Zhang Jian had been swamped with work and forgot, and his family had no idea.
Just as Zhang Qian said, if it weren't for the commendation, she and her mother would have never known that Zhang Jian had almost been injured and was saved by Shen Xin.
"My mom wanted to treat you to a meal to properly thank you. Are you free tonight?" Zhang Qian asked, holding out a gift box.
Shen Xin's first instinct was to say it wasn't necessary. 'I already got a third-class merit award out of it, what's there to thank me for?'
But faced with Zhang Qian's radiant smile, he inexplicably shook his head and said he was free.
"Then it's a date. Let's add each other on WeChat. I'll send you the location later," Zhang Qian said.
If she let Zhang Jian bring Shen Xin over, he would probably just forget again.
"Okay."
Shen Xin quickly pulled out his phone to scan her code and add her as a friend.
"See you tonight, then." Zhang Qian waved her phone, shoved the gift box into Shen Xin's hands, and turned to leave.
She was wearing a mustard-yellow pleated dress with a cinched waist. Her long hair was unbraided, held back by a headband. She looked poised and incredibly elegant.
Shen Xin just then noticed how tall she was.
He was almost 185 cm, and she had to be at least 170 cm.
'No wonder she could make even such an ugly dress look stylish.'
By the time he snapped out of it, she was already far away.
Looking at the gift box in his hands, Shen Xin finally processed what had happened. He thought about chasing after her but then decided against it.
'I'll just share it with everyone at the office later.'
Subconsciously, Shen Xin opened Zhang Qian's WeChat Moments.
'Damn it, it's set to "Visible for the last three days"!'
Back in the office, amidst the teasing from his colleagues, he shared the gift.
But then Li Dongsheng pulled Shen Xin aside and specifically warned him to think carefully before getting any ideas about Zhang Qian.
"Kid, just imagine what it would be like to work with your future father-in-law before you make a move," he advised, speaking from experience.
Shen Xin silently shivered and quickly denied having any such ideas.
'A relationship isn't a one-sided affair. You have to see if the girl is even interested.'
Still, compared to his ex-girlfriends, Shen Xin really thought Zhang Qian was great.
Her beauty went without saying, but more importantly, Zhang Jian was a police officer. A girl from a family like that was sure to have been raised with strict values—a good, respectable family.
Otherwise, his mom wouldn't have called him the day before yesterday to ask about Zhang Qian.
The afternoon was quiet. As Shen Xin handled his usual paperwork, he pondered whether he should bring a gift to the dinner that night. Suddenly, he received a phone call.
It was from Chen Chao!
They had exchanged numbers before.
"Captain Chen."
Shen Xin wondered why Chen Chao was suddenly calling him.
On the phone, Chen Chao first congratulated Shen Xin on receiving the third-class merit award, but then his tone shifted. "Xiaoshen, something's come up. That guy, Li Jin, wants to see you alone. He says he has some information. What do you think? Do you want to see him?"
Shen Xin froze.
Li Jin's case was already closed and had been submitted to the procuratorate. All that was left was the final sentencing.
Why would he suddenly ask to see him at a time like this?
"Is there a problem with the case?" Shen Xin asked.
He was worried Li Jin might be trying to pull something, like offering new information or recanting his confession.
It wouldn't be the first time something like that had happened.
"I don't think so. I asked him, and he said it's about Wu Zhicun," Chen Chao replied.
Now Shen Xin was even more confused.
He speculated that Li Jin might want to ask him to look after Wu Zhicun. Or maybe he just wanted to know how Wu Zhicun was doing. If it was the latter, he could have asked Captain Chen directly or even called himself. There was no need to specifically request a meeting.
Besides, he hadn't been the lead on the case.
"Captain Chen, I'll go see him then." Shen Xin could tell that Chen Chao probably wanted him to go, or he wouldn't have made a special call.
"Alright, then. Let's do it now. See you at the detention center."
After hanging up, Shen Xin explained the situation to Yao Wensheng, who was on duty. Yao Wensheng thought for a moment and agreed that Shen Xin should go.
