Chapter 116: A Web of Confusion

Chapter One Hundred Sixteen: A Web of Confusion

“Hello, I’m Xiao Yu from the City’s Criminal Investigation Team.”

Xiao Yu stared intently at the other person’s face, his eyes glinting oddly. “You’re Jiang Dan, right?”

The girl, slightly more attractive than the average, wasn’t exactly beautiful.

She had an average build, about 1.65 meters tall, and was rather slender.

“Yes, that’s me.”

Jiang Dan nodded with a puzzled expression and asked in a hoarse voice, “Is there something you need to discuss with me?”

“Ren Chang committed suicide!”

After saying this, Xiao Yu fixed his gaze on her expression.

Jiang Dan froze; her body trembled slightly as if shocked by the news, and her expression began to shift.

Yet her face appeared unnaturally stiff and numb.

But in a way, that was perfectly normal.

Many who have undergone plastic surgery or been treated with certain injections naturally have slightly unnatural expressions.

So… Xiao Yu frowned. The “Eight-Fifty” couldn’t be deciphered from her micro-expressions.

His gaze then fell to Jiang Dan’s hands.

Were they clenched into fists?

In moments of sorrow, agitation, fear, or shock, such behavior is indeed common.

Naturally!

Soon after, Xiao Yu noticed… were those tears in Jiang Dan’s eyes?

“How could this be?”

Jiang Dan, clearly struggling to accept the news, cried out hoarsely, “We only met a few days ago… Could it be because I broke up with him?”

A breakup?

Xiao Yu squinted his eyes in thought.

It was Li Shu who had taken Jiang Dan to meet Ren Chang that day.

Ren Chang had said that Jiang Dan was not his girlfriend.

After being pushed aside, she must have been the one to initiate the breakup, right?

But by what means?

According to the police investigation of Ren Chang’s chat records, he had video-chatted with Jiang Dan before his second false alarm.

He had also video-chatted with her before the first false alarm.

The first and second calls lasted about five minutes and three minutes respectively.

No way—after years of affection, could a breakup really be decided in just a few minutes?

It must have been mentioned earlier, right?

“My condolences.”

Seeing her tears welling up, Xiao Yu spoke again, “After you met him, he committed suicide at the detention center!”

“How is that possible? How could this happen?”

Through her tears, Jiang Dan shouted hoarsely, “He promised me that he would live on—he vowed never to…”

He promised you to live on?

Why don’t the chat records show that?

Or was it over a video call or something? Xiao Yu frowned, puzzled.

Something didn’t add up.

Based on the corpse and the chat records, he performed a psychological analysis.

Ren Chang, although a bit unstable and perverse, was usually extremely calm and wouldn’t typically lean towards suicide without overwhelming provocation.

Unless…

Xiao Yu’s expression grew strange as he stared directly at her.

Could it be that you aren’t really Jiang Dan?

Has the real Jiang Dan already died?

Is that even possible?

Xiao Yu silently shook his head; the possibility was extremely slim.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered it from the start, nor was he losing his sharpness.

Before coming to see Jiang Dan, Xiao Yu had done his research.

Jiang Dan was an only child, with no siblings—and certainly no twin.

Can two people really look exactly alike?

Maybe, but how could such a coincidence appear at her side?

Alright, even if it were a mere coincidence…

Could someone truly replace another in such a short time?

This isn’t a movie.

Pretending to be someone else isn’t as easy as it sounds.

People who know you well would quickly notice something was off!

Without long-term contact, truly disguising oneself is impossible.

Even identical twins can be told apart after spending some time together.

If they can’t, it simply means they choose not to notice.

Especially when guys meet identical twin girls, they claim they can’t tell them apart.

Heh… those in the know understand!

So, ruling out these possibilities…

What else could Xiao Yu still be doubting?

Has someone close to Jiang Dan transformed themselves into her?

That possibility is even slimmer.

First, it would have to be someone very familiar with Jiang Dan.

Second, they’d need to match her in height, build, and facial features…

Third, they’d need to know everything about her in great detail…

Lastly, cosmetic surgery isn’t miraculous; achieving an exact replica is almost laughable.

Of course, it isn’t entirely impossible.

For instance, some fangirls have had plastic surgery to resemble their idol; sometimes they achieve a 70–80% likeness.

With makeup, it might even reach 90%.

But that’s just the outside appearance.

People who know her well can still tell the difference.

However…

“May I ask you a question?”

Xiao Yu, gazing intently at the slightly agitated and sorrowful Jiang Dan, asked, “Have you ever had plastic surgery on your face?”

“Uh… yeah…”

Through tears, Jiang Dan nodded. “I was in a car accident nine months ago. Not only was my face injured, but even my vocal cords suffered damage.”

Xiao Yu, who had already investigated Jiang Dan’s case, knew this well as he inquired, “Could you describe what happened that day?”

“That day, I was with the owner of a flower shop…”

Jiang Dan lowered her head, sobbing sorrowfully, “The owner drove me out to the countryside, but we met with an accident. The area was so remote that by the time we were discovered, nearly an entire day had passed. In the end… the owner died, and I was the sole survivor, spending three months in the hospital before I was discharged.”

There was no lie in her words.

It matched the police’s investigation and Ren Chang’s chat records, which Xiao Yu had seen.

It was at that time that, after her release, Jiang Dan… seemed to change completely.

As for the flower shop owner… she was a woman.

Wu Tingting, 33, a local who had run the flower shop for ten years, was single—and she died in that car accident nine months ago.

Her family had intended to sell the shop after the funeral.

But Jiang Dan bought it—with money provided by Ren Chang.

So, could it be possible…

That the flower shop owner had assumed Jiang Dan’s identity?

That the real Jiang Dan had died?

As far-fetched as it sounds, the possibility was extremely slim.

Apart from their similar heights, their appearances were entirely different.

Even with cosmetic surgery, achieving such an exact likeness is nearly impossible.

Most importantly, due to these suspicions, Xiao Yu had the police retrieve the hospital records from the day of the accident.

Wu Tingting was declared dead upon being admitted to the hospital.

Moreover, their blood types were completely different.

There was no chance of a movie-like ‘face swap.’

After all, those ‘face swaps’ in movies are just tricks to fool the audience…

This only confirmed that Jiang Dan was indeed the real her!

Would Ren Chang lie?

For someone who committed suicide, was there any need to lie?

Why would he claim that Jiang Dan wasn’t his girlfriend…

Xiao Yu’s expression turned extremely peculiar, as if he were immersed in a science fiction novel.

Tens of thousands of years later, scientists would unearth alien-like remains and fall into deep contemplation.

But…

“Would it be all right if I ask you something?”

Xiao Yu smiled at Jiang Dan and asked, “May I come to your residence to take a look?”

Determining whether someone has been impersonated is actually quite simple.

Just compare their scents!