Volume 5: Their Relationship

Chen Shi turned his face and saw that the other person was an old man with white hair. The wrinkled face had an aura of majesty and dominance.

“How did you find me?” Chen Shi asked.

"Tao Yueyue. I have been paying attention to the condition of the little witness. I knew that if she needed surgery, you would definitely come."

"Ginger is still old and spicy!"[1] Chen Shi smiled and lit the cigarette he had in his mouth.

"I didn’t think that you would come back in this manner with a false face. How do you feel teasing and meddling with your old partner and the young people who used to admire you?"

"It's not bad, it's a bit like being born again."

The old man sighed, "You laid low for so long and so well. Why did you want to come back?"

"It must be in my nature."

"Nature?"

"It’s like how some people are greedy and some are perverted. I can't stand criminals being left alone. People can't escape their own nature, and I am the same. But recently, I might have stood out too much. Even you noticed me! I think it’s time to hold back a little.”

"So you knew what was happening as well?!" The old man smiled. "Why don't you come back openly without hiding behind a new identity?”

"I…"

"Because of the burden of a crime on your shoulders? Because that person is still at large?”

"No, that person is holding onto my weakness."

"I guess, is it Tao Yueyue? He threatened you, as long as you show up again, they’ll re-do the case, right?"

Although he did not want to admit it, Chen Shi nodded. The cigarette was almost exhausted. He threw it out of the window and handed his hands over.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You are not coming to arrest me?"

The old man laughed. "If I came to catch you, I wouldn’t come alone in the middle of the night. Chen Shi, Chen Shi, you think you’re so smart. Do you really think that you’ve hidden from the skies and crossed the seas? No, actually, that night has not ended. The Zhou Xiao case has not been closed yet, and several of my elite officers have been tracing him the whole time. I knew all about what you have done from the very beginning. You can say that I’m covering for my subordinates, or even neglecting my duties due to personal reasons, but I know that you weren’t the killer. You could never have shot your superior officer or girlfriend. I can only prove your innocence if we can catch Zhou Xiao. So, the high-level officers have secretly permitted the little actions you’re taking. In reality, your police identification number has not been cancelled. In the confidential documents inside my safe, your current identity is that of an undercover police officer."

Chen Shi was surprised and then recovered his usual smile. "After all the twists and turns, I’m still a police officer huh? But you guys never paid me a penny!"

"After the case is over, I will send it to you in full. Remember to treat me to some food at the time!"

"You have to take care so that you’re still alive by then."

"Damn brat! I am sure to live longer than you!" The old man smiled and took out an envelope from and handed it straight into Chen Shi’s hands. Judging from the feel of the envelope, it was most likely full of banknotes.

"The officials are handing out red envelopes now?"

"It’s to treat Tao Yueyue. Think of it as a token of my compassion. It’s some of my personal money that I’ve saved up over the years. Don’t let my wife know about this.”

"As long as she doesn’t take my car!"

The old man opened the door and stopped. "You could have done anything. Why did you choose to run a taxi service?”

"I don’t have any skills other than driving. Do you want to see me selling stinky tofu along the streets or something?"[2]

"Damn brat, look after yourself!"

The old man got out the car and disappeared into the night with his hands behind his back. The sigh of the silhouette with a slightly hunched back gave off a feeling that it was worn out. Chen Shi saluted silently. "Thank you, Chief!" After a minute, he put his hand down. His heart was full of emotions. Tonight, if he didn’t drink, he was afraid that it would be impossible to calm the inner waves of his heart. He started his car and drove to a bar that he often went to.

Wang Jinsong’s case caused a great uproar in Long’an, but soon people’s attention was diverted from it to other news such as which celebrity evaded their taxes, gasoline price changes, and the like. After a week, the incident was completely forgotten and everything calmed down. As if nothing happened, everyone moved on with their ordinary lives.

Chen Shi ran his orders late into the night and then went to She Kouji Road with a few drivers. After tiring themselves for the day, everyone sipped cola while eating skewers and shared their experiences over the past few days.

Chen Shi was always the most talkative on the table. He would always talk about special and underrated cases non-stop. If people asked him where he learned of these cases, he would always say that he watched it on a legal program.

However, today's protagonist was a middle-aged driver named Li Tao. He animatedly described the modern version of Jin Pingmei[3] with all kinds of gestures, expressions and voices. It is said that there was a young woman with the surname Pan who hooked up with a small boss who has surnamed Ximen. The paper couldn’t hold the fire. Pan’s husband, who had the surname Wu, discovered this and went to the company of Ximen to cause trouble. Nobody expected that after a month, the man surnamed Wu died accidentally while driving. The car and person were burnt to ashes. The police suspected that Ximen paid someone to murder Wu and began investigating him. They even closed off his company.

The drinkers were sceptical. "It’s made up right? How can there be such a coincidental thing?”

"It’s a real story. Anyway, news spread all over the city... I think that as long as a woman named Pan meets a man named Ximen, nothing good will come out of it."

"The expression you’re looking for is ‘affair’!"

"Oh, my wife is surnamed Pan. If it’s as you say..."

"You have to be careful if there is a surname of Ximen among her friends."

"Fuck you man."

"Don't make trouble, Brother Li. How long has it been?" Chen Shi chortled.

"Just these past two days. I heard a passenger talk about it."

Chen Shi gobbled up the rest of the roast eggplant in his hands and excused himself. "Sorry, a family thing came up. I’ll be leaving first."

Everyone mocked, "What? Did you forget to inflate your wife?!"

After Chen Shi got in the car, he sent a message to Lin Dongxue. "Modern version of Jin Pingmei? Why didn’t you tell me about such a fun case?"

Lin Dongxue replied, "Where did you hear about it? We are not pigs[4]. We won’t find you for every case. This case is already close to getting finished-up. It must have been Ximen Qing."

"I hope you don't make a mistake this time."

"Crow’s mouth! Are you just looking forward to the limelight?"

Early the next morning, Lin Dongxue went to the bureau. They were investigating the case Chen Shi talked about yesterday. Whenever she saw the file, she wanted to laugh. The surnames of the three people were really too much. They were exactly the same as the story back in the day. What is even more funny is that the deceased Wu has a younger brother. The case was reported by the younger brother who provided them with a lot of evidence as well.

Lin Dongxue met Wu’s younger brother Wu Hao once. This person was a fitness consultant who practiced Taekwondo and Sanda. He was very burly and looked very handsome. However, every time his brother’s death was mentioned, he couldn’t control his emotions. He would rage about how he wanted to chop the pair of adulterer’s heads off and put it in front of his brother’s shrine. Everyone was afraid that he would actually do this kind of thing.

At the time of the incident, Pan and "Ximen Qing"[5] were together at a resort. There was clear evidence of absence. At present, the police had concluded that Ximen Qing paid for the murder. They were primarily checking his bank accounts. It turned out that there were multiple instances of tax evasion. However, they were still lacking the evidence for this final kick to get the ball into the goal.

They needed to see what Lin Qiupu had to say at the meeting today...

1. The older you leave ginger, the spicier it gets. An expression to show that the older one gets, the wiser they become.

2. Fermented tofu that has a strong odor. Typically sold at night markets or as street-food. It’s something that if you will like the smell of if you like it, but find really pungent if you don’t. Kind of like the love or hate relationship people have with coriander. http://www.visiontimes.com/uploads/2016/06/6797591200_8da957f3e8_k-950x550.jpg

3. It’s a story. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin_Ping_Mei

4. Pigs are traditionally stupid in Chinese culture.

5. The person only has the surname Ximen, but they gave him this nickname as per the old story.