Chapter 47
After leaving the teahouse and entering the empty elevator, Li Qingyao felt that the depression in his chest was swept away.
One reason is that, during the conversation with Xiang Siling, although the other party concealed it very well and behaved very steadily, many details of his reactions still revealed his panic, which verified some of Li Qingyao and Chen Pu's guesses.
The second was the question that Xiang Siling asked in the end. Of course, it was very likely that she was just trying to change the subject to hide her guilty conscience, but it still ran right into Li Qingyao's hands. She retorted, in a good mood.
Such a confrontation was a bit low, but Li Qingyao didn't care. Can't she be humble? Didn’t Chen Pu want her to reveal her true nature as she pleased?
Thinking of this, she glanced at the man beside her. Chen Pu had been silent since leaving the teahouse, with one hand in his trouser pocket, trying to be cool. Those little nagging movements and looks that I usually had when I was with her were gone.
Li Qingyao tugged at his sleeve: "Why are you daydreaming? Do you have any new ideas about the case?"
Chen Pu didn't look at her.
He lowered his eyes slightly and looked at the blurry silhouettes of the two people on the bright elevator wall. I felt the gentle tug on my sleeve and thought: Here it comes again.
She was well again, could see him again, and could feel his joys and sorrows.
But why can't he be happy at all, haha.
He comes when called and leaves when dismissed. Does this describe a resentful person like him?
He pulled the corner of his mouth and said, "I didn't think about the case. I'm a little tired."
Li Qingyao was stunned. Having been working for such a long time, he had heard other people in the team complaining of being tired, but Chen Pu was definitely not one of them. But it’s normal when you think about it. How long have these two been working non-stop from dawn to dusk? And whenever he could rest, he would let her do it while he watched over her and carried the load alone.
Li Qingyao's tone softened a bit: "After you finish your work tonight, leave work early, Captain, and go back to have a good rest."
"OK."
The elevator door opened with a "ding" sound, and we arrived at the underground first floor. There was a parking lot on the left and a supermarket on the right. There was a restroom sign in the corridor. Li Qingyao said, "I'm going to the bathroom." Chen Pu followed him silently.
After entering the men's restroom, Chen Pu flushed the toilet, walked to the sink, applied hand sanitizer, rubbed his fingers very vigorously, and finally rinsed them clean. He shook his hands vigorously in the sink and looked up at himself in the mirror.
He saw his gloomy expression and the confusion in his eyes.
Suddenly, I felt really tired, not just physically tired, but also a vague feeling of powerlessness and exhaustion from the inside out. He leaned his arms on the sink and stared at the empty pool. What came to his mind was still the look that Li Qingyao gave Luo Huaizheng at the hotel entrance.
She never looked at me like that. He thought.
Never.
He himself didn't know when he started to keep Li Qingyao's tormenting things in his heart. Obviously at the beginning, I wanted to be a protective younger sister.
But that person's sister is always flirting with him, whistling at him, rubbing her face against his chest muscles; that person's sister is sometimes delicate, sometimes strong, and sometimes cold, tormenting him and making him feel confused; that person's sister gets angry and goes into a cold war like a lover, making him unable to sleep well and he has to coax her for so long before she calms down.
When a brother is glared at by his sister, his chest beats like a deer in panic. When he touches his sister, his heart feels as sweet as if a jar of honey has been overturned. When a brother sees his sister's ex-lover, the sourness in his stomach is pickled into his bones. He chokes himself when he speaks to her in a hypocritical manner.
Chen Pu raised his eyes and looked at himself in the mirror with a very bitter smile on his face. He raised one hand and pinched his cheek hard from the front with his thumb and index finger to flatten the bitter smile.
What should he do?
If it is a fair competition, given his personality, he will never give in. Even though Luo Huaizheng is a Tsinghua graduate, he is still an elite in the police force. But this chase, in which no one had a starting point, was unfair from the very beginning. Luo Huaizheng was her serious boyfriend seven years ago. She loved him deeply and felt pain for him deeply. If it weren't for... if it weren't for the unexpected case that year, would they have already graduated from a key university together, become equally outstanding people, got married, and have many children and grandchildren? They were a perfect match made in heaven, but were separated by fate. Now they finally meet again.
But who is Chen Pu?
Her brother's substitute, a colleague in the police force, perhaps her closest partner. There was at most a hint of ambiguity between them, but nothing more.
Or maybe it was just his illusion all along. The mutual support and understanding between them late at night were not real; the willfulness and indulgence that he thought he knew well were not real; the little bit of affection and concern revealed in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows were not real.
He couldn't even ask. In what capacity did he ask?
Even if Luo Huaizheng was not here now, with his personality and his desire to save face, he would only dare to get closer secretly, day by day, little by little, like he is doing now. As long as she doesn't reject it, as long as she slowly accepts it, that's enough, there's still a long way to go. They haven't found Li Jincheng yet, and he really doesn't want to focus on a happy relationship. He thinks she is the same. They must have a tacit understanding on some things. He is looking forward to the day when everything will come to fruition.
But it turns out that even though they have been so close these days, it is still far from love.
She and Luo Huaizheng both demonstrated to him, in front of him, what a passionate and heart-wrenching love is. Could he still pretend to be blind?
…
Finally figuring out the relationship between the three people, the depressed emotion between Chen Pu's brows gradually faded away. His arms were still on the sink. He looked up at the sky, exhaled very slowly, his expression had returned to calm, and he walked out of the bathroom.
