After getting into the car, He Chuan Zhou thought for a moment and then asked, "Your right hand seems be
unlucky. Every time you get hurt, it's always this hand."
"Really?" The person in the back seat raised his hand and held his right wrist. "Captain He, you've changed
a lot. I didn't recognize you at first."
He Chuan Zhou glanced at the rearview mirror, but the tilted angle didn't allow her to see Zhou Tuoxing's
expression. She looked away and turned her gaze to the window.
The crowd on electric bikes weaved skillfully through the gaps in the traffic.
He Chuan Zhou didn't mean to expose him or confront him. She just found it interesting and said, "Your act of
ignoring me seems a bit too deliberate. When someone keeps staring at you, you should at least look back."
Zhou Tuoxing emphasized, "There are many people who stare at me."
He Chuan Zhou smirked, holding back her laughter. "Oh."
Driver Xiao Chen was speechless. As they approached the school with many pedestrians and cars, he had to
focus on driving and couldn't be distracted.
His mind and mouth were dry as he tried to lighten the mood. "Hello, Captain He. I'm Xiao Chen. I recently
moved to City A and have been classmates with Tuo for seven years. We're also business partners. We might
stay in City A for a while, so please take care of us."
He Chuan Zhou nodded politely. "Hello."
Xiao Chen asked, "Where do you need to go?"
He Chuan Zhou replied, "Please take me home."
Xiao Chen was about to ask where her home was when He Chuan Zhou added, "Why did you go to see Tao Xianyong?"
Zhou Tuoxing replied, "I've answered this question many times already. Do I have to answer every time?
Captain He, don't you communicate internally at your precinct?"
The moment Zhou Tuoxing's deep, arrogant voice sounded, the veins on the back of Xiao Chen's hand started
throbbing.
He wanted to hit his handsome face to correct his speech system.
Xiao Chen took the initiative. "There's nothing wrong with answering this. I know the answer. He went to
talk to Tao Xianyong about something. Our company has a social service project that provides free consulting
and investigations for the underprivileged. One of the cases involves Tao Xianyong."
He Chuan Zhou asked, "What time did you go?"
Zhou Tuoxing countered, "Why are you so concerned about me?"
Xiao Chen quickly interjected, "I know this too. I went to pick him up. I got his call around 11:30, then
drove over. Their conversation was already over by then. Knowing Tuo's temper, their talk probably didn't
last more than half an hour, so they must have met around 11."
Zhou Tuoxing's face showed displeasure.
He Chuan Zhou suddenly turned and smiled. "How did you know to turn left here?"
"This I know…" Xiao Chen stopped mid-sentence, stunned. "Huh?"
He looked around at the road conditions, then suddenly realized and blinked, pretending to be clueless.
"Just a coincidence."
"Zhou Tuoxing's file says he currently lives near Linjiang Community in the east of City A. That's not on
the way, is it?" He Chuan Zhou lit up her phone screen and asked gently, "Do you need me to turn on the
navigation for you?"
Xiao Chen looked into the rearview mirror, briefly meeting Zhou Tuoxing's eyes. Zhou Tuoxing lowered his
head to check his hand injury, clearly not intending to help out.
"Right, right, when I passed by the west area before, Tuo mentioned an old friend living there. Seeing you
two chatting happily, I just instinctively drove this way. That friend must be you, right?"
He Chuan Zhou said, "The roads in the south are quite complicated. You've only been in City A for a short
time, and you remember after just one trip?"
Xiao Chen nodded earnestly. "Yes, I have a good memory. Don't be fooled by my appearance; I'm a graduate
from B University."
"Is that so." He Chuan Zhou said, "Then do you remember the first thing you said to me before I got into the
car?"
Xiao Chen thought for a moment.
—Captain He? Are you a friend?
He Chuan Zhou: "What was the second thing you said?"
—You have such a friend in City A? I've never heard you mention it.
Xiao Chen felt a pang of anxiety.
