I am a super cop

Chapter 3031 Memorabilia from His Lifetime

Inside the teahouse's private room, listening to Wang Tianming's story, Gu Chen keenly sensed that the relationships between the group might undergo subtle changes because of Wang Tianming's wife.

So Gu Chen quickly asked, "So, will your wife cause a change in your friendship?"

"Yes, definitely." Hearing Gu Chen say this, Wang Tianming slowly replied:
"My wife is a bit of an oddball in the work group, since she's the only woman in the group, which is all men."

"So everyone takes good care of her. With her in the team, everyone is more motivated to work."

"But over time, everyone started to like her. At that time, Zhang Meng was one of her suitors, and among them, Zhang Meng was the most honest and upright."

"How so?" Lu Weiwei asked, sensing that there were many stories behind it.

Wang Tianming also sighed and slowly said, "I've known Zhang Meng for many years. He's that kind of person. He's timid and likes to keep everything to himself. He doesn't like to talk about it."

"So I feel that Zhang Meng is a boring person. He clearly liked my lover, but he was just a coward at the time, so he maintained a secret crush relationship."

"My partner, on the other hand, was adored by everyone at the time, so he had high standards."

"So you didn't like me back then, right?" Lu Weiwei said bluntly.

Wang Tianming paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Yes, she looked down on me. How could she have liked me when I was such a coward and irresponsible person?"

"Let's put it this way, she's attracted to the honest and simple Zhang Meng, to that blockhead of a man, but she'd never be interested in me."

“If I hadn’t made a name for myself and earned a lot of money later, my wife would not have married me back then.”

"Speaking of this, Wang Tianming was a little proud."

Lu Weiwei sighed and slowly said, "So, what exactly is going on between you two? You, your lover, Zhang Meng."

"Hehe." Wang Tianming didn't answer immediately, but calmed himself down before slowly saying:

“My wife had very high standards back then, so she didn’t like Zhang Meng.”

"Although Zhang Meng treated her very well at that time, she also knew Zhang Meng's feelings for her."

“But once a person is praised too highly, they easily become arrogant. My wife is like that. In this position, she will only choose someone who is more beneficial to her future.”

"So, when Zhang Meng first mustered up the courage to confess his feelings to her, he was rejected by my wife."

"Poor thing." Hearing this, Lu Weiwei couldn't help but shake her head.

"Yes, Zhang Meng is indeed quite fierce. After being rejected, he was depressed. But since we see each other all the time, my wife still treats him as a friend and colleague."

"Everyone has returned to the kind of relationship they had before, but this relationship is somewhat delicate."

"Later, I made a lot of money outside by relying on my daring and hard-working spirit, and started a building materials business."

"At that time, we were just starting out and the market wasn't very mature, so we got going very quickly."

"Moreover, I caught a good time. At that time, urbanization began, and the whole city was building buildings. There were so many places that needed building materials."

"Because I started early and had a lot of resources, I quickly completed my initial capital accumulation and built a large business."

"At that time, I became a successful person in everyone's eyes."

Thinking of this, Wang Tianming smiled and slowly said:
"Back then, I was incredibly successful. I could buy whatever I wanted. I bought a house and a car. I lived a very glamorous life."

"So it was around that time that I drove my Santana back to the chemical plant where I used to work, to have dinner with my old acquaintances. You'll see how I crushed them at the dinner table back then."

"Those people, they were all so respectful, like grandsons, they all wanted to associate with me. I became the absolute success at the dinner table, absolutely."

“Yes, given your status at the time, you would indeed be very popular.” Gu Chen agreed with Wang Tianming’s statement.

Wang Tianming nodded silently, and said without further ado, "So from that time on, I was indeed a bit arrogant, and I also met my lover at the dinner table."

“She had something to do at the time and was originally planning not to attend the party, but when she heard that I was the one who organized it, she asked someone else to cover for her and tried to come to our party.”

"When she arrived at the restaurant, we had already drunk more than half of what we had. When my wife saw me, I can't imagine how much she admired me."

"And then what happened?" Lu Weiwei didn't want to hear about Wang Tianming's success story. After all, in their era, anyone who started a business early caught a good wave.

"So the reason why we were able to make a lot of money back then was because of the opportunities of the times. Lu Weiwei didn't want to hear too much about that."

Wang Tianming then stopped there and continued, "So, you know, at that party, I successfully won over my lover. That night, I had my driver take my lover and me to a hotel, and we got together that very day."

"I deliberately let everyone know about this, after all, it's a symbol of my success."

"You're such a show-off," Lu Weiwei said with a hint of disdain after hearing Wang Tianming's words.

But Wang Tianming didn't care and slowly said, "Back then, I didn't understand anything. I just felt that I had made a lot of money, so I had to show it off."

“My female colleague, whom I used to look down on, is now my lover. That is indeed a different kind of success.”

"So, it was around that time that my relationship with Zhang Meng became complicated."

"The person Zhang Meng liked has now become my lover, which makes Zhang Meng a little jealous of me."

"But there's nothing we can do. This world is a dog-eat-dog world. That's the law of nature. Zhang Meng was enjoying the comfort of his job, so he could only stay in the chemical plant and become an ordinary worker."

"But I went out and achieved success in my career, and I also found love."

“I became the ultimate winner, and not only that, I was especially smug. I just wanted to make these people give up on my lover.”

"What about the watch? What's the story with the watch? How did your wife's watch end up being given to Zhang Meng?" Gu Chen asked.

Wang Tianming hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, "Alas, the story is actually quite simple. My wife was walking home alone when she encountered some drunk bastards. It was Zhang Meng who fought with these people and saved my wife."

“From that time on, my wife was quite grateful to Zhang Meng because he had left the chemical plant and was living with me. My wife gradually realized that I had no time to spend with her at all.”

