Chapter 4

There were still no new cases in the morning, and the atmosphere in the entire office was leisurely and slow. Chen Pu had been looking at the household records of Chaoyang Homes in those years. Although he had read them many times and knew them by heart, he would find omissions, errors, and additions every year.

Just as he was watching intently, he heard that soft and crisp voice not far from his desk again: "No problem, drink as much as you want."

Chen Pu looked up and saw Yan Yong, the youngest member of the team. Of course, now that Li Qingyao was here, they were both the youngest. He was standing next to Li Qingyao with a cup of tea in his hand, smiling shyly and nervously, "How can that be? You have to pay for tea leaves, too. How about I pay you for half a box?"

Li Qingyao also brought a cup of tea. Her white fingers held a frosted glass cup with rounded edges. There were green tea leaves floating in it, which made people feel elegant and fragrant. She smiled and said, "How can that be? We are all colleagues. A few dozen yuan worth of tea is not worth much. Next time you buy tea, I will try it!"

Yan Yong gave a thumbs up: "Great!"

Li Qingyao smiled and glanced at Chen Pu inadvertently, but Chen Pu had already lowered his eyes.

Very good, he thought. It was only the second day and everyone in the team, young or old, started to wag their tails towards Li Qingyao.

The sophistication of some people is just like the spring breeze, fresh and natural, moistening everything silently.

Chen Pu's feeling towards Li Qingyao reached its peak in the afternoon.

Li Qingyao took advantage of the lunch break to bring a large bag of milk tea and distributed it to each colleague. She was still so humble and gentle: "Yesterday was my first day here, and I was embarrassed to express anything. Although the boss treated me to a meal at the weekend, I also want to thank everyone for taking care of me, a junior. Although a cup of milk tea is small, it is also a thoughtful gesture."

Everyone laughed and said she was very polite. They rushed forward to share all the milk tea, and the atmosphere in the office became more harmonious.

Only Chen Pu didn't go.

After a while, a cup of milk tea was placed on the table. Chen Pu raised his head and met Li Qingyao's eyes, which were dark, bright and clear.

Chen Pu: "Thank you, I don't drink sweets, take it."

From Li Qingyao's perspective, he could see his full forehead, clear lines from nose to lips and chin. Only his eyes were slightly drooped, always giving off an aura that kept people at a distance.

Li Qingyao said softly, "I ordered the sugar-free osmanthus oolong. Isn't this your favorite flavor?"

Chen Pu didn't seem to react. But he raised his eyes slightly and fell on the words on the cup half a foot away - familiar milk tea shop, familiar taste.

Chen Pu was suddenly in a trance. Seven years had passed, and it seemed that everything had changed. Many people in the bureau no longer knew the name Li Jincheng. But it also seemed that nothing had changed. The milk tea shop that he and Li Jincheng often went to was still there, and the taste was still there.

Chen Pu realized how thoughtful the girl who ordered this cup of milk tea for him was. Was she trying to test him or express something? But when he looked up again, he still saw a pair of bright, almost silent eyes.

This girl was undoubtedly smart and scheming. She dropped out of a first-class university and major and went to the police academy. After working in the provincial public security department for a year, she somehow ended up in the criminal police team where her brother worked before he disappeared.

What she wants to do and what she wants to get, the answers are obvious.

But for Chen Pu, it was just trouble.

He picked up the cup of milk tea, lowered his eyes again, and said, "Thanks, don't buy it next time, I don't like to drink these things anymore."

-

However, as criminal police, even God cannot bear to see them taking it easy. When it was almost time to get off work that day, Ding Guoqiang walked into their office and said, "Hurry up, everyone. There's a murder in the staff quarters of No. 29 Middle School. Chen Pu, lead the team and bring the new recruits with you."

No. 29 Middle School is located in an old city area. Across the road from the school is a staff housing complex built decades ago. The building is old, but the location is good and it is in the school district, so many teachers live there.

The community has no walls, and several buildings face the street. There are fences and security guards at the vehicle entrances and exits. In addition to residents, there are many training institutions, restaurants, and canteens in these dozen buildings. There are a lot of people and it is very lively. The police car drove all the way to the building where the crime occurred, and parking was difficult enough. Li Qingyao followed to the door of the building and looked up to see a surveillance camera.

