I became the police station's darling after I could understand what the furry creature was sayi

Chapter 279 What if? Regret? Accomplice? Running away?

Unless Chen Ming has lost his mind and turns himself in, it's unlikely.

Nan Punian was of course aware of this unsolved case. He had seen it when he first joined the branch and was organizing the archives. Even now, he would occasionally take out some unsolved cases to look at every year.

"What if."

Nan Punian murmured softly, more uncertain than ever before.

If even they give up, then justice will truly never come.

Nan Punian turned his head to look at Nan Shu.

"Xiao Shu, come with me again."

The last time was the two of them together.

Changing the person in charge could very likely alert Chen Ming.

Nan Shu met his gaze and nodded.

"it is good."

Yes.

What if.

……

They knocked on Chen Ming's iron gate again.

With a creak, the wooden door opened.

In just over a week, Chen Ming looked several years older, his hair had turned much whiter, and he looked haggard. When he saw Nan Shu and the other person, he forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Officer Nan, what are you doing...?"

Obviously.

Chen Ming had been keeping a close eye on the police's movements and had already seen the news of Chen Cheng's arrest, so he was very surprised and puzzled by the two men's visit again.

"Would it be convenient for us to come in if we followed the procedure and conducted a follow-up survey?"

Nan Punian glanced into the room.

"Of course, please come in."

Chen Ming opened the door.

Stepping inside, it was a cloudy day, and the living room seemed a bit gloomy compared to the last time. Chen Ming poured the two of them a cup of tea.

"Officers, please enjoy your meal."

"Thank you."

Nan Punian reached out and took the cup, handing the other one to Nan Shu, and said, "Mr. Chen, you probably already know that the police have found Chen Cheng."

"Yes……"

Chen Ming sighed heavily and slumped back on the sofa. "Although Acheng is my son, he is wrong, and he has to pay the price for his mistakes."

Nan Shu held the teacup, blew away the tea leaves floating on the surface of the water, and slightly raised her eyes to look at Chen Ming in the rising steam.

As he spoke, his eyelids drooped and his gaze was downward, making it impossible to discern the emotions in his eyes.

Judging from his behavior so far, Chen Ming seems like an ordinary father who feels ashamed and saddened because his son has done something wrong.

Nan Shu knew, of course, that even if she had doubts, it was a major taboo in handling cases to prejudge Chen Ming in her mind without evidence.

Look back.

Nan Punian subtly led the conversation from Chen Cheng to the intangible cultural heritage of "eight ways to eat a duck".

Only when the topic of "eight ways to eat one duck" came up did Chen Ming seem to suddenly have a burst of energy before death, and his whole being regained its radiance.

"Yes... that shop has been open for almost ten years. If I hadn't accidentally tripped and injured my nerves..."

Chen Ming sighed heavily and looked down at his right hand.

The fingertips of the fingers that frequently gripped the knife had thick calluses. To the eye, his right hand looked no different from an ordinary person's, but only Chen Ming himself knew that he could no longer slice a whole duck.

After closing his shop, Chen Ming was depressed for two or three years. It wasn't until the internet was just emerging and intangible cultural heritage was being revived that Chen Ming was invited to join the Cultural Bureau to pass on his skills, mentor apprentices, and cooperate in filming videos to promote Hangzhou's culture. In this way, he was able to pass on the "one duck, eight ways" tradition.

According to Chen Cheng, Chen Ming beat him up before his hand was injured.

From a historical perspective, Chen Cheng felt the craft wasn't profitable and wanted his son to have a better life, so his urging of his son to study hard is logically understandable. His subsequent injury and insistence on taking on apprentices, wanting to pass on the craft, can also be described as a shift in his thinking after the injury.

However, whether this is truly the case as Nan Shu and the others speculate remains to be investigated.

"Mr. Chen, I'm sorry, I have a bit of a stomachache. Could I use the restroom?"

Nan Shu put down her cup, clutched her stomach, and stood up.

"The restroom is over there."

Chen Ming raised his hand and pointed towards the corridor directly opposite the entrance door.

"Okay, thank you."

Nan Shu hurriedly headed towards the restroom.

Before coming here, Nan Shu had seen the layout of the house. It was 70 square meters, with two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. The bathroom was on the left-hand side of the corner of the corridor. Opposite the bathroom was the room where Chen Cheng lived when he was a child, and further in was the master bedroom where Chen Ming lived.

The master bedroom door was wide open, and the bedroom was clean and tidy with nothing unusual in sight. The second bedroom door was closed, and its contents could not be seen.

Nan Shu looked around for a while, then went into the bathroom right on time. Just as she was about to close the door, the iron rod on her wrist suddenly came to life and slid off her hand.

This is a rule established by Nan Shu: no little ones are allowed to come into the bathroom.

"You...don't run around."

Nan Shu lightly tapped its nose with her fingertip and whispered.

Iron Rod flicked its forked tongue and nodded its little head.

Entering the bathroom and closing the door, it was about three or four square meters in size, with a window and the curtains were open. Of course, Nan Shu was faking her stomach pain. Thinking that the soundproofing was not good, Nan Shu pretended to close the window and draw the curtains.

Outside.

Iron Rod obediently lay on the wall, its little head turning curiously, its nose twitching as if it had smelled something, its gaze falling on the cabinet directly opposite.

He turned to look at the bathroom door, then at the cabinet, hesitated for a moment, and then climbed towards the cabinet.

Nan Punian keenly caught the little guy's movements in his peripheral vision, and his eyebrow twitched.

He subtly shifted his body, blocking Chen Ming's view.

He couldn't control Xiao Shu's friends, so he could only wait for Nan Shu to come out and manage them.

Prior to this, Nan Punian could only act as an 'accomplice'.

then.

Nan Punian saw the little guy swim to the bottom of the cabinet at lightning speed, crawl inside, and disappear from sight. His brow twitched again.

Fortunately, the sound of flushing started not long afterward.

Nan Shu opened the bathroom door and saw that the spot where Tie Gun had been was empty. Her brow twitched violently, and she went to the living room.

He and Nan Punian locked eyes.

Nanpu cleared his throat lightly, "Xiaoshu, didn't you keep saying you wanted to see Mr. Chen's trophies?"

He pointed his finger toward the cabinet again, reminding her that the mischievous little guy was there.

"Correct!"

Nan Shu smiled shyly and turned to Chen Ming, "I have a friend who makes short videos about intangible cultural heritage, so I'm quite interested in this. I wonder if I could have the honor of seeing Mr. Chen's previous achievements and accomplishments?"

With that tall hat on his head, Chen Ming's smile deepened.

"Officer, you're joking. It's just an empty title; the trophies and all that stuff are right there."

Chen Ming pointed to the cabinet.

Although he said it was just 'empty fame,' Nan Shu could hear the pride and arrogance in his tone.

"it is good."

Nan Shu responded and stepped forward to the cabinet.

The next second, they found themselves face to face with the iron rod that had somehow crawled into the cabinet.

Nan Shu: ...

(End of this chapter)