Chapter 58

Because they were off work and were going back to the office to work overtime, Li Qingyao and Chen Pu were both dressed casually. Li Qingyao wore a loose linen short-sleeved shirt and wide-leg pants, while Chen Pu wanted to wear a vest at home, but he got scared before going out and changed into a white T-shirt and a pair of sports shorts.

Li Qingyao saw that both of his thighs were exposed and asked, "Aren't you cold?"

Chen Pu laughed: "If it wasn't for the fact that it doesn't look good at work, who would have the patience to wear long pants all day? It's so hot."

Li Qingyao also saw how much sweat he had produced during the day, and nodded to show her understanding. She even said "very beautiful legs" but swallowed it back. She still remembered how he had transformed himself into a moralist and taught her a lesson about flirting with others.

Li Qingyao turned around, picked up a pen, and wrote down the names and identities of several people on the whiteboard:
Li Meiling, 45 years old, wife.

Xiang Siling, 25 years old, stepdaughter.

Qian Chengfeng, 32 years old, is Xiang Siling’s ex-husband, Luo Hongmin’s subordinate, and the marketing director of the group’s e-commerce subsidiary.

Wu Xu, 52, competitor, general manager of Xingjiayi Group.

Zheng Shuhuai, 49 years old, competitor, deputy general manager of Junengtang Company.

Xie Rongcheng, 58, competitor, chairman of Huading Group.

While she was writing this, Chen Pu rested one elbow on the table, holding up his chin and reading. His thighs, which had finally cooled down, were still shaking slightly.

The top that Li Qingyao wore today was loose and relatively short. When she raised her arms, the hem of the clothes gently rubbed her waist, and her white curves appeared and disappeared from time to time.

All the information she wrote was what Chen Pu knew. He glanced at it for a few seconds and then glanced down.

When she stopped writing and turned to look through the character files, he immediately pressed his palm to his mouth and looked up with a serious face. After a while, Chen Pu lowered his eyes and stared at the ground. His expression gradually became serious. When he looked up again, his eyes were fixed on the whiteboard and he never looked down again.

But that touch of white is still eye-catching even if you don't look directly at it.

Li Qingyao finished writing and looked back. She found that Chen Pu had a very cold expression and a red face. She was surprised and said, "You are still hot!" The air conditioner in the office was on! She felt a little cold.

"I was born with a fire body." Chen Pu said coldly, "Talk about the case, don't worry about these details."

The two discussed for a while. At present, they had only contacted the first two of the six people. The alibis of the two people were also investigated by other members of the criminal police team according to routine procedures. Their situation has not been thoroughly investigated.

As for the latter four, the police have not yet questioned them.

"First investigate the three competitors, then the three family members." Chen Pu said, "This case took a detour in the early stages because the direction of the investigation was set too specifically at the beginning. Now that there is no clue, the scope of the investigation should be appropriately expanded first, and then narrowed accurately."

It was the first time that Li Qingyao heard such a practical theory, and he immediately copied this sentence into his notebook. At this time, she sat next to him, holding her chin with her hand and said, "According to what you said, the scope of six people is not wide. What if there are other people around him who have murderous intentions, but the contradictions are not exposed or not discovered by us? How can we ensure that the breadth of the investigation is just right, without missing anything and wasting police force?"

Chen Pu was naturally happy that his sister was so studious and sharp, and she asked the right question. He smiled and said, "First of all, there are only two of us now. The scope of six people just covers the two main relationships of the deceased's family and career, which is more appropriate.

Secondly, many relationships between people and important events were gradually and even accidentally discovered during the investigation. In my experience, in many cases, the real murderer was found to be very different from the suspect at the beginning. We started with the six of them, not to limit the suspects to the six of them, but to use the six of them as an anchor point and an entry point to find out the network of relationships around the deceased. The real murderer must be in a corner of this network, near or far.

