Captain Lu was aloof again today.

Chapter 90 Prejudice
Throughout the questioning process, Deng Hong was fairly cooperative.

He has an alibi, and the motive for murder is not established.

Although he seemed indifferent to Sun Hao's death, that's how people are—they don't care if it doesn't concern them. His only regret was that his 50,000 yuan had gone down the drain.

Hearing that Sun Hao's family was not well-off, he did not intend to ask Sun Hao's family for money, which could be considered a great act of mercy.

The weather today is very comfortable, with warm sunshine and occasional breezes. The autumn wind carries a touch of coolness, brushing against my cheeks and making me feel itchy and relaxed. It's so pleasant!

A row of broad-leaved trees was planted outside the School of Arts, their shade blocking out the sunlight and casting dappled shadows in the corridor.

In the corridor, a police officer vigorously brushed the dust off his clothes, while two other officers surrounded him, helping him in a flurry.

Lu Jingming and Wei Qingsong pushed open the office door and immediately saw this scene.

Upon seeing Lu Jingming approach, the officers immediately straightened their backs: "Captain Lu!"

"What's wrong?" Lu Jingming's gaze fell on the police officer, who was wearing a black uniform. The material, which was already prone to attracting dust, was covered in a lot of dust that he couldn't shake off no matter how hard he tried.

"Weren't we just searching for evidence in Lover's Grove? We didn't expect there to be someone burning paper money on that hill. The small copper basin for burning paper money was hidden deep in the grass and trees. Xiaolin wasn't paying attention and stepped on it. Just then, a gust of wind blew, and the ashes flew everywhere."

Perhaps the scene was too comical, because the young police officer couldn't help but laugh as he spoke.

"Is that so?" Wei Qingsong was slightly surprised. "These students are really bold, burning paper in the woods without even worrying about starting a fire."

The police officer laughed and said, "Tang Normal University doesn't have access cards, so people from both inside and outside the university can come and go. Maybe it was made by someone from outside the university."

“That’s true,” Wei Qingsong replied casually, without thinking too much about it.

After a quick lunch, the detectives resumed their work of gathering evidence and conducting interviews.

Chen Jin always took the lead in doing these tedious tasks.

He wasn't very quick-witted and his reactions were always a beat slow, but diligence could make up for it. He could concentrate on those tedious and boring jobs, endure hardship, and withstand loneliness.

In his quest to find evidence, he once searched through every single garbage truck in an area, becoming completely tainted with the smell, which he couldn't mask even after three showers.

The world needs intelligent detectives to solve crimes faster and better, but not every detective has outstanding logic and investigative skills. As ordinary people, we can also do our best to shine our own light.

Chen Jin asked all of Sun Hao's friends and got some fragmented clues.

Aside from staying up all night playing games, Sun Hao has no other bad habits. He plays competitive games and doesn't need to spend money to upgrade his equipment.

Furthermore, Sun Hao was addicted to games and had no time to date, not even having a romantic interest, which basically ruled out the possibility of a crime of passion.

Aside from his sharp tongue, Sun Hao is generally quite loyal and always willing to help his friends. He has so-so social skills, but he has almost no close friends. However, he has a lot of drinking buddies who play games with him.

It's impossible to count how many people his shrewish mouth has offended, but when it comes to who would kill someone over a single sentence, even Sun Hao's friends seem unable to recall.

"Captain Lu, Sister Wei, I still feel that Xu Yuan might have some issues. Their conflict isn't as simple as just a dormitory dispute. Sun Hao's friend said that he has been badmouthing Xu Yuan behind her back quite a bit."

"Moreover, there are a lot of nasty things they say, like 'ladyboy' or 'cross-dresser,' and there are even worse ones."

Because Xu Yuan was pretty and gentle, Sun Hao had a lot of prejudice against him.

Some of the things he said made him, an outsider, feel uncomfortable, let alone Xu Yuan, the person involved.

“But Xu Yuan didn’t have time to commit the crime. The surveillance footage showed him leaving the dormitory at 6 o’clock.” Wei Qingsong frowned slightly and immediately denied this statement.

“But there’s no curfew in the graduate student dorms, so he could disguise himself and sneak out, then return secretly.” Chen Jin thought for a moment and suggested a new possibility.

After thinking for a moment, Wei Qingsong shook his head firmly: "I think it's better to start by looking at where the loan went. Xu Yuan doesn't seem like the kind of person who would kill someone over such foul language."

Chen Jin paused for a moment, then pointed out incisively, "Many murderers seem honest and steady, but they still killed people. Sister Wei, I feel like... you're a bit biased towards Xu Yuan."

Wei Qingsong was slightly taken aback.

It seems that this is indeed the case. Perhaps it is because she and Xu Yuan have a strong resonance, and she subconsciously ruled out the possibility that Xu Yuan was the perpetrator.

In some ways, she and Xu Yuan were in the same boat, both harboring secrets and constantly being regarded as "heretics," and even their unwavering devotion to love was the same.

Therefore, her view of Xu Yuan as another version of herself in the world is inevitably biased, but in the process of criminal investigation, the most taboo thing is to show favoritism.

“You’re right. We can’t overlook any possibility, we can’t be biased, and we must stick to objectivity.” Wei Qingsong sighed, his expression calm and composed, which made Chen Jin feel a little embarrassed.

He scratched his head and explained, "Sister Wei, I didn't mean anything by it, please don't take it to heart."

"It's alright, you've given me a wake-up call, I'm grateful to you."

Although she remains rational most of the time, there are times when she can't help but be emotional, and some people kindly remind her that this is a good thing.

Even if Chen Jin's point of view has only a one percent probability, they cannot let go of that one percent possibility.

Of course, since Chen Jin insisted that Xu Yuan was the problem, he volunteered to watch the surveillance footage all afternoon. He even noticed the red blood vessels in her eyes, but he didn't find anything unusual.

In the end, they could only hang their heads in dejection and completely eliminate Xu Yuan's suspicion.

“But what Sun Hao said to Xu Yuan was really too much. If it were me, I would at least beat him up. Xu Yuan wasn’t angry at all.” Chen Jin stroked his chin, completely puzzled.

“Everyone has a different personality. Some people won’t show it even if they’re angry. If it’s Xu Yuan, I think he’s probably used to it, so he doesn’t care.” Wei Qingsong smiled slightly.

She recalled the first profile she made of Xu Yuan: he was a kind and gentle person who greeted everyone with a smile, but he could also seem a bit unsociable.

Because he is different from the people around him, it is destined that he will suffer a lot of disdain during his growth.

Human prejudice is like mold in a dark corner; it will always exist and cannot be eliminated as long as there are places where the sun cannot reach.

Those slanderous words that slip out may seem insignificant, but they have the power to destroy people's hearts.

He had become numb to it all. Perhaps Xu Yuan did care, but he was powerless to refute it.

The Xu Yuan lead yielded no useful clues, but the whereabouts of Sun Hao's loan finally became clear.

Xiao Song knocked on the door and came in with the transfer slip in his hand: "I found it. Sun Hao opened a new card, and the 7 yuan was transferred into an account on July 30th without missing a penny."

He glanced down at the information provided by the bank: "The account holder's name is Yin Zhijie, 47 years old, and he is a local from Tangzhou."

This case will be relatively simple and will likely be resolved quickly.

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(End of this chapter)