Chapter 548: An Apology in Death

The past few days had been quite leisurely. While Tao Yueyue was at school, Chen Shi took the opportunity to clean the house. Even though it looked quite clean, he had to change the water three times just to wash the rags, indicating how busy he had been lately.

After tidying up, Chen Shi put on an apron and started preparing dinner. Lin Dongxue would be coming over to eat in the evening.

The reason he wasn’t driving his taxi today was that Lin Dongxue had happily told him the night before that she had retaken her driver’s license test and would drive herself to work that morning.

His phone rang; it was a message from Lin Dongxue asking him to come downstairs.

When he got downstairs and saw his car with a dent, Chen Shi felt a pang of heartache. What shocked him even more was that the car was filled with cabbages. “What happened?” he asked.

“I accidentally knocked over a vegetable stall while turning. The vendor was an old lady, and I felt so guilty that I bought all her cabbages,” Lin Dongxue explained.

“My gosh, this must be over sixty pounds. Why didn’t you give some to your colleagues?”

“I already did, but there’s still so much left…” Lin Dongxue said, feeling very wronged.

“Alright, I’ll make some spicy and sour cabbage these days!” Chen Shi patted her head. “Don’t blame yourself. You still need more practice. Driving alone isn’t safe yet.”

“I’ll pay for the car repairs!”

“No need, insurance will cover it.”

Chen Shi parked the car properly, and the two of them carried the cabbages home. Thinking about what had happened, Chen Shi couldn’t help but laugh. He asked, “Are there no cases that need my help lately?”

“Nothing that requires your expertise. Just some minor cases. Today, a guy got killed for spoiling a movie, and the killer turned himself in. Also, a girl jumped to her death over a breakup a few days ago. Old Zhang handled it.”

“Long’an’s high-IQ criminals aren’t performing well this month!”

“Come on, you’ve already solved two cases.”

“It’s just one. The missing person case doesn’t count as ours, and I didn’t get a bonus.”

“I know you’re bored. Why don’t you come to the bureau with me tomorrow and see if there’s anything you’d like to help with?”

“No thanks. I’ll stick to driving my taxi!”

“No wonder you don’t want to be a cop…”

“Yeah, being a cop is boring!”

When Yueyue got home, the three of them had dinner together. After eating, Yueyue went back to her room to study. Lin Dongxue watched her go and said, “Yueyue is growing up.”

“Huh? I didn’t notice!” Chen Shi said.

“I have a suggestion. She’s a young woman now. Is it appropriate for her to live with you?”

“You know we usually don’t interfere with each other. We just talk occasionally. I don’t see a problem. She’s not an ordinary child.”

“I think you should pay more attention to her!”

Chen Shi waved his hand, “She doesn’t need my attention, and I don’t have time. We’re just friends with a big age gap, not a parent-child relationship… I’m still so young!”

“Look at you, Mr. Carefree.”

“I never believed that children should be their guardians’ possessions. We’re just two independent individuals.”

“I’m curious about your family background.”

“It’s just average. Not good, not bad. I went through the same troubles every 80s kid did.” Of course, that was a lie. Song Lang grew up in an orphanage. He still remembered his rebellious teenage years. If he hadn’t met someone special later, he might have continued down a bad path.

Honestly, his childhood was something Chen Shi didn’t want to experience again. This was something he and Lin Dongxue had in common.

Sometimes he thought about whether he should care more about Yueyue, but he didn’t know how to start, so he opted for a laissez-faire approach, not interfering with each other.

Recently, Yueyue had indeed become more silent. He thought it might be due to the increased workload in her third year of middle school or some teenage troubles.

Lin Dongxue answered her phone briefly, “A fall? Do you need me? Alright, I’ll be there right away!” She hung up and smiled at Chen Shi, “Great detective, give me a ride!”

“Good to burn off some food. Let’s go!”

The place where the fall occurred was nearby, so Lin Qiupu called her to handle it. When they arrived, local police were already there. The deceased was a young man named Gu Daqiang, just twenty-four years old.

Chen Shi looked up and saw an open window. He asked the police, “Is that his home?”

“Seems like it.”

“Let’s go take a look.”

Chen Shi and a police captain named Li went to the apartment. Captain Li said, “I’ll call a locksmith.”

“No need!” Chen Shi quickly picked the lock himself.

“Definitely from the criminal police. So skilled.”

“This comes from dealing with criminals often,” Chen Shi said modestly.

Gu Daqiang’s apartment was small. There were leftovers on the table and a full ashtray. Cold wind blew in through the open window, from which the screen had been removed. There was a shoe print on the window frame.

While Chen Shi was checking the bedroom, Captain Li found a piece of paper, “Officer Chen, look at this. It’s a suicide note!”

The note was printed and read, “A-Zhen, I’m sorry. I’m a bastard. The only way to ease my suffering is to join you in the afterlife. A-Qiang.”

“It’s a suicide,” Captain Li concluded.

Noticing a crease on the paper, Chen Shi asked, “Where did you find this?”

“On the bookshelf.”

“Did you fold it?”

“No, it was like that when I found it.”

Chen Shi went to the bedroom and turned on the computer. There was a printer beside it. He printed a random webpage, confirming the printer worked. “It’s murder! There’s a printer here. Why would he fold the paper? This was brought in by someone else.”

Captain Li realized, “No wonder you’re a detective, you have such rich experience!”

Chen Shi didn’t bother to explain that he wasn’t actually a cop. Since there was a suspicion of murder, he and Captain Li left to let the forensic team process the scene.

Half an hour later, Old Zhang and Peng Sijue arrived. Old Zhang said, “I just heard the deceased is Gu Daqiang. Is that true?”

Lin Dongxue said, “You know him?”

“A few days ago, a girl named A-Zhen jumped to her death. It was confirmed as a suicide. Gu Daqiang was her ex-boyfriend. I think the two cases are related, so I came over.”

“Did you see him that day?” Chen Shi asked.

“Yes.”

“What was he like? Regretful or indifferent?”

“Not indifferent. We talked for a while, and he kept shifting the blame, saying the girl was paranoid and it had nothing to do with him. From what I saw, he definitely wouldn’t commit suicide, so I think there’s something suspicious about this case.”

Chen Shi nodded, “He indeed wouldn’t commit suicide. I found his phone in the apartment. He saved a red envelope after ordering takeout and posted about a movie he wanted to see. He also wrote down his recent fitness plans on the calendar. This shows he was planning for the future. Someone with this mindset wouldn’t commit suicide!”

Chen Shi’s eyes lit up, “This case is interesting. I’m taking it!”