I said to expand first, then accurately shrink. But how small to shrink and in which direction to shrink, we didn't know at the beginning. This kind of thing is actually quite about feeling. Sometimes, an inconspicuous detail floats past your eyes, and other police officers may not notice it, but you just happen to see it and realize that this detail is not right. That feeling is really very exciting. Remember, don't let it go easily, trust your intuition, even if others think it is not important, you don't care.

You have to hold on to this line like a smart and stubborn hound and never let go. As long as you keep chasing, you will usually find the key to solving the case and catch the real culprit. Well, I'll take you to investigate once this time to get a feel for it. After you've handled many cases, you'll understand what I mean."

Li Qingyao was very satisfied and relaxed after hearing this. She also knew that although solving a case is mainly based on logic and facts, the process of solving a case for some experienced criminal police is quite mysterious, just like what Chen Pu said, it is very intuitive.

Their intuition is not talent or luck, but a very comprehensive and high-level judgment derived from a lot of solid investigative experience accumulated over time, coupled with a smart and flexible mind. Even if there are still no clues, they can intuitively find the only correct path in the chaotic information. They are not the monster-like detectives in TV dramas, but old detectives with their feet in the mud and great wisdom in their hearts.

As for Chen Pu, Li Qingyao looked at his short, flat hair that didn't quite suit his face shape, his simple white T-shirt and sweatpants, his beautiful facial features upon closer inspection, and his slightly rough skin. Obviously, this once pampered and arrogant rich kid has now become such an old criminal policeman. Otherwise, the bureau wouldn't have let him take charge at the age of 29.

"Why are you looking at me?" Chen Pu said, "Are you impressed by my handsomeness?"

"Don't dream. I'm thinking about what you said. So, let's make an appointment with the three business competitors tomorrow, and then dig deeper into the information of Xiang Siling, Li Meiling and Qian Chengfeng. After going through them all, find the person or thing that we think is the most wrong, and continue to dig deeper?"

Chen Pu nodded: "This young man is teachable."

Li Qingyao glanced at him and said, "Please teach me more in the future." This glance was light and light, neither like an order nor a request, as if he should do so.

Chen Pu's heart trembled when he was looked at, he felt that this look was full of coquettishness.

He lowered his head, clasped his hands, and subconsciously began to shake his legs. As a result, his thighs touched Li Qingyao's legs. Her clothes were just like her, thin fabric, with a smooth coolness, touching Chen Pu's thighs. Chen Pu suddenly moved his thighs away.

Li Qingyao was taking notes with his head down. He said without raising his head, "Hey, why are you hiding? Are you afraid that I will take off my shoes and hook your calves with my toes?"

Chen Pu's face turned black, but after all, he had developed valuable defensive skills under her constant training. He said in a flat tone: "Who knows? After all, I have never been seduced by anyone." The tip of the pen in Li Qingyao's hand paused, and he couldn't think of anything awesome to say in response. He immediately became unhappy. Chen Pu was going to make a fuss.

So after they finished their overtime work, they walked back to Chaoyang Home together. Li Qingyao was silent and quite reserved. Chen Pu didn't know what he was thinking, and he didn't say anything either.

The roads in the old residential area are narrow, and many sections of the road have no sidewalks, so people can only walk along the roadside. Li Qingyao walked inside, and Chen Pu walked on the outside. When a car came, he had to lean in, and their arms inevitably rubbed against each other. But Chen Pu did not overreact, and Li Qingyao naturally did not start the mocking mode again, and the two seemed not to notice.

Another minibus came, which was relatively wide. Chen Pu dodged inside. As luck would have it, the back of Li Qingyao's raised hand just happened to rub against his thigh, so she quickly retracted her hand.

However, after a night of air conditioning, his skin felt chilly, and her fingers even gently brushed the sweat hair on his legs. Li Qingyao had noticed that, like other men, he also had sweat hair on his legs, but it wasn't the kind that was terribly dense, nor was it the kind that was white and hairless. Just, the muscles were very tight, the skin was slightly darker, the sweat hair was not too much, and it looked very athletic and healthy.

