Chapter 677: Patience in Investigation

Facing Chen Shi’s piercing gaze, Chang Juan was at a loss for words. She was visibly flustered, on the verge of tears.

Chen Shi pressed on, “I noticed you always pause for a long time during our conversations, as if waiting for instructions. Who are you the ‘spokesperson’ for? That person knows a lot about Chun Qin’s case. Why don’t they report it themselves and instead use you as a mouthpiece?”

Everyone’s eyes were on Chang Juan. Some didn’t know the background, but Peng Sichuan was already briefed on the whole situation before coming.

Under the pressure of everyone’s gaze, Chang Juan grew increasingly nervous, seemingly about to break down. Then, she did something unexpected—she squatted down and started crying loudly, “I died so miserably!”

Everyone was taken aback. Chang Juan’s acting was extremely poor, her crying and shouting devoid of any genuine emotion.

“If you’re going to act, at least make it believable. Are you still claiming to be possessed by Chun Qin?” Chen Shi said.

“I died so miserably!” Chang Juan continued her fake cries, prompting some officers to chuckle.

Though her acting was poor, she maintained this state for a full ten minutes, leaving everyone speechless. It was as if she had crawled into an invisible shell to shield herself from external harm.

Lin Dongxue whispered, “Pushing her like this will backfire. This girl is too introverted.”

Chen Shi frowned, “Can you take off her collar?”

“We can’t do that. She’s not a suspect; we have no right,” Lin Dongxue replied.

Chen Shi felt frustrated, mostly from the inability to uncover the truth, but he had to let it go for now.

By this time, it was noon. Director Zhang eagerly approached them, insisting on taking everyone out for lunch. Peng Sichuan, who disliked socializing, found eating with strangers torturous and declined, saying, “I need to re-examine the body.”

“Come on, Captain Peng, the work can wait until the afternoon. It’s lunchtime now. Give us some face!” Zhang urged.

Peng Sichuan shook his head, “We’ll drive ourselves.”

Director Zhang, left with no choice, reluctantly accompanied them, grumbling about the workaholic city folks.

Chen Shi and the others split up, leisurely heading out for lunch. Chang Juan followed them silently. Since it was still the New Year period, they struggled to find an open restaurant. They eventually found one and ordered some local dishes: stuffed lotus root, winter bamboo shoot and smoked meat soup, and spicy pickled cabbage.

While waiting for the food, the three of them sat in a private room. Chang Juan kept her head down, playing with the tablecloth tassels, revealing her severe social anxiety.

“Now it’s just the three of us. Can you tell us your background?” Chen Shi asked.

Chang Juan froze, seemingly receiving some mysterious signal, then calmly replied, “Why keep pushing? Isn’t solving the case more important?”

It was clear this was the “behind-the-scenes director” speaking, with Chang Juan merely repeating their words like an actor reading another character’s script, devoid of any emotion.

“Suspicious information must be questioned. If you genuinely want this case solved, you should provide a reasonable explanation. Who are you, and why are you involved?” Chen Shi asked, his eyes fixed on the camera hole in Chang Juan’s collar.

After a moment of silence, Chang Juan said, “Mr. Chen, your behavior is childish, like a cat chasing a laser pointer. There are many things in this world whose truths you can never know. Please stop asking. I won’t tell you anything. Your actions are only harming this girl…” She pointed blankly at herself.

Lin Dongxue felt Chang Juan was like a puppet, completely manipulated by someone else. Angrily, she said, “Hiding in the shadows and using a girl as a shield is despicable. I warn you, don’t play games with the police!”

Chang Juan stared blankly, unresponsive, like she was in standby mode.

Their food arrived, looking greasy but tasting flavorful, especially the homemade smoked meat, which was fatty yet not greasy and very tasty.

Chang Juan had a bowl of rice in front of her but didn’t touch it. Lin Dongxue curiously asked, “Aren’t you hungry?”

Chang Juan gazed at the delicious food, clearly swallowing her saliva but not picking up her chopsticks. Chen Shi seemed to understand—she was waiting for instructions from someone. Was she even controlled about when to eat?

After a minute, Chang Juan picked up her chopsticks and slowly began eating some vegetables with rice.

Lin Dongxue whispered, “What kind of weird play is this?”

“Or maybe she’s being threatened…” Chen Shi speculated. He had seen many strange people, but a living puppet like Chang Juan was a first.

“Chang Juan!” Lin Dongxue said. “Since we first met, have any of your words come from your true self?”

Chang Juan replied, “Every word is true.” It was an obvious lie.

Lin Dongxue gave up, feeling the urge to yank off Chang Juan’s collar to see who was “remote-controlling” her.

In the afternoon, Chang Juan shadowed them like a specter. Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue went to the police station, where Chen Shi felt the difference in treatment again. The officers were extremely warm to Lin Dongxue but barely acknowledged him after the initial greeting.

The detectives shared everything related to the case with Lin Dongxue. Initially, the police suspected the unemployed youths returning from the internet café and questioned them repeatedly. Later, they focused on the fishing line found at the scene, spending a month on that lead. Investigating the victims’ relationships revealed Chun Qin might have had extramarital affairs, leading to a fierce conflict between Li Tiezhu and his coworker Jia, making Jia a prime suspect.

Hearing about the investigation, Chen Shi thought they were moving slowly and missing the key points.

“Isn’t your investigation too slow?” Chen Shi asked, but no one responded.

“Isn’t your investigation too slow?” Lin Dongxue repeated. Three officers responded simultaneously. One said, “Slow? I don’t know about your city police’s speed, but we’re short-staffed and poorly equipped. Every lead takes weeks. Plus, we’ve never dealt with such a major case before, so we lack experience.”

Another officer said, “The director mentioned it. You need patience in investigations. Major cases can take decades to solve. If the city leadership hadn’t asked about this case, we’d still be taking our time.”

Chen Shi couldn’t help but say, “Do you have a backlog of cold cases?”

Again, no one responded. Feeling defeated, he turned to see Chang Juan smirking at him. That smile held a hint of shared suffering, revealing a glimpse of her true self for a moment.