Shen Xin and Ding Yuwei frowned at the sa ti.
Zhu Yuchen clenched his fists and pursed his lips, his eyes wide and round. He looked exactly like a child who had been scolded by his parents—defiant but not daring to talk back, bottling up all his frustration.
The crucial part was what he had said.
For a child to say things like his mom should be arrested, that she was a bad woman.
Shen Xin couldn’t help but feel it was sowhat cruel.
’So much for "a mother’s love is best," huh?’
"Hey there, why do you say that?" Shen Xin asked, squatting down.
"She just is. She’s a bad woman."
Zhu Yuchen just repeated himself, his cheeks puffed with indignation.
As Shen Xin was about to say more, Ding Yuwei held up a hand to stop him. "Why don’t I ask him?" she whispered.
She figured that as a woman, she might have an easier ti connecting with the child.
"No, it’s better if I do it."
Shen Xin waved her off. ’The kid’s already calling his mom a bad woman; he’s clearly hostile toward her.’
’Ti for a man-to-man talk.’
Shen Xin sent Ding Yuwei to buy a couple of sodas. Once she was gone, he lightly tugged the boy’s sleeve insignia. "Nice, a little squad leader, huh? Does that an you get really good grades in class?"
At the ntion of this, Zhu Yuchen rolled his eyes and scoffed.
"I’m the discipline monitor. No one dares to disobey ," he said, clenching his fist.
’Trying to act tough, huh?’
Shen Xin chuckled to himself. "So if your grades aren’t great, does that an you play too many video gas? Do you play Honor of Kings? What’s your rank?"
Given his poor grades, the ntion of video gas did indeed make Zhu Yuchen perk up. He shot back a challenge, "Yeah, I play. Starlight rank. You?"
A flicker of embarrassnt crossed Shen Xin’s eyes before he changed his tune. "I’m a police officer. How could I catch bad guys if I was busy playing gas all the ti?"
"Tch. You’re just a noob," Zhu Yuchen said with disdain.
Shen Xin broke into a nervous sweat.
’Kids these days are sothing else. We weren’t this sharp back in my day.’
Feeling he had built enough rapport, Shen Xin finally asked, "Zhu Yuchen, can you tell why you said your mom killed your dad? Who told you that?"
At the ntion of his parents, Zhu Yuchen’s brows knitted together again. His eyes darted around before he said, "I can tell you, but you have to buy a skin."
Shen Xin was speechless.
"Fine."
It was an unexpected expense, but Shen Xin nodded, accepting the loss and gesturing for him to start talking.
"Buy it for first." Zhu Yuchen held out his hand, asking for the phone to log into his account.
’This little rascal has high standards.’
He shook Shen Xin’s arm, insisting on an Epic-tier skin.
"Can you talk now?"
Shen Xin asked after fulfilling the boy’s wish.
Zhu Yuchen, admiring his new skin, said, "My grandma told . She said my mom was the one who killed my dad. She said my mom’s destiny was to bring my dad bad luck, that she’s a really bad person."
Shen Xin frowned.
The case file ntioned that Yang Huixia did not have a good relationship with her in-laws.
The classic mother-in-law versus daughter-in-law dynamic. That was normal enough.
’But for a grandmother to say sothing like that to her grandson... that’s not right.’
’His father is missing. His mother is all he has left.’
"Do you really think your mom is a bad person, too?" Shen Xin asked.
’The kid is eleven now, which ans he was nine two years ago. He should have been old enough to have so judgnt of his own.’
Zhu Yuchen said, "My mom’s always forcing to do my howork. She yells at when I don’t know how to do it. Even when I’ve already finished all my howork from school, she gives even more to do. I just don’t like her."
"My dad was better. He’d always stop my mom and find chances to take out to play. But they were always fighting, really nasty fights. One ti, my mom was chopping up pig feed when they started arguing. She got so mad she ca charging out with the cleaver, wanting to hack my dad."
"Anyway, I hate my mom. Hey, Officer, do you think she’s going through nopause or sothing?"
Zhu Yuchen turned his head and asked with a completely serious expression.
Shen Xin broke into another sweat. ’How old is this kid? How does he know about stuff like that?’
However, Zhu Yuchen’s words did confirm that the couple’s relationship was indeed not good.
