Ji Chenjiao felt that things might not be as simple as Cao Xinxin had said, but the person abroad was difficult to contact. He left the laboratory building and found Si Jiao, who had just returned from tutoring.

Si Jiao was small and very lively. After looking at Ji Chenjiao’s ID, she smiled enthusiastically, “Wow, what a coincidence! Our names both have a ‘jiao’ in them!”

Since she was a cheerful student, it would be easier to talk. But when Ji Chenjiao explained the purpose of his visit, Si Jiao’s expression darkened. “Did something happen to Lu Feixiang again?”

Ji Chenjiao judged from her reaction, “You have a good relationship with Lu Feixiang?”

“It was okay. He’s a man of few words. If you don’t take the initiative to approach him, he won’t talk to you. But he’s a very kind person who knows how to be grateful. If you show him a little kindness, he’ll remember it and quietly repay you when he has the chance.”

“It seems you took the initiative to approach him.”

Si Jiao smiled, but not as brightly as before. “In our freshman year, I was briefly in a study group with him. His family had financial difficulties, so he spent most of his spare time working part-time jobs. Once, he probably got sick from overwork and couldn’t keep up with his homework. He was like a silent gourd, not knowing to ask to borrow notes, so I took the initiative to give him a copy of mine.”

“It was really a small thing, just a little effort. Later, there were a few times when I was busy with experiments and had no time to eat. He would either get food for me, without saying anything, just leaving it at my seat, or give me a few pieces of candy. Someone in our class had fainted from hypoglycemia, so he was probably afraid I would get it too.”

Si Jiao said, “Anyway, personally, I think he has a very upright character. He’s not the type to engage in petty theft, let alone steal a rich second-generation’s girlfriend. Stealing the reagents might have been a misunderstanding. His financial situation was indeed not good, but he was always living his life seriously.”

Ji Chenjiao could hear Si Jiao’s dissatisfaction with Xue Bin. “Is it possible that Xue Bin was lying?”

Si Jiao was stunned for a moment. “Xue Bin and I are from different worlds. He’s too rich. I can’t imagine what rich people scheme in their minds. But his act of forcing a classmate to drop out disgusts me. If Lu Feixiang had really been taking things from the dorm from freshman to junior year, would Xue Bin still have been able to give him the food his girlfriend made without any hard feelings? He was just treating Lu Feixiang like a trash can, right? His girlfriend couldn’t stand him and wanted to break up; it’s her freedom to be with whomever she wants.”

Ji Chenjiao thought for a moment. “Someone came forward to testify that they saw Lu Feixiang kissing Xue Bin’s girlfriend. Do you know about this?”

Si Jiao nodded. “Wasn’t it Cao Xinxin?”

Ji Chenjiao had just asked Cao Xinxin the same question not long ago. The answer he got was: I don’t know.

“Cao Xinxin and I are classmates now, so I don’t want to speak ill of him, but he’s too snobbish. During our undergraduate years, he loved to suck up to the two rich guys in their dorm. Now that there are no rich kids in our class, he guards his own things so tightly, as if someone is going to take them.”

Ji Chenjiao: “Perhaps it’s because of the incident with Lu Feixiang. He has some psychological trauma.”

“Pah!” After spitting, Si Jiao quickly apologized. “I’m not spitting at you, I’m spitting at Cao Xinxin. I believe in Lu Feixiang’s character, and I believe Lu Feixiang did not seduce Xue Bin’s girlfriend. Xue Bin had no evidence at the time. Who the hell knows if Cao Xinxin was just spouting nonsense to curry favor with Xue Bin. I heard that Lu Feixiang denied it at first but was later forced into a corner. No one listened to him, so he ‘admitted’ it. I think his heart just grew cold. He’s a poor student from a humble background. What can he do when he’s framed?”

There were three different accounts. The department believed Lu Feixiang had indeed made a mistake and, to balance the conflict between the students and for the school’s reputation, ultimately forced Lu Feixiang to admit his mistake and drop out. Cao Xinxin testified that Lu Feixiang stole and seduced Xue Bin’s girlfriend, so dropping out was justified. Si Jiao believed Lu Feixiang was upright and kind and had been framed by Xue Bin and the others.

The only thing Si Jiao couldn’t figure out was why Xue Bin’s girlfriend would say she liked Lu Feixiang. They didn’t get together afterward, and she also broke up with Xue Bin.

