Attending ex-girlfriend's wedding, arresting the groom's officer on the spot

As Zhang Rui opened the door after knocking, a flicker of panic crossed his eyes. Wang Shuai showed his identification and explained their purpose. Zhang Rui remained silent for a moment before stepping aside to let them in. The room was simply furnished, with a few paintings on the walls and a pile of documents on the desk by the window.

"Six months ago, you and Li Pengcheng had a conflict because of Zheng Bin, right?" Wang Shuai went straight to the point.

Zhang Rui lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously clutching the hem of her clothes. "Yes, I... I know I'm sorry to Pengcheng. When I got together with Zheng Bin, Pengcheng found out and he was furious. He even got into a fight with Zheng Bin. But after that, we completely lost contact. I really didn't expect him to do something like this."

"Where were you during the days following the incident? What were you doing?" Wang Shuai stared intently into Zhang Rui's eyes.

Zhang Rui recalled, "I was on a business trip to attend an industry seminar. My company can vouch for me, and the hotel also has my check-in record." She quickly turned on her computer, pulled out her emails and itinerary, which clearly showed the time and location of her business trip.

After leaving Zhang Rui's house, Wang Shuai and his team went straight to Zheng Bin's workplace. Zheng Bin worked at a technology company, and his face turned very pale when he saw the police arrive. In the company's conference room, Zheng Bin fidgeted nervously.

"You and Li Pengcheng had a conflict because of Zhang Rui, tell me about it." Wang Shuai's voice was deep and powerful.

Zheng Bin bit his lip. "Back then, I was young and impulsive. I was with Zhang Rui, and he found out. He came looking for me, and we got into a fight. But later I regretted it, because it was my fault."

"What were you doing when Li Pengcheng was murdered?" Wang Shuai's gaze was like two sharp swords, piercing straight at Zheng Bin.

Zheng Bin quickly explained, "I was working overtime at the company. The project was nearing its deadline, and the whole team was working through the night. My colleagues can vouch for that." As he spoke, he took out his phone and showed the chat history in the work group and his overtime attendance records.

Although both men provided seemingly plausible alibis, Wang Shuai remained vigilant. He instructed his team to investigate further, verifying the authenticity of their business trips and overtime work, and whether they had any subsequent contact with Li Pengcheng.

Over the next two days, the team members were busy running around. They contacted Zhang Rui's colleagues at her company to verify her itinerary during her business trip; they also found Zheng Bin's project manager at his company to confirm her overtime work. At Zhang Rui's company, her colleagues confirmed that she had indeed attended the seminar and behaved normally without any unusual behavior. Zheng Bin's project manager also stated that the project was under immense pressure during that period, and Zheng Bin was extremely busy and had no time to leave the company.

However, just when the investigation seemed to be hitting a deadlock again, Wang Shuai discovered a subtle clue on Zhang Rui's social media account. Under a post Zhang Rui made while on a business trip, an unknown account commented with a strange message: "It's all over, you're finally free." Wang Shuai traced the account further and found it was a temporarily registered account with no verified information, but the post was made the day after Li Pengcheng's murder. Wang Shuai immediately summoned Zhang Rui again and showed her the comment. The moment Zhang Rui saw the comment, her face turned deathly pale, and her eyes filled with terror.

"What does this mean? Did you register this account?" Wang Shuai asked sternly.

Zhang Rui remained silent for a long time, tears welling up in her eyes, before finally speaking slowly: "I registered it. I... I know it was stupid of me to do this. After I got together with Zheng Bin, even though I broke up with Pengcheng, I always felt guilty. Later, I heard that he had taken a liking to outdoor sports and often went to dangerous places, and I was very worried about him. That day, I was out of town when I suddenly heard the news that he might have had an accident. I felt very conflicted, so I registered this alternate account and posted that comment. I just wanted... to comfort myself, to feel like this was a way to say goodbye to him."

To verify Zhang Rui's statement, Wang Shuai and the technicians conducted a detailed investigation into the registration information and login IP address of the alternate account. After some effort, they discovered that the account was indeed registered under the IP address of a hotel in the city where Zhang Rui was on a business trip, and the timing also matched Zhang Rui's account.

Meanwhile, the investigation into Zheng Bin yielded no new breakthroughs. His overtime records were authentic and valid, and his colleagues' testimonies were consistent. He was indeed working diligently at the company when Li Pengcheng was murdered.

After three days of intensive investigation, Wang Shuai had to accept the fact that although Zhang Rui and Zheng Bin had had emotional entanglements with Li Pengcheng, all the evidence currently indicated that Li Pengcheng's death was not directly related to them. The trail went cold again. Standing by the office window, Wang Shuai gazed at the bustling yet somewhat noisy street outside, his mind filled with confusion. Who was the murderer? And why would they so cruelly kill Li Pengcheng? He clenched his fists, secretly vowing to uncover the truth and give Li Pengcheng and his family justice. At that moment, the sky outside gradually darkened, and a downpour seemed imminent, just like the increasingly perplexing situation of the investigation.

Ten days after Li Pengcheng's body was discovered, police received an unexpected tip from Li Pengcheng's mother: six months prior, Li Pengcheng had been involved in a violent altercation with someone whose ex-girlfriend, Zhang Rui, had cheated on him. Li Pengcheng and Zheng Bin, the man Zhang Rui was having an affair with, had gotten into a fight. Police quickly launched an investigation into Zhang Rui and Zheng Bin. However, after some investigation, they discovered that although both had romantic entanglements with Li Pengcheng, they both had solid alibis for the time of the incident, and this lead seemed to be going cold again.

Just when everyone was feeling frustrated, Zhang Rui suddenly frowned and hesitated during the second inquiry, saying, "I remember now, Pengcheng used to have a really good friend who did outdoor sports, I think his name was Wang Kai. They often went on adventures together, but in the last few months, Pengcheng seems reluctant to mention him, and I don't know why."

Upon hearing this, Wang Shuai's heart stirred, and he and his colleagues immediately began investigating Wang Kai. They first pieced together Wang Kai's general profile by examining records from outdoor sports enthusiast communities and clubs, as well as information related to Li Pengcheng's social media accounts. Wang Kai, 30 years old, was also passionate about outdoor adventure. He and Li Pengcheng met during several mountaineering and off-road activities, and the two had challenged many difficult routes together, making them somewhat well-known in the community.

Police first checked Wang Kai's travel records and found that he had taken annual leave and his whereabouts were unknown during the days surrounding the incident. (End of Chapter)