Chapter 53 Celebrity 2 Acting like she's some big shot.
This was Qiu Xiaoman's first visit to Shen Tenglong's home.
She assumed that even if his family wasn't extremely wealthy, they should at least live in a newly built apartment complex with good surrounding amenities, but she was wrong...
What comes into view are old, dilapidated tenement buildings, quite far from the bus stop, with walls covered in messy little advertisements, disgusting like a skin disease.
The stairwell was gloomy even during the day, and the stairs were dilapidated, with pieces missing here and there, as if they had been chewed by a dog.
Afraid she might fall, Shen Tenglong took the fruit and milk she had bought on the way from her and reminded her, "Be careful. There was a murder in this building a few years ago, and people have been saying it's haunted ever since, so many people have moved away."
A murder case? Qiu Xiaoman asked curiously, "What case?"
“There was a female college student who had a boyfriend in school. They were even talking about marriage after graduation. Later, her boss tried to sexually harass her, and she couldn't refuse. After the affair was exposed, her boyfriend killed her and her boss together. She lived upstairs.” Shen Tenglong wasn't sure if Qiu Xiaoman would be scared, so he thought for a moment and asked, “Do you believe in ghosts and spirits?”
"I believe you." When Qiu Xiaoman reached the third floor, a man with half of his face disfigured came down in front of her. Judging from the injuries, they were either burns or scalds.
At the same time, the system screamed: "Host! Host! Murderer! Murderer!"
"What?" Qiu Xiaoman stared in astonishment at the man's retreating figure, wondering to herself, "Who did he kill?"
“He killed several! You’ve heard of one of the women!” Xiaomi’s voice trembled slightly. “How brutal! He burned that woman alive! He was afraid the police would find out it was him, so he staged the scene as an accidental fire! He even deliberately set himself on fire, which disfigured him. The police couldn’t find any evidence of arson, so they had to release him!”
Qiu Xiaoman stopped in surprise, just as the man heard her footsteps stop and turned around to look.
Their eyes met, and Qiu Xiaoman saw numbness and dullness in the man's eyes.
Like a dull, wooden goose, it's hard to imagine that this person is actually a murderer!
At the same time, Xiaomi's voice set off Qiu Xiaoman's alarm bells.
Because this person killed Liu Yuandou's sister-in-law!
The woman who raised Liu Kun!
After saying this, Little Honey issued a "gossip mission": find evidence of the murderer's crime and bring him to justice!
"He is a serial killer! The host needs to find the other victims and gather evidence to solve this major case! A reward of 100,000 will be given for each case! An additional reward of 500,000 will be given for solving all of them!"
Qiu Xiaoman asked curiously, "So how many people did he actually kill?"
"nine!"
"Who are the other eight? Oh, right, I'll find them myself, okay?" While Qiu Xiaoman was communicating with Xiaomimi using her mind, she had already looked away, and the man slowly went downstairs.
She turned her gaze back to the system interface. Great, the case scroll opened, revealing the name card of the main culprit, Zhou Wang, and two gray name cards of accomplices next to him. The details were unknown and she would have to investigate them herself.
There were nine name cards in total, but only one was lit up; the rest were gray.
It seems I need to find some time to thoroughly investigate Zhou Wang's family and social connections.
Qiu Xiaoman walked steadily up the stairs without looking back.
When she reached the sixth floor, she finally saw Shen Tenglong's home. Well, it was small but complete.
Moreover, it was kept clean and tidy, giving it a sense of purity amidst the mud in this old and dilapidated tenement building.
She took the milk and fruit, stood at the door, and looked around. A middle-aged woman wearing an apron was cooking in the communal kitchen. She was overjoyed to see her and thought to herself that the child looked just like Shen Qinghuai.
The woman greeted her with a smile, "You must be Xiaoman!"
Qiu Xiaoman recognized her! It was her aunt who had collected her body! Zhang Guoying!
She quickly walked over with a smile, put down the milk and fruit, and took the plate from her aunt: "It's me, hello Auntie!"
"Hey! Hello! You're here now. What did you bring? Come in and sit down! It's a bit cramped at home, don't mind!" Zhang Guoying smiled so much her eyes were almost closed. She went to the kitchen and brought over a plate of braised pork. She turned around, wiped her hands on her apron, and went to the inner room to find a box of Wahaha drinks and handed it to her.
