Chapter 3: A Crime of Passion?

A typical self-deprecating, people-pleasing personality—his upbringing had left him with a lingering inferiority complex whenever faced with outsiders. Yet, conversely, among familiar faces, he was eager to assert himself; in simpler terms, he was fierce only within his own circle.

Before Tang Jianing could pick up the next file, a voice suddenly came from the doorway.

“Who authorized you to enter the crime scene?”

Her gaze passed over the bodyguard stationed at the door, and Tang Jianing saw a male and female police officer in uniform attempting to enter the room.

“Zhou Lu, handle this.”

“All right, leave it to me!”

Zhou Lu adjusted his suit and stood quietly behind the bodyguard.

“Ladies, this is a private residence; you are not permitted to enter without authorization.”

The young female officer looked at Zhou Lu and Tang Jianing inside the room, her anger nearly palpable.

“You must be Tang Liqian’s daughter. Do you know that destroying evidence and obstructing an investigation are crimes?”

Listening to the female officer’s sarcastic tone, Tang Jianing’s eyes fixed on her.

“Breaking and entering is the real crime here, sister.”

The casual use of “sister” nearly broke the female officer’s composure; she pulled out her handcuffs, ready to storm inside.

But just because she lacked discretion didn’t mean the detective by her side was unthinking. He quickly restrained her, furrowing his brow as he looked to Zhou Lu.

“This is a crime scene; we have the right to enter!”

Zhou Lu remained calm and began quietly reciting the penal code.

“Article 245 of the Criminal Law states that illegally searching a person’s body or residence, or unlawfully entering a residence, is punishable by up to three years imprisonment or detention.”

“Supplementary Clause (1) clearly states that if judicial personnel abuse their power to commit the aforementioned offense, the punishment is harsher.”

Having recited the law, Zhou Lu displayed his lawyer’s badge.

“If you wish to enter property under our protection, please present your police identification and a search warrant stamped by the court or procuratorate.”

The atmosphere seemed to still in that moment. After a long silence, the veteran detective finally focused his gaze on Tang Jianing.

“Miss Tang, would you be willing to cooperate?”

“No.”

Tang Jianing raised an eyebrow, sat down on a chair that had not triggered any prompt, and continued flipping through the files in her hands.

Those from the provincial bureau had taken her father away without asking if he consented. As the heiress of the Tang Group, she considered it a mercy that she hadn’t made a scene, out of concern for the impact.

And now they dared to bargain with her?

“We’re leaving.”

The veteran detective glanced at the living room, then pulled the female officer away from the doorway.

Obtaining a search warrant was not difficult with reasonable grounds—after all, this was the primary crime scene. Even if only to organize evidence, the higher-ups would surely approve.

Better to leave now and apply for the warrant promptly, lest Tang Jianing tamper with the evidence.

Watching the two depart, Zhou Lu returned to Tang Jianing’s side.

“Miss, shall we proceed?”

“No rush. Go inquire about the relationship between Wang Ming and Chi Ziqi back then—whether they reached the engagement stage.”

Tang Jianing tossed the file to Zhou Lu and began heading toward the bedroom.

She had thoroughly examined the living room crime scene—any place where a prompt might appear had been touched.

It was quite surprising to find a diamond in such a critical spot, especially after the police had searched it countless times.

Compared to the living room, Tang Jianing felt the room overlooked by the police might yield more clues.

As her fingers touched the doorknob, a green prompt appeared once again.

[A doorknob without fingerprints—did the culprit do something inside?]

Two green prompts had led Tang Jianing to discern a pattern.

Prompts appeared only on elements related to the case: white meant minor relevance, while green indicated a strong connection to the culprit, significantly advancing the investigation.

Whether other colors existed remained unknown, but for now, uncovering clues was paramount.

She pushed open the door. The bedroom was noticeably smaller.

A standard 1.4 by 2-meter double bed dominated much of the space; the wardrobe held dusty, somewhat weathered clothes.

Countless dead insects cluttered the windowsill, and a faint stench wafted from the room.

Tang Jianing pinched her nose and pressed a finger on the bed.

[Although the bed is compact for two, it seems only one person used it.]

Seeing the white prompt, Tang Jianing raised an eyebrow.

Though white, the hint was useful—it meant Wang Ming had never spent the night here as a boyfriend.

According to records, they had been dating for two years.

No matter how she thought about it, after so long, it was normal for him to have slept over at the girl’s place at least once.

Was he just conservative?

Tang Jianing raised an eyebrow, feeling that Chi Ziqi, having attended university in a big city, didn’t strike her as such a person.

After searching the room for a while, Tang Jianing soon triggered another green prompt from a red wooden box.

[A festive box—something might have been taken from inside.]

Reading the prompt, Tang Jianing used her light to inspect the box.

It bore a red “double happiness” character, with a sliding lid that could fit at most a necklace.

“Does the police evidence mention this box?”

Glancing at Zhou Lu standing at the door, she shifted her gaze.

“No.”

Zhou Lu recalled the files and shook his head firmly.

“Put it away. This should be an important piece of evidence.”

Squinting, Tang Jianing examined it closely, recalling photos from the case files.

“Zhou Lu, how likely do you think this case is a crime of passion?”

“Wang Ming?”

“Just a guess. What do you think?”

“I don’t know. Lawyers speak through evidence.”

Zhou Lu could identify crucial loopholes from evidence, but solving cases was not his forte.

Don’t be misled by TV dramas—lawyers aren’t all detectives.

Their strength lies in exploiting legal provisions and finding various loopholes to challenge cases.

Hearing Zhou Lu’s words, Tang Jianing raised an eyebrow, looked around to confirm no other prompts appeared, then stood and stretched.

“Wrap it up. Leave two people here. When those two officers return, tell them the house will be cleaned tomorrow.”

“Ah, really cleaning up?”