Since Captain Chen himself had called, it would be inappropriate not to go.
With that, Shen Xin got in his car and headed for Lishan District, west of Nanjiang.
The city's detention center was near the crematorium in Lishan District. The first and second detention centers were at the same address, in a very remote location.
Half an hour later, Shen Xin arrived at his destination.
Speaking of which, although the jail was also here, this was Shen Xin's first time visiting.
He called Chen Chao, who had already arrived.
After signing in, Shen Xin drove through the gate and quickly found Chen Chao.
Grinning, Chen Chao led Shen Xin inside while advising, "Don't get into small talk with him. Just listen. I doubt the guy has anything useful to say anyway."
Shen Xin nodded, taking note.
After completing the registration, Shen Xin was soon brought to a cold interrogation room, where he saw Li Jin.
He was wearing a yellow prison uniform and his head was shaved, which actually made him look rather sharp.
Upon seeing Shen Xin, he even greeted him with a grin.
Shen Xin found this strange.
Although he had never dealt with a convict about to be sentenced, he figured that someone on the verge of going to prison would most likely be terrified.
But Li Jin's demeanor suggested he didn't care at all.
Once the guard left the room, he spoke. "Officer Shen, right? We met last time, but we didn't get a chance to chat."
His tone was calm, as if he were catching up with a friend in a teahouse.
Shen Xin remembered Captain Chen's advice and asked in a serious tone why he wanted to see him.
Li Jin said, "I asked them. I know you were the one who put the recorder on that stray cat's collar. Officer Shen, you're really something. To be honest, when I saw the recorder on Little Black's neck, I was completely shocked."
He narrowed his eyes slightly, staring intently at Shen Xin.
There was something inexplicably creepy about his gaze.
But Shen Xin wasn't easily intimidated. 'You commit a crime, I find a way to catch you. Nothing wrong with that.'
"If that's all you wanted to say, then I don't think we need to talk any further." Shen Xin made a move to get up.
Li Jin immediately stopped him.
"I was just making small talk. Don't be scared, Officer Shen. I'm already in here. I'm not going to do anything to you." He jangled his handcuffs.
'Who's scared?' Shen Xin thought, sitting back down and gesturing for him to continue.
Li Jin sighed softly and asked in a low voice, "How is Uncle Wu?"
Shen Xin's expression didn't change.
After a moment's thought, he realized there was no hiding it. "Not good. A few days ago, he took rat poison in a suicide attempt. I happened to be there at the time and got him to the hospital, so he was saved. I don't think he's been discharged yet."
"Suicide?"
The color drained from Li Jin's face.
But he quickly composed himself. His expression shifted for a moment, and then he said a sincere "thank you."
"That man..."
Li Jin looked up and sighed with emotion, then changed the subject. "It seems I was right to ask for you. You're a good person, and you're smart enough to use a stray cat to find me. Seriously, that was brilliant!"
He gave Shen Xin a thumbs-up from across the table.
Shen Xin thought for a moment and said, "The fact that you care so much about Uncle Wu shows that you're not a bad person at heart. Go in there, reform yourself, and start a new life when you get out."
"Forget it." Li Jin let out a strange, derisive snort. "Enough small talk. I assume you know about Wu Jiawang's missing person case?"
Shen Xin nodded.
Li Jin continued, "I've thought about this case carefully. I think Uncle Wu's suspicions have some merit. And I noticed something: Wu Jiawang had a dog, and that dog also disappeared after he went missing."
Shen Xin suddenly remembered Wu Zhicun telling him that Wu Jiawang had a dog.
One of the reasons Wu Zhicun believed his grandson had been murdered was because of that dog.
Li Jin went on, "I asked Uncle Wu for details. It's a yellow mutt with a white face. Jia Wang found it as a stray, so half of its left ear is missing—probably bitten off by another dog. And it has a white spot on its left hind leg, near its rear."
"Even though Uncle Wu is blind, this is what Jia Wang told him, so it should be reliable."
"Most importantly, I've seen that dog."
He suddenly looked up, staring directly at Shen Xin.