Chapter 51: Manslaughter

Chapter 51: Manslaughter

As Shen Qingye pushed open the door to the Major Case Division, she was greeted by a round of warm applause and cheers:

"Welcome, Shen, as an official member of our third team!"

Wei Zhengyi stood at the front with a broad smile, while the others stood behind him, all with smiles on their faces.

Shen Qingye paused, her eyes crinkling as she slowly smiled. "Thank you, everyone."

Wei Zhengyi stepped forward, turning slightly to guide her inside, and exclaimed, "Come on, come on! Knowing you were joining the third team, we specially tidied up. See? It's particularly clean, with no bad odors at all!"

Shen Qingye looked around and saw that although the office wasn't perfectly neat, it was clean and tidy. There were even two pots of flowers placed on the windowsill, adding a bit of charm.

She had previously delivered documents to the other two teams, where a group of men had made the rooms a mess, hardly any room to move.

In comparison, the third team was quite good. Even when she had come here before to discuss cases, she had never seen it in such disarray.

Shen Qingye nodded in approval. "It really is clean."

Wei Zhengyi smiled contentedly. "It was worth the afternoon we spent cleaning."

Yue Lingchuan stepped forward, pointing to a desk by the window. "Your desk is over there. That desk used to be a catch-all for miscellaneous items, but we just cleared it out today. It's empty now, and later Kaiyang will take you to logistics to get some essentials."

Shen Qingye nodded in understanding.

He continued, "Although you're not exactly a newcomer, and you probably know everyone here, let me give you a quick rundown of our team."

He pointed to everyone. "Our team previously had five people, and now with you, it's six. Among them, Zhou Qiming and Jiang Cheng are veterans of our Major Case Division, having joined in 1994 and been assigned to the third team with me in 1998.

"Luo Kaiyang and Wei Zhengyi joined later, in 1999. They're just a few years older than you."

"Lao Zhou has been in the team for a long time and is very resourceful. If you encounter any victims or family members of perpetrators that you can't handle, just go to him. He knows people from all walks of life, like the situation with Shunzi last time—you can always go to him."

He was referring to the time during Yuan Zhenghao's case when they were inquiring about the Night Bar.

Shen Qingye nodded understandingly, looking up at Zhou Qiming, who smiled and said, "If there's anything, just come to me. Your Brother Zhou knows a lot of people."

Shen Qingye thanked him. "Then Brother Zhou, don't get tired of me in the future."

Yue Lingchuan glanced at her and continued, "As for Jiang Cheng's role in our team, want to take a guess?"

Shen Qingye was momentarily puzzled. Having participated in these cases, she hadn't seen much of Jiang Cheng in action. In her impression, he was always quite reticent, mostly involved in executing tasks.

She guessed, "Tech support?" She remembered that during the hotel surveillance last time, it seemed he was the one checking it, and he helped further eliminate Zheng Yudan's suspicion.

Yue Lingchuan paused, then laughed. "You might say that—he is quite skilled with computers."

You might say that?

Her mind racing, she suddenly thought of something, looking sharply at him. "I heard from Ms. Yun and others... do we have a sharpshooter in the Major Case Division?"

Yue Lingchuan smiled.

Shen Qingye swallowed. "So this isn't a legend—it's true?"

She glanced at Jiang Cheng sitting to the side, who as usual was buried in a pile of case files. But upon closer observation, one could notice that he hadn't turned a page in a while.

Luo Kaiyang laughed beside them. "In terms of marksmanship, in our team—no, in the entire Major Case Division, Brother Jiang is the top shot!"

He raised his thumb and gave a firm nod.

Shen Qingye was momentarily dazed, never expecting that the usually unremarkable Jiang Cheng was actually unassuming yet full of surprises.

Wei Zhengyi also said, "A couple of years ago, there was a case where a suspect made a homemade bomb. When we caught up with him, it was in a bustling area with many people around. The guy was a bit mentally unstable, knowing he had no way out, and wanted to set off the bomb to take us all down with him. No matter how we tried to persuade him, it didn’t work. Just as the fire was about to be lit, and we were ready to pounce and take him down by force, at the critical moment, Brother Jiang, from a rooftop two kilometers away, shot the suspect's wrist with a sniper rifle, and the threat was neutralized."

Two kilometers... Shen Qingye’s eyes widened in awe, looking at Jiang Cheng with obvious admiration.

Jiang Cheng maintained a cold demeanor, but his ears couldn't help but turn red.

Zhou Qiming, seeing this, laughed, "Old Jiang was the best at shooting during his time at the police academy. There was a training instructor from the military who, upon seeing his skills, tried to recruit him on the spot. But no matter how much he tried to persuade him, Old Jiang refused outright."

