Starting with dissecting ghost stories

On Monday night, they checked the surveillance footage, but the footage from Sunday probably didn't capture me in that state, and even if it did, it wouldn't have been saved.

It seems that the police have also obtained the call records of Grandma Zhang's landline and mobile phone from the operator, and found the call records with Shen Xing.

Judging from Lu Wenying's text message, her call records with Li Ya have not been exposed.

Shen Xing quickly analyzed these pieces of information from the text message.

Shen Xing had a premonition that the police would retrieve his call records with Granny Zhang, because Granny Zhang might reveal this during police questioning.

But the fact that Grandma Zhang called me into the shop on Monday night was purely accidental.

Moreover, Grandma Zhang's suicide was unexpected; otherwise, the police wouldn't have thought of accessing her call records.

Shen Xing was well aware of the number of surveillance cameras in the area; the nearest cameras almost all captured the road surface and rarely captured the sidewalk.

The surrounding shops might have internal security cameras, but these are often obscured by trees, glass doors, and stickers, so you can only vaguely see the outlines. Not to mention that most shops don't turn on their cameras at night to save electricity.

They probably deduced from the time they appeared and disappeared on the roadside surveillance footage that they might have stayed in Grandma Zhang's shop for a while.

Lu Wenying was bluffing him.

However, this is a good thing for Shen Xing. He doesn't need to hide the fact that he has met Granny Zhang; he can just say it directly.

The testimony he had prepared was not only riddled with loopholes, but also untenable. At most, the police could only remain suspicious, but had no substantial evidence.

But now Granny Zhang has committed suicide, and her suicide note also leans towards Shen Xing's side.

According to what Grandma Zhang said that night, she didn't say anything about that phone call, which gave her a lot of room to maneuver. Even if the police had suspicions, they wouldn't have any grounds for doubt.

It can only be said that every step Granny Zhang took, though perhaps not intentional, indirectly helped Shen Xing achieve a more perfect exoneration step by step.

"Brother, what's wrong?" Shen Yuan asked, seemingly noticing that Shen Xing had been staring at the screen for a long time.

"Lu Wenying, that's the policewoman from that day. The police want me to help provide more clues," Shen Xing said, putting down his phone.

"I...I can help. I'll tell the police everything," Shen Yuan said softly, her lips moving slightly. "Because it was my fault in the first place. If I hadn't spoken up for Grandma..."

"This isn't your fault." Shen Xing shook his head, mentally rehearsing what he wanted to say.

We can't let Shen Yuan continue to be so depressed, or she might really jump one day.

Even if someone is severely depressed and lives like a zombie every day, they are still alive. As long as they are alive, that's enough. Shen Xing can still afford to feed them an extra pair of chopsticks and a bowl. Just don't cause trouble.

"Do you remember when the police questioned you yesterday? I was called aside to look at a notebook," Shen Xing brought up yesterday's events. "What they showed me was Grandma's will. It's evidence now, and we can't take it back."

"Grandma Zhang didn't blame you. She still had a glimmer of hope for her son and hoped that he could turn over a new leaf. She kept paying the water and electricity bills for the video studio and providing him with a place to shelter from the wind and rain... She also felt guilty."

"But none of you are wrong. The only ones who are wrong are drugs, gambling, and inhuman demons."

"You don't need to think about these things anymore, just leave the rest to me."

Leave the rest to me.

This statement seemed to further confirm Shen Yuan's earlier thoughts.

My brother has always been carrying a heavy burden, but I was too willful before. Even if I could sense something, I just refused to admit it...

Once you admit it, you'll feel like you're the useless piece of trash... Although that's true, Shen Yuan is now able to accept it.

At least I can help my brother lighten his burden to the best of my ability, such as with housework and cooking.

"Hmm..." Shen Yuan lowered her head, her eyes stinging again, but she just kept slurping her rice noodles without saying anything more.

After Shen Yuan finished her rice noodles, Shen Xing looked at her and asked, "Is it okay for you to go to school by yourself today?"

"Okay." Shen Yuan nodded and got up to clear the dishes, but Shen Xing stopped her.

Shen Yuan didn't insist; she simply picked up her schoolbag and walked out of the house.

After Shen Yuan left home, Shen Xing picked up his phone again and called Lu Wenyin back.

She's definitely waiting by her phone for her call.

"beep--"

Sure enough, the phone was answered immediately after ringing for less than a second.

"Hey, can you hear me?" Shen Xing asked, while at the same time he also heard what sounded like the hum of a car driving by.

"Hello, I can hear you."

"Should we talk on the phone, or schedule a time?"

"We'll be at your doorstep soon."

So urgent?

Shen Xing paused for a moment, then replied, "Okay, I'll wait for you."

Lu Wenying is a woman of action, and she moves quickly. Shen Xing originally planned to meet her at noon.

However, if Shen Xing were to postpone the trip until noon after the other party had already offered to come, it would make it seem like he didn't value Grandma Zhang's death enough, and that his work was more important than Grandma Zhang's death.

This doesn't quite fit the persona Shen Xing had created for himself.

However, it somewhat disrupted Shen Xing's plans.

Shen Xing went to the master bedroom, took out a photo album, and selected a picture of Shen Yuan with braided pigtails when she was a child, as well as a picture of himself as a student from a few years ago.

Shen Yuan's photo was tucked into an old notebook that she used to keep forensic notes, and then placed in the living room, while her own photo was simply stuffed into her pocket.

His original plan this morning was to take a photo of Shen Yuan when she was three or four years old and a photo of himself to a photocopy shop to print two enlarged copies, then go to a hair salon to buy a wig, go to a children's clothing store to buy an outfit, and see if he could use a doll to customize his appearance tonight.

Then use your own photo to see if the doll's size changes as the photo changes.

But for now, let's get past Lu Wenying first.

While Shen Xing was still washing the dishes, there was a knock on the door. He wiped his hands on his apron and went to open the door.

"No need to take off your shoes, just come in and sit down for a while. The dishes will be washed soon," Shen Xing invited Lu Wenying in.

"Where's Xiao Yuan?"

"I'm going to school now."

"oh......"

Lu Wenying, with heavy dark circles under her eyes, walked into Shen Xing's home, only then feeling a little awkward.

She walked to the sofa in the living room and sat down, looking around at the ordinary yet cozy home. Then, her attention was immediately drawn to the laptop on the table.

The main thing is that there seems to be a photo tucked inside, with a corner peeking out, seemingly deliberately trying to pique people's curiosity.

The main reason is Lu Wenying; she's not just curious about the case, but also about Shen Xing as a person.

She glanced in Shen Xing's direction and, realizing that the kitchen couldn't see into the living room, quickly opened the notebook in front of her and glanced at it. She paused for a moment after seeing the photo, then immediately put the notebook back in its place, all in less than three seconds.

Ordinary notes, and photos of Xiao Yuan.

It seems that Shen Xing values ​​family and relationships very much, which is pretty much what Lao Wang guessed.

Lu Wenying resumed her upright sitting posture. Upon hearing Shen Xing's footsteps, she immediately stood up and looked in his direction. She saw him holding two paper cups of water and placing one of them in front of her.

"Don't be so polite, let's sit down and chat."

Shen Xing sat down on the single sofa on the left, his smile seeming forced, his face smiling but his eyebrows not.

It's obvious at a glance that this is a forced smile.