Chapter 252: Chapter 230: Chumming, Patience

But he was also afraid that if he didn’t hold on, they’d miss the chance to catch Zhou Hui.

And then there were Shen Xin and his partner.

He’d invited them here to help, but it had been days. Weren’t their superiors in Nanjiang going to have a problem with him keeping them here for so long?

They had their own cases to deal with.

Then there was Mao Yanru.

Right now, she was still at the station, clamoring that the moment she was out, she was going to go after Zhou Hui.

She was also screaming that the police weren’t doing their jobs and demanding to know why they hadn’t arrested Zhou Hui when they knew he was a suspect.

Shen Xin, who was often by Liu Jie’s side, could clearly see the dark circles under his eyes growing heavier.

He probably hadn’t rested much at all these past few days.

"Three days."

In the office, Liu Jie held up three fingers. "We’ll keep surveillance for three more days," he said. "If we still don’t find anything, we’ll leave a few people behind and the main team will head back."

After three days, he couldn’t keep this many people tied up here.

As he spoke, Liu Jie apologized to Shen Xin, saying he’d have to trouble him for three more days. If they still found nothing, he’d have Shen Xin and his partner return to Nanjiang first.

Shen Xin quickly replied, "Liu Zhi, it’s no problem. Captain Sun even called me specifically to say we should cooperate with you fully."

Sun Zhao had called, but it was to ask when Shen Xin would be able to return.

Liu Jie nodded and told Ding Junbao and the others to get back to work.

Shen Xin stayed behind, hoping to find a new breakthrough.

Liu Jie knew it was now a contest of patience. He believed they had already spooked Zhou Hui. With all investigations being conducted in secret and the initial fuss having died down, if Zhou Hui was going to make a move, it would be soon.

「Two more days passed in a flash.」

There was still no movement from Zhou Hui. His routine was a straight line between two points: the factory and his home in town.

The same went for Li Jing. She ran a beauty shop in town, and every day she’d go there to work, pick up the kids, and so on.

Over these two days, Shen Xin and Ding Yuwei found time to continue posing as anti-fraud awareness officers and wandered around the village.

They were hoping to glean some useful information from the villagers’ chatter.

A couple of days ago, people in the village were still talking about it.

After all, Mao Yanru had caused quite a scene.

But in the last two days, the gossip had died down.

On the final day, Shen Xin and Ding Yuwei made a special trip to Luo Limei’s house to check on her and the old dog.

The dog had been instrumental in identifying Zhou Hui.

In the courtyard, Luo Limei silently wiped away tears.

After the news spread through the village, she had gone to find Huang Qingmei and had an argument with her.

Shen Xin had tried to talk her out of it.

But she still cried whenever the subject came up, feeling that Han Xiaolong’s death was a terrible injustice.

Shen Xin could only comfort her repeatedly, assuring her that the case would be solved sooner or later.

The old dog was lying on the ground. When Shen Xin petted it, it only lifted its head slightly.

’It really is old,’ he thought.

The two of them said their goodbyes and left. They got in their car and hadn’t driven far when a Mercedes-Benz drove past them.

Shen Xin glanced at the license plate. It was Zhou Hui’s car.

Shen Xin calmly drove out of Wuba Village, then immediately called Liu Jie to ask what was going on. Why was Zhou Hui back in the village?

Shen Xin met up with Liu Jie and the others on a road outside the village.

The newly installed surveillance cameras could be viewed over the network.

"What’s he doing there?"

Liu Jie frowned.

After returning home, Zhou Hui soon reemerged on foot, carrying two gifts.

It was mid-afternoon, and there weren’t many people in the village.

Zhou Hui headed south, apparently to deliver the gifts. On the surveillance feed, he turned onto a side road and finally stopped in front of a house.

Shen Xin’s brow furrowed. "Huh? Isn’t that Yang Maocai’s house?" 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"Who?"

Inside the car, Liu Jie and the others all looked up at Shen Xin.

On the monitor, Zhou Hui was knocking on the door.

Shen Xin quickly explained the situation with Yang Maocai’s family, then asked, "Is there some relationship between Zhou Hui and Yang Maocai that we don’t know about?"

The two men weren’t related.

As for whether they were friends, that was unknown.

But Yang Maocai was dead. He had been for four years.

On the camera feed, the door opened, and Zhou Hui went inside.

About half an hour later, Zhou Hui reappeared. The gifts had been left behind. On the monitor, his steps seemed hesitant.

He kept stopping and turning his head to look back.

Eventually, he left and started walking home.

His behavior throughout the whole process was highly unusual.

"Investigate!"

Liu Jie didn’t waste any words, ordering Ding Junbao to immediately look into the relationship between Zhou Hui and Yang Maocai.

Shen Xin felt a nagging doubt.

Yang Maocai had died in a car accident four years ago, and the hit-and-run driver was never found.

Moreover, Shen Xin remembered something the middle-aged woman from across the street had said last time.

She’d said that around that time, Yang Maocai had somehow come into a fortune, building a new house and getting married.

At the time, he hadn’t thought much of it.

But now, connecting it to Zhou Hui, Shen Xin thought for a moment. A bold theory suddenly formed in his mind.