Chapter 78 At large?

After some hesitation, Chu Qian finally contacted Qi Nian.

After learning about her entanglement, the latter was somewhat puzzled and thought that Chu Qian was embarrassed: "We are friends, it is normal for you to ask me for help."

"I'm not embarrassed." Chu Qian heard him say this so naturally. She felt that it was appropriate and she also told the truth.

Qi Nian touched his chin and nodded: "I told you, this doesn't fit your personality."

Chu Qian has a rough but thoughtful personality and is not the kind of person who likes to get tangled up in these matters.

"What kind of personality am I? A thick-skinned personality?" Chu Qian said half-jokingly.

Qi Nian proved his innocence with an innocent look on his face: "I didn't say that, you said it yourself."

"Forget it, I won't bother with you." Chu Qian was amused by his expression, and then became serious again: "Of course I know you will help me without hesitation, but I don't know if it's right to ask you for help."

Qi Nian tilted his head in confusion.

Chu Qian explained: "You know, in our line of work, we have to restore the truth to everyone bit by bit, and I have always done so. However, now that I ask for your help, does it mean that I am taking a shortcut? I don't know if this violates the principles of our line of work."

Many people would think that Chu Qiang is just making trouble for herself, but in fact, everyone has his or her own persistence, and the conflict between one's persistence and reality makes it difficult for people not to get entangled.

Qi Nian thought for a moment, took a sip of milk tea and said, "I think if you weren't forced to do anything, you would have investigated everything yourself instead of asking me for help."

Chu Yan raised her head and looked at Qi Nian, who was still chewing the pearls in his mouth with a confused look on his face. When he saw Chu Yan looking at him, his eyebrows curved.

"Yes, what bothers me is the idiot who was caught." Facing such a harmless person, Chu Qian couldn't help but open up and express her concerns: "You haven't seen him, so you may not know his current situation."

Qi Nian frowned when he heard this and asked, "Is he not doing well?"

"It's really not good," Chu Qian said, "The idiot has an IQ of only five or six years old, just like a child. As far as I know, he has lived with his parents since he was a child. His parents took good care of him and he didn't suffer much. Now he is suddenly locked up in a strange place. Although the conditions there are not bad, he is like a frightened bird. I went to see him once before, and he was curled up in a corner by himself. His mental state was very bad, and he didn't eat or drink. I'm afraid if this continues, he will have some problems."

"But, it's impossible for such a person to commit robbery, right?" According to Qi Nian's thinking, the first reaction was, since it is unlikely, why not let the person go?

"It's not that the police are heartless. They have their own regulations. It takes time to release people. Because of the idiot's special situation, they have tried their best to improve the environment. But this is not a question of whether the environment is good or bad. The main thing is that the idiot will be afraid when the people he is familiar with are not around." Chu Qian frowned. She was really worried about this idiot.

Chu Qian: "I believe that we will get a fair outcome in the end, but can a fool really wait for that? ... I don't know if the delayed justice will be considered justice for him."

"Sister Rose, I think your reasons can convince me. You are not taking shortcuts. People should be more flexible sometimes." Qi Nian thought about the poor fool. Anyway, he now felt that the milk tea in his hand was not fragrant anymore.

Chu Yan was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "Okay, I was too rigid before."

Everyone thought: "Everyone has this moment."

The two discussed it and decided that early tomorrow morning, Qi Nian would pretend to be an assistant and follow Chu Qian to find the victim in question.

But before going home, Qi Nian wanted to go to the police station.

"Actually, I don't recommend you to go and see. The idiot's parents have been waiting around for the past few days. You might feel uncomfortable seeing their expressions." Chu Qian advised him sincerely.

Qi Nian hesitated for a moment, then said, "It would be hard for me not to watch it."

"Okay, but given the weather, maybe the idiot's parents have already gone home." Chu Qian said.

The two men arrived at the police station, and to their surprise and surprise, they found the idiot's parents still guarding the door of the police station.