"Why?" Shen Qingye was puzzled.

Zhou Qiming laughed heartily, "Because he had a girlfriend back then and was planning to marry her as soon as he graduated! He was afraid that if he joined the army, it would be hard to see his girlfriend in the future!"

Shen Qingye was even more surprised, never expecting that Jiang Cheng, usually so reserved, was actually a hopeless romantic.

"So... Brother Jiang is married now?"

"Not just married, he’s even got a kid!" Zhou Qiming clicked his tongue and shook his head, "You didn’t see how happy he was when he learned he had a daughter. Really, I’ve known him for four years in college and two years working together, and I’ve never seen him so happy!"

Luo Kaiyang also said, "Brother Jiang is known as a doting dad to his daughter in our team."

Jiang Cheng's face slightly reddened, and meeting Shen Qingye's astonished gaze, he cleared his throat and calmly said, "The weather is still cold these days, but when it gets warmer, I'll bring my child over so everyone can meet her."

Shen Qingye paused, then happily agreed, "Sure!"

Zhou Qiming clicked his tongue beside them, "Not to mention anything else, Old Jiang's daughter is really beautiful, rosy-cheeked and chubby, with big round eyes, like a doll. Everyone who sees her can’t resist picking her up."

Hearing this, Shen Qingye was momentarily lost in thought, as if she had returned to her own childhood, when her father would take her to the team during his free time, and the uncles and aunties loved to hug and kiss her.

Now thinking back, those times feel like a distant memory.

Zhou Qiming continued, "Among so many in our team, only Jiang Cheng has a wife and child, living the dream."

Shen Qingye was momentarily stunned upon hearing this and subconsciously asked, "Only Brother Jiang?"

"Brother Zhou is still single?"

Zhou Qiming turned to look at her, "What do you mean?"

What did she mean by 'still single'?

He looked incredulous, "I’m only three years older than Captain Yue, do I really look that much older?"

Shen Qingye hurriedly explained, "No, no, it's just that Brother Zhou usually... well, comes off as so put-together, with your personality, I thought you were married."

Indeed, Zhou Qiming's usual demeanor, how he could get along with anyone, plus his age being around thirty, made Shen Qingye subconsciously think he was married.

Zhou Qiming chuckled a couple of times, and Yue Lingchuan, standing by, laughed and mercilessly exposed his old story, "He wants to get married, but he’s still single."

Shen Qingye looked surprised. Zhou Qiming wasn’t exactly a typical handsome guy, but he was good-looking and capable. Although the job of a criminal police officer is a bit risky, it's still respectable. How could he not find a partner?

Yue Lingchuan explained, "He has been in a few relationships, but he just doesn’t have the patience. Every time it didn't last long, he found the girls troublesome and didn't know how to charm them, so he always got dumped."

Zhou Qiming said, "I’m usually so busy, where do I find the time to woo them? Besides, I didn’t do anything wrong, why should I charm them?"

Shen Qingye shook her head, utterly hopeless.

Yue Lingchuan scoffed outright, "Are you busier than the whole squad? Yet he still makes it home every day to be with his wife and kids!"

Zhou Qiming didn't respond.

Wei Zhengyi looked at her and asked, "So, Xiao Shen, ever been in a relationship?"

Yue Lingchuan's eyes instinctively drifted towards her. Shen Qingye didn't notice, simply shook her head, answering honestly, "No. I was pretty swamped during college."

On top of her major, she was also juggling criminal investigation courses. Plus... her mind wasn't focused on that. Even when guys hit on her, she always said no.

Yue Lingchuan breathed a sigh of relief without realizing it, inexplicably not wanting to continue the topic. He then picked up the previous conversation, "Anyway, Jiang Cheng's got a solid reputation. Besides our team, the SWAT team often calls him for assistance."

Shen Qingye nodded, "Brother Jiang is seriously impressive."

Jiang Cheng also said, "You're pretty impressive yourself. I can't hold a candle to you when it comes to cracking cases."

Shen Qingye hesitated, met his earnest look, and then slowly smiled.

Yue Lingchuan then looked at Luo Kaiyang and Wei Zhengyi, continuing, "Brother Zhengyi might look tough on the outside, but he's got a sharp eye for detail. Plus, he's very good with words and excels at handling community work. Kaiyang's the more laid-back type, pays close attention to the details, and sometimes comes up with some pretty wild ideas for cases."

He looked at Shen Qingye and added, "You've probably got a good read on everyone by now. If there's anything you don't understand later, just ask. We're all colleagues now."

