On Wednesday noon, Lü Qingqing took some time off to visit the criminal investigation team.
She needed to inform Ouyang Wen about Huang Yuan's cause of death. This left Ouyang Wen extremely frustrated. After all, he was also known as a detective, and he hadn't spotted such a simple flaw. He immediately ordered an investigation.
After leaving the office, Lü Qingqing encountered Tong Meng again. She expected Tong Meng to make some sarcastic remarks, but to her surprise, Tong Meng walked past as if she hadn't seen Lü Qingqing.
As they brushed past each other, Tong Meng suddenly called out to Lü Qingqing, "Can we talk?"
Lü Qingqing was a bit surprised. She didn't know what she and Tong Meng had to talk about. However, it was better to resolve conflicts than to let them fester. "Pick a place!"
At a tea house next to the municipal police station, the two women sat facing each other.
"You didn't call me out just for tea, did you?" Seeing Tong Meng remain silent and just sip her tea, Lü Qingqing couldn't help but break the silence.
"I have a question, and I hope you can answer me honestly," Tong Meng finally spoke.
"Depends on my mood," Lü Qingqing neither confirmed nor denied.
Tong Meng didn't care. "What is your relationship with Hu Jia?"
Huh?
Lü Qingqing hadn't expected Tong Meng to ask that.
"Colleagues, superior and subordinate. If you must add a layer of intimacy, then friends," Lü Qingqing replied.
"Really?"
"Really!"
Hearing Lü Qingqing's answer, Tong Meng was stunned. Gradually, her gaze became unfocused, and then she started to laugh. It began as a low chuckle, which then turned into boisterous laughter.
As she laughed, tears streamed down her face.
Tong Meng's peculiar behavior confused Lü Qingqing.
"Lü Qingqing, beware of Tong Hua! If you consider Hu Jia a friend."
Tong Meng's sudden words almost caught Lü Qingqing off guard. She could understand "beware of Tong Hua," but she couldn't understand why these words came from Tong Meng's mouth.
Tong Meng glanced at Lü Qingqing with a smile and drained her tea in one gulp, "If there's a chance, kill him!"
With that, Tong Meng left gracefully.
Watching Tong Meng's receding figure, Lü Qingqing fell into deep thought.
She had a premonition that something had happened to this woman.
...
During the break, leaning against the doorframe, Lü Qingqing watched Tong Hua pass by with a cold gaze.
She had always been puzzled why Tong Hua hadn't caused her any trouble recently. Even the last time she slapped Tong Meng a few times at the criminal investigation team, Tong Hua hadn't sought an explanation.
She had initially thought Tong Hua was just waiting for an opportunity to seize her weakness, but judging by Tong Meng's words, it seemed someone was plotting something.
Her unease grew with every thought. As soon as school ended in the afternoon, Lü Qingqing went to the municipal police station again, wanting to get some answers from Tong Meng.
However, Gao Liang told her that Tong Meng was busy with reception duties.
Helpless, Lü Qingqing had to leave. According to the auxiliary staff duty roster, Mo Yun was on duty that night. She planned to sneak into the study hall to uncover the mysterious person.
Hurrying home to make dinner for Hu Jia, Lü Qingqing was about to slip away.
Seeing her hurried demeanor, Hu Jia thought something had happened.
"I'm meeting someone, have something to do," Lü Qingqing went downstairs before Hu Jia could get a word in.
"That... Does your sister have other friends in the city?"
"Why? Is that not allowed?"
Hu Jia chuckled sheepishly, "It's allowed. Hehe!"
...
Nine o'clock in the evening. It was already quite late. The more secluded roads were almost deserted.
If that person was looking for Mo Yun, they might reappear tonight.
But as time ticked by, the campus remained quiet. No unfamiliar figures could be seen.
"Could it be that he's not coming tonight?" Li Yang was a little disappointed.
"Hmm, very likely. It seems we've made a wasted trip today," Lü Qingqing was equally disappointed.
"Then let's go," Li Yang said.
The two of them crept away from the study hall.
When Lü Qingqing returned home, Duo Bao was already asleep. Hu Jia was in her living room, sitting and reading.
