Chapter 804: Being Overly Cautious

The pawnshop owners were all tight-lipped about Rie Guoxiao’s extortion of Shen’s ancient paintings. Their reactions clearly showed they understood but pretended not to, keeping their distance to protect themselves.

Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue then arrived at Taiyang Pawnshop, where they found He Jun, whom they had seen before. An old man was trying to pawn something, and He Jun said, “Sir, this old watch isn’t worth forty thousand.”

“Please, it’s a memento from when I joined the army and fought in battles. It’s Soviet-made and hasn’t broken down even now. My wife needs urgent surgery, and I really can’t come up with the money. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here,” the old man pleaded.

He Jun sighed, “Alright, we’ll make it forty thousand then.”

He immediately transferred the money to the old man’s account, who thanked him and left with the pawn ticket.

“This boss seems quite righteous,” Lin Dongxue whispered.

He Jun looked up and saw Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue at the door. “You guys are the police from the other day, right? What can I do for you?”

“We need some information.”

“Come in and have a seat.” To the left of the entrance was a set of sofas and a coffee table for receiving guests. He Jun hospitably served tea and water, then sat across from them. He smiled, “The police have been coming every day recently. Have you found anything?”

“The case is still under investigation, so we can’t reveal much,” Chen Shi said.

“Heh, that’s always the police’s standard line.”

“Sounds like you have a lot of experience dealing with the police?” Chen Shi said. “I looked at the records. This pawnshop had a case before, where the owner who named this shop was killed. It was quite a complicated case.”

“Yes, I remember it vividly. The police even suspected me back then because I was impulsive in my youth and had been jailed for fighting. But as I got older, my temper mellowed out. See, I even had my tattoos removed,” He Jun rolled up his sleeves, showing faint remnants of tattoos on his white arms.

Chen Shi smiled, “Let’s get to the point. On the night of May 12, did you see anyone enter Shen’s shop?”

“Hmm… I’ve answered this before. That night, I was in the room with Jingjing. We didn’t notice anyone outside. Who would be watching the street? It’s dead quiet at night, just a few pawnshops and sex shops with their lights on.”

“By the way, who’s the boss, you or He Jingjing?”

“Of course, it’s her. I’m just the deputy manager, haha!”

“What’s your relationship?”

“Our relationship is… complicated…”

At this moment, a woman’s voice came from behind, “He Jun and I are getting our marriage certificate next month. We’ll be a legal couple then.”

Turning around, they saw He Jingjing returning from outside, dressed casually and carrying two supermarket bags. It seemed she had been shopping, but Chen Shi noticed what appeared to be rubber gloves inside the bags.

“Jingjing, you’re back!” He Jun went to greet her.

“Put these in the fridge. I’ll cook later.” He Jingjing handed the bags to He Jun and gave him a subtle wink.

After He Jun left, He Jingjing sat down where he had been, lit a cigarette, and leaned back on the sofa. “Ask me anything. He Jun and I have no secrets from each other.”

“I don’t mind. We’re just gathering some information.” Chen Shi thought, He Jingjing sent He Jun away, probably to avoid him saying something wrong.

Actually, smart people are more likely to slip up because they overthink things. Chen Shi decided to test He Jingjing.

He Jingjing glanced at Chen Shi, “When I saw you the other day, I felt like we’ve met before. You seem familiar.”

“It’s probably just your imagination. I never pawn things… By the way, the information you gave us about Rie Guoxiao was very helpful. He does have a lot of paintings, and we suspect they have dubious origins.”

Lin Dongxue was slightly surprised. Why was Chen Shi revealing their progress? Though there was nothing particularly secretive about it.

“Will Rie Guoxiao be arrested?” He Jingjing asked with interest.

“I don’t know, but someone has been arrested.”

“Who?”

“The guy who worked for Shen.”

Chen Shi’s gaze sharpened, observing the subtle reactions on He Jingjing’s face.

She laughed, “What did he do?”

“Perjury.”

Upon hearing this, He Jingjing’s cigarette ash fell onto the table. She ground it into the ashtray with her fingers and smiled again, “You can rest assured. I won’t perjure myself. I’ll tell you whatever you ask.”

This small reaction was enough to make Chen Shi suspicious of her. He stopped probing and asked other questions instead.

The conversation lasted half an hour before they left. Lin Dongxue asked, “Do you suspect these two?”

“Don’t they fit our profile of the suspects perfectly?”

“They do…”

“I know we have no evidence. I was just probing them.”

Identifying a suspect is a process of accumulating suspicions. Currently, He Jingjing had a slight trace of suspicion in Chen Shi’s mind.

“So you weren’t here to investigate today but to test them. You’ve suspected them for a while. Why bother questioning everyone else? Why not just come here directly? You’re becoming as cautious as my brother,” Lin Dongxue laughed.

Chen Shi was slightly startled. Had he been overly cautious to cover up his familiarity with these two?

But Lin Dongxue didn’t dwell on it. She looked at the overcast sky, which threatened rain, and said, “I just thought of something. Shouldn’t we investigate the financial situation of these pawnshops? You mentioned that motive is essentially a form of need. If someone needs a large sum of money urgently, they might have a motive for crime.”

Chen Shi shook his head with a smile, “You’re taking it too literally. I don’t think the killer is short on money. If the motive for this scheme was financial need, they could have sold the ‘Mountain Dwelling XX Scroll.’ Whether for medical bills, buying a house, or paying off a loan, such ordinary economic needs could be met.”

“Then let’s assume the killer’s motive wasn’t money, but something like revenge against Rie Guoxiao.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because Shen was about to ‘offer’ the painting to Rie Guoxiao. Could the killer have used this opportunity to set up Rie Guoxiao? But Shen was too scared to agree. Isn’t that an innovative guess?” Lin Dongxue smiled, waiting for Chen Shi’s praise.

Chen Shi had an epiphany. The motorcycle rider who had been watching them flashed in his mind. The real target could be Rie Guoxiao or his assets…

What’s more valuable than a single ancient painting? A whole collection of them!