Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 35 Clues
Stepping out of the room occupied by the two people, one big and one small, Chen Shu thought to himself that the room was extremely clean and tidy. Even the balcony floor, where clothes were still drying, was dry. People with such obsessive-compulsive disorder were unlikely to steal.

The little boy, who was clearly new to the job, was completely oblivious to the police entering the room and wandering around, preoccupied with his own affairs. This was not the behavior expected of someone who had committed a crime.

Standing outside the door, he turned and patted the "father and son" who had been peeking in from the doorway since the beginning, and said with a familiar smile, "Come on, let's go sit in your room. Did you get a chicken dinner that game?"

His tone was relaxed and natural, which was unlike what one would expect from a police officer examining traces and collecting evidence at a crime scene.

It's more like the customary greeting between friends who bump into each other on the street. Just like how people in the old days would ask each other if they had eaten when they met unexpectedly on the road.

Hey, have you eaten yet?

"Yeah, I ate. What about you?"

Yes, that's what it feels like.

According to Zhu Chaoran, this is Chen Shu's unique professional skill or talent: being outgoing and chatting casually.

They can chat with unfamiliar uncles and aunts, unfamiliar grandpas and grandmas, unfamiliar children, and even if they see a ghost, they can still chat for a while.

Zhu Chaoran thought fiercely, but he had no choice but to admit defeat.

The two young men were thus led into their own room by Chen Shu in a daze.

Once inside, Chen Shu naturally sat down in the only chair in the room. On the contrary, the two homeowners stood awkwardly to the side, trembling with fear, no longer displaying the bravery and decisiveness they had shown when they were playing PUBG.

Chen Shu pointed to the spot on the bed where they had been playing the game and joked with a smile, "Sit down and talk first. Hmm, you guys were so enthusiastic when you were playing the game, how come you can't say a word now?"

This small provocation caused the man who had been playing games on the bed to habitually sit cross-legged on the bed again, while the other man who had been sitting in a chair remained standing by the bed.

The two young men looked at each other, smiled awkwardly, but remained silent.

"Judging from the way you were greeting each other just now, you must have been college classmates, right? So, are you going to work together in the real world after graduation?"

Seeing that the atmosphere remained lukewarm, with only Chen Shu rambling on, he wasn't annoyed or embarrassed. Instead, he naturally continued to ask questions.

As long as I am not embarrassed, it is others who are embarrassed!
At this point, the standing man, probably feeling extremely awkward, finally gave a lukewarm reply: "We're from a junior college, not university students, and we can't possibly be on your level."

I'm not afraid of your picky tongue, I'm just afraid you won't speak. The timing is almost right; it's time to unleash my trump card. Chen Shu was secretly pleased, seemingly ignoring the other's deliberate self-deprecation, and calmly continued:

"I'm still playing this game, it's called Peacekeeper Elite. But when I was your age, I played PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds the most, um, a PC game. You probably don't know this game, right?"

First, they reposition themselves, placing themselves within the same circle as the others. Then, they start with what the others are most passionate about, presenting a seemingly high-end but ultimately unsuitable competitor to provoke their conflict.

That's how the topic was brought up, and that's how the situation was opened up.

As Chen Shu expected, at this moment, the man sitting cross-legged eagerly interjected, "I know this game, it's made by Koreans! It's a pity that the configuration is too high, and you have to play it on a computer. The graphics are good, but otherwise it's really not as good as PUBG."

The man standing to one side nodded repeatedly.

In their eyes, "chicken dinner" is synonymous with "Peace Elite," and "Peace Elite" is synonymous with "chicken dinner." Little do they know that the original phrase "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner" actually originated from "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds."

"Hehe, the most important thing is that there are more girls playing PUBG!"

As expected, Zhu Chaoran, who had been silent for only a short while, hit the nail on the head. His startling words immediately stirred up the atmosphere, eliminating the natural barrier between the police and the public, and quickly bridging the gap between them. The other three people in the room nodded frequently.

Fatty, watch your image! Chen Shu covered his eyes and lowered his head in shame.

Seeing that the atmosphere in the room had been brewing for a while, and that everyone had become like-minded acquaintances, they realized that the atmosphere in the room was quite relaxed.

Chen Shu rallied again and seized the opportunity to ask, "The girl next door lost her phone in the bathroom. And your room is right next to the bathroom, so did you see or hear anything at the time?"

"Yes, I know. This morning, Sisi's phone was stolen in the bathroom, and she was shouting in the hallway. I was playing PUBG by the door at the time, so I ran over immediately." The standing man looked towards the bathroom outside the door and became more talkative.

"Huh? Sisi's phone was stolen in the bathroom? This morning? How come I didn't know?" The man who was casually sitting cross-legged suddenly sat up and stared wide-eyed after hearing his companion's story.

"When you went downstairs to buy lunch."

Chen Shu, who was sitting down, also sensed the unspoken meaning in their words and asked with amusement, "Oh? Do you know the girl who was robbed?"

"Of course I know you!"

We often play PUBG together!

The two said in unison.

Upon hearing this, Chen Shu's mind raced, and he felt a sense of realization: if they were friends, the possibility of them committing the crime wasn't nonexistent, but it was certainly very low. And the other person happened to be out during the time the theft occurred?

Thinking of this, Chen Shu immediately asked, "Did you notice anything when you went out?"

The man, who had just sat up, sat down again, gently tapping his forehead with his right fist, his brows furrowed as he pondered deeply:

"I was rushing out to buy lunch. I was in a hurry. But when I just stepped out of the room, I could vaguely see that the light in the bathroom next door was on, and there was a man standing there urinating."

He paused, looked up at his companion beside him, and an expression of disbelief gradually appeared on his face: "It looks like Old Wang!"

There is a play!

"Who is Lao Wang?" Chen Shu finally couldn't contain his excitement and asked eagerly.

"It's that big family of men next door." The standing man gestured with his chin towards the four-person family outside the door.

Calm down, calm down. It's possible that one of these two, or even one of them, is an acquaintance of the perpetrator. But if this person isn't lying, then the middle-aged man is indeed highly suspicious… Chen Shu thought to himself.

In a flash, he discovered an extremely subtle point of suspicion! A counterintuitive detail hidden in the mundane routine of life!

When I first entered the house dressed in casual clothes, the middle-aged man was still playing on his phone, waiting for his wife to cook lunch.

The second time Zhu Chaoran passed by the house fully armed and in police uniform, the man was found lying on the bed asleep with his face turned inward.
If I remember correctly, his wife was still cooking at that time, and they hadn't started eating yet!
Escape from the police? Avoid being seen? Avoid risks?

or,

He's just feeling guilty!

(End of this chapter)