The police at the door helplessly advised them to go back.

"Comrade police, please let him go. He can't possibly do such a thing. Really, he is innocent. Please let him go." The poor old couple kept crying and even wanted to kneel down to beg each other.

The police officer who was trying to persuade them to leave was shocked and said quickly, "Don't be like this, don't be like this. Please don't embarrass me. We will investigate this as soon as possible. You must believe that the law will not wrongly accuse a good person."

"How about this, can you let me take him home first? He can't stay in there any longer." The couple seemed a little confused. After all, how could this be possible? But they were both concerned about their son inside, and as long as there was a little hope, they wanted to give it a try.

"It's really not possible!" The policeman was also very troubled and uncomfortable. Looking at the poor old couple, he wanted to slap himself.

If giving himself a slap could make the other person feel better, he would be willing to do so! But he couldn't do anything about what the other person wanted.

If everyone does this, wouldn't it be confusing?

"Reporter Chu?" The policeman turned around and saw a familiar person, as if he had seen a savior.

Qi Nian followed behind Chu Yan and saw the sad faces of the old couple, their gray hair, and their lips that had turned purple from the cold.

They were very cold, but they were unwilling to leave because their son was imprisoned inside. Qi Nian hated to see such scenes, and for a moment, he felt a little uncomfortable.

The couple obviously knew Chu Qiang, having met her several times before. They knew that this reporter was investigating the truth, so they came over together and knelt before Chu Qiang: "Reporter Chu, please, save our child!"

"You...you guys don't do this." Even though Chu Qian had seen too many scenes like this, her eyes couldn't help but become red.

She helped the two people up and said, "Uncle and aunt, don't worry. We and the police are already working hard to investigate the results. If your son is innocent, I believe he will get the justice he deserves."

"He is innocent. I guarantee with my life that he would never do such a thing!" the other party immediately said tremblingly.

"Since you trust your son, then go home for the time being. It's too cold outside. If you get frozen, who will take care of your son when he comes out?" Chu Qian advised them.

The policeman nearby also followed suit.

The old couple were indeed a little hesitant when they heard this. Yes, they still had to keep their lives to take care of their son. If something really went wrong...

"That's great. I'll take you back on the way." Chu Qian immediately struck while the iron was hot.

Qi Nian immediately said, "I'll drive."

On the way back, the couple kept repeating that their son was innocent. As they talked, they wiped away their tears, looking particularly sad.

Qi Nian's nose felt a little sore as he drove.

——

After sending the old couple back, Qi Nian said to Chu Qian seriously when he was leaving: "We will go there early tomorrow morning!"

Chu Qian smiled when she heard this: "It's not too early either. I'll apply for an interview with our newspaper. Wait for me to notify you when the time comes."

Qi Nian also knew that the necessary procedures had to be followed, so he had no choice but to nod.

When I got home, I thought it was so late and everyone must have gone to bed, but I didn't expect the light in the living room was still on.

Qi Nian pursed his lips, walked in, and found his brother sitting on the sofa looking at documents.

He walked over and asked: "Brother, you're not asleep yet?"

Chu Rongshi put the documents aside and looked up: "I see you haven't come back yet, I'm a little worried."

Qi Nian felt a little embarrassed and scratched his face: "What's there to worry about? I'm not a child."

As he was speaking, he felt Chu Rongshi stand up. He raised his head and looked at him with some confusion.

Afterwards, his chin was pinched by the other party, and Chu Rongshi frowned and asked, "Have you cried?"

Qi Nian did cry a little just now, and his eyes were a little red, and his skin was a little pale, which made him look particularly glaring.

"Who bullied you?" Chu Rongshi asked again, looking as if he wanted to seek justice for Qinian.

Qi Nian couldn't help but burst out laughing when he saw this: "Brother, what are you thinking? Who would bully me for no reason?"