“I don’t know what you like to drink, but your brother said this is delicious, so you should try it!” Zhang Guoying smiled and picked up a rice spoon to serve Qiu Xiaoman a large bowl.
Qiu Xiaoman couldn't eat that much, so she pushed the bowl to Shen Tenglong: "Brother, you eat. Aunt, I'll serve myself."
Zhang Guoying didn't want to force her, so she sat down and waited for her to come over. She explained, "Your uncle is away on a business trip these past few days. His company has a batch of payments that they can't collect, and his boss asked him to go with his colleagues. He's not good with words, but he's tall and strong, and he's quite intimidating when he stands there. He's pretty good at collecting debts. I'll tell you when he gets back, and then I'll have your brother bring you over."
Qiu Xiaoman had no particular desire to see this uncle, but she had to give her aunt face, so she readily agreed.
We chatted at the dinner table and learned that my uncle, Shen Qinghai, is forty-eight years old and works in a machinery factory, while my aunt is forty-six and works in a surveying and mapping bureau. It's a stable job, but you can't make a fortune there.
The couple originally had two sons and a daughter, Shen Tenglong, Shen Yuehu, and Shen Yufeng. In the summer of 1979, the three siblings went to play at the reservoir, but only one son and one daughter returned.
Shen Yuehu has disappeared without a trace, neither alive nor dead. He was most likely swept downstream somewhere by the current.
Qiu Xiaoman, unaware of all this, quickly grabbed two tissues and wiped her aunt's tears.
Zhang Guoying lamented, "Yu Feng suffered a mental breakdown because of that incident. She always felt that her second brother was waiting for her in the water, and she wanted to jump into any water she saw. I was busy with work and sometimes had to travel all over the country to do surveying, so I couldn't be with her all the time. I had no choice but to send her to a mental hospital."
So that's how it is. My aunt's life has been quite difficult.
Qiu Xiaoman held her hand and comforted her, "It will be alright. I'll go see Sister Yufeng when I have time."
“It’s your younger sister. She’s the same age as you, but younger than you on your birthday.” Zhang Guoying took the tissue and wiped her tears. “Look at me, why are you saying all this? Come on, let’s eat.”
Qiu Xiaoman was actually quite willing to listen to these things; she wanted to get to know her aunt better. However, the topic was too heavy, so she decided to wait for her aunt to calm down.
She changed the subject: "Big brother, don't you have a girlfriend yet?"
“They were engaged, but then he lost his job, so they broke up.” Zhang Guoying sighed as she spoke of her former prospective daughter-in-law. “They even gave her a dowry of 3,000 yuan and three gold pieces, which they didn’t return. Your uncle and I are both shy, so we didn’t dare to ask for it back. Your older brother is even more foolish; he said he could earn it back if he worked hard, so he didn’t ask for it back.”
Qiu Xiaoman was speechless. They broke off the engagement but didn't return the betrothal gifts and the three gold pieces? How greedy! It wasn't her older brother who broke off the engagement.
Besides, so what if he's laid off! Shen Qinghuai is his uncle; he can't just abandon him!
What a short-sighted move!
Qiu Xiaoman asked, and lo and behold, what a pair of enemies! That person was actually Liu Yuandou's granddaughter.
Because Liu Yuandou favored sons over daughters, none of his daughters received any inheritance, and their dowries were meager. As a result, this granddaughter's family did not live a very good life.
No wonder they were reluctant to return the betrothal gifts; it's rare to find a sucker like Shen Tenglong.
Qiu Xiaoman was speechless.
When she was leaving after the meal, Zhang Guoying gave her the milk and fruit she had brought, and also gave her two red envelopes. She would get angry if she didn't accept them.
Qiu Xiaoman bargained: "Then you can take the milk and fruit, otherwise I won't need my older brother to pick me up and drop me off at get off work."
Alright, Zhang Guoying obediently surrendered.
Even after Qiu Xiaoman had gone downstairs, Zhang Guoying was still reminiscing, thinking back to when Yu Feng was also a vibrant girl like Xiaoman.
If only that hadn't happened, sigh.
Qiu Xiaoman checked the time and asked Shen Tenglong to take her back to the courtyard house.
"What are you going to the courtyard house for?" Shen Tenglong was worried that she would be late for the criminal investigation building.
Qiu Xiaoman insisted, "I'll have my dog keep an eye on the murderer."
"What? A murderer? Who is it?" Shen Tenglong looked completely bewildered.
Qiu Xiaoman raised an eyebrow: "It's that disfigured man in the stairwell."
