Chapter 28
Ding Guoqiang said: "But you have no evidence."
Chen Pu said unhappily, "If I had evidence, I would have come to you a few days ago. Isn't this just a bold assumption? You should verify it carefully."
Ding Guoqiang pondered for a while and looked at Li Qingyao who had been silent: "What about you? Do you have the same idea as him?" He also wanted to hear whether this future newlywed had any ideas of his own.
Li Qingyao did not show any panic or embarrassment at all because of the questions from her superior's superior - such an expression never appeared on her face.
She said slowly, "First of all, I agree that it was definitely not Sun Dazhi who did it. Judging from the crimes he committed before, they were all crimes of passion, without plans, and rough actions, which are completely different from the methods used in the Luo Hongmin case. Moreover, he had not arrived in Xiangcheng three days ago, so this time was not enough to plan the crime.
As to whether it was really a murder for money, Chen Pu and I have different opinions on this point. I think - not necessarily. Maybe he killed people for money, or maybe he was just trying to make money to cover up his deeper motives. But no matter which one it is, I think the crime was committed by someone I know. ”
"Oh?" Ding Guoqiang became interested. "Why?"
"These past few days, I have watched all the surveillance footage from the cameras outside the residence three days before Luo Hongmin was murdered, as well as the Saturday two weeks before that, which was the day he stayed overnight at the villa. The van and the man did not appear, nor did any other suspicious persons. In other words, the murderer did not set foot at that location."
Chen Pu had also thought of this, but had not had time to do anything. He turned to look at Li Qingyao: "Where do you have the time to watch the surveillance?" The two of them have been going out early and coming back late every day recently, running around everywhere, and are as tired as dogs.
Li Qingyao: "Every night."
Chen Pu's gaze fell on the dark circles under her eyes and frowned: "You are the only one who can endure it, right?" If he had known earlier, he would have hurried up and watched the surveillance video himself. Damn it.
Seeing that the two of them were actually chatting among themselves, Ding Guoqiang pressed his forehead and said, "Okay, stop gossiping!"
Li Qingyao's smile flashed across his face. Chen Pu was not afraid of anything in front of his master. He said, "Just tell me what to do next."
Ding Guoqiang said, "Well, the two of you can investigate according to your previous idea first, and then ask me for more if you don't have enough manpower."
——
It was already past eight o'clock, and both were exhausted, but now that they had a new direction for investigation, they were both equally eager to try. When walking back to the door of the second team's office, Chen Pu looked at Li Qingyao, and she immediately looked at him.
He asked, "How about a quick meal first?"
Li Qingyao: "I think I can eat a cow."
Chen Pu said, "You have a bad stomach! But I can't take you to eat good food today, so just make do with what you have."
"Okay. Are you done eating?"
"Back to the office?"
Li Qingyao frowned: "I have to go back and take a shower first." He pulled up his collar and sniffed it, with a look of disgust: "It stinks."
Chen Pu wondered what was smelling like, but he still said "OK."
The two of them went downstairs to order a bowl of noodles. Chen Pu ordered two extra portions of sized noodles, while Li Qingyao ordered a normal bowl.
As a result, Li Qingyao actually finished the whole bowl of noodles. Chen Pu was very pleased to see this and said, "After more than a month of working on the front line, your appetite has finally become like that of a criminal police officer."
Li Qingyao: “…”
She doesn't want to eat like a detective, okay? It was already 9 o'clock, and she had finished not a single carbohydrate left in this solid bowl of red soup. She wanted to cry. She, Li. Elegant. Sugar Control. Light Kitty, could never go back. Li Qingyao could imagine what he would look like in a few months with a round face, double chin and round belly.
“I’ll lose weight after I finish investigating this case,” she said bitterly.
Chen Pu had finished his powder long ago, so he stood up and poured two free glasses of water. He gave her one and drank it slowly, saying, "Why lose weight? You'll look better if you're a little fatter."
"nerve."
——
After eating the noodles, the two went home. Chen Pu gave Li Qingyao 15 minutes to take a shower - including the time to go up and down the stairs. Li Qingyao also wanted to investigate the case immediately, so he gritted his teeth and agreed.
