Chopsticks offered by someone else?
The young man's words immediately stirred up a huge commotion.
If one had to pick out a pair of poisoned chopsticks from hundreds of pairs, the probability would be extremely low, almost impossible.
But if that pair of chopsticks was given to him by someone else, then it was a different matter.
"Who was it?" Ouyang Wen raised his voice.
The male student stammered and looked towards a side of the crowd.
"No, it wasn't me. I just kindly handed her a pair of chopsticks, and I drew them randomly from the chopstick holder myself." A young man in the crowd panicked at this moment.
Lü Qingqing was greatly surprised; this person was actually Zhan Ruoxuan.
Hu Jia and Ouyang Wen clearly recognized him too, "Tell us about the situation at that time."
Zhan Ruoxuan calmed himself down. "I happened to be getting chopsticks at the time, and Huang Yuan was right behind me. I thought of her as a classmate, so I casually drew a pair for her."
"Who can prove that you drew them casually or that you had prepared them beforehand?" Gao Liang raised the crucial question.
This…
Zhan Ruoxuan became anxious. Who could prove such a thing? How could it be proven?
"There were many people in the cafeteria, and I don't know if anyone saw." Zhan Ruoxuan was extremely frustrated. If only he hadn't been so eager to help.
"I can prove it. Zhan Ruoxuan was with me at the time. When we entered the cafeteria, his hands were empty, and he wasn't carrying any prepared chopsticks," Lü Qingqing stepped forward.
"Heh heh." It was Tong Meng who chuckled. "You can only prove that the chopsticks weren't in his hands, but you can't prove that the poison wasn't on him."
Lü Qingqing almost bit her teeth off. When did this woman become so clever?
Lü Qingqing was secretly anxious. Even though she believed Zhan Ruoxuan was innocent, the current situation was very unfavorable to him.
However, a clear conscience fears no accusation. Zhan Ruoxuan's actions were only a suspicion; the final conviction still depended on evidence.
"Ouyang, I believe Zhan Ruoxuan is innocent." When Lü Qingqing parted ways with Ouyang, she specifically instructed, "You can investigate, but you must keep your subordinates in check."
After all, having stayed in this environment for a long time, Lü Qingqing knew that some people liked to use coercive methods when interrogating.
She was worried that Zhan Ruoxuan would suffer.
"Don't worry, no one under my command dares to torture confessions," Ouyang Wen gave Lü Qingqing a reassuring look.
...
With a death in the class and Zhan Ruoxuan being considered a suspect, Lü Qingqing and Hu Jia's meal was naturally ruined.
The two walked slowly home along the path.
"What are you thinking about?" Lü Qingqing saw that Hu Jia seemed a bit dejected.
"I'm thinking about Huang Yuan's case," Hu Jia said.
"Don't think about it." Lü Qingqing glared. "The Criminal Investigation team has already taken over the case; it's none of your business.
"What a joke. It's Friday today, and in two days, you'll enter the next memory cycle.
Wouldn't it be better to just stay calm and stable?
Hu Jia understood Lü Qingqing's meaning. He shook his head, "Okay, I won't think about it."
There was a hint of doting in his tone.
"Qingqing..."
"Sister-in-law..."
With a turn of their heads, they heard two familiar voices.
"We heard that something happened at the study center. How are you? Are you alright?" Yu Yue took Lü Qingqing's hand and looked her up and down. "It's been so long since I saw you; I miss you so much."
Lü Qingqing was also very happy to see Yu Yue. "I'm fine, but a friend of mine has been caught up in this whirlpool."
"See, I told you, with Big Brother here, Sister-in-law will definitely be fine," Li Yang chimed in from the side.
"Mind your own business. Of course, I know Qingqing will be fine, but I had to come and see for myself to be at ease," Yu Yue glared at Li Yang, making Li Yang grin.
As they spoke, Li Yang took out a paper bag. "We also brought some steamed buns. We thought you'd be investigating the case there, so we were afraid you'd go hungry."
Wow, meat buns.
Lü Qingqing's eyes sparkled, and she took them without hesitation. "The Criminal Investigation team is handling the case; we're not interfering." Speaking with her mouth full, Lü Qingqing's words were not very clear.
