From the police car, two plainclothes policewomen got out.
"Hello, is this Xu Cheng's home?"
Shi Ran asked. She and Ling Qian took out their police ID cards, and the woman's joyful mood fell to the bottom.
"I am Xu Cheng's mother. The two police officers are looking for him. Is there something wrong?" The person who claimed to be Xu Cheng's mother asked anxiously.
"Don't be nervous, it's just a routine investigation. We received a murder case and learned that the deceased had a conflict with Xu Cheng before his death, so we wanted to find out about the situation from Xu Cheng," Ling Qian said.
A dark shed was installed above the store entrance to protect it from the rain. In the green belt next to it, lavender hibiscus flowers bloomed in clusters, with petals falling all over the ground.
"Oh!..." The landlady replied, taking two steps back nervously, making way for the door, making a gesture of invitation and saying: "Please come in, Xiao Cheng is on the second floor, I asked him to come down. .”
When Shi Ran and Ling Qian walked into the flower shop, a warmth and fragrance that was different from the outside hit their faces.
It may be the off-season, so the store looks very spacious, and the styles and quantities of flowers are not too many.
A wooden staircase on the left leads to the second floor, which does not look like a business.
"Oh, is the second floor where you live?" Shi Ran asked.
"Yes, the store on the first floor of this house is connected to the second floor. Business is done on the first floor, and life is on the second floor."
As the woman said this, she was about to go upstairs to ask Xu Cheng to come down. Shi Ran grabbed her and said, "Do you mind if we go up and take a look?"
The woman was stunned for a moment, shook her head and said, "It doesn't matter, I'll take you up."
Shi Ran and Ling Qian looked at each other and followed the flower shop owner upstairs. The wooden stairs made a dull sound when they stepped on them.
There is a corridor that is not too long, with some rooms on both sides. The kitchen and living room have open doors. The two rooms at the back should be their bedrooms, with their doors closed.
The woman knocked on the door on the right and shouted inside: "Xiao Cheng, open the door."
There was a faint sound in the room, and five seconds later, the door opened.
The person who opened the door was a boy of seventeen or eighteen years old. He was slender and his hair looked like it hadn't been cut for several months. It was long and covered his eyes and ears, but it still couldn't hide the beauty of his face. It might have been casual. His mother.
The young man's face was expressionless. When he saw two strangers, Shi Ran and Ling Qian, their eyes were very unfriendly. They had disturbed him.
"Xu Cheng, right? We are from the Criminal Investigation Brigade of J City Public Security Bureau. We have something to tell you." Shi Ran and Ling Qian took out their police officer ID cards again.
The young man took their police officer ID cards and looked through them carefully before returning them to them.
"What do you want to know?" the young man asked doubtfully, obviously not knowing what happened.
Ling Qian said to Xu Cheng's mother: "Can we talk to him alone?"
"Okay, then I'll make you a pot of hot tea." Xu Cheng's mother said to Xu Cheng before she left, "Cooperate well with the police officer, and we'll tell you what you need."
Shi Ran and Ling Qian walked into the room, and Xu Cheng asked them to sit down on the stools next to the desk.
Shi Ran looked at the room. The room was not big. There was a 1.5-meter bunk bed. The upper bunk was covered with blankets and quilts. It should be his place to rest. The lower bunk and the bottom of the bed were full of things. The books and wooden floors looked clean, but there were test papers and textbooks piled around, making them a bit messy.
Even the desks in front of them were full of textbooks, exercises, and test papers.
It seems that Xu Cheng, like the deceased, was a very diligent student.
Shi Ran picked up a full test paper and asked, "Do you mind if I take a look?"
"Please." Xu Cheng did not refuse, found a stool and sat down, and asked anxiously: "What are the two police officers looking for me about? I don't seem to have done anything illegal..."
Ling Qian took out the recorder and said, "We will record the next conversation, is that okay?"
"No."
Xu Cheng's mother had already made tea and brought it to her. It was rose tea. The tea soup shone with a light golden color. Not knowing what had happened, she looked at her son with some worry and then went downstairs.
Shi Ran put down the test paper in his hand, looked directly into Xu Cheng's eyes, and asked, "Are your grades good? Why didn't you go to college?"
Xu Cheng pushed up his glasses and replied: "I'm a few points away from the university I want to go to, so I plan to repeat the study for a year and take the exam again."
Same as his mother said.
Shi Ran got to the point.
"What is your relationship with Qian Junyao?"
"......Oh my friend."
When Shi Ran mentioned the deceased Qian Junyao, Xu Cheng's expression did not change much.
"Did you know he was dead?" Shi Ran continued to ask, staring at Xu Cheng unblinkingly.
"Dead?" Xu Cheng showed an expression of astonishment. Obviously this news was very unexpected for him. He murmured with trembling lips: "How could..."
They had just met a few days ago. They had a big fight over something and even got into a fight.
The last time he saw Qian Junyao flashed in his mind, and it was also in this room.
"Just tell me whether you can help or not?"
"You are simply not human! You still want me to help you!?"
"What are you pretending to be? Aren't you also lusting after other people's photos? I just did it! We are the same!"
"Get out! I don't have a friend like you!"
Later, they took action and Qian Junyao left with a nosebleed. After that, they had no contact.
"Whoosh!"
A dozen test papers half resting on the desk slipped and fell to the ground. Shi Ran was about to help him pick them up when he saw a photo on the desk after the test papers fell.
She calmly picked up the test paper that fell on the ground, then picked up the photo and placed the test paper on the desk.
When Xu Cheng saw the photo Shi Ran picked up, he subconsciously wanted to snatch it back, but then stopped his action.
Shi Ran looked at the photo in his hand. The photo was a side profile photo of a girl. It was relatively blurry. She had a sunny smile and was wearing a summer short-sleeved white school uniform. It looked like it was taken secretly.
"Girlfriend?" Shi Ran pretended to joke with a smile.
"No..." Xu Cheng lowered his head, took the photo Shi Ran handed back to him, turned it over and put it back on the desk.
"So you have a crush on her?"
"......right."
Xu Cheng's face turned red when someone guessed the little secret in his heart, and his head hung lower.
Shi Ran patted him on the shoulder and comforted him: "It's okay. In adolescence, it's normal to have someone you like."
"Yeah." Xu Cheng raised his head a little.
Shi Ran continued to ask questions about Qian Junyao.
"I heard that you and Qian Junyao had a conflict recently because of something. Can you tell me in detail what it was?"
