Chapter 134
Luo Xiangqian is not usually such a particular person. His clothes are not bad but he seldom dresses up so carefully. Now he is dressed so brightly and beautifully and runs out in the middle of the night. There must be something important going on.
An awkward expression appeared on his face again. He whimpered for a while before whispering, "I just went out for dinner. I had an appointment with someone."
"Eat? Who are you eating with?" Xia Qingtang couldn't help laughing. "Lao Luo, you are dressed so smartly. The guest you are having dinner with tonight must be an important person, right?"
Xia Qingtang guessed that this person was most likely a lesbian, so a rough man like Luo Xiangqian would dress up carefully before going out, which also showed how much he valued this person.
Luo Xiangqian was very sad because of his broken heart. He had been depressed for a long time. Now seeing him dressed up beautifully again and running out to have dinner with others, he must have come out of his broken heart. Seeing him like this, Xia Qingtang was happy for him on the one hand, but also felt a little sorry for him on the other.
She originally thought that Luo Xiangqian and Hu Yanni would need to take some time off, so that by the second half of the year when both of them had returned to normal, she wanted to set them up.
After all, Luo Xiangqian is really a good young man, and it would be a good thing if they could get together.
But now Luo Xiangqian came out first, and went out to have dinner with others so quickly, which showed that good things were about to happen. Although Xia Qingtang felt a little regretful, she was still happy for him.
Luo Xiangqian became anxious: "No, no, there is nothing important. I just want to go out for dinner tonight."
"Oh, you're still keeping this a secret from me? If you're just going to have a simple meal, how can you dress so nicely? Look, your hair has been combed with hair oil... Oh, stop scratching it, it will get messy and it won't look good." Xia Qingtang said: "You look so nervous, you must want to keep it a secret. If that's the case, I won't ask any more questions. I just hope you enjoy your meal tonight and get along well with the other party, okay?"
It is normal to want to keep it secret before the relationship officially begins. But after a while when the relationship becomes stable, you will probably bring it out for your friends to get to know it.
Luo Xiangqian blushed and said, "It's really not like that. I didn't make an appointment with anyone important to have dinner. I dressed up specially today because there's something special going on... I find it hard to talk about this... Oh, forget it, I'll just tell you!"
"What's going on? If you don't want to talk about it, don't talk about it. You know me. I'm not that curious."
"Well, we are all friends, so it doesn't matter if I tell you. I will tell Jinxuan sooner or later anyway."
Xia Qingtang nodded: "Then tell me."
"It's like this, I have a cousin, Jinxuan and Lengfeng also know each other. His family lives in another city, and when he was young, he would sometimes come to my house to stay for a while during the winter and summer vacations, so he played with us. My cousin's family background is similar to ours, but his mother's job is better than my mother's, and the family situation is better than ours. In addition, he is an only child, and he has only this one sweetheart, so he eats, uses and wears better than me. He also has a bad temper. When he was a child, he always looked down on me, and when he grew up, he liked to say some sour words. I don't really like this person, but he is a relative, and I can't really stop interacting with him. Look, he came to our side on a business trip, and brought his partner with him, saying that he wanted to introduce his partner to me. We made an appointment to have dinner at the provincial capital hotel in the evening. I thought, although I don't have a partner, I have to dress up properly before going there, at least I won't be looked down upon by them, right?" Luo Xiangqian whispered, "That's it, I really don't want to meet any female comrades."
"So that's what's going on." Xia Qingtang said, "But you can rest assured. Although I don't know what your cousin looks like, with the way you look today, you can definitely outshine him!"
"Really?" Luo Xiangqian lowered his head and patted his clothes, still a little unconfident.
"It's absolutely true. You are a handsome man today, very outstanding!" Xia Qingtang gave him a thumbs up.
This was true. Luo Xiangqian was a tall young man with regular features. Although he was not as handsome as Xie Jinxuan, his appearance was also outstanding. In addition, he had dressed up deliberately, so he looked more refined than usual.
Luo Xiangqian became happy: "Then I feel relieved. No matter what, I won't be too embarrassed tonight."
"Don't worry, the only one who will be embarrassed is your cousin. He will definitely feel inferior in front of you. When his girlfriend sees how beautiful you are, she may complain about him when she goes back, asking why he looks so ugly!" Xia Qingtang laughed.
