Forensic Forensic - Chapter 34
Chapter 34
Luo Jianan’s shout was heard by half the building, and soon the windows were crowded with onlookers. Qi Ming turned to look at Luo Jianan, who was standing by the car, and asked, “What’s going on?”
“We’re arresting someone. Are you going?” Luo Jianan asked, discreetly examining the foreigner sitting across from Qi Ming.
The foreigner had blond hair, blue eyes, a prominent nose, and a well-trimmed beard. His suit jacket stretched across his arms, revealing his muscular build without even needing to undress. He was incredibly tall, estimated at about 1.9 meters. Qi Ming standing next to him gave Luo Jianan a delicate, cuddly vibe.
This was the kind of handsome guy the policewomen wanted to see, Luo Jianan thought. Nothing special about him.
“Go ahead. Wait for me a moment.” Qi Ming said, then turned and mumbled a few words in French to the foreigner.
Because he’d learned a few French words from his mother, who worked in foreign affairs, when he was little, Luo Jianan understood a few words. He was certain Qi Ming mentioned the word “hotel.” This gave him an inexplicable unease. After Qi Ming returned to the medical examiner’s office, changed his clothes, and got into the car, Luo Jianan asked, “Who was that guy?”
“My friend,” Qi Ming said as he buckled his seatbelt. Noticing Luo Jianan showed no interest in driving, he tilted his head and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“You two are pretty close. You hug and kiss whenever you see each other.”
Hearing Luo Jianan’s odd tone, Qi Ming smiled faintly and said, “Aren’t you and Old B even closer? You even drank a toast last night.”
“How can they be the same? We’re just brothers.” Luo Jianan snorted unhappily. Brothers can just have fun, what can’t they do besides having s3x?
“How is it different? Hugging is just a courtesy. Besides, Chris and I haven’t seen each other in ages. It’s rare for him to have time off from his business trip to meet here. I’m surprised.” Qi Ming crossed his arms—thinking, why am I even explaining this to you?—and glanced out the window. “Aren’t you leaving yet?”
Luo Jianan started the car and drove silently for a while before asking, “Is that Chris French?”
“He’s Australian. He’s worked at Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France, for many years. He’s used to speaking French. Oh, and he speaks Chinese well, too.” Qi Ming said, then suddenly realized something. “You actually speak French?”
“Can’t I be more knowledgeable?” In reality, Luo Jianan’s French was barely enough to ask for the restroom on a Parisian street or avoid flipping a menu in a restaurant.
“No, just a little surprised.” Qi Ming smiled. “I remember you said your auntie could speak French. Did you learn it from her?”
“Oh, yes,” Luo Jianan replied vaguely. He had to change the subject, or else Qi Ming would be caught speaking French with him. “Did you just tell Chris to meet him at the hotel after work?”
He had guessed this.
“Well, don’t worry about me after work tonight. Just go home on your own.”
Luo Jianan blurted out, “Which hotel? I’ll pick you up tonight.”
“No need to pick me up. Go to sleep. We haven’t seen each other in ages. We have a lot to talk about. We don’t know when to go.”
“It doesn’t matter what time. Just call me and I’ll pick you up.”
“Uh… I can just call a car using the app…”
“Didn’t you watch the news? Another passenger was murdered. What if someone with skinny arms and legs like you got robbed and dumped their body?”
“…”
Qi Ming honestly felt that Luo Jianan was acting a little off today.
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Tan Xiaoguang’s home is located in a villa complex on Huanhai Road, facing the sea and backed by green mountains. The environment is elegant and the courtyard is unique. Luo Jianan was stopped by security upon entering the gate, and he had to show his police badge. The security guard even asked for his officer number and called to confirm before letting him pass.
Luo Jianan drove along the tree-lined road, complaining, “Did you see that billboard at the entrance to the complex? Single-family villas starting at 60 million. Damn it, how can these scumbags just rest on the bl00d and tears of others with such complacency?”
