must be details we missed.”

Old Zheng muttered: “Zhang Zhiyuan is Zhang Yifei’s son. In other words, Lou Zhen was his stepmother. If it’s him, what’s his motive?”

Gu Changzheng recalled Chen Junyang’s words: Lou Zhen’s relationship with this “stepson” might not be simple.