Luo Xiangqian laughed out loud: "Xiao Xia, you are so good at talking! I am almost floating in the air because of what you said!"
"You should have confidence in yourself! You are a very good man, you should believe in your appearance and temperament! Well, it's getting late, you should go quickly, I should go home and cook."
"Okay, I'll go over first." Luo waved forward and left.
Xia Qingtang also returned to the small courtyard with brisk steps.
Although she came back earlier than usual today, Xie Jinxuan still got home before her.
Firstly, it was because the provincial university was closer to here, and secondly, because Xie Jinxuan sometimes only had two classes in the afternoon. Although he would study with his classmates in the library, he would rush home to wait for her before Xia Qingtang got off work every day.
"I'm back!" Xia Qingtang jumped into the house and saw Leng Feng at a glance.
He and Xie Jinxuan were sitting at the dining table, both of them were studying something with their heads down on some papers.
Hearing the voice, Xie Jinxuan raised her head and gave her a gentle smile: "You're back. It's so early today. I forgot to wash and cut the vegetables in advance."
Xia Qingtang put down her messenger bag: "It doesn't matter. I came back early anyway, so I can do it. By the way, why is Comrade Leng here? What are you researching?"
It’s not that she was impolite. She just came home happily and suddenly saw Leng Feng’s cold face, which would have been a bit disappointing for anyone.
Xie Jinxuan said: "He had something to do at work and asked me to help him figure it out. This matter is quite serious, so I asked him to come over. After all, there is no one at home and the walls can't hear anything."
Leng Feng whispered: "Sorry to bother you."
Although Xia Qingtang really didn't like Leng Feng, he really came to ask Xie Jinxuan for advice because of work troubles, so she had nothing to say. After all, Xia Qingtang was very supportive of the work of criminal police.
Their job is hard and dangerous.
She said, "It's okay, you two can study it slowly. I'll go cook. By the way, Comrade Leng, do you want to have dinner at our house tonight? If you want to eat here, I'll cook more rice."
Leng Feng said, "No, I can't bother you all the time. It's time to eat soon. I'll go home and eat first. I may come back to bother you later."
Xia Qingtang said: "Jinxuan, don't you need to read and do homework tonight?"
Xie Jinxuan said seriously: "I'm not that busy today. Besides, Leng Feng's case is really serious. I want to help him first."
"Then you guys go ahead and do your best. I'm going to cook." Xia Qingtang walked into the kitchen and started cooking.
She first took out the dried sweet potatoes and rice from the jar in the rice bucket, washed them clean, and then started to stew the rice on the coal stove.
During this period, Aunt Liu still bought some vegetables and sent them a portion, so the family’s vegetable reserves were still sufficient. Every time they were almost finished eating, Aunt Liu would send them new ones.
If you buy fresh items such as tofu, dried tofu, toon sprouts, and bamboo shoots, they will be delivered to you on the same day.
There was also a cabbage, seven or eight green peppers, some potatoes and a head of garlic in the basket, which are all very common vegetables in this season.
There were five eggs in the small basket on the other side. Xia Qingtang thought about it, took out two eggs from the small basket, then took an empty basket and walked into the yard.
The leeks in the field were growing well. Xia Qingtang cut some leeks, cleaned them outside, washed them in the sink in the corridor, shook off the water, and carried them back to the kitchen.
Outside, the occasional low voice of Xie Jinxuan could be heard, and in the kitchen, Xia Qingtang was humming a discordant song. Except for Leng Feng's sullen face, this was the usual warm daily life in the small courtyard.
After a busy day, Xia Qingtang came home from outside and really enjoyed the time spent in the kitchen.
She would always talk to Xie Jinxuan while cooking, and she would feel even happier when she watched him eat the simple meal she made.
There was not much rapeseed oil left in the oil tank. Xia Qingtang leaned over and said to the dining table, "Jinxuan, the rapeseed oil is almost gone. I think I'll have to go buy some oil in a few days."
Xie Jinxuan raised her head: "Okay, I'll take note of it."
Xia Qingtang hummed a little tune and returned to the kitchen to continue cooking dinner.
She chopped the chives into small pieces, cracked two eggs into a bowl, stirred them with chopsticks until they were fluffy, and then added a little bit of salt to season them.