Before leaving the medical college, Ji Chenjiao met with the male teacher again to confirm if it was Cao Xinxin who had seen Lu Feixiang and Xue Bin’s girlfriend on campus at night. The male teacher hesitated for a moment and said yes, but then defended Cao Xinxin, “Cao Xinxin is a very honest student with good grades. He wouldn’t lie.”

In stark contrast to the honest Cao Xinxin was the supposedly thieving Lu Feixiang.

When Ling Lie rolled down the car window and greeted Lu Feixiang, his dark face froze. Ling Lie said, “What a coincidence, running into you at a car wash.”

Lu Feixiang: “Your car doesn’t need washing, does it?”

Ling Lie hopped out of the car and pointed to a small mud spot on the door. “Look, it’s dirty here. Driving it out like this will affect the public’s opinion of us.”

Lu Feixiang: “…”

This was a small-scale car wash, and there was no reason to turn away a customer. There were two other car washers in the shop, both busy working. The owner told Lu Feixiang to wash the car in front of him.

Lu Feixiang didn’t refuse and started working silently.

Ling Lie sat on a plastic stool not far away, cracking melon seeds the owner had given him. The owner was a talkative man. “The most educated man in our shop is washing your car. Are you satisfied?”

Ling Lie: “Will it help me get into Tsinghua or Peking University?”

The owner laughed heartily. “You can at least catch some good luck! Xiangzi is about to go to grad school across the street, right Xiangzi?”

Lu Feixiang didn’t make a sound.

Ling Lie said, “Then he’s indeed a top student. But medical students are so busy. Aren’t you afraid that working part-time every day will affect your studies?”

The water hose in Lu Feixiang’s hand wavered.

The owner waved his hand and explained, “Xiangzi doesn’t come every day. He just came to help yesterday and today. He usually focuses on his studies!”

Ling Lie could see that the owner was genuinely proud to have a top student in his shop. He didn’t expose the truth in front of the owner and walked over to Lu Feixiang to help out.

At that moment, another car came in. The owner was busy greeting it and stopped chatting with Ling Lie.

“Why aren’t you working at Old Shen’s anymore?” The car wash was next to the road, and the sound of water splashing was loud. Only Lu Feixiang could hear Ling Lie’s voice.

“Uncle Shen had some family matters to attend to. He hasn’t been open for the past few days,” Lu Feixiang answered calmly.

Ling Lie: “You’re quite close with the boss.”

“Yeah, I used to wash cars here before.”

“I mean Boss Shen.”

Lu Feixiang’s hand paused. Water splashed on the car, splashing onto him.

Ling Lie: “What’s going on with Boss Shen?”

Lu Feixiang: “How would I know?”

Ling Lie: “Then let’s ask about something you do know. Mou Dianpei often ate at your shop, right? On July 12th, did he come by?”

Lu Feixiang glanced at Ling Lie. “The twelfth?”

“Yes. He was carrying something. Maybe he left it at your shop.”

“I don’t remember,” Lu Feixiang answered curtly.

Ling Lie: “Think about it again. After Mou Dianpei finished his business in the afternoon, he came to your shop for a late lunch/early dinner, left something behind, and later came back to ask if you’d seen it.”

After half a minute, Lu Feixiang said, “He did come back once, saying the thing in his nylon bag was gone. Uncle Shen asked what it was, but he wouldn’t say. We helped him look for it, but we couldn’t find it. Maybe another customer took it. But I don’t remember which day it was. The thing probably wasn’t that important.”

“Why?”

“He only asked a few questions. When he couldn’t find it, he left without making a fuss.”

The car was almost clean. Ling Lie added, “You remember Liu Xuelin, right?”

Lu Feixiang took a moment to react. “The one who dumped the body.”

“When we interrogated him, he mentioned something—you hit him.” Ling Lie wiped his hands. “Did that happen?”

Lu Feixiang was silent as he finished up the work. “Is this related to the case you’re investigating?”

“It’s somewhat related. Why did you hit him?”

“Didn’t he tell you? Because he insulted Auntie Chen.”

“Chen Xiangli? You worked at Boss Shen’s shop, so you have a good relationship with his fellow villager?” Ling Lie asked directly, “Then do you know about Boss Shen’s family matters?”

Lu Feixiang immediately denied it. “I don’t know.”

Ling Lie: “I haven’t even said anything yet.”

Lu Feixiang finished packing up the tools and pointed to a QR code. “You can pay now.”

“One more question,” Ling Lie said. “Mou Dianpei mentioned he was very close with a lawyer, who was also from his hometown. This person is also from the same hometown as Shen Wei and Chen Xiangli. Do you know him?”

