Chapter 584 - 486: Murder and Arson

Chapter 584: Chapter 486: Murder and Arson

Shen Xin breathed a sigh of relief.

’It’s a good thing it’s just a script.’

’Otherwise, it would be just as Ding Yuwei had said. The girl was all alone, and as her friend, I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing if she ran into trouble.’

Even though it was just for a show, hearing that the two had actually fought, Zhao Tianxing couldn’t resist his curiosity and asked what happened.

"I’ll show you the video."

Doniya took out her phone and showed it to Zhao Tianxing.

Everyone else couldn’t help but crowd around.

The video was on the same short-video platform they used for streaming. An account had posted a clip of the two of them fighting during a live broadcast.

The title was also incredibly exaggerated, something along the lines of "Female Streamers from the Same Company Resort to a Full-Blown Brawl After Losing a PK Battle."

"Jeez."

Yang Zeran exclaimed.

Watching the two in the video tearing at each other’s clothes and pulling hair, the way they fought didn’t look like an act at all.

Li Jiahui touched Doniya’s hair, wanting to ask if it hurt.

Shen Xin asked if having this posted online would cause any problems.

’It seems so embarrassing.’

Doniya shook her head. "It’s fine. In my boss’s words, bad publicity is still publicity. I don’t have many fans right now, so I need something to talk about, to help drive traffic to my channel."

"Besides, we posted this video ourselves."

Shen Xin frowned slightly, suddenly thinking of someone.

Wang Lei. The unlucky bastard who died of rabies.

For the sake of so-called ’traffic,’ he had also been willing to do anything.

Doniya said, "Don’t read too much into it. It really was just a script. Sister Siyu is very good to me; she takes great care of me."

Shen Xin froze for a moment. ’Who?’

’Only after asking did he realize it must be the girl named Li Yifei.’

’She’s using a stage name.’

Zhao Tianxing’s focus was elsewhere. He curiously asked if Li Siyu was as pretty in real life.

"You guys use those beauty filters, don’t you?"

He was familiar with the meme: "Beauty filter on, I love no one."

At the mention of this, Doniya got a little shy and explained, "Of course we use them, but Sister Siyu is very beautiful in person, too."

She took out her phone to show everyone some of her and Li Siyu’s candid photos.

There were some professional shots, too.

In them, Li Siyu wore a long white dress and a huge sun hat, her long hair billowing, looking absolutely ethereal.

Even in the photos with Doniya, you could tell that she was, as Doniya had said, very beautiful.

’Then again,’ Shen Xin thought, ’makeup is practically one of the dark arts these days. As long as a girl has fair skin, takes care of it, and puts on some makeup, there are no ugly ones, especially if they have decent features to start with.’

’Besides, Shen Xin wasn’t really a fan of the "influencer face" like Li Siyu’s.’

’He always felt they all looked the same.’

The idle chat continued.

Doniya talked a lot about her company.

Shen Xin observed quietly. Doniya seemed to be in very high spirits.

Given the circumstances, he didn’t want to pour cold water on her enthusiasm, so he just reminded her to be careful.

He also told her that if she ever ran into any trouble, especially something she wasn’t sure about, she could always talk it over with the group.

"We’ve got a whole bunch of cops here," Shen Xin said, gesturing to the group. "Look, there’s even a prosecutor. We can definitely help you figure things out."

They were all friends; they could help each other out when things got tough.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Thank you."

Doniya’s eyes grew a little misty. She raised her glass to toast them all.

The next day, it was back to business as usual.

Shen Xin took Ding Yuwei to see Li Dian again.

Shen Xin had a very good impression of him.

Because when it came to animal rescue, the man had a very clear-eyed perspective and was genuinely serious about his work.

"Of course I have no objection. The more you pick, the better. Really. These stray dogs live such precarious lives. The chance to become a police dog would be the absolute best possible outcome for them."

Li Dian’s attitude on the matter remained unchanged; he still welcomed it with open arms.

He was also willing to help Shen Xin contact rescue stations all over the country.

The only problem was that Shen Xin would have to go in person to pick them out himself.

Moreover, Shen Xin needed a huge number of dogs, so he was considering not just selecting from rescue stations. If worse came to worst, he’d have to make another trip to Yulin.

’And then there were the police birds.’

That also required Shen Xin to go in person, to hunt them in the wild and find suitable Ravens.

All things considered, it was a lot of work, and he had to handle it all personally.

He returned to Nanjiang on August 13th.

On the 16th, Shen Xin went to Ningshan with Ding Yuwei.

Li Dian had recommended it, saying there was a very large rescue station in Ningshan.

The person who ran it had a similar approach to Li Dian. Not only did he run a rescue, but he had also set up a rescue and adoption platform a long time ago that was quite well-known online.

