Investigate Thoroughly as Soon as Possible
Shen Jingchuan saw Meng Ke's missed call on his phone and quickly dialed back. The call was answered after only two rings.
"Jingchuan!"
Meng Ke's hurried voice came through the receiver, her tone trembling at the end. Before he could speak, she asked anxiously, "Where are you? Why didn't you answer my calls?"
"I just got home. I was in the bathroom and didn't hear my phone ring," Shen Jingchuan casually made up an excuse.
"I just encountered two people who blocked the parking lot and tried to intercept me," Meng Ke said, her voice still tinged with fear. "I drove out and called the police. They're going to the crime scene with me."
"What?" Shen Jingchuan immediately became anxious, his voice suddenly tightening, "Where are you? How are you?"
"It's in that old parking lot next to my shop. I'm fine, but my car window was smashed."
"Okay, I'll be right there."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Jingchuan quickly changed his clothes, grabbed his phone and keys, and strode down to the garage, his face extremely grim.
Shen Jingchuan drove very fast, but no matter how anxious he was, he knew that Meng Ke was out of danger, so he did not speed or run red lights, and drove straight to the parking lot where the incident occurred.
He drove the car into the parking lot, swerved the steering wheel diagonally into the parking space without even caring whether the car was parked straight or not, pulled out the key, opened the car door, and got out.
Meng Ke was not far away, spotted him at a glance and immediately ran towards him, throwing herself into his arms.
"Alright, alright, I'm here." Shen Jingchuan reached out and put his arm around her, gently patting her back, and asked, looking down, "Are you hurt?"
"No," Meng Ke replied in a muffled voice, nestled in his arms, her tone carrying a hint of unconcealed grievance.
"Did you see who it was? Do you recognize them?"
Meng Ke shook her head.
Shen Jingchuan comforted her for a while before letting go of her, then took her hand and led her to the police officers nearby. The officer in charge was a man in his thirties with a sturdy build, and a young auxiliary police officer was with him.
"Hello, I'm her fiancé, my surname is Shen," Shen Jingchuan asked. "Do you have any leads at the moment?"
"It's hard to say right now. I've already notified the bureau, and the criminal investigation team will be here soon."
The police officer spoke calmly, pointing to the surrounding area:
"Please wait a moment. This area is covered by surveillance cameras, so the investigation will be quick." He spoke cautiously, without making any absolute statements.
Shen Jingchuan thanked him, turned around and put his arm around Meng Ke, comforting her in a low voice.
About ten minutes later, the sound of police sirens came from afar. The car drove to the entrance of the parking lot, and the sirens stopped, leaving only the police lights on the roof flashing.
Two police cars came to a stop one after the other, and five or six people got out, carrying investigation equipment, and walked straight toward the scene.
The criminal investigation team was led by a veteran detective in his fifties, his eyes carrying the composure of years of handling cases. He bent down and glanced at the cracked, spiderweb-like pattern on the car window, then briefly asked Meng Ke a few questions about the time of the incident, the physical characteristics of the perpetrator, and the direction of their escape, before straightening up and saying:
"We'll leave our technical staff on-site to continue the investigation. You'll come back to the team with us to make a formal statement."
After all the work, by the time the statements were completed, and everyone had signed and fingerprinted each page, it was almost 3 a. m.
Meng Ke's car was left in the parking lot as evidence, and the car keys were handed over to the police for safekeeping. Shen Jingchuan didn't want her to go home alone again, as he was also worried about her, so he drove his own car and took her back to West Mountain Separate Garden.
The car was quiet the whole way. Meng Ke leaned against the passenger seat, her eyes somewhat glazed over, and didn't say a word for a long time. Shen Jingchuan freed one hand and gently placed it on the back of her hand, the warm pressure steadily enveloping her cold little hand.
The car drove into the residential area, parked, went upstairs, and opened the door. The warm yellow light inside the house turned on, making the night outside seem even deeper. Shen Jingchuan didn't say much, just handed her clean pajamas and watched her go into the bathroom.
After they both finished washing up and lay down on the bed, Meng Ke instinctively snuggled into his arms. Shen Jingchuan stretched out his arm and held her tightly, his chin gently resting on the top of her head.
The room was quiet, and no one said another word. Meng Ke slowly sank into Shen Jingchuan's comforting embrace, and the two of them stayed like that as Meng Ke gradually drifted off to sleep.
Once Meng Ke's breathing was even and she was sound asleep, Shen Jingchuan gently pulled out the arm she had been using as a pillow and tiptoed into the yard.
He leaned against the pillar, his mind racing. Meng Ke was always amicable in her jade business, and he had never heard her mention making enemies with anyone.
