The old alley across from the East City Public Security Bureau is filled with hole-in-the-wall eateries. At night, it turns into a night market with roadside stalls.

"Boss, three bowls of beef noodle soup, extra spicy, and toss in a cauliflower," Du Qiang shouted to the owner.

"Alright, coming right up!"

That's right, Su Qing didn't walk away. He was taken out for a meal by Du Qiang, though not of his own accord. It was because of Li Zijun's mentor, Lin Chengcai.

Ever since Zhao Minghui was hospitalized, Lin Chengcai temporarily took over the position of team leader. Although old Zhao said his injury was work-related and might not merit a medal, a commendation would surely be forthcoming. Who knows, after some time, he might even get a promotion.

"Uncle Lin, I heard you wanted to see me?" Su Qing joked.

He had a pretty good impression of the man in front of him: a kind face, spoke gently, not too fast or slow. Coupled with a slightly plump figure, he always gave off the vibe of a nice guy. However, beneath that simple exterior was a keen soul.

"Ah, I just wanted to see East City District's number one bounty hunter. What's up, having a spat with little Li lately?" Maybe because it was lunchtime, Lin Chengcai lacked the oppressive aura a police officer should have, resembling an ordinary middle-aged man having a casual chat.

Upon hearing this, Su Qing suddenly found himself speechless. A so-called bounty hunter? He had only collected the bounty three times; wasn't that a bit much?

"No way, it's been a long time since I've seen Sister Zijun. You're all busy people, unlike me with so much free time. Besides, I only got twelve thousand last time; I can't bear the title of a bounty hunter, don't make fun of me," Su Qing quickly replied.

The ten thousand was the bounty for a B-level fugitive; that was clearly priced. The other two thousand was from when he helped the police pry Jiang Dabao's mouth open last time; it was a consolation encouragement prize. It wasn't like it was a lot of money.

Hearing this, Lin Chengcai shook his head with a smile, "That's not how it goes. An ordinary person couldn't collect three bounties from the police station in less than a month. Little Su, you're being modest!"

"Exactly, it's rare for someone to 'collect a paycheck' as frequently as you," Du Qiang laughed, returning with three bottles of iced soda.

"Can't drink on the job, hope you understand!" Lin Chengcai chuckled along.

In response, Su Qing hurriedly expressed that he doesn't like drinking either; soda was just fine.

But it must be said, in the past six months, Su Qing has been the person collecting the most bounties from the East City Public Security Bureau.

Though online wanted criminals often have bounties in the tens or even hundreds of thousands, it's rare for civilians to discover and report them: it's a limiting factor. Mostly, it still relies on police coordination, since it's not like everyone in the country can be Chaoyang masses, right?

"Uncle Lin didn't just want to ask about Zijun, right?" Su Qing asked halfway through eating.

Through the side explanation, he knew Lin Chengcai gained an interest in him and wanted to meet; if the guess wasn't off, it was due to the previous incident at the police station.

But those matters were over; as long as he didn't admit it, the other party couldn't do anything.

Upon hearing this, the two men exchanged a look, then Lin Chengcai laughed, "Ha ha ha, I knew little Su had the talent; it really can't be hidden from you."

"Today's invitation to eat was mainly for three things. Firstly, little Li's mood has been off lately; as someone I mentored, always calling me 'mentor,' I was wondering if you youngsters had a spat, but it doesn't seem so now."

Hearing this, Su Qing couldn't help but feel helpless. Apart from the sudden seniority shift last time with Li Zijun, it seemed like there were no real grudges, let alone conflicts.

But asking him to seek out Li Zijun now, he truly didn't dare. Imagining her calling him godfather and him calling her sister was enough to send shivers down his spine.

Before he could speak, old Lin continued, "The second thing is that I've been studying the audio from your interrogation with Jiang Dabao the other day. If I'm not mistaken, you judged through the micro-expressions on his face, but I still can't understand how you guessed so accurately."

For this, Su Qing was utterly speechless. To think you old folks studied my audio; it's always been him studying others. The materials he studied in the D drive of his computer—he lost count. This was the first time he'd been the object of study, and by a police officer, no less.

"There are ways to determine if someone is lying. When people lie, their facial expressions can become unnatural. As for the rest, that's just guessing. Even if my guess is wrong, whether our assumption is correct or not, the other party's face will give us feedback; analyze that to get what you want," Su Qing began spouting nonsense with a serious face.

To Lin Chengcai and even Zhao Minghui, he was supposed to be a talent with sharp insight and judgment, highly gifted in criminology.

But the reality was, he knew it was all thanks to the side explanations for his choices.

If he were a cop, he could certainly solve many big cases, but he wasn't. He was just an ordinary citizen and didn't even have the right to meddle in many cases.

"Makes sense," Li Chengcai agreed solemnly, evidently having accepted Su Qing's 'gifted' label in his heart. Then he smiled and said, "Since that's the case, let me test you."

After saying that, he gestured to Du Qiang.

Immediately, a phone was handed over, playing a video of a statement recording.

In the video, a man was reporting that his wife was missing. He claimed to have searched all relatives and friends, yet she remained unaccounted for, dead or alive.

The video was disjointed, clearly not recorded in a single day, and the missing woman was last spotted getting on a bus.

"The man reported it ten days ago, and she hasn't been found yet. No calls have demanded ransom, initially ruling out kidnapping. Can you spot anything?" Lin Chengcai asked, watching Su Qing's reaction intently.

As his voice fell, the narrative voice in Su Qing's head chimed in again:

[Wang Hao, male, 34, modestly successful and has a woman on the side. Wants a divorce but fails, impulsively conspiring with the lover to murder her at the abandoned Sanba Reservoir outskirts...]

The side explanation wasn't long, but it concisely laid out the entire incident, simply another tragedy.

But watching a video alone, he naturally couldn't give away too much.

"This guy seems suspicious," Su Qing replied indifferently, showing no expression.

"What kind of suspicious?"

"Too... calm,"

"Anything else?" Lin Chengcai pursued.

"Like you said, if we've ruled out kidnapping and visited all relatives and friends without finding anything, after eliminating all impossibilities, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, is worth a try, isn't it? Though, we can't rule out his wife running away," Su Qing said, spreading his hands with a smile.

Hearing this, Lin Chengcai nodded with satisfaction and then earnestly asked, "Little Su, have you ever considered being a police officer?"

Su Qing: ???

...

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