Chen Pu found some clean clothes and went to take a shower. He took off all his clothes, turned on the shower, and as usual, poured a dollop of shampoo into his palm, then rubbed it vigorously on his head, rubbed his hands vigorously, and then rinsed it off. His hair was washed. The whole process took 2 minutes. He poured some shower gel and just washed and scrubbed. Finally he opened his hands, rinsed them under the running water, and suddenly he was stunned.
He stared at his ten fingers, slowly made a few grasping movements, and frowned. Then an idea struck him and he looked up at the mop hanging on the wall.
He took the mop off, stood on the ground, looked around, coughed lightly, stretched out his hands and hugged them lightly.
After thinking about it again, he stretched out just one hand, estimated her waist circumference, and "hugged" her again with one hand.
After doing these simulated movements, Chen Pu laughed in silence, hung the mop back, pressed his arms against the wall, lowered his head, slightly arched his back, letting the water continue to hit him, and the smile on his face gradually faded.
Amid the falling water curtain, Chen Pu opened his eyes and watched the thin streams of water chasing and entwining each other on the ground. After a while, he closed his eyes and sighed softly.
——
"Luo Huaizheng."
Luo Huaizheng turned around and saw a woman in a burgundy off-shoulder dress walking gracefully towards him in the dimly lit corridor.
Luo Huaizheng frowned.
Xiang Siling smiled, as if the more he frowned, the more vicious her smile would be. She said, "It's been so many days, do you still feel sick when you see me?"
Luo Huaizheng sighed in his heart and was about to ignore her and go back to the private room, but she stretched out her arms, as tender and white as new lotus roots, and stopped him.
Today is an important node in the project. After it is successfully completed, Luo Huaizheng brought his people to invite the other project manager to dinner. Halfway through the meal, Xiang Siling came running over and said that he was talking to someone in the next box and came to visit the project team.
Luo Huaizheng has now been able to ignore Xiang Siling, but no matter how cold and silent he is, Xiang Siling becomes more and more courageous, and from time to time, like today, he would condescend to kill him by surprise.
"What on earth do you want to do?!" Luo Huaizheng said coldly.
Xiang Siling drank two rounds of wine today. Her face was as pink as a peach blossom. She couldn't stand very steadily, swaying and smiling: "What I want to do... What I want to do..." She looked up at him with her bright eyes: "You always don't know."
Luo Huaizheng didn't want to talk to this drunkard, so he said coldly, "Get out of the way."
But she reached out and grabbed his sleeve, saying, "Luo Huaizheng, I already had one father dead, and now another one has died."
Luo Huaizheng suddenly raised his arm and pulled out his sleeve.
Xiang Siling chuckled and said, "Luo Huaizheng, you have to believe that I want you to live a good life more than anyone else in this world. Don't avoid me like a snake or scorpion anymore. I really, really won't hurt you again."
Luo Huaizheng sneered and said, "I am living a good life now. As long as you don't appear in front of me, I can live a better life than now."
Xiang Siling seemed to be drunk. He shook his head and said, "You are different from before. You would never say such cruel words before. But it's okay. Be a little cruel. In the future, you can protect your life."
Luo Huaizheng was about to leave when he heard her say faintly, "I'm different from you. I've been very, very happy since I was a child. My parents love me very much and treat me very well. The only drawback is that my dad is a loser, my mom is lazy and doesn't work, and our family is too poor. But it seems like God deliberately wanted to change my fate and gave me a rich dad. Tell me, am I very lucky?"
Hearing her mention the past, Luo Huaizheng stopped, looked at her deeply, and remained silent.
"My stepfather provided me with food, clothing, and college education. When I was in college, my cell phone, clothes, and everything else were the best. I didn't even want to tell my classmates that he was my stepfather. They all said he was my biological father, so they could be jealous. After graduation, I didn't have to scramble to find a job like everyone else. He directly arranged for me to join the company as a department manager. How great! I could cover a path that ordinary people would take ten years to complete in one step. He also introduced me to the most promising boy in the company. Unfortunately, I was not ambitious enough and couldn't get along with people, so we got divorced. But it doesn't matter. I have money and power now. What does a woman need a man for when she has these things? Haha!"
