Chapter 44: The Ride-Hailing Driver

If it could be said that Wang Huihan was simply traveling away from home, which explained why no one in her family chose to report her missing for several days, that argument might barely hold up. But what if she had indeed intended to go on a trip, only to be murdered before her departure?

This hypothesis was quickly dismissed by Yan Xue and Kang Ge. Upon checking, they confirmed that Wang Huihan had never purchased any tickets, whether for flights or trains.

The remaining possibility was that she traveled by private car, either driving herself or riding with friends. However, the travel destination she provided to her workplace when requesting leave, while theoretically reachable by driving, required an immense amount of time. Even with people taking turns behind the wheel, sparing neither the drivers nor the vehicle a single moment of rest, it would likely take nearly two days. Furthermore, humans cannot drive twenty-four hours a day, nor can a car run continuously without stopping.

Thus, the estimated driving time to that destination was two to three days.

During a brief holiday, who would willingly endure the exhausting, stressful, and costly burden of driving instead of opting for the far more economical and convenient options of airplanes or trains?

After conducting a background check on Wang Huihan's family, the investigators soon made new discoveries.

Wang Huihan's parents lived in the suburbs of City W, sharing household registration with their son, who was Wang Huihan's younger brother. Her brother's household also included a child, making a family of five spanning three generations. Judging by their living conditions—the elderly couple had no steady jobs, and the son and daughter-in-law were ordinary wage earners—their financial situation appeared to be less than optimal.

In contrast, the economic conditions of Wang Huihan's parents-in-law were somewhat more favorable. Their residence was located just one street away from the young couple's home, within a five-minute walking distance. Her father-in-law had not yet retired, and her mother-in-law was a housewife.

Wang Huihan's husband, named Yang Jinpeng, was registered as a self-employed individual during the last census. However, a small company originally under his name had been transferred to someone else more than two years prior. The couple owned a small silver sedan, and both the license plate number and Yang Jinpeng's ID card were registered with a ride-hailing platform.

Wang Huihan's husband was a ride-hailing driver? Ever since the case of Cong Fangfang, whose whereabouts prior to her murder were so erratic that her trail vanished near a commercial district, making it impossible to pinpoint the primary crime scene, Yan Xue had grown somewhat sensitive to ride-hailing cars, unlicensed cabs, and regular taxis alike.

"It seems our initial plan was feasible; it was the right decision not to contact Wang Huihan's family immediately. Should we focus our attention on this Yang Jinpeng?" Yan Xue wondered aloud about the man's current state of mind. "Even if they had originally planned a trip that fell through and ended in tragedy, the family couldn't possibly be completely oblivious! Who goes away for days without contacting their family at all to let them know they are safe?

Even if her parents live with her younger brother's family and her parents-in-law live on their own—meaning they might not be fully aware of her day-to-day situation—there is no reason why a husband living under the same roof would not know!"

"Well, the fact that Yang Jinpeng is a ride-hailing driver is actually somewhat advantageous for us," Kang Ge said, quickly calculating and sorting out the next steps of the investigation. "We'll head over to the neighborhood where Yang Jinpeng and his parents live to see what their current living situation is like. As for Yang Jinpeng's driving records, I'll have someone verify them for us."

"Alright!" Yan Xue immediately agreed with Kang Ge's arrangement. "I'll input their address into the navigation system for you!"

The area where Yang Jinpeng lived was not in a particularly prime location; it was considered an old neighborhood in City W. For years, rumors had circulated about impending redevelopment and urban renewal, but after a long wait, the residents received only a modest neighborhood renovation project instead of demolition. While the dream of striking it rich through relocation had vanished, the living environment had at least improved significantly.

Yang Jinpeng's home and his parents' home were located in residential compounds on opposite sides of a small street. Both compounds were of similar age, likely around twenty years old. The buildings were low-rise with no elevators. Originally open-access neighborhoods, they had been converted into semi-closed formats during the renovations, complete with perimeter fences and access-control gates. However, the electromagnetic locks had long since broken and become useless, and the security guard booth by the gate had been turned into a storage room for miscellaneous items.

The two parked their car in a roadside space, and Kang Ge contacted a colleague at the police bureau to find a way to check Yang Jinpeng's usual driving schedule—especially his recent activity—without alerting him.

While Kang Ge was still on the phone, Yan Xue spotted a group of women in their sixties in the distance. Every single one of them was dressed up festively, clearly having gone through meticulous preparation, and they were chatting animatedly as they walked down the sidewalk toward them. Among them was a slightly plump woman, barely over five feet tall, wearing a magenta down coat and a lemon-yellow woolen hat, making her look quite striking.

"Two o'clock direction, Wang Huihan's mother-in-law," Yan Xue told Kang Ge.

