Criminal Investigation Team Cafeteria.
Chen Xiao and Lin Xi were having lunch together.
But Chen Xiao's appetite was poor; his mind was filled with Xiao Nian's face.
Seeing him like this, Lin Xi lightly tapped his chopsticks: "Hey, what are you thinking?"
Chen Xiao didn't hide anything and replied: "Xiao Nian."
Lin Xi frowned: "Why are you thinking about her? Do you suspect her a lot?"
Chen Xiao shook his head: "No, not only do I not suspect her now, but I actually think she likely has nothing to do with Zhao Xiaohong's death."
"That's impossible, right? Xiao Nian and Gu Yue are both members of that club that Lighter tinkered with. Besides, the knife that killed Zhao Xiaohong has been confirmed to be a specially made tool. In the whole Dongzhou City, only Lighter managed to create such a club."
Lin Xi's suspicion of Xiao Nian was naturally reasonable.
After all, getting hold of a knife is far simpler than killing someone.
Only by getting that knife first could one kill Zhao Xiaohong in such a neat way.
But sometimes, a person's eyes don't lie.
When faced with the extremely sad Zhao Hai, Xiao Nian's revealed emotions were compassion, heartache, and a resolute determination for revenge!
If she was one of Zhao Xiaohong's killers, she had no reason to act that way in front of Zhao Hai.
Moreover, Zhao Hai didn't even notice her behavior. The only one who did was Chen Xiao.
Chen Xiao, undecided and regretful, couldn't help but lament why in his past life he didn't go to Luo Dali to learn more about Zhao Xiaohong's murder case.
If he had known, solving the case of Zhao Xiaohong's murder in this life would've been a piece of cake!
Unfortunately, during the period of Zhao Xiaohong's murder in his past life, Lin Xi hadn't entered the precinct yet, and his relationship with Lin Xi was at an unprecedented level of tension.
Probably if Luo Dali had talked to him about Zhao Xiaohong, he wouldn't have been interested himself.
After finishing lunch with a bit of distaste, Lin Xi went back to work, and Chen Xiao sat idly in the courtyard of the Criminal Investigation Team.
After some time, Luo Dali returned with news that was not surprising to Chen Xiao.
They had asked around a lot in the streets but didn't get any news about Zhao Xiaohong having conflicts with others.
Luo Dali looked disappointed and sighed, "Logically, this shouldn't be the case. Zhao Xiaohong loved causing trouble; if there was such an incident, surely we would've heard about it."
"Perhaps there really isn't anything like that. You guys found nothing, likely Sister Liang won't have any good news either."
Chen Xiao wasn't affected; his tone was rather relaxed.
Luo Dali nodded slightly and continued, "By the way, Brother Chen, I heard another piece of news just now."
"What is it?"
"Zhao Xiaohong's old man went crazy; he put out a reward of two hundred thousand for clues, saying if anyone could find clues to lead to the murderer of Zhao Xiaohong, he'd personally offer two hundred thousand. If someone directly caught the killer with solid evidence, the reward is five hundred thousand!"
Upon hearing the number five hundred thousand, Chen Xiao's scalp involuntarily tingled.
Five hundred thousand in 2006!
Sure, for true big tycoons, this might be just a drop in the ocean.
But for Chen Xiao and Lin Xi's families currently, gathering five hundred thousand was definitely not an easy task.
"What do you think, brother, are you tempted?"
Luo Dali raised his eyebrows, Chen Xiao laughed and said: "How can you not be tempted by five hundred thousand? Even your old man wouldn't easily throw away a feat like offering five hundred thousand, right?"
"Yes, my family is indeed more robust than Zhao Xiaohong's. But, five hundred thousand isn't a small amount."
"So what do you mean?"
"I don't have much interest, but I feel if you get that five hundred thousand, your wife's family... even if it's her family, they would surely see you in a new light! Brother... if you just say the word that you want to get five hundred thousand, I'd be willing to follow you day and night without sleep!"
Luo Dali's words warmed Chen Xiao's heart.
He did feel a bit oblivious.
Perhaps it's true that the people we meet in life need a second chance to really understand who's good or bad.
Luo Dali is his good buddy!
Yet in his past life, Chen Xiao did less for him than his ex-wife did after Luo Dali died.
Chen Xiao gave Luo Dali a firm pat on the shoulder and said, "Dali, thank you!"
"Hey, why say such fancy words between brothers? Just tell me, what should we do now?"
"You know about those elderly supported by Zhao Xiaohong, right? If we can get in touch with Zhao Xiaohong's classmates, that would be even better."
Luo Dali rubbed his chin and said, "I can take you to those elderly folks, but finding Zhao Xiaohong's classmates might take some time."
"Alright, then first take me to see those elderly folks. I think investigating this way is purely baseless speculation; we need to truly understand Zhao Xiaohong as a person first."
Luo Dali nodded: "Okay, I'll drive you to the nursing home now."
As soon as he said it, Chen Xiao took Luo Dali's car to the nursing home, where they found an elderly man surnamed Huang.
The old man was close to eighty years old, and due to doing too much heavy work earlier in life, he had lost the ability to move freely and could only move around in a wheelchair.
The wheelchair he sat in was bought by Zhao Xiaohong.
When the elderly man saw two young visitors, there wasn't any surprise in his eyes; instead, he smiled and asked:
"Did Xiaohong send you two to see me? That kid hasn't come around for a few days!"
Chen Xiao paused for a moment, but from these few words, he gained the knowledge that many people still didn't know about Zhao Xiaohong's incident.
When Luo Dali was about to speak, Chen Xiao quickly smiled and said: "Yes, Grandpa Huang, we are Xiaohong's friends, and he asked us to visit you."
Upon hearing this, the old man immediately exclaimed, "Old Wu, Old Sun, Sister Hong, come down quickly, Xiaohong's friends have come to see us."
At this time, Chen Xiao was very grateful that on the way here, they had bought some gifts for visiting the elderly.
Otherwise, it would be very awkward!
Soon, one by one, the elderly emerged from their rooms.
The old lady with a name containing the character Hong eyed Chen Xiao and Luo Dali, smilingly said:
"These two youngsters look like friends of Xiaohong, always appearing without any seriousness."
Chen Xiao and Luo Dali exchanged glances, then both shyly said: "Grandma Hong, are you complimenting us or scolding us?"
"Both complimenting and scolding; I praise you for being good-hearted, remembering us old folks who don't even have family willing to care for us. I scold you for your carefree demeanor, you're quite grown-up but still in this state, not thinking about settling down and building a family?"
Chen Xiao smiled wryly and nodded: "Yes, yes, Grandma Hong is right. We heed Grandpa and Grandma's teachings."
Chen Xiao didn't intend to explain to the elders that he already had a family, so he just went along with their talk.
As they chatted, Grandpa Huang got excited, grabbing Chen Xiao's palm:
"Come, Xiaochen, Xiaoluo, it's your first visit, I'll show you something interesting!"
Chen Xiao smiled and asked: "Grandpa Huang, what is it?"
Before Grandpa Huang could speak, others disdainfully said:
"This old Huang, every time Xiaohong's friends come, he shows off his knives. Sure, you were an impressive blacksmith once!"
Hearing this, Chen Xiao looked at Luo Dali in shock, then both exclaimed: "Grandpa Huang, you have knives? We'd love to see them, please show us!"