"Huh? No way, he's usually very honest." Shen Tenglong was even more confused. "That uncle's name is Zhou Wang. Didn't Jiang Mingyuan take you to see a veterinarian? He's the cousin of the veterinarian, Uncle Zhou, and he works at a gas station. His wife hits and scolds him, but he never fights back or talks back."
"A gas station?" That makes sense now. Qiu Xiaoman countered, "Haven't you ever thought about it? Why would his wife beat and scold him for no reason?"
"..." Shen Tenglong clearly hadn't thought about this question, and he was stuck.
Qiu Xiaoman laughed: "You're so silly! But I like it."
There are advantages to being naive; such people are honest, kind-hearted, sentimental, and won't harm others.
Otherwise, out of so many people in the Shen family, why was it specifically this mother and son who went to collect her body?
Qiu Xiaoman was a grateful person, so she gave Shen Tenglong some advice: "Just work hard for your uncle. As long as it's not illegal or disorderly, do whatever he asks you to do. He won't treat you badly. Just don't go out and try to make your own way in the world. You might get sold out without even knowing it!"
Shen Tenglong chuckled and scratched the back of his head: "That's what my uncle said about me too, hehe."
Qiu Xiaoman didn't respond to that; she hated that she was thinking the same thing as Shen Qinghuai.
This proves that she is indeed his child, without a doubt.
The more this happened, the more she hated it! But she didn't want to take her anger out on Shen Tenglong.
Taking a deep breath, she smiled and patted his shoulder: "Let's go, I'll go get a dog."
The car quickly drove out of the community gate, and in the rearview mirror, Shen Tenglong actually saw Liu Kun.
Liu Kun's car was parked on the side of the road, and he was talking to the disfigured man by rolling down the window.
Shen Tenglong hesitated for a moment, but still reminded him, "Uncle Zhou from the gas station is over there."
Qiu Xiaoman glanced back and saw Liu Kun handing a wad of cash to the man.
Something's not right!
However, not wanting to alert the enemy, she instructed Shen Tenglong, "Don't worry about it, let me go and get the dog out first."
*
On the side of the road, Liu Kun looked at Zhou Wang impatiently: "Gambling again?"
Zhou Wang counted the banknotes he had received. Today was truly an unexpected delight, and he smiled contentedly.
Liu Kun glanced at the rearview mirror. Officer Qiu had just gone upstairs with Shen Tenglong. He couldn't follow them in, so he could only wait downstairs. Unexpectedly, he ran into Zhou Wang, who was returning from a restaurant.
Now that Shen Tenglong had left with Qiu Xiaoman, he quickly backed the car out, and casually warned Zhou Wang, "Go ask Liu Yuandou for your money yourself from now on, don't bother me!"
Zhou Wang gave an honest smile: "President Liu is busy, I can't help it. Why don't you ask him to give me the demolition compensation for my uncle's house? My uncle's family only has an old lady who is about to die, it won't be of any use to her."
Liu Kun did not answer. He had always been curious about how Zhou Wang had gotten involved with Liu Yuandou. On the surface, it should be because of his uncle's house being demolished.
But he always felt something was wrong, because after Zhou Wang's uncle finalized the demolition compensation and signed all the paperwork, the whole family went on a trip. Unexpectedly, the hotel they stayed in caught fire, and all seven of them died in their sleep. Only an elderly woman with mobility issues escaped the disaster because she was too weak to go on the trip.
Once the old lady dies, according to the order of succession, Zhou Wang will be his uncle's only heir.
After all, his maternal grandparents only had one son and one daughter, and Zhou Wang's mother had died long ago.
Is there really such a good thing in the world?
Liu Kun found it unbelievable, but he didn't have time to study it right now. He just wanted to get rid of the man as soon as possible, so he agreed with a sour face.
By the time he finally managed to back out of the alley, Shen Tenglong's car was long gone.
That damned Zhou Wang, he's really caused a lot of harm!
Liu Kun had no choice but to go eat first.
I had just sat down at a tiny, hole-in-the-wall restaurant when my cell phone rang.
Liu Yuandou asked angrily, "What exactly did you do? Shen Qinghuai attacked me for no reason!"
Liu Kun expressionlessly moved his mobile phone away, and only after Liu Yuandou finished yelling did he say gloatingly, "I already asked you whether you should have informed Director Chen before contacting Officer Qiu, but you didn't listen. What's the use of yelling at me now?"
