Volume 12: Case of Grandma Liu Murdering Someone

On February 12th, the fourth day of the first month in the lunar calendar.

Lu Zhendong's case was still in the process of final evidence collection. While the police were still working overtime, the "good citizen" Chen Shi seemed more relaxed and was finally able to spend a comfortable New Year at home.

There was a heavy snowfall in Long'an. Tao Yueyue was so excited that early in the morning she was wearing new clothes like red peppers and ran outside to rub snowballs to play with. She asked Chen Shi to accompany her in a snowball fight.

Chen Shi said, "I have to go out for a bit. You stay at home obediently, okay? Don't run too far in the snow outside. Be careful not to be abducted by bad guys."

"Are you going to deliver meals to Sister Lin again? Hmm, I don't care about others." Tao Yueyue said intentionally and then laughed again. "Did I imitate Sister Lin well?"

"You brat! She couldn’t order takeaways for the past two days so I had to deliver her meals for the past two days, not every day." Chen Shi blushed.

"Okay, you go. I will go back to study after playing for a while."

"Go and play a game. You’ve finished all your homework for the winter vacation. What else do you need to learn?"

The person Chen Shi was about to meet today was Lu Qixing. It could be said that Chen Shi was invited to see him.

He drove to Lu Qixing's hotel and the employee took him upstairs. Lu Qixing sat beside the bed and faced the window watching the snow in the sky and holding a bottle of champagne in his hand. His back seemed extremely desolate.

"Old Man Lu, happy new year!" Chen Shi greeted.

Lu Qixing slowly turned his head around like a puppet and paused for a while before saying, "Officer Song..."

"My last name is Chen!"

Lu Qixing stood up with a shiver and waddled over to pick up a cup. Chen Shi declined. "No, no, I drove!" He himself took a cigar from the bedside to treat himself.

"Look at me. Everyone is reunited in the New Year, but I am all by my lonesome!"

"You deserve it. You already know about the case. Master Lu is indeed your son. The shameless look is much like yours back in the day!"

"I have eaten dinner and even gone to bed with many celebrities, but no one accompanied me to watch the New Year."

"Is this showing off or complaining?"

"Haii, I only have lights to keep me company and a lock to watch my house... The nights ahead are desolate!"

"Just die then."

Lu Qixing glared at him. "Would it kill you to just console the lonely old man?”

"Old bastards are also worth consoling? Why didn’t you spend the New Year in the detention room where it's quite lively? All of them are talented people and they speak nicely."

"I gave the kidnapped woman a sum of money so she won’t sue me."

"It's nice to be rich!"

"Yes, do you want to be rich?"

"No!"

Lu Qixing took a sip of wine and shook his head. "If Zhenjie were still alive, it would be nice. Although he wasn’t talented, I still liked him best!"

"Your eldest son is a gift from when you bought condoms[1], right?!"

"Zhenjie, Zhenjie. Just tell me if you wanted money. Why play that hand!?" Lu Qixing sighed while looking up before going to fetch a cup to pour some alcohol for Chen Shi.

Chen Shi repeated, "I'm driving!"

"Drink. Drink with me and get drunk so you don’t need to worry about anything!" Lu Qixing ordered.

"I’m driving."

"Drink this then!" Lu Qixing brought a bottle of non-alcoholic premixed wine.

Chen Shi had to accompany him for two cups. The old man vented a while. He mentioned that he missed his second son five times, and brought up the eldest son briefly. When he thought of the case, he said, "I have talked to the media and they are preparing the front page headlines. I can’t take back what I said. Get the police to beautify it a bit… Discuss it a bit and try not to reveal everything!”

It turns out that it was like this. Chen Shi replied, "I can communicate with the bureau, but I need to ask one thing. Don’t mention a word about me and let me go over it before the manuscript is issued!"

"Sure!" The old man replied unexpectedly.

"Cheers!"

"Finish it!"

Afraid that the old man would forget, Chen Shi wrote it down and put it on the table.

Chen Shi said goodbye, but he was stopped by the old man. "The murderer who killed Zhenjie is still at large?"

"Police are still searching for him."

"That means he’s not caught! I hope to see this asshole shot before I die. I’ll offer a reward of one million, no..." The old man stretched out five fingers. "Five million! If you catch him within one month… This murderer, these five million are yours! "

Chen Shi wanted to laugh. "Sir, I'm just a driver, not a policeman. Where can I catch someone?"

"You have proven that you have the ability. I am optimistic about you. Don't want the five million?"

"No!"

"I'll put my words here. One month, five million, never give up! I will let the guy who killed Zhenjie pay for it with his blood!"

Chen Shi didn't speak again but recalled that the main criminal in the kidnapping case was named Ji Chunma. He had absconded while the case was getting solved.

Oh well, this old man was forgetful anyway. He’d probably forget about it when he woke up sober.

Chen Shi drove back. There was heavy snow on the road, and pedestrians and vehicles were scarce. When passing Jidong Road, Chen Shi saw an old lady and a child sitting on the steps outside a bank dressed like they were from the countryside. The old lady kept covering her chest.

Chen Shi turned the car back and asked, "Grandma, are you in the city to visit relatives?"

The old lady didn't realize he was talking to her so she froze. After seeing Chen Shi, a smile appeared on her face. "I want to find out, this ..." The old lady put on reading glasses and opened a crumpled piece of paper. "How do you go to Jinling House?"

"Get in the car. I'll take you there!"

"Oh, little one, help me get in the car."

The old lady and young boy got in the car. Chen Shi said, "I forgot to mention this earlier but this is a taxi."

"Is it expensive to go there? If it's too expensive, I'd better take the bus."

"Let me see..." Chen Shi researched the phone in pretence. "You just need to give me five yuan!"

"Sure!"

The old lady opened a handkerchief. This was her wallet. From there, she found a few crumpled tickets and handed them to Chen Shi. Chen Shi poured a cup of water to hand her and the old lady was full of thanks. Although her mouth was so dry to the point of flaking, she gave the child a sip first. Then, she took a sip and returned the cup to Chen Shi.

After half an hour, Chen Shi took her to the neighborhood she was looking for. The old lady had a strong accent. As a result, the security guard couldn't understand her. Chen Shi got out of the car and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

"My niece is called Wang Xifeng."

Chen Shi relayed this to the security guard. The security guard seemed impatient. After checking the owners’ information, he said, "We don’t have anyone here that goes by this name."

"Check again!"

"There really isn’t anyone by this name."

Chen Shi said, "The owner may be the name of her family. Grandma, is your niece married?"

"She’s around thirty. It's time to marry someone."

"What's her husband's name?"

"Ah? You mean her family? I don't know! She was only this big when I saw her last time." The old woman gestured with her hand.

"Then, do you have any other relatives in Long'an?"

"No, my sister just passed away last year. At that time, I was unable to come. She only had this daughter. Since it’s the new year, I brought my grandson to see her."

"Do you have her phone number?"

"No!"

"What about ID cards?"

"Don’t know."

Chen Shi smiled helplessly. "Let ’s go then. I have a friend who is a policeman, I'll ask her to check."

“Really? Thank you so much!”

1. Teasing if he only had the eldest son because the condom broke.