My Lovely Wife is a Forensic Doctor - Chapter 145
Chapter 145 The Mysterious Wang Linhua
“What do you mean?” Mu Yu asked curiously.
“They could be father and daughter.”
“Father and daughter?! Didn’t you say Kiki’s parents died when she was young? So, how could her father just suddenly show up?”
“It was Camphor Forest’s proprietress who told me that Kiki’s parents died when she was young and that her foster parents raised her. She said it was Kiki who told her the story. Therefore, I only said they could be father and daughter because that’s Wang Linhua’s side of the story, which Kiki didn’t mention a thing about. We believe he went to Old Street to see Kiki about this matter.”
“Kiki lives at Old Street?! That’s impossible!” Mu Yu couldn’t believe the derelict Old Street was where Kiki lived.
Liu Xiaofan once stated that many young and pretty girls, who had been working in Camphor Forest for a year or two, should usually be able to quit their jobs as escorts with a few hundred grand, if not millions. Yet Kiki had worked in Camphor Forest for five years. Although she might have been a little washed up in these recent years, she still had many regulars, which made her one of the few highly paid escorts in Camphor Forest. Therefore, Mu Yu believed that she could afford a better place to stay than the run-down Old Street.
“That was not her home, but the place of her friend, Linda. Linda worked in Camphor Forest until she had a boyfriend last year when she decided to leave. According to her, Wang Linhua came here last night to see Kiki, only to find that she was away. Later on, Kiki only learned from Linda that Wang Linhua was her father when she was back. However, she denied his claim saying that her parents died when she was young. She also said that she buried them herself and that it was impossible for her father to still be alive. When Wang Linhua came for Kiki again, Kiki chased him away, thinking he was some madman.”
Mu Yu was confused with what she just learned, but soon, she organized her thoughts and asked, “Chief Rong, have you confirmed with Wang Linhua about this matter?”
“Yes, we have.”
Mu Yu immediately asked, “What did he say?”
Rong Jian let out a sigh and said, “His response was the same as Kiki’s, which they both said they got the wrong person. Nevertheless, I believe there is more than meets the eye to this matter.”
“Chief Rong, have you asked Nie Xiaoxiang about this matter? She was Zhao Yongli’s wife, so she must know something if Wang Linhua is really Kiki’s father.”
“I’ve personally confronted Nie Xiaoxiang about this matter, but it seems like she doesn’t know much about Zhao Yongli’s past as she was Zhao Yongli’s second wife. Both of them only knew each other after Zhao Yongli came to An City.”
“Besides Kiki’s mother, did Zhao Yongli have any other sibling?”
“No, I don’t think so. Nie Xiaoxiang once heard from him that he had a brother and a sister. His sister passed away about ten years ago, which came as a terrible blow to his parents, who also died not long after. It was at this moment that his ex-wife filed for a divorce and left with their daughter. Therefore, upon losing everyone he loved at once, he decided to leave that sad place five years ago and came to An City, where he met Nie Xiaoxiang and started a family with her.”
“Since his ex-wife divorced him after Kiki’s mother passed away, she should know a thing or two about Kiki’s father, shouldn’t she?”
“I think so, but we don’t know where she is. Although I managed to contact Zhao Yongli’s old neighbors in Huacheng, they all said his ex-wife left Huacheng with their child as soon as she divorced him. Therefore, they have no idea where they’ve gone to.”
“Since she left Huacheng with her child, the household registration should have their records. Perhaps we should look into that.”
“I’ve sent someone to follow up with that.”
“Great. By the way, Chief Rong, since Wang Linhua said he is Kiki’s father, can we also find out more about Zhao Yongli’s brother-in-law from the household registration?”
“I’ve thought of that as well.” Rong Jian let out a sigh and said, “Kiki’s parents weren’t legally married, which was an offense, named—illicit cohabitation. Having no one left to turn to was not the only reason that Kiki ended up working in Camphor Forest. It was also because she wasn’t a legal resident. Therefore, she wasn’t permitted by law to work even if she had reached the legal age. However, in order to pay off her foster parents, she had no choice but to work as an escort.”
