Investigation

"Su Jie, do you want your eggs fully cooked or soft-boiled?"

At Jingjiang No. 1's large villa, Liu Yingying, dressed in loungewear and an apron, was busy preparing breakfast in the open-plan kitchen.

"Fully cooked!"

"Just a moment, it'll be ready soon."

"You should just let the chef handle this. Their cooking skills are so good."

Su Jie sat on the sofa, watching the news report on the sensational mansion fire that had rocked the city for the past two days.

"It's different! Breakfast made by someone else is full of heart. Hmph, I remember you saying you could cook, Su Jie. You've never cooked for me once."

"Who said that? Didn't I feed you milk this morning?"

"You forced me! You just like bullying me."

A faint blush spread beneath Liu Yingying's snow-white skin, and her alluring, amorous eyes shot Su Jie a few stern glances.

She had been living with Su Jie for two days and had taken leave from her company. Although Su Jie hadn't made any promises to her, she was willing to wait.

"Then I'll give you a chance to fight back now. Maybe your cooking can conquer my stomach and then capture my heart."

"Oh, no, no. My cooking skills are limited to simple breakfasts. Please don't find it too bland. Leave the complicated lunches and dinners to the head chef you hired."

Despite her words, Liu Yingying's face was filled with joy.

A few minutes later, Liu Yingying brought the breakfast over to Su Jie. She glanced at the TV and said, "It's this news again. The Boss of Cold Lily is on our local TV headlines every day."

"After all, it's a wealthy Boss who was burned to death. The news will definitely chase a hot topic!"

Su Jie smiled and ate the breakfast Liu Yingying had meticulously prepared.

Hearing this, Liu Yingying commented, "The news nowadays is getting more and more shameless. It was just an accidental fire, but reporters are chasing interviews, making up all sorts of conspiracy theories, talking about poisoning and assassination, just for clicks."

Su Jie couldn't help but laugh. He wondered what Liu Yingying's reaction would be if the mastermind behind this incident was sitting right in front of her.

"Mr. Su, there are two police officers at the door. They say they want to see you."

Just as they were bantering, a servant suddenly walked over and said to Su Jie, bowing slightly.

"Mm, let them in," Su Jie said, his eyes flashing.

"Why would the police be here?"

Liu Yingying looked puzzled, not understanding what was happening.

"Who knows."

Su Jie shrugged and continued to eat his breakfast as if nothing was amiss.

A moment later, two police officers appeared before Su Jie.

One was a middle-aged man with a square face, in his forties, exuding an aura of righteousness.

The other was a young female police officer, in her early twenties, likely a recent graduate from the police academy.

"Hello, Mr. Su. I'm Zhang Yanqing from the Linping City Criminal Investigation Division, and this is my partner, Zhou Xin'er. We're here to inquire about a case."

They introduced themselves while showing their police badges.

"Please, sit down, please. Ask whatever you need to. If I can help the police in any way, I will cooperate fully."

Su Jie enthusiastically invited them to sit and even asked a servant to bring some fruit.

"Mr. Su, I'll get straight to the point then."

Zhang Yanqing seemed approachable as he began, "Three days ago, a major fire occurred at Villa No. 12 in the Changtan Villa residential area of Linping City. The fire resulted in the deaths of Cui Yunchun, a well-known wealthy businessman in Linping City and chairman of Cold Lily Company, and his secretary, Ma Lanfei."

Su Jie nodded. "I was just watching the news about it on TV."

"And as far as I know, Mr. Su, you are in the timber business and have had business dealings with Cold Lily Company. On November 16th, a warehouse you leased at Nanqiao Logistics Center caught fire, destroying a batch of valuable timber."

Zhang Yanqing's eyes gleamed, and his voice suddenly quickened, carrying a captivating authority.

"That's correct. Those timbers were painstakingly built up by my ancestors, and they were all burned down in that fire, causing me considerable financial loss."