Shen Qingye gave him a bright smile, "No worries, boss. I'm definitely here to learn from the best."

When she called him 'boss,' Yue Lingchuan hesitated, then felt a twinge of helplessness.

When Lao Zhou and the others called him that, it didn't feel strange, but hearing Shen Qingye say it somehow sounded odd.

...It made him sound like some kind of mob boss.

Wei Zhengyi stepped forward with a grin, "What's with all this learning talk? If anyone's learning here, it's me from you."

Lately, she's cracked every case she's been on. That kind of track record really blew Wei Zhengyi away.

Luo Kaiyang chimed in enthusiastically, "Hey, Xiao Shen, your things are still over there, right? Let me give you a hand moving your stuff, and then we'll hit up logistics for your office gear."

Seeing their enthusiasm, Shen Qingye quickly said, "No worries. I don't have much. I can manage on my own."

If they tagged along, it'd just attract unnecessary attention. Shen Qingye preferred to do it alone.

Hearing this, Wei Zhengyi and the others didn't insist, simply saying, "Alright, if you run into any trouble, just give us a shout!"

After saying that, Wei Zhengyi turned to Yue Lingchuan excitedly, "Boss, boss, we've got a newbie on the team today. How about we all grab a bite together?"

Yue Lingchuan replied, "Sure, let's go out for a good meal tonight! Ask Xiao Shen if she's available."

Shen Qingye thought about it. Since it was her first team gathering, it wouldn't be appropriate to decline, so she said, "I'm fine with it."

Everyone immediately cheered, debating where to go. Shen Qingye looked helpless but nodded when Yue Lingchuan glanced her way, then went back to pack her things.

·

When she got back, Ms. Yun was all over her with questions. Shen Qingye smiled wryly and explained, promising to treat them to a meal later before finally managing to escape.

While packing her things, Shen Qingye didn't forget to bring Little Stone along.

After all, the Major Case Division also had flower pots. Moving to a new place wouldn't make much difference.

Speaking of Little Stone, Shen Qingye recalled the sound of the enamel cup she heard when entering Wang Qinghai's bedroom. At the time, everyone was present, so she couldn't ask anything. But after returning that day, she asked Little Stone if it could hear what the enamel cup said. It simply denied it. Although Shen Qingye felt a bit disappointed, she quickly adjusted her mindset.

Having such an ability was already a pleasant surprise. If there were truly no limitations, wouldn't that be a bit too much?

Although the perpetrator of the recent gun homicide case had already been found, Shen Qingye still kept Little Stone by her side. After all, it was the first thing she could talk to, and it would be inappropriate to discard it after use. Moreover, Little Stone was indeed adorable. Usually kept in a flowerpot, it didn't even need watering, making it incredibly easy to care for. Chatting with it occasionally was also quite fun. Because they were different species, they sometimes saw things differently, which undoubtedly sparked Shen Qingye's thoughts.

Therefore, talking to it a couple of times a day had become a kind of pleasure for Shen Qingye.

·

By the time she finished organizing her desk and fetching some office supplies, it was almost time to get off work.

When there were no cases, the Major Case Division was quite leisurely. Yue Lingchuan lounged on a recliner of unknown origin, reading old case files with a very relaxed posture; Jiang Cheng was typing furiously at his computer, his brow deeply furrowed; Zhou Qiming and the others were just lounging around, leaning back in their chairs, muttering to themselves.

Shen Qingye watched for a while before realizing they seemed to be counting.

Counting what?

Curious, she glanced at the wall clock and saw the second hand ticking forward. Just as it pointed to zero, Wei Zhengyi shouted:

"Three, two, one, zero! Woohoo, time to get off work!"

He quickly dashed over to Yue Lingchuan: "Captain, let's eat! Come on, let's go!"

Before Yue Lingchuan could respond, the office door suddenly opened, and Xiao Liu rushed in, panting and looking serious:

"Captain Yue, we have a case."

Shen Qingye saw Wei Zhengyi's face visibly fall.

A woman in Chunhui Community reported that she had accidentally killed her husband and had voluntarily called the police to turn herself in.

"The local police have already arrived on the scene. Captain Yang and his team are still tied up, and Captain Ma and his team left early this morning. Captain Yue, you should go take a look."

Wei Zhengyi slumped in his chair, his face blank, and he groaned, "Heavens—"

Why did a case have to come in just as they were about to get off work?

Yue Lingchuan also stood up, glanced at Shen Qingye, and sighed, "Well, it seems today's meal is off."

"Everyone, let's go."

Shen Qingye immediately stood up.

The first case she faced after officially becoming a criminal investigator had arrived!