"It's all because you're useless! If you had taken down that Qiu guy, that Chen guy wouldn't have dared to mess with me!" Liu Yuan was furious. He gave Liu Kun a death order, "I'll give you three more days. If you don't complete the task, don't expect me to give you control of the branch offices! You better watch yourself!"
Liu Kun was speechless. He had no ability but to yell at him, and he even had designs on other people's daughters. How shameless of him.
Sure enough, his terrible genes have a source: his mother is shameless and selfish, and his father is despicable and vile.
He seemed to truly deserve the fate of being despised by everyone.
At that moment, Liu Kun clenched his fist in his chest; perhaps no tender shoots should have sprouted there, he was unworthy.
But he wanted revenge! He wanted to make Liu Yuandou penniless! He wanted to ensure that his own mother would never be able to dream of being a wealthy woman!
He let go of the food, looked down at the clump of noodles in the bowl, and ate it expressionlessly.
At the same time, Qiu Xiaoman brought Xiaohua out. Xiaobai was seriously injured and could not walk freely. Mango was pregnant and could not take risks, so Xiaohua had to go on the expedition.
She called Captain Zou to tell him she would be half an hour late.
Team Leader Zou was already waiting in the office of the Criminal Investigation Department. He had planned to take a nap and then go to the door to pick up the person, but Qiu Xiaoman gave him a huge scare.
Team Leader Zou gripped the microphone and stood up: "What? A serial killer? Killed nine? Who is that? I don't know anything about him!"
Not wanting to waste money on the phone, Qiu Xiaoman could only instruct, "Wait until I get there! Arrange for a few experienced detectives to wait, I'll be there as soon as possible."
Team Leader Zou immediately set about making arrangements, mobilizing troops and generals.
Everyone was already incredibly curious about Qiu Xiaoman, and when they heard that this young comrade had actually discovered a serial killer, they were utterly dumbfounded.
Everyone is eager to get started, just waiting for Comrade Qiu to arrive and show off his skills!
Liu Kai, a greenhorn, was not selected and could only watch with envy as Tiger led Chen Jianjun and followed Team Leader Zou to the conference room.
Team Leader Zou counted the number of people, and there were just enough for a football team.
It wasn't intentional on his part, but rather a coincidence. Some experienced officers had gone on missions, leaving only these elite officers in the building.
He called Qiu Xiaoman and asked, "We shouldn't need Comrade Wu Shirong's help, right?"
Qiu Xiaoman picked up the mobile phone: "I don't need it for now, and who knows what will happen in the future."
"Okay, we're all here, just waiting for you. Don't rush, safety comes first. Better to wait three minutes than risk one second, unless it's an emergency call. Normally, you must wait at a red light!" It was rare for Captain Zou to nag, after all, his former partner had died trying to save that one second, a memory that would haunt him forever.
Qiu Xiaoman agreed and hung up the phone. She instructed Xiaohua, "Follow Zhou Wang for a few days to get a feel for his daily routine, but don't alert him."
Xiao Hua didn't recognize Zhou Wang, but he could smell him. He followed Shen Tenglong and stopped at the entrance of 401, which was Zhou Wang's home.
Having found his way, he quickly slipped out of the car and reported to Qiu Xiaoman: "There really is a smell of gasoline in front of his house! It must have gotten on him while he was working! Master, you go to work now, I'll keep an eye on him!"
Qiu Xiaoman rewarded him with a piece of chicken breast and reminded him, "Your leg isn't fully healed yet, so be careful."
"Don't worry, Master!" Little Flower limped into the stairwell.
Qiu Xiaoman hurriedly headed towards the criminal investigation building.
When she arrived at the conference room door, she saw Captain Zou with a serious expression. She didn't realize how much of a commotion it was until she followed Captain Zou inside and saw so many senior colleagues sitting in the conference room. Only then did she secretly think that Captain Zou had tricked her!
She didn't invite this many people! Oh well, what's done is done!
She smiled as she closed the door and politely greeted her seniors.
Team Leader Zou smiled and asked her to sit down, then introduced her to the frontline officers who were present.
They act like she's some big shot.
She was a little flattered and quickly got up to shake hands with each person and recognize them.
Among the crowd, there was a police officer who looked inconspicuous, with a round face and round eyes, and a very kind and approachable smile.
But when she mentioned that the victims included Liu Yuandou's sister-in-law, she excused herself and left, saying she needed to urinate.
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