Chapter 137 Brother Xu

Chapter 137: Brother Xu (referring to Xu Hongxia’s husband)

Yan Haifeng leaned back slightly, rolling the pen between his fingers as he looked at the young woman across from him. "Go on," he said.

Shen Qingye collected her thoughts and replied, "I just feel that Liang Wenjun's excuse sounds flimsy."

"According to Xu Hongxia, Liang Yongcheng spoiled his nephew rotten. Last time, when Liang Wenjun wanted a sports car worth nearly a million, Liang Yongcheng initially refused, but after a few days of persuasion, he eventually agreed."

"This shows that Liang Yongcheng was quick to bend his rules when it came to Liang Wenjun."

"Given that, Liang Wenjun could have easily played nice for a while until Liang Yongcheng softened. He’d have gotten the car eventually. Why take the risk of committing murder?"

Captain Ma interjected, "Maybe he was tired of constantly begging and buttering people up just to get cash?"

Li Mingliang added, "Besides, Liang Yongcheng had no other relatives. If the entire family died, Liang Wenjun, as his only nephew, would inherit most of his assets. Then, he could buy whatever he wanted without having to grovel for cash."

"But that’s a huge gamble," Shen Qingye countered. "As we’ve speculated, Liang Wenjun is the prime beneficiary of Liang Yongcheng’s death. If he could achieve his goals just by talking, why take such a drastic step and resort to murder?"

"Moreover, Liang Yongcheng was known for his good temper. According to Xu Hongxia, in all her years working for the Liang family, she had never heard Liang Yongcheng speak harshly to anyone. His colleagues and subordinates at the company also described him as consistently mild-mannered. Yet this time, Liang Yongcheng blew up uncharacteristically. According to Liang Wenjun, it was because he couldn’t get the money and said something offensive that angered Liang Yongcheng—but that’s only his word for it. No one else knows what really happened that day."

The room fell into a heavy pause.

Shen Qingye glanced around and continued, "Of course, we can’t rule out the possibility that he’s just a vicious idiot who disregards family bonds and acts on impulse. But what if there’s another possibility?"

"What if murder was his only way out?"

Yan Haifeng’s expression tightened. "Do you have any other leads?"

Shen Qingye straightened in her seat. "This is just my hunch."

She looked at Yue Lingchuan and asked, "Captain Yue, do you remember the dice we saw on the coffee table in Liang Wenjun’s living room when we visited his home?"

Recognition flashed through Yue Lingchuan’s eyes. "You mean… gambling?"

The moment the word was spoken, the expressions around the room darkened.

"Gambling?" Captain Yang frowned deeply, but upon further reflection, it wasn’t far-fetched.

Shen Qingye explained, "It just occurred to me. Based on our earlier reasoning, Liang Wenjun had no solid reason to kill. The car he wanted could have been his with a little more patience and persuasion. Why snap and kill him?"

"But what if he owed a huge debt with a deadline looming, leaving him no room to sweet-talk his uncle?"

"Combined with the fact that Liang Yongcheng flew off the handle after their argument, I suspect their conflict went beyond mere words. It’s more likely Liang Yongcheng discovered something Liang Wenjun had done, which provoked his anger."

"Those dice got me thinking."

In truth, Shen Qingye hadn’t paid much attention to the dice when she first saw them. But after interrogating Liang Wenjun, his story felt off. She later found a moment to ask Bai Ci privately whether it had overheard anything from Liang Wenjun’s visit to the study that day.

Bai Ci thought for a moment and recalled fragments of the conversation:

"The study’s soundproofing isn’t great, but I was too far away to hear clearly… I just caught bits like Liang Wenjun saying something about how if he didn’t get the money, he’d be dead. Liang Yongcheng yelled about his recklessness, calling him reckless, saying how dare he get involved in something like that..."

"Liang Wenjun kept crying and begging, saying he had no choice, that he’d never do it again, pleading with his uncle to save him, promising to change. Liang Yongcheng said such a huge sum couldn’t be magicked up overnight, that he couldn’t help..."

"Then they started arguing. Liang Wenjun accused Liang Yongcheng of leaving him to die, and it got pretty heated..."

Hearing this, Shen Qingye began forming her own theories, further supported by the dice she’d seen at Liang Wenjun’s place.