Zhou Tuoxing also seemed at a loss for words, mumbling something He Chuan Zhou didn't catch.
Xiao Chen gave up and said, "Why don't you ask again why I know where you live?"
Before He Chuan Zhou could respond, Xiao Chen resignedly said, "Take a guess."
His friend wasn't embarrassed, so why should he be?
He Chuan Zhou chuckled and didn't press further.
Xiao Chen relaxed significantly and started chatting with her. "Are all detectives as scary as you? Oh, I
don't mean that in a bad way."
"Not all of them. The rookies in our team are quite cute." He Chuan Zhou paused. "The person in your backseat
was quite cute when he was little too."
Zhou Tuoxing: "Hey!"
Xiao Chen got excited. "Tell me! Tell me more!"
Zhou Tuoxing sternly said, "Can you be a bit more mature?"
The words sounded familiar, making He Chuan Zhou inexplicably happy.
She recalled that after dropping Zhou Tuoxing off that night, He Xu was still a bit worried. He felt Zhou
Tuoxing's right hand seemed unnaturally twisted, and during his day off on Monday, he wanted to take him to
the hospital for an X-ray to see if the bones were misaligned.
During lunch break, He Xu went to the school to find him.
When Zhou Tuoxing saw him again, he was a bit scared. The teacher said nothing, just waved for him to follow
He Xu. Once outside the school building, Zhou Tuoxing anxiously asked, "Did you come to report me?"
He Xu said, "No."
Worried that Zhou Tuoxing might run, He Xu tightly held his wrist and led him toward the school gate.
Zhou Tuoxing didn't shake off his hand, but his facial expressions changed frequently, amusing He Xu, who
teased, "Children's thoughts are so simple."
Zhou Tuoxing retorted angrily, "Have you seen a child this big?"
He Xu mimicked a gun with his fingers. "Don't move. Follow me."
Zhou Tuoxing had never met someone like this before. After a moment of shock, his face turned red, and he
shouted angrily, "Are you crazy? Can you act like an adult?"
He Xu wasn't angry at being yelled at. He just sighed theatrically. "I don't understand middle schoolers.
Why are they so awkward and hard to get along with?"
Zhou Tuoxing said, "Isn't your daughter a middle schooler too?"
He Xu proudly replied, "She's different. She's very mature and can have equal conversations with me."
For a moment, many thoughts flashed through Zhou Tuoxing's mind. He wanted to mock him but couldn't find a
good comparison. Finally, choosing between He Xu and his daughter, he decided to praise He Chuan Zhou. He
sneered, "You’re less mature than your daughter."
Just then, someone came around the corner. It was He Chuan Zhou with a backpack, obviously having overheard
their conversation. She glanced at him with mild surprise, as if she didn't expect him to have such insight.
Feeling uncomfortable, Zhou Tuoxing asked, "What's she doing here? What... what are you taking me to do?"
He Xu said, "Don't argue. She has money."
He Chuan Zhou handed over a bank card and turned away coolly. He Xu waved at her retreating figure, boasting
to the young man next to him, "Isn't my daughter amazing? She's great with finances and might become a CFO
someday. What do you want to do in the future?"
Zhou Tuoxing casually replied, "A hoodlum." (It means gangster)
Before the words were finished, He Xu slapped the back of Zhou Tuoxing's head.
Zhou Tuoxing winced in pain and heard the person opposite him warn, "I'm a police officer, show some
respect, okay?"
At that time, Zhou Tuoxing felt that the future was a very abstract concept. Forget about dreams; he hadn't
even seen a corner of the world clearly.
Fifty yuan was already a large sum for him. He even thought that if he could manage all the family finances
like He Chuan Zhou, it would be quite an accomplishment.
He had no aspirations and was naturally at a loss when faced with He Xu's question. He mumbled, "What's so
great about being a police officer?"
He Xu laughed and said, "If you get the chance in the future, you'll know whether being a police officer is
great or not. It's very difficult to be a police officer."
