Cherreads

Chapter 7 - Chapter 07:Li Xue

After finishing his phone call, Zhao Ming returned to the room and found Han Fei and Zhang Xiaotian frantically swiping their phone screens."What are you two doing?""I input the physical description of the person Han Fei mentioned into the database. He described it in great detail, so we should get a match soon... Found it!" Zhang Xiaotian looked at the face that appeared on the screen, his expression gradually turning strange. He placed the phone in front of Han Fei: "I performed facial simulation and matching based on the information you provided. Take a look—is this person the Shop Owner?"Upon seeing the old man on the screen, Han Fei blurted out: "That's him, no doubt! He even said his whole family were my fans! They really love my show!""I feel like he wasn't lying to you; if anything, you're the one lying to us." Zhang Xiaotian swiped his phone, revealing more information: "This old man was a cemetery keeper in the outer district of New Shanghai. Both his parents passed away early, and he had no children. If you insist on talking about family, then his family would be the hundreds of unmarked graves in the outer district cemetery.""That can't be right! This old man was comforting me at the Second-hand Shop just yesterday, telling me to pull myself together. Are you sure you didn't make a mistake?" Han Fei repeatedly checked the information and pictures on the phone."He comforted you yesterday?" Zhang Xiaotian swiped to the last page of the phone information: "Take a good look. This old man passed away three days ago and was buried in the outer district cemetery himself."The citizen information system couldn't possibly be wrong. Han Fei stared at the old man's gray profile picture on the last page, completely stunned."But there's one thing you didn't get wrong: he really was your fan. He liked your kind of humor that wasn't actually funny. He often played your show out loud in the cemetery at night, which scared passersby several times. His citizen file has our Police records of those incidents."After saying this, Zhang Xiaotian put away his phone. He and Zhao Ming both looked at Han Fei: "Don't just stand there dumbfounded. If you really didn't commit arson, then come with us. We won't wrong a Good Person, but we won't let a bad one go either.""I can cooperate with you, but I hope to visit Antique Street first. I still can't quite accept this." Han Fei's mind was in chaos, with everything piling up. He thought his life was already bad enough, but it turned out there was still plenty of room for it to get worse.After personally visiting Antique Street and seeing the completely burned-down street, Han Fei gave up all hope.Destroying the evidence and even burning the ground cracked open—even if there was any real evidence, it must have turned to ashes by now."Why me? Just because that old man was my fan?""Other people's fans send their idols handwritten letters, chocolates, or pens. How come my already scarce fans want to kill me?"At nine in the morning, Han Fei arrived at the Old City District Happiness Road Police Station. Perhaps because it was his first time riding in a Police car, his lips were pale, and his mental state was poor."I'll go report to Captain Wang. Xiaotian, keep an eye on him." After Zhao Ming left, Zhang Xiaotian had Han Fei enter the Interrogation Room first. In his view, Han Fei, the "arsonist," was highly dangerous and needed to be isolated from others."You've really got the wrong person. I've never even lit a firecracker, let alone set a whole street on fire.""Stay put and behave.""It's a misunderstanding!" Before Han Fei could finish, the Interrogation Room door was shut: "You've arrested the wrong person! The real culprit is someone else! I'm a victim too!""Stop shouting. Don't you know in your heart whether you've committed a crime or not?" A woman's voice rang out in the Interrogation Room.Han Fei turned to look. The first thing that caught his eye was a pair of black mid-calf Martin boots propped up on the Interrogation Room table, followed by long, slender legs clad in skinny black jeans."Enjoying the view?"The woman sitting at the very back of the Interrogation Room had an unbelievably good figure. She hadn't looked up the entire time, seemingly focused on playing with her phone, yet she appeared to be fully aware of everything happening in the room."Take a good look while you can. Once you're inside, you won't get the chance. Although China's Criminal Law only specifies the crime of arson, not intentional arson, there's no upper limit on sentencing for arson that causes significant losses. I heard you burned down an entire street. That should at least get you life imprisonment, right? You're