243: The painting thief is you

Seeing that everyone had gathered, Liang Yuzhu didn't delay any longer and began to speak the words she had prepared in advance.

"Everyone, thank you for your hard work tonight. Police have found the art thief and the ancient painting that he hadn't had time to smuggle out. You can all leave on your own shortly."

As soon as she spoke, it instantly caused a heated discussion among the crowd below the stage.

"I didn't expect Police to be so efficient. They found the art thief and the ancient painting so quickly!"

"After tonight's events, I'm even more curious about this ancient painting. What kind of famous painting would make a thief risk being targeted by the Li family and Police to steal it in public?"

"Didn't they say that the Li family's security system is so tight that not even a mosquito could fly out? How was this painting stolen?"

Everyone was full of curiosity about this ancient painting, and each of them wanted to stay and see what the ancient painting looked like.

"Officer Liang, since the ancient painting has been found, can we still have the honor of seeing this painting?"

Hearing this, Liang Yuzhu hesitated slightly: "The ancient painting is important evidence for Police. According to regulations, it cannot be publicly displayed."

"However, I just communicated with Li Zong, and he said that the purpose of holding this banquet tonight was to exhibit the famous painting. We will follow Li Zong's suggestion and exhibit it for a few minutes shortly."

Hearing Liang Yuzhu's words, the guests who were originally eager to leave immediately stood still, all wanting to admire the famous painting created by a tang dynasty master.

Lan Zijun, who was below the stage, was not as happy as the other guests. Instead, she frowned worriedly.

"Why is Liang Yuzhu still exhibiting the famous painting? Where did we find a famous painting?"

Su Yue, however, guessed the purpose of Liang Yuzhu's actions, and he couldn't help but show a satisfied smile.

"I didn't expect Captain Liang to be quite smart. She knows that only this way can the final culprit truly be forced out. This move is indeed much more effective."

Listening to Su Yue's cryptic words, Lan Zijun couldn't help but frown: "Su Yue, what are you saying? Can Liang Yuzhu really catch the thief by doing this? What about the ancient painting later?"

Su Yue looked at Liang Yuzhu, who was calmly giving instructions to her subordinates not far away, and nodded affirmatively: "President Lan, don't worry. Since Captain Liang dares to do this, she must have a plan. Police should also have the technology to make a fake painting look real."

Lan Zijun habitually followed Su Yue's gaze towards Liang Yuzhu. Seeing Liang Yuzhu's composed appearance, her slightly worried mood immediately calmed down.

She nodded: "Indeed, Liang Yuzhu has always been very measured in her actions. She wouldn't do something she isn't confident about. I was worrying too much."

Soon, she frowned again: "Su Yue, didn't I tell you to call me by my name outside of the company? How did you forget so quickly?"

Su Yue froze. Under Lan Zijun's clear gaze, he could only brace himself and call out: "Lan Ziju."

Lan Zijun's lips curved upwards, a hint of smugness in her expression: "You better remember this. Outside of the company, you are not allowed to call me President Lan anymore, or I will have to punish you."

Su Yue was a little surprised, unable to believe that he would hear such words from Lan Zijun's mouth. Was this still the Lan Zijun who was cold and spoke little in front of others?

However, Su Yue couldn't help but be curious about what Lan Zijun's punishment would be. He somehow felt that her punishment would be a good thing for him.

But in order to maintain his image in front of Lan Zijun, Su Yue didn't dare to show too much, only nodding.

"I know, Lan..." Just as Lan Zijun's eyes narrowed slightly, he quickly changed his words: "Lan Ziju."

Lan Zijun let out a light hum, choosing to let him off the hook for now: "Alright."

"Let's go see Liang Yuzhu's next arrangements. I'm very curious about who the art thief is."

Su Yue actually already had a suspect in mind, but since the truth was about to be revealed, he didn't want to steal Liang Yuzhu's thunder at this time. Therefore, he didn't say much and quietly followed behind Lan Zijun.

When he saw Liang Yuzhu calmly instructing her subordinates to place the ancient painting in the display case, allowing all the spectators present to admire it, he couldn't help but praise Liang Yuzhu in his heart.

Liang Yuzhu truly lived up to her reputation as the Captain of the municipal Criminal Investigation Team. Seeing her completely unperturbed expression, if Su Yue didn't know that the painting was fake, he would have been fooled by Liang Yuzhu, thinking that she had really found the ancient painting.

