Chapter 60 What do you mean by this!?

"People just have to accept getting old. When you're young, you're full of endless energy, but now look at us—you walk two steps and all you want to do is sit down and rest."

Yang Shengli sighed as he looked at the aging faces of the two men.

"Isn't that the truth? I find myself sleeping less and less these days."

The two were chatting away.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

—Knock, knock, knock.

The hair on Uncle Wang's arms stood on end instantly.

"Who is it? Is Cuixiang back?"

"Our daughter is pregnant; she's over at our son-in-law's house taking care of her."

Yang Shengli shook his head, then stood up to open the door.

Creak.

The door opened.

Chen Mo and Little Zhang appeared in his line of sight.

"Officers, what can I do for you?"

After reporting the incident yesterday, he had been taken in by the police for questioning.

He had said everything there was to say; he couldn't understand why they were looking for him again now.

"It's like this: after you reported the case yesterday, the local police went to investigate, but they found the person had disappeared. According to our investigation, the person should have been in your home at the time."

"We need to conduct a search of your home now. Please cooperate with us."

As soon as Little Zhang finished speaking,

Yang Shengli, inside the doorway, became visibly nervous.

At the same time, he hurriedly looked around the house.

What!

Hidden in my house?

For real!?

"Don't scare me, Officer."

Saying that, he quickly stepped aside to let the two of them in.

Meanwhile, Chen Mo had been observing his expression the entire time.

Being nervous was normal. Forget about a kidnapper—anyone would be nervous if a complete stranger had hidden in their home for a night.

Conclusion: he wasn't lying.

"When you left after reporting the incident, was there anyone else in your house? Like your children or your wife?"

If no one was home at the time, it would further solidify the possibility that the criminal and Xiao Yuqing had hidden here.

"There really was no one home then. I didn't dare come back to stay, so I stayed at my daughter's place for the night. I only just got back."

Little Zhang nodded upon hearing this.

This matched Brother Mo's speculation.

No one was home, and it was impossible for the criminal to carry someone down from the fourth floor—even if they did, it would be very difficult to take someone out of the residential area in broad daylight under everyone's watchful eyes.

Chen Mo looked down to inspect the door lock.

The lock was entirely silver, made of stainless steel.

There were no signs of it being tampered with, and Yang Shengli had kept his keys on him the whole time.

It seemed the culprit possessed lock-picking skills.

To prevent the two missing persons from opening the door, they must have picked the lock to get inside.

"Brother Mo, let me search."

There weren't many places to hide in the house to begin with, and since Xiao Yuqing's body was practically marinated in fragrance, there would definitely be a lingering scent after staying here for a night.

He then began to sniff carefully in the bedroom, under the bed, and in the wardrobe, but he didn't smell that blended fragrance from Xiao Yuqing's body.

He went to the second bedroom and even checked the bathroom, but found nothing.

He didn't feel disappointed; not finding anything didn't mean the person hadn't been here.

Perhaps they had cleaned up before leaving.

He walked over to Chen Mo and shook his head.

"No scent either?"

Chen Mo then looked at Yang Shengli to the side.

"Did you smell any fragrance when you came back?"

"What fragrance? No, there was no smell at all."

Chen Mo frowned. Such a heavy fragrance had nearly choked Little Zhang earlier.

Could someone stay here for a night without leaving a scent?

Then his gaze fell on the living room window.

Had the smell been aired out?

In his line of sight were the half-drawn curtains.

"It's broad daylight, why are the curtains drawn?"

As soon as Chen Mo spoke, Little Zhang took two steps in one and went straight forward to pull the curtains open.

And what neither of them expected...

...was that there was actually a person hiding behind the curtains.

"He... Hello."

The atmosphere froze for a moment.

Uncle Wang looked rather embarrassed as he extended his right hand and waved at the two of them.

A moment later.

With a bitter face, he explained to Chen Mo why he was there.

"You went to watch by yourself!?"

Chen Mo's expression was a bit unsightly.

Was their revolutionary friendship really that fragile?

"I wanted to see if the problem was with you or with me."

"And the result?" Chen Mo asked curiously.

"It's your problem! Nothing happened to me while I was spectating this time!"

Uncle Wang spoke with an expression that said 'you really screwed me over, kid.'

