Ouyang Wen called for departure, and Lü Qingqing could no longer stay.
Seeing the two of them get up, Li Yongqiang drained his tea in one gulp, "Wait."
Turning back to look at him, he remained seated like a steady mountain, "I've answered the questions you asked me, now it's my turn to ask."
Ouyang Wen squinted his eyes and sat down again, "Alright, I'll tell you everything I know, and nothing I don't."
"Is my father's death related to the shooting incident?"
Ouyang Wen nodded, "The bullet caliber is the same."
Li Yongqiang didn't seem surprised by the answer, "Do you have any suspects, or is there anything you need me to do?"
"We haven't found anything concrete yet, but on the day your father was killed, people from Wang Er Mazhi of Chuanxi appeared in the city. We suspect him," Ouyang Wen said.
Wang Er Mazhi's men?
Lü Qingqing was bewildered. I've never heard of that.
She distinctly remembered Ouyang Wen telling her that there was no information about this case.
"Is there any evidence?" As expected, Li Yongqiang became agitated as soon as he heard this.
"No evidence, he's just a suspect."
"Alright then, if you need any help, feel free to ask."
It wasn't until they left the teahouse that Lü Qingqing's mind was a blank.
She felt as if this meeting was pointless.
There was no exchange of valuable information, nor any clear agreement for cooperation.
But looking at Ouyang Wen's expression, he seemed quite satisfied with this meeting.
"Is what you said about Wang Er Mazhi of Chuanxi true?" Lü Qingqing's question.
"A subordinate of Wang Er Mazhi did come to the city that day, but he has nothing to do with this shooting," Ouyang Wen said.
"Nothing to do with it? And you still told him that?" Lü Qingqing couldn't quite understand Ouyang Wen's actions.
"Because what he wanted was false information."
Huh?
Seeing Lü Qingqing's confused look, Ouyang Wen stopped teasing her. "He mentioned someone named Jinsong earlier, that was a childhood friend of ours."
Yes, Lü Qingqing remembered this.
"Because our fathers worked together, we kids often met. We used to play a game of truth and lies."
As he spoke, Ouyang Wen overlapped his index finger and thumb, then fanned them out to form a cross, with his thumb resting on his index finger. "This signifies negation." Ouyang Wen said, this could be understood as 'no, impossible, false, the opposite.'
Then, Ouyang Wen formed his thumb and index finger into a circle, somewhat like a half-fist. "This signifies affirmation."
Watching Ouyang Wen earnestly demonstrate these two gestures, Lü Qingqing's mind suddenly flashed back to the scene when Li Yongqiang was pouring tea.
At that time, Li Yongqiang's fingers had made a cross shape.
"So?" Lü Qingqing exclaimed in shock.
Ouyang Wen nodded. "So Li Yongqiang was reminding me not to tell the truth. He was probably being followed, or perhaps there were eavesdroppers."
With Ouyang Wen's explanation, Lü Qingqing understood why Li Yongqiang had specifically chosen a teahouse.
It seemed that the teahouse wasn't his choice after all.
"It seems that all our actions are being monitored by the other party. It will be inconvenient for me to meet Li Yongqiang in the future." After finally finding a lead, it turned out to be difficult to utilize, which made Lü Qingqing a bit dejected.
"No, it's not inconvenient, why would it be? You must go as planned," Ouyang Wen said. They don't know that we've seen through their trick yet. In this situation, you must meet Li Yongqiang.
Lü Qingqing thought about it and realized it was true, just as Hu Jia said, play the part to the fullest.
"And I suspect Li Yongqiang knows something, but given the special circumstances today, he couldn't say it."
Ouyang Wen looked at Lü Qingqing, "So you still need to find an opportunity to meet him alone."
...
And so, time flew by until Friday.
Lü Qingqing had a relatively quiet couple of days. She studied normally and lived a normal life. She didn't seek out Li Yongqiang, as meeting him again so soon would be too conspicuous.
Hu Jia also seemed to have disappeared, not showing up for the past two days.
According to the arrangement at the training institute, mornings were for physical training and afternoons for cultural lessons, but there was a physical test every Friday.
"The physical test this afternoon will involve some equipment, so the assistant instructors are arranging for students to help move it," Tong Hua announced.
Moving equipment?
Lü Qingqing's eyes lit up.
This was a good opportunity to enter the instructor's office openly.
"I volunteer!" Lü Qingqing was the first to raise her hand.
Uh...
Tong Hua glanced at Lü Qingqing, "There are male students in the class, why would you need a female to do it?"
Lü Qingqing was unhappy when she heard this, "Females can do it too, who says women can't do anything."
Lü Qingqing believed Tong Hua would definitely agree, especially since he seemed to dislike her.
However, she overlooked one thing: by stepping forward, she had unintentionally offended the other girls in the class.
"Heh, you don't need to rush to show off at a time like this."
"They said there were boys to move it, and she insisted on saying females can do it too."
"Exactly. If you want to show off, do it yourself, don't drag us down with you."
All these comments reached Lü Qingqing's ears. She cursed inwardly, "Damn it."
She truly had no intention of making enemies.
"Everyone, don't make a fuss. Lü Qingqing just wants to help out a bit," Zhan Ruoxuan also sensed the awkward atmosphere.
"Yes, I'm only representing myself. You don't want me to help out?" Lü Qingqing quickly added.
Having Tong Hua was already enough trouble, she absolutely didn't want to provoke dozens of glaring women.
"Alright, there's no need for debate. If Lü Qingqing wants to go, let her. Serving classmates and serving the class is commendable," Tong Hua declared, ending the discussion.
Whether Tong Hua wanted her to do the work to tire her out or truly respected her choice, it didn't matter to Lü Qingqing as long as she could go to the instructor's office openly.
"You people, especially you girls. You're not proactive, lack a sense of service and dedication, and on top of that, you mock those who volunteer to do things. How can I believe you'll be good police officers serving the citizens after you leave this school?"
Tong Hua's words made Lü Qingqing so angry she wanted to cast a curse on him.
Wasn't this typical instigation? As expected, the classmates' gazes turned hostile again.
"Instructor Tong, your words are a bit biased. I believe all students who can enter the training institute have a sincere heart." Lü Qingqing would not let Tong Hua ruin her reputation in a few words.
"There's only a little bit of equipment. We can't have five or six people moving a single stool, can we? People might think we're all vying for attention."
"Assistant instructors often help teachers wipe the blackboard, Cai Xiaojuan helps classmates with their clothes, and Yu Xiaohui serves us food during lunch. Especially when the teacher explains points we don't understand, we share and discuss them unreservedly."
"Therefore, everyone in our class, regardless of gender, is excellent. You can't deny their other outstanding contributions just because I was the first to offer to move equipment. For example, I've never wiped the blackboard for classmates, and today I'm making up for it."
Lü Qingqing's speech immediately won everyone over, and Zhan Ruoxuan even led the applause.
Sensing the change in the surrounding gazes, Lü Qingqing triumphantly glanced at Tong Hua. "Little guy, you want to sow discord between me and everyone else? Impossible?"
Tong Hua's tightly pressed lips gradually revealed a smile. "It seems I was indeed narrow-minded. Student Lü Qingqing is right, everyone is excellent."
With that, he was the first to leave the playground.
Lü Qingqing, humph, you've got some skills, no wonder that girl Tong Meng couldn't beat you.
Very good!
...