Old Chen suspected that there was a love triangle between Li Banfeng, He Jiaqing, and Lu Xiaolan. Li Banfeng was a bit angry. It couldn't be called a bit; he was very angry. But he restrained himself. Not only did he hold back his anger, but Li Banfeng's lips also curled up, revealing a hint of a smile.
Old Chen is deliberately trying to provoke me to get the information he wants. He might even push me to have an episode on the spot and then arrest me as a suspect with a mental disorder.
Li Banfeng, without showing any emotion, said word by word, "There's not even a friendship between Lu Xiaolan and me, let alone any other sort of relationship. You can ask my college roommate about this, or find other classmates to testify."
Old Chen asked again, "Really, no other sort of relationship."
Li Banfeng calmly replied, "If there is, there is; if there isn't, there isn't. If you don't believe me, go ahead and check. It's as simple as that. There's no need to complicate a simple matter."
The truth was indeed that simple.
Old Chen nodded, "I believe you."
Li Banfeng continued, "It's true that I took He Jiaqing to the hospital, but you can't just see me as the murderer because of that, can you? He Jiaqing's Third Uncle was right there in the hospital. Why don't you call him over, and we can make things clear together."
"No one is treating you as the murderer; otherwise, I would have taken you back to the police station long ago," Old Chen fumbled for his pack of cigarettes, resisting the urge to pull one out. "As for He Jiaqing's Third Uncle, are you talking about He Haisheng? He's the one who reported the crime, he brought me here to the hospital, and he's the one who told me to find you."
Li Banfeng fell silent.
This Third Uncle is very cunning.
Old Chen put the cigarette pack back in his pocket. "Before He Jiaqing had his accident, he ate and drank with you. After a session of drinking, he fell unconscious. You said you took him to the bus station, and we will check the surveillance there. I believe what you're saying is true, and I also hope this matter has nothing to do with you. But I must remind you, the current situation is very disadvantageous for you. In the coming time, you should cooperate with our investigation as much as possible, and try not to leave Yuezhou."
CLICK-CLACK.
Li Banfeng's phone rang.
A flicker passed through the corner of Li Banfeng's eyes. It might very well be a message from He Jiaqing. Should I tell this policeman, Old Chen, about this? Li Banfeng was extremely conflicted.
"Someone looking for you?" Old Chen smiled meaningfully, seeming to understand Li Banfeng's dilemma. "There are some things you might not want to tell me, and that's okay. When you're ready to talk, come find me."
Old Chen left the hospital room with Li Banfeng. At the entrance of the hospital, they went their separate ways.
Old Chen got into a black sedan, where a woman in her early twenties sat in the back seat. The woman wore a professional suit, brushed back her ear-length hair, adjusted her rimless glasses, kept her knees together, and turned sideways to face Old Chen, only a third of her rounded Fatty Peach resting on the seat.
Her name was You Xuehan, codenamed Dumpling, and she was the team's secretary.
With a neat notebook in hand, You Xuehan respectfully asked, "Captain Chen, what's the situation?"
Old Chen lit a cigarette and took a deep puff, his crow's feet and laugh lines smoothing out as he appeared much more rejuvenated.
"This kid has a strong psyche and can control his emotions. But I don't think he's a Dark Energy User; he should be a White Lamb. However, he definitely knows something about He Jiaqing's situation. Has anyone called him these past few days?"
Upon hearing this, You Xuehan flipped through Li Banfeng's file. "I just checked his call records. Since He Jiaqing's accident, he has made one emergency call. The school also called him twice. Other than that, there are no other call records, not even a message."
"I guess it's not that there are none, but rather that we can't find them," Old Chen exhaled a plume of smoke. "The moment he heard the message notification, Li Banfeng got nervous. Someone is contacting him, but he doesn't want others to know."
The man sitting in the passenger seat turned around and offered a suggestion, "Since this person is suspicious, why don't we just arrest him?"
This man, in his early thirties, with thick brows, big eyes, and a distinctly angular face, was quite handsome, though his hair was thinning, albeit sleekly styled and impeccably neat.
"Arrest him?" Old Chen frowned and looked at the man in the passenger seat. "On what grounds?"
The man didn't seem to realize there was a problem with his idea. "If he has a motive, having him in custody is the safest bet."
"What motive does he have?" Old Chen's tone grew heavier.
The man remained nonchalant. "If what happened to He Jiaqing had nothing to do with him, why would he take He Jiaqing to the hospital?"
Upon hearing this, Old Chen exclaimed angrily, "What the hell kind of nonsense is that!"
The man stayed quiet, turning his head to gaze out of the car window. His name was Xiao Zhenggong, and people here called him Deputy Captain Xiao. He just kept looking out the window, his disdainful expression conveying a clear message: he didn't fear Old Chen, nor did he think he had done anything wrong; he simply didn't want to waste his breath on this old fellow.