The room remained silent, everyone deep in thought. Shen Qingye glanced around and added cautiously, "Of course, this is just a hunch. It’s also possible he simply snapped and killed him out of sheer frustration when denied the money..."

"No." Yan Haifeng raised his hand to cut her off. "Xiao Shen's hunch is plausible."

"In detective work, we need to think outside the box and not overlook any possibility."

He tapped the table thoughtfully. "Now that the entire Liang family has tragically perished, only Liang Wenjun himself knows why they argued that day. The points you raised are indeed suspicious. Liang Wenjun is playing the tough guy—this attitude itself might crack this case."

He paused, then issued orders: "We can’t let Liang Wenjun go yet. Stick to the original game plan and conduct a thorough search of his villa for any relevant clues. I’ll go turn up the heat on him and see if I can extract anything from him..."

"Xiao Yue!" He looked up at Yue Lingchuan, his tone grave. "Grab a couple guys and follow Xiao Shen’s lead. Don’t limit it to gambling—focus on investigating any recent financial disputes or large money transactions he might have had."

Upon hearing this, everyone stood up and acknowledged the orders.

Yan Haifeng pushed himself up from the table. "This case is urgent, and the brass is breathing down our necks. Let’s double down and aim for a breakthrough as soon as possible!"

·

By the time the meeting adjourned, it was already past nine. No one had time to rest, wolfing down some crackers or instant noodles to take the edge off before jumping back into the grind.

Shen Qingye and Yue Lingchuan, along with members from the third team and a few from the first and second teams, rounded up Liang's usual crew to inquire about gambling. All of them were genuinely baffled.

"Playing cards? Yeah, we play sometimes, but not often—just during holidays, and the stakes are small, just pocket change..."

"It’s just for fun. If it got serious, forget about it, my parents would never allow it."

"That’s right, Police Officer. We might not be the most upstanding folks, but we steer clear of drugs and gambling. If my pops got wind of it, he’d kill me..."

"I may be a trust fund baby, but I know what’s off-limits. In our circle, no one touches that kind of stuff..."

Whether directly or subtly probed, the responses were all similar. They spoke candidly, their eyes unwavering, as if genuinely unaware.

Cops traded wary looks. After leaving the interrogation rooms, they walked out with lead feet.

"Could we have been wrong?" Luo Kaiyang muttered to himself.

Shen Qingye propped herself on the railing, her eyes unfocused as she replayed their words in her mind, lips pressed tightly.

Blank stares... Total dead ends...

Suddenly, she made a beeline for another interrogation room.

The others hesitated briefly before quickly following.

Liang Wenjun’s girlfriend, Cui Rongshan, was still at the station.

Shen Qingye sat across from her, her tone gentle. "Ms. Cui, how long have you been dating Liang Wenjun?"

Cui Rongshan fidgeted under the gaze. "T-two weeks."

"During these two weeks, have you been with him most of the time?"

"Mostly," Cui Rongshan replied. "Either out partying or at home..."

"Do you know who he usually spends time with?"

"Well..." She frowned in thought. "Mostly his party crowd?"

She gave a sheepish smile. "It's still new between us, so I’m still learning the ropes..."

"That's okay," Shen Qingye asked, "Apart from those people, was there anyone else he had a special connection with?"

"Not necessarily someone he spent time with... Was there anyone he called frequently? Or communicated with through other channels?"

Cui Rongshan replied, "Uh... yes, he made a lot of phone calls regularly."

Shen Qingye followed up, "Was there anyone he behaved unusually during phone calls with?"

"Unusually?" Cui Rongshan paused, then frowned deeply, thinking hard before suddenly her expression lit up:

"I remember now!"

"There was a period when he kept calling someone, and it was really strange!"

"Because when he talked to others, his attitude was always... pretty arrogant, or just joking around, never took things seriously. But those few times he answered that call, he seemed really focused, and his tone was much more formal... almost like he was a little afraid of that person."

"Afraid?" Shen Qingye's heart skipped a beat. She quickly asked, "Do you know that person's name?"

Cui Rongshan shook her head. "I don’t know. Every time he got that call, he’d go into another room. I never worked up the courage to follow. But once, I did hear him call the other person... Brother Xu."

Brother Xu?