Lin Qiupu paced anxiously in the corridor. Xu Xiaodong comforted, "Captain Lin, let's eat first. Brother Chen will definitely find evidence."

Everyone ate boxed takeaway meals in the conference room. Lin Qiupu saw that there was still more in the bag and explained to Xu Xiaodong, "Give two meals and bottles of water to those two drama spirits so that they can continue exerting their energy after they’re full."

Lin Qiupu only had a few bites of rice when Xu Xiaodong ran back and said, "The female drama spirit said that the rice has poison in it, so she’s not going to eat it."

"Whether she eats it is up to her." Lin Qiupu said while Lin Dongxue next to him was picking out all the green peppers she didn't like to eat.

It became noisy outside. A police officer came in and said, "Hao Jie's father is here."

"What? Who notified him?"

"No one notified him. He came by himself."

Lin Qiupu and the others went out to greet him. Hao Jie's father was still wearing a hospital gown and a coat was covering his shoulders as he was helped in by a nurse. He shivered and said, "The neighbor called me to tell me that my woman was caught. I guessed it had something to do with her... That madwoman actually used her cruel hands against her own child! Where is she now? Where is she now?"

After hearing what he said, he seemed like he didn’t know the truth of the case. Lin Qiupu said, "Mr. Hao, don't be too agitated. It’s not good for your health. We are investigating the case right now."

Hao Jie's father used a cane to poke the ground. "I don’t have many days to live anyway. Please let me see her. I will scold her until she dies... Even tigers don’t eat their young, but she actually did that to her own son. A beast. Beast!"

After a lot of polite persuasion, Hao Jie's father finally calmed down and went to a conference room to have a seat. He said, "I was asked about Guo Bilian in the afternoon. Is this related to Bilian?"

Lin Qiupu asked, "Who is Guo Bilian to you?"

"We were first lovers in university. We were very loving, but this woman stepped in and I was misunderstood by Bilian. Then, we broke up... I admit that we still had some contact later and even met a few times in private because I'm so tortured at home. This woman is mental. She’s very paranoid and suspects me all day! "

"So why did you get married in the first place?"

"Because this woman's father is my top boss. Under his set-up, we became married. I was really blinded to marry such a woman. I have never loved her for a single day and lived in quarrels every day! Once, there was a quarrel. She actually took Little Jie out and said she was going to jump in the river. She was crazy. When we were trying to get divorced, she said that even if she were to kill Little Jie, ground him up into stuffing, and eat him into her belly, she still wouldn’t give me custody. Have you ever seen such a lunatic before?!" Hao Jie's father poked the floor with his cane looking heartbroken. “When the kidnapping case occurred, I already suspected her. It was really her! She really did it!”

"Have you been in touch with Guo Bilian recently?"

"We contacted each other last year. She said she wanted to see me. I had initially refused. After all, I was married, but she said that there were important things she needed to tell me. Then, she told me she wouldn’t come anymore..." Hao Jie's father took out his mobile phone and showed the police a text message.

The first text message was sent on November 5th. Guo Bilian said, "Zhiqiang, I plan to come to Long'an to see you in the next couple of days. I need to tell you something important. Rest assured, I won’t disturb your family."

The second text message was sent on November 12th, Guo Bilian said, "Sorry, I didn't have the courage to meet you in the end. You and I should settle down separately and not think about each other anymore."

Lin Dongxue found that the mobile phone was very laggy, even though there weren’t too many apps installed on it. She said, "Mr. Hao, can we check your mobile phone?"

"Go ahead."

Lin Dongxue went to the information department with his mobile phone. Lin Qiupu asked, "Since you knew Guo Bilian would come to see you in the next couple of days, why go on a business trip?"

"A business trip? I didn’t go on a business trip."

"On November 11th, where were you?"

"At home... To be honest, I've been living separately from that woman for a long time. Hao Jie lived on either end. Hao Jie was with me that day... Why are you asking this?"

"It's nothing. Just asking."

Lin Dongxue came back and quietly called, "Captain Lin" outside. Lin Qiupu didn't hear her and Lin Dongxue had to shout "Brother" loudly. Lin Qiupu immediately turned around and walked out.

"What happened?"

"This number sent out several short messages after November 5th. The number the messages were sent to were Guo Bilian’s, but none of the messages were found in the inbox or outbox. Then, I found a hacking program in the mobile phone that you can buy online."

"In other words, Hao Jie's mother used the program to override this phone, spoke to Guo Bilian herself, and gave her a fake address. The murder was premeditated!"

"We’re still lacking key evidence." Lin Dongxue glanced at the man's back. "I don't think he was completely innocent. He had many affairs which were the root of this tragedy."

"The police are not moral guardians. I don't care who is right or wrong."

Lin Dongxue smiled. "Just expressing my views on affairs."

At the same time, Chen Shi and Peng Sijue were looking for clues in Hao Jie's house. Chen Shi was a bit impatient. He searched from one place straight to the next. Peng Sijue followed him to help him restore things back to their original places and complained, "Are you confiscating their household property[1] or searching?"

"Enhanced search!" Chen Shi sat down on the sofa. "Ugh, a stiff brain needs a little nicotine!"

Peng Sijue took out a cigarette packet and handed it over. Chen Shi smiled bitterly. "I promised Dongxue that I won’t touch that in this life again.”

"I suggest you buy some nicotine patches which can reduce the withdrawal symptoms." Peng Sijue nodded and exhaled into Chen Shi's face.

Although it was second-hand smoke, Chen Shi, who inhaled the nicotine, was still very pleased. He hooked his index finger. "Give me some more oil."

After Peng Sijue exhaled the cigarette again, Chen Shi felt like his withdrawals were suppressed and his mind became active again. He stood up and walked to the bedroom, saying, "Since she said that she went out to buy food, it means that it was in the afternoon when the mother and child fell asleep together, right? What time does the train from Guo Bilian's hometown get here?"

Chen Shi searched on his mobile phone. The train most in line with the timing back then was the train at 4:00PM, which departed at 9:00AM.

Chen Shi said, "If it was this train, the mother and son must have had a good rest last night. They wouldn’t have been so sleepy as to not have been aware of the gas smell, unless…”

"They were drugged!" Peng Sijue remembered a slight detail. "Hao Jie’s mother has a history of mental illness and had to take calming medication."

"Search! Search! Search!"

After another round of checking the ins and outs of every nook and cranny, Chen Shi found a pill bottle in the depths of a drawer and showed it to Peng Sijue. Peng Sijue said, "The label does show that it’s a drug that has calming effects... Hmm, it’s opened, but it’s impossible to know the date."

"It’s okay, as long as we find the same ingredients in the body."

"That’s a little difficult."

The two returned to the living room and Chen Shi found that the security door looked brand new. It was so new that it seemed a bit out of place. He squatted down and checked. "Strange. Why was just this door painted recently?"

When his finger touched a spot, Chen Shi said in excitement, "The traces of nail scratches!"

1. People used to confiscate everything in someone’s house while they were exterminating families on the orders of the government. During the confiscation process, some people would literally tear the house down, break things, etc. Peng Sijue is saying this because Chen Shi is flipping through everything while searching for clues.