Could it be that he's been selling too many jade and gemstones lately, with turnover already exceeding 100 million, and the frequent transactions have caught his attention?
But then he shook his head – even if it was robbery, they shouldn't have chosen to rob someone openly in a parking lot. Meng Ke never carried large sums of cash, so they couldn't have taken much from her.
Was that kidnapping and extortion? But this is Capital, a city shrouded in surveillance cameras. It's highly unusual for someone to take such a huge risk with a case like this.
A thought suddenly struck him—could it be that it wasn't aimed at Meng Ke at all, but at him? Unable to find him, they're targeting those close to them.
Thinking of this, Huang Zeyu's face naturally appeared in his mind. The past grievances hadn't been forgotten, and that person was inherently cunning; he wasn't incapable of doing such despicable things. But guessing was one thing, without any evidence whatsoever, and the more he thought about it, the more confused he became.
He stood there for a while, suppressing the restlessness in his chest, then turned and went back into the house. Lying back on the bed, he quietly looked at Meng Ke's furrowed brows in the sunlight streaming in from the window, feeling a heavy weight in his heart.
I don't know how long I lay there, just as I was drifting off to sleep, my phone on the bedside table suddenly started buzzing.
Shen Jingchuan suddenly opened his eyes, grabbed his phone and glanced at it. The caller ID showed Professor Wen. He heard Meng Ke's breathing pause beside him, her eyelashes tremble as if she was about to wake up. He quickly grabbed his phone and tiptoed out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him. He walked all the way to the yard before answering the call.
"Hey, Elder Wen."
"Little Shen, you finally answered the phone!" Professor Wen's voice came through the receiver, sounding a little anxious. "I've called you several times these past few days, why didn't you answer?"
"Ah, I was just going to sleep." Shen Jingchuan's voice was still hoarse from sleep, and he added, "Something happened last night, so I went to bed late."
"It's past nine o'clock and you're still sleeping?" Elder Wen asked in surprise, then became anxious. "Something happened? What happened?"
Shen Jingchuan hesitated for a moment, then said, "Meng Ke was attacked last night."
"Ah?!" Elder Wen's voice rose an octave in surprise, and he quickly asked, "How is the person?"
"Fortunately, Meng Ke reacted quickly and drove out of the way; she wasn't injured."
"Did you call the police?"
"I've reported it."
"Okay, that's good. It's better that everyone is alright." Elder Wen's anxiety subsided, and his tone softened slightly.
What did the police say?
"The investigation is still ongoing. They left their contact information last night after taking my statement, but there's been no news yet."
"So, do you have a clue who it is?"
Shen Jingchuan didn't offer any uncertain guesses, only saying, "I'm also sorting things out. It's probably aimed at me, but I have no clue yet."
"Okay, you take good care of Xiao Meng first, don't worry about anything else." Elder Wen said this and hung up the phone.
He stood under the eaves and checked the time. It was a little past nine o'clock. He figured the other person was already up, so he pulled out a number from his contacts and dialed it.
The phone rang a few times before being answered, and a steady voice came from the other end. "Xiao Wen? What's up calling so early?"
"Elder Yang, there's something I need to tell you," Professor Wen said in a somber tone. "Last night, Little Shen's girlfriend, Meng Ke, was attacked in the parking lot."
"Huh?" Elder Yang on the other end was clearly taken aback and quickly asked, "How is he? Is he alright?"
"He's alright, he reacted quickly, drove off, and we've already reported it to the authorities; the police have taken over." Professor Wen paused, then added, "Little Shen thinks this is most likely aimed at him."
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone before Elder Yang's voice came through. "Are there any specific suspects?"
Not yet.
"Okay, I understand."
The call was disconnected as soon as the words were spoken.
Elder Yang tapped his fingertips lightly twice on the edge of the table, his brows slowly furrowing.
Could it be that someone got wind of what was happening with Shen Jingchuan and couldn't resist taking action?
His gaze darkened.
Whoever dared to use such despicable means in Capital territory, that hand must be chopped off.
A few minutes later, the phone rang for the chief constable of Capital.
He had barely picked up the phone when he saw the caller ID when he sat up straight, his tone respectful. "Old boss, you wanted to see me?"
The voice on the other end of the line wasn't loud, but it carried undeniable weight. It briefly mentioned the parking lot attack from the previous night, concluding, "This kind of thing happening in Capital is extremely damaging. You must personally oversee this, investigate thoroughly and quickly, and give me a result as soon as possible."
"Yes, don't worry, I will make arrangements immediately to thoroughly investigate this case."