"I'll say it again, tell him to watch his mouth. At most, he should say that if he sees someone going into the bathroom, he shouldn't get into trouble. I know you might not listen to me, but if you don't, don't come looking for me again. I don't want your stupidity to cause me to die young!" Minmin glared at Gao Sanjiang again with her seemingly expressive eyes.
Although Gao Sanjiang still didn't quite understand, he did understand the last sentence: if he didn't listen, he shouldn't come looking for Sister Minmin anymore. For Gao Sanjiang, it would be better to just kill her. Who says a rogue can't have true feelings? Once a rogue's true feelings are stirred, they are just as intense, and might even be more sincere than those students.
Minmin seemed lost in her memories again. Even among those with supernatural abilities, the intensity of their perception of the fluctuations of their own kind varies, and Minmin, perhaps due to what happened back then, was particularly sensitive. That almost irresistible power from back then still lingered in her mind. Now, although Zhang Lei appeared ordinary, the power he released in that instant seemed almost as strong as that previous fluctuation; perhaps the only difference was the icy feeling.
Almost simultaneously, the police finally arrived at Xiao Wuzi's house. It was also his own fault; he, his wife, and his mother-in-law often quarreled and fought, and it was not uncommon for their house to be filled with banging and rattling. In comparison, the noise this morning was not very loud.
No one cared about the burnt smell Zhang Lei was making at their house. Xiao Wuzi was quite notorious in the area, and getting involved would only cause trouble. Once they confirmed that the unpleasant smell was coming from his house, no one bothered with it anymore. They assumed that Xiao Wuzi had stolen another dog from somewhere and was singeing its fur.
It wasn't until the little girl trapped in the crevice woke up, crawled out, and then lingered for a long time before someone finally understood what she was saying and called the police.
To Zhang Lei's surprise, Xiao Wuzi's wife died, but his mother pulled through. The old lady only suffered some minor injuries from the fall and fainted due to excessive grief. She did not have the high blood pressure and heart disease that Zhang Lei had expected.
...
"Zhang Lei, do you want to come with me to pick up Brother Liu Yun? His flight arrives tonight!" Tian Xiao and Zhang Lei were going the same way, which was not a coincidence. Their original purpose in coming to Shanghai was to observe Zhang Lei, so of course they wanted to find a house that was close to Zhang Lei's home.
"Well, you can come see me tonight. I might not be able to come out. You know, something happened at home. But I really hope I can get the documents soon!" Zhang Lei wasn't really sure whether he should come out tonight.
"You don't seem to have a phone at home, do you?" Tian Xiao knew this from Zhang Lei's information without him having to say it. "Take this cell phone for now, and bring it back to school tomorrow. Actually, you'll be issued one eventually!"
"Oh!" Zhang Lei certainly wouldn't stand on ceremony with her, and ended up taking his phone home after separating from Tian Xiao.
The house was bustling with activity. Several aunts were gathered there, along with two uncles and several cousins. It was strange, really. Zhang Lei's mother's previous generation consisted entirely of women, with only one uncle. But in this generation, apart from the uncle's family, there was only one girl. The rest were all boys.
They were discussing how to handle the funeral arrangements, whether to call back the eldest sister and hold the funeral when she returned. This eldest sister was Zhang Lei's mother.
As a junior, Zhang Lei couldn't get a word in edgewise and could only sit quietly to the side, thinking about his grandmother's good qualities, his eyes welling up with tears.
Just then, the police arrived.
"We have a few questions to ask. I'm sorry to bother you. Who lives here, especially from last night to this morning?" The lead officer was the same chubby policeman who had come last time, and he was very amiable.
Police officers are human too, and they need to behave appropriately. Only newly recruited officers come in with an overbearing attitude, creating an awkward atmosphere. Who will tell you any information, especially details? They'll naturally omit things they can leave out. Threats aren't effective against everyone, especially ordinary citizens. The police have no recourse against that. Arresting people on a whim? Doing that, thinking you're part of the combined law enforcement and judicial system, won't get you fired in a few days. Don't think police officers are immune to job loss.
“Let’s go to the room over there. It’s a mess here. Even the nanny was at the hospital yesterday. I’m all alone at home!” Zhang Lei stood up voluntarily. When lying, you can only say one thing at a crucial point. If he asks you about the rest, it’s like giving you a chance to increase his trust in you.
Zhang Lei led them to another room for another reason: there were soaking clothes under the bed in this room. Although none of his family members could smell it, who knew if one of these policemen might have a special talent?
Zhang Lei didn't forget to bring his schoolbag and placed it next to his seat.
"Do you know why we're looking for you?" asked one of the older policemen next to the older one. He looked young and impetuous, and his tone was also a bit aggressive.
This time, the veteran policeman was accompanied by three other officers. Judging from this scale, the police are taking this case much more seriously than last time, which is to be expected. An assault case and a family annihilation case are obviously not comparable. However, Zhang Lei's annihilation of the family this time was not thorough enough, but it was the first time, so it should be forgiven.
"I can guess. When you came back just now, you heard something at the alley entrance. Is it true that the guy named Xiao Wuzi from the family behind my house died?" Zhang Lei appeared very calm, calmer than a high school student.
"Now that you know, tell me!" The young policeman picked up his pen.
"What should I say? What do you want me to say?" Zhang Lei scratched his head, his forehead seemingly covered in question marks.
"Stop pretending to be confused!" The young policeman waved his hand, seemingly used to slapping the table. Unfortunately, Zhang Lei had only provided them with a stool, not a table or a gavel. Not wanting to drop his hand empty-handed, he could only slap his thigh.