Continuing his phone call, Kang Ge shifted his gaze in the direction Yan Xue indicated. Just in time, he saw the group of women laughing and chatting as they walked past the car. Because they were quite close, the features of Wang Huihan's mother-in-law were clearly visible. Her trademark narrow, triangular eyes were carved from the exact same mold as her son Yang Jinpeng's, making her extremely easy to recognize.

"Let me tell you, while this snow hasn't melted yet, we need to take our pictures quickly, or else we might have to wait until next winter!"

"Seriously! Yesterday, when you all said we were going out to take photos today, I rushed out to the salon to get my hair dyed and permed!"

"In a little while, let's swap scarves and shawls around so we can pose for a few different looks! Oh right, did everyone fully charge their phones before coming out? My son told me that in this cold weather, the battery sometimes just drains completely!"

"Don't worry! Fully charged! I even brought the power bank my daughter gave me. Later on, if anyone's phone runs out of juice, I can charge it for you. We can't have made this trip out in the freezing cold for nothing!"

"That's right, this damn weather is freezing! Tell you what, why don't the few of us skip going home for lunch today? I heard a new hotpot place opened nearby, and people say it's delicious. Let's head over there after taking our photos. Eating something piping hot will warm us up, and with so many of us splitting the bill, it won't cost much per person!"

Chatting and buzzing with excitement, the women walked past, each looking radiant and cheerful.

Yan Xue watched as they walked toward the bus stop at the corner of the street and boarded a bus shortly after.

"Wang Huihan's mother-in-law seems to be in a really good mood! She surely can't know that her daughter-in-law is missing and dead. Even if their relationship wasn't particularly harmonious during ordinary times, she wouldn't be in the mood to go out and take pictures of the snowscape." Yan Xue turned back to settle into her seat, seeing that Kang Ge had hung up the phone, and spoke to him. "How is Yang Jinpeng's end looking?"

"I spoke with the colleague responsible for reviewing driver registrations at that company. What we can confirm is that Yang Jinpeng passed the screening to become a driver, which means he had no prior criminal record. As for the rest, we'll have to wait a bit."

"So... are we just going to stake out this place? Isn't that a waste of time?" Yan Xue took out her phone. From the car, she could see the bus stop sign where Yang Jinpeng's mother and her friends had just boarded. She intended to search whether any direct routes on that bus line led to popular scenic spots. "The bus route itself doesn't pass by any parks, but seven stops away, there's a transfer point to Friendship Park. Isn't that place considered the best spot in City W to photograph snowscapes every winter?

The elderly women just now were dressed up for the occasion. Look at how they carried gauze scarves and power banks; they clearly didn't intend to just snap a few pictures in a random neighborhood park and head straight home. Should we follow them to check it out, or go to Wang Huihan's parents' house instead?"

"Let's go to her parents' house," Kang Ge said, having no intention of tailing Yang Jinpeng's mother. "Even if we followed them all the way and saw how happy Yang Jinpeng's mother was taking pictures with her friends outside, it wouldn't prove much. It's better to drop by her parents' place instead.

As her family of origin, the fact that they hadn't the slightest clue about Wang Huihan being missing for so long actually shows that their relationship with her wasn't particularly close. Otherwise, how could four or five days pass without any contact?"

"The way Wang Huihan was murdered bears a high degree of similarity to Cong Fangfang, but her family has absolutely nothing to do with Cong Fangfang. From that perspective, we can tentatively rule out some of the suspicion regarding her family members. Talking to them is a much safer bet." Yan Xue thought carefully. "When we get there, we'll bring up Wang Huihan and Yang Jinpeng first and see how her family reacts."

With that decision made, Kang Ge drove toward the suburb where Wang Huihan's parents lived.

Halfway there, Kang Ge's phone chimed with a notification sound. He picked it up and handed it to Yan Xue. "Take a look and see what it is."

Yan Xue took the phone and saw that the messages were sent by the colleague Kang Ge had just asked for assistance. True to form, the colleague was highly efficient, having already cleared up the information they needed within this short span of time.

Yang Jinpeng had records of driving and accepting orders every single day recently, showing no obvious or unusual deviations compared to his previous patterns.

However, a lack of abnormalities in his recent dispatch records did not necessarily mean everything was normal.

"This Yang Jinpeng seems to have a habit of finishing his shifts early quite frequently," Yan Xue read the data sent to Kang Ge aloud. "When Yang Jinpeng first registered and started working as a ride-hailing driver, his order-taking records showed that he was quite diligent. But after a few months, he began cutting his shifts short earlier and earlier, and the number of orders he took dwindled. Now, the number of daily orders he takes is probably less than half of what it used to be.

Moreover, looking at the ride-hailing platform's dispatch logs, he frequently had instances where he accepted orders to take passengers to relatively remote locations, only for the passengers to suddenly cancel the order afterward. Every single one of these involved relatively long-distance routes."