quite the tough guy.""Don't you dare slander me. I'm not like you criminals. I came here to help the Police find the truth. This arson case isn't that simple; there are other masterminds behind it." There were only two types of people who could end up in a Police Station Interrogation Room—Police or suspects—so Han Fei didn't think much of it. His mind was still full of thoughts about the game."Masterminds?" The woman looked up for the first time, as if she'd found something interesting: "True, burning down an entire street requires meticulous planning, with multiple ignition points simultaneously to make the fire spread quickly. But the surveillance footage didn't capture anything except you. It feels like you were deliberately set up as a scapegoat.""Finally, someone who gets it." Han Fei hadn't had much of a good impression of the woman, but so far, she was the only one speaking up for him."It's simple logic, but what about you makes you worth framing? Flies don't land on an uncracked egg—there must be something wrong with you too." The woman's intuition was sharp, and her gaze was extremely piercing."What could be wrong with me? I worked so hard to finally get a chance to appear on screen, only to be pushed aside by someone with connections. I just wanted to relax and have some fun, but then..." Han Fei remembered what happened to him last night and felt it was a miracle he survived: "Never mind. I used to think that when God closes a door for someone, He always opens a window, leaving a glimmer of hope.""And now?""Now I feel like God not only sealed all my doors and windows shut but also put a ghost in my room."Han Fei had rarely interacted with others before, but after playing perfect life, he'd become more talkative. Maybe this was his final burst of energy before the end."Although I don't know the full story, it seems like you've had it pretty rough.""Talking about it just brings tears. Big Sis, what are you in here for?" Han Fei walked over to the woman."Big Sis?" The corner of the woman's eye twitched, but she didn't make a big deal of it: "I'm here for fighting. I broke someone's nose and kicked a few ribs of two other people. The situation was critical at the time, and I didn't think too much about it.""You're that good at fighting?""Just average."Perhaps because they were both in the same unfortunate situation, their conversation flowed smoothly. Han Fei even tried to talk about what happened in the game."Your reasoning isn't wrong. That Old Woman's house definitely hides a freezer. But physically, she probably isn't the murderer, just an accomplice in hiding the body. I suspect the real killer is a family member of hers.""That's what I think too!"The two in the Interrogation Room chatted animatedly, as if they'd exchanged secret codes."What's that Old Woman's name? I can help you look into it once I get out." The woman's expression was serious; she surprisingly believed Han Fei's words."The Old Woman is called Meng Shi, around seventy years old, with silver hair and slightly uneven shoulders. She also has a grandson named Chen Chen...""Got it." The woman noted all the information on her phone: "Add my account. We'll keep in touch via phone from now on.""Thanks for helping, but I'm in a real hurry. When do you think you'll be able to get out?""If you're in such a rush, I'll leave right now." After saying this, the woman stood up and kicked the Interrogation Room door."Bang!"The Room Door swung open, leaving Han Fei completely stunned: "You can do that?"The woman walked out confidently, followed by a roar from inside the Police Station: "Li Xue! You're undisciplined and out of control! You've gone too far! I'm calling your supervisor!"Hearing the Middle-aged Man's voice, Han Fei began to understand: "She's a Police officer?""She's not just any Police officer. She joined the Major Case Unit of the Criminal Investigation Division at 23. Over the past five years, she's helped solve several major cases, but because she repeatedly assaulted suspects and violated regulations, she was disciplined and transferred out of the Criminal Investigation Division." Zhang Xiaotian looked at the broken door lock and sighed: "Officially, they said the Police Station needed to strengthen its investigative capabilities and transferred her to bolster the team. In reality, it was a punishment, reassigning her to basic duties at the station. Her supervisor wants to temper her personality."Thanks to Ordinary Person O, Seven Eight Nine, Bai Qichuangle, Suiyue Liuli Bujie Shihou, Bian Que Shidu, and Mengmengda Lulu for being patrons!

Enjoying the story?

Read early chapters and exclusive content on my Patreon.

👉 Search on Patreon: CrimsonInk8

OR

patreon.com/CrimsonInk8

More Chapters