Do you usually get into such big arguments over such trivial matters?
"No, no. Actually, in the end, he's not that bad." The fat chef's voice trailed off as he spoke.
"Can you tell me what caused this serious argument between you?" Wang Shen put down his pen and looked at the fat chef sitting in front of him. Seeing that the fat chef didn't react, Wang Shen turned his gaze to the others standing. Wang Shen's gaze swept over each of them, and each person lowered their head as he looked at them.
"You guys are usually so good at gossiping, but now that I'm asking you something serious, why are you all so quiet? Quickly tell Officer Wang the truth." Seeing that everyone had fallen silent, Han Lin once again adopted a serious, leader-like demeanor and urged them on.
Han Lin's words still carried weight; one of the female waitresses raised her head slightly and even raised her hand.
"It's okay, just tell me," Wang Shen said with a smile, glancing at the female waitress.
“Actually, I think Fatty went too far that day.” (Fatty refers to the chubby chef sitting in front of Wang Shen.) After the female waitress finished speaking, the chubby chef looked up at her. The female waitress turned her face slightly to the side, avoiding the chubby chef's gaze, and continued, “Many people have occasional friction with Acheng. Actually, there aren't any major conflicts. It all comes down to his relationship with the boss…” The female waitress suddenly paused here, secretly glancing at Han Lin.
Seeing that Han Lin's expression didn't change much, the female waitress continued, "I believe Officer Wang understands this. To put it bluntly, we're just jealous. But we only say those hurtful things in private, and we never dare to say them in front of A-Cheng. But that day, Fatty was probably furious, and he started talking without restraint. He kept saying that A-Cheng was a gigolo, and he even attacked the boss. He said the boss... said the boss was an old cow eating young grass."
"You're talking nonsense!" The fat chef suddenly stood up from his seat after hearing the last sentence and pointed at the female food runner with his index finger.
"How dare you be so insolent in front of Officer Wang!" Han Lin suddenly yelled at the chubby chef. The chef glanced at Han Lin's expression, and seeing that Han Lin was truly angry, he obediently returned to his seat. The female waitress, frightened by the chef's outburst, refused to speak again and hid behind the crowd.
"Is what she just said true?" Wang Shen then turned his gaze to the others, seeking answers from them one by one.
"Speak!" Han Lin seemed genuinely enraged, standing to the side and shouting at the crowd.
After Han Lin finished shouting, he saw everyone nod in unison. "Actually, I also felt that Fatty's words were really hurtful that day, no wonder Acheng was so angry." It was another chef who spoke.
"You!" The fat chef pointed at the chef in front of him, too angry to speak.
"Now I want to hear the truth from you. Is what they just said the actual situation?" Wang Shen turned his gaze back to the fat chef.
The portly chef fell silent again, straightened up, and silently lowered his head. After a while, he looked up at Wang Shen, then nodded helplessly. "But, officer, I said those things, but I really didn't retaliate against him because of them. I swear I really didn't." The portly chef suddenly became nervous again, looking at Wang Shen with earnest eyes.
Wang Shen didn't pay much attention to the fat chef's explanation, nor did he respond to his words. Wang Shen's nose lingered on the notebook. Initially, Wang Shen had harbored some doubts about the relationship between the young man, A-Cheng, and the female boss. Now, those doubts had lessened considerably. The main reason for A-Cheng's argument with the fat chef wasn't the lighter, but rather what the fat chef said afterward. If the accounts of those in front of Wang Shen were true, then the final trigger was likely the phrase "an old cow eating young grass." This impulse is common when someone falls in love. They can endure all slander and harm themselves, but they can't bear to see their loved one suffer the same pain. Therefore, A-Cheng's argument with the fat chef was probably because A-Cheng was standing up for the female boss, Qi Huan. From this, it can be inferred that A-Cheng's feelings for Qi Huan are genuine.
Wang Shen glanced up at the portly chef sitting across from him again. He simply couldn't accept the fact that he was the mastermind behind the accident. In his mind, he had already categorized this incident as a high-IQ crime. Now, Wang Shen was waiting for the test results of the two gloves sent back to the police station. Wang Shen suspected that the gloves and clothes A-Cheng was wearing had been deliberately doused with gasoline, leading to the severe burns. But the question remained: how could A-Cheng not have noticed the strong smell of gasoline?
"You also use the changing room in your store, right?" Wang Shen suddenly snapped out of his thoughts and asked, pointing to a male waiter in front of him.
The male waiter looked somewhat surprised, then nodded stiffly.
"Then you must have had a lot of contact with Acheng. I mean in the locker room. I want to ask if Acheng always locks his locker door?" Wang Shen was eagerly awaiting the answer to this question.
“Yes, he always locks it. To be precise, he locks his cabinet door all the time,” the male waiter replied.
"You always lock your closet door?" This was not the answer Wang Shen wanted. "How do you remember so clearly?" Wang Shen continued to press.
"I even joked with him about this, asking him if there was something he was hiding in the cabinet that was why it was always locked," the male waiter said with a smile.
And his answer?
The male waiter shrugged. "No answer, he glanced at me and walked away." He sounded rather listless as he said this.
After hearing the male waiter's answer, Wang Shen's questions began to surface. It was mentioned earlier that A-Cheng's clothes had been doused with gasoline. This raised several questions: Who did the gasoline? How was it done? Why was gasoline used? Let's first consider how the gasoline was done. According to the waiter, A-Cheng always locked the locker door, meaning his work clothes were always inside. So how did the perpetrator manage to open the locker and pour gasoline without anyone noticing? There was only one key; how did the perpetrator manage to do it?
Thinking of this, Wang Shen glanced around at everyone. Acheng had a habit of taking showers; could it be that the gasoline was poured on him while he was showering that morning? No, if gasoline were poured on him in such a short time, his clothes would still be wet, and the smell of gasoline would be so strong that everyone could smell it. Wang Shen tried to recall the gasoline smell he had smelled at the time; it was only faint, barely perceptible.
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