The car drove away, and Chen Pu's body immediately swayed to the side, creating a little distance.

He looked ahead, concentrating on walking, as if he felt nothing.

After walking a few more steps, Li Qingyao tried to hold back, but couldn't hold back any longer. He raised his hand, curled his fingers, and said doubtfully, "It feels icy cold to the touch, not hot. You're still bragging about having a fire body. I think it's yang deficiency."

Chen Pu tilted his head to look at her. There was smile, helplessness, and something dark and silent in his eyes.

Li Qingyao wanted to continue her efforts and say a few more words, preferably to make him blush and run away in shame. She was thinking about whether to say "Should I recommend you a kind of kidney pills that my mother sells in her clinic" or "Don't get me wrong, I haven't touched many thighs", when she suddenly felt a heat on the back of her neck. A big, strong hand covered her and pinched the back of her neck neither lightly nor heavily.

Chen Pu came closer, and the distance between their bodies was closer than before. Half of his chest was lightly touching her back, but not too close. She could feel the warmth emanating from his chest and his palms.

"Aren't my hands warm yet?" he said, "Please stop saying that men are weak all the time."

His words were neither hurried nor slow, as if he was trying to reason with her. Li Qingyao couldn't see his face, but she could clearly feel a breath called "Chen Pu" enveloping her, even stronger than when she was hugged in the afternoon. At this moment, she felt like a chicken being pulled to the edge of the oven, her body slightly stiff, and her steps a little messy.

But how could Li Qingyao show her fear? She said calmly, "Okay, you pass."

Chen Pu stopped talking.

But his hands remained there without moving.

Clearly she had taken a small step back out of admirable favor, but he seemed to have forgotten that his stinky hand was still around her neck and continued walking forward with a serious face, as if he was deliberately trying to pinch her for revenge, or as if he was half hugging her.

After walking several steps, his hand slid to the side and reached her shoulder. The strength of his hand was not completely released. It felt like he gently hugged her shoulder and then let go completely.

Li Qingyao's expression remained calm and she didn't say anything. When his hand dropped, she tilted her head to look at the store on the side of the road, as if something had attracted her attention, and her face was burning.

At this moment, Chen Pu seemed to have taken a mute drug. He put his hands back into his trouser pockets and walked with his head down.

When the heat on her face subsided, Li Qingyao naturally recovered and looked at him with lightning-like eyes. What a joke, how could she let him go? Shy and nervous were not Li Qingyao's name. As long as she was fierce enough, it would be others who ran away!

She said with a fake smile: "Chen Pu, were you touching me just now? Hey, did you add leopard gall to the beef and tripe noodles tonight? This is really impressive. Chen Xiaopu, how can you be a dog who is attracted by beauty!"

But despite her fierce attack, Chen Pu seemed to be in a daze, or as if he didn't hear anything, and didn't react like a piece of wood.

Li Qingyao immediately poked his forearm with his finger again.

He turned his head and Li Qingyao looked at him. The light was not bright enough at night and he could not tell whether his face was red or not. He said calmly, "What are you talking about? Am I not your brother? There is no point in touching each other between siblings. It hurts the relationship."

Li Qingyao: ...

A mouthful of old blood almost spurted out.

Although she always bickers with Chen Pu, in her heart, Chen Pu has always been a true gentleman.

But it was not until today that Li Qingyao realized that a gentleman could be so shameless.

Seeing Li Qingyao's sulky look, Chen Pu laughed. In the dim light, he stood tall and big, with a slight gleam in his eyes. Li Qingyao realized that those eyes seemed to hide many things, but also seemed to contain only one emotion, tenderness.

Humph... Li Qingyao turned his head away and ignored him.

At this time, the two of them had walked downstairs to her house. Li Qingyao said nothing and turned around and ran.

But he heard Chen Pu say softly: "Don't be angry, I'm definitely not a bastard."

　Very good, I haven't even reached the planned plot and it's already 3700 words. I really want to throw my keyboard! Tomorrow will be all plot.

　　(End of this chapter)