He moved uncomfortably, moving his chin away from the other person's fingertips, and explained in a low voice: "It's just that I encountered some problems, but don't worry, I can solve it."

He didn't tell his brother anything. Telling his brother about this kind of thing would only make one more person sad.

Chu Rongshi breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that, and naturally withdrew his hand, only slightly clenching his palm: "Well, come on."

Since Qi Nian said he could solve it, he would naturally choose to believe him.

"Ahem... I'm going back to my room. You go to bed early." Qi Nian realized later that there was something a little ambiguous between them. He took a step back uncomfortably and hurried upstairs.

When Chu Rong was left alone, he looked at his back.

Not until Qi Nian returned to the room, closed the door, and completely blocked his line of sight did Chu Rongshi withdraw his gaze, and pulled the corner of his lips as he thought of something.

Qi Nian, however, didn't have time to think about it. He had to go to bed early and try to find out the truth tomorrow!

Clenching fists...

Although going to bed early has nothing to do with finding out the truth.

Qi Nian yawned and glanced at his phone before going to bed.

I saw the message from Cheng Yelei.

To be honest, among so many friends, Cheng Yelei is actually the clingiest one among them. Yes, he is clingy!

I don’t know if this guy was too idle, but he sent messages to Qi Nian every once in a while. Because Qi Nian was too busy and didn’t reply for a long time, the other party became sad.

[Cheng Yelei]: As expected, if there were no gossip, you would ignore me!

[Cheng Yelei]: Do you want to be friends with those gossips or do you want to be friends with me?

Everyone thought: "..."

No, my friend, please don't act so much, okay?

His eyelids were drooping as he hurriedly replied to Cheng Yelei before closing his eyes. His cell phone was out of battery and he couldn't even charge it.

You can see that I am indeed sleepy.

On the other side, Cheng Yelei's cell phone rang. He picked it up immediately and was immediately delighted when he saw Qi Nian's reply.

【Qinian】: No

After reading it, he frowned again. He waited for a long time but there was no reply, and he was very anxious.

What isn't?

You should explain it clearly!

Cheng Yelei wanted to call Qi Nian directly and ask him clearly, but he still had some rationality. After looking at the current time, he had to give up this decision reluctantly.

Otherwise he would really start to doubt himself, and maybe he would be friendless again.

Qi Nian didn't know that Cheng Yelei was feeling a little sad. He fell into a deep sleep and when he woke up he subconsciously reached for his phone.

After pressing the buttons for a long time, there was no light. My slow brain finally realized that the phone was out of battery.

He quickly charged the battery, and just then Chu Qian sent him a message telling him the time.

Qi Nian thought about it and felt that it was probably time for him to have a meal.

After logging out, I found that Cheng Yelei had sent several messages from last night until now.

Qi Nian had a headache, but still replied seriously, saying that he would be busy recently.

Cheng Yelei was extremely sad: Why? Shouldn’t Qi Nian be the freest college student?

Why am I busier than him?

Then he reacted, well, it’s not that Qi Nian is busy, it’s that he is too idle.

Cheng Yelei: “…”

——

After breakfast, Qi Nian went out wearing a mask and reunited with Chu Qian.

On the way, Chu Qian told Qi Nian the basic information of the victim in question.

"The person's name is Zhao Hongxia, she's in her 40s. She was robbed on xx Road before. Unfortunately, by the time the police received the report, the person had already run away."

Qi Nian nodded and kept it in mind.

Soon they arrived near Zhao Hongxia's home, which was a dilapidated residential area, not even a residential area, but a village in the city.

Downstairs is a street with a rather poor environment, where some food and other things are sold.

Chu Qian skillfully asked nearby merchants about the location of Zhao Hongxia's home. After asking a few people, she found an acquaintance of Zhao Hongxia.

This is a 50-something auntie who doesn't seem to have a good relationship with Zhao Hongxia. She glanced at Chu Qiang and the others and said, "Why are you asking her? Little girl, let me tell you, Zhao Hongxia is not a good person!"

