Chapter Twenty-Two: Lipstick

Zhao Dabao nodded, agreeing with this perspective. "But speaking of it, Wang Yuluo’s social circle is actually quite simple—just a few family members, and a handful of fair-weather friends outside. As for the person who killed her, I’ve thought about their motive for a long time yesterday. Robbery for money and murder is out of the question. Crimes of passion are still a possibility, and then there’s resentment toward the rich. Aside from these, I can’t think of any other reason someone would hate Wang Yuluo enough to want her dead.

"If it’s for money or a crime of passion, these motivations are easier to narrow down. For instance, her father’s ex-fiancée Wu Caifang, or her ex-boyfriend who kept pestering her to get back together—they both could have motives like these. But resentment toward the rich is harder to pinpoint. After all, a lot of people harbor a bit of resentment toward the wealthy, but not everyone would go so far as to kill because of it. Even if they think that way, it’s not the kind of feeling they’d wear openly on their faces!"

"Actually, whatever the motive, the killer must have gained something from Wang Yuluo’s death," Ning Shuyi pointed out the most crucial aspect. "That gain could be psychological satisfaction or material benefit, something tangible. From what I see now, the possibility of pure resentment toward the rich is low, so your concern may not be necessary."

"What makes you say that?"

"Since resentment is rooted in ‘hatred,’ it carries a strong emotional charge. Murders fueled by hatred often show that emotion in the way the crime is committed and in its final presentation—the outcome reflects the killer’s animosity toward the victim. But Wang Yuluo’s death scene was so understated, so calm—her expression was peaceful, not contorted in pain or horror. Death itself is cruel, yes, but if someone hated her enough to plan her murder for catharsis, how could they let her die so ‘peacefully’? Don’t you agree?"

Zhao Dabao nodded repeatedly, realizing Ning Shuyi’s reasoning was sound. He had indeed overlooked the concept of ‘hatred.’

Ning Shuyi continued, "So I personally lean toward the idea that the killer stood to benefit from Wang Yuluo’s death."

Huo Yan listened intently to Ning Shuyi, his expression grave, afraid to miss any key detail. This was his first real involvement in an investigation since joining the force; although he knew some of the theory, he didn’t fully grasp it. He’d heard people joke before, calling Ning Shuyi the ‘Wang Yuyan of the police world,’ but today he was witnessing her abilities firsthand.

Ning Shuyi was so absorbed in discussing the case that she didn’t notice Huo Yan’s focus. She went on, "There’s another detail—I’m not sure if you’ve noticed it. The photo Wang Yuluo sent to Yu Mengpeng before she left home this morning shows her wearing a full face of carefully applied makeup, including a bright, flattering shade of lipstick. But when she appears on the mall and private cinema surveillance footage, her makeup—her eye and base makeup—remains intact, just as we saw at the scene. Only her lips are bare, wiped completely clean.

Zhao Dabao was taken aback by this, scratching his head sheepishly. "Wow, I really didn’t notice that detail. Huo Yan, did you?"

"I did," Huo Yan replied. He had noticed the difference in lipstick but hadn’t thought much about it.

"The lipstick Wang Yuluo used this morning was a vivid shade. I don’t use these things much myself, so I can’t tell you the exact color, but there’s something I know better than you two," Ning Shuyi explained to the two men, who were clueless about cosmetics. "My sister used to love wearing lipstick, so I picked up a thing or two. Those bright red shades cover the natural color of the lips perfectly, but getting them off cleanly isn’t something a facial tissue alone can achieve! Heavy colors tend to leave residue, so you need a proper makeup remover or at least a thorough wipe with a wet tissue to get them as spotless as we saw at the scene. And let’s be honest—eating popcorn doesn’t require wiping off all your lipstick. Even if she wanted to avoid getting lipstick on her food, she could have waited until she was inside the theater to wipe it off. But in reality, her lipstick was already gone when she entered the mall. Which means, before meeting that girl, she’d been somewhere else, met someone else, and for some reason or need, cleaned her lips meticulously.

"Afterward, perhaps because she was in a hurry or simply forgot, she didn’t reapply her lipstick before the meeting."

"Speaking of popcorn!" Zhao Dabao exclaimed, slapping his forehead. He stood up and fetched a report from his desk. "Here’s the test report that came back this morning! Yesterday you suspected the popcorn was off—and you were right! There’s definitely something wrong with it! Look—tests found extract from ‘hemp’ in the syrup coating the popcorn! When I picked up the report, I chatted with the lab techs. They said this stuff probably wasn’t mixed into the syrup by the seller, but is an industrially produced additive. It’s strictly banned here, absolutely illegal, but in Country A and Country C, it’s been legalized the past few years, and there are all sorts of related products. There have been cases of tourists—whether clueless or playing dumb—bringing it back, only to be caught and stopped by customs. The lab thinks the syrup drizzled on that popcorn probably came from over there!"

Ning Shuyi frowned. "Then this stuff isn’t cheap! That tub of popcorn definitely wasn’t bought at some random stand—it was carefully prepared! Whoever gave Wang Yuluo this treat is almost certainly connected to the unique substances left in her system!"

"Oh, by the way—about the data on Wang Yuluo’s phone. Yesterday was so busy I didn’t have time to copy it to the computer. Could you two handle that now?" Zhao Dabao recalled a task from the day before that they hadn’t yet completed.