Strictly speaking, this case was beyond Chen Shi's ability. Almost all the members of the task force had to go out and find surveillance footage all over the place and interrogate witnesses. All the police officers who could be mobilized were dispatched.

In the afternoon, Chen Shi had nothing to do and went on the computer in Peng Sijue’s laboratory to watch a TV series while everyone busied away.

The appraisal and test work seemed to be calm in the eyes of outsiders, but the difficulties could only be experienced by the practitioners themselves.

The current focus was on the suspicious DNA found on the banknote, but Peng Sijue ran a dozen tests and found no match. Seeing that he found nothing, Chen Shi took off his headset and offered, “Try Jia Xingyun's DNA!”

“If we had it, we’d have tried it already.”

“Then don't test any more until we find his sample.”

Someone knocked on the door. It was a strange man wearing a dark trench coat. He said, “Hello, I'm an antique appraisal specialist. My last name is Zhang and Captain Lin called me in the morning. Why isn't he around?”

Peng Sijue replied, “The item is with me. I’ve only reconstructed one-third of it. Can you appraise it anyway?”

“Yes, sure!”

“Please follow me!”

The three got to the laboratory where two police officers were busy putting together two sets of fragments on the table. The antique appraiser put on his gloves and picked up a small piece to look at. “This is a new ceramic produced by a factory assembly line. Worthless.”

“Can we trouble you to look at the other set?”

The antique appraiser held up a black fragment and looked at it with a magnifying glass for a long time. He said, “This black glaze looks like Jun porcelain.” Then, he glanced at the other pieces. “The shape should be that of a small distilled-spirits bottle.”

“Is it an antique?” Chen Shi asked.

“Let's see... Huh. This should be an imitation Jun porcelain of the Qing Dynasty. If it was intact, the market price would be about 100,000.”

Chen Shi didn't care about its value. He asked, “Could this little wine bottle hold anything in it?”

“No one would do that!”

“I just asked whether it was possible or not. Could someone put money in it?”

“Yes, but it’s not recommended!”

“Why?”

“There is a lot of bacteria on banknotes, which may affect the appearance and therefore value of the item.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“You're welcome!”

After sending away the antique appraiser, Chen Shi proposed, “Check if there’s any bacteria on the pieces.”

The results came out quickly and Peng Sijue noted, “This small bottle has been filled with this banknote. The bacteria content of the two are very similar.”

Chen Shi responded, “It seems that Ji Chunma used it to hold this important banknote, but accidentally shattered it. Wang Xifeng saw that it was a banknote, so she didn’t think that it might have held any other meaning and deposited it in the bank without a second thought. She wouldn’t have known that this would cause her harm in the future… No, this was broken by Dog Egg by accident.”

Peng Sijue asked for clarification, “The little boy broke something on the 12th, right?”

“Yes.”

“But the bank records show that the money was deposited on the 10th.”

Chen Shi looked at the two sets of fragments on the table, and suddenly understood, “The antique was broken by Wang Xifeng herself, and the one broken by Dog Egg was the worthless decoration. Wang Xifeng secretly transferred the fragments and wanted to take advantage of Old Lady Liu.”

Peng Sijue shook his head. “This is just your speculation. Two things happened at the same place, but they may not be related.”

“There is a connection!” Chen Shi said with certainty. “If the money was deposited on the 10th, it would no longer be in the ATM machine. Ji Chunma would not have gone crazy to withdraw and deposit money all night, exposing himself under surveillance. This means that Wang Xifeng told him that the money was deposited that day, and it’s logical that the item where the money was put in was framed to be broken by Dog Egg that day. She would have definitely shifted the responsibility that way.”

“So, does this have anything to do with the case? Or are you just trying to satisfy your desires for reasoning and have to figure out even this tiny little detail?”

“It's a bit related. Remember how the murder scene was discovered?”

“By their neighbor!”

“Was the door open or closed?”

“Qiupu said that it was left ajar. The neighbor had felt that something was wrong, so he opened it up to take a look inside.”

“Ji Chunma is such a calm killer. Would he forget to close the door before leaving? Of course not. He accidentally closed Dog Egg into the room. The door was opened when Dog Egg left. Dog Egg appearing there is proof to the fact that he was framed by Wang Xifeng. Although Dog Egg’s family is poor, he is the sole seedling in a thousand hectares of land. He is loved as the only grandson at home and has never been wronged. As he was framed, making him and his grandma unable to return home, he probably couldn’t hold his anger and resentment in. He went back to take revenge on Wang Xifeng that night. Probably something like peeing at the door or knocking on the door and running away. He wouldn’t have expected to witness a murder scene!”

“The Butterfly Effect!”

“Yes!” Chen Shi glanced at his watch. “There doesn't seem like there’ll be any results today. Let's get off work early and go out for dinner.”

Peng Sijue was thinking about it when Chen Shi’s phone rang. Lin Dongxue said on the phone, “Chen Shi, come to Yihongyafu District! Jia Xingyun just met with a suspicious person!”

Chen Shi turned to Peng Sijue and asked, “Shall we go and join the commotion?”

“Let's go!”

The two drove to Yihongyafu District, where all the members of the task force were poised as if they were about to arrest the real murderer. Lin Dongxue said, “The police officer who followed him said that at around 5:00PM, Jia Xingyun and someone who was all wrapped up in clothing up to his face entered this building together.”

Chen Shi asked, “What are you waiting for then? Unbox the gift!”

“But we don't have a formal procedure for this. Is it okay to break into a private house?”

“There are two methods to this. One is that I rush up and you arrest me when this is all over. The other is to ambush them here and wait for them to come out.”

“How can you come up with such a stupid idea!” Lin Dongxue grumbled.

Peng Sijue asked, “Where did he park his car?”

Chen Shi suddenly thought of something and smiled. “I have an even worse idea.”

Twenty minutes later, an urgent knock sounded on the door of Jia Xingyun's residence. He opened the door in a dishevelled fashion and raised his eyebrows. “Officer Chen? Miss Lin?”

“Don't get me wrong, we’ve come to find you for a private matter. I accidentally scratched your car and asked the property manager for your address. I came up to talk about compensation.” Chen Shi smiled in pretence.

Jia Xingyun frowned. “What a coincidence!”

“No coincidence, no book[1]...” Chen Shi looked into the room. “Who's inside? Your girlfriend?”

“You don't have the right to ask questions... But I don't like being suspected by the police all the time. I can let you in to take a look, but please keep this a secret.”

“Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!”

After entering the door, Jia Xingyun immediately closed the door behind them tightly and went to the bedroom. A “beauty” was drinking in a bathrobe and wearing sunglasses. Chen Shi noticed that she had an Adam’s apple at a glance, and she seemed very familiar.

“No way!” Lin Dongxue exclaimed, “Is this Jiang Yuqi, the celebrity?”

The big star queried, “Xingyun, are these your friends?”

“They’re the police. I don't know what they’re checking, but it’s really annoying.”

“I knew it. You’d never have such ordinary friends. Jia Xingyun and I are only friends. If there is any gossip in the newspaper tomorrow about us, I will get my lawyers to send you a letter.”

Jiang Yuqi was a male wearing a wig. Chen Shi stared thoughtfully at the wig.

“What are you looking at? Be careful or I’ll sue you for sexual harassment!” Jiang Yuqi scolded.

1. It’s because there’s so many coincidences in life that books can be written/There are no stories without coincidences.