This is a tower structure. After they went up to the fourth floor where the deceased was, they walked along a long corridor with at least a dozen households on both sides.

The district police were standing at the door of 403 waiting for them.

Li Qingyao was the last one to walk in. He looked around and listened attentively to the police officer and Chen Pu's report.

This is a common old-style two-bedroom apartment, with a square living room, two bedrooms next to it, and a kitchen and toilet at the other end. The decoration is simple, with white walls made of tiles, ceiling lights, old mahogany furniture, and only a small TV and a refrigerator. There are two badminton rackets hanging on the wall, and a basketball in a net bag. There are two pairs of sneakers, a pair of leather shoes, and a pair of men's slippers on the shoe cabinet at the door. The whole house looks empty at first glance, with very few things, and can even be called simple.

"The deceased is named Liu Huaixin, male, 28 years old, a high school Chinese teacher at No. 4 Middle School, and he has just been there for two years. He rented this house. He finished his second class at o'clock this afternoon and went home as he had no more classes. He is in the bathroom." said the police.

There was a dining table for four people placed on the wall near the kitchen in the living room. Li Qingyao couldn't help but notice the table because there were two plates of stewed food and two bottles of Moutai on it. There was also a small plate next to it with three sets of clean wine utensils.

Passing through the living room, the bathroom is on the left and the kitchen is on the right.

The bathroom was about five or six square meters in size, with white porcelain floors and green walls, and it was clean. In the back was a relatively small bathtub, very old, and only big enough for one person to lie down. But the deceased was not in the bathtub, but sitting on a wooden chair next to the bathtub. At this moment, he was lying on the side of the bathtub with his back to the police, one hand hanging in the bathtub and the other hanging outside the bathtub.

Several tall and strong criminal police rushed into the bathroom, which immediately became crowded. Li Qingyao walked around them and went to the bathtub to take a look: the dead young teacher had an unexpectedly fair and delicate face, and a tall and thin figure. The wound on his wrist that was hanging in the bathtub was no longer bleeding because the bathtub was full of blood.

The ground outside was clean, with almost no blood splattered.

A scene investigator was using tweezers to fish out a blood-soaked fruit knife from the bathtub and putting it into an evidence bag.

"Who discovered it?" Chen Pu's voice rang out.

Li Qingyao looked up subconsciously. Chen Pu was putting on gloves, with five fingers of one hand spread out, and the fingers of the other hand hooked on the edge of the glove, pulling it down, revealing a thin and slender wrist. He was still wearing the black jacket and black trousers from yesterday, with a white T-shirt underneath. As soon as he arrived at the murder scene, he seemed like a different person, with drooping eyebrows and solemn facial features, like a sharp knife sinking into endless black water.

The police brought a man over and said, "He was the first to discover the body. His name is Zhang Liangwei, and he is the parent of a student from No. 29 Middle School. He said Liu Huaixin asked him to come over, and he found the body as soon as he entered the house."

Zhang Liangwei looked a little dazed and his face was pale. He glanced at the detectives, then lowered his head and looked at the corpse.

Li Qingyao was startled, and his eyes fell on Chen Pu's face. He was also staring at Zhang Liangwei, and suddenly his eyes moved and met Li Qingyao's. In an instant, they both realized at the same time that the other had also caught something.

But Chen Pu immediately looked away, as if keeping his gaze with her for even one second longer would be poisonous. The corners of Li Qingyao's mouth curled up slightly.

The police handed Chen Pu an evidence bag containing papers, so Li Qingyao went over to take a look. Her white sleeve touched Chen Pu's coat, but Chen Pu ignored her.

It was a very simple suicide note, or rather a suicide declaration:

[I can’t find the meaning of life. The pressure is too great and I don’t want to live anymore.

I hope my death can atone for my sins.

——Liu Huaixin’s last words]

I will update 2 chapters every day in the first two days. After all, Lao Mo still has more than ten chapters in stock.

Comrades, this time the book review area activity is in the Qidian Reading Book Friends Circle. The activity post has been posted, so you have to find the right place!