pjbooks Chapter 23 Don't Believe What You Hear
Chapter 23 Don't Believe What You Hear
After the reform and opening up, the social atmosphere became slightly more relaxed.
Even so, it was still quite serious overall.
After all, there's still the crime of hooliganism to govern, so people who commit crimes usually do so secretly.
It wasn't until the crime of hooliganism was abolished in 97 that matters of love and romance were finally allowed to be completely unrestricted.
However, as a bridgehead for reform and opening up, Shenzhen is naturally not included in this category.
These things are relatively easy for native Shenzhen residents to adapt to.
But for a rural woman who spent the first half of her life in the countryside of Machenge, the dazzling and fantastical city of Shenzhen was like poison wrapped in sugar.
Once you start taking it, there's no way to quit.
After Luo Zhenbang's wife came to Pengcheng, she couldn't find a decent job in the city because of her lack of ability.
In addition, Luo Zhenbang's income was quite good, so he would never let his wife do the kind of manual labor that earns money.
After a while, his wife had some free time.
Because she was bored, she would occasionally meet up with her fellow townsmen from Macheng to chat.
Over time, I got to know quite a few people.
In the beginning, the people she knew were mostly housewives with similar backgrounds, and at that time, Luo Zhenbang was quite supportive of his wife going out to socialize.
But the problem isn't a lack of good things, it's a lack of good people.
Over time, his wife's circle of acquaintances became more diverse.
Gradually, she developed a habit of playing mahjong.
When playing mahjong, bumps and scrapes are inevitable. Gradually, Luo Zhenbang heard rumors that his wife was having an affair.
At first he didn't believe it, but as the rumors grew more and more intense, Luo Zhenbang had no choice but to start to have doubts.
Then one day, he overheard a colleague saying that his wife was out shopping with someone else.
At first, he was unwilling to believe it, but when he saw the two of them holding hands on the street with his own eyes, he broke down.
Because they were caught red-handed, Luo Zhenbang's wife was too ashamed to continue living with him, and the two divorced not long after.
Not long after the divorce, his wife ran off with that other man.
At this point, Zhu Luo sighed, "Zhenbang has had a tough time too. His wife ran off with someone else, and he has to raise his son alone. He hasn't been able to find anyone for seven or eight years."
Upon hearing this, Gu Huai could clearly hear Hou Hao and Ling Yue sigh as well.
As an ordinary person, it's normal to feel a sense of sympathy when you hear about such a tragic human tragedy.
The difference between police officers and ordinary people is that they have received professional training and are able to avoid letting sympathy affect their professional judgment as much as possible, especially criminal police officers.
To become an excellent criminal investigator, one must discard unnecessary sympathy.
Thinking of this, Gu Huai reached out and interrupted Zhu Luo's story, "Luo Zhenbang's son is in Pengcheng?"
"He's not in Pengcheng," Zhu Luo shook his head. "He's in his hometown. He's usually busy driving and doesn't have time to manage things. He only comes to Pengcheng when he has a holiday."
"So, his son has been in Shenzhen these past few days?"
"Yes." Zhu Luo nodded. "Holidays are the busiest time for business, and taxi drivers usually don't go back to their hometowns."
"Luo Yonghao has been raising his child with great difficulty all this time, which has actually been quite tough."
Zhu Luo carefully refilled the teacup. "Officer Gu, I've said everything I need to say. That's all I know. I really don't know anything else."
Gu Huai picked up the teacup, gently blew on it, and instantly steam rose.
According to Zhu Luo, Luo Zhenbang seemed to be a man with a tragic fate; in modern parlance, he was a typical "laborer."
Then, just as Gu Huai was pondering these things, the steam from the teacup dissipated and blocked his view, making it impossible for him to see clearly.
His body leaned back instinctively, and a few thoughts flashed through his mind.
Gu Huai sat up straight and asked seriously, "Manager Zhu, where did you hear those stories you just told?"
Gu Huai's sudden question made Zhu Luo, who had been somewhat relaxed, suddenly tense up.
He answered cautiously, "Officer Gu, is this very important?"
"Of course, this is extremely important," Gu Huai replied quickly. "If I'm not mistaken, these stories were all told by Luo Zhenbang himself, right?"
