Simulating_Crimes_C32

Chapter 32: The Discovery of the Lame Suspect and the Repeated Mentions of the Blue Whale!!!

“Blue whale?”

Su Ming lightly raised an eyebrow and repeated the word that Wang Limei had just said.

At the same time, he quickly recalled…

In the victim’s suicide note, there was a special line that read:

[If there is a next life, I hope to become a blue whale in the ocean, because it is large enough, strong enough, free enough, and precious enough, easily noticed by anyone with a single glance.]

This passage seemed quite normal at first glance. It appeared to be the hopeful longing of a depressed middle school girl who had given up hope for the future.

But now, with Wang Limei bringing up the word “blue whale” again, Su Ming keenly sensed something was off.

Although there was no clear clue or evidence, and it was difficult to pinpoint the issue, it felt like the instinctive feeling one might have after committing many crimes, like a seasoned detective being able to spot someone suspicious with just a glance.

Besides facial expressions and body language analysis, this intuitive feeling was an important part of criminal investigation.

…

At this moment, Su Ming tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his gaze sharp as he looked at Wang Limei and said seriously:

“Teacher Wang.”

“I need you to think carefully and recall any events linking Zhang Wan to blue whales.”

“Please tell me everything in detail!!!”

Under the pressure Su Ming exerted, Wang Limei earnestly began to recollect, then answered:

“In my memory, within this past month, I found Zhang Wan’s connection to blue whales on five separate occasions!”

“First, the first time was during class when I saw her watching the premiere of the blue whale aerial footage on her phone.”

“Then the second and third times, I found that she brought a sleeping pillow and pencil case with plush blue whale patterns to class.”

“I just remembered something else that was very strange. Usually, Zhang Wan was bad at studying, but she never had the habit of sleeping during class or breaks.”

“Did she suddenly become unusually drowsy these last fifteen days?” Su Ming squinted his eyes and muttered under his breath before signaling for her to continue.

“It’s fine, Teacher Wang,” he said. “Keep going, don’t let me interrupt.”

Wang Limei hesitated, then quickly replied, “Oh, right.”

“The fourth time was during last week’s monthly exam, where the topic for the essay was ‘Ideal.'”

“Most students wrote about their future career aspirations in argumentative essays, but Zhang Wan was different…”

“She wrote about wanting to become a blue whale, and she used a first-person narrative, with strong personification and immersion.”

“Since no one else wrote like this, it left a deep impression on me, and I even gave her a good score.”

“And the fifth time…”

“I’m not too sure, but I think she drew a picture of a blue whale on a piece of paper, with two people standing on the ground praying to the whale?”

“It seems like it wasn’t exactly that, but that’s what I remember. I saw it quickly while I was walking around the classroom teaching.”

“But I can say for sure…”

“Before this period, Zhang Wan had absolutely never shown any signs of liking blue whales!”

“I can guarantee, absolutely not!!!”

Seeing Wang Limei about to swear an oath, Su Ming immediately calmed her down with a raised hand and gently said:

“Relax, Teacher Wang.”

“We’re just asking routine questions about the clues, not interrogating you, so there’s no need to be so nervous.”

“But I do have one question…”

“In the blue whale drawing Zhang Wan made, were there any characteristics in the two people she depicted praying to the whale?”

This question made Wang Limei squint her eyes and clutch her hair, seemingly trying hard to recall.

After a few seconds, seeing her struggling with a painful expression, Su Ming shook his head and spoke:

“That’s enough, Teacher Wang, you don’t need to keep thinking about it.”

“I’ve gathered a general understanding of Zhang Wan’s situation by now.”

“Now, I’d like to ask Vice Principal Zhang…”

“Has anyone else taken leave today, or were there students who didn’t come to class this morning?”

Hearing his own name, Zhang Heng immediately straightened up, as though already prepared, and answered:

“Officer Su.”

“Currently, our Shude Middle School has 1,253 students across three grades.”

“After the incident with Zhang Wan, Principal Qu immediately ordered all the homeroom teachers to check in on and reassure the students.”

“This morning, 1,240 students attended class, 8 students took sick leave, and 4 students were absent due to family funerals or weddings.”

“However, all the absent students have been contacted, and no accidents have occurred.”

“Have they all been contacted?” Su Ming nodded silently for two seconds before suddenly remembering something and quickly saying:

“By the way, Vice Principal Zhang.”

“Among the 1,200 students at Shude Middle School, are there any students who have had leg injuries from childhood and have a slight limp?”

“Or… maybe someone who has had a leg injury due to an accident or some other cause, and is permanently limping without recovery?”

This unusual and strange question made Zhang Heng pause for a moment, and he was even more confused as to why Su Ming would ask this.

However, adhering to the idea of fully cooperating and quickly uncovering the truth, he quickly answered:

“Officer Su.”

“Let me tell you honestly.”

“Shude Middle School has been implementing a military-style boarding system to improve our graduation rates and academic performance. We have morning runs and evening study sessions every day.”

“If a student had a leg problem…”

“It would be very difficult for them to take care of themselves, and they certainly couldn’t study in this kind of environment.”

“So.”

“All the students at Shude Middle School are in good physical health. Even if someone had a leg injury, they would recover in a short period after hospitalization.”

“As for…”

“If any student lost their ability to care for themselves due to an accident while studying, they would not be able to continue in our boarding military-style system. In that case, we would…”

“Refund their tuition and assist with transferring their school records.”

“But over the years.”

“There haven’t been many students in this situation, and last year, there was only one student who…”

At this point, Zhang Heng suddenly stopped speaking, as if he had remembered something, and immediately looked at Su Ming with a shocked expression:

“Wait, no, no, Officer Su!”

“I just remembered, I suddenly remembered…”

“Last year, a female student suffered a comminuted fracture of her left calf in a car accident. After being rushed to the hospital and receiving full emergency treatment,”

“Her leg still couldn’t be healed and became permanently limp!!!”

“So after graduating from second year of junior high…”

“We refunded her entire tuition and let her transfer to a public school where she could live at home, making it more convenient for her life and studies.”

“If… if I’m not mistaken…”

“This girl was in the same class as Teacher Wang’s class when she was in second year!!”

“Which means…”

“Zhang Wan and this girl were classmates for two years!!!”