Chapter 7: Who Could It Possibly Be?

Wang Peishan, when silent, gave off an air of cold aloofness. Yet the moment he spoke, one sensed a certain nervousness beneath his composure. Otherwise, why would he begin confessing before Su Tianmu had even uttered a word?

“Oh, Mr. Wang, it’s like this—” Sensing his tension, Su Tianmu interrupted him directly, putting forth the first question without preamble. “We’d like to know: was there any unpleasant incident when Wang Meiqi was interviewing you?” Su Tianmu went straight to the heart of the matter, startling Wang Peishan.

“What do you mean? Are you suspecting me?” Clearly, Wang Peishan’s nerves betrayed him, and his guilt showed through.

“We did have some disagreements over the content of the interview, but after a friendly discussion, we reached an understanding,” Wang Peishan replied, gradually regaining his composure and slipping back into his usual demeanor. “I regret Editor Wang’s death, but I’m afraid I don’t know much about her other affairs.” Before Su Tianmu could press further, he had already closed off any opportunity to continue the conversation.

Confronted with Wang Peishan’s evasiveness, Su Tianmu felt certain he was hiding something. “Could you be more specific about the disagreements you had during the interview? Of course, only if it’s convenient for you.” Su Tianmu tried to probe further.

Wang Peishan glanced at his watch, then responded with cool detachment, “I’m sorry, I have a very important meeting starting soon. I’m afraid I can’t spare any more time. My apologies.” With that, he stood up, clearly intent on seeing them out.

“Very well, I won’t keep you. Perhaps we can talk again when you have more time.” Su Tianmu saw that further questioning would be futile, so he rose and left, exiting the company with Xiao Wang.

“Captain Su, don’t you think he’s hiding something?” Xiao Wang’s instincts told him he didn’t like this man—he seemed pretentious and untrustworthy, with an insincere air.

“You’re right, he is concealing something. But by the look of him, it’s probably not something he wants to discuss publicly—perhaps it’s a private matter,” Su Tianmu replied, unwilling to give up. He felt it was time to activate another of his unofficial assistants.

Indeed, what better way to dig up gossip than to enlist the help of the “Stationmasters”?

Back at the station, Su Tianmu immediately contacted Xia Wuyou, instructing her to convene the “Stationmaster” council and start gathering leads for a report.

“All right, that’s the general situation. Let’s get to work, everyone!”

After receiving the order, Xia Wuyou promptly assembled the relevant people, and together they discussed how best to proceed—splitting up and laying lines of inquiry from every angle.

“What have you been busy with lately? You’re always sneaking around!” Fina sidled up to the furtively returning Xia Wuyou, asking in a conspiratorial whisper.

“Don’t tell anyone!” Xia Wuyou drew even closer, dropping her voice. “Actually, I’m undercover…”

Fina could only respond with an exasperated sigh. Still, with nothing else to do, she decided to play along. “So, what’s your mission this time?” she asked in a low, serious tone.

“Well…” Xia Wuyou drew out the word, feigning mystery. “All right, it’s no big deal if I tell you…” She repeated to Fina the assignments she’d just given the “Eighth Sisters.”

“Oh, this? You should’ve just asked me—I know about it.”

“What?” Xia Wuyou’s voice rose in surprise, caught off guard this time. Sometimes the truth is right under your nose, after all.

“Go on, tell me—what happened exactly?”

“Well, here’s how it went…” Fina explained, her fingers and head swaying in tandem, leaving Xia Wuyou equally exasperated.

As it turned out, the interview with Wang Peishan had originally been handled by Su Ye, and things went smoothly at first. But after he received a newcomer’s award, Wang Meiqi took over the assignment. Dissatisfied with Su Ye’s original draft—finding it too bland, lacking impact—Wang Meiqi pressed Wang Peishan for some insider news.

Naturally, Wang Peishan was uncooperative at first. But, as Wang Meiqi tailored her approach to his interests, he eventually slipped up and left evidence of his indiscretion.

After one interview, Wang Meiqi agreed to go to his place for a drink. Just when Wang Peishan thought he was about to get his way, Wang Meiqi produced a tape recorder she’d prepared in advance and threatened him, insisting the interview proceed on her terms.

Thus, that gripping interview piece was finally published. This, no doubt, was the secret Wang Peishan wanted to keep hidden.

With this, the initial inquiries into all associated individuals were complete. For now, the main suspects appeared to be Su Ye and Wang Peishan.

But what was the motive for murder? Was it revenge—Su Ye seeking retribution for workplace bullying? Or was it Wang Peishan, driven by resentment over being blackmailed?

If the source of the poison was taken into account, didn’t Wang Peishan seem even more suspicious?

The outline of the case was becoming clearer, but so many uncertainties remained. For instance, if Su Ye had poisoned her, where did she obtain the sodium cyanide, and how could she have dared to commit murder in broad daylight? Conversely, if Wang Peishan was responsible, wasn’t the real target the tape? Would he really kill over something like this?

There seemed to be evidence for both, yet nothing was truly conclusive.

That’s it! Check the source of the sodium cyanide in the chocolate. Investigate whether any suspect had access to it.

Su Tianmu immediately assigned Xiao Wang to look into it.

Perhaps because Wang Meiqi’s grievances had nowhere to go, her spirit lingered restlessly at the magazine office, refusing to depart. Yet even she did not know who the real killer was, and so she haunted those around her, leaving no one at peace.

“Let’s hope the case is solved soon—no one wants to work under such a cloud.”

In the break room, Xia Wuyou handed Fina a cup of coffee.

“Exactly. Poor Wang Meiqi—she probably never even knew who she’d offended,” Fina sighed, as if truly contemplating the matter for the first time.

A chill wind swept past the building’s window, making them both shiver.

“Come on, let’s get back before the supervisor comes looking for us!” With a laugh, Xia Wuyou linked arms with Fina, and they hurried back to the office.

Through this case, the friendship between the two seemed to have grown much stronger.