Captain Lu was aloof again today.

Chapter 73 Urging marriage
In the office, which was neither too big nor too small, everyone's eyes were fixed on the two of them. Everyone always seemed to be in complete agreement when it came to gossip.

If it were an ordinary girl, she would be blushing and blushing with embarrassment at this moment.

However, Wei Qingsong smiled brightly, her crescent-shaped eyebrows slightly raised: "Not yet."

She was incredibly poised, elegant, and dignified, speaking with perfect naturalness, without the slightest hint of embarrassment.

Everyone couldn't help but look at Lu Jingming again. Just now he was like a cold and ruthless god, but now he looked as if he had been possessed, and his features had softened a lot.

He didn't speak, but simply turned his head slightly and looked at her quietly.

The middle-aged detective smiled even more sincerely and honestly: "I understand, I understand. You young people are now advocating for late marriage and late childbirth."

He then looked at Lu Jingming, with the air of someone who had been through it all, and earnestly advised, "But no matter how busy you are with work, you can't keep putting it off. A girl's prime years can't be delayed, so it's time to put the marriage on the agenda."

Everyone stared intently at Lu Jingming, who simply nodded slightly and said, "Mm."

Now things have really gotten worse; everyone's gazes are filled with even greater horror.

Who doesn't know he's a notoriously aloof and unattainable woman? Is this tacit admission?

However, his response was so brief and indifferent, with no follow-up, that it was truly baffling and difficult to guess his true attitude.

Before anyone knew it, Chen Jin had already brought Xiao Song back, and he looked completely calm.

He had already prepared himself mentally.

Isn't this just a matter of time? Why rush into marriage?

The fact that Lu Jingming, a man known for his reserved nature, could respond so directly speaks volumes.

It's just that the Civil Affairs Bureau is incompetent; otherwise, they would have moved over themselves long ago.

So he had nothing to say, and instead got down to business: “Speaking of late marriage and late childbirth, we met Jiang Keying’s family this morning and found out why she had argued with them the other day. It was because they were pressuring her to get married, which caused a lot of conflict.”

"Her family is now filled with remorse and says that if they could do it all over again, they would never urge her again."

Pressure to get married? Single, unmarried women around 30 years old are indeed easily faced with this awkward situation of being pressured to get married.

In an instant, a thought vanished.

Wei Qingsong lowered her eyes and pondered, then murmured softly, "Except for Yu Fangfang's special situation, the other three victims are all single and unmarried. We previously guessed that it was because they frequently took the No. 26 bus that they had the opportunity to come into contact with the driver and inadvertently revealed their relationship status."

"But now that Li Guangsen and Zhang Ming have been cleared of suspicion, how exactly did the murderer choose his victims?"

If we can unravel the key to it, we can get closer to the truth.

The most important problem right now is that they have found the logical connection between the victims, but they have no idea how to figure out the killer's thought process.

In what situations would you reveal that you are single and unmarried?

Xiao Song raised his hand and said timidly, "Could it be a coincidence, just like the No. 26 bus?"

“We’ll find out once we investigate,” Lu Jingming said in a deep voice. “Later, you will continue to visit the deceased’s family members. Pay special attention to the victim’s emotional state.”

Chen Jin scratched his head and said with a wry smile, "Won't I get beaten up by the victim's family if I do this? It feels a bit strange to ask them about their relationship status."

After all, in the minds of most family members, the police should be investigating the murderer, not digging into the victim's past.

The loss of a loved one is already a painful experience, and asking about the victim's love life at this point could easily lead to misunderstandings among the family.

“Now is not the time to worry about these things. You think this way, the victim’s family thinks this way, but the murderer doesn’t think this way. He would love for us to ignore all the details during the investigation. The more information we have, the more beneficial it will be to our investigation.”

“We are not trying to delve into the victims’ privacy, nor are we trying to find a convenient excuse for their deaths. Our goal is to find the killer as quickly as possible and prevent the next victim from being killed.”

Wei Qingsong's words were earnest and insightful, a wake-up call for those who were lost in thought.

Chen Jin quickly replied, "I understand, Sister Wei. Don't worry, even if I get kicked out today, I will investigate thoroughly."

As long as the murderer can be found, even if we are misunderstood or questioned, we cannot back down; this is the duty of a police officer.

The Quyang Criminal Investigation Brigade, which was leaderless, showed great cohesion under the command of Lu Jingming and Wei Qingsong. They were able to execute tasks precisely, cooperate effectively, and were extremely efficient.

Even the troublemaker Zheng Xun has become much more restrained, spending the afternoon carefully comparing the surveillance footage and not causing any more trouble.

Lu Jingming and Wei Qingsong spent the entire afternoon in the archives, reviewing information on local entrepreneurs in Quyang County.

Although Quyang is a county town, it is also a major industrial county with about a dozen prominent entrepreneurs, and even more married entrepreneurs.

During his research, Wei Qingsong also considered other possibilities: wealthy people don't necessarily have to be entrepreneurs; there are also leaders in various industries, self-employed individuals, politicians, and more...

If we take it too seriously, the scope will only expand further.

The information provided by Li Guangsen was too vague; all that was known was that it was a man, wealthy, possibly married, or possibly famous.

They can only try to narrow down the scope as much as possible.

However, when all the names are put together, it is still a huge number.

The resumes of these successful people are often quite extensive, leaving Wei Qingsong feeling inadequate.

She didn't like studying during her school days. Later, she studied criminal psychology with a teacher. It wasn't by rote memorization. Most of the time, she listened to the teacher talk about cases or went to the scene with the teacher. She learned by observation and exposure. With her natural talent, she was able to successfully graduate.

She certainly didn't have Lu Jingming's photographic memory; she forgot everything she saw.

She could easily recall criminal files, as she was quite sensitive to such matters. However, finding a suspect in a vast sea of ​​files was indeed a challenge.

Lu Jingming was more adept at it; after a quick glance, he remembered most of it.

Unfortunately, the two people's memories cannot be synchronized, so when discussing the screening, Wei Qingsong can always be seen frantically searching through a large pile of documents.

Finally, Lu Jingming couldn't stand it anymore and sorted all the materials into categories, which finally improved their efficiency.

As the sun sets and dusk falls, the rosy clouds cast a soft glow, turning the sky a half-light, half-dark crimson hue.

In front of Wei Qingsong and Lu Jingming were stacks of files, which contained the people they had initially screened.

The screening criteria are generally marital status, family background, childhood experiences, romantic experiences, and evaluations from others—conditions that allow for a rough assessment of the target individual.

Because it was a preliminary screening, they set the criteria quite broad, resulting in a list of fifty people.

There's a reason for all this work. After all, as the slovenly detective said, there are thousands of people coming and going every day, whether near the massage parlor or in Cuihu Lanjun. If you dive headfirst into the surveillance footage, you might not get any results even after three days and three nights.

With this list, their image data can be entered into the comparison and monitoring system for targeted searching, which will be much more efficient.

Chen Jin and his team were responsible for investigating whether the deceased shared any commonalities in their romantic relationships, while those who remained at the station, led by Lu Jingming and Wei Qingsong, intensified their investigation into the man mentioned by Li Guangsen.

We must pursue both paths simultaneously, leaving no possibility unexplored.

Thank you, Xiaowei, for the donation.

Thank you to Doujiang Youtiao, unexpected, Jukai Naye, and Cheese Sauce for the monthly tickets.

That means... one update is still an update, I'm off, don't hit me.

I'm so sleepy after taking cold medicine, I can't even brainstorm. The weather is getting colder, so please wear more clothes and blankets, kids.

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(End of this chapter)