The sound was quite crisp. Zhang Lei pursed his lips slightly, slapping himself so hard he was wincing. Didn't it hurt? Or do police officers all have superhuman strength and are only good at slapping thighs?
"Hey!" The middle-aged, chubby policeman waved his hand to stop the younger officer. "Zhang Lei, right? I'm not going to beat around the bush with you. Did you hear any noises coming from Wu Qingting's house this morning?"
"Wu Qingting? Oh, you mean Little Wu? There was quite a bit of noise this morning, probably around five o'clock, I remember." Zhang Lei slapped his forehead. "Everyone calls him Little Wu. If he hadn't died, no one would have known his real name was Wu Qingting!"
"It seems you don't have a good impression of him. Is your family on bad terms with his family?" Another policeman chimed in. It seemed that although this fat policeman was the team leader, he didn't have much authority or rank.
"Of course it's bad. If it weren't for him, my grandmother wouldn't have died of a heart attack. It's only a relief that someone like him is dead. I'm going to burn incense for the murderer. Go and find out which family is on good terms with him. Anyone who said that is definitely lying. You should investigate carefully why they lied!" Some things are public facts, and you can't hide them. Otherwise, it will easily arouse suspicion. Although the matter of Zhang Lei's grandmother hasn't spread much yet, it's definitely not a secret. Zhang Lei has no need to, and shouldn't, cover it up.
"Mind your own business. We don't need you to teach us how to handle cases!" He was interrupted by the old policeman halfway through his sentence. Just as Zhang Lei had no reason to pick a fight with the police, the police had no need to make themselves look like public enemies.
"Hehe, we know this is just a routine questioning, but you need to be on the right side. How can you sing the praises of criminals?" The chubby policeman saw that Zhang Lei seemed a bit agitated and quickly tried to calm him down. "But you heard such loud, unusual noises coming from his house this morning, didn't you think to call the police?"
Zhang Lei gave a wry smile, and the policemen suddenly realized that even this child's wry smile carried a sense of vicissitude. "If you lived here, you would understand. There's a small fight every three days and a big fight every five days. How many days are there without any noise? If they called you over every time, you wouldn't be able to do anything else. This morning, although it was a bit noisy, it wasn't much different from usual. You can ask the other neighbors if you don't believe me!"
The old policeman asked Zhang Lei a few questions, seemingly casually. Zhang Lei tried to glean some information from him, but unfortunately, the old policeman, though amiable, was far more capable than the inexperienced Zhang Lei. Zhang Lei's attempts to get information out of him were unsuccessful; instead, he was relentlessly pursued by the old policeman.
After several exchanges, Zhang Lei became more docile. He might have been somewhat confident against those impulsive young men, but against this veteran, he had no chance whatsoever and would only make more mistakes by saying more. Fortunately, in the old policeman's eyes, Zhang Lei was merely curious. Everyone has curiosity, and Zhang Lei's curiosity wasn't particularly outstanding. If he truly had no curiosity at all, that would be suspicious.
Zhang Lei was unaware that his foolish probing inadvertently led the veteran police officer to exclude him from the list of suspects.
"Alright, that's enough for now. Try not to travel out of town during this time. We might need to contact you at any time to ask about the situation!" The old policeman stood up, reached out and shook hands with Zhang Lei, not treating him like a child at all, which made Zhang Lei especially grateful.
Just then, the cell phone in his backpack rang. Zhang Lei didn't care about seeing the police off anymore; this must be news from Tian Xiao. Now, Zhang Lei was even more eager to get the ID from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. That would mean special privileges. Putting everything else aside, with that ID, how could this young policeman dare to talk to him like that?
Several police officers looked surprised. Back then, mobile phones were still very expensive; even the cheapest model cost nearly ten thousand yuan, not to mention the hefty network access fees, call charges, monthly fees, and so on. How could a student not be suspicious to have such a device? Even the veteran officer among them wasn't of a rank enough to carry one; at most, he'd have a pager on his belt.
"Hello, it's me. Hmm, is it time? Okay, I'll be right out. Where are you waiting for me? Okay, okay!"
Zhang Lei hung up the phone, holding the half-brick-like object in his hand. "What's wrong? I was just about to go out too. Let me see you off!"
"Wait, we haven't finished asking you any questions yet. Kid, where did you get this phone?" A policeman raised his hand to stop Zhang Lei.
"It's my friend's phone. He needs to contact me today and asked me to leave it with him for a bit. That's why I'm so nervous, carrying it everywhere, afraid of losing it." Zhang Lei waved the phone in his hand. "I have something urgent to discuss. How about we talk on the go?"
"Wait, we haven't finished asking the questions yet! Why are you leaving?" The young policeman seemed to have lost his temper. "Go back and sit down. Who is the original owner of this phone? What is your relationship with him? What did he ask you to do?"
Zhang Lei's temper flared up. To be honest, knowing that his entry into the police force was basically a done deal, Zhang Lei's respect for the police had dropped to a very low level. Now this guy was stopping him from picking up Liu Yun so that he could get his credentials sooner, which was a bit tactless. It was as if other people's affairs were unimportant, and that just because he wore a police hat, he could interfere with other people's normal lives at will.
"Sorry, you're not high enough level to answer your question!" Zhang Lei pushed his hand away and started to walk out.
...
Episode 3: The Bloody Path to Growth, Chapter 33: Official Recruitment