Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 161 Love and Money
With bloodshot eyes, Li Meng asked incredulously, "Is the person you arrested really the murderer?"

Chen Shuteng took a tissue from the conference table with his left hand and wiped his mouth, smiling quite easily: "This is a case from your Criminal Investigation Department. Why are you asking me whether the right person has been arrested? Just go and see for yourself."

Li Meng was taken aback, not expecting to run into such a tough opponent. Surrounded by his subordinates, he couldn't back down, so he could only frown and pull Zhang Liyun to another corner of the conference room to ask her questions.

"Director Zhang, is the person you arrested the murderer?"

Although she had confirmed it over the phone on the way back, Li Meng still found it hard to believe that the murderer in this homicide case, which had been the focus of the entire team's efforts, had been caught by a grid police chief from a local police station who couldn't even get a shot at it.

Zhang Liyun nodded, his earlier excitement now gone.

Yes, once this matter comes out, even those outside who may not know the bottom line will know that the entire Criminal Investigation Division was overshadowed in the murder case by a police officer from a local police station in charge of the grid. As a member of the Criminal Investigation Division, Zhang Liyun, looking at the deputy captain with a worried face, couldn't be happy at all.

"Li Da, the woman confessed everything as soon as she entered the interrogation room. She admitted that she had a conflict with Zhang Yan over a debt and then killed her."

Li Meng nodded; Zhang Liyun had mentioned this to him on the phone earlier.

At the time, Zhang Yan was depressed because her husband had discovered her affair, so she invited Zhang Xiaohui to a reservoir in the mountains to relax. Zhang Xiaohui was actually supposed to go to work that day, but because she owed Zhang Yan money, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask the online manager for a day off.

The factory was rushing to meet a deadline, and workers were expected to work until midnight, let alone take leave. Asking for leave at this time was just asking for trouble. Although Zhang Xiaohui eventually got her leave, she still received a severe scolding from management for it.

At this point, Zhang Xiaohui harbored resentment.

The two were taking a walk in the mountains when Zhang Yan, who was about to be kicked out of her home and left with nothing because of her affair, asked Zhang Xiaohui for the 30,000 yuan she had borrowed. She was desperate; before, her husband supported her, but now she had nowhere to go and needed the money.

Therefore, Zhang Yan was adamant in demanding her money.

Already furious about taking leave to go out, Zhang Xiaohui transferred her hatred to Zhang Yan, who was now asking her for money.

The result was a tragedy.

Li Meng gestured for Zhang Liyun to continue.

"Later, forensic doctor Zhu led a team to the main house at the crime scene and extracted her fingerprints from behind the door. They also found shoes in her house that matched the shoe prints at the scene. Oh, right, Chief Inspector Chen also took Zhang Xiaohui's phone, which contained chat logs of the two arranging a trip together, which corresponded to the time of the deceased's death."

Mentioning Chen Shu, Zhang Liyun hesitated slightly, then glanced at Chen Shu himself, who was chatting and laughing with someone not far away: "He's amazing. I heard he solved the Lamborghini kidnapping case last time."

Li Meng turned her face away, her tone indifferent: "I understand. Now take me to the detention room. Zhang Xiaohui is there, right?"

"Go!" With a wave of his hand, he gave the order.

The group from the Criminal Investigation Department hurriedly entered the conference room, took Zhang Liyun away, and then rushed out again.

At the end of the line, a man in his thirties with thick eyebrows and big eyes stepped forward. He gave a thumbs-up to where Chen Shu was sitting before leaving with the group, showing a rare display of goodwill.

“Zheng Guangqiang, the squadron leader of the first squadron. Chief Chen, do you know him?” Zhu Li introduced him with some curiosity.

Before Chen Shu could answer, Xu Chaofan, standing nearby, scoffed and complained to Zhu Li, "Zhu Li, look at the behavior of these criminal investigators. Not only did they run away empty-handed, but they relied entirely on our brothers from the police station to arrest the people, and in the end, they didn't even say thank you before leaving!"

Julie said expressionlessly, "Sorry, this has nothing to do with you."

She turned around and smiled at Chen Shudao, saying, "On behalf of Xingda, thank you." A thousand words were hidden in her beautiful eyes, but unfortunately, Xu Chaofan, who had his back to her, couldn't see them.

Chen Shu couldn't help but laugh at Xu Chaofan's frustrated expression. Julie then asked seriously, "Captain Zheng is extremely arrogant, yet he actually made such an intimate gesture towards you just now! Unbelievable. By the way, how did you two meet?"

Chen Shu touched his nose and recalled, "If I remember correctly, we met about half a year ago when we were investigating the Lamborghini kidnapping. Yes, he met me. I fainted at the time."

Julie pushed back the table and chairs, stood up, and pointed at Chen Shu in shock, saying, "You were the one who arrested the kidnapper six months ago? I heard that the policeman was so reckless when he arrested him, he drove his car and rammed into him! So that was you!"

"Snapped!"

A loud bang came from behind Julie.

The noise was so intense that it abruptly shifted Julie's attention from Chen Shu to what was behind her. She saw Xu Chaofan holding the half-fallen chair armrest in his right hand.

He pointed at Chen Shu with his left hand and mumbled "uh-huh" but couldn't say anything.

Chen Shu was secretly pleased, but on the surface he still waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "Sister Li, everyone is working hard on these two cases. I just got lucky."

Julie regained her composure and suppressed her shock. Pretending to have a stern face, she reached out and patted Chen Shu on the shoulder, saying in a mature tone, "This kid is promising. He doesn't care about empty fame; he's got the makings of a criminal investigator."

After saying that, he couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Haha, that's what that guy said when he came to my house to see my dad the other day. Haha!"

Chen Shu, Xu Chaofan, and Xiao Yang were all somewhat confused.

"Come on, I'll treat you to a nice meal! We can't let you look down on us, Xingda!"

Julie threw her chopsticks onto the conference table with an air of arrogance.

Before leaving, Chen Shu made an excuse to go and see Li Xiaohui one last time.

Whenever he takes on a case and solves it, no matter what kind of person the person involved is, he always reserves a small place in his heart for them.

Li Xiaohui is indeed a murderer, but the many photos of her children in her room also reveal her loving motherly side.

The children's clothes that were hiding in the corner of the closet, with tags still hanging on them and wrapped in transparent plastic bags, were still lingering in Chen Shu's mind.

In fact, the most tragic aspect of this case is the innocent victim, Zhang Yan, who walked step by step toward death while harboring beautiful hopes for love.

The poor girl never believed until her death that her beloved lover and her husband of many years would both abandon her without any mercy after the incident; and she, who only earned five thousand a month, lent her best friend the savings she had accumulated over many years, only to be met with the butcher's knife she was wielding.

Passion, intimacy, and commitment in love?

Haha, don't deceive yourself.

A small favor is appreciated, but a large one breeds resentment?

Aside from parents, wife, and children, it's best not to lend money.

Standing outside the interrogation room, Chen Shu felt the coldness and indifference inside, as well as Li Xiaohui's helplessness and despair, yet his heart remained completely unmoved.

(End of this chapter)