He took in stray dogs from all over and then looked for adoptions through his platform.

He usually covered his expenses by running ads on the platform and selling pet supplies.

He had originally planned to stay in Ningshan for a few more days to visit the rescue stations in several of the surrounding cities.

But early in the morning on the 18th, before Shen Xin was even out of bed, he suddenly got a call from Liu Baoqing.

"Captain Liu, what’s with the sudden call so early in the morning? Is something wrong?" Shen Xin asked.

’They hadn’t spoken in a while.’

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Liu Baoqing got straight to the point. "Shen Xin, do you know a girl named Doniya?"

At those words, Shen Xin’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly affirmed that he did and anxiously asked what was wrong.

’Did something happen?’

Liu Baoqing quickly said, "Don’t panic, she’s fine. It’s just that there was a murder in our jurisdiction, and she’s being brought in for questioning as someone connected to the case."

"She’s a little shaken up and couldn’t answer our questions clearly. Then, she suddenly told us she knows you and that you’re good friends. That’s why I’m calling, to see what’s going on."

’Someone connected to the case?’

’And a murder, no less!’

Shen Xin’s heart leaped into his throat.

Ding Yuwei, who was sleeping next to him, also quickly sat up, giving him a questioning look.

Shen Xin quickly said, "Captain Liu, that’s right, Doniya and I are good friends."

"And can I ask what the case is? How could she have gotten involved?"

’Doniya hasn’t been in Nanjiang for long. She doesn’t know many people; her social circle is very simple.’

Liu Baoqing said, "There’s nothing you can’t ask. Around two o’clock this morning, a fire broke out at the Orange Apartment on Ze’an Road."

"The fire department arrived on the scene, and after extinguishing the fire, they found the body of a woman in the apartment that had been on fire."

"Something about the way she died was suspicious, so they contacted us immediately. The apartment was rented by a streamer, a girl named Li Siyu."

At this, Shen Xin was startled once more.

’It was her!’

’He had just heard Doniya talking about this Li Siyu during dinner on the 14th.’

Liu Baoqing continued, "The medical examiner’s preliminary report suspects homicide, so we immediately launched an investigation and contacted her company."

"Someone at her company said that Li Siyu left work last night with Doniya."

"So we contacted Doniya and brought her in to ask for details."

"We didn’t just bring her in; we’ve contacted everyone from her company."

"Shen Xin, I assure you, we didn’t intimidate her. It was just routine questioning."

Liu Baoqing added, making a point to clarify.

Shen Xin quickly said he understood. ’It all happened so suddenly,’ he thought, ’Doniya must be terrified.’

"Captain Liu, how about this: could I have a quick word with Doniya? To calm her down and get her to cooperate with your statement."

Shen Xin didn’t say anything else.

"Sure," Liu Baoqing agreed. That was the main reason he had called, after all.

Doniya was in the case processing area at that moment.

It was just a routine inquiry; she wasn’t even in an interrogation room.

The call was on speaker. As soon as she heard Shen Xin’s voice, Doniya cried out, "Shen Xin, I really don’t know what happened! How could Sister Siyu just suddenly be dead?"

"Doniya, calm down."

Shen Xin quickly cut her off. "Doniya, don’t get worked up. Captain Liu told me, they’re just asking you some routine questions."

"This is just standard procedure for our cases. You need to be strong and just tell them everything you know clearly."

Shen Xin knew she was a strong girl.

It was just that this had all happened so suddenly, leaving her flustered.

Sure enough, with a word of reassurance—or perhaps, just from hearing a familiar voice—Doniya calmed down considerably and quickly agreed.

Then she asked where Shen Xin was now.

Shen Xin said, "I’m on a business trip in Ningshan, but don’t worry, I’ll head back right away. By the time I get there, you’ll probably be all done."

"Besides, I know Captain Liu. He’s a really good guy. Just tell him what you know and don’t overthink it."

Doniya raised her head and glanced at Liu Baoqing.

Liu Baoqing smiled and nodded. ’I don’t think I said anything harsh to her before,’ he couldn’t help but think.

"Okay." Doniya nodded and pushed the phone back.

Liu Baoqing picked up the phone. "Shen Xin, let’s leave it at that for now. We can talk more when you get back."

After he hung up, Ding Yuwei, who was beside him, urgently asked what was going on.

Shen Xin briefly explained and told her to call Zhao Tianxing.

Zhao Tianxing also lived in the New District, so he was close by. Shen Xin wanted him to go over and check on the situation.

While getting dressed, he couldn’t help but think about the case.

’Murder, and then arson... what kind of grudge, what kind of hatred, would drive someone to do this?’