Dude, something's really wrong with your abilities.

Chapter 37 A Life Torn Apart

After Teacher Wang left, Sun Tiemei asked He Jin to find some of Li Qian's students to talk to. She also prepared an empty classroom, and each student went in alone. After asking one question, they would move on to the next student, so that they wouldn't gossip while waiting outside.

Five students came: three were art students whom Li Qian had taught before, and two were ordinary students who had only taken her basic first-year high school courses. The evaluations were polarized.

Yao Xinchen, the class representative, was still very sad. She said that Teacher Li was very serious about teaching. She never simply pointed out the students' shortcomings, but instead drew it again and let the students distinguish the differences between the two. "She is the best teacher I have ever met in my life."

Another student with special talents said she had a good temper but was demanding; if a drawing wasn't done well, she would make him revise it until very late. However, some other students felt she was biased and materialistic, giving special treatment to those from wealthy families while ignoring those from less affluent backgrounds.

Two ordinary students gave more direct accounts: one said she basically didn't care about discipline in class, and the students in the back row would fall asleep without being disturbed; the other said that Ms. Li was very polite at school, but once when they ran into her outside, they almost didn't recognize her. In the students' words, "She dressed very provocatively and wore very heavy makeup, she was a completely different person from the one at school."

Chen Shi wrote down these comments and discovered that the same Li Qian was presented in several completely different ways by different students.

Among Li Qian's friends, two were her college roommates. One said that Li Qian often stayed out all night when she was in college, and no amount of persuasion could change her mind. After graduation, they lost touch. The other cried for a while before calming down, saying that Li Qian was very good to her. When her family was in financial difficulty, Li Qian lent her money and never asked for it back.

Li Qian's friends' opinions of her after she started working were also divided. Her male friends generally said that she was intellectual and gentle, good at chatting, and very comfortable to be around; while her female friends mostly said that she was vain, spending most of her salary on dressing up despite her family's modest means, and never hesitating to buy bags and clothes.

But everyone's account has one thing in common: Li Qian never brings friends from different circles together. You may have known her for years, but you've never seen what her other friends look like.

According to her friends, Li Qian's social circle is much more complex than her colleagues and students perceive; each group of people only knows one side of her.

Chen Shi looked at the spectrum above everyone's heads from the side. No one was lying, but no one really knew everything about her.

Chang Biao's message came back in the afternoon. He had checked Li Qian's social media chat history for the past six months and confirmed that she had indeed communicated online with multiple men, some of the content being quite explicit.

However, the content of the conversation did not indicate any conflict with anyone.

"She gives off the vibe of a social butterfly. But, Xiaoshi, there's something strange about her. Every time she chats with a different man, her tone and style are different. It's like she's a completely different person."

The forensic report from Fatty's side has also arrived. The deceased had no fatal external injuries, and all toxicology tests were negative. The autopsy revealed extensive pericardial hemorrhage, severe internal organ congestion, and death caused by sudden cardiac arrest due to severe nerve trauma.

In short, Li Qian was scared to death. This explains why her pupils remained open after her death. The cause of death has been found, but it doesn't seem to be of much help to the case.

In the evening, Chen Shi and Sun Tiemei went to Li Qian's parents' house. The elderly couple lived in an old house of sixty square meters in the north of the city. Li's mother was bedridden because she could not bear the shock. There were medicine bottles and half a glass of water piled on the bedside table. When she heard someone come in, she just turned her head slightly and did not say anything. Her eyes were so swollen that they were only slits.

Mr. Li is over sixty years old, and most of his hair has turned white. They had their daughter late in life, and although their family's financial situation was average, they doted on her. When she was young, she showed an interest in painting, and they invested most of their income in her education.

"Art students actually spend a lot of money. Buying art supplies, enrolling in classes, and intensive training are all expensive. But Qianqian likes it, so we'll support her." Mr. Li poured water for the two of them, but didn't drink any himself. He sat on the sofa, took off his reading glasses, and wiped them.

"Qianqian was a very obedient child. She never caused us any trouble when she was in school. Later, she had a stable job. I never thought..." He couldn't continue speaking. He clutched his reading glasses in his hand, tears streaming down his face.

After Chen Shi waited until Li Qian calmed down a bit, he gently asked her if she had ever had a boyfriend. Li's father shook his head firmly, saying that they had been urging her to find a partner since she started working, but she said she was too busy with work and wouldn't look for one for the time being.

Later, I was introduced to several more potential partners, but none of them worked out.

Chen Shi said that Li Qian is excellent in every way, so her not dating shouldn't be a problem with her own qualities. Li's father said they couldn't understand it either; they had asked her, but she always said she wasn't in a hurry.

As she was leaving, Sun Tiemei suddenly asked, "When she was little, when she was practicing painting alone, did she say anything?"

Mr. Li thought for a moment. "She doesn't like to talk when she's painting. She just sits there by herself and paints for an entire afternoon. When I was little, her mother and I would argue, and she would take her easel and hide in the kitchen, closing the door behind her. Later, we made up, and that painting of hers was still there. I picked it up and looked at it; it was a painting of our family of three, and all three of us were smiling."

It was already completely dark when they left the Li family's house. Sun Tiemei started the car, and Chen Shi, sitting in the passenger seat, spread the visit records on his lap and reviewed them again.

The same person can be presented in completely different ways by different people. And everyone is telling the truth. Chen Shi closed his notebook, leaned back in his chair, and looked out the window.

Chen Shi had another dream that night.

In his dream, it was the same people, lining up to persuade him, muttering incantations, their attitude more attentive and persistent than before.

Annoyed, Chen Shi turned to leave, but suddenly someone from behind the crowd pushed aside the person in front, speaking in a harsh voice: "You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to drink the penalty cup. What good is your approach? Let me handle this."

The man rushed up to punch him, but unfortunately, Chen Shi in the dream was also lame. He took two steps back and was forced against the wall. He raised his arm to cover his face and hunched his shoulders, waiting for the fist to fall.

The fist didn't land. A hand reached out from the side and grabbed it. Red Falcon stood beside him, not looking at Chen Shi the entire time, and both his arms were intact.

Chen Shi suddenly opened his eyes. His back was covered in cold sweat. He reached for the water glass on the bedside table, his hand still trembling. He took a sip of water, leaned against the headboard, and his heartbeat slowly calmed down.

In the dream, the kestrel was whole, standing by his side and even shielding him from someone who rushed at him to attack. What does this mean? Is it a case of "what you think about during the day, you dream about at night"?

The phone lit up beside the pillow. It was Su Xiaohe calling, her voice urgent and heavy: "Teacher Chen, another one has died. In the city center square, the person was completely encased in epoxy resin. And... this person had four hands."