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

That morning, Li Mengmeng and Zhao Wei arrived at the company one after the other. Upon learning of Zheng Kaibin's death, both of them appeared shocked and grief-stricken. "President Zheng was a very good person, and he always took good care of us. How could something like this happen to him so suddenly?" Li Mengmeng said, her eyes red. She had just graduated and joined the company, and Zheng Kaibin had always patiently guided her in her work.

Wang Shuai explained his purpose to the two men and then began to inquire about the relevant situation. "Has there been any unusual situation in the company recently? For example, has General Manager Zheng mentioned any disputes with clients or any troubles?" Wang Shuai asked.

Zhao Wei frowned as he recalled, "Business has been going fairly smoothly lately, except for a consulting fee from a crafts company in a neighboring city that's been three months overdue. Mr. Zheng told me a few days ago that he was going to go to the neighboring city to collect the payment. Apart from that, I haven't heard of him having any disputes with other clients." He paused, then added, "Mr. Zheng has a mild temperament and is very honest in business. He rarely gets into conflicts with people. Even if a client is late on payment, he communicates patiently and doesn't argue with them."

Li Mengmeng nodded in agreement: "I usually handle administrative and copywriting work and haven't had much experience with business matters, but I've never heard of Mr. Zheng arguing with clients on the phone. However, in the past week, I've felt that Mr. Zheng seems a bit preoccupied. He often gets distracted at work and sometimes sits alone in his office lost in thought."

"Hesitant and preoccupied? When exactly did it start? Did you mention what it was about?" Wang Shuai keenly noticed this detail.

"It was about a week ago, around November 8th," Li Mengmeng recalled. "When he came to the company that morning, he didn't look well. I asked him if he wasn't feeling well, and he said he was fine, just hadn't rested well. He remained like that for the next few days, and sometimes he would even get distracted during meetings."

Zhao Wei added, "I noticed it too. Once when we were discussing business together, he suddenly stopped, his eyes looked a little unfocused. When I asked him what was wrong, he said nothing was wrong. I thought he was just too tired lately, since the company has been quite busy lately and he often works overtime."

Wang Shuai continued, "Does Mr. Zheng have a wide social circle? Does he have any close friends or romantic partners?"

Zhao Wei shook his head: "President Zheng is rather introverted and doesn't have many friends. Apart from his work colleagues, he rarely goes out for social events. As for his love life, he has always been single, and I haven't heard of him having a girlfriend. We occasionally have a meal together, but he rarely talks about his private life."

"What exactly happened with that 20 yuan in overdue consulting fees? Why did the other company default on the payment? Has General Manager Zheng said how to handle it?" Wang Shuai steered the conversation back to economic transactions.

Zhao Wei explained, "The owner of that crafts company is named Sun Haitao. We've cooperated several times before, and everything has always gone smoothly. This time, he's been delaying the consultation fee, and Sun Haitao said that the company is experiencing cash flow difficulties recently, so he asked us for a grace period. President Zheng had communicated with him several times before, and Sun Haitao promised to pay as soon as possible, but he hasn't kept his word. President Zheng said he was going to a neighboring city to meet with Sun Haitao in person these few days, but I didn't expect this to happen before he even went."

Wang Shuai asked Zhao Wei to provide Sun Haitao's contact information and company address, and then arranged for team members to investigate Sun Haitao and the craft company. At the same time, he also had team members retrieve Zheng Kaibin's bank statements to check for any anomalies in his personal finances. Meanwhile, Yang Lin and Yang Sen also began investigating Zheng Kaibin's social relationships. They first visited neighbors in the Sunshine Garden community to learn about Zheng Kaibin's daily life. Aunt Zhang, who lives next door to Zheng Kaibin, said, "Xiao Zheng is a very quiet young man. He rarely goes out and rarely talks to the neighbors. He leaves for work around 8 a.m. every morning and comes back around 6 p.m., sometimes working late. I occasionally run into him in the elevator, and he always greets me politely."

Another resident in the same building said, "About two weeks ago, I came home around 10 p.m. and saw Zheng Kaibin talking to a strange man at the entrance of the community. The man was about 180 centimeters tall, thin, wearing a black coat, a hat and a mask, so I couldn't see his face. The two seemed to be arguing about something. They weren't talking loudly, but the atmosphere was a bit tense. I was in a hurry to get home at the time and didn't pay much attention. Now that I think about it, could that man be a problem?"

This information made Yang Lin and Yang Sen's eyes light up. "Are you sure it was half a month ago? What was the exact day?" Yang Lin quickly asked.

The homeowner thought for a moment and said, "It should be around November 3rd, because that's my daughter's birthday, and I just came back from buying her a cake."

"Did they mention anything specific during their argument? Like money, contracts, or anything like that?" Yang Sen asked.

The homeowner shook his head: "It was a bit far away, so I couldn't hear very clearly. I only heard Zheng Kaibin say, 'What you're doing is inappropriate,' and then the man said, 'You have to give me an explanation for this.' After that, I went into the building."

Yang Lin and Yang Sen immediately noted down this important clue and relayed the stranger's description to Wang Shuai. They then interviewed several of Zheng Kaibin's classmates, learning that Zheng Kaibin was an excellent student, introverted, and not very sociable, but he was honest and had never had any conflicts with anyone. After graduation, he lost contact with most of his classmates, maintaining only occasional contact with a few.

"After graduating, Zheng Kaibin joined a foreign trade company, and later started his own business. We rarely kept in touch. About half a year ago, we had a class reunion, and he came too. He seemed to be in good spirits at the time and didn't mention any troubles," said Li Wei, Zheng Kaibin's college classmate.

Over the next few days, the investigators conducted a comprehensive investigation into Zheng Kaibin's interpersonal relationships, interviewing nearly a hundred people, including his relatives, friends, classmates, colleagues, and business partners. They also collected a large amount of information, such as his bank statements, call records, and travel itineraries, gradually piecing together Zheng Kaibin's life and work trajectory. However, they were unable to find any individuals who were considered prime suspects.

The investigation into Sun Haitao revealed that his arts and crafts company was indeed experiencing cash flow difficulties and owed Zheng Kaibin 200,000 yuan in consulting fees. However, Sun Haitao had a clear alibi for the time of the incident. From 1:00 AM to 3:00 AM on the day of the incident, Sun Haitao was working overtime at his company in a neighboring city, as evidenced by company surveillance footage and employee testimonies, thus ruling him out as a suspect. (End of Chapter)