Chapter Thirty-Nine: All Traces Vanished

Zhou Yi glanced at Fatty.

Although Fatty was eager to get started, all the students from Cheng Zhi’s year had already graduated—how was he supposed to find them?

“Do you have any leads?” Zhou Yi asked.

Fatty thought for a moment, then looked at Zhou Yi and blinked.

“You remember the phone number for our department, right? I can ask the teachers. It’s not hard to find out about one or two people. I’ll just say someone owes me money and I urgently need it—no one will refuse to share information after hearing that, right?”

Zhou Yi recalled the number the gatekeeper had dialed.

“I remember, but aren’t you supposed to be heading home because your father is seriously ill?”

Fatty rolled his eyes.

“That was hours ago—can’t I change the story? Give me the number, I’ll call. Just tell me what it is!”

Zhou Yi recited the number, and Fatty quickly dialed. It was almost five o’clock, and with the heavy snow outside, most people were probably leaving early. Fatty had no intention of wasting a minute.

After almost a minute of ringing, someone finally picked up, breathless and asking, “Hello? Who is this?”

Fatty adjusted his expression, quickly searched his memory upon hearing the voice, furrowed his brows, let his mouth droop, and spoke in a suppressed, tearful tone:

“Hello, Teacher Xing, this is He Yuntian. My father passed away, and I won’t be able to return for a while.”

Teacher Xing paused, cleared his throat, and said hurriedly, “Don’t worry. I’ll help you with a leave note later. You’re the man of the house now—you have to shoulder everything. Would you have your mother handle all this?”

Fatty sniffed, as if struggling to control his emotions. Zhou Yi couldn’t help but look up; Fatty’s voice was so convincing it was impossible not to be drawn in.

“I know, Teacher Xing. I actually have another favor to ask. There was a student in the Computer Science department last year named Cheng Zhi. He borrowed a considerable sum from me, and now I’m desperate for money. I can’t reach him by phone or any other means. I wanted to ask if you could help me find someone from his year who knew him, or even just someone from his class—I could call them myself. I wouldn’t bother you unless I was truly in a bind…”

By the end, Fatty’s voice was already choked with emotion, and Teacher Xing hurried to reassure him.

“Cheng Zhi, you say? I’ll ask around. I think I vaguely remember him—one of the more capable students in the department.”

Fatty’s eyes lit up and he quickly embellished the story, hoping to inspire Teacher Xing’s sense of justice.

“I really appreciate it, Teacher Xing. From what I know, he borrowed money from quite a few people—not just within our school, but from other schools as well. I wouldn’t be so anxious otherwise. I’m really worried something’s happened to him. Three thousand yuan isn’t a small amount for me!”

Teacher Xing drew in a sharp breath.

“You really lent him three thousand?”

Fatty gave a helpless laugh. “Yeah, he lived diagonally across from our dorm. My father sent me money to buy a phone, but it wasn’t enough, so I worked for a few months and saved exactly three thousand. Last year, around this time, he went around borrowing from every dorm. My roommate told him I had money—I couldn’t turn him down, so I lent it.”

The story was perfectly tailored—three thousand was no small sum, especially in these times, when four or five hundred a month was considered high living expenses. That was half a year’s worth, and with so many people involved, even small sums added up to something serious.

“This number will reach you, right? I’ll go ask the teachers from that year. I remember someone kept a contact list.”

“Thank you so much, Teacher Xing!”

Without further pleasantries, Teacher Xing hung up in a hurry. Fatty immediately changed his expression and smiled at Zhou Yi.

“All right, now we wait. I bet even if the teacher doesn’t have Cheng Zhi’s number, they’ll have someone else’s. I refuse to believe no one knows where he’s been—even if it’s just a former address or some personal info, I can dig up something useful.”

Zhou Yi nodded.

Fatty made good sense—no one can live without leaving traces. Graduation photos had to be mailed, which required an address.

The two waited for over ten minutes, just as Fatty was losing patience, two text messages arrived. Fatty opened the first: it was a densely packed list of contacts, names and phone numbers—clearly compiled by Teacher Xing.

As he was reading, another call came in. Fatty checked the number and quickly answered.

“Teacher Xing, I got your message!”

The person on the other end chuckled. “Good, glad you received it. That’s all I could find. When they took their graduation photos, everything was mailed to their homes. Cheng Zhi’s information wasn’t available to his advisor—he remembers copying it, but it was crossed out. He can’t recall the details now.”

Fatty glanced at Zhou Yi, impressed by the ingenuity.

“Thank you, Teacher Xing. I’ll ask around myself. If it weren’t urgent, I wouldn’t bother you.”

Teacher Xing’s tone grew serious.

“No, you must get back what’s yours. Their advisor tried calling Cheng Zhi just now, but the number couldn’t be reached. Apparently, there was contact as recently as last month. This really looks like he’s avoiding repayment. That money was hard-earned by your parents, and with so many people involved, it’s no longer a trivial matter. If you can’t find him, I suggest you report it to the police. No matter how talented he is, character comes first!”

Fatty exchanged a few more words and hung up. He looked at Zhou Yi and gestured toward the mall interior.

“It’s not really appropriate to talk about this here. How about we eat first, then discuss the rest? I’ve only got those two sweet potatoes in my stomach, and now it’s protesting!”

Zhou Yi laughed and patted Fatty’s shoulder.

“Let’s go. We’ll eat now, and later we’ll contact Su Yongming. The sooner we start designing, the sooner we get our computers—otherwise, we’re stuck.”

Zhou Yi had no objection to this.

The two quickly found a small hotpot restaurant, ordered some food in a private room, and started making calls, going down the list one by one.

Out of more than forty numbers, only three couldn’t be reached; the rest connected. Fatty used speakerphone, while Zhou Yi took notes. Amidst the scattered information, a few useful facts emerged.

First: Cheng Zhi had an ex-girlfriend, a current third-year student. They broke up suddenly on the day he graduated—no one knew why.

Second: In May, Cheng Zhi consulted a classmate about registering a company. That classmate’s father was a deputy director at the Industrial and Commercial Bureau and helped him find an agent to handle the registration. However, no one knew the company’s name.

Third: None of his acquaintances had ever visited his rented apartment; they only heard it was close to campus. The last anyone saw him was on graduation day, after which he vanished.

Zhou Yi wrote these points down on a sheet of paper, rubbing his chin as he fell deep into thought.

Fatty, famished, eagerly tossed food into his pot and started eating as soon as it was cooked, devouring everything with the speed of a ravenous wolf. Once half-full, he burped and finally looked at Zhou Yi.

“This guy’s got something going on. He set up a company in May, avoided all the people who could have connections. Everything that needed to be cut off was dealt with on graduation day—he didn’t pick up his diploma or photo in person, they were mailed, but even the address was crossed out. That’s not normal!”

Zhou Yi nodded. Everything Cheng Zhi had done was strange; clearly, he knew what would happen after graduation and had prepared in advance.

Zhou Yi narrowed his eyes, drank some water, and tapped his fingers on the table.

“Sophia said she sent Chosen Ones before, but their mission failed. I wonder what that means—did they fail to deal with Cheng Zhi, or did their whole group perish?”

Fatty, holding a glass of chilled beer, froze halfway through his drink.

He set the glass down slowly, piecing the events together, looking at Zhou Yi with a pale face.

“To erase all traces of yourself—to this degree, that’s no easy feat. I think he must have memories that let him prepare so thoroughly. If he knows what we’re here for, could it mean that group was killed by Cheng Zhi?”

Zhou Yi was silent, staring at the hotpot. Fatty suddenly found it unappetizing.