Chu Yan heard this and thought that maybe she could find out something, so she asked, "Auntie, do you know her?"

The aunt was a little embarrassed when she heard this: "You are a little girl, why do you want to know so much? Anyway, she is not a good person."

The aunt added, "I used to sympathize with her. There was a lazy man at home, and she was alone setting up a street stall. The little money she earned was all taken away by her husband, who even beat her up. I used to help her, but who knew that Zhao Hongxia was such a fool, and she even thought I was meddling in her business. Her husband came to my house and smashed my things!"

Originally Qi Nian thought that this was an aunt who liked to gossip, but after hearing this, he felt a little ashamed. If what the aunt said was true, then it was no wonder that the other party disliked Zhao Hongxia so much.

As the aunt spoke, she became more excited and started talking nonstop without caring whether they were willing to listen or not.

The auntie was selling steamed buns. When she talked about these things, she couldn't even take care of her stall. When a customer came to buy steamed buns, she waved her hand and said, "Take as much as you want. I'm in a good mood today. I won't charge you."

The man was obviously familiar with the aunt, and he immediately took the buns and left happily.

Qi Nian: "..."Auntie, it really shouldn't be that serious.

What kind of gossip spirit is this?

Auntie continued, "I just don't want to bother with her family's mess anymore. She treats that kind of man like a treasure and thinks he can lead her to a good life."

Seeing that the aunt couldn't tell her anything important, Chu Qian was a little disappointed. Just as she was about to say goodbye to her, she heard her say, "Some time ago, Zhao Hongxia actually closed the stall she had run for more than ten years. I went to ask around and she didn't plan to renew the lease!"

Chu Yan was a little surprised when she heard this: "The whole family depends on that stall, why would she stop running it?"

"What I said is true. Look over there. That's where she used to run the business. They sold noodles and stuff." The aunt pointed to a stall not far away to prove that what she said was true: "If you don't believe me, you can go and ask around."

The aunt said excitedly: "Don't say anything else, just ask around. I never tell lies. If it's false, I...I will be struck by lightning, okay?"

Qi Nian: "...Auntie, don't be like this."

It can be seen that the aunt is very strict about the gossip that comes out of her mouth, otherwise she would not say such things.

"If she closes the shop, how will she make a living?" Chu Qian asked.

Auntie shook her head: "How would I know? But recently Zhao Hongxia has been beaming with rosy cheeks all day long, and seems to be doing better than before. She even said something like, her husband is taking her to a good life. It's simply hilarious. With her husband being like that, how can he take her to a good life? Who knows what he does in private every day!"

Qi Nian and Chu Qiang looked at each other, and the latter asked her aunt, "Do you remember when the shop was closed?"

"I remember this very clearly. Your aunt has a very good memory, no matter what else she says..." At this point, the aunt gave a thumbs up and said some useless nonsense before finally saying, "It was probably... August 20th! Yes, it was around this time, absolutely correct."

Qi Nian saw that Chu Qian's face had become much more serious. After saying goodbye to his aunt, he asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with this time?"

"The first robbery in Beijing happened on August 18th," said Chu Qiang.

"Isn't this too much of a coincidence? Two days later, Zhao Hongxia closed the shop." Qi Nian felt more and more that there was something wrong with Zhao Hongxia.

However, it would be irresponsible to draw a simple and rough conclusion based on this time alone, so the two decided to go look for Zhao Hongxia.

Following the directions given by the aunt, they went upstairs and Chu Qian knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Zhao Hongxia's voice came, with a hint of joy, and she seemed to be in a good mood.

After a while, the door creaked open from the inside, revealing Zhao Hongxia's happy face. However, this face changed immediately after she saw clearly that it was Chu Qiang standing outside.

