"What do you mean?" Wen Qing asked.

Ji Yanjun looked at Wen Qing and asked, "What do you mean?"

"What's it to you?" Wen Qing asked again.

Ji Yanjun remained silent.

Wen Qing's expression turned serious, and her whole demeanor sharpened: "Ji Yanjun, I don't care what you know, or how you've helped others. If you're standing in my way, I'll do whatever it takes to wipe you out. You can try if you don't believe me!"

Ji Yanjun stared straight at her, his gaze clear and calm.

Wen Qing stared back at him intently, wary and resolute. She took two steps back, then turned and entered the school without looking back.

Ji Yanjun stared silently, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He stood there for a long time until the school bell rang at Nanzhou No. 1 Middle School, which brought him back to his senses. When he looked for Wen Qing again, she was nowhere to be seen.

He raised his wrist and looked at the time on his watch. It was still early before the time he had agreed to meet Zhou Xu, so he called Gangzi first.

"Gangzi, you do well in Xiacheng. I won't be coming over for now," Ji Yanjun said, holding the phone.

"What? You're not coming? Why? Damn it, you tricked me!" Gangzi yelled from the other end.

"It's only temporary."

"How long is 'temporarily'?"

"It's not clear yet. If you need money or people, I can call and arrange it for you."

“Fine, I can manage on my own now anyway,” Gangzi said, then asked, “Are you staying in Nanzhou for Wen Qing?”

"Um."

"Just marry her! Wen Qing has such a fiery temper, she'll yell at anyone if she disagrees with you, she's only gentle with you, she can't stand anyone else. Or, why don't you two get your marriage certificate and move to Xiacheng to live separately?" Gangzi said.

Ji Yanjun said earnestly, "Gangzi, Wen Qing is different now."

"How is it different? Even if it's different, he'll still follow you around like a shadow, he likes you so much, isn't that enough?"

"That's not the point. You wouldn't understand. I'm hanging up now. I have things to do. Be careful over there."

"knew."

"Um."

After hanging up the phone, Ji Yanjun drove to find Zhou Xu.

Zhou Xu wasn't wearing his uniform today. As soon as he got on the bus, he said to Ji Yanjun with great interest, "Yanjun, I've been thinking about this all night. I went to ask Zhang Fangfang early this morning. Now that I think about it, maybe Zhang Fangfang really is innocent."

Ji Yanjun's eyes flashed, but his expression remained unchanged: "What do you mean?"

Zhou Xu said, "Zhang Fangfang kept shouting that she was wronged."

Ji Yanjun, with a blank expression, said while holding the steering wheel, "Do you think she can get away with making money off other people's hard work? I don't see how she's been wronged."

Zhou Xu chuckled: "Yanjun, you really are selfless."

Ji Yanjun smiled.

Zhou Xu continued, "Let's keep things separate. Zhang Fangfang said that the clothes with the Fengqing mark were made by Wenqing, but those without the Fengqing mark may still be made by Wenqing. She provided the fabric manufacturers, saying that there are records for every batch of fabric that came in, and it can be checked easily. The last batch she bought was inferior woolen fabric, and it's all in the store; not a single piece was sold. This can prove her innocence."

Ji Yanjun smiled upon hearing this.

Zhou Xu asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"I'm laughing at your foolishness."

"how?"

"A cunning rabbit has three burrows. If I did something bad, I would definitely find a legitimate way for you to investigate. I would never tell you any other way."

Zhou Xu stroked his chin: "What you said makes sense. Then let's go find Zhang Xiuying."

"Why are you looking for her?"

“She’s the key to this case. She’s taking goods from both Feng Qing and Su Fang’s families. Zhang Fangfang said she colluded with Wen Qing to frame Zhang Fangfang, so I think…”

"Use investigative methods to deal with Zhang Xiuying?" Ji Yanjun asked.

Zhou Xu nodded.

Ji Yanjun's expression turned slightly cold: "What if they force a confession out of me?"

“I’m a police officer. I know where the ‘degree’ lies. I can use the simplest methods to test the common people. They’re not spies. Besides, we can’t wrong innocent people, can we? In addition, I also plan to talk to Wen Qing.”

Ji Yanjun remained silent: "Okay, let's go together."

