Chapter 1004: My Husband Has Always Been Here

After Huang Jianmin hung up the phone, he immediately took all the materials and two police officers and headed straight to the Criminal Investigation Team.

In the conference room, Huang Jianmin personally reported on the progress of the case investigation.

"We received this missing person case a week ago. It wasn’t filed at first because the person reporting it was the missing person’s parents, but the missing person’s wife, who was accompanying them, said he was not missing."

Then Huang Jianmin detailed the investigation conducted by the Huaguang Street police station over the past week.

The missing person is named Zhang Chao.

According to the information provided by Zhang Chao’s parents, they hadn’t seen their son for nearly a year. Although they occasionally talked on the phone or sent messages on WhatsApp, they had never seen Zhang Chao in person.

"We looked into it carefully. When Zhang Chao’s parents called him, though the call would go through, it was never answered. Zhang Chao would always hang up and then text them, saying he was in a meeting or driving, always busy."

Huang Jianmin continued, "As for chatting on WhatsApp, we checked his parents’ chat records and found that Zhang Chao never used voice messages or video calls when talking to them; it was always text messages."

This is why Zhang Chao’s parents came to the police station to report him missing.

Lu Chuan listened to Huang Jianmin’s report while flipping through the files compiled by the Huaguang Street police station.

"What does his wife say?"

Huang Jianmin shook his head, "That’s where the problem lies."

"We investigated all information related to Zhang Chao. Over the past year, we have thoroughly checked his bank transactions and call records, and everything appears normal."

What Huang Jianmin meant by normal is that Zhang Chao’s social media would regularly post updates about his life, sometimes scenery photos, other times text.

This was similar to his past habits, as Zhang Chao never posted selfies on his social media.

Moreover, there hasn’t been much change in Zhang Chao’s bank transactions, salary entries, and other incomes and expenses compared to usual.

"We also checked Zhang Chao’s call records. He would call his wife every one or two days. Sometimes the calls lasted long, sometimes short, and he also contacted other people."

"In addition, we visited Zhang Chao’s neighbors and street acquaintances. They all stated that Zhang Chao had always been at home."

These people, although not very familiar with Zhang Chao, could occasionally hear some news about him.

If someone had been missing for a year, it surely wouldn’t have such a minimal impact among the surrounding people.

Lu Chuan was also reading through descriptions of various matters in the files.

Zhang Chao had a relatively kind disposition, getting along well with his neighbors; many people knew him.

Also, Zhang Chao had a fondness for kumquat water, which was good for relieving heat, and he often shared this kumquat water with neighbors.

"We checked, and indeed he grew a lot of kumquats. Some neighbors still drink the kumquat water, saying it came from him."

The difficulty in solving the case by the Huaguang Street police station lies in the polarized investigation results regarding Zhang Chao’s disappearance.

Zhang Chao’s parents hadn’t seen him for a year, and he never answered calls, hung up immediately, and never used video on WhatsApp; he never sent his photos either.

Therefore, they concluded their son was missing; otherwise, he would not have vanished for an entire year.

However, investigations around Zhang Chao’s home and neighborhood revealed that he had been living among them the past year.

Everyone might not have an overly clear impression, but it seemed as if Zhang Chao had spoken to them just the day before.

Furthermore, there was Zhang Chao’s wife’s reaction.

"Zhang Chao’s wife is his second wife. They married 10 years ago, with her bringing along a daughter."

Huang Jianmin investigated Zhang Chao and his wife’s situation and learned from neighbors that their relationship was relatively harmonious, with no arguments heard by at least those around them.

"According to Zhang Chao’s wife, he had been living with them for the past year. Though he was often on business trips, he used to travel a lot."

The files contained notes related to Zhang Chao’s wife, which Lu Chuan was studying word by word.

Based on what Zhang Chao’s wife said, the Huaguang Street police station did a lot of work but indeed discovered Zhang Chao seemed to have been living with them throughout the year.

For instance, Zhang Chao’s wife presented several delivery receipts, all signed by Zhang Chao himself.

Moreover, these receipts spanned continuously from last year until now, with one or two appearing almost every month.

"We’ve already verified the related signatures; indeed, the signatures on it are Zhang Chao’s."

The files also included photo comparisons. Lu Chuan looked at them; though the handwriting was somewhat sloppy, it seemed to be from the same person.

"After Zhang Chao’s parents filed the report, we called Zhang Chao himself and kept in touch, but starting from the day of the report, we haven’t been able to reach Zhang Chao."

This is another reason the Huaguang Street police station reported the case.

Zhang Chao’s disappearance is now confirmed, but the timing is questionable.

According to current findings, Zhang Chao was around throughout last year.

However, starting from the day his parents reported him missing, he vanished.

"We’ve been investigating for a week, and during this week, Zhang Chao’s phone hasn’t dialed any number; his bank transactions have also stopped. There hasn’t been any expenditure or income in these days; nobody knows where he has gone."

"According to Zhang Chao’s wife, when he left home that morning, he mentioned returning for lunch to have dumplings. Zhang Chao’s wife prepared chive dumplings for him, but instead of Zhang Chao, his parents showed up."

"Afterward, Zhang Chao’s wife accompanied his parents to the Huaguang Street police station."

After Huang Jianmin finished his report, Lu Chuan had read through the files twice and found the entire situation quite incredible.

As Huang Jianmin said, the whole case seemed very disjointed; Zhang Chao seemed to be living in two worlds.

In the world of his wife and surrounding neighbors, Zhang Chao was always present, living well without much change from before.

However, in the eyes of his parents and some other relatives, Zhang Chao hadn’t contacted them for a year, as if he had altogether disappeared.

Though there were occasional messages on WhatsApp, they never heard Zhang Chao’s voice or saw him in person.

Even during this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhang Chao didn’t reunite with his parents.