Chapter 917: Soulmates

The guy had a criminal record, so the fingerprint analysis confirmed his identity. His name was He Chaohua, and he had been imprisoned several times for fraud. His longest stint was after he seduced a wealthy woman. A year later, she died under suspicious circumstances, and he forged a will to claim her estate. The shareholders of her company saw through his scheme, and he was prosecuted for forgery and suspected murder. If not for insufficient evidence, he would still be in prison.

“This guy is a real actor. No wonder he could become Old Man Lu’s ‘new son,'” Chen Shi remarked.

“Should we check who his biological parents are to rule out any blood relation with Old Man Lu?” Lin Dongxue suggested.

“That would be a real hassle. Let’s wait for Wang Haitao or the conman himself to tell us. Sigh, Old Man Lu is eighty, filthy rich, and stubborn. He’s a prime target for con artists. It’s no surprise he got duped.” Chen Shi placed the forensic report in a file and stuck a note on it. “Let’s see what KK and Xiaochong find out.”

He picked up a case report and skimmed through it. “Can’t we get some more challenging cases?”

“Is that something a captain should say? You should be glad things are peaceful now. We won’t have another killer like Zhou Xiao,” Lin Dongxue said.

“Winter Snow, call Old Peng for me.”

“Okay.”

Lin Dongxue returned shortly. “Captain Peng is very busy right now.”

“If he won’t come, I’ll go to him.”

Chen Shi walked straight to the technical squad. Peng Sijue was in the lab, wearing a white coat and conducting an experiment. Chen Shi poured himself a cup of coffee, then patted Peng Sijue’s shoulder. “Yo, what’s up?”

“Here for free coffee again? Now that you’re a captain, can’t you buy your own machine?” Peng Sijue shot him a sidelong glance.

“Your coffee has a special flavor. Want to have lunch together?” Chen Shi asked with a grin.

“No time.”

“Do you have to be so heartless?”

Chen Shi had heard that Peng Sijue often went to the crematorium to perform autopsies on unclaimed bodies. Even though it was confirmed that Gu You had been killed, without finding her body, Peng Sijue still held onto a sliver of hope.

Chen Shi often debated whether to tell him where the body was buried but decided against it, knowing firsthand how devastating that knowledge could be.

After drinking two cups of coffee, Chen Shi left silently. Peng Sijue, noticing his absence later, asked a colleague, “When did he leave?”

“Just now.”

Peng Sijue saw a paper boat made from scrap paper on the desk, likely folded by Chen Shi out of boredom. On it was written, “Lunch at the Italian restaurant outside.” Peng Sijue chuckled, “Annoying as ever, whether he’s Song Lang or Chen Shi.”

After work, Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue drove to the police academy. Yueyue had just finished her day’s training. Seeing them, she ran over happily and hugged Lin Dongxue.

The three went to the cafeteria. Lin Dongxue exclaimed, “Wow, the cafeteria has changed so much, so many more food stations!”

“It’s all just as bad,” Yueyue said.

“Missing my cooking now?” Chen Shi teased.

New students in military uniforms were everywhere, queuing for food, creating a bustling scene that brought back Lin Dongxue’s school memories.

Yueyue commented, “You only realize how annoying boys are when you’re in the same school. So immature and self-important. Lin Jie, did you feel the same?”

“Back then? My biggest problem with boys was actually caused by girls. I was too pretty and had many admirers, so other girls isolated me. Those were not fond memories,” Lin Dongxue sighed.

“I sense a hint of pride,” Chen Shi joked.

“Pride? It was awful. Thankfully, I had a few good friends. Yueyue, have you made any friends here?”

“Does it matter?” Yueyue countered.

Chen Shi chuckled, seeing his younger self in her. “It’s useful to be sociable sometimes. Making friends in school is easy. It might just take a bar of soap or a bottle of water.”

“I don’t have friends yet, but I could talk about the annoying ones all day and night.”

“Let’s eat first!” Lin Dongxue suggested.

Wherever they went, Lin Dongxue attracted attention. The boys, full of hormones, gaped at her like sunflowers tracking the sun.

Being too eye-catching could indeed be troublesome, as Song Lang also understood.

They went to the least crowded food station. The school’s food was cheap and plentiful. For less than 100 yuan, they enjoyed a large spread of boiled beef slices, sweet and sour pork, tomato fish, stuffed lotus root, stir-fried broccoli, and sweet and sour ribs.

At the table, Chen Shi immediately went for the ribs. “Still tastes the same,” he sighed in delight.

“Which year were you here, senior?” Lin Dongxue asked curiously.

“I can’t remember. The first time I had these ribs was right after the Xinhai Revolution,” Chen Shi joked.

“You’re crazy. Seriously, how did you meet Captain Peng?”

“In a rather dramatic way. During my internship, I was investigating an acid attack. I saw this sneaky kid with a bottle, asked him what it was, and he wouldn’t answer. So, I tackled him, smelled the acid, and thought I caught the culprit. I brought him in for questioning. He was slow to speak and avoided eye contact, typical suspect behavior. He claimed to be a medical student buying chemicals, but had no student ID. The interrogator didn’t believe him, but I felt I might be wrong. I went back, found his student ID in a trash can, and confirmed his identity. To make up for it, I treated him to dinner. That’s how we became friends.”

“You had keen instincts even as an intern? Judging truth from lies is a rare talent. Most suspects claim innocence,” Lin Dongxue said.

“Thanks for the praise.”

Lin Dongxue turned to Yueyue. “The training is almost over, right? Want to go somewhere for National Day?”

“Why go when it’s crowded? I’d rather stay home reading or gaming. Maybe I’ll visit Weizeng. She’s at a boarding high school and only comes home on holidays.”

“I don’t like traveling much either. Reading is more informative. All my trips were work-related,” Chen Shi added.

“You two are real soulmates,” Lin Dongxue laughed.

Suddenly, a boy burst into the cafeteria, panic-stricken. “The instructor has been killed!”

Students dropped their utensils, rushing to find out what happened. Yueyue calmly said, “I hope it’s our instructor… wait, could it really be him?”

“Let’s go check!” Chen Shi said, standing up.