So Ji Yanjun and Zhou Xu went to Zhang Xiuying's shop. At first, Zhang Xiuying didn't recognize Zhou Xu, but when she did, she greeted him with a smile: "Comrade Policeman, you're here to buy clothes? What clothes do you like? I'll give you a discount."

"No rush." ​​The police officer said with a serious expression.

Zhang Xiuying's heart skipped a beat. What was going on? She couldn't help but look at Zhou Xu, then at Ji Yanjun. She knew Zhou Xu, but this was the first time she had met Ji Yanjun.

Ji Yanjun stood calmly beside Zhou Xu.

Zhang Xiuying was feeling very uneasy. While pouring water for Ji Yanjun and Zhou Xu, she hurriedly asked Lao He to tell Wen Qing that the police officers had come over.

Lao He used the excuse of delivering goods to run away. As soon as he stepped out the door, he ran towards Damo Plaza and went to Fengqing Clothing Store, but he couldn't find Wen Qing.

Seeing that the situation was urgent, Aunt Xiao asked Bao Hong to go to Nanzhou No. 1 Middle School to find Wen Qing.

Wen Qing had just finished class when she saw Bao Hong and asked in surprise, "Bao Hong, what happened? Why are you here at this hour?"

"Sister Wenqing, the police officers in plainclothes have gone to find Sister Zhang. They've arrived at Sister Zhang's shop."

Wen Qing was startled: "Just one police officer leading the group?"

"No, I heard from Boss He that there was a rather handsome man with them, I think his surname was Ji."

Surname Ji? Ji Yanjun? Wen Qing frowned and said, "I understand."

"But what should we do?" Bao Hong asked.

Wen Qing said, "Don't worry, this incident is not a big deal. There are no state secrets such as people being hurt. We are just small business owners, so the police will only ask us questions in the simplest way. As long as Sister Zhang answers the questions correctly, everything will be fine."

What if she doesn't pass the test?

"We will proceed with the next greeting."

"Then what?"

“There won’t be a 'then',” Wen Qing said. What she really meant was that the 'then' would be that her actions would be exposed, and the police would find out that the substandard products were made not only by Su Fangzhang and Fang Fang, but also by Feng Qing and Wen Qing.

Wen Qing was merely using deception to make Zhang Fangfang's mistakes more obvious and serious.

"So, Sister Wenqing, are you going back now?" Baohong asked.

Wen Qing: "Go back and wait for me at the school gate. I'm going to ask the homeroom teacher for leave."

"good."

When Wen Qing went to ask for leave, Zhou Xu and Ji Yan had already finished exchanging pleasantries with Ji Xiuying.

Zhou Xu looked at Zhang Xiuying and asked, "Do you know why I came to see you in plain clothes?"

Zhang Xiuying shook her head: "I don't know." To ease the tension, she said, "Please have a seat."

Zhou Xu and Ji Yanjun sat down, with Ji Yanjun sitting slightly behind and to the side of Zhou Xu.

Zhang Xiuying sat opposite Zhou Xu, feeling slightly uneasy.

"Some people say that you colluded with Boss Feng Qing and Wen Qing to try to dominate the Nanzhou clothing market," Zhou Xu said seriously, his tone businesslike.

Zhang Xiuying laughed, "Who said that?" But before her smile could fully bloom, seeing that Zhou Xu and Ji Yan were both expressionless, she dared not laugh anymore.

"Is there such a thing? Answer yes or no." Zhou Xu's expression was quite solemn.

Zhang Xiuying had to be serious: "No."

"You and Wen Qing have known each other for a long time, haven't you?"

"yes."

"You and Wen Qing are very close, aren't you?"

"yes."

"In your opinion, Wen Qing is a better fit for collaboration than Zhang Fangfang, isn't she?"

At this moment, Ji Yanjun seemed to have gotten tired of sitting and straightened up, interrupting Zhang Xiuying's focused attention. Zhang Xiuying quickly replied, "No."

Zhang Xiuying's answer made Zhou Xu frown slightly. He continued to ask, "Is Su Fang's clothing store newly opened?"

"yes."

"You two only recently met, didn't you?"

"yes."

"She lives on the same street as you, so her business is in competition with yours, isn't it?"

Ji Yanjun reached out and slightly touched his forehead, which Zhang Xiuying perceived as an intrusion out of the corner of her eye. She immediately replied, "No."

Zhou Xu turned to look at Ji Yanjun, who asked, "Can we go now?"