While everyone was admiring the ancient painting, Su Yue, Lan Zijun, Police, and others were also secretly observing their reactions when they saw the ancient painting.

Lan Zijun didn't have much experience in solving cases, but being able to become the President of Yuantu Investment, she naturally wasn't completely without ability.

Soon, she discovered that someone among them had a completely different reaction from the others. The person seemed very surprised when they saw the ancient painting actually displayed in front of everyone, and they observed it more carefully than anyone else.

As soon as Lan Zijun discovered this, she whispered in Su Yue's ear: "Su Yue, is it really that person?"

Su Yue knew who Lan Zijun was talking about, so he nodded: "Yes, it's him."

Hearing the affirmative answer, Lan Zijun snorted coldly: "No wonder he was so proactive. It turns out he had a guilty conscience. However, Liang Yuzhu probably doesn't have evidence to prove that he did it. How are we going to prove it?"

Su Yue shook his head indifferently: "It's alright. He will lead us to the evidence later. We just need to wait."

After spending so much time together, Lan Zijun also knew Su Yue's capabilities. The fact that he could say it so confidently indicated that he was completely sure about this matter, and only then did she feel relieved.

"Okay."

Liang Yuzhu said she would only display it for a few minutes, and she really only displayed it for five minutes. As soon as the time was up, she had her subordinates block the guests and put the ancient painting away.

The guests who were originally very dissatisfied with Liang Yuzhu all changed their ugly expressions after witnessing her ability, and they praised Liang Yuzhu and Police in various ways.

However, no one paid attention to them. They didn't need anyone's cooperation and played the role of fair-weather friends to the extreme.

This made Lan Zijun feel depressed again, but this time she didn't have time to argue with them. Instead, she was pulled by Su Yue and walked out of the Li family villa.

Lan Zijun was a little surprised to see Su Yue pulling her into the car: "Didn't we not catch the art thief yet? Why are we leaving?"

Su Yue smiled: "It's precisely because we haven't caught the art thief yet that we need to leave and give the other party a chance to perform."

Lan Zijun looked at Police who were also leaving the Li family villa and suddenly understood the purpose of their actions.

However, she couldn't help but worry: "Are you sure nothing will go wrong if we just leave like this? What if the other party doesn't do what we expect?"

Su Yue shook his head affirmatively: "Don't worry, as long as the ancient painting hasn't left the Li family for a day, he will definitely go check if it's still in the Li family."

"Moreover, just now he saw that the ancient painting was so realistic, he will definitely doubt whether the painting he hid was really found by Police. He will definitely go look for that painting."

"At that time, the people Liang Yuzhu arranged in advance will be able to directly catch him."

"However, if we don't leave, he will definitely suspect that Liang Yuzhu is bluffing him. Only when he thinks all of this is real will he become nervous and lose his ability to think."

Hearing Su Yue's explanation, Lan Zijun couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

"We were all investigating the case together, but I didn't expect you to think so much deeper than me. I didn't even think that the final art thief could be caught using such a method."

Su Yue smiled a little awkwardly and said: "I just like to watch some criminal investigation dramas usually, that's why I learned a little bit of case-solving skills. Captain Liang knows more about solving cases."

At first, Su Yue was just thinking of putting on a show in front of the guests to make the art thief reveal himself in public.

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The move of directly making the art thief worry about whether the painting was found by Police was thought up by Liang Yuzhu. This is better than what he originally thought, both in terms of action and logic.

Liang Yuzhu truly deserves to be the Captain of the Criminal Investigation Team. She is very capable in solving cases.

"So what do we do next?" Lan Zijun asked curiously.

Su Yue looked Lan Zijun up and down in her luxurious evening gown and shook off the idea of climbing over the wall to sneak into the Li family.

He said with some hesitation: "Let's see if we can sneak into the Li family?"

Lan Zijun was about to nod, but she quickly realized that she was wearing an evening gown and high heels. How could she possibly sneak into the Li family like that?

Just as the two of them were wondering what to do, Lan Zijun's phone rang.

Lan Zijun picked it up and saw that it was a message from Liang Yuzhu, and her heart filled with joy.

"Liang Yuzhu sent me a message. We should be able to get into the Li family."

She clicked on it and saw that Liang Yuzhu was asking her and Su Yue: "Lan Ziju, did you leave by car with Su Yue?"

"Yes, we are already in the car," Lan Zijun quickly typed back.

Liang Yuzhu's reply was quick: "Okay, then you pretend to go home first, and then come to the back door of the Li family. I will meet you there."