Then break off a part of the cabbage, clean it, and cut it into diagonal pieces, separating the leaves and stems.
Finally, I took out two green peppers, washed them, cut them and set them aside.
After the rice was cooked, she skillfully took the pot off the stove and put it into a straw basket to keep it warm.
Change to an iron pan for frying, pour in a little rapeseed oil, and soon, an enticing aroma wafts through the kitchen.
Xia Qingtang worked quickly and finished two dishes, stir-fried cabbage with green peppers and scrambled eggs with leeks, in no time.
The stir-fried Chinese cabbage has a rather light taste and is not considered a good dish to go with rice, so Xia Qingtang moved out a small jar from below and used clean chopsticks to pick out some pickled radishes made by Aunt Liu. This thing goes very well with rice. Even if there are no other dishes, Xia Qingtang can eat a large bowl of rice with just the pickled radishes.
"Dinner is ready!" Xia Qingtang shouted.
Xie Jinxuan said: "Qingtang, can we wait for a while? We will have a clue in a while. Can you wait for me for another... fifteen minutes?"
"Of course." Xia Qingtang covered the fried dishes with a plate to keep them warm, and then went to the bathroom to wash his hands and face.
Cooking will produce fumes. Although no one is willing to use oil when cooking nowadays, she is still used to washing her hands and face after cooking, and then applying lotion, which makes it easier to care for her skin.
Xia Qingtang knows that beauty is her label and she does not reject her looks. If she were to start over again, she would not want to be like in her previous life where she faded early due to various reasons. So she would apply lotion well and hope that her beauty could be maintained for a long time.
Even if she doesn't rely on her looks to make a living in the future, she will be happy just thinking about being a beautiful and rich person.
When she came out of the bathroom, she saw Xie Jinxuan and Leng Feng still discussing in a low voice. Xia Qingtang simply went to the study, took down a novel that she had not finished reading from the shelf, and sat there to read.
About twenty minutes later, Xie Jinxuan's voice was heard outside: "Qingtang, Leng Feng plans to go back to eat first. Come back in half an hour. Let's start eating too."
Xia Qingtang put down the novel and walked out, only to see Leng Feng standing up with a file bag in his arms, and nodded at her: "Excuse me, I'll go back to eat first, and I'll come back to bother Jinxuan later."
His tone was quite sincere, and he probably knew that he was really annoying today.
Xia Qingtang said: "It doesn't matter, anyway, you are disturbing him, not me."
Leng Feng nodded and walked out.
Xie Jinxuan waited until he left before saying, "I'm sorry, we agreed before that he wouldn't come to our house casually, but today is indeed a special situation, and I really want to help him..."
Xia Qingtang smiled and said, "I know. If it wasn't something very important, you wouldn't have asked him to come. Since you asked him to come and delayed our meal, I guess... it must be a big case. Leng Feng is such a proud person, and he has come to you for advice. He must be really desperate. So you should help him. I will also do some good things, and I won't despise him anymore."
Xie Jinxuan laughed along with him: "Qingtang, you are so nice."
"I am the best in the world, do you just know this? You don't have to praise me like that. Go wash your hands quickly and bring out the food from the kitchen. I'll just sit here and make myself a cup of tea." Xia Qingtang opened the tea can with a smile and really made himself a cup of tea.
She seldom drinks tea, but she was in a really good mood today, so she planned to make some good tea to celebrate for herself.
These teas were given to them by Xie Chengye. They are of excellent quality and are said to be famous teas from some place. They are very precious.
Xia Qingtang actually couldn't really taste the quality of tea, but every time she drank this tea, she felt the fragrance was refreshing and her mood would become better after a few sips. Therefore, whenever she was in a particularly good or bad mood, she would make this tea to drink.
Xie Jinxuan naturally knew her habit. As he served the dishes, he said, "It seems like you are in a good mood today!"
"Of course it's good. You don't know how convenient it is to take the bus! You don't have to pedal hard, and you can go home early. By the way, I can still sleep for another 15 minutes tomorrow morning. Tell me, do I have any reason to be unhappy?"
"The bus is so good, I can rest assured from now on. You don't have to be exposed to the sun in the summer or the cold wind in the winter when you take the bus." Xie Jinxuan brought all the food to the table and said, "We're having eggs today."
