Chapter 44: Grim Prospects

Early the next morning, news finally arrived.

Qiao Yanxin had not slept at all the entire night, and heavy, dark blue shadows now hung heavily beneath her eyes.

She answered the phone carrying those massive dark circles.

The moment she saw the familiar caller ID, a brief surge of excitement flared within her.

"How is it? Have you found Qiao Yunzhou?"

"Not yet, President Qiao. We've searched the entire South City and checked every piece of information related to your husband, but we found nothing. We attempted to track his phone's location, but it has remained switched off, and its last signal source lost connection at—"

"Where?!"

"The suburban outskirts."

"The outskirts..."

Qiao Yanxin’s expression went blank for a fraction of a second. Was she remembering something? Perhaps what Officer Wang had told her that day?

Or perhaps the final, desperate plea for help I had made to her over the phone?

None of that concerned me anymore.

Swallowing hard with rising tension, Qiao Yanxin asked, "What else? Did you find anything else?"

"Aside from that, we checked Mr. Qiao's payment history and found zero transaction records, no ticket purchases, no immigration or border control records, and not even a single hotel check-in. In fact, it seems he hasn't spent a single penny since that day... Which means—"

The person on the other end paused before continuing. "Based on the clues we have gathered so far, there is a high probability that Mr. Qiao has met with foul play."

Qiao Yanxin’s face instantly twisted in anger. "What kind of nonsense are you spouting? My husband is perfectly fine! Don't you dare curse him with your ill-omened mouth! Is this the kind of professional standard a private investigator has? Why are you spouting such baseless speculation without any evidence?"

The private investigator froze for a moment, then hurriedly tried to salvage the situation. "President Qiao, please calm yourself. That is merely one possibility among others. There are other possibilities as well."

Qiao Yanxin took a deep breath. "Fine, go on."

"President Qiao, this is an information-driven era. A young man living in this society cannot possibly leave no trace at all. Whenever he goes out, any digital payment leaves a trail. Staying at a hotel leaves records, and even leaving via public transportation requires documentation. However, there are alternative theories."

"First, I suspect Mr. Qiao may have hired an unlicensed private car to avoid leaving any traces, rendering his whereabouts untraceable by anyone. I suspect he chose this method simply to spite you, specifically to keep you from discovering where he went."

"However, the hotel aspect remains rather baffling. When a man travels alone, wouldn't he need a place to stay? Given his social standing, he is hardly likely to stay in a cheap, rundown motel. Yet I checked the records of every medium-to-high-end hotel, and there is simply no record of Mr. Qiao checking in anywhere."

"Beyond that, I've checked everywhere within my capacity, yet there is no sign of Mr. Qiao whatsoever. Could a person truly vanish into thin air?"

Qiao Yanxin frowned impatiently. "What on earth are you trying to say? Just spit it out."

The private investigator asked cautiously, "If I speak my mind, President Qiao, please promise not to get angry."

Nursing a knot of suppressed fury in her chest, Qiao Yanxin replied curtly, "Speak freely."

"I recall that the police have discovered what are suspected to be Mr. Qiao's belongings out in the suburbs, haven't they? Judging by the conditions at the scene, there is a strong possibility that Mr. Qiao encountered someone who wanted him dead."

"I certainly know how to find someone who is alive, but finding a dead person is rather outside my professional scope. If you're looking for a corpse, President Qiao, that is unfortunately beyond my abilities."

"Shut your mouth!"

A surge of white-hot rage washed over Qiao Yanxin. "How dare you say such a thing?!"

She hurriedly dressed and rushed to her company in a flurry of motion.

The private investigator was summoned there as well.

Staring at the unremarkable middle-aged man standing before her, Qiao Yanxin tapped her fingers rhythmically against the desk.

"What gave you the right to talk like that just now? Let me tell you, Qiao Yunzhou is completely fine! He's simply throwing a temper tantrum and refusing to see me! What gives you the right to claim he's dead? Where is your evidence? How could you just blurt that out! Let me warn you, don't ever jump to such reckless conclusions without proof!"

The private investigator kept his head bowed, not daring to utter a single word.

"Get out of my sight!"

Qiao Yanxin grabbed the coffee mug from the edge of her desk and hurled it directly at the private investigator's feet.

"Right, right away. Sorry to have troubled you, President Qiao."

With that, he turned and fled the office as if running for his life.

Secretary Zhang, witnessing the scene, jumped in fright. He quickly plastered on a placating smile and hurried over to Qiao Yanxin's side.

"President Qiao, let me go see him out and settle the final balance."

Qiao Yanxin waved her hand impatiently. "Fine, go ahead. And make sure you tell him to clean up his act and watch his mouth! Day in and day out, blabbing whatever nonsense comes to mind. Can he just casually spout such baseless garbage without any evidence? Doesn't he know anything about taboo? If anything actually happens to Yunzhou because of his cursed words, I will never let him off the hook!"

"Yes, yes, of course. I'll make sure to tell him never to say such things again."

Hearing Qiao Yanxin's words, I couldn't help but feel a chilling sense of irony.

Back when I was enduring that kind of treatment within the Qiao household, I never heard Qiao Yanxin say a single word on my behalf.

Now that I was already dead, her belated benevolence had suddenly chosen to blossom.

Who was she putting on this performance for?

Secretary Zhang hurriedly pushed open the door and chased after the investigator. I followed closely behind, curious to hear what else the private investigator might know.

"I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Zhou. This is the final payment we agreed upon, which I am transferring to you now. Also, regarding our President Qiao—she's been under a lot of stress lately. If she can't find Mr. Qiao soon, she might genuinely lose her mind, which is why she spoke a bit recklessly just now. Please don't take it to heart."

I sneer inwardly. Lose her mind? She looks perfectly fine to me; where is any sign of her going mad?

Detective Zhou merely nodded in understanding.

"It's quite all right. I understand."

"Mr. Zhou, could you tell me if you discovered anything else besides all this?"

Detective Zhou frowned in thought, then weighed his words before speaking. "Well, based on my current investigation, there is a very high probability that Mr. Qiao has already been murdered."

"However..."

"However what? Just tell me straight!"

"However, I have a lingering feeling that Mr. Qiao is not the only one."