Chapter 792: Present Day

Lin Qiupu sat in his office, memories flashing before his eyes. He glanced at the photo on his desk, a picture of himself and Song Lang smiling. Each time he looked at Song Lang’s smiling face in the photo, mixed emotions flooded his heart.

Why did he suddenly recall his first case-solving experience? Was it because that day Chen Shi, in a daze, called him “Xiao Lin”? Normally, no one would address him that way. Could it be that Chen Shi was… No, it couldn’t be!

Their differences were too vast—appearance, age, way of speaking, small habits…

But the more Lin Qiupu pondered the differences between them, the more he discovered an astonishing resemblance.

Could it really be such a coincidence? He dismissed his own speculation, thinking such dramatic events didn’t happen in real life.

But if by chance Chen Shi really was Song Lang, how would he face him? Arrest him first, or confess his years of longing before arresting him?

Lin Qiupu was torn, agonizingly pulling at his hair. He knew he wasn’t clever; he tended to overthink things. Perhaps this was all a misjudgment. Chen Shi was older than him, so calling him “Xiao Lin” could just be natural.

The phone ringing snapped Lin Qiupu back to reality. He picked up the receiver—

“The pawnshop case… where is… I’ll take this case…”

He had just received a call from the police dispatch center, reporting a murder at a pawnshop on Shangma Street. Lin Qiupu was familiar with the place. Could it really be a coincidence? He had just been reminiscing about that case, and now another incident at the same location?

He called Lin Dongxue and several other officers, preparing to visit the scene. Just before leaving, he suddenly said to Lin Dongxue, “Call Chen Shi!”

At the scene, Lin Qiupu learned it was San Yuan Pawnshop where the murder occurred. Glancing across the street, he saw Taiyang Pawnshop still in business. The storefront seemed larger now, its sign in bold gold letters, far more impressive than the shabby shop years ago.

It had been seven years since that case. Wasn’t San Yuan now fully owned by He Jingjing? Was she running it herself, or had she sold it?

Song Lang once said women like her were like cancer cells, unworthy of sympathy. Lin Qiupu had noted down those teachings when he worked under Song Lang, finding them very beneficial.

As Lin Qiupu glanced back, a car pulled up in front of the pawnshop. A woman in a red cheongsam stepped out, holding a long ceramic cigarette holder and a women’s cigarette. She had makeup on, but Lin Qiupu still recognized her immediately—it was He Jingjing.

Compared to seven years ago, she had clearly gained weight. Her once gaunt face was now fuller, more charming. She was probably in her thirties now.

He Jingjing noticed the police cars across the street and saw Lin Qiupu. She smiled at him briefly.

Another person got out of the driver’s seat, carrying two plastic bags with a supermarket logo. This man had dark skin, muscular arms with striking tattoos, and a crew cut.

Though his appearance had changed somewhat, Lin Qiupu still recognized him—He Jun!

This surprised Lin Qiupu. How were they together again? Then again, he didn’t know much about the aftermath of that case. A few days after it was closed, he was involved in another murder case, with no time or need to revisit Taiyang Pawnshop.

“Bro, what are you looking at?” Lin Dongxue said. “Checking out the beauties?”

“Nonsense. Those two are related to a case I was involved in. Seeing them again after so many years is a bit unexpected… Has Song Lang not arrived yet?”

“Who!?”

Realizing his slip of the tongue, Lin Qiupu quickly corrected himself. “I mean Chen Shi!”

“Haha, you scared me. He said he’s out shopping with Yueyue and will be here later.”

“That guy, never on time!!” Lin Qiupu exclaimed, feeling a slight shift in his suspicion. Song Lang was never late.

The officers entered the pawnshop where the murder had occurred. They saw that the locks on the cabinets against the wall had been violently broken, causing a mess. An elderly man lay on the ground, blood clotting on his forehead. His position was twisted, legs forward but upper body twisted towards the ground, left arm stretched out unnaturally long, seemingly reaching for something.

Next to him was an overturned mahogany chair, a bloodstained ashtray lying near the body. Peng Senjue picked it up, inspecting it under the light. “The fingerprints on it are very clear.”

The caller was an assistant working in the shop. He was terrified. Early this morning, he heard smashing noises downstairs, thinking a thief had broken in. It would be disastrous if thieves got in here. He rushed down and saw a man repeatedly hitting the boss’s head with an ashtray. The old man was twitching on the ground, his left leg trembling in a particularly frightening manner.

“Then that… that man turned and saw me. I yelled in fear and ran upstairs, jumped out of the window onto the nearby roof. I stepped on and broke the roof tiles. I didn’t bring my phone and didn’t dare to come back. I ran to the nearest police station in my pajamas to report it.”

“Go check it out.” Lin Qiupu instructed Lin Dongxue, then asked the assistant, “What did the killer look like?”

“He was too dark for me to see clearly, but I saw him wearing a jacket, about the same height as him!” The assistant gestured towards Xu Xiaodong. “Oh yes, he also spat, it should be on the ground.”

“Captain Lin, there’s a dried saliva stain on the ground.” A forensic police officer uncovered a sheet that had fallen to the ground and found the saliva stain.

Lin Qiupu asked the assistant again, “Was it messy here when you witnessed the murder?”

“No, it was normal like usual. Maybe it was ransacked after I ran away. If I hadn’t run, I might have been killed too. Just thinking about it is scary!”

“What’s your boss’s name?”

“Shen Liqun.”

“How long have you been working here?”

“I just graduated and have been here for a year. My dad is friends with Mr. Shen. Because I couldn’t find a job in my major, my dad asked me to work here. Mr. Shen has always been nice to me…” The young man’s expression turned sad as he spoke.

“After the autopsy is done, assist us in checking what’s missing here.”

The autopsy results matched the assistant’s testimony. Shen Liqun died around four o’clock in the morning, suffering multiple blows to the head. Glass fragments were found in his flesh, and Peng Senjue initially judged the cause of death to be a ruptured brain artery.

When the body was taken away, the assistant asked to burn some paper money for Shen Liqun’s funeral. Lin Qiupu agreed. The assistant burned the paper at the door and cried for a while.

Then he put on gloves and began to inspect the scene. The items here were all pawned by customers and were all documented. After verification, the assistant said, “A painting is missing!”

“What painting?”

“A landscape painting, painted by a Yuan Dynasty artist. It’s quite valuable!”