Lu Feixiang’s expression became very unnatural. “I don’t know.”

At that moment, the shop got busy, and Lu Feixiang was assigned to wash other cars. Ling Lie got in his car and went to the medical college to meet up with Ji Chenjiao.

The two exchanged clues. Ling Lie let out a hiss. “Was Lu Feixiang’s situation really that miserable?”

Ji Chenjiao: “You believe what Si Jiao said?”

Ling Lie gave him a playful look. “Because her name is also Jiao.”

Ji Chenjiao was stunned for a moment, realizing he was being teased. He mimicked Ling Lie’s sarcastic tone, “Does your special operations team solve cases based on homophones?”

Ling Lie leaned back in his seat and laughed loudly. After laughing, he said, “The theft at the school lab is a fact. Whether Lu Feixiang stole it is uncertain; the school itself couldn’t produce any evidence. Why would Xue Bin’s girlfriend reject a tall, rich, and handsome guy and insist she liked Lu Feixiang? Only she knows the reason. If Lu Feixiang really didn’t do these things, then him being forced to drop out is undoubtedly a huge injustice. No one believed him. He used all his strength to get into medical school, thinking his future was bright, only to have it ruined in an instant. What choice would he make then?”

Ji Chenjiao put himself in Lu Feixiang’s shoes. “Disappointment, dejection, hating everyone, giving up on himself. After that period, he would face reality and start a new life. If he can’t get over that hurdle, there’s a possibility of retaliating against society.”

“The fact is, he didn’t start a new life, and it seems he didn’t retaliate against society either,” Ling Lie said. “He’s working for a boss who also didn’t graduate from medical school, continuing to study, preparing for self-study exams. The car wash owner doesn’t know he dropped out and thinks he’ll have no problem getting into graduate school. I guess Shen Wei must have provided help and trust when Lu Feixiang was at his lowest.”

Ling Lie paused. “To the extent that Lu Feixiang is willing to do anything for him, including hitting Liu Xuelin for Chen Xiangli’s honor.”

“He knows Shen Wei is hunting the killer, and he knows about Tan Fabin’s fate,” Ji Chenjiao said thoughtfully. “That day Mou Dianpei came for a meal with the paraquat, the poison must have been in a dark bag. After Mou Dianpei left, Shen Wei found the bag, or Shen Wei and Lu Feixiang found it together. Both are medical students, so they know the consequences of ingesting it. Shen Wei hid the poison, and Lu Feixiang kept silent to protect Shen Wei.”

Ling Lie had already befriended the criminal police from the Feng City Public Security Bureau, and they kept him updated on Shen Wei’s movements at all times. Somewhat surprisingly, Shen Wei had been under police surveillance the whole time. He went back to pay his respects to Tan Fabin and was staying in Tan’s old courtyard—Brother Zhou had cleared a room for him. He showed no signs of trying to escape.

Just now, forensics had sent a message: Shen Wei had bought a ticket back to Feng City for the next day.

In the evening, Ji Chenjiao and Ling Lie didn’t go back to the city bureau. They found a noodle shop for a simple dinner and then drove back to the medical college under the cover of night.

Lu Feixiang got off work. He stood by the road and looked around for a while, then walked quickly to the bus stop. Ten minutes later, he got on a bus. Ji Chenjiao followed from a distance.

The medical college and the Third Municipal Hospital weren’t far apart, only four stops. Lu Feixiang got off and looked around again. There was no place to park here. Ji Chenjiao temporarily stopped, and Ling Lie immediately got out to follow Lu Feixiang.

Lu Feixiang kept his head down, walking almost hugging the wall, and finally stopped outside “Old Shen’s Boxed Lunch”. He observed his surroundings again, this time more carefully than ever before, then took out a key, opened the rolling shutter door, went inside, and locked it again.

Ling Lie let out a soft, “Whoa—”

It seemed the relationship between Shen Wei and Lu Feixiang was indeed not simple. Lu Feixiang actually had a key to the shop. What was Lu Feixiang doing, locking himself inside at this hour?

A quarter of an hour later, the rolling shutter door opened again. Lu Feixiang came out empty-handed and walked towards the bus stop as if nothing had happened.

Around the Third Hospital past eight o’clock, he couldn’t find a single parking spot. Ji Chenjiao had no choice but to drive the car through the back entrance of the Third Hospital to see if there were any empty spots inside.

The car moved slowly. Ji Chenjiao observed his surroundings as he drove. The lights of the inpatient department of the Third Hospital were bright. Suddenly, a familiar figure entered his field of vision—Chen Xiangli.

