Chapter 50: Why Is There Water Everywhere?

Zhuang Dong was dead.

And he had died right in front of Lu Yuan.

There are countless kinds of coincidences in this world, but everything happening right now made Lu Yuan feel like it was straight out of a cliché melodrama.

He had suddenly fancied visiting the amusement park, and Zhuang Dong just happened to be here too—falling right from the Ferris wheel directly above Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan was stunned.

He looked at the shattered remains of Zhuang Dong on the ground: broken limbs and mangled internal organs, no longer bearing the shape of an intact living human being.

Yet, bizarrely, Zhuang Dong's head was undamaged.

The expression on Zhuang Dong's face before death was frozen in a single instant: bulging eyes, slightly parted lips, and every muscle in his face contorted with terror.

That's right!

Before dying, he had experienced extreme terror.

Just by looking at Zhuang Dong's expression, it was evident that this was not a suicide; a murder was involved.

Lu Yuan felt quite helpless.

It seemed he could never quite shake off involvement with homicide cases.

The surrounding crowd kept bursting into screams.

Yet human nature is naturally drawn to spectating.

Clearly knowing that someone had jumped or fallen to their death from the Ferris wheel, and knowing that a homicide had occurred here, these onlookers simply refused to leave.

Just as Lu Yuan was wondering whether he should leave or stay, a middle-aged man pushed through the crowd. Upon seeing Zhuang Dong's miserable state, his pupils constricted.

"I am a police officer!"

"Everyone, back up!"

"Please cooperate with my work!"

The middle-aged man shouted loudly to the surroundings while pulling out his identification badge.

Lu Yuan recognized him.

This police officer was the plainclothes detective who had been quietly trailing Zhuang Dong the previous night. Not wanting to complicate matters, Lu Yuan wanted to slip away unnoticed.

However, the policeman spotted Lu.

"Mr. Lu."

The officer called out.

Lu Yuan looked at the plainclothes policeman with a sense of awkwardness; he had no wish to get entangled in this mess, but under the circumstances, leaving was no longer an option.

"Would you mind helping me disperse the crowd?"

"My colleagues from the police station will be here immediately."

Since the man had put it that way, Lu Yuan found it hard to refuse. After all, he knew Wen Ke, and given that connection, he certainly had to lend a hand.

With Lu Yuan's assistance, a cordon was quickly set up.

The amusement park staff also actively cooperated, and within a mere dozen minutes, the park was shut down.

In the vast amusement park, only a few people remained.

Lu Yuan was one of them.

"Mr. Lu, what a coincidence."

The plainclothes officer walked over to Lu Yuan's side.

Lu Yuan smiled awkwardly. "Indeed, quite a coincidence."

He had merely come to revisit an old place, yet once again he had stumbled right into trouble.

Seeming to sense Lu Yuan's thoughts, the plainclothes officer comforted him, "Mr. Lu, don't overthink it. I will report this matter exactly as it happened."

Despite saying that, the officer harbored his own doubts. Why had Zhuang Dong crossed paths with Lu Yuan last night only to end up dead the very next day?

Could there be some connection between the two events?

To be honest, anyone in his position would think along those lines.

After all, he had been secretly tracking Zhuang Dong, and from start to finish, Zhuang Dong had only met with Lu Yuan, having no contact with anyone else.

Yet just moments after he himself had dozed off for a brief instant, Zhuang Dong had plunged from the Ferris wheel and died on the spot—it was simply baffling.

What was even more baffling was that Lu Yuan happened to be right at the scene.

Sometimes, when there are too many coincidences, they cease to be coincidences.

Of course, he kept these thoughts to himself and did not voice them to Lu Yuan.

A police officer must learn to keep things unsaid; one needs to know what is appropriate to share and what is not. Furthermore, Lu Yuan was not a member of the police force—at best, he was merely an acquaintance of Wen Ke.

Lu Yuan asked tentatively, "Can I leave now?"

Hearing this, the plainclothes officer shook his head with a troubled expression. "Mr. Lu, if you don't have any urgent matters, please stay here for a moment. You are an eyewitness, and logically speaking, you need to give a statement."

Just as expected!

Lu Yuan knew right away that wishing to leave was out of the question.

Without continuing his conversation with Lu Yuan, the plainclothes officer turned to converse with the amusement park staff.

A short while later, a large contingent of police cars arrived.

The person stepping out from the lead police car was none other than Wen Ke.

Seeing Lu Yuan, Wen Ke froze for a moment. "Why are you here?"

She had never expected in a million years that Lu Yuan would be present at the scene of Zhuang Dong's death.

"A coincidence."

Lu Yuan offered an awkward smile.

It truly was a coincidence!

Even Lu Yuan himself could hardly explain why he kept showing up at places where people died.

Wen Ke's gaze flickered slightly. Instead of dwelling on Lu Yuan's remark, she turned to the plainclothes officer. "Old Zhang, what's the situation?"

The plainclothes officer, addressed as Old Zhang, gave a general account of the sequence of events. "Captain Wen, it's my fault! I was too exhausted and dozed off for a second, and I lost track of him."

Old Zhang was simply too tired.

He was human, after all.

Stalking someone for twenty-four hours straight was more than any man could endure.

He had merely intended to catch a quick forty winks while Zhuang Dong took a ride on the Ferris wheel, never expecting that his brief nap would cost the target his life.

Old Zhang wore an expression of deep remorse.

Wen Ke patted Old Zhang's shoulder understandingly, then cast a subtle glance at Lu Yuan. "Did he... really happen to be here by coincidence?"

Old Zhang nodded. "Mr. Lu's presence is indeed coincidental. I had already noticed him before Zhuang Dong fell from the Ferris wheel."

"He was sitting on that bench over there resting."

Following the direction of Old Zhang's finger, Wen Ke glanced at the bench not far away, and then looked back at Lu Yuan. "With the way you keep popping up, it's hard for me not to suspect you as the murderer."

Wen Ke let out a sigh.

Friends were friends.

Yet the occasions and timing of Lu Yuan's appearances were far too coincidental.

Last time, he was outside An Shi's villa; this time, he was at the scene of Zhuang Dong's death.

Lu Yuan was practically a walking version of Conan.

Wherever he went, someone died.

Lu Yuan felt equally helpless. "I really just came here to clear my head. This place is not far from the orphanage where I grew up, and I came here straight after visiting it."

Looking thoughtful, Wen Ke nodded.

She had reviewed Lu Yuan's background.

Lu Yuan was an orphan.

He had spent his childhood living in Hope Orphanage.

It was entirely natural for him to feel sentimental about the orphanage of his youth.

"Go back and study for your exams."

"Don't forget about your tests."

Wen Ke admonished him.

Old Zhang opened his mouth as if to say something, but seeing Wen Ke's resolute attitude, he swallowed his words back down.

Once Lu Yuan had departed, Old Zhang inquired, "Captain Wen, are we just letting him leave like this? I still feel like something is off."

Wen Ke naturally understood where her colleague's misgivings stemmed from; she too felt that Lu Yuan presented certain anomalies. "Let him go. He won't run away anyway, as long as he remains in S City."

"Forensics, go in and perform the preliminary examination."

"You, come with me to check the Ferris wheel."

Under Wen Ke's direction, the forensic investigators methodically carried out an on-site temporary autopsy, marking every single bloodstain.

Up on the Ferris wheel, Wen Ke entered the cabin where Zhuang Dong had previously been.

Wen Ke knitted her brows slightly. "Why is there water everywhere in this cabin?"