"He owns a house and a car, and is young and promising," Liang Zichen replied without hesitation.
After listening, Wang Shen smiled. At this moment, Wang Shen had already walked into a barbecue restaurant.
"Officer Wang, you're here." The plump proprietress greeted Wang Shen warmly as he walked in. "Officer Wang, please have a seat. I'll serve you your food as soon as I'm done with my work," she said while attending to the other customers.
"It's alright, you go ahead and do your work." Wang Shen chose a corner seat and sat down.
"You don't mind eating here, do you?" After sitting down, Wang Shen glanced at Liang Zichen and asked.
“No. I find it strange that you would come here to eat. And the owner seems to know you quite well. Captain Wang, do you come here often?” Liang Zichen said to Wang Shen while looking around the restaurant.
“I don’t come here often, just more often than other shops. After a while, the owner here got to know me.” Wang Shen got up and took two glasses and two bottles of beer from the counter. After filling them, he placed one of the glasses in front of Liang Zichen.
"Captain Wang, you drink beer too?" Liang Zichen asked, looking at the glass of beer in front of him. "I thought you only drank red wine," Liang Zichen said with a smile, scratching the back of his head.
"You all misunderstand me so deeply?" Wang Shen was slightly surprised by Liang Zichen's words and chuckled twice. "I'm not as sophisticated as you think," Wang Shen added.
"By the way, Zichen, are you a local?"
"Yes." Liang Zichen nodded and took a sip of the beer in his glass.
"How did you come to the idea of becoming a police officer?" Wang Shen continued to ask.
After hearing Wang Shen's question, Liang Zichen fell silent and downed the wine in his glass in one gulp.
Seeing Liang Zichen's expression, Wang Shen stopped the conversation and refilled Liang Zichen's glass. "I was just asking casually, you don't need to worry about it."
Liang Zichen shook his head and replied, "Actually, it's nothing. I chose to be a policeman because I want to fight crime and protect the innocent. At least, I won't be bullied by others." After saying that, Liang Zichen took another big gulp of wine.
Wang Shen put down the wine bottle in his hand, picked up his own wine glass, clinked glasses with Liang Zichen, and drank the wine in his glass.
“When I was a child, my family was poor. My parents were cheated in their small business and later committed suicide. I chose to become a policeman because I didn’t want to be bullied.” As Liang Zichen spoke, the brightness in his eyes was tinged with sadness.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..."
“It’s alright.” Before Wang Shen could finish speaking, Liang Zichen looked up and smiled at him. “It’s all in the past. Besides, I was very young back then, and my memories are all blurry. And I’m doing very well now.” Liang Zichen’s face returned to its usual bright smile.
Liang Zichen finished his second glass of wine, paused for a moment, and then said, "That's why so many people envy you, Captain Wang. Your early success and your work-life balance are something everyone wants to emulate."
Wang Shen smiled and refilled Liang Zichen's glass, offering no further response. At this moment, the proprietress had already brought the grilled pork cartilage, kebabs, beef skewers, and grilled beef tendon to the table.
"Officer Wang, I'm sorry, the shop is quite busy today. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," the proprietress said with a smile from the side.
"You're too kind. By the way, I have a friend here today, so I'd like to order some more dishes," Wang Shen said with a smile to the proprietress.
"Do you want to eat fish?" Wang Shen then turned his gaze to Liang Zichen.
"Food." Liang Zichen nodded with a smile.
Wang Shen glanced at the menu, smiled, and said to the proprietress, "Then let's have another grilled fish, preferably a catfish with fewer bones. Also, a small grilled lamb leg, please."
"Okay, Officer Wang, please wait a moment." The proprietress smiled and walked away.
"Captain Wang, this meal is much better than the light meals at the coffee shop." Liang Zichen smiled and picked up the wine bottle to fill Wang Shen's glass.
"By the way, Captain Wang, what should we do next regarding Acheng's case?"
“We probably won’t get anything out of Qi Huan. It seems we’ll have to confront the suspects directly.” Wang Shen picked up a skewer of grilled meat and ate it while answering Liang Zichen’s question.
"You mean go ask Han Lin directly?" As he spoke, Liang Zichen picked up a skewer and put it in his mouth.
"Well, whether he admits it or not is fine. At least let him know we suspect him. That way, he might reveal some flaws. However, it would be best if we could find direct evidence of his crime." Wang Shen took a sip of wine, pursed his lips, and nodded, seemingly very satisfied with the restaurant's cooking.
"This is the only way."
"Alright, let's not talk about work anymore, let's eat." Wang Shen smiled and placed a skewer of grilled meat on Liang Zichen's plate.
It was quite late when Wang Shen returned home after dropping Liang Zichen off, but he still couldn't fall asleep. His mind was filled with details of the Han Mo case and some unresolved questions. Lying in bed, memories of his youth began to flood back.
The next day, Wang Shen contacted Han Lin, but Han Lin made excuses, saying he was busy for the next two days and couldn't meet with Wang Shen. Wang Shen didn't force Han Lin, because he knew that someone like Han Lin wouldn't abandon everything to flee before things were definitely exposed. So, Wang Shen patiently waited for two more days. In the blink of an eye, several days had passed since A-Cheng's accident. A-Cheng's condition was still not very stable. That day, Han Lin again made excuses, saying he was busy. But Wang Shen knew he couldn't wait any longer.
During the phone call with Han Lin, Wang Shen's tone became somewhat forceful. Han Lin had no choice but to agree to Wang Shen's request to meet. Upon learning that Han Lin was at home, Wang Shen then requested a visit. He skillfully countered Han Lin's previous refusals. Soon after, Wang Shen arrived at Han Lin's house, following the address provided by Han Lin.
Han Lin's home is located in an upscale villa community. Wang Shen stood at Han Lin's door and rang the doorbell. A short while later, Han Lin opened the door.
"Officer Wang, the house is a bit messy, please don't mind, make yourself at home." Han Lin gestured to the sofa and greeted him politely.
Wang Shen sat down on the sofa. At that moment, Han Lin poured a cup of tea and placed it in front of Wang Shen. "Manager Han, I've come here again to ask you about Acheng."
"Okay, please go ahead," Han Lin replied politely.
"I think Acheng's accident was not an accident, but a deliberate plot to kill him."
"Huh?" Han Lin immediately stood up from the sofa, looking very surprised. "Who would be so vicious?"
“We all know that people aren’t beasts; they won’t hurt others without a reason. So, there must be a reason why someone hurt Acheng. For example, does Acheng have some kind of leverage over him?” Wang Shen finished speaking and quietly looked at Han Lin.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