But this time, there was a strange man next to Chen Xiangli.

The two walked from the entrance of the inpatient department to the garden. It was unclear what they were talking about. Chen Xiangli looked nervous and anxious, while the man seemed to be explaining to her and comforting her.

Caregivers often interact with patients’ families, but Ji Chenjiao felt that the man was definitely not a patient’s family member, but someone with a relationship with Chen Xiangli. Because just as Chen Xiangli covered her face, looking very distressed, the man reached out and put his arm around her shoulder.

For a man and a woman of this age, this was a very intimate gesture.

Was the man Chen Xiangli’s lover?

Chen Xiangli did not let him hold her. After a moment, she suddenly pushed him away and looked around in alarm, as if afraid of being seen by an acquaintance.

What, is this a relationship that can’t see the light of day? Ji Chenjiao thought.

The man raised his hands and took a step back, as if to say it was okay, and then promised he wouldn’t make any similar impulsive moves again. Chen Xiangli’s face was still pale. She lowered her head and wiped her eyes.

The man stayed with Chen Xiangli for a while, then pointed to the hospital gate. Chen Xiangli nodded, and they walked out of the hospital together.

Ji Chenjiao immediately stepped on the gas and followed.

The man probably couldn’t find a parking spot either. His car, a black Audi, was parked a street away. The man opened the passenger door and very gentlemanly helped Chen Xiangli in before getting into the driver’s seat himself.

The car headed southeast of the Third Hospital, towards the city center of Feng City. Ji Chenjiao kept two cars between them and followed.

Unlike Xia Rong City, where almost every district was prosperous, only the area near the city center of Feng City had clusters of high-rise buildings and dazzling lights. Ji Chenjiao didn’t dare to be careless, weaving through the flashing neon lights until the black Audi stopped in front of a high-end office building.

Ji Chenjiao glanced up. The LED lights covering the entire glass wall read: Qunfeng Commercial District.

No one got out of the Audi, so Ji Chenjiao had to wait. At this moment, after many days of clear skies, it suddenly began to rain in Feng City. When the summer downpour started, the scenery in front of him was like looking through a gray curtain. The wipers worked quickly, but his vision was still blurry.

Ji Chenjiao was worried he wouldn’t see Chen Xiangli get out of the car. He drove forward a bit and saw that the Audi still hadn’t moved. He guessed they might not have an umbrella in the car and were waiting for the rain to stop or lessen before getting out.

No umbrella… Ji Chenjiao suddenly froze, thinking of Ling Lie, who was still near the Third Hospital.

Was Ling Lie soaked to the bone by now? Ji Chenjiao pressed his brow, thinking it couldn’t be that bad. Although he didn’t have an umbrella, with Ling Lie’s cleverness, it wouldn’t be hard to find a place to take shelter from the rain.

Just then, his phone rang. It was Ling Lie. Ji Chenjiao’s eyelid twitched as he answered.

“Xiao Ji, did you drive the car home?”

“…Where are you?”

Ling Lie shivered. “Across from the Third Hospital, where else could I be?”

“I just saw Chen Xiangli leave with a well-dressed man in an Audi,” Ji Chenjiao said. “I followed them to the city center. Find a place to shelter from the rain. I’ll come pick you up later.”

“Alright.” Ling Lie was very decisive when it came to business. “Give me a call when you’re done.”

Just as he hung up the phone, the rain lessened. Ji Chenjiao saw the Audi’s door open. The man used his jacket to shield Chen Xiangli as they ran into the office building.

Ji Chenjiao also quickly got out of the car and entered the office building with the spare umbrella from the car.

As expected of a high-end office building, there was a security guard on duty at night. Ji Chenjiao was stopped. You needed an employee ID to get in. In his urgency, Ji Chenjiao took out his police ID. The security guard was startled and quickly let him pass.

When Ji Chenjiao reached the elevators, only one of the six elevators was going up. It stopped on the thirty-seventh floor and didn’t continue to rise. He immediately returned to the lobby and looked at the company directory.

There were four companies on the thirty-seventh floor: an e-commerce company, an overseas services agency, a high-end housekeeping agency, and a law firm.

A lawyer? Mou Dianpei had once boasted that a fellow villager of his was a lawyer.

The man’s attire also seemed to fit the style of a lawyer.

Ji Chenjiao memorized the name of the law firm—Zhengfeng Qingyue—and then searched for it online. This law firm was quite famous locally in Feng City. It mainly handled civil litigation and economic cases and was established twenty years ago, gradually expanding in the last ten years.