"Yes, let's eat something delicious to celebrate." Xia Qingtang picked up a bowl of rice, picked up a piece of scrambled eggs with leeks and put it into his mouth, and immediately showed a happy expression.
It smells so good!
She's not bragging, but even though it's the same dish of scrambled eggs with leeks, she makes it taste better than others. This is a kind of talent.
Xie Jinxuan took a bite and said, "This scrambled egg is getting better and better. I think it tastes better than before."
"You're getting better at giving compliments. By the way, guess who I ran into when I came back?"
"Who? Luo Xiangqian?"
"Yes, I ran into Lao Luo. He was dressed very elegantly, wearing a new suit and a pair of new black leather shoes. The shoes were so shiny that flies couldn't even stand on them. His hair was combed with hair oil, which looked completely different from usual. I thought he was going to have dinner with some female comrade, so he dressed so formally. But he said he was going to have dinner with a cousin, a cousin who had looked down on him since childhood. You know him, too. This time, the cousin came to the provincial capital on a business trip and brought a girlfriend with him, so Luo Xiangqian thought that although he didn't have a girlfriend, as long as he dressed a little better, it wouldn't be too embarrassing."
Xie Jinxuan said, "Oh, that cousin, I know him. When I was a kid, I thought he wasn't a very good person. He even stole Xiang Qian's pocket money. Considering his age, it's time for him to get married. However, I hope Xiang Qian won't be provoked, lest he gets impulsive and rushes home to find a partner."
"If he impulsively looks for a partner this time, I can't help him. After all, our Yanni hasn't gotten over the last relationship yet. Yanni needs time to adjust herself and won't look for a new partner for the time being, so Lao Luo must not be confused!" Xia Qingtang said with great sorrow: "I still think they are a good match. You saw it at dinner that night. They chatted very naturally and it was obvious that they could be friends."
"Then I'll go back and persuade Xiang Qian to stop looking for a partner blindly for the time being, so as not to miss out on a really good girl." Xie Jinxuan said as she put some scrambled eggs into Xia Qingtang's bowl. Xia Qingtang also put some for him. The two of them ate a simple dinner with happiness in their eyes.
After dinner, Xie Jinxuan quickly washed all the dishes and boiled hot water again.
After a while, Leng Feng came over again. This time he had a newspaper bag in his hand. After entering the door, he handed the bag to Xia Qingtang.
"This is fresh bamboo shoots. I heard you like them. Here they are for you."
Xia Qingtang didn't bother to be polite with him. She accepted the bamboo shoots and thanked him, then gave the living room to the two of them. She went to the study with her books, closed the door and began to study seriously.
After going to the new factory, her English courses were suspended, but the cultural relics appraisal class was scheduled for Sunday morning, so she now uses her free time to study English on her own.
She first memorized some English words, then took out some mimeographed materials that Xu Zhenhua had given her, intending to read them several times. Although she could only understand the literal meaning for the time being, it would always be helpful to memorize them thoroughly.
I studied until nine o'clock, but the class outside was not over yet.
Xia Qingtang opened the door and looked outside. Seeing that they both still had serious expressions, he sighed slightly. He didn't expect this matter to be so difficult.
She was already sleepy by now, so she packed up her books and went out, not paying any attention to the two people. She took some hot water to the bathroom, took a shower, changed into pajamas and came out.
This time the noise was quite loud, and both Xie Jinxuan and Leng Feng looked up.
Seeing Xia Qingtang in pajamas, Leng Feng realized that it was already late. He showed an apologetic expression, which was rare. "I'm so sorry. I didn't expect it would be delayed until now. How about... we continue tomorrow? Jinxuan, you should go to bed too."
Xie Jinxuan glanced at Xia Qingtang and saw that she looked normal, so she said, "Qingtang, why don't you go to bed first, and Leng Feng and I will study it for a while. At half past ten...if there is still no result, I will also take a shower and go to bed, okay?"
Xia Qingtang said: "Sure, you guys hardly made any noise anyway, and you won't disturb my sleep. Then I'll just ignore you guys and go to bed first."
"Okay, you have a good rest." After Xie Jinxuan said this, she lowered her head and began to study the papers.
Xia Qingtang shrugged his shoulders, went back to the bedroom and lay down.
She got off work early today and was in a good mood. She had originally planned to have a good intimate time with Xie Jinxuan in the evening, but she didn't expect that this plan would be ruined by Leng Feng.
