Chapter 453 Poor Girl
Qi Tongwei looked at Zhang Long, feeling somewhat helpless. He knew that Zhang Long was so angry because of repeated disappointments, but he really didn't want to give up. He sat down on the stone bench in the pavilion, was silent for a while and said, "I know you are very anxious, and so am I. But losing your temper now won't solve the problem. Let's sort out the clues again to see if there is anything missing."
Zhang Long raised his head and looked at Qi Tongwei: "Sort it out? How can we sort it out? We have already searched all the places we can and asked all the people we can." Qi Tongwei stood up, walked to Zhang Long and patted him on the shoulder: "There will always be a way. Let's think about it again. From the clues we got at the market at the beginning to the information we got from the restaurant owner, the child, the old man, and the old lady's house later, there may be details we overlooked."
Zhang Long stood up and wiped his face. "Overlooked details? What details could there be? We have looked so carefully." Qi Tongwei paced and said, "For example, is it possible that we got the time sequence wrong somewhere? Or are there clues given by some people that are actually related, but we didn't find it."
Zhang Long began to recall the process of their search, frowning: "Time sequence? There doesn't seem to be anything wrong. We searched according to clues every time." Qi Tongwei said: "Then let's think carefully about what those people said. The owner of the small restaurant said that he saw a girl who looked like Cuicui at the end of the street. The end of the street is so big, did we not find all of them?"
Zhang Long thought for a moment and said, "We asked in the shops and residential areas at the end of the street, but to no avail." Qi Tongwei's eyes lit up and said, "Is it possible that there were some alleys we didn't go into? Or that there were people in some places at the time but we didn't ask?"
Zhang Long hesitated: "But we have already searched once, is there any point in going back?" Qi Tongwei said firmly: "It makes sense. Maybe we missed something then. Let's go to the end of the street and look carefully again, and this time don't miss any corner."
Although Zhang Long was still somewhat reluctant, he nodded when he saw Qi Tongwei's determined eyes. They came to the end of the street again, and this time they slowed down and carefully observed every alley and every stall. Qi Tongwei walked into a narrow alley filled with a damp smell. He saw a shabby courtyard and thought maybe he could go in and ask.
Zhang Long followed behind, muttering, "What clues can there be here? It looks like no one lives here." Qi Tongwei ignored him and walked to the gate of the courtyard and knocked. After a while, an old woman opened the door. Qi Tongwei asked politely, "Hello, grandma. Have you seen this girl?" He took out a photo of Cuicui.
The old woman put on her reading glasses, looked at the photo, and shook her head: "I've never seen this girl." Qi Tongwei was a little disappointed, but he still thanked the old woman and prepared to leave. At this time, the old woman suddenly said: "But a few days ago I saw a girl painting nearby. I wonder if she is the one you are looking for."
Zhang Long was immediately alerted when he heard this: "Where is the painting? Grandma, please tell us." The old woman pointed to the other end of the alley: "It's at the corner over there, but I'm not sure if it's this girl."
They ran in the direction the old woman pointed, but they didn't see anyone at the corner. Zhang Long began to feel depressed again: "Another false alarm." Qi Tongwei did not give up. He looked around carefully and found some colorful chalk shavings on the ground. He said to Zhang Long: "Look, there are chalk shavings here, which means someone really painted here. Maybe Cuicui has been here."
Zhang Long looked at the chalk shavings and a glimmer of hope rekindled in his heart: "Then what should we do next?" Qi Tongwei thought for a while and said: "Let's ask around here, maybe someone has seen her." They began to ask door to door in the neighborhood.
A child said, "I saw a girl painting here. She had long, beautiful hair." Zhang Long asked hurriedly, "Do you know where she went?" The child shook his head, "I don't know. She left after she finished painting."
Although they didn't know where Cuicui was, they were very excited. They continued to look for clues and didn't let go of any hope. In the process of searching, they encountered some difficulties and setbacks, but this time they didn't argue again, but encouraged each other and faced it together.
They asked along the street and unknowingly came to the edge of the city. There was an abandoned factory here, surrounded by weeds. Zhang Long looked at the abandoned factory and said in confusion: "Would Cuicui come to such a place?" Qi Tongwei said: "Anyway, let's go in and take a look. Maybe there will be clues."
They walked into the factory cautiously, and there was a stale smell inside. Suddenly, they heard a faint singing. Zhang Long and Qi Tongwei looked at each other and walked towards the direction of the singing. In a corner, they saw the figure of a girl.
Zhang Long and Qi Tongwei slowly approached the girl, who looked helpless in her terrified eyes. When they saw the girl's face, they realized that she was not Cuicui. The girl was very thin, with messy hair and tattered clothes full of stains. Her left leg was obviously disabled, and she walked with a limp, relying only on a worn-out wooden stick to support her body.
When the girl saw them approaching, she shouted in a trembling voice: "Don't come over here, you are bad people!" Zhang Long hurriedly stopped, waved his hands in the air to show that he meant no harm, and said: "Girl, don't be afraid, we are not bad people." Qi Tongwei also quickly took out his somewhat old police ID from his pocket, held it in front of the girl, and said: "Look, I used to be a policeman, we won't hurt you." The girl looked at the ID with half belief and half doubt. The fear in her eyes was slightly reduced, but she was still full of vigilance.
Zhang Long looked at the girl, and a wave of sadness welled up in his heart. His eyes fell on the girl's side, where there were a few moldy steamed buns and some food scraps that he had dug out of the trash can. The girl's "home" was in a corner, made of a few pieces of rags and cardboard, barely able to shelter from the wind and rain. There was an unpleasant smell all around, and flies were buzzing around.
The girl's face was dirty, but her eyes were big, but her eyes were full of fear and distrust of the world.
Her hands were like dry branches, covered with scratches and wounds, probably caused by picking up trash or begging.