The homepage of the website featured introductions of five partners. The first two were the founders, already in their sixties. The next three were clearly the backbone, all in their early forties.

Ji Chenjiao’s gaze fell on the face of a lawyer named Fu Shunan. The photo was a very formal ID picture and somewhat distorted, but Ji Chenjiao still recognized him as the man who had brought Chen Xiangli upstairs just now.

Fu Shunan and Chen Xiangli’s relationship didn’t seem to be that of ordinary acquaintances, but how could someone of Chen Xiangli’s social status have a deeper relationship with a partner of a law firm?

Ji Chenjiao searched for Fu Shunan again. There wasn’t much information available online, but one thing Ji Chenjiao found very strange—Zhengfeng Qingyue was a law firm that primarily focused on civil litigation, yet Fu Shunan was a criminal defense lawyer.

Although criminal defense lawyers often appear in literary and cinematic works, they were not popular in reality. The risks were high, the income was not necessarily high, and they were often criticized for “defending murderers.”

The introduction on Zhengfeng Qingyue’s official website also made it very clear that the firm specialized in civil litigation. But Fu Shunan, as a criminal defense lawyer, was also a partner in the firm. There had to be something going on there.

Ji Chenjiao planned to have the Feng City criminal police help him check later, but on second thought, he felt it was more comfortable to work with his own team members. So he called Shen Qi, checking up on him at the same time.

There had been no major cases in Xia Rong City recently. Shen Qi was living a comfortable life, getting off work on time every day. He was already at home playing games at this hour.

Receiving Ji Chenjiao’s call, Shen Qi shot up like a carp leaping over the dragon gate. “Brother, what’s up, brother? Where’s my Brother Lie?”

“…” Your Brother Lie is taking a shower in the rain.

Ji Chenjiao asked about the situation of the serious crime team, expressed his concern for his team members, and then assigned the task.

Shen Qi muttered to himself: I knew you wouldn’t think of me unless you had something for me to do!

But as the youngest member of the serious crime team, Shen Qi’s attitude was still very proper. “Don’t worry, brother. I’ll go check right away.”

As he was about to hang up, Ji Chenjiao’s guilt for making him work finally pricked him. He tried to make up for it, “Thanks for your hard work. I’ll treat you to a meal when I get back.”

Shen Qi was not polite at all and blurted out, “Then I want Brother Lie’s seafood platter!”

Ji Chenjiao: “…”

“Achoo—” Ling Lie sneezed hard in the rain.

Half an hour later, Chen Xiangli and Fu Shunan came downstairs together. She seemed to have calmed down a lot, and a gentle smile hung on her face. They got into the Audi again, this time heading south.

The property prices in the southern part of Feng City were relatively high, and many rich people bought houses in the south. The Audi drove into the Jiangxin Star Residential Community. Ji Chenjiao followed to the community gate, got the picture, and then turned back to the Third Hospital to pick up Ling Lie.

On the way, the rain grew heavier and then lighter again. The sky was about to collapse. When he was almost at the Third Hospital, Ji Chenjiao called Ling Lie and asked where he was. Ling Lie said in a muffled voice, “At the entrance of ‘Old Shen’s Boxed Lunch’.”

Ji Chenjiao quickly drove over and parked the car by the roadside, but he didn’t see Ling Lie anywhere. He had to call him again, “I’m here. Why don’t I see you?”

Ling Lie: “Why don’t you open the door and see?”

Suspicious, Ji Chenjiao pushed open the passenger side door, only to see Ling Lie, soaked to the bone, squatting by the roadside with his knees hugged to his chest.

“…” This is ridiculous! Ji Chenjiao’s heart clenched. He quickly got out of the car and wrapped Ling Lie in the jacket he had thrown in the back seat.

At this point, the rain had mostly stopped, leaving only a drizzle. Seeing Ling Lie in this state, Ji Chenjiao both felt this person was so stupid, didn’t he know how to find a place to shelter from the rain? And couldn’t help but reflect, should he not have left Ling Lie alone?

Ling Lie got into the passenger seat, and the car instantly filled with steam. He hugged himself and muttered something. At first, Ji Chenjiao couldn’t hear what he was mumbling. He leaned closer and finally understood. This guy was actually reciting that popular line from the internet—”Become a cat, become a tiger, become a puppy soaked by the rain.”

__

Author’s Note:

“Become a cat, become a tiger, become a puppy soaked by the rain.” quoted from “Quartet”.
Xiao Ji: What about my big cat?