Though his back was to Old Chen, Old Chen could clearly see his face in the rearview mirror.
Old Chen sighed and said, "From the day you joined the bureau, I've told you: work must be done, rules must be followed, and Conscience must not be forgotten. But you still haven't gotten it into your damn head, even now!"
You Xuehan pursed her lips. The tense atmosphere made her uncomfortable, so she quickly changed the subject, "Li Banfeng's background has been mostly clarified. He's an orphan, raised in a welfare institute, with no criminal record, but he has been investigated several times for acts of justifiable self-defense."
"Justifiable self-defense?" Old Chen was quite curious. He grabbed Li Banfeng's file to take a look. "One against three: two seriously injured, one lightly. One against five: one seriously injured, four lightly... He's that skilled? Doesn't look like it. His build is pretty average!"
Old Chen carefully perused Li Banfeng's dossier. Halfway through, he couldn't help but laugh. "This kid... he's truly crazy."
You Xuehan asked, "Captain Chen, do we still need to keep an eye on Li Banfeng?"
Old Chen pondered for a moment and said, "Let Light Bulb watch him."
You Xuehan reminded, "Light Bulb only joined a month ago. It's better to let Big Head do it."
Old Chen, holding his cigarette, took another deep drag. "A White Lamb doesn't warrant Big Head. It's a good chance for Light Bulb to get some practice. Let Big Head keep an eye on He Haisheng; he's not an easy one to deal with."
「…」
On the subway, Li Banfeng took out his phone.
Indeed, there was a message on it, but it wasn't from He Jiaqing.
"Hello, this is Old Chen."
Old Chen? He sent this message? That old fox, was he just trying to trick me earlier? What does he mean by sending this? Just to mess with me? Not entirely. By sending this message, he's effectively given me his phone number. He really wants me to contact him.
Li Banfeng had no intention of contacting Old Chen, but one thing made him very curious. During their conversation, I never saw Old Chen take out his phone. So how did he send that message? Is someone secretly helping him? Or does this Old Chen have some special ability? He Jiaqing is asleep in the hospital right now; could he also send me messages? This world seems different from what I thought. So what if it's different? What does it have to do with me? He Jiaqing's Third Uncle is here now, so I don't need to get involved in his problems anymore. From now on, I'll just focus on honest work and get on with my life. None of this has anything to do with me.
Li Banfeng wanted to quickly forget everything. He opened his phone and aimlessly browsed social media news.
The first news item read: "8.83 seconds! Sprinter Qiao Yuesheng smashes the 100-meter world record again! In his post-race interview, he actually said this!"
What did he say?
Li Banfeng clicked on the news.
"At the recently concluded Diamond League, sprinter Qiao Yuesheng clocked 8.83 seconds, again breaking the world record he set just last month. Who would have guessed that this legendary sprinter, once on the verge of abandoning his dreams due to financial hardship, was born into an ordinary farming family..."
The article was long, chronicling Qiao Yuesheng's life from birth to his Diamond League victory. Li Banfeng scrolled to the end and finally saw the quote:
"Dreams are not related to skin color."
A very inspiring phrase.
Except, Li Banfeng remembered Qiao Yuesheng saying that last year. It was from last year that he, as a person of Asian descent, had conquered the 100-meter dash and broken the nine-second barrier.
The next news item: "Famous Entertainer Chu Zikai Tears Away the Entertainment Industry's Modesty Cloth With One Statement!"
"Ten years ago, Chu Zikai shocked the Mandopop scene with his song 'I Am Your Guokui.' His clear and sincere vocals moved countless fans. However, this exceptionally gifted musical talent made an unexpected public statement, revealing the little-known underbelly of the entertainment world. Thirty-one-year-old Chu Zikai, born into an ordinary working-class family, has loved music since childhood..."
Starting from his birth again.
Li Banfeng couldn't be bothered to read further and scrolled to the next item.
"Shocking! The Sun Is Not Alone—Astronomers Discover It May Have a Sibling!"
"Recently, astronomers made a startling discovery: our Sun might not be solitary. It may have an unknown companion star. As the master of the Solar System, the star upon which humanity depends for survival, our Sun was born 4.6 billion years ago..."
Even the Sun's story has to start from its birth. These content farm writers must all have the same damn teacher!
CLICK-CLACK!
Irritated, Li Banfeng received another message. This one was from He Jiaqing.
"Brother, don't believe them. They're liars."
Li Banfeng replied, "Who do you mean by 'them'?"
"Third Uncle, the police, and the He Jiaqing you saw—they're all liars."
Li Banfeng put away his phone, a sudden chill making the subway car feel colder than usual.
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