Chapter 299: Not a Suicide

Han Fei thought, it's better to let Xu Mo eat first; waiting until he's finished before telling him isn't too late.

But Xu Mo's curiosity had already been fully aroused by Han Fei, and he now really wanted to know what Han Fei was going to tell him.

He asked directly, "What is it? Just say it, I'm just about done eating."

"Maybe there's another case," Han Fei said; "but I'm not sure, just feel something's off… Have you seen the Same‑city Hot Search? The one about the suicide after a stock‑trading loss."

Xu Mo recalled the Same‑city Hot Search he had just seen.

The hot search said the person who committed suicide chose to jump off a building because of a stock‑trading failure.

Han Fei actually called specifically to bring this up; could it be that the person on the hot search wasn't a suicide but a homicide?

So, had Han Fei discovered something amiss?

"You're suspecting that the person wasn't a suicide but a homicide?" Xu Mo said while reopening that hot search.

"Yes." Han Fei added a brief explanation: "I know the deceased; this person comes from a very wealthy family, tens of thousands mean nothing to him, and he wouldn't be the type to kill himself just because he lost a few tens of thousands."

Xu Mo subconsciously repeated Han Fei's words.

"Very wealthy…"

He glanced at An Youyi.

Among the people Xu Mo knows, only An Youyi can be said to come from an especially wealthy background.

Coincidentally, An Youyi also lost tens of thousands today due to stock trading.

Which is almost identical to the situation Han Fei described about the deceased.

Xu Mo observed An Youyi.

He saw An Youyi holding an empty bowl, repeatedly staring into the clay pot; it seemed she was wrestling with whether to have another bowl of soup…

Probably she feared the soup would make her gain weight yet craved another bowl, so she was stuck in indecision, looking utterly carefree.

Rich people are that plain‑spoken, as if losing three hundred thousand meant nothing to her.

From An Youyi's various behaviors, it's indeed hard to tell she just lost three hundred thousand; she didn't show any sign of dejection.

Xu Mo instantly understood Han Fei.

He knew why Han Fei suspected it wasn't a suicide but a homicide!

If, as Han Fei said, the deceased came from a very wealthy family and tens of thousands meant nothing, then his behavior after losing that amount should be similar to An Youyi's.

Even taking a generous view, even if he felt down because of the loss, it would only be temporary, a mild mood dip, nowhere near the severity of jumping to his death because of a momentary despair.

"Then why not go check the scene?" Xu Mo suggested. "Now that you mention it, I also feel something's off; the deceased might not be a suicide at all."

As soon as he finished speaking, Han Fei replied, "I received the report early this morning; I'm already at the scene. I'll send you some photos; see if you can spot anything."

On the other end, Han Fei fell silent.

About a minute later, Han Fei spoke again.

"Take a look at VX; I just sent you the freshly taken photo. See if there's any problem."

At the same time, Xu Mo's phone rang a few times.

"Okay." He replied, and Xu Mo opened VX and examined the photo Han Fei had just sent.

No wonder he waited until I finished eating to tell me; my brain was about to burst, I guess I had to eat most of it, otherwise I might not be able to swallow a single bite later… Xu Mo examined the photo Han Fei sent very carefully.

After a short while, his conclusion emerged: "The time of death is roughly four hours ago; it can be confirmed as a fall death, not a staged drop after murder. Whether he jumped voluntarily or was pushed I can't tell, but one thing's certain: the deceased never fought anyone before."

From the photos Han Fei sent, Xu Mo could only discern these points.

Because of the autopsy, that's all the information available.

After Xu Mo finished, Han Fei mused, "The cause of death is a high‑altitude fall, and he never fought anyone before… So there's still a chance it's suicide?"

"Possible, but not certain," Xu Mo replied. "We can't rule out that the killer was well acquainted with the deceased; if a familiar person committed the crime, they wouldn't need to fight the victim—just push him when he's unsuspecting."

"Then which do you think is more likely, suicide or homicide?" Han Fei asked Xu Mo again.

Xu Mo answered almost without thinking, "Homicide!"

Earlier while looking at the hot search, Xu Mo hadn't sensed anything; he just took it as a typical suicide.

But when Han Fei called again about the matter, Xu Mo realized… this was already connected to him.

He has a Conan‑type mind.

When something involves him, it can't be simple.

Suicide is impossible; it must be homicide!

Moreover, Han Fei had already said he knew the deceased, who was a very wealthy person.

A well‑off person would jump to his death just because he lost tens of thousands in stock trading? How could that be!

There must be something fishy.

Based on the scene photos Han Fei sent, Xu Mo roughly learned some useful information.

First, the cause of death is a high‑altitude fall; he indeed fell to his death, not killed by other means and then pushed to fake a fall.

Thus, the rooftop is the primary crime scene; one could collect fingerprints or hair for biological evidence, which might become proof.

Second, the deceased never fought anyone before, indicating he wasn't forcibly pushed down.

From this we can see the killer must have been familiar with the deceased; even if not close, at least they knew each other—in any case, it certainly wasn't a stranger.

When Han Fei received the report, he initially thought it was a simple suicide.

If it were suicide, handling it wouldn't be that troublesome.

Seal off the scene, evacuate the crowd, then transport the body back to the Police Station and notify the family to collect it.

But upon arrival, he discovered the deceased was a friend of his; Han Fei began to feel the case wasn't that simple, suspecting it wasn't a straightforward suicide—though that was just suspicion.

However, after talking with Xu Mo, Han Fei was no longer merely suspecting.

He also realized this should be a murder case.

Most likely a familiar person committed it, and the primary crime scene is the rooftop.

"You few, stay behind to seal off the scene, don't let unrelated personnel approach; the rest go up with me!" Han Fei decided to go up to the rooftop, to check the first crime scene and see whether any useful clues could be found.