Lin Qiupu stared at the lamb skewers in his hands, feeling excited. This was a supper that his senior had treated him to.

The two had just come out of the Taiyang pawn shop. Song Lang simply ordered some supper at a small barbecue stall nearby. He didn’t eat the grilled food. He had a cigarette in his hand and stared at the small bowl in the evidence bag in a daze.

"Captain, won't you eat?"

"I'm not hungry. This is to reward you. You worked for over ten hours on your first day at work. Do you have a newfound understanding of the police business?"

"No, I feel very lucky. I actually encountered this kind of case on my first day as a police officer. Reality is really stranger than the movies."

"What do you think about this case?"

"The curse must be fake!"

"I don't believe in something illogical like curses as well."

"Then is this considered blackmail?"

"Of course it counts as blackmail. For example, if I told you that this lamb skewer is poisonous, and that I’ll give you the antidote if you pay me 100 yuan but the lamb skewer wasn’t actually poisonous. However, you still paid for it. Is this considered blackmail? Taking advantage of someone’s fears, whether it’s a lie or a fact, it’s blackmail! Little Lin, you should investigate this bowl. The more detailed the investigation, the better. You should also visit the other pawn shops in the city."

"Is this necessary? I think all this is just He Jingjing's one-sided statement, and there’s no need to believe it."

"You don’t think that the criminal police only care about homicides, right? The person who made this video is suspected of intimidation and extortion, and may have committed other crimes. If you find him, it’s your merit, and you can take your sister out for dinner when you receive the bonus. Don't you want it?"

Lin Qiupu suddenly understood. "Thank you, Captain!"

Song Lang took a sip of beer with a smile. Lin Qiupu ate a little and said, "Captain, I have a humble opinion. Doesn’t He Jingjing have a motive for murder? Once He Taiyang dies, she’s the only heir to the inheritance."

"I also suspect He Jingjing."

Lin Qiupu was excited, thinking that he had been recognized by his senior, but Song Lang explained slowly, "But I suspect her not because of her inheritance rights. Whether He Taiyang dies naturally or accidentally, she has inheritance rights. That is, unless you can prove that she has an urgent need for a large sum of money, and that her father was unwilling to give it to her. Only this can be called a motive for murder."

"Then why do you suspect her?"

"I suspect her because she had appeared in front of me. Everyone who appears in front of my eyes will be compared to the outline I have of the real murderer. I exclude them one by one. Suspicion is normal. I’m used to assuming that a person is the murderer and then proving that they aren’t. For example, who was the first to find the body?"

"It was a girl passing by."

"You should check whether she had really passed by or lied to you. If she has a clear alibi, then she can be excluded as a suspect. This should be done instead of basing it on your feelings about whether this person looks like a bad person."

"Oh!" Lin Qiupu hurriedly noted this down.

"He Jingjing and He Jun are a pair." Song Lang said suddenly.

"Aren’t they cousins?"

"Have you ever been in love?"

"I... I was in a relationship once." Lin Qiupu stammered.

"The two of them stood very close to each other and they weren’t wary of each other. There was also inadvertent physical contact. Do you usually touch your sister's waist?"

Lin Qiupu desperately shook his head. "I’d be beaten to death!"

Song Lang smiled and nodded, "The relationship between the two of them isn’t that of mere cousins, but lovers. Are the two conspiring something? How did Mrs. He die? Did He Taiyang really trust He Jun? These things have to be investigated. Investigating a case is like playing a game of minesweeper, revealing the truth piece by piece, and then finding the most critical clue."

Lin Qiupu quickly recorded these words.

After drinking a bottle of beer, Song Lang threw the car key to Lin Qiupu and told him to drive him back to the bureau. He was going to see the results of Peng Sijue’s autopsy. Lin Qiupu was already a little sleepy at this time, and he found that Song Lang was an out-and-out night owl.

"Captain, I can't drive!" Lin Qiupu said awkwardly.

"What? An officer who can't drive? Why didn't you remind me when I ordered a beer?" Song Lang helplessly held his forehead. "During the long October holiday, get yourself to the driving school and take lessons!"

Thus, they had no choice but to find a replacement driver. Lin Qiupu started to get sleepy in the car, but was afraid of being caught by Song Lang, so he leaned on the window and pretended to be contemplating. In the end, his snoring betrayed him. Song Lang smiled as he looked at him.

When he woke up, Lin Qiupu found that it was already dawn, and that he was actually lying on the back seat of the car with a blanket wrapped around him. He sniffed the blanket, and felt excited when he thought it was his senior who had covered him up.

He carefully folded the blanket and placed it on the back seat. After getting out of the car, he straightened up appearance using his reflection in the glass. He had just woken up, and he was desperate to use the toilet, but this was an underground parking lot, so he could only take the stairs to the bureau.

He wasn’t familiar with the public security bureau and got lost. Passing by a room with a glass door that had the lights on, Song Lang and Peng Sijue were actually sitting inside, drinking coffee and eating breakfast. Song Lang sat cross-legged on a revolving chair, spinning around and around like a naughty child.

"Captain!" Lin Qiupu greeted him.

"You woke up? I couldn't lift you, so I had to let you sleep in the car. Do you want to eat?"

"No... No need. I haven't brushed my teeth yet... Didn't you sleep at all last night?"

"I’ll go to bed after I hold a case analysis meeting for you guys in the morning. I may have been a vampire in my previous life. I’m very energetic at night. As for him..." Chen Shi pointed to Peng Sijue. "He’s an alien and doesn't need to sleep."

"Can you pay me some respect in front of the newcomer?" Peng Sijue complained.

"How do I disrespect you? Although I’m in charge of the outside, you’re in charge of the inside. I’ve always respected you as my humble wife.[1]"

Peng Sijue pointed to Song Lang and said to Lin Qiupu, "This guy is too garrulous. You should apply for a transfer to another team, so you won't be harmed by him!"

Lin Qiupu smiled. Listening to their interaction was like listening to cross-talk. He really envied the close relationship between Peng Sijue and Song Lang, and even wondered if they could be... childhood friends!

"Look at this!" Song Lang handed a few pages of paper over.

It was the forensic pathologist’s autopsy report. The densely-packed words and professional terms gave Lin Qiupu a headache. He agreed, "It seems that there are many doubts regarding the deceased!"

"Haha, all these words mean the same thing. The knife was inserted into the aorta. The knife was pulled out and inserted back into the deceased's body... Forensic doctors are very verbose. You have to learn to read these reports."

"Don't mislead the newcomer!" Peng Sijue furrowed his brows. "A corpse can provide a lot of information. The job of a forensic pathologist is to record this information down, but not every piece of information is helpful for solving the case."

"Understood." Lin Qiupu nodded. After standing there for a long time, his bladder was about to explode.

"Why are your legs shaking? Did you catch a cold last night?" Song Lang asked.

"No... I want to go to the bathroom..." Lin Qiupu said in embarrassment.

"Haha, you’re too shy! Hurry and go!" Song Lang smiled.

1. Wives have traditionally been tasked with being in charge of the “inside” (the home).