Sprinkled sunlight filtered through the shade of the trees, filtering through the car window. Qi Ming rolled down the window, looked up at the sky, and sighed, “Killing and arson earns a golden belt, but repairing bridges and roads leaves no corpses. Desire is insatiable, so criminals will never be caught.”
Luo Jianan slowed down and parked in a roadside spot. He looked at Qi Ming’s dejected profile, and a sudden wave of sadness welled up in his heart. “Are you okay?” He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and clasped Qi Ming’s arm. Qi Ming turned and smiled at him calmly. “I’m fine. It’s just that the ethereal atmosphere here is quite evocative.”
A gentle breeze blew in through the car window, blowing Qi Ming’s stray hair onto his glasses. Luo Jianan immediately reached up to push it back behind his ear. Qi Ming instinctively dodged backward, covering the side of his ear that Luo Jianan had touched, and looked at him with a puzzled look.
“Um… hair, hair.” Luo Jianan gestured awkwardly, then quickly pretended to look for something. “Hey, where did I put the confirmation letter?”
“Are you sure you have it?”
“Of course I did. Just now—” Luo Jianan’s eyes dropped. “Um… could you please lift your butt…”
Qi Ming simply pushed open the car door and got out. Looking back, he saw an A4-sized envelope lying on the passenger seat. Holding the confirmation letter, which still bore Qi Ming’s body temperature, Luo Jianan knocked on the door of Tan Xiaoguang’s villa. Holding the confirmation letter in front of the burly man who opened the door, Luo Jianan asked, “Is Tan Xiaoguang here?”
The man squinted at the paper, spat to the side, and turned to shout, “Brother Guang, from the Public Security Bureau!”
Luo Jianan and Qi Ming waited at the door for a full ten minutes before Tan Xiaoguang appeared. He was about the same height as Luo Jianan, but standing on the steps, he seemed half a head taller than Luo Jianan. To Luo Jianan, this Tan Xiaoguang, though a former police officer, looked no different from the scum he had previously sent to prison—arrogant and conceited, his black silk shirt only half-buttoned, revealing two wide platinum necklaces, and the faint tattoos on his pectoral muscles were visible on either side.
“Director Qi, you’re still the same. Your signature is always so flamboyant.” Tan Xiaoguang glanced at the confirmation letter and waved back, and someone immediately handed him a suit jacket. He slung his coat over his shoulder, took out a cigarette, and sipped it. He asked with a smile, “Brother, which department are you from? What’s your name?”
“Luo Jianan from the Serious Crimes Unit.” Luo Jianan took a half step back. “Tan Xiaoguang, I need you to come back with me to the bureau to help investigate Zhou Daguo’s murder.”
“Luo Jianan…” Tan Xiaoguang looked him up and down. “What’s your relationship with Luo Mingzhe?”
“My grandfather.”
“No wonder you look a bit like that old man.”
Tan Xiaoguang’s disrespect nearly made Luo Jianan want to punch him in the face, but Qi Ming quickly restrained him. Seeing the veins in Luo Jianan’s forehead bulge, Qi Ming whispered, “He’s just trying to provoke you. Don’t fall for his trap.”
“Son of a b1tch!”
Luo Jianan gritted his teeth to hold back his anger.
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With the confirmation letter as a backup, Luo Jianan sent Tan Xiaoguang straight to the interrogation room. Just as he entered the hall, he ran into Director Qi. Seeing Tan Xiaoguang’s “successful” demeanor, Director Qi sighed and shook his head.
“It’s still the same old thing. No renovations.” Tan Xiaoguang sat down on the iron chair in the interrogation room and glanced around. “Guess I need to donate some money to my old employer. Otherwise, it’s too shabby.”
Luo Jianan didn’t bother to answer him and asked directly, “Tan Xiaoguang, where were you between 10 PM and 12 AM on the 21st?”
Qi Ming’s autopsy gave the exact time of death: Zhou Daguo died two hours before the torrential rainstorm arrived.