Apart from this, everything today was quite satisfactory. Xia Qingtang lay on the bed and read a few pages of a book. When she felt sleepy, she fell asleep with the desk lamp on.
She always slept well, so she didn't know what time Xie Jinxuan returned to the bedroom. When she woke up, it was time for the alarm clock to ring.
Xie Jinxuan followed the voice into the bedroom: "I've postponed your alarm by ten minutes. Do you think you can make it in time?"
"Wow, you're so nice. You remembered what I just mentioned yesterday!" Xia Qingtang looked at the small alarm clock and said, "There's still enough time, and we don't have to rush. By the way, what time did you study last night?"
"Half past ten."
"So there is no result in the research?"
Xie Jinxuan nodded, her expression a little serious: "Yes, this matter is indeed a bit tricky. Leng Feng will come over tonight, and I may have to help him think about it again."
Xia Qingtang said: "Then what about your own homework?"
The workload at university is quite heavy, and Xie Jinxuan has always spent a lot of time studying and doing homework.
If he spent all his time helping Leng Feng figure out the case, his own studies would be affected.
Xie Jinxuan said: "I don't have three or four classes this morning, so I can use this time to finish my homework. I can also continue reading during lunch break and have a simple lunch, so the time should be enough."
"It's fine if you can arrange for him to come, but... what case is it? I see Leng Feng looks haggard, as if he's been up all night long." Xia Qingtang remembered that Leng Feng had dark circles under his eyes yesterday, and an indescribable tiredness on his face. He was indeed different from his usual self.
Xie Jinxuan whispered, "It's a serious case. Although it wasn't reported in the newspaper, it involves human life..."
Xia Qingtang nodded: "Then I won't ask, if you want to help him, then help him. I can't say much about such an important matter, but you should also take care of your health."
"Don't worry, I know what's going on. We have analyzed several key points, and with tonight, we may be able to reach the unknown destination."
Xia Qingtang ran out of the bedroom with a smile: "Then I wish you success!"
After breakfast, she went out with Xie Jinxuan. He rode his bike to take her to the bus station and then went to school first. Xia Qingtang waited for a few minutes and the bus arrived.
Because Xia Qingtang was thinking about Hu Yanni, she sat next to Hu Yanhui again. She asked about Hu Yanni's situation in a roundabout way, and the information she got was exactly the same as before. Hu Yanni was only thinking about studying and had no intention of looking for a partner at all. She always said she would talk about it after graduation.
I still trained with everyone on this day. Since it was already the second day, many brave people came to the back row to greet the staff and introduce themselves.
After work, Xia Qingtang took the bus back home. As expected, when he pushed the door open, he saw Leng Feng and Xie Jinxuan again. They were still sitting at the dining table, facing some papers, thinking hard.
Leng Feng looked even more haggard, his stubble was even thicker than yesterday, his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked a little irritable.
Xia Qingtang greeted him, but he didn't respond at all, just nodded mechanically.
Seeing his look, Xia Qingtang didn't bother to argue with him. She saw that their cups were empty, so she took the thermos and refilled them.
Leng Feng was a little surprised, but he immediately thanked him.
Xia Qingtang smiled and said, "Don't be so polite, it's just pouring some water. You are a guest, it's my duty to take care of you."
While talking, Xia Qingtang's eyes happened to fall on those pieces of paper. She just glanced at them and saw a name on them, Shan Xiaoxia.
Xia Qingtang was stunned for a moment, then suddenly reacted.
Shan Xiaoxia? Wasn't she the victim of a sensational case back then? It seemed to be a very brutal murder.
Xia Qingtang remembered that she had read a detailed report about this case in the newspaper. She had the impression that it took the police a long time to find the murderer.
The reason why Xia Qingtang had such a deep impression of this case was because of this person's name. She had never seen this surname before and always thought that this character was pronounced as "dan" (unit) in Chinese. It was only after she heard from others that she realized that this character was pronounced as "shan" (kindness) in Chinese when it was used in a surname.
Although she couldn't remember the exact time when the case was solved, Xia Qingtang remembered the relationship between the murderer and the victim. The real murderer was Shan Xiaoxia's cousin.
But at that time, because this cousin was young, a talented college student, and had a very handsome and elegant appearance, no one focused the investigation on him from the beginning, which also led to the best opportunity to solve the case.