Su Jie was unfazed by Zhang Yanqing's righteous aura. Compared to the imposing presence of Old Daoist Qiu, Zhang Yanqing was many levels below, having no effect on Su Jie.

He now put on a pained expression, as if heartbroken by the loss of the timber.

"I'd like to ask, Mr. Su, what were you doing on the night of the incident, November 17th?"

Zhang Yanqing continued his questioning, closely observing Su Jie's facial expressions.

Su Jie shrugged. "That night, I remember very clearly. We were celebrating the handover of this villa and had invited many people for a party at home. Many people can testify to that."

"Your warehouse was just burned down, and you held a party?"

Zhou Xin'er, who was taking notes, interjected.

"It was precisely because the warehouse burned down that we held a party to ward off bad luck."

Su Jie paused at this point, then pointed at himself with a look of shock. "Wait, are you suspecting me of setting fire to someone's villa? I'm a law-abiding citizen, always honest and upright. If you don't believe me, go and ask around. Many people can vouch for me that night."

"That's right. Su Jie was with me that night. I can testify to that."

Liu Yingying, standing beside him, immediately stepped forward, looking somewhat displeased at the two police officers opposite them. How could they accuse her wonderful brother Su Jie?

"We're just conducting a preliminary investigation; we haven't called you the murderer."

Zhang Yanqing chuckled, asked Su Jie a few more questions, and then got up to leave the villa with Zhou Xin'er.

Outside the villa, Zhou Xin'er looked at Zhang Yanqing and pursed her lips. "Captain Zhang, do you think he's actually a suspect?"

"Objectively speaking, he's not a suspect, but subjectively, I have my doubts. After all, everything is too coincidental. That Cui Yunchun himself is not clean; he kept a group of thugs to do his dirty work. It's possible that this Mr. Su's warehouse was burned down by these people. Even more coincidentally, the day after Cui Yunchun's villa caught fire, this group also disappeared without a trace."

Zhang Yanqing adjusted his police cap and sighed deeply. "Furthermore, a senior manager at Nanqiao Logistics Center accidentally drowned the same day. That manager's account happened to have a sum of money transferred from Cui Yunchun's private account. From all angles, there are motives and suspicious points to follow."

"If that's the case, can't we bring him in for questioning?"

Zhou Xin'er frowned, her eyebrows furrowing. Su Jie did have a motive to commit arson and murder.

"How can we arrest someone without evidence?"

Zhang Yanqing found it both funny and exasperating. He shook his head. "First, the fire and autopsy reports for Cui Yunchun's place found no signs of murder or intentional arson. Then, we checked the surveillance footage from Jingjiang Community that day, and Su Jie and his vehicle were indeed not seen entering or leaving. Little Zhang also went to ask some of the sales staff at the real estate office just now, and they all consistently said that he was at a party with Su Jie that evening, so the timing doesn't match."

"Could he have arranged for someone else to do it?"

"It's possible, but where's the evidence?"

"This..."

Zhou Xin'er fell silent. Solving cases wasn't based on subjective feelings.

"Little Zhou, you watched the video from Cui Yunchun's villa the night of the incident, right?"

"I watched it over and over. There were many cameras around his villa, but only one person was captured entering. Investigations revealed that person to be Cui Yunchun's confidant, a man named A'hu."

"After ruling out all other possibilities, I can only proceed based on factual evidence. At the time, Cui Yunchun had indeed ordered A'hu to burn down Su Jie's warehouse, but perhaps A'hu and Cui Yunchun had a dispute over the profit sharing, leading to a mutual destruction."

Zhou Xin'er thought about it and realized it made sense. Zhang Yanqing's theory was much more plausible than Su Jie committing arson.

"Now that both parties involved are dead, there's no one to testify. Perhaps I'm wrong, but this case can only end here."

"I understand, Captain Zhang."

Zhou Xin'er relaxed her brows and couldn't help but look back at the enormous villa. She vaguely saw someone on the second-floor balcony watching her and Captain Zhang.

She rubbed her eyes and looked again. The balcony was empty. It seemed she had just imagined it.