“What about Zhao Yongli’s old neighbors? They should know where Zhao Lin went after she was married, shouldn’t they?”
“They said they didn’t even know Zhao Yongli had a sister.”
“What?! That’s impossible?” Mu Yu sounded surprised.
“Well, it was more than ten years ago when Zhao Yongli moved here, and Kiki is already twenty-one years old. We believe Zhao Yongli probably found her to be a disgrace, and thus hid the matter about his sister from the others.”
“In that case, now that Zhao Yongli is dead, it’s impossible for us to find out more about Kiki’s father, isn’t it?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“What?”
“A paternity test will solve the mystery.”
“Oh my! Why didn’t I think of that?! So, have they done the test?”
“We’ve already got a sample of their hair and sent it to the test lab, but anyway, the result will only be released in two days.”
“Chief Rong, how likely do you think they are father and daughter?”
Rong Jian pondered and said, “Very likely. Don’t you think they’re like two peas in a pod?”
“Well, I haven’t seen Kiki before.”
“Oops! I forgot.” Rong Jian smiled and said, “Yu, you should take some rest first. I’ll keep you posted on the latest news.”
“Sure.”
After hanging up the call, Mu Yu leaned back on the headboard in a trance.
“Hey, stop dreaming. It’s getting late. So, finish your milk and go to bed.” Qin Jinhuan smiled at Mu Yu while giving her a glass of milk.
“Huan.” Mu Yu took the glass of milk and put it on the nightstand. She then sat him down and pretended as if he was Rong Jian, whereupon she started concisely telling him what she learned from Rong Jian and analyzed the case. “If Kiki is really Wang Linhua’s daughter, it will explain why Wang Linhua has come to An City. Nonetheless, if he is here for his daughter, why did he work as a water deliveryman for a disguise? He could have just gone to her straight away, couldn’t he?”
Surprisingly, Qin Jinhuan didn’t lose his patience, but instead took his time to think through the story and answered seriously, “Well, he should have first confirmed that Kiki is his daughter before he went to confront her. Otherwise, he would just be treated as a madman for calling a stranger his daughter.”
“Zhao Yongli knew Kiki’s identity. So, why didn’t Wang Linhua find the answers he wanted from Zhao Yongli?”
“How can you tell that he didn’t? If he is really Kiki’s father, he must have gone to Zhao Yongli to find out more about Kiki. However, it was probably the greedy Zhao Yongli who refused to let on because he didn’t have the money to make him talk. Therefore, Wang Linhua had no choice but to disguise himself as a water deliveryman to get close to Zhao Yongli, in the hope that he could find out more about his daughter.” Upon saying that, Qin Jinhuan continued to explain, “Kiki lost her parents when she was young, but her uncle wouldn’t adopt her until she met her foster parents, which was evident according to Nie Xiaoxiang’s statement. Nevertheless, that begs a question. Now that Wang Linhua is still alive, why did everyone else say he was dead? Kiki lived with her foster parents for more than a decade, and why did he only come now? Is there something lying beneath the surface that nobody knows? Furthermore, I don’t know how old Kiki was when her parents passed away, but judging from her grudge toward Zhao Yongli, I think she was at least around seven or eight years old. Besides, our appearances change a lot as we grow up until we reach adulthood, but our facial features remain largely the same for the rest of our life. So, if Kiki was with her biological parents before turning seven or eight, she should still remember her father’s looks. Therefore, how could she not recognize Wang Linhua’s face?”
Mu Yu paused and asked, “What do you mean?”
“Unless Kiki didn’t spend her childhood with this man. In other words, even if he is really Kiki’s father, I believe he was not the man whom Kiki’s mother fell out with her family for.”
“You’re turning me upside down.” Mu Yu looked at him in bewilderment.