"You've been here all night?" Lü Qingqing wasn't surprised to see Hu Jia at her place; it had become a regular occurrence.
"I said I'd help you look after the little one. See, I kept my word, didn't I? I stayed to help him with his homework today," Hu Jia quickly tried to claim credit.
"Well done." Lü Qingqing pulled Hu Jia up. "Continue tomorrow."
Then she ushered him out the door.
Looking at Duo Bao sleeping soundly in the bedroom, and then at the child's new pencil on the table, Lü Qingqing felt her fatigue vanish.
Sometimes, having a man around wasn't so bad!
...
Meanwhile, Li Yang had just taken a shower. He was also tired, not just physically, but mentally as well.
He had been pursuing Yu Yue, but to no avail.
His boss's matters were like a sword hanging over his head, with no idea when it would fall.
Sighing, he was just about to rest when he heard a noise in the outer hall, like something falling to the ground.
He got up and turned on the light. In the center of the living room was a shoe, a very familiar one. Wasn't it his?
Li Yang instinctively looked towards the window. Had it been thrown in by someone?
Just as he reached the window to investigate, there was a "bang." Li Yang turned around to see a group of people barging into his room.
They kicked down the door!
"What are you doing?" If they hadn't been wearing police uniforms, Li Yang would have thought he was being robbed.
"Mr. Li, you are suspected of murdering Mo Yun. Please come with us."
...
A frame-up!
This was clearly a setup.
When the news of Li Yang's suspected murder spread, everyone was shocked.
Especially when Lü Qingqing heard that the deceased was Mo Yun, she became even more certain that this was a conspiracy.
Not to mention that Li Yang didn't even know Mo Yun, but even if he did, he had no motive to harm him. And most importantly, they had been together the previous night.
Lü Qingqing stood up, ready to run, to provide an alibi for Li Yang.
"Stop right there. You dare to leave school during class time, and I have the right to expel you," Tong Hua stopped Lü Qingqing.
"Go to hell!" Lü Qingqing gave Tong Hua the middle finger. Tong Hua clearly knew the relationship between Li Yang and her, yet he chose to obstruct her at this moment, obviously trying to make the accusation stick.
After a string of curses, Lü Qingqing ran out without looking back.
Tong Hua, standing on the podium, however, revealed a smile that only he could understand.
...
Upon arriving at the Tongyuanmen police station, Hu Jia and others were already there.
"This is ridiculous! Just because you say he's innocent, does that make him innocent? Are you handling cases based on your emotions or on evidence?" The speaker was Qiao Huali.
Lü Qingqing was initially surprised that the deputy director had been alerted to this matter.
But seeing him reprimanding Hu Jia, Lü Qingqing could pretty much guess what was going on. It must have been Hu Jia trying to get the police station to release Li Yang, which led to Qiao Huali's intervention.
Otherwise, given Yao Jieyan's personality, he would never dare to stop Hu Jia.
Yao Jieyan, for those who need a reminder, was the director of Tongyuanmen. It was he who introduced Lü Qingqing to Hu Jia on the Qixinggang grave mountain.
Seeing Hu Jia's expression of clear defiance, but having to restrain himself in front of Qiao Huali.
It wasn't out of fear of his rank, but rather out of respect.
After all, he privately called Qiao Huali uncle, and this man had helped him a lot over the years.
"But I know Li Yang's character well. He wouldn't kill anyone," Hu Jia continued to argue.
"Since you know he wouldn't kill anyone, then don't get involved. If you force him out today, even if he didn't kill anyone, others will believe he did, and you'll be the one protecting him." Kuai Shu Ge
Qiao Huali's words were quite effective. Hu Jia's anger visibly dissipated.
"Yes. Captain Hu, Director Qiao is right. I believe Li Yang also wants an alibi that can withstand any scrutiny." Lü Qingqing stepped forward, patting Hu Jia's shoulder, hoping to bring him some calm.
After speaking, Lü Qingqing turned to Qiao Huali. "Director Qiao, I have evidence to prove that Li Yang is not the murderer."
Qiao Huali glanced at her. "You are Lü Qingqing, right? I know what you're going to say, but you can only prove the time before you parted ways. What about after?"