"Why are you here? I've already told you that I don't want to be interviewed by you!" Zhao Hongxia said as she was about to close the door: "Get out of here quickly, don't let me see you, or... or I'll call the police!"

Chu Qian reacted quickly and held the door. Zhao Hongxia tried hard to close the door, but she couldn't push her away.

Seeing this, Qi Nian also leaned against the door.

Chu Qian observed Zhao Hongxia as she spoke: "Hello, I won't take up too much of your time, just give me five minutes, okay?"

"Are you annoyed? Five minutes? Not even a second!" Zhao Hongxia tried to close the door, but found that it wouldn't close. She immediately said angrily, "Hurry up and leave. I won't agree to any interview. If you do this again, I will really call the police!"

After Zhao Hongxia finished speaking, a man's voice suddenly came out from inside, and the other party said angrily: "Hongxia, who are you talking to? I'm hungry. Hurry up and cook for me!"

"It's that reporter. I'll be right over!" Zhao Hongxia responded, staring at them with eyes partially covered by her eyelids: "If you don't leave, I'll let my man take care of you!"

When talking about her man, Zhao Hongxia was a little proud, as if it was such a glorious thing. However, according to what the aunt just said, Zhao Hongxia's man either beat or scolded her. Not only did Zhao Hongxia not run away, she also looked like she was enjoying it, which made people speechless.

Chu Qian wanted to meet the "man" that Zhao Hongxia mentioned, but according to her aunt's description, the other party was very violent, so for safety reasons, she had to give up.

Chu Yan thought so and withdrew her hand.

Qi Nian also stopped upon seeing this.

Zhao Hongxia thought they were frightened by her man, and she felt very proud for a moment. She happily said "Coming~" to the inside, and then slammed the door shut.

It's unknown how long this door hasn't been cleaned. As Zhao Hongxia cleaned it vigorously, the two people's faces were covered with dust.

But Chu Qian didn't care about these. Her mind was full of the look of Zhao Hongxia she had just seen.

She noticed the necklace on Zhao Hongxia's neck at first sight. It looked like it was from a luxury brand, and from Chu Qiang's perspective, it was not fake.

But, given Zhao Hongxia's family situation, why would she buy such a necklace?

While talking to Zhao Hongxia just now, she noticed that her home was bare, but she noticed that there were several things in it that were out of place.

I always feel like...she seems to have overlooked something...

Qi Nian finally dug out something useful: [Oh my god, no wonder Zhao Hongxia is so weird, it turns out her husband is the serial robber! ]

[In order to clear themselves of the crime, the two of them thought of framing a fool. It just so happened that the fool looked a bit like Zhao Hongxia's husband. Zhao Hongxia coaxed the fool and told him to play a game, letting the fool wear her husband's clothes to scare passers-by! Sure enough, the fool was caught without any surprise. ]

[As for why Zhao Hongxia became the "victim", this was also a scheme between the two. Zhao Hongxia discussed it with her husband and pretended to be robbed, and then called the police. She naturally became the victim, and also had the opportunity to identify the fool as the robber! ]

[In the previous identification, she deliberately led other victims to believe that the fool was the robber. Because the fool looked very similar to her husband, the others were influenced by her and naturally identified the fool! ]

Seeing this, Qi Nian was stunned: [These two really planned everything, letting a fool get caught in the "robbery", and the other party was also a fool, and there was no way for him to defend himself. Vicious, really too vicious! ]

At this time, Zhao Hongxia's husband was lying lazily on the bed at home. He frowned when he heard what Zhao Hongxia said: "Reporter? You didn't let her find out anything, did you?"

"Don't worry, those people are very stupid, you have played them around." Zhao Hongxia looked at her man with admiration: "Do you really think a fool can be as smart as you? These people are also fools, all stupid!"

Zhao Hongxia's husband was indeed a little smart. Hearing this, he felt a little relaxed and put aside the worry that had just arisen.

When this period of hype is over, he will still be at large. Those idiots will never guess it, haha.