Chapter 180: Master Jia

Chen Shi picked up a photo of Ji Chunma from the case file. He was a chubby man with pale skin and small, shifty eyes.

Chen Shi sighed, “If we hadn’t paid the ransom back then, this whole greed-driven incident wouldn’t have happened.”

He wasn’t talking to himself. As he flipped through the file, Peng Siyue sat silently across from him, holding a tray. Peng Siyue had a habit of avoiding crowded mealtimes, so he often ate lunch around 3 PM.

Smelling the sweet and sour ribs, Chen Shi instinctively picked up chopsticks and took a piece.

“If I remember correctly, some of the ransom money was marked by the police. How did he evade capture for five years?” Peng Siyue said, snatching the chopsticks away.

Chen Shi spat out the bone, “The bank didn’t notice? This guy isn’t a fool. He’s a fallen second-generation rich kid whose father went bankrupt. Six million yuan was enough for him to live lavishly for five years? While hiding, he bought a house in Long’an and maintained two mistresses?” He grabbed the chopsticks again, taking another piece of the sweet and sour ribs.

“The clues we have now suggest there’s more to this case than meets the eye… If you keep eating, I’ll hit you!”

“I’m just testing the taste,” Chen Shi shamelessly reached for more food.

Peng Siyue covered his bowl with his hand, “Thanks for your help. Lin found a very interesting video. Everyone is discussing it. Aren’t you going to take a look?”

“It’s not tender enough, not as good as mine,” Chen Shi handed the chopsticks back.

Looking at the nearly empty bowl of sweet and sour ribs, Peng Siyue smiled wryly, “Shameless guy… Hey, the case file!”

“Return it to the archives for me, thanks!” Chen Shi said without looking back.

Everyone was watching a video in the conference room. It was provided by the Bank of China, showing a chubby man with a hat using an ATM from 9:30 to 10 PM the previous night.

“Who is this?” Chen Shi sat next to Lin Dongxue.

“Ji Chunma!”

“He’s even fatter than five years ago. What kind of mindset does it take to gain weight while on the run?” Chen Shi marveled.

The bank data showed that this man, holding a card belonging to Wang Xifeng, was continuously withdrawing and depositing 10,000 yuan until he reached the daily withdrawal limit, standing in front of the ATM for half an hour.

There was an online rumor about a scam where you stick double-sided tape on bills, deposit them, and then withdraw them one by one, potentially sticking extra bills.

Some officers suggested this, but the bank confirmed that this ATM didn’t lose any money.

They had watched the video four times, discussing what Ji Chunma was doing. Was he stress-relieving by listening to the ATM count money?

“Pause it!” Chen Shi said, “Go back a bit… Okay, pause!”

Everyone focused on Chen Shi. He pointed to the screen, “What’s he doing?”

“Looking at money,” Lin Qiupu said, puzzled.

“Play it normally.”

The video played normally again, but no one noticed anything unusual.

Chen Shi said, “He took a whole minute to look at the money. Does it take that long to look at 100 bills?”

“What do you think he was looking for?” Lin Qiupu asked.

Chen Shi remembered what Peng Siyue had mentioned about the specially marked money and had a flash of insight, “Searching for marked bills!”

“Marked bills?”

“Go to the bank and see if there are any bills with serial numbers recorded by the police.”

At that moment, someone ran in, “Captain Lin, we’ve made an important discovery. The person depositing money into Wang Xifeng’s account is Shi Sijin. He transferred funds every three months, ranging from 100,000 to 500,000 yuan, over the past five years.”

“Five years?” The room was stunned. That matched the time Ji Chunma had been evading capture.

The person continued, “We checked. Five years ago, Shi Sijin was an employee of Fenglaiyi Media Company. We called him through the bank. He said he left that company long ago and now works at a preschool, earning only 6,000 to 7,000 yuan a month. He claims he has no knowledge of this credit card.”

“Someone must have used his identity to get the card,” Lin Qiupu said.

“Fenglaiyi Media Company… Why does that sound so familiar?” Chen Shi checked his phone and was shocked by the information. The company’s president was none other than Lu Dazong’s friend, Jia Xingyun.

Chen Shi said, “For five years, Jia Gongzi has been sending money to a fugitive. It sounds like blackmail.”

Lin Qiupu was so agitated that he knocked over his chair when he stood up. He pointed to a few people, “Let’s go meet Jia Gongzi.”

Chen Shi said, “Wait. Jia Gongzi’s father is a high-ranking official. Without clear evidence, confronting him could backfire on us. The best approach is for me to go. First, I’m not a cop. Second, I’ve met him a few times.”

Lin Qiupu considered it. Chen Shi made sense. He said, “After you meet him, if necessary, I’ll have someone monitor his activities.”

“No, protect him! If Jia Gongzi is being blackmailed by Ji Chunma, and Ji Chunma is acting out for some reason, Jia Gongzi could be his next target.”

Chen Shi took Lin Dongxue with him. Jia Xingyun found Lin Dongxue quite pleasing to the eye. Having a beautiful woman present might make him more talkative.

They arrived at Jia Xingyun’s company at 5 PM. Chen Shi parked but didn’t get out immediately. Lin Dongxue asked, “What are you hesitating about?”

“I’m suddenly wondering, could it really be Jia Xingyun? What’s his motive? Is it necessary to see him now?”

“How will we know if we don’t ask?”

“Will he even tell us? Especially someone as smooth as him.”

Lin Dongxue put her hand on Chen Shi’s arm, “Would it be easier to ask Old Master Lu?”

“Fathers often don’t know their sons well. He might not know.” Chen Shi sighed, “Let’s go. At least we’ll make our presence known.”

Unlike Lu Dazong’s “participation trophy” film company, Jia Xingyun’s media company was actually profitable and well-run. Rumor had it that Jia Xingyun, after studying in the US, decided not to enter politics and started his own company.

Jia Xingyun was young, handsome, from a wealthy family, highly educated, and a self-made CEO. To many women, he was the real-life version of a domineering CEO from romance novels, and many sought to marry into the Jia family.

As soon as they entered the company, Chen Shi saw several attractive female employees. Lin Dongxue waved her hand in front of his eyes, “Hey, hey, I thought you were above such lowbrow interests.”

Chen Shi defended himself, “I was just thinking, could these pretty girls have ulterior motives for working here?”

“No matter their motives, it’s a way to attract talent.”

At the front desk, a pretty receptionist said, “President Jia isn’t in. He left early today.”

“Do you know where he went?”

“Sorry, I don’t know.”