Chapter 7

As they spoke, the two of them arrived outside the interrogation room, where they saw a young man sitting across from Tao Ran through the one-way glass

He looked at Luo Wenzhou with a half-smile and retorted, "Captain Luo, am I a suspect?"

Luo Wenzhou rarely failed to respond to her jokes: "Tao Ran and the others re-examined the delivery points where the deceased worked. Following his delivery route, they visited a circle of locations and finally found a witness in a chain coffee shop. The witness stated that a few days ago, when He Zhongyi finished his delivery and was about to leave, he indeed had a physical altercation with someone not far from the shop entrance. The store's surveillance camera happened to capture the license plate number of that person's vehicle.

"Feidu," Luo Wenzhou suddenly said, "It's next week, right? It's been seven whole years; you should start anew."

Feidu stirred the coffee with a plastic spoon, which had the aroma of sesame oil, and asked: "What about Taoran?"

I cannot, but there are those who can. If needed, I can have everyone who came into contact with him that night arrive within two hours. One handbag per person should be sufficient for their errands.

On the night of the incident involving the deceased, he mentioned that he was going to a place called 'Chengguang Mansion', where a certain individual happened to be present that day. Luo Wenzhou sighed and said, 'This person is named Zhang Donglai, the son of a well-respected local entrepreneur'

"It's just a metaphor," Fei Du shrugged dismissively. "Zhang Donglai wouldn't kill anyone; even if he did, he wouldn't dispose of the body. And even if he did dispose of it, he certainly wouldn't do so in a narrow alley in the West District that he is completely unfamiliar with. This is an analysis from a rational perspective. From an intuitive standpoint—Zhang Donglai is such a coward who can't even get himself together; at most, he would just curse in the streets when angry. He doesn't have the guts to commit murder."

Fei Du ignored him, maintaining a steady pace, and walked away without looking back

Fei Du stated: "In criminal cases, there are several situations that tend to attract public attention. First, cases of significant scale, such as terrorism or violent attacks, which are newsworthy; second, cases involving particularly bizarre and brutal methods, or events like serial killers that carry an urban legend quality, which are sensational; third, when the victims belong to low-risk groups, such as regular students and office workers, or law-abiding middle-class individuals, which generates collective panic through victim identification; fourth, cases that touch upon long-standing social grievances, such as incidents involving public power, privilege, or moral deficiencies among social elites, which become topics of discussion—your case does not fit any of these categories, yet it has received extraordinary attention from the outset.

Luo Wenzhou: "He is still the nephew of Director Zhang"

"I can't tell that you are quite particular," Luo Wenzhou said without raising his eyebrows, mockingly in a businesslike manner. He then added, "In other words, you cannot prove that Zhang Donglai did not commit murder at the Chengguang Mansion that day"

Lang Qiao rushed into the municipal office building, holding a folding umbrella, leaving behind a long trail of wet footprints

"No need to thank me, I am Chong Taoran." Fei Du picked up the umbrella, no longer looking at him, and left directly.

"I don't mind," Fei Du said, answering his own question without being asked, "I have been experiencing some pharyngitis lately"

Zhang Donglai is the son of Brother Zhang, an old man with a decent family background. He has been spoiled to the extent that he is both delicate and useless. Luo Wenzhou has seen him a few times and indeed does not believe that he possesses the courage and psychological resilience for this.

Starting from the surname Fei sitting there, only the last sentence sounds somewhat like human speech

On the night before, Fei Du had just received a milk candy card from Officer Tao: "... ..."

Lang Qiao reached out and pinched the bangs sticking to his forehead: "Boss, what exactly is going on? You look so serious that I'm a bit anxious."

Luo Wenzhou tapped the tip of his pen on the table and said, "Are you implying that you plan to use money and sex to forge identification documents?"

Lang Qiao : `` ... ... ''

Luo Wenzhou cast a cold glance at him

Luo Wenzhou's expression darkened: "Do you think killing is 'tea tasting'"

The person was in his early twenties, with hair dyed a flaxen color, dressed in a flamboyant array of designer brands. It was evident that he was desperately trying to suppress his anger, which was about to erupt from all seven orifices.

Hello. "Fei Du suddenly called out to him from behind.

Fei Du politely thanked the staff member who poured him water, took a sip, and then set it aside—what they had poured for him was actually instant coffee, which had a strange aroma of sesame oil.

Before she could restart her malfunctioning brain, a duty officer ran over and quietly said to Luo Wenzhou: "Captain Luo, a person with the surname Fei has come and says he wants to see Deputy Tao"

"How could a few young models provide false testimony? Wouldn't you elites still be worried about not being able to extract the truth?" Fei Du shook his head, "No, I am telling you why Zhang Donglai cannot possibly be the murderer"

Oh," Luo Wenzhou put down his pen, "I suppose I have to make you happy first, right? Alright, you tell me, how should I do it? Should I sing you a song now, or go out and buy you a bag of candy?"

When Luo Wenzhou turned around, a small object flew towards him. He instinctively reached out and caught it, realizing that Fei Du had thrown him a USB flash drive

Luo Wenzhou absentmindedly tore at the cigarette paper: "Why, haven't you all been fooling around together all this time?"

After a brief period of unusual attention, one would expect that people would soon lose interest. However, at this moment, Zhang Donglai became involved again. Fei Du stood up, walked over to Luo Wenzhou, and as he passed by, he gently said, "Is it a coincidence or is someone targeting you?"

This fellow treats this place as his home

Yes, I might have beaten that loser, so what? I've beaten many people, but this matter really has nothing to do with me. If you don't believe me, ask Fei Du if I was with him that day. Officer Tao, let me tell you, if it weren't for the sake of Master Fei, you guys bringing me in like this, I would have... I would have...