Lan Zijun's worries instantly disappeared. She replied with an emoji.

[ok.]

Lan Zijun looked up and instructed the driver: "Driver, drive. Take us around in a circle and then go to the back door of the Li family."

The driver quickly responded: "Okay, President Lan."

Lan Zijun explained to Su Yue: "Liang Yuzhu said she will meet us at the back door."

Su Yue nodded: "Okay."

Since Liang Yuzhu was meeting them, he didn't need to take Lan Zijun to climb over the wall anymore.

Just as their car was leaving, Liang Yuzhu also came out of the villa with her group of subordinates. Behind them was a person with a black cloth covering their face and their hands handcuffed behind their back. This person was clearly the 'art thief'.

Li Kangsheng was very grateful to Liang Yuzhu and was extremely polite to her.

"Thank you for your hard work tonight, Captain Liang! I will definitely go to Police Station to give Captain Liang a banner of appreciation another day."

Li Kangsheng had already said that he would donate that ancient painting to the museum. If the ancient painting was lost at his house, the museum might blame him, so he had been worried all night.

Now that the ancient painting was found intact and Police had caught the culprit, the stone that had been weighing on his heart all night finally lifted.

Liang Yuzhu shook her head and refused: "Li Zong is too kind, this is what we police should do. Since the matter has been resolved, we will leave now."

Li Kangsheng quickly smiled and saw them off: "Alright, alright, I'll see you off."

Liang Yuzhu stopped the excited Li Kangsheng: "There's no need for Li Zong to see us off. Since the matter has been resolved, I wish Li Zong and Mr. Li a good night's sleep tonight."

Li Kangsheng smiled and nodded: "Of course."

Li Wenbin also echoed with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work, Captain Liang."

Liang Yuzhu didn't say anything more and left by car with her subordinates.

The lively villa quickly returned to quietness.

The smile on Li Kangsheng's face instantly disappeared, and he still felt lingering fear as he sighed: "Fortunately, nothing major happened tonight!"

Although his birthday banquet was ruined, he was also very angry, but compared to the ancient painting being safe, this was the most important thing.

Otherwise, Li Kangsheng didn't know how difficult the following days would be, especially since he chose to donate the ancient painting because he had received some information.

If those people thought he had deliberately staged this whole thing, then he and the Li family would really be in trouble!

Li Wenbin saw Li Kangsheng's worried and scared look and frowned: "Father, why are you so polite to them? Didn't you buy this painting?"

Li Kangsheng looked at Li Wenbin with a heavy heart and shook his head: "Wenbin, some things don't belong to us just because we bought them. I'm just returning the item now."

Thinking of something, his face suddenly became a little ugly, and his voice became much softer.

"Wenbin, you didn't do anything tonight, did you?"

A trace of panic flashed in Li Wenbin's eyes. He asked calmly: "Father, what are you talking about? Haven't I been by your side all night?"

Li Kangsheng carefully examined Li Wenbin and saw no abnormality on his face, only then did he completely breathe a sigh of relief.

"It's good that you didn't do it. I thought you did it and worried all night. Fortunately, you are not that stupid to do something like stealing the painting."

Li Wenbin's face instantly turned a little ugly, but he lowered his head and didn't let Li Kangsheng notice.

"Father, you're overthinking. The painting is yours, how could I possibly steal it?"

Li Kangsheng nodded: "It's good that you know. I can give you anything you want, but this painting, let's not touch it again!"

Li Wenbin nodded obediently.

After worrying and being scared all night, now completely relaxed, Li Kangsheng didn't have the energy to say anything more to Li Wenbin and went back to his room to sleep shortly after.

Li Wenbin looked at the brightly lit, empty villa, his eyes filled with gloom.

Finally, he walked directly towards the back garden.

At this time, there was no one in the villa, and he didn't have any scruples. He directly entered the secret room hidden in the garden.

However, when he saw that the precious ancient painting was still placed in the secret room, his originally angry mood suddenly turned panicked.

Police didn't find the ancient painting? Then where did the painting they displayed come from? What was going on with that art thief?

Just as Li Wenbin realized he had been tricked, a rhythmic sound of footsteps suddenly came from behind him.

In an instant, his pupils dilated, and he subconsciously used the painting to block himself.

Looking at Liang Yuzhu, Su Yue, and the others who had returned, his eyes were filled with anger.

He gritted his teeth and threatened: "Don't come any closer! Otherwise, I will destroy this painting!"

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