Chapter 360: The Creative Novelis (1/2)
Although I can say with a clear conscience that I had never hurt a classmate either physically or verbally, I wasn’t completely innocent. In my young and ignorant days, I too giggled when my classmates pointed and jeered at a less attractive student or one who wore ugly clothes.
The sobbing left Xiaotao covered in cold sweat. Afraid she might catch a cold, I removed my coat and draped it on her. Wiping the tears away, Xiaotao smiled and thanked me. ”I’m sorry, I get so emotionally affected by these things...”
”I think having strong emotions makes you adorable,” I chuckled.
Xiaotao blushed and shyly retorted, ”Nonsense!”
After she had calmed down, we continued to discuss the case. The novel was so well-written, it managed to raise everyone’s hackles and even won a prize that year. However, a novel alone couldn’t prove a motive or that Lin Xiaolan was the murderer.
We perused some of her other works and found that the theme of bullying appeared more than a dozen times, suggesting Lin Xiaolan was indeed bullied at school.
”What is she doing now?” I asked curiously.
Xiaotao searched online. ”Looks like she’s a well-known author. One of her works was adapted into a movie last year.”
”So she should have the means to hire a hitman!” I nodded. “We should pay her a visit.”
”I'll leave a message on her Weibo to see if she would like to meet,” Xiaotao said, tapping away on her cell phone.
Perhaps Lin Xiaolan was busy or didn't believe Xiaotao was an officer so we didn’t receive a reply. It wasn’t until five days later that Wang Yuanchao finally located her current residence.
On that day, I was helping out in the store. Xiaotao drove over to pick me up before heading to a residential area. Downstairs of her apartment, we hit the doorbell and heard a cold voice ask, ”Who are you looking for?”
Xiaotao flashed her badge but the woman refused, ”I’m sorry, I don’t have time now. Please make an appointment!”
”Ms. Lin, we are here with a search warrant,” Xiaotao persisted. “You'd better cooperate with the police!”
Of course, Xiaotao was lying; we had no search warrant.
After a brief pause, the woman replied, ”I’ll give you half an hour. Come on up!”
”How arrogant!” I sneered.
”Well, I heard these female authors are all very arrogant,” remarked Xiaotao. “Apparently, she’s beautiful and still single.”
”Why are you telling me this?” I huffed. “I'm not from a dating website!”
Her housekeeper opened the door for us. I looked the woman up and down a few times, sizing her up. She was fat and behaved naturally, without a sliver of suspicion.
After Xiaotao and I took our seats, the housekeeper poured us two cups of black tea. Lin Xiaolan leisurely grabbed her cup and asked, ”What can I do for you?”
I furrowed my brows at the sight of those sunglasses that perfectly hid her expression. In my opinion, those who spoke with sunglasses on were merely pretending to be cool. It should be a crime to do so!