Zhou Xu nodded.

“Okay, let’s go.” Ji Yanjun stood up.

Zhang Xiuying smiled apologetically, but glanced at Ji Yanjun suspiciously. Ji Yanjun nodded to her, and then left with Zhou Xu.

Just then, Lao He returned.

"Wife, how's it going?" Old He rushed in.

"That scared me to death." Zhang Xiuying patted her chest and said, "Luckily, I'm knowledgeable and experienced, otherwise we would all be in trouble if we had been intimidated by them. It's also fortunate that the police officers in Nanzhou City are not very professional, otherwise we would have been in trouble too."

"What's wrong?" Old He asked.

Zhang Xiuying said, "They started to doubt Wen Qing. No, it should be said that the police officers did not completely trust Wen Qing. But Mr. Ji next to the police officers was very strange. He pulled me back to reality several times."

"Wife, what are you saying?" Old He asked.

Zhang Xiuying then remembered: "Did you find Wen Qing?"

"No, Wen Qing is definitely in class at this time, but Bao Hong went to look for her."

"That's good. With Wen Qing here, Feng Qing will be fine," Zhang Xiuying said.

Wen Qing rushed as fast as she could, but she was still a step too late when she arrived at Feng Qing Clothing Store.

When she saw Zhou Xu and Ji Yanjun, she deliberately feigned surprise: "Police officers, what brings you here? Are you here to buy clothes? We only sell women's clothes here."

When Zhou Xu saw Wen Qing, he smiled. Besides her good looks, Wen Qing had left a deep impression on him. She was smart and calm, which were such rare qualities. So he smiled and said, "No, I'm not here to buy clothes. I just came to ask about something."

"Sit down and let's talk," Wen Qing said with a smile.

"Okay, fine." Zhou Xu looked at Wen Qing with a smile on his face and in his eyes. This smile made Ji Yanjun very uncomfortable. What made him even more uncomfortable was that Wen Qing was also smiling at Zhou Xu.

"Have some water." Wen Qing took two white tea mugs from Bao Hong, pushing one to Ji Yanjun with one hand and the other to Zhou Xu with both hands.

"Thank you, thank you," Zhou Xu said with a smile.

Ji Yanjun remained silent, took the white tea mug, and lowered his head to drink the water.

Wen Qing smiled and asked, "Officer, what's the matter? Go ahead and ask."

Wen Qing's calm and polite demeanor pleased Zhou Xu, and his initial intention to make things difficult lessened. In addition, Zhang Xiuying's answer was not what he wanted, so he simply went through the motions when asking Wen Qing questions.

After all, compared to the evidence he was looking for to "frame" her, the evidence of Zhang Fangfang making inferior clothes was too sufficient, with eyewitness testimony, physical evidence, and a very reasonable timeline.

Therefore, Wen Qing did not encounter the difficulties she had expected, and Zhou Xu and Ji Yanjun left.

This surprised Wen Qing greatly: "They left already?"

“Sister Wenqing, you’re still not satisfied? I was terrified when Boss He told me the police were coming,” Bao Hong said.

"It's not that it's not satisfying, it's just that it feels too easy."

"Too easy?" Bao Hong asked. "Why?"

Wen Qing replied, "I don't know either."

At the same time, Zhou Xu said to Ji Yanjun apologetically, "Yanjun, I'm really sorry, I probably won't be able to help your neighbor now."

Ji Yanjun's appearance had been less than pleasing since Zhou Xu began looking at Wen Qing, but it had improved slightly at this moment.

"Compared to the evidence collected on the spot that day, the evidence that Zhang Fangfang collected while crying injustice was too far-fetched and weak, and could not help her clear her name at all."

Ji Yanjun nodded: "How should I be punished? I'll talk to my family about it when I get home, since they're my neighbor after all."

Zhou Xu paused for a moment and said, "There are two punishments: either going to jail or paying compensation and a fine."

"Okay, I understand. I will pass it on."

Ji Yanjun drove Zhou Xu back to the county town. As he passed a newspaper stand, he saw a crowd of people whispering among themselves. Ji Yanjun overheard the name "Wen Qing".

Ji Yanjun immediately got out of the car and listened carefully, and heard these two sentences:

"Wen Qing is in the newspaper!"

"Is that Wen Qing who became famous on the pedestrian street a few days ago?"