152: Sponsored scholarships, work-study programs

Ye Lin shook his head regretfully. If he could find the taxi's license plate, he would most likely know where Liang Jing went.

"Liang Jing left the school at 5:10 PM, and then committed suicide by jumping off a building at 11:00 PM. It seems the truth lies in that time period tonight."

"Alright, everyone is tired today. Tomorrow, after the forensics team recovers Liang Jing's phone, we'll see if there are any clues," Yu Haifeng said.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, Yu Haifeng, accompanied by Ye Lin and Sun Jinghua, arrived at Yuezhou University to interview Liang Jing's roommates.

When he saw the three girls, Ye Lin looked at their haggard faces and knew that leaving them alone yesterday was the right decision.

In fact, Ding Xiaolin and the other two had not slept well last night. They spent the entire night wondering if Liang Jing would come back to find them, only falling asleep close to morning. Now, they hadn't even fully woken up before being called by the security office for an interview. How could they be in good spirits?

"You are Liang Jing's roommates, aren't you? We are from the Branch Bureau's Criminal Police Team. My name is Yu Haifeng, this is Ye Lin, and this is Sun Jinghua. We would like to ask you some questions now, if that's alright," Yu Haifeng said in a lowered voice.

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm." The three nodded like little chicks pecking at rice. They desperately hoped to find out why Liang Jing died as soon as possible, preferably not because of them. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully ever again.

"Lin Zi, let's talk separately to speed things up?" Yu Haifeng asked, feigning casualness.

Actually, they had already discussed it with Ye Lin before arriving: they absolutely had to separate them and conquer them one by one. Once the three young girls were separated and had no one to rely on, they would definitely spill the beans faster than anyone in front of veteran detectives like them.

"Alright, then I'll talk to Xie Hong," Ye Lin said, pretending to choose casually.

They had previously consulted Teacher Wu about the personalities of the three girls. Xie Hong was the most timid, so Ye Lin would focus on her for a breakthrough. Yu Haifeng would talk to Ding Xiaolin, and Sun Jinghua would handle Sun Yanxue.

The three each found a small classroom and began.

Ye Lin looked at Xie Hong sternly and asked in a deep voice, "Do you know why we're here to see you?"

Xie Hong was so nervous that she kept picking at her fingers. She was naturally a dependent person, and with her two mainstays absent, she was completely flustered.

"I know, Liang Jing jumped," she replied softly.

"Alright, I'll reiterate our policy: leniency for confession, severity for resistance. I hope you answer truthfully."

"Mm."

Ye Lin nodded. Looking at the girl, her psychological defenses seemed to have been broken. He needed to be a little gentler now. Speaking in a stern tone first, then switching to a gentle tone, would instantly create a false impression in the interviewee's mind, making them feel as if you were the closest person. This was also an interrogation technique.

Of course, this was also based on the premise that they were basically confirmed not to be the murderers, as Liang Jing most likely committed suicide after going out and returning.

"Alright, tell me about your relationship with Liang Jing. Take your time, don't be afraid," Ye Lin asked gently.

As expected, Xie Hong, who had been very nervous and even a little scared, broke down emotionally after Ye Lin's comfort and started talking like a spilled bag of beans.

According to her, at the beginning of freshman year, the four of them had a relatively normal relationship. Later, because Liang Jing was too outstanding and not very good at communicating with people, coupled with the girls' jealousy and Ding Xiaolin's strong encouragement, the three began to ostracize Liang Jing. By sophomore year, they basically stopped talking to each other.

They would occasionally deliberately play tricks on her, such as hiding her belongings or damaging her computer. The purpose was simple: they didn't want to see Liang Jing so outstanding, especially since she was also beautiful.

Ye Lin slowly took notes. This kind of cold violence would indeed affect Liang Jing's psychology, but it probably wouldn't lead to suicide. The key was still her social interactions.

"When you treated her like that, didn't she argue with you?" Ye Lin asked.

Xie Hong recalled, "Liang Jing was quite tolerant and generally wouldn't argue with us. It was just that sometimes when we were chatting and she was still studying, Xiaolin would deliberately steer the conversation towards her, saying she was seducing men or something like that. At that time, she would get very angry and argue with us, saying she didn't, and sometimes she would even cry."

"Seducing men? What does that mean? Does she have a boyfriend?"

"Police Officer, although we haven't seen her boyfriend, she definitely has a man outside. She often brings back small gifts, saying they were obtained from participating in charity performances for students in need."

"But, oh, one time she brought back a designer handbag, and Xiaolin even mocked her, saying, 'Are your charity performances for students in need so generous now?' meaning she wasn't going to charity performances at all, but rather looking for someone to be kept by." After relaxing, Xie Hong's gossip talent emerged, and she spoke vividly.

Designer handbag?

Ye Lin remembered the designer bag Sun Jinghua found in Liang Jing's suitcase. It was confirmed to be genuine, with a price of about 20,000 yuan, which Liang Jing couldn't afford.

"Then Liang Jing didn't argue with you?" Ye Lin asked calmly, also pouring Xie Hong a glass of water to help her relax further.

"No, it was very strange. That night, she seemed to have cried, and her face was very pale. We talked about her, but she pretended not to hear and went straight to bed."

"Did she use that designer bag later?"

"No, we never saw her use it again. We guessed she probably sold it. Xiaolin said she must have been kept by someone outside, exchanging her body for it."

"Then you didn't talk about who was keeping her?" Ye Lin asked, pretending to smile.

Xie Hong pondered for a moment, then said with a gossipy expression, "We did talk about it, and we were actually quite curious. Liang Jing didn't go out much, saying she was afraid of spending money. She just often had to go to performances because someone sponsored her scholarship. We all guessed that she was being kept by the sponsor."

Looking at Xie Hong's triumphant expression, Ye Lin could already imagine how the three of them mocked Liang Jing behind her back.

"What did you just say about a sponsor giving scholarships? What does that mean? Don't scholarships all come from the school?" Ye Lin asked calmly.

"The school's money is so little! Even a first-class scholarship is only 3,000 yuan, too little. Liang Jing couldn't even get a first-class one, only a second-class one of 2,000 yuan, which is not enough at all," Xie Hong said disdainfully.

"But isn't there also a special hardship subsidy?"

Although Ye Lin hadn't received any scholarships in this life, he knew about these things in his previous life.

"Ah, yes, there is, but it's also very little!" Xie Hong said bluntly, "Liang Jing not only wanted to go to school for free but also wanted to earn some money for her family. Do you think she could manage that?"