Hu Jia chuckled at the sight. "Eat slower. If you choke, there's no soup here to help you down."
Lü Qingqing gave Hu Jia a sidelong glance. "Someone kindly brought you food, and instead of being grateful, you're wolfing it down like a pig. How can you repay their effort in traveling so far?"
Hahaha...
Everyone burst into laughter.
Uh...
While laughing, Lü Qingqing suddenly froze.
"What's wrong? Did you choke for real?" Hu Jia was startled.
"Oh, water, water, water! This woman, I told her to eat slowly, and she's eating like a pig digging for food. Don't let her choke to death," Yu Yue's words almost made Lü Qingqing faint.
She stopped Yu Yue from patting her back. "Hu Jia, we were at the scene today. Do you remember what they said they ate?"
"What what?" Hu Jia was confused by the question.
"Did they say Yu Xiaohui gave them pumpkin cakes, and that's why Huang Yuan dropped her chopsticks?"
Hu Jia nodded. "It seems so."
Lü Qingqing's eyes narrowed. "But our cafeteria has never made pumpkin cakes."
The cafeteria had never made pumpkin cakes, yet the victim had eaten pumpkin cakes. The problem was obvious.
"Let's go to the Criminal Investigation team." Lü Qingqing was impatient.
Not only because it could clear Zhan Ruoxuan's suspicion, but more importantly, the case had a new clue, so the investigating officers had to be notified.
...
"Gao Liang, quickly send someone to find the addresses of those few female students and find out where the pumpkin cakes came from." After listening to Lü Qingqing's account, Ouyang Wen immediately made arrangements.
"Oh, and what about Ruoxuan?" Lü Qingqing was still concerned about the young man.
"Don't worry, he's being well taken care of. He's fine." Ouyang Wen stopped Gao Liang, who was about to leave. "The young man brought back today, where did you put him?"
"Oh, Tong Meng took him down," Gao Liang left in a hurry.
Tong Meng?
Lü Qingqing felt an inexplicable unease. "Is she usually this active?"
Ouyang Wen naturally understood Lü Qingqing's meaning. "Find someone."
The Criminal Investigation team was not large, and soon they found Zhan Ruoxuan in an interrogation room. He seemed to be in good condition.
"Qingqing?" Zhan Ruoxuan was pleasantly surprised to see Lü Qingqing suddenly appear.
"Are you alright?" Lü Qingqing looked him up and down, afraid he might have any injuries.
"I'm fine. You specifically gave instructions, so would they dare to mistreat me?" Zhan Ruoxuan laughed.
That's good.
Lü Qingqing was relieved. "Please bear with it for two more days. Once the truth is revealed and your suspicion is cleared, you can leave."
After all, the appearance of pumpkin cakes now only added another suspect. As long as it couldn't be proven that the pumpkin cakes were problematic, Zhan Ruoxuan's suspicion would still not be cleared, so he couldn't be released yet.
"Don't worry. I didn't do it, so I believe my innocence will be proven sooner or later." Zhan Ruoxuan had calmed down and was no longer as anxious.
Most importantly, Lü Qingqing had come to see him specifically, which made him feel very warm.
The two chatted briefly, and Lü Qingqing left the interrogation room.
Not long after the door closed, Tong Meng entered.
"Hmph, I didn't expect her to come to see you so late," Tong Meng said with a playful expression. "What's your relationship with her? Is she your girlfriend?"
Zhan Ruoxuan knew about the friction between Tong Meng and Lü Qingqing because of Tong Meng's targeting of Lü Qingqing.
"What do you mean? We're just friends from school," Zhan Ruoxuan was not polite to Tong Meng either.
"There's definitely some feeling, but whether it's just friendship from school, I don't know." Tong Meng held two vegetable cakes in her hand. "You haven't eaten yet, have you? Do you want one?"
Zhan Ruoxuan glanced at her. "What do you want to do?"
Heh heh, Tong Meng chuckled. "I want you to learn two sentences from me."
Zhan Ruoxuan's expression changed. "You want me to pin the chopsticks incident on her? Impossible."
This woman's heart is so malicious, actually wanting him to frame Lü Qingqing. No way.
Tong Meng, giggling, pushed Zhan Ruoxuan onto a stool. "Am I that bad? How could I be so bad?"