Chapter 281: The Mysterious Woman

The nightlife of the bar was dazzling, its ambiance intoxicating. The music boomed, invigorating as a cascading waterfall. The wine shimmered, seductive and irresistible. The polite servers and dashing bartenders added the final, beautiful touch to the scene.

The Criminal Investigation Unit had spent an entire day tracing their way to this particular bar.

Xiao Yu wasn’t fond of places like this.

The atmosphere here easily lured people into indulgence and recklessness, leading them to cross lines with both familiar faces and strangers alike.

Scanning the crowd of colorfully dressed patrons, a quip from his previous life surfaced in Xiao Yu’s mind: “Sure, I drink, smoke, have tattoos, party at nightclubs, had over fifty boyfriends, and even caught an STD, but I’m still a good girl!”

It was indeed a line uttered by a young woman.

Unsurprisingly, the backlash online nearly made her question her existence.

Most netizens responded with a simple sentiment: “Dignity? Oh, sorry, forgot you don’t have that.”

Xiao Yu smirked.

Good thing his wife never cared for places like this—not even once.

At the bar counter, Xiao Yu took a seat.

“What’ll you have?” the bartender asked with a professional smile.

“Juice,” Xiao Yu replied with an equally pleasant smile.

The bartender, “???”

‘Are you kidding? Coming to a bar to drink juice? Could it be? Are you one of those so-called juice warriors?’

Despite the ridicule building inside, the bartender maintained his professionalism, though his expression turned slightly constipated. 

“Sorry, we don’t have fresh juice here, just alcohol and some non-alcoholic drinks,” he said.

Xiao Yu nearly laughed aloud. “Alright then, just give me a drink.”

A glass of iced soda appeared in front of him. Xiao Yu slid over a hundred-yuan bill and pulled out a photograph while waiting for his change.

“Have you seen this person?” he asked.

“Uh?” The bartender paused, glancing at the photo, then back at Xiao Yu with a puzzled look.

“Police.” Xiao Yu sipped his drink and added, “One of my colleagues was here about an hour ago.”

“Oh.” The bartender suddenly understood, his expression shifting to one of mild unease. He nodded. “I’ve seen him. He used to come here a lot a few years ago, but not as much lately. Though, he’s been here a few times recently.”

“Do you remember the exact dates?” Xiao Yu’s eyes lit up.

“How could I possibly remember that?” The bartender shook his head. “I only remember him because he caused a big scene here a few years ago and had to pay for damages. Recently, though, he did something odd.”

“What was odd?” Xiao Yu frowned.

“Well, the last few times he came, he always booked a private room,” the bartender recalled. “It struck me as odd because he didn’t seem like someone with much money. Our private rooms cost three thousand yuan a night.”

Indeed, Jiang Xiuran wasn’t well-off.

The police investigation revealed his bank balance to be less than two thousand yuan at the time of his death.

For someone like him to spend three thousand yuan on a private room at a bar?

Isn’t that suspicious?

“Take me to those private rooms,” Xiao Yu said, standing up.

Since the bartender couldn’t leave his post, he called over a waiter to assist Xiao Yu.

When Xiao Yu arrived at the bar’s second floor, where the private rooms were located, he stepped into one of them and took a look around.

‘Ah, so that’s how it is.’

He narrowed his eyes, inspecting the room.

The private rooms at this bar were unique—reminiscent of KTV karaoke suites. But instead of walls at the front, they had floor-to-ceiling glass panels. Two massive glass windows could be opened or shut, and when closed, the rooms became incredibly quiet, thanks to effective soundproofing.

In such an environment, could psychological manipulation, suggestion, emotional bonding, and comfort work?

The answer was yes.

Returning to the bar, Xiao Yu asked the bartender, “Do you remember if this guest came alone or with others?”

“Alone,” the bartender said with certainty. “That’s precisely why I remember him. He always booked a large private room by himself, which struck me as really strange… or, uh, not quite right.”

It was strange.

If he wanted to drink alone, why not sit at the main bar?

If he wanted the bar atmosphere, why hide in a private room?

Xiao Yu’s mind raced with analysis.

Could it be that Jiang Xiuran booked the private room alone, and the suspect joined him there later—using the private room to carry out their psychological manipulation?

The reasoning was plausible.

The bar provided surveillance footage from the past month. While the private rooms didn’t have cameras, the hallways leading to them did.

How to find the suspect?

If Jiang Xiuran had visited the bar five times in the past month, then surely the suspect would also have appeared five times. More importantly, they would have gone to the private room hallway those same five times.

How hard could it be to identify someone like that?

Three hours later, Xiao Yu frowned.

Surveillance footage showed that Jiang Xiuran had only visited the bar three times in the past month. Each time, he stayed in the private room alone. No one consistently showed up in the footage as a match for a potential suspect.

What’s going on?

Something didn’t add up.

Xiao Yu repeatedly watched the surveillance footage, focusing on Jiang Xiuran. And finally, he spotted the anomaly.

According to the footage, Jiang Xiuran always entered the bar looking sullen and pained. Yet, after spending the night in the private room, he left around 3:30 AM.

At that point, his expression had transformed. He seemed elated, excited, practically euphoric. He left the bar smiling.

What was happening?

Xiao Yu frowned, his mind racing with questions.

Was the suspect a ghost?

Did they float into Jiang Xiuran’s private room and somehow strike some kind of agreement?

No, that didn’t make sense either.

Shaking his head, Xiao Yu considered another possibility. He rewatched the footage, this time focusing not on Jiang Xiuran’s arrival at the bar but on the hours leading up to it. After two hours of painstaking review, he froze the footage on one particular figure.

A woman?