Then he looked excited; he finally wouldn't have to accompany Little Liu on night shift tonight.

The daytime was his, and the nighttime was his too!

This feeling was amazing!

He had never felt like there wasn't enough time before, but lately, half of it belonged to him and the other half belonged to the detention cell.

Chen Mo didn't say anything. If it really was his own problem that caused Uncle Wang to keep getting locked up, then he really couldn't blame the man for sneaking off alone.

Just then, Little Zhang suddenly spoke up.

"Brother Mo, I found a long hair on the curtain. It's almost the exact same length as Xiao Yuqing's."

Hearing this, Chen Mo immediately looked at Yang Shengli.

The meaning was clear: is this your wife's or your daughter's?

"No, no. My wife and daughter both have hair only down to their necks. It's not this long."

He indicated it didn't belong to his family.

In other words, Xiao Yuqing had been restrained behind the curtain by the criminal, who then opened the window to let the fragrance on her body dissipate outside.

No wonder Little Zhang didn't smell anything even after sniffing around the room.

"Any other clues?"

"None. And with Uncle Wang having just stayed here, he might have messed up whatever was left."

Just like a crime scene—if it's been tampered with, the useful information decreases.

The excitement on Uncle Wang's face froze. He looked at Chen Mo in a daze, then at Little Zhang.

His face was full of disbelief.

"What do you mean!?"

From the sound of it, they were going to lock him up again!

Unfair!

Unfair!

He waved his crossed hands.

Expressing his protest!

"Um..." Chen Mo didn't know what to say for a moment.

Uncle Wang himself didn't have any issues.

Because he had spent last night in the detention cell, he definitely didn't have the time to commit the crime.

But Yang Shengli was different.

He had the ability and the time.

This visit had already included the intention of taking him in to cooperate with the investigation.

The two were old comrades-in-arms, and with Uncle Wang's sudden appearance accidentally compromising the scene, they both had to go back and explain the situation clearly.

"Little Liu will be here soon."

Saying directly that they were taking him away again was too cruel.

After weighing his words, Chen Mo spoke tactfully.

This was all standard procedure; anyone else would have to do the same.

Otherwise, it would be a violation of enforcement—letting someone go despite clear suspicions just because they were an acquaintance.

If he really wanted what was best for Uncle Wang, he should help him clear his suspicion as soon as possible.

"Sigh!"

Another helpless sigh escaped his lips.

He looked at Old Yang beside him, whose face was now grave and hands were clenched tight, looking exactly like he himself had the first time he went in.

He comforted him: "Don't panic. I can't speak for other places, but I'm very familiar with the place we're going next."

In this situation, they could only take things as they came.

What else could he do but accept his fate? He couldn't exactly go on the run.

"You're familiar?"

Yang Shengli looked puzzled, the expression on his face not relaxing at all.

They had known each other for so many years and knew each other's backgrounds perfectly; it would be a miracle if he had any connections there.

"Stop trying to comfort me. It's not like they won't lock us up."

"They're definitely going to lock us up; this is a necessary process for the police to handle a case."

"From the perspective of suspicion, the culprit committed the crime across the hall, but the person ended up in your house. Aside from a motive, you have both the time and the ability."

"As for me, because I came to find you and accidentally damaged the scene, and because I'm your friend, if you were the killer, I would have a perfect reason to help you destroy the scene."

Yang Shengli looked at his old buddy in surprise.

Where did all these professional terms come from?

"Since when did you become so knowledgeable?"

"Practice makes perfect," Uncle Wang said with a confident face.

Practice makes perfect?

Why was he talking more and more strangely?

Was 'practice makes perfect' really a phrase you could use for this topic?

He shook his head, not taking the words to heart, still looking worried.

"Sigh, I don't know what it's like inside. I've never been in there in my life."

"Inside, there are beds, tables, and cameras overhead," Uncle Wang said casually.

"They deliver meals at set times. To be honest, you're in for a treat tonight; I heard yesterday that the chef is making Kung Pao Chicken tonight."

"Sigh, how can anyone have an appetite at a time like this? I won't even be able to sleep tonight."

"Not so! The beds inside have a special kind of magic. You fall asleep as soon as you lie down. It even cured my insomnia."