Lin Dongxue asked, “Were you not at home last night?”

“Oh, we went to see relatives.” Wang Jinsong father smiled.

“Which relative?”

“This...Does this also need to be asked? Officers, why exactly are you looking for us? Is it related to Du Lei's murder?”

Lin Dongxue almost blurted out “What were you all doing when the murder occurred?”, but she remembered the teachings that Chen Shi passed to her when they previously chatted. The more you suspect someone, the more you shouldn’t reveal your intentions to them. She was told to learn to point East while tackling the West[1]. They needed to search for information whilst keeping the person in the dark.

She put on a smile. “This is the case. Du Lei’s grandma doesn't know about his death yet, so we lied to her.”

“Yes, yes, the old lady lives alone with her grandson. It is really pitiful to have such a thing happen.”

“Yeah, the white-haired sending-off the black-haired.” Wang Jinsong's mother also echoed.

“...So, there are some things that we find inconvenient to ask her directly. That’s why we came over to ask you these questions. Do Du Lei and Wang Jinsong often playing together?”

“Not always, it's only occasionally.” Wang Jinsong's father was still using yesterday’s monologue.

“Has he recently told you that there is something strange about Du Lei?”

“No, we are usually quite busy. Wang Jinsong does his homework as soon as he comes home, or he’ll just play on his computer, so our communication with each other isn’t that good.” Wang Jinsong’s father clarified.

His mother added, “Yes, we both work out of town. In order to care for this family, our connection and communication with our child has been sacrificed.”

“We can only satisfy him as much as possible with material items.”

“Right, didn’t the news on Weibo say that the murderer of the case has already been confirmed?”

The couple gave explanations together left and right, which made Lin Dongxue’s suspicions towards them deepen. She began, “The case really does have a strong lead now...”

“Great!” Wang Jinsong’s mother suddenly became excited subconsciously. When she realized that she was being rude, she rephrased, “I mean, it’s great to give an explanation to the family of the deceased. It’s very good that the police have handled things so swiftly.”

“Stop saying things like this when the other person’s family has lost their child!” Wang Jinsong’s father scolded.

Lin Dongxue was able to finish her sentence, “But I have to continue to investigate and collect more evidence, so I’ve come to visit and question people around the area.”

“We don't know too much regarding that. Du Lei is obedient and sensible. We usually educate Wang Jinsong and ask him to learn more from Du Lei.” Wang Jinsong's father said.

His mother defended, “In fact, my child is very smart. However, his intellect is used in the wrong places. He only knows to play all day, that’s it.”

“Isn’t that because you encourage him to do so?”

“His computers and game consoles are all bought by you!”

The couple began to blame each other, and Lin Dongxue asked, “What game console?”

“Ah?” Wang Jinsong’s father was nervous and smiled. “Game consoles for children.”

“What game console?!” Lin Dongxue repeated, this time her tone became sterner.

“Oh!” Wang Jinsong’s mother immediately interjected. “It’s his dad’s promise. If he was in the top 30 students in this midterm exam, he will buy him a game console.”

“But we looked at his exam results. He only seems to be in the top 30 if you count from the bottom up.” Xu Xiaodong stated.

“Yeah, so we didn't buy it.” Wang Jinsong father smiled.

Lin Dongxue felt that the two were trying to cover things up. It seemed that it was impossible to ask directly, so she excused themselves. “Okay, then we’re going to take our leave first.”

“Okay, we won’t send you off then!” The couple showed a relaxed expression.

Lin Dongxue learned from Chen Shi to return after they’ve let their guard down and whispered to Xu Xiaodong. “Keep the two occupied!” and then suddenly said to the family apologetically, “Sorry, can I please borrow the bathroom?”

“Huh? The bathroom...”

“It’s here! I will take you there.”

Xu Xiaodong suddenly queried loudly, “Ah, when did you buy this house?”

Lin Dongxue entered the bathroom. She saw a curtain inside at a glance and figured that it was a bathtub behind it. She was ready to open the curtain when Wang Jinsong’s mother suddenly came in and smiled forcefully. “I am afraid that you won’t know how to use this toilet[2]. Let me teach you.”

“Oh, no worries, I’ll figure it out.”

“Press this and then put this part down.”

Wang Jinsong’s mother just had to explain how to use the smart toilet before she would leave. When Lin Dongxue was ready to open the curtain again, she knocked on the door again. “Is it out of toilet paper? Do you want me to bring a roll in?”

Has this woman forgotten that she owns a smart toilet?

Lin Dongxue helplessly answered, “No, thank you!”

She reached out to the curtain again, when the woman knocked on the door outside. “Oh, I am so sorry but I have diarrhea. Can you let me use it first?”

Lin Dongxue was so angry that she didn't care about anything. She opened the curtain and when the curtain made a noise, Wang Jinsong's mother broke the door bolt open and rushed in. She and Lin Dongxue met eyes with each other. At that moment, her face was very dark.

But this expression was fleeting, and Wang Jinsong’s mother smiled. “Sorry, I just can’t hold it in.”

“Okay, let me go and solve mine downstairs.” Lin Dongxue helplessly agreed.

“Sorry, sorry.”

Leaving the Wang’s residence, Lin Dongxue was silent. Xu Xiaodong pressed, “Hey, what's wrong with you? What have you seen? Why won't you talk? Why are your hands shaking?”

Lin Dongxue stood still, and Xu Xiaodong who followed close behind almost bumped into her. Lin Dongxue turned to look at the window. “This family has problems!”

“To be honest, I also felt it. They are a little... Too polite.”

“It's not just the problem with being too polite...”

A young man who was riding a motorcycle to send courier packages entered the community. When they crossed paths, they heard him speaking on the phone. “Wang Bin, please come retrieve your parcel.”

Lin Dongxue turned her head and saw a large paper box on the motorcycle. It seemed to be an electronic product. Xu Xiaodong identified, “That is a ps4!”

“The same game console as Du Lei's room?”

“Yep!”

Lin Dongxue walked over and showed her badge to the young man. “Excuse me, who is the recipient of this parcel?”

The young man looked at the list in his hands. “Unit 504 of this building.”

It was the home of Wang Jinsong. Xu Xiaodong was puzzled. “Didn’t they say they weren’t going to get it for him because of his bad grades? This family is too unprincipled.”

Chen Shi had pointed out to her that the motivation of children may be a small thing in the eyes of adults.

Is this the motivation?!

Lin Dongxue stood there waiting, but Wang Jinsong’s father didn’t come down. The courier driver eventually drove away pissed-off.

Lin Dongxue stood in the same place for a long time, thinking about another possibility for the case until she was alarmed by a phone call. It was Lin Qiupu’s call again, “Sister!“[3]

Lin Qiupu only called her this way when he was in the best of his moods.

“Let me tell you some good news...Well, maybe it’s bad news for you. We found the same aphrodisiac in Li's home. You don't have to investigate the case anymore.”

“Brother, I want to apply for a search warrant.”

“Search warrants? Who are you searching? Do you have evidence?”

“No.”

“If there is no evidence, don’t mess around. Just come back... I don’t have time to talk to you. Li’s lawyer is coming, so I’ll have to see what else he can come up with.”

1. Elude the people you wish to attack by letting them think you’re focusing on something else.

2. There are so many types of smart toilets, so people might not know how to use certain models without trial and error or closer inspection.

3. He said “meimei” instead of “mei”. Both mean younger sister, however, you usually repeat words like that when you’re speaking to children, making something sound cute, or are acting more familiar with someone.