Because of these omissions, the cousin had plenty of time to destroy the murder weapon. A long time later, a policeman suddenly focused his attention on the cousin because of a trivial matter. He used some tricks and finally determined that he was the real murderer.
But he had disposed of the murder weapon long ago, and the police spent a lot of time getting him to confess. Finally, the murder weapon was found and the case was closed.
I don’t know who Leng Feng and the others suspect now. If no one suspects my cousin, then we should guide them…
If we go find the real murderer now, we can find the murder weapon directly and save time.
Leng Feng saw Xia Qingtang staring at the paper, so he said softly: "Comrade Xia, it's not good for a female comrade like you to get involved in this kind of case. It will scare you."
"That's not necessarily true. I'm very brave and not afraid of these things. Besides, my way of thinking is different from yours. Maybe if you talk to me, I can provide you with different ideas for solving the problem. Also, I'm very tight-lipped. No matter what you say to me, I will never tell anyone. You can rest assured about this."
Since Xia Qingtang already knew who the real murderer was, she didn't want Xie Jinxuan to waste any more time on this matter. She wanted to point the clue directly to the victim's cousin.
Leng Feng frowned and looked at her: "You are just an ordinary person."
"Jinxuan, you too, do you think your case needs to be kept secret? I don't think so. If it was really a secret, you wouldn't have told Jinxuan." Xia Qingtang said, "Don't underestimate me, I'm much smarter than Jinxuan in many ways!"
Xie Jinxuan nodded and said seriously: "Leng Feng, this is true. Qingtang is indeed much smarter than me in many aspects. And her way of thinking is indeed different from ours. Many times she can look at some problems from different and strange angles. I think that since we have reached a dead end now, we might as well talk to her. Maybe we can really find a different way to solve the problem. Even if we can't find it, there is no loss. Moreover, I can guarantee that Qingtang will not tell anyone."
Leng Feng said: "I'm not worried about her telling people about it. She's not that kind of person."
Xia Qingtang curled her lips. She didn't expect that Leng Feng actually knew that she was not the kind of person who gossiped.
Xie Jinxuan said: "Then you can talk to her."
"I'm worried that she'll be scared after she finds out. She's different from you. You've also survived the hail of bullets, so I won't worry about you." Leng Feng said.
Xia Qingtang said, "Don't worry about this. I'm very brave. It's just a murder case. It won't scare me. Also, you don't have to tell me too many details. Just treat it as a casual chat and tell me casually. What if you can get some inspiration from me? Isn't it much better than frowning here?"
Leng Feng closed his eyes and sighed deeply. After a few seconds, he opened his tired eyes and whispered, "Then let me talk to you."
Xia Qingtang immediately sat over with her cup and began to listen to Leng Feng's speech.
He briefly talked about the basic circumstances of the case, and then mentioned the situations of several suspects as if he was chatting.
After listening to her, Xia Qingtang pretended to be nonchalant and said, "Your analysis makes sense, but looking at the time and the location, don't you think it was done by a family member? If there really was an outsider doing this at that time, why didn't the victim scream? None of the neighbors heard any noise, which doesn't make sense. Only if an acquaintance committed the crime, and a very close acquaintance, approached her at night, she wouldn't scream, and only then could she do this quietly."
Leng Feng said coldly, "Her father was working the night shift that day, and many co-workers can prove it, this is absolutely true. Her mother went back to her parents' home, which was also confirmed by many neighbors on her parents' side. Her biological brother also went to a co-worker's house to drink that night, and that co-worker's neighbor also saw him, so he was not a problem either. In the end, only her biological sister was left, a sixteen-year-old girl. Judging from the knife wound, it couldn't be her, as her height and strength didn't match. We also started with her sister's friends, and suspected that her sister brought male friends to harm her sister, but we didn't find out more. Because her sister only has good relationships with a few girls, and doesn't talk to other male classmates. But we still haven't given up on the sister line, because maybe she has other male friends outside, but unfortunately they haven't been found yet."
Seeing his slightly contemptuous expression, Xia Qingtang rolled her eyes in her heart, but said seriously, "Besides her closest relatives, isn't there her second uncle's family living in the same yard with them? It's also very convenient for her second uncle's family to go find her."