Seeing that Luo Huaizheng had been listening and not leaving, Xiang Siling's face was filled with joy, but she did not dare to pull his sleeve again, and continued to nag: "But things are unpredictable. My father, who was so good to me, was also killed. His parents died a long time ago, and he has no brothers or sisters, no biological children, no relatives or friends, so pitiful. Only my mother is his legal wife. But my mother does not know how to do business, and she managed the massage parlor in a mess. Now, the whole group is in my hands. Tell me, do I deserve it? Why do I get more without giving anything? Life is so unfair, isn't it?"
Luo Huaizheng then realized that Xiang Siling was probably very drunk, but her eyes were too bright, as if burning with flames, giving Luo Huaizheng a strange feeling: that flame was both fanatical and cold.
“我这辈子唯一命不好的，就是遇到你。”向思翎直勾勾望着他，那双氤氲的黑眸，竟有水光闪过，“知不知道，你出事后，人人骂我，全班都不理我，再也没有人接受我。我走到路上有人砸石头、丢鸡蛋，被人堵在巷子里揍。他们都恨我，因为他们都爱你。”
Luo Huaizheng suppressed the slight sadness in his eyes.
Xiang Siling walked forward a few steps, wiped her tears, and said, "And Li Qingyao, she was originally my favorite and most envied girl in high school. I regarded her as an idol. However, she also hated me and never spoke to me or looked at me again. But Luo Huaizheng, what did I do wrong? I was only 17 years old at that time, and my father died in front of me. I obviously did nothing, I did nothing!"
Luo Huaizheng finally spoke up. He said, "Over the years, I only want to ask you one thing: Did Xiang Wei rape you back then? Did I see it wrong?"
Xiang Siling fell silent.
After a while, she raised her head. Although her eyes were still blurry, she was much calmer. She smiled at him, a surprisingly beautiful smile, and said, "Luo Huaizheng, you only need to know one thing."
Luo Huaizheng looked at her.
Tears finally welled up in her eyes. She bit her lower lip several times, as if she could finally say with a smile: "You are me, me... the only person I have ever loved. Any way, I approached you with no other intentions, just simply wanting to make up for it. Now I finally have the ability to do so. We are all adults now, so let's be more mature and give me a chance, okay?"
——
Tonight, Luo Huaizheng also drank a few glasses of wine with the other project manager. When he got home, his cheeks were flushed. The house he rented was near the company, a simple one-bedroom apartment. After spending a few years in prison, even the most simply decorated house was still habitable in his opinion.
After entering the room, he did not turn on the light. He walked to the computer desk and sat down. All the energy he had accumulated during the day seemed to have drained away. He sat in the darkness, leaning back with his head, not moving.
After a while, Luo Huaizheng opened his eyes, and his bloodshot eyes were now sharp and clear. He turned on the computer and searched the name Luo Hongmin.
They were all news reports about Luo Hongmin's death. The media speculated that the crime was committed by a vagrant criminal who was looking for money and murder.
Luo Huaizheng closed the page, lowered his head deeply, and a very indifferent smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
After a while, Luo Huaizheng looked up again, stared at the page for a few seconds, and typed in the name "Li Qingyao".
There wasn't much information, so he read all he could. Finally, his mouse landed on a photo of Li Qingyao in police uniform.
Although his girlfriend at that time had a cold personality, there was always a little warmth in her eyes when she looked at him, and only he could feel it. The person in this photo has frosty eyebrows and eyes, and looks distant and cold.
Luo Huaizheng exhaled slowly, closed the page, looked up and stared at the darkness outside the window, like a wooden statue.
Finally, he remembered that on the day of the incident, he was reporting at Huayu Group and Xiang Siling was also there, sitting in the main seat. After receiving the call informing her of her stepfather's death, she looked blank and then tears welled up in her eyes.
She looked at him, her eyes, lonely and bright, like the silent Gulf Stream in a chilly night.
…
Luo Huaizheng lowered his head and took out the mobile phone from his pocket, but did not operate it immediately. Instead, he held the phone in his palm, turned it several times, staring at it with no expression on his face. Then, he opened WeChat, clicked on Xiang Siling's profile picture, and sent a message:
How are you going to compensate me? 】∫
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