Li Qingyao had been waiting for quite a while. In the past, every time she went out on a mission to go to the toilet, it was Chen Pu who waited for her. She thought that he was probably going to have a big day today, and then she saw him walk out with a breeze in his steps and his face slightly lowered.
Li Qingyao was stunned for a moment. When he walked to her side and was about to pass by her, she grabbed his arm. He paused, pulled his arm away, and said rudely, "Why are you touching me?"
Li Qingyao stared at his face: "You didn't cry, did you? You're dripping wet."
Chen Pu's heart skipped a beat, but his expression was very frank. He said, "What nonsense are you talking about? I would cry. I'm not you. I only got my face wet after washing it. Let's go. Don't dawdle."
When Li Qingyao saw him retort, he felt that he was normal. The last bit of guilt and uneasiness in his heart disappeared, and he followed him into the car.
The car drove out of the parking lot. It was still early, just 8 o'clock in the evening. Li Qingyao had thought about it while she was waiting for Chen Pu just now. If she were to say it, she would definitely not doubt Luo Huaizheng. Even though Luo Huaizheng was now in a state of poverty and frailty, she still believed in him unconsciously. But from a public perspective, as a criminal policeman, it is possible that Luo Huaizheng has undergone an extreme change in his personality after being in prison for five years. Not long after he came to Xiangcheng, Xiang Siling's stepfather was killed. Xiang Siling is their number one suspect, but now Luo is seen together with Xiang. So, it is reasonable for them to investigate Luo Huaizheng again.
So Li Qingyao said, "Originally, we planned to go find Li Meiling next, but I think we should strike while the iron is hot. I just told Luo Huaizheng that we should go talk to him directly to eliminate his suspicion. What do you think?"
What she thought but didn't say out loud, Chen Pu had actually thought about it too. But when she couldn't wait to ask to find Luo Huaizheng as soon as she got in the car, Chen Pu, who had already reached a dead end, had only one thought in his mind: Does she want to see him so much?
The heart that had already fallen to the bottom fell to the bottom again, and no one knew where it went. Chen Pu was in a desperate mood, and even smiled and said, "You are right."
Li Qingyao was thinking, now you know I am selfless, I even interrogated my ex-boyfriend.
After deciding on the direction of investigation, Chen Pu navigated towards Luo Huaizheng's company. His mind was still empty, and he subconsciously said, "His cellphone number should have been registered before. Lao Fang is in the bureau. Let him check it and send it to you." After he said that, his heart skipped a beat.
Sure enough, Li Qingyao lowered his head and opened his phone, saying, "I have his WeChat, and his phone number is on it. If I find it, I'll beat you up?"
Chen Pu: "Of course you did it."
Li Qingyao understood that Chen Pu was having difficulty driving, so he called him directly.
After only two rings, Luo Huaizheng picked up the phone. Hearing the low and calm voice coming from the other end, Li Qingyao's mood was not as turbulent as when he ran into him and Xiang Siling before.
She said: "Luo... Huaizheng, Chen Pu and I are coming to your company now, is it convenient for us to chat?"
Luo Huaizheng said: "Okay."
"Then I'll find a place nearby?"
Luo Huaizheng answered politely: "The company has a small meeting room, is that ok?"▲
"Okay, we'll be there in twenty minutes."
After hanging up the phone, Li Qingyao said, "Let's go to his company's conference room and talk directly."
Chen Pu: "All right, we guarantee sound insulation."
The car continued to move forward. Li Qingyao was thinking about what to ask Luo Huaizheng when he met him later. Chen Pu did not say anything either. They were both silent for a while. He turned on the car stereo and the first song that played automatically was "Angel".
[In the mirror, I saw a strange face with such dim eyes.
A smile only brings bitterness to the corners of my mouth. Who knows my loneliness...]
Chen Pu tilted his head towards the window and raised his hand to press his face.
Li Qingyao noticed it.
She stopped thinking about Luo Huaizheng and listened to the song quietly for a while. Then she turned her head decisively and stared at Chen Pu.
I always feel like there's something wrong with him.
Chen Pu noticed it and said, "Why are you looking at me? I've been standing next to you all day, and you haven't seen enough?"
Li Qingyao was confused again: Isn't this quite normal?
She said: "You are so narcissistic."
Chen Pu smiled and muttered, "I am narcissistic? I am a fart narcissist."
Li Qingyao didn't pay much attention.
Soon they arrived downstairs of Luo Huaizheng's company. Chen Pu stopped the car and Li Qingyao said, "I just thought about it. Through these few contacts, you can feel that Luo Huaizheng is now more sensitive and has a strong self-esteem. Although I had an unpleasant quarrel with him just now, it was also a special situation and I caught him red-handed. He felt ashamed to face me, and I was a little angry. Now that everyone has calmed down, it may be more appropriate for me to ask some questions alone, so that I can be sure to dig out his true attitude. To you, it's just a business matter, and he may not be willing to say it. So I suggest that today's conversation should be conducted by me alone, what do you think?"
Chen Pu was silent for a moment and said, "You are right and reasonable. I can't find any reason to refute it. It is entirely for the purpose of case investigation. Okay, let's do it. However, the recording must be turned on, and both of you must be where I can see you. This is the rule, please understand. You can explain it to him in advance."
Li Qingyao thought what he said was strange. Why couldn't she understand the rules?
"Nonsense," she said.
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