"Her second uncle was also working the night shift that day, and her second aunt and her only son were both sleeping at home. The two testified to each other that they had not left the house, and they had not heard any noise."
Xia Qingtang showed a very surprised expression: "That's it? No way? Is this how you handle cases? This is too irresponsible!"
"What do you mean?" Leng Feng frowned.
"That's exactly what it means. Since when can a mother testify for her son? If this were my son, I would definitely protect him! It's just a lie, they say it, and you believe it?"
Leng Feng's tone became even more rigid. He said, "We didn't believe it directly. Of course, we did some evidence collection and investigation, but everyone said that the second aunt and her son are both good people with excellent reputations. In addition, the second aunt's physical strength is not enough to do such a thing..."
"What about her son? Her son is an adult, he is strong!"
"Her son is a university student at a teachers' college, with excellent character and academic performance. Everyone can vouch for him, so my colleagues all agree that this young man is unlikely to be the murderer."
Xia Qingtang asked seriously: "What about you? Do you think so too?"
"What?"
"I'm asking you a question. They all think that a good person with good character and academic performance would not do such a thing. Do you think so too? If you think so, I'm so disappointed. I always thought you were an upright, meticulous and truthful person, but would you conclude that this person is not a suspect just because of this so-called good reputation? But this person is obviously the most suspicious. They live in a large compound. He has enough time to commit the crime and can do it quietly and clean himself up. After that, he just needs to ask his mother to testify for him, and he will be fine?"
Leng Feng said: "What was his motive for committing the crime? Even the victim's own parents and brother said that the relationship between this college student and the victim was very good. The two had a good relationship since childhood, and when they grew up, the two were like real siblings."
"You have to investigate the motive for the crime. If you ask me, who should I ask? I can still say it was a murder of passion! If I don't tell you the truth about this kind of thing, who will know what kind of relationship they had? This happened not long ago. You go there every day. If that college student really did something, he must not have had time to deal with the murder weapon. You really should take advantage of this time to find the murder weapon within the range of his activities. If it's too late, you will target someone else and throw the murder weapon into the river." Xia Qingtang curled his lips: "By then, it will be a waste of time!"
Leng Feng suddenly stopped talking. He stared at the papers for a while and suddenly stood up.
Xie Jinxuan said: "What's wrong?"
"Although I don't think what Comrade Xia said makes sense, our investigation into this cousin was indeed not thorough enough." Leng Feng said, "I will go find my colleagues now and follow his range of activities to take a closer look."
Xie Jinxuan said: "Then these things..."
"You continue to help me think about it, I'll go to work first." After Leng Feng said this, he put on his bag and ran out in a hurry.
After he went out, Xia Qingtang stuck out her tongue at the door again.
Xie Jinxuan said: "Do you really think that college student is a suspect?"
"I think everyone is a suspect. If they are all suspects, why do they investigate a neighbor so much, but don't investigate this college student just because he has excellent academic performance and a good personality? Isn't this kind of investigation a bit too arbitrary?"
Xie Jinxuan said: "It does make sense to say this, but in terms of motivation, he really had no motive to commit the crime."
"Whether there is a motive or not, only the murderer knows." Xia Qingtang stretched and said with a smile: "Okay, Leng Feng is gone, and we have our own time now. Otherwise, let's not cook today and go to the cafeteria to eat?"
"Then you might as well go to grandma's for dinner. Aunt Six has been talking about you for a long time."
"Okay, let's go over there to eat. Come on, let's go there together." Xia Qingtang pulled Xie Jinxuan to the small western-style building.
After several days, Leng Feng never showed up again. Xie Jinxuan said that he stayed at the unit every day and didn't remember to go home at all.
Xia Qingtang guessed that they were really going to check for the murder weapon, so he became more expectant, hoping that they could find the murder weapon as soon as possible so that they could catch the murderer quickly.
Because the murderer was studying at the Normal College, Xia Qingtang went to find Hu Yanni and secretly reminded her not to interact with any male classmates alone and to pay attention to safety.
Hu Yanni didn't know what had happened, but she listened to what Xia Qingtang said, so she thought nothing would happen.
On Friday afternoon, Xia Qingtang returned home excitedly. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Leng Feng again. He and Xie Jinxuan were sitting on the sofa. When he saw her come in, Leng Feng immediately stood up.
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