“It’s not that confusing. Let me sum it up to you. If Wang Linhua is really Kiki’s father, which he refuses to admit, then Wang Linhua was not the man who lived together with her and her mother. So, you all won’t be able to find anything about the man whom Zhao Lin had been living with from Zhao Yongli’s ex-wife because they’re not the same person. Therefore, I believe you should further investigate your lead on Wang Linhua to determine why he didn’t come looking for Kiki until she turned twenty-one. Judging from his miserable state, I guess there is only one thing he has come to see Kiki for—money.”
However, Wang Linhua struck Mu Yu as an honest man, so she disagreed with Qin Jinhuan and said, “But he doesn’t seem like a greedy man to me.”
Qin Jinhuan then took the milk and heated it up while saying, “Actually, all this doesn’t matter because if he is really Kiki’s father, then he could likely be Zhao Yongli’s murderer because Zhao Yongli was the reason why his daughter couldn’t recognize him.”
“Well, you might have explained his motive for killing Zhao Yongli, but why did he kill Sun Meilan? After all, it has been confirmed that the two murders were committed by the same person.”
“They arrived at this conclusion because of the similarities between these two murder cases. If Wang Linhua understood how Sun Meilan was killed and imitated the murderer’s modus operandi, wouldn’t the two murder cases be similar then?” As he saw Mu Yu opening her mouth, he knew what she was going to state next and beat her by saying, “Furthermore, it’s not difficult to find out about the details of Sun Meilan’s murder case. After all, money talks.”
“But the resemblance would simply just be too uncanny, wouldn’t it?”
“He must have been prepared if he really intended to kill someone and get away with it. I dare say Wang Linhua’s first visit was even earlier than half a month ago. Maybe he sneaked into An City a few months before just to kill Zhao Yongli when Sun Meilan happened to be murdered. He then seized the opportunity and entered An City once again, where he disguised as a water deliveryman and actually killed Zhao Yongli. His plan was to leave the city with his daughter after the police ruled him out as a suspect, but he didn’t expect his daughter to turn him away in disbelief and treat him as a madman. Neither did he ever know that he unknowingly drew the attention of the beautiful forensic scientist, who decided to lodge a police report. Ouch! Darling, do I deserve to be pinched for complimenting you?”
“Is that a compliment? Because it sounds like you’re making fun of me.” Mu Yu glared at him while reaching for her cell phone. “I think what you just said makes sense. So, I’m going to call Chief Rong and tell him about that.”
After the call connected, she told Rong Jian Qin Jinhuan’s opinion about the case, followed by an exchange of insights between the two, before she hung up the call.
“Alright, darling. It’s almost midnight. So, it’s time you put your job aside and spend some time with your husband.” Qin Jinhuan brought the glass of milk to her once again.
“I’ve already brushed my teeth.”
“You need to finish the milk regardless. Look at you. You’re probably going to have a sleepless night for being so pumped. So, finish it, my little girl.”
“Alright.” Mu Yu reluctantly finished the milk and got off the bed to brush her teeth again. Her happiness was only written on her face when she turned her back to him.
After brushing her teeth, she exited the bathroom to find the bolster placed by Qin Jinhuan in the middle to mark their boundaries. Knowing that he wouldn’t forcibly make out with her, she rested assured and lay down on the bed. Upon setting her alarm clock, she slept facing him with the bolster in the middle as she met his gaze with a smile in the bed.
Even after drinking the milk, Mu Yu still tossed and turned in her bed for a while before she finally dozed off because she couldn’t get the case of her mind. Perhaps it was because Qin Jinhuan was right beside her that she slept like a log until the next day when she woke up to her alarm clock.
She reached out to switch off the alarm, only to realize it wasn’t her alarm clock ringing, but her phone.
It was Rong Jian.
She looked at the time to find that it was only six in the morning. Therefore, she reckoned Rong Jian must be calling to tell her something new about the case. So, she quickly answered the call.