"She started to become depressed, and we would often argue about things."

"But I love her, and I gave her this expensive watch on her birthday."

After a pause, Wang Tianming quickly explained, "This watch holds its value very well. It wasn't this expensive back then, but because it's rare, the price has increased significantly." "I bought it for her when I was on a business trip in Europe, but later, our relationship became strained, and we started living apart."

"She was very close to Zhang Meng."

"No...no." Hearing this, Lu Weiwei was stunned for a moment, and continued to ask:
"You mean, your wife has been getting very close to Zhang Meng around this time?"

“Yes.” Wang Tianming nodded silently.

"How come your relationship is so complicated? Doesn't that mean you're being cheated on?" Lu Weiwei said bluntly.

But Wang Tianming waved his hand and smiled, "You're overthinking it. The relationship between us is actually quite open and aboveboard."

“Who is Zhang Meng? I know him too well. After my wife married me, he gave up and has always treated my wife as a very good friend.”

“Nothing like that will happen between us. Even if my partner and I have a fight and she goes to Zhang Meng to complain, it will never develop into what you imagine, really.”

"Alright." Hearing what Wang Tianming said, Lu Weiwei nodded silently: "You all know the relationship between you best, so I won't say any more."

"Hmm." Wang Tianming nodded silently and continued, "Later, my wife introduced one of her good friends to Zhang Meng, who later became Zhang Meng's wife."

"From then on, everyone lived their own little happiness. And so, our relationship was both ordinary and close."

"Time waits for no one, everyone is getting old, and Zhang Meng has also retired."

"That watch was a gift my wife gave to Zhang Meng before she passed away, something she left him as a keepsake."

"Because of our friendship over the years, we all really care about each other."

"Zhang Meng's wife also passed away a few years ago, around the same time as my wife."

"So this watch was actually a gift from your wife to Zhang Meng, kept as a keepsake?" Gu Chen asked again to confirm.

Wang Tianming nodded silently.

"Then why is it in your hands?" Gu Chen asked.

"Because, because Zhang Meng felt embarrassed to accept it. After all, it was a gift from me to my lover, and Zhang Meng felt he shouldn't accept it."

"So after my lover passed away, he returned the watch to me."

"How did Zhang Meng know that your watch was stolen by Hu Xue and became stolen property?" Gu Chen was also very curious.

The fact that such a low probability event can occur indicates that there is a problem.

After thinking for a moment, Wang Tianming shook his head and said without further ado, "I'm not sure either. I don't know how Zhang Meng knew that my watch had fallen into that woman's hands."

"I don't know who that woman sold to in the end, but when I heard you say that the stolen goods had been found and were in Zhang Meng's hands, to be honest, I was really shocked."

“But when I heard you say that Zhang Meng is unwilling to return it, I know that Zhang Meng must know about this watch. It is the watch that my wife gave him back then.”

"No wonder." Hearing this, Lu Weiwei couldn't help but sigh:
"No wonder Zhang Meng was willing to spend 32 to buy this watch."

"You should know that Zhang Meng is just an ordinary retired chemical plant worker who still lives in an old house."

"This is such a frugal person, yet he was willing to spend 32 yuan to buy the watch that your lover gave him back then."

“In this way, the significance of this watch is different. It was bought by Zhang Meng for his collection, and it has nothing to do with you.”

"Perhaps that's why Zhang Meng can collect them with a clear conscience?"

"Maybe." Hearing Lu Weiwei's words, Wang Tianming nodded silently and said without further ado:
"Perhaps he knew something, or perhaps it was my lover's keepsake, a gift she gave him before she died."

"So, he wanted to stay in this way, that's probably it."

"Hmm." Seeing Wang Tianming's words, Gu Chen roughly understood the subtle relationship between the group.

So Gu Chen asked Wang Tianming again, "Do you still want this watch?"

"Uh... never mind, just leave it to Wang Tianming. This watch originally belonged to him; he returned it to me, and now it's back in his hands. You don't need to bother him."

Wang Tianming was also self-aware, and after learning the specifics, he decisively chose to give up the watch.

"Alright." Seeing Wang Tianming's agreement, Gu Chen took a deep breath, stood up, and said:
"Now that things have been clarified, I won't bother you any longer. Let's leave the matter of that watch here."

"Okay, that's enough." Hearing Gu Chen say that, Wang Tianming nodded silently.

After a brief exchange, Gu Chen left with Lu Weiwei.

After getting into his car, Gu Chen sighed and started the engine.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Lu Weiwei also sighed, mimicking Gu Chen's posture, and couldn't help but remark:
"The friendship between them is really good; they trust each other and don't have many reservations."

"Maybe it's because these people were colleagues back then? They know each other very well," Gu Chen said.

"Mm." Lu Weiwei nodded silently, and said without further ado:

"But I don't understand why Zhang Meng was able to find the sold watch at the gentleman Xu Lang's place?"

"You should know that Hu Xue stole Wang Tianming's watch and then sold it to Xu Lang."

“If Xu Lang hadn’t told him, Zhang Meng definitely wouldn’t have known either.”

"There's only one possibility." Hearing Gu Chen's words, Lu Weiwei also voiced her judgment:
"That is, Zhang Meng accidentally entered Xu Lang's circle."

Turning to look at Gu Chen, Lu Weiwei quickly added, "I remember Xu Lang's younger brother said that Xu Lang and Zhang Meng met at a party. At that time, Xu Lang accidentally added Zhang Meng's contact information."

"It's possible that when Xu Lang was selling the watch he had, Zhang Meng recognized it as the watch that Wang Tianming's wife had given to Zhang Meng as a keepsake before she died."

"After all, that watch was in Zhang Meng's possession back then, so how could Zhang Meng not know about it?"

……