Lin Qiupu went into the interrogation room, sat down, and asked, “Mr. Jia, where did you go on the evening of February 24th?”

The lawyer responded, “My client stated that he went to Zhou Taiyang's house for a private visit.”

“Time! What time frame were you there for?”

The lawyer glanced at the notes. “6:40 to 7:20PM.”

“Are you sure?”

“My client's concept of time has always been very strong. It can’t be wrong. Furthermore, he had an appointment at 8:00 that night. From Zhou Taiyang's house to the time of that meeting, it takes just about thirty minutes. You can check that out.”

Lin Qiupu glanced at the notebook next to his hands. Jia Xingyun's car was captured in the surveillance footage for the first time at 7:30PM, so it seemed like it could be correct.

However, Gan Ping had said that she left the building at 7:20 and brushed past Jia Xingyun. In her description, Jia Xingyun was going upstairs. Was Gan Ping lying?

It seemed that it was necessary to see Gan Ping again after the interrogation.

Lin Qiupu asked, “Did you take the elevator or stairs at the time?”

The lawyer asked Jia Xingyun and the two whispered in discussion. The lawyer replied on his behalf, “There weren’t a lot of stairs and the elevator didn’t come down for quite a while, so he took the stairs.”

“You and Zhou Taiyang’s backgrounds are so disparate. How did you two meet?”

“Through our work.”

“How was it work-related? One is the boss of a media company and the other is an electroplater.”

The lawyer discussed with Jia Xingyun. “This has nothing to do with the case.”

“It's up to me to decide whether or not this is related to the case. You just need to confess the truth!”

“Officer, please pay attention to your tone. Don't intimidate my client.”

Lin Qiupu was angry that a lawyer was passing on messages in the middle. It was really hard to deal with. He always felt that lawyers were a profession where people legally lied. He said, “Let’s change the question. Why did you give Zhou Taiyang five million yuan?”

“The client does not admit that it happened.”

“Oh, really?” Lin Qiupu sneered and took out the document faxed from the bank. “The bank has confirmed that a savings card of five million yuan was found in the victim's house which belongs to your secretary. You told this secretary to sell some of your stocks on the 22nd to open this account. How do you explain that?”

The lawyer whispered with Jia Xingyun again. This time, it lasted a particularly long time. Lin Qiupu waited patiently to see what ridiculous reasons they would throw out at him.

The lawyer finally spoke and said monotonously, “It was just business.”

“Business? Can I understand it as a transaction? What was the product?”

“An idea!”

Lin Qiupu sneered. “An idea? How clever! You don't even need to bring out the evidence. You just thought of that just now!”

The lawyer reminded him to pay attention to his words. Lin Qiupu was too lazy to respond to him and pressed on. “Excuse me, Mr. Jia. What was worth five million?”

The lawyer replied in an unhurried manner. “An advertisement slogan. My client wanted to create an advertisement and Mr. Zhou Taiyang's creativity moved him.”

“What was it then?”

“Those are trade secrets.”

What a ridiculous lie. Lin Qiupu was now more certain than ever that the five million was related to the murder.

He calmed down and considered what breakthroughs could be made as he flipped through the case file again. Lin Qiupu decided to take a risk and revealed part of the case to Jia Xingyun.

“At 9:00 PM on February 24th, Zhou Taiyang was found dead at home with signs of torture. What do you want to say about this?”

Unsurprisingly, Jia Xingyun acted a little surprised when he heard about the body. The lawyer emphasized, “We cannot answer a vague question like this.”

“If you don't confess what you went to Zhou Taiyang's house to do and say, I will take responsibility in telling you that your situation will be very dire in the future.”

The lawyer asked Jia Xingyun again and Lin Qiupu heard Jia Xingyun saying, “...Don't contact my family... It's okay, you go first...”

The lawyer had been fighting against it, but Jia Xingyun insisted. Finally, Jia Xingyun spoke, saying to Lin Qiupu, “Captain Lin, how would my situation be unfavorable?”

“Since you’re suspected of a major crime, I can detain you temporarily.”

“That is your right. I have no opinion towards it!” Jia Xingyun raised his hands up for Lin Qiupu and smiled frankly.

“Mr. Jia!” The lawyer was shocked, and then told Lin Qiupu, “According to the law, you can only detain him for twenty-four hours.”

“You don't need to teach me this!” Lin Qiupu picked up the intercom and asked someone to come in.

Jia Xingyun was taken away and he laughed before leaving. “I have lived in many places, but it’s the first time I’ll be staying in a detention center. It will be quite refreshing.”

“I promise that prison would be even more refreshing.”

The lawyer said loudly, “Please don't threaten my client!” Then, he said to Jia Xingyun, “Mr. Jia, I will pick you up tomorrow.”

“It doesn't matter even if you’re a little late.” Jia Xingyun nodded with a smile.

After Jia Xingyun was taken away, Lin Qiupu felt powerless. It was the first time he had seen such a thick-skinned person… No, there was also the guy named Chen, but Jia Xingyun was very special. He didn’t even intend to plead innocent or guilty.

Thinking of Chen Shi, he had a thought. Should I ask Chen Shi for help?

He shook his head to ignore the passing thought. He could handle the case by himself and should not ask for help.

It was already half past seven. Lin Qiupu casually went to the cafeteria to feed his hunger. Then, he went to the convenience store where Gan Ping worked, but arrived too early. Gan Ping had yet to start working.

He waited until 8:50 PM when he saw Gan Ping arrive. Gan Ping looked up and asked, “Officer Lin, did you need me for something?”

Lin Qiupu showed his notes to her. “You told me that day that when you left Zhou Taiyang's house at 7:20 PM, you bumped into a suspicious man.”

“Yes, what's the matter?”

“We found this 'suspicious man'. Your testimonies conflict with each other. In his version, 7:20 PM was the time he left.”

With a look of surprise, Gan Ping recalled while Lin Qiupu showed Jia Xingyun's photo on his mobile phone to her. “Was it him?”

Gan Ping shook her head. “I don't know what he looks like. I just remember his height and clothes... Besides, I didn't lie. I delivered an order after 7:20 PM. You can check with the company. That customer received the goods sometime around then.”

“Give me his contact information.”

Lin Qiupu jotted the contact information down and said, “I’m not doubting you. I just need to get these details clarified.”

“Understood. Understood.”

“And, this 'suspicious man' is now detained... Oh, I shouldn't have told you this.”

“Hope you catch the killer soon!” Gan Ping smiled. “Officer Lin, let me get you a drink.”

“No, no, I'm fine!”

Gan Ping ran into the convenience store, took out a hot drink, and stuffed it into Lin Qiupu's hands. Holding the warm bottle in the cold night breeze, Lin Qiupu felt like he was warmed up to his core.

He then called the takeaway company and went to pay the customer a visit. Both confirmed that Gan Ping had indeed delivered an order shortly after 7:20.

In other words, during the time of the incident, Gan Ping was not in the community at all. Thinking of this, Lin Qiupu felt inexplicably at ease.

However, the whole case seemed to have reached a dead end. Jia Xingyun was like a dead pig who wasn’t afraid of boiling water[1]. He should be hiding something, but when you take the time of death into account, he wasn’t a suspect.

1. Something dead won’t be scared of you cooking it, since it can’t feel anything anyway.