The muffled sound of thunder, about to fade away, faintly echoed from a very distant place, adding an endless resonance to his words

The strong winds and heavy rain outside struck the window panes with a chaotic noise, while two individuals who could not stand each other sat facing one another in silence.

Luo Wenzhou: "Are you asking me, or am I asking you?"

Feidu raised his eyelids and saw it was him, seemingly not surprised at all, and simply nodded slightly at him: "Have a seat"

As for other matters, we can only rely on the police for verification, and nothing can be gleaned from Feidu. Luo Wenzhou closed his notebook, stood up, and prepared to leave

As she was going upstairs, she slipped on the floor and nearly fell flat on her face, hurriedly grabbing the handrail. When she looked up, she happened to see Luo Wenzhou coming down from the director's office floor

It sounds like the answer is 'no,' Feidu said in a rather calm tone, 'In cases of passionate murder, the emotions of the perpetrator are explosive, with anger surging to its peak in an instant, followed by a generally explosive release. A victim who has collapsed on the ground and is unable to resist should have their head smashed to pieces like a rotten watermelon—strangled?'

Luo Wenzhou was tall and long-legged, walking very quickly, while Lang Qiao had to jog to keep up. After hearing this, she felt as if her brain was about to evaporate along with her damp hair, and she somewhat dazedly repeated, "A bit of a conflict? So... they just sent a phone? Then why is it that I encounter conflicts with people on the subway every day, yet no one has ever sent me anything?"

Tao Ran and the little bespectacled man from the sub-bureau, today based on the clues provided by He Zhongyi's roommate, deduced that He Zhongyi may have come into contact with a mysterious individual before his death. "Luo Wenzhou said in a low voice, "It is said that for some reason, that person had a conflict with He Zhongyi during his working hours, and later, to apologize, gifted him that mobile phone.

I arrived before 8 o'clock and left at 12:10. I did greet him at both times. "Fei Du said lightly, "The activities arranged by the host are quite 'rich'. It would be illogical to say that he was always within my line of sight; you wouldn't believe it even if I told you.

Luo Wenzhou's gaze sharpened

"Oh, you mean a passionate murder." Fei Du paused for a moment, "Apart from the blow that rendered the deceased unconscious, were there any other blunt force injuries on the body?"

He rested his elbow on the armrest of the chair, supporting his chin with his fingertips, and smiled: "Strangling the opponent is a method of killing that is gradual and enjoyable, sometimes even carrying a hint of 'that aspect.' Would a person who is parched and feels like their throat is on fire be willing to sit down and savor 'tea' slowly? Personally, I find this process rather unnatural"

Luo Wenzhou exchanged a glance with her, her face bearing an unusual seriousness

Feidu shrugged nonchalantly and said, "You better be polite to me. I am not a suspect, and the criminal summons is not mandatory. If I am unhappy, I can leave at any time"

"I am busy." Luo Wenzhou took out a pen, opened his notebook, and without any small talk, asked straightforwardly, "On the evening of the 20th, that is, the night before last, were you with Zhang Donglai? Think carefully before you answer."

Luo Wenzhou, upon hearing his lawless remarks, felt an uncontrollable itch in his palm, wanting very much to grab the scoundrel with the surname Fei and give him a good beating. He barely managed to restrain himself, and the pen tip pierced through the paper, leaving an angry gash: "Murderers are usually not 'wise' when they are in the act of killing."

Luo Wenzhou walked in from outside and saw Fei Du intently examining the patterns on their table. He frowned, his expression extremely somber—if it weren't for the fact that the table was hollow, Luo would almost have thought there was a corpse hidden underneath it

He glanced around the interior decor of the municipal bureau and felt that the taste was indeed concerning, as well as being poorly constructed. The paint spots on the corners of the table were still present, likely indicating that it had just been painted, and upon closer inspection, there was still a smell.

Luo Wenzhou said with a smile that did not reach his eyes: "If you become mute, you will not be far from world peace"

Fei Du leaned back against the chair, creating distance from Luo Wenzhou, and spoke in his characteristic lazy tone, "If it were Zhang Donglai, it would clearly be unwise for him to take matters into his own hands. He could easily find someone to tie that deceased person up, whether through illegal detention or secretly killing him. After all, the West District is filled with a floating population, and countless people disappear without a trace every day. If one person were to vanish, no one would notice, and even if a report were made to the police, no one would pay attention."

Lang Qiao looked bewilderedly at the arrogant young man inside: "Is this the second suspect? Why was he specifically brought back to the city bureau?"

Fei Du rested his elbow on the table, leaning slightly forward, and a faint scent of cologne, reminiscent of rain and dampness, wafted towards me: "Because I do not like to share a partner with other men—Captain Luo, if you ask such a boring and insincere question again, I will have to bid you farewell."

Feidu leaned back against the chair, slightly tilting his head back, with his long legs crossed in a relaxed manner. Although his sitting posture could not be described as "improper," it somehow gave the impression that he was too large for that space.

However, he still put down the lighter and twirled the unlit cigarette between his fingers a few times: "Zhang Dong said that he picked you up at the entrance of Chengguang Mansion around 8 o'clock the night before last, and you did not leave until midnight. He can testify to this during that time."

"Oh, the rich second generation." Lang Qiao blinked and asked, "So what?"

After a while, Luo Wenzhou perhaps felt a bit childish himself, snorting with laughter. He took out a cigarette case, lightly tapped it against the corner of the table, and was about to light it.

Luo Wenzhou: "... ..."