The farm business was struggling, money was tight, and they had conflicting ideas about how to raise their child. On top of that, from what he’d gathered so far, Yang Huixia seed to have a very strong-willed personality. It would have been a miracle if they *didn’t* fight.
After about the length of a video ga match, the boy’s grandparents returned.
The pair were in their early sixties. The grandmother, Gou Jinlan, was still spry, walking with a swift, energetic stride as she carried a basket of groceries. The grandfather, Zhu Zhenyuan, however, was already sowhat stooped.
Seeing her grandson with a stranger, Gou Jinlan imdiately rushed over.
She yanked her grandson behind her with one hand, while her other clutched a hoe, looking as if she was ready to bring it down on Shen Xin at any second. She then loudly demanded to know who he was.
Ding Yuwei, who had been observing from a distance, quickly ran over.
Shen Xin flashed his badge.
"What is there to say? My son was murdered by that bitch! Damn her! He was my only son, and she made bury him with my own hands! You’re the police, why haven’t you arrested her? Make her pay for my son’s life!"
Gou Jinlan imdiately started shouting.
Zhu Zhenyuan remained silent, not saying a word.
Shen Xin tried to communicate with her, asking for details about the ti of the incident, but she couldn’t go more than a couple of sentences without cursing Yang Huixia, making any effective communication impossible.
Shen Xin gave Ding Yuwei a look, motioning for her to take over, before leading Zhu Zhenyuan outside to the courtyard by himself.
Gou Jinlan was a chatterbox; for every one thing Shen Xin said, she would say ten. With Zhu Zhenyuan, it was the complete opposite; Shen Xin could ask three questions and not get a single sentence in response.
He just pulled out a pack of Hongi cigarettes, squatted on the ground, and started smoking by himself.
But what little he did say was more or less the sa as what was in the case file: the couple was busy with the farm, and he didn’t know of any enemies they might have made.
From his tone, it didn’t seem like he thought Yang Huixia was the killer. Reading between the lines, he actually seed to think his daughter-in-law was a decent person.
After so more questioning, Shen Xin didn’t press him further.
’Losing a son in his old age...’ It seed the man was now just an empty shell.
Ding Yuwei ca back out and gave Shen Xin a look of resignation. Clearly, she hadn’t gotten any useful information either.
"Well, Sir, we’ll be going now," Shen Xin said, preparing to leave.
Just then, Zhu Zhenyuan stood up and said suddenly, "Officer, it’s been two years. I have a feeling... I know my son is dead. But at least find his body, won’t you? So he can be laid to rest properly."
His face was deeply wrinkled and his eyelids drooped, but he stared intently at Shen Xin.
An uncomfortable feeling settled in Shen Xin’s heart. He nodded and led Ding Yuwei away.
Although Gou Jinlan insisted that Yang Huixia had killed Zhu Guishen, it was all just her own speculation, without a single useful clue.
"Here’s the plan: tomorrow, I’ll head to the park. You and Brother Xing can re-interview those employees from back then, and look into Zhu Guishen’s social connections again."
"Oh, and I think we should also look into Yang Huixia’s finances and her social circle."
There were too few leads to solve a cold case like this. Shen Xin still felt his best bet was to use his unique talent and start with the animals.
Ding Yuwei nodded, taking note. Then she suddenly sighed, "You know, I really feel for Yang Huixia. She has it so tough."
When Shen Xin looked at her, she explained, "Think about it. Everyone thinks she killed her husband. Even her own son believes it. Can you imagine how that must feel?"
Shen Xin fell silent.
It was true. For a mother, being misunderstood by her own child had to be the most heart-wrenching pain of all.
But he couldn’t completely rule out Yang Huixia as a suspect just yet.
Chen Chao had once told him that in ninety-nine percent of murder cases, the killer is soone close to the victim.
It was practically a rule of thumb, because there’s no such thing as hatred without a reason.
In a case like Zhu Guishen’s, there were only a handful of people in his imdiate circle. They had all been investigated, and Yang Huixia was the only one with this many suspicious circumstances surrounding her.
Unless...
It was one of the remaining one percent. Like in the Xiao Hong case, it was a truly random murder, happening in a random place for a random reason.
At this thought, Shen Xin’s brow furrowed.
’Don’t tell the Zhu Guishen case is another one of those one-percenters...’
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