Tan Xiaoguang rubbed his chin and blinked. “Let me think… the 21st… the day the typhoon hit?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, I was sleeping.”
“Who can prove it?”
“The girl I slept with can prove it.” Tan Xiaoguang leaned back in his chair, glaring at Luo Jianan with a sneer. “But I don’t even know her name. Who would look at her ID when she was just sleeping, right?”
Luo Jianan’s face darkened. He stood up, walked over to the one-way mirror, and punched the glass twice. Miao Hong, who was watching the surveillance screen, understood and turned it off. Qi Ming didn’t understand what she was doing at first, but he was immediately shocked by what he saw. Luo Jianan saw the red light on the security camera in the corner go out, and suddenly retaliated with a punch, knocking Tan Xiaoguang off his chair.
“This punch is for my grandfather,” Luo Jianan said, removing his jacket and throwing it to the ground. He rolled up his T-shirt sleeves, revealing his muscular forearms. “Next, it’s for the police badge you’ve tarnished!”
Tan Xiaoguang spat bloody spit to the side, grasping the corner of the table and rising. He wiped the bl00d from his mouth, peeled off his suit jacket, and unbuttoned his cuffs as he kicked away the metal chair between them.
“Okay, you’ve got guts, kid. Come on! I’m not Tan until I beat you into submission today!”
Luo Jianan’s fist, blasting with wind, hurled itself towards Tan Xiaoguang’s face. Tan Xiaoguang dodged, then clamped his hands around Luo Jianan’s shoulders like a vise, nearly lifting him and throwing him onto the interrogation table. Luo Jianan hadn’t expected Tan Xiaoguang’s skill, and he realized he’d underestimated him. He grabbed Tan Xiaoguang’s wrist while he was still falling, twisting it hard, trying to dislocate it.
The sharp pain in his arm made Tan Xiaoguang’s eyes gleam with ferocity. He broke free from Luo Jianan’s grip, punching him hard in the ribs while simultaneously kicking the interrogation table against the wall. Luo Jianan fell from the table, and before he could even catch his breath, Tan Xiaoguang’s fist rained down upon his face. Deflecting the powerful blow, Luo Jianan kicked Tan Xiaoguang in the knee, then headbutted him as he bucked in pain.
The two men, both winners of the police academy’s grappling competition, clashed like tigers fighting for supremacy.
The door to the interrogation room suddenly burst open, and Zhuang Yu rushed in, grabbing Tan Xiaoguang and forcibly pulling him off Luo Jianan. Miao Hong and Qi Ming followed closely behind, grabbing Luo Jianan, who was still trying to fight Tan Xiaoguang. Both men, their faces bruised, glared at each other breathlessly, their eyes filled with the rage of a man who wished to tear him apart.
“Fighting in the interrogation room—you’re getting more and more reckless!”
Chen Fei stood at the doorway, sternly scolding Luo Jianan. In fact, if he hadn’t stopped him, Qi Ming would have rushed in long ago. Everyone was furious about Tan Xiaoguang’s defection to Jinshan, and he figured Luo Jianan wouldn’t suffer much, so he let the kid have his way.
Tan Xiaoguang broke free from Zhuang Yu’s arm and glared back at him. Zhuang Yu looked away, and after a moment, he hurried out of the interrogation room.
Chen Fei frowned as he watched Zhuang Yu leave, then turned to the others in the room and said—
“Miao Hong, call Lao Zhao over. You two can interrogate. Luo Jianan, get out right here!”
Author’s Note: 0-0, Brother Guang is a tough guy too. It’s a shame they’re not allowed to write about undercover work. Sobbing.
I’m struggling with whether to make a “head-pressing” team and have Teacher Qi and Brother Nan kiss each other…
It feels like everyone in this story is working hard for them to be together.
No one wants to talk to me??? Do you really think I’d dare test JJ’s limits by posting this…
Come play with me on Weibo: Cold Moon Ice 884
I had someone make a new cover and posted it on Weibo. I’m still deciding whether to change it…