He Chuan Zhou's smile faded, her brows slightly furrowed, and she rubbed the callus on her index finger with
her thumb.
The last sentence left an endless silence in her ears. It wasn't until Xiao Chen lightly tapped her shoulder
and called her twice, "Captain He?" that she snapped out of her memories.
At this moment, she changed her mind. She took out her phone, entered a new address, clicked on navigation,
and handed it to Xiao Chen. "Please take me to this place."
Xiao Chen asked curiously, "Aren't you going home?"
He Chuan Zhou replied, "No, I just remembered I have some work to do."
Xiao Chen said, "Okay."
The navigation point wasn't far from their location. They headed to the suburbs, where there was no more
traffic, and arrived in about twenty minutes. The narrow alley ahead wasn't suitable for driving, so He
Chuan Zhou had him stop, and she walked the rest of the way.
The car door closed with a gust of cold air, shutting out the noise from the street.
Xiao Chen didn't drive away immediately but looked at He Chuan Zhou's back and said, "She's gone."
Zhou Tuoxing subtly mimicked his actions, letting out an annoyed "tsk."
Xiao Chen, filled with anger, cursed, "What's with the 'tsk'? Are you a dog? I've been driving around for
over an hour just for you to argue with her? Be a decent person! Think about what you just did!"
He Chuan Zhou exhaled a few breaths of white air, oriented herself, and dialed a number while walking.
Brother Huang was probably busy, as the phone rang for a long time without being answered. She left a text
message and then called Shao Zhixin.
"Hello."
Shao Zhixin always seemed full of energy. His voice was louder than others when he answered the phone,
exclaiming, "Captain He!"
He Chuan Zhou asked, "Has Tao Xianyong's phone been unlocked?"
Shao Zhixin replied, "Yes, it has. But his phone is very clean. He only has a few frequent contacts, and
there's no critical information in his social apps. Apart from payment apps, he has a few puzzle game apps,
which we are currently studying."
He Chuan Zhou stopped walking and looked up at the building in front of her, confirming it was the one she
was looking for.
The exterior of the building had discolored and yellowed due to dampness, and moss grew in the gaps between
the tiles. The buildings were so close together that the lower floors had almost no natural light.
This was an old residential building in City A, with a history of fifty or sixty years.
The security door was not closed, and the lock had long been broken. He Chuan Zhou pulled it open easily and
walked up to the second floor along the dim corridor. After Shao Zhixin finished reporting, she instructed,
"If Tao Xianyong doesn't trust modern technology and deliberately replaces fingerprint locks with key locks,
he might have a second or even third phone. His company is not small, and his social relationships can't be
that simple. Look into it further."
Shao Zhixin responded readily, "Got it."
He Chuan Zhou pressed the red doorbell button, but it didn't ring, so she knocked on the door instead.
A woman's voice came from inside, asking, "Who is it?"
He Chuan Zhou turned slightly and instructed Shao Zhixin, "Also, Zhou Tuoxing met him between 11 and 11:30.
Tao Xianyong had no food at home and wouldn't cook, so he would have ordered takeout at that time. There
were no takeout boxes found at the crime scene, so either he was killed before he could order, or someone
cleaned up the scene afterward. You can use this clue to further confirm his time of death."
Shao Zhixin said, "Got it. I'll check it out."
He Chuan Zhou heard footsteps approaching and said, "I have to go. I'll talk to you later."
She put away her phone just as someone inside opened the door a crack. Seeing an unfamiliar face, the person
closed the door slightly and asked cautiously, "Who are you?"
"Police." He Chuan Zhou held the door with one hand and took out her badge from her coat pocket with the
other. "Hello, my name is He."
"Haven't you already asked many times?" The cleaner looked resistant. "I really have nothing more to say."
He Chuan Zhou withdrew her hand. "Don't worry, I'm just here to talk to you privately today. Can I come in?"