"That...that's true." Zhu Luo nodded. "Old Luo drinks a little when he's not working, and he said all this when he was drunk."
"At first, everyone tried to keep it a secret for him, because it wouldn't be good if this kind of thing got out. But gradually people realized that he didn't seem to care that much, and the news spread, which is how I found out."
"You mean everyone who knows Luo Zhenbang knows his story?" Gu Huai pressed, seizing the key point.
"Yes...most people know, but Lao Luo is a good person, and no one laughs at him for this."
Upon hearing this, Gu Huai's lips twitched involuntarily, and he was momentarily at a loss for words.
He simply couldn't understand why any normal person would go around telling everyone that they had been cuckolded.
Of course, such people are not entirely non-existent; Gu Huai has encountered people with cuckold fetishes before.
But if Luo Zhenbang were truly that kind of person, he would never have divorced his wife, nor would he have dared to expose this affair.
This is undoubtedly contradictory.
Furthermore, the entire story originated from Luo Zhenbang's mouth, making it entirely his own account and thus its authenticity questionable.
In Gu Huai's view, he said this entirely to create a persona, to make himself appear as a deeply affectionate man, thereby reducing the police's suspicion.
Gu Huai picked up Luo Zhenbang's employee file and looked at it. Then, pointing to the year of employment, he frowned and asked, "Why is the year of employment listed as the year before last?"
"Yes, Lao Luo joined the company the year before last?"
Gu Huai quickly followed up with, "Is there a lot of turnover in our line of work?"
"It's alright, not too frequent," Zhu Luo explained. "Unless there are special circumstances, drivers generally don't switch companies... Of course, it's normal for Lao Luo to switch companies in his case."
Seeing that Zhu Luo was still speaking up for Luo Zhenbang, Gu Huai stared at Zhu Luo intently for a while.
It made him feel really uneasy.
Zhu Luo had never felt such heavy psychological pressure before.
Logically speaking, he should have seen a lot of the world and shouldn't be so intimidated by the young man in front of him.
But today was particularly strange. Whenever Gu Huai glared at him, he felt like he was being seen through.
For a fleeting moment, he even had a feeling that the person looking at him wasn't a young policeman in his early twenties, but rather a high-ranking leader.
He had only ever experienced this feeling with his boss.
[This is really strange. Just who is this Officer Gu? I'll have to find out.]
At this moment, Gu Huai had no way of knowing what Zhu Luo was thinking. After observing for a long time, he only saw tension in Zhu Luo's eyes, but no evasiveness due to fear.
In a place like Shenzhen, those who can work as taxi drivers are unlikely to have completely clean records, but they certainly wouldn't deliberately cover up for a murderer.
It seems Luo Zhenbang has been hiding his true identity quite well.
Having asked all the questions he wanted to ask, Gu Huai turned to look at Ling Yue and Hou Hao.
After confirming that they had no questions, Gu Huai stood up and extended his hand to Zhu Luo, "Thank you for your cooperation, Manager Zhu."
"Of course, of course." Zhu Luo quickly stood up and respectfully extended his hand. "It's about police-community cooperation!"
Amidst their conversation, Gu Huai and Zhu Luo arrived at the office door.
Seeing that Zhu Luo seemed determined to get rid of Gu Huai from the company, Gu Huai quickly stopped at the office door.
"Manager Zhu, there's one last thing I'd like to ask you."
"Please speak, please speak."
"I hope this ends here. I don't want anyone else to hear about our conversation," Gu Huai said seriously. "I hope you understand what I mean."
"I understand, I understand! I know the rules, I know all the rules." Zhu Luo quickly patted his chest to assure him.
Gu Huai gave them a meaningful look, then led the two out of the taxi company.
After going downstairs, the three of them had just gotten into the car, and before the car door could even be closed, Hou Hao turned around and asked Gu Huai impatiently.
"Ah Huai, why did you specifically bring that up at the end? Weren't you reminding Zhu Luo? What if he really has something to hide?"
Seeing Hou Hao's sincere eyes, Gu Huai smiled and waved his hand, "Don't worry, he wouldn't dare."
"Then why...."
"You'll find out soon enough," Gu Huai said calmly, shaking his head.
"What are you waiting for?"
"Wait for your master's page."