Chapter 249: Chapter 230: Groundbaiting, Patience

"Chief Jiao, you’re a police officer. You have to be responsible for what you say!"

Inside the interrogation room, Zhou Hui crossed his legs and said, "You ask what I have to do with Han Xiaolong’s death? How should I know?"

"Asking me that, isn’t that a false accusation? Let me tell you, I run a company now, I know the law. You can’t just slander a law-abiding citizen because you’re the police!"

"And another thing, I’m the victim today! Mao Yanru came to my company, caused a huge scene, and smashed my things. I’m the one who’s been wronged! Why aren’t you investigating her instead of coming here to question me?!"

"Chief Jiao, you can’t just bully me because I’m an honest man. Let me tell you, even honest men have tempers!"

Jiao Guoyi’s expression darkened. He snapped, "Take a look at where you are and put your legs down!"

Zhou Hui put his legs down, but his tone remained arrogant as he directly asked Jiao Guoyi when he could leave.

Jiao Guoyi was a veteran and knew he couldn’t let Zhou Hui control the situation.

He slammed his hand on the table and barked, "Zhou Hui, you want to talk law with me? Fine, then I’ll give you a lesson in the law."

"Han Xiaolong’s case is still unsolved. It’s a murder case. Once the judiciary files a case like this, the statute of limitations never expires. In other words, as long as the case isn’t solved, the investigation will go on forever."

"Now, Mao Yanru is saying you’re the one who murdered Han Xiaolong. So, is there a problem with me questioning you?"

"What, you think the chief of a local station is too low-ranking to question you? Fine. You just wait. I’ll go contact the district’s Criminal Investigation Division and have them question you!"

At the mention of this, the arrogant Zhou Hui’s bravado faltered.

But he quickly resorted to playing dumb, saying, "Well, you still can’t just falsely accuse me based on a single sentence from Mao Yanru. By that logic, I could say Mao Yanru was the one who killed him."

Jiao Guoyi shot back sharply, "Are we falsely accusing you? We are investigating. But have you been cooperating?"

Zhou Hui subconsciously started to cross his legs again, but catching Jiao Guoyi’s severe glare, he resentfully put them down.

But he still had a brazen look on his face. "Chief Jiao, don’t try to scare me. All I know is, I didn’t kill him. It has nothing to do with me."

"I’m a man of integrity. I have nothing to fear no matter where I go."

"You can stop asking. We’re not getting anywhere. Didn’t you say you were going to get the Criminal Investigation Division? Go on, then! Let them come and ask. I’ll just tell them the same thing."

"Anyway, this isn’t over. Mao Yanru has to compensate me. And you people, you’d better let me go right now. If you don’t, I’ll definitely find a way to have a serious talk with you later."

With that, he leaned back in his chair, turned his head away, and refused to say another word.

In front of the monitor, Liu Jie’s expression was calm.

He had seen countless scoundrels like this.

Shen Xin wasn’t concerned either. He was about to speak when he suddenly heard shouting from outside.

"Mao Yanru, you stinking bitch, get the fuck out here! Fuck you! You dare go to my place and smash things? I’ll fucking kill you!"

Shen Xin immediately looked at Liu Jie.

’That’s Li Jing, isn’t it?’

Liu Jie beckoned. "Come on, let’s go take a look."

The two of them left the room and headed for the reception hall.

But they didn’t reveal themselves, opting to observe quietly from a corner.

She was wearing a wool coat, tall boots, and had wavy hair. She wore two rather large earrings.

But there was a clearly visible roll of fat around her stomach. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Her face was caked in foundation, and in terms of features, she was far from beautiful.

"Li Jing, do you know where you are? What’s all this fuss about!"

Zhao Peizhu appeared and yelled at her.

The two of them probably knew each other, but Li Jing ignored him, trying to force her way directly into the case-handling area. She shouted, "Where’s that slut Mao Yanru? I want to ask her who gave her the nerve to cause trouble at my family’s company! I guess I’ve been too nice to her!"

Zhao Peizhu blocked her path and dragged her into a nearby office.

Shen Xin said in a low voice, "Director Liu, this Li Jing is really domineering. It makes sense that Zhou Hui would have had a strong motive back then to hide his relationship with Mao Yanru."

’If he was also saddled with gambling debts and was counting on Li Jing to pay them off, the motive would be even stronger.’

Liu Jie nodded slightly. "Never mind that. Anyway, we’ve managed to chum the waters. Now whether the fish takes the bait will depend on who has more patience."

Shen Xin blinked. ’So Director Liu is a fishing enthusiast,’ he thought.

As previously arranged, Zhao Peizhu began to question Li Jing.

Her voice was astonishingly loud as she ranted that Mao Yanru was crazy, a mad dog biting anyone she came across.

Meanwhile, Jiao Guoyi’s side of things also wrapped up.

"This guy also reported Mao Yanru for being involved in prostitution, for providing illegal services," Jiao Guoyi said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Liu Jie mulled it over for a moment, then said, "Let him go."

He’d have to be released sooner or later.

And under the current circumstances, Liu Jie didn’t expect to get anything useful out of him anyway.

Jiao Guoyi nodded, then asked if they should release Mao Yanru as well.

Liu Jie shook his head. "Hold her for a few days. He accused her of prostitution, right? Investigate it."

They couldn’t let Mao Yanru out again to disrupt their investigation.

Soon, Zhou Hui completed the paperwork and was released.

He also ran into Li Jing.

Li Jing was still fuming. She went right up and started hitting Zhou Hui with her purse, yelling, "Didn’t you say you broke up with Mao Yanru? Is this what you call ’broken up’?!"

The two of them caused a scene outside the reception hall.

Zhou Hui’s face was grim. Suddenly, he stopped walking away.

He ran back and started shouting at Jiao Guoyi, accusing the police station of smearing his reputation. He demanded to see Mao Yanru right now, insisting she apologize and clear his name.

"And you, Jiao Guoyi, you have to apologize to me too! Otherwise, I’ll post the video of you guys online and let the netizens be my judge!"

"I’m the fucking victim here! But you arrested me, interrogated me like a criminal, and even accused me of murder! Jiao Guoyi, if you don’t give me an explanation today, I’m not fucking leaving!"