Chapter 111: A New Suspect (Seeking Votes)

Wang Shilun suddenly remembered something, “Oh right, before I made that call, she rejected several of my calls before finally answering. All she said on the phone was, ‘Honey, I’m on my way, will be there soon,’ followed by the sound of knocking.”

Chen Shi responded with a thankful nod, “Appreciated!”

As the evening drew on, Chen Shi and Peng Si Jie said goodbye to Wang Shilun and got into the car.

Peng Si Jie was still puzzled by the discussion, “Why don’t you think he’s lying? I thought you doubted everything.”

“What would you think if someone claimed they saw a UFO?”

“I’d first check if the person has any mental issues or a reason to lie.”

“Exactly, faced with the inexplicable, the most ‘rational’ strategy is to doubt the truthfulness of the claimant. It’s a common form of self-deception. Here’s why I don’t think Wang Shilun is lying: first, he has no motive as he and Kong Tingting were just one-night stands; second, he had no opportunity since he was with us helping catch Kong Tingting from the moment he got off work.”

“But we’ve concluded that the murderer committed the crime at three in the afternoon. If Wang Shilun is the murderer, everything would make sense… Let’s get an alibi for him from the police.”

Chen Shi fell silent at this bold theory, which seemed to make sense.

“What do you think?” urged Peng Si Jie.

“I’ll reserve judgment for now, but it’s worth investigating.”

Chen Shi’s acceptance of his suggestion made Peng Si Jie smile with relief. “Also…”

“What?”

“I don’t believe in UFOs.”

Back at the station, everyone was in the conference room having a lively hotpot dinner, unwinding after the day’s work with sliced mutton and cold beer while sharing fun stories from their investigations.

Seeing them enter, Lin Dongxue made room at the table, saying, “Lucky you, we bought the dips and veggies.”

Xu Xiaodong commented, “Latecomers luck, should have come back later myself.”

Chen Shi grabbed some fishballs with his chopsticks, tasting one, and asked, “What have you guys found out?”

“The victim had a best friend who said that half a month ago the victim cried to her about being dumped. She went to a bar to drown her sorrows and ended up leaving with a stranger who took her to a hotel. When she woke up the next day, the man was gone, but he left a shroud and a note on the bed saying, ‘Congratulations, you’ve got AIDS!’”

“She was retaliated against as well? Where’s the note?”

“It’s long gone.”

Xu Xiaodong shared, “We also found out that the victim was briefly a streamer, chatting with online friends, but she wasn’t popular and didn’t make money, so she quit.”

Chen Shi remarked, “These days, the threshold to be a streamer or a writer is so low, maybe I should live stream solving cases next time?”

“You dare!” Lin Qiupu, who was eating lettuce, looked up to say this before focusing back on his food, “Old Zhang, pass me the sesame sauce.”

Chen Shi asked Lin Qiupu, “What about that businessman?”

“We let him go, no evidence. He wouldn’t admit to anything.”

“I don’t think it’s him. Peng and I found an eyewitness… Damn, I didn’t even get any meat, it’s all gone! Let’s talk after eating.”

Lin Qiupu was still keen on the eyewitness topic and prodded Chen Shi for more details. After hearing it, Lin stroked his chin thoughtfully, “The crime happened in the afternoon? Then that businessman’s alibi doesn’t hold up!”

Xu Xiaodong was still on the topic of streamers, “…this girl, graduated five or six years ago, basically hasn’t had a proper job since, just keeps switching boyfriends. The only job she had was as a streamer. What kind of life is that?”

Chen Shi noted, “There are many like her, avoiding work and responsibilities, just wanting to live an easy life… This girl was pretty and had the assets, so she just idled away her days.”

“Such tragedies are linked to her lifestyle,” Lin Dongxue commented with a hint of pity.

“I don’t get it,” Xu Xiaodong said. “Marx said labor is the essence of man. Why are there so many people in society who don’t want to work, like those supported by their parents or NEETs?”

“I think laziness is the true nature of humanity!” Peng Si Jie suddenly declared. “People try to avoid labor by subjugating others, leading to hierarchical systems that birth civilization.”

“Profound! Well said!” Chen Shi applauded.

Peng Si Jie, not much of a hotpot fan, wiped his mouth and said, “I’m going back to the lab to check the results.”

Less than ten minutes later, Peng Si Jie returned, holding a report, “Chen Shi, whose hair sample did you give me?”

“What’s up?”

“The analysis proved that this hair and the one found on the victim are from the same person.”

Everyone at the table paused momentarily, as a new suspect suddenly entered their line of sight.

The following afternoon, Chen Shi, along with Lin Dongxue and Xu Xiaodong, revisited Han Le to gather more information. Han Le appeared somewhat impatient, “What do you want now? You aren’t suspecting me, are you?”

Chen Shi asked, “Have you seen Kong Tingting these past few days?”

“More than that, we haven’t been in touch for months.”

“Well, sorry to bother you, but we found your hair on the victim.”

Han Le paused, regaining his composure, “Don’t bluff me, hair doesn’t contain DNA, it can’t be used as evidence.”

“It seems you’ve done some research on criminal investigations.”

“I like reading novels and watching films about it.”

“Then you should know that substances ingested by a person can be reflected in their hair. You’ve been taking antidepressants for the past two months, right? Am I wrong?”

Han Le looked shocked. Lin Dongxue added quickly, “We can get a search warrant and ask you to come to the station for a chat, or you can explain things right here.”

Han Le licked his lips, “I… I did see her once. She had computer trouble, and I went to fix it. Then I heard her crying, and she told me she was sick. I didn’t know it was that serious at first, just told her if she needed money for medicine, I could help somehow, but she didn’t say anything… I just hugged her to comfort her.”

Chen Shi observed Han Le carefully, a cryptic smile forming on his lips, “Which day?”

“December 23rd.”

“You remember the date well. But the victim had a date on the 24th, she changed clothes; the hair you left on the 23rd wouldn’t have transferred to another outfit worn on the 24th.”

Han Le faltered, “Okay, I admit I lied about the date because I was afraid you’d suspect me. I actually saw her on the 24th.”

“What time?”

“In the morning!”

Chen Shi caught the unnatural twitch at the corner of Han Le’s eyes. He gestured to Lin Dongxue, suggesting they might as well take him in for questioning.

Lin Dongxue said to Han Le, “Mr. Han, I’m afraid we’ll need to trouble you to come with us.”

As they prepared to leave, Chen Shi, still holding that cryptic smile, reflected on the unexpected turn of events and the growing complexity of the case. Han Le’s reluctant confession and his earlier fabrications had opened new avenues in the investigation that needed to be explored further.