Chapter 12: Is his hair particularly frizzy?

“Hah, it definitely wasn’t Old Shen! I was overthinking it!”

Detective Shen exhaled deeply, the breath forming a delicate white mist in the air. He vaguely recalled that Old Shen had been at home the night before last.

“If it’s not Old Shen, then it must be someone else from the southern Chaoyang area who makes tofu!”

Narrowing the scope of investigation to that was much more manageable.

It was already noon. The sun shone warmly on his skin. Though there was hope for solving the case, only about eighteen hours remained of the two-day deadline to crack it. Time was tight.

Shen parked his electric scooter in front of a “suspicious” apartment building and began searching for suspicious characters. At the same time, he pulled out his phone and dialed Old Shen.

“Hello, Dad, it’s me. I have an urgent question... Do you know the other tofu makers near Shen Family Village?”

“Of course! We often order soybeans together from bean traders to get a discount on bulk purchases. I know almost all the tofu makers around here. We even have a group chat! But, Ting'er, why are you asking?”

“It’s urgent, Dad. Don’t ask—just send me the group list and their general information!”

“No problem!”

“Is the list complete? Does it include all the tofu makers here?”

“Well... I can’t be sure. Our group only includes people who have been making tofu for at least three to five years. Newcomers or those who didn’t stick with it aren’t invited. Making tofu isn’t an easy job, after all.”

That made sense.

After hanging up, Shen quickly received screenshots of the group. Besides Old Shen, there were nine others.

“System, share the information of these nine people and upload it directly to the case-solving group!”

[Data sharing successful!]

Shen posted in the group chat:

“These are entirely new suspects. Everyone, please investigate if any of them have financial conflicts with Song Xiaoqian or her parents, especially any disputes.”

kikO: “Where did these new suspects come from? ⚆_⚆?”

Qin Feng: “Has the group leader come up with a new theory?”

“No,” Shen replied directly.

“I reviewed the forensic report on the suspicious particles. The glass fragments came from a copper smelting plant previously clustered in southern Chaoyang. Another complex particle was primarily salt brine, with an outer layer of proteins and oils likely from soybean milk steam during tofu making. So I collected suspect data of tofu makers from southern Chaoyang.”

kikO: “〣( ºΔº )〣 The group leader can actually understand those forensic reports?”

Qin Ming: “Is the group leader an expert in forensic evidence analysis?”

Guan Hongfeng: “Using instruments to test evidence isn’t the hardest part. The real challenge lies in interpreting the results. Many special substances remain unidentifiable despite spectral data. Yet, our group leader recognized them so easily. Could he be a big shot in this field?”

Shen didn’t elaborate, simply urging, “Hurry up and review the data.”

The nine profiles weren’t particularly lengthy, and since they were all tofu sellers, their backgrounds weren’t complicated. Seven members finished reviewing the data in less than ten minutes, but their excitement quickly faded.

None found any connections between these nine suspects and Song Xiaoqian or her family.

Guan Hongfeng said, “Liu from Zhangjiadian Street can be ruled out; he was playing cards the night of the crime.”

Hannibal: “My suspect is cleared too. He has disabilities in his right leg and right arm—impossible to carry out such a complex murder, dismemberment, and body disposal.”

Qin Ming: “Song Wenqiang from Liushui Street has no alibi, but there’s no evidence increasing suspicion either.”

Other suspects were similar—neither definitively excluded nor strongly implicated.

Shen frowned slightly.

“Is the list incomplete? Or is this lead a dead end?”

While pondering how to refine the list, kikO suddenly posted:

“Hey everyone, take a look at this guy. Don’t you think his hair looks especially frizzy?”

Frizzy?

Shen immediately understood kikO’s implication.

Trichorrhexis nodosa—the knotted hair syndrome!

The hair sample Song Xiaoqian held was confirmed by forensic experts to be knotted hair, a rare condition. Patients’ hair appears much more unruly than average.

Shen quickly examined the suspect kikO pointed out.

“Zhou Shengli?”

He recalled Zhou lived on Zhoujiadian Street and indeed had somewhat frizzy hair.

The other eight tofu makers had similar family backgrounds and hygiene, but their hair was normal.

“Interesting!”

Hannibal commented:

“I’ve also reviewed this guy’s info. I’m sure he has no connection with the Song family or Song Xiaoqian.”

Qin Ming chimed in:

“But trichorrhexis nodosa is extremely rare. Zhou Shengli not only suffers from it but also lives in the suspect area and makes tofu. It can’t be a coincidence! If he’s not the murderer... The syndrome is influenced by genetics, lifestyle, and hygiene. Maybe it’s his son?”

“No, his son’s too young, and the killer should be older.”

“Zhou Shengli’s father is too old. Does he have siblings? It’s unlikely he’s an only child for that generation. Group leader, do you have their info?”

“Yes!”

Shen’s mind raced.

He had a hunch the case was just one step away from being solved.

He immediately shared data on Zhou Shengli’s siblings.

Zhou had five siblings and was the third child.

Everyone’s attention was drawn to the youngest, Zhou Gexin.

Because he had connections with the Song family!!

Tang Ren was the most excited:

“Found him! The killer is definitely Zhou Gexin!”

Guan Hongfeng agreed enthusiastically:

“His suspicion level is indeed very high.”

kikO: “Yeah! (((O(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)O))) The case is finally about to be solved! The group leader is amazing. Though the killer isn’t one of those nine tofu makers, he’s definitely related to them!”

Shen was equally excited.

According to the files, Zhou Gexin was a local hooligan. When young, he had been imprisoned multiple times for fighting.

Now older, he was riddled with bad habits: drinking, smoking, gambling.

One winter a year ago, after drinking, he collapsed in the snow. Coincidentally, Song’s father drove by, fearing he’d freeze to death, called an ambulance, and paid for his hospital bills.

When Zhou woke up, he found Song’s father wealthy and kind. He tearfully claimed his child, whom he had supported through university, had abandoned him, leaving him homeless and starving.

In truth, he was a lifelong bachelor with no children, but Song’s father believed him and arranged a job at the factory gate with a salary and meals.

Zhou pretended to be a model employee for two months, then resumed drinking on the job, skipping shifts, and deliberately harassing staff and supervisors by refusing to open the gate.

Many employees complained to Song’s father about Zhou’s behavior. Surprised by his true nature, Song’s father had no choice but to fire him.

But Zhou was like a stubborn adhesive—he repeatedly caused scenes, claiming he guarded the Song family’s gate and was owed a pension.

To avoid bad publicity, Song’s father gave him money a few times but eventually stopped responding.

After that, Zhou didn’t cause more trouble for a while.

Song’s father thought the matter was settled.

In fact, Zhou hadn’t given up or changed; six months ago, after drunkenly smashing someone’s head with a bottle, he was imprisoned for three months.

Upon release, he was attacked in retaliation, sustaining a head injury that required three months of recovery.

That explained why he hadn’t bothered Song’s father lately.

“Wait, I think I saw this Zhou Gexin in the surveillance footage. A few days before the crime, near the entrance to Huihuang Woodworks—let me check...”

Suddenly, Ju Shu posted:

“Found it! Everyone, watch this video!”