Grocery Store No.514

~Brought to you by Cafe No. 20~

On New Year’s Eve, February 17, 3021, Jiang Chengyan ate New Year’s Eve dinner and hurried home after having an open and honest chat with Jiang Zhenhua. Instead of staying overnight like in previous years, Yan Yu left after Jiang Chengyan returned.

“Yan Yu, drive carefully on the road, and send me a voice message when you get home.” Ling Hua’an anxiously sent him to the door.

Yan Yu looked at the two people at the door, his heart feeling bitter and unbearable, he quietly exhaled a turbid breath and said, “okay, I’m leaving, you guys go back.”

“Wait a minute! I almost forgot the New Year’s gift, you wait a moment. I’ll go get it for you.”

Jiang Chengyan stopped Ling Hua’an and said, “where is the gift? I’ll get it for you.”

“There is a black square box in the drawer on the left of the bedroom. Go and get it.”

Jiang Chengyan turned around, leaving only Ling Hua’an and Yan Yu standing at the door.

Yan Yu hesitated for a moment and said, “Hua’an, I’ll be traveling for a while after the New Year. So if you need anything, just ask Zhang Mian. I will tell him before I leave.”

“Business trip? Where to go? How long will you be back?”

“M country.  There is a business I need to deal with. I don’t know when I will return, but it’s not long.”

“When are you leaving?”

“The ticket is on the third day after new year.”

“It’s good to go out and relax, but come back early. After all, here is your home.”

Yan Yu’s heart warmed, and he said, “I know. Hua’an, take good care of yourself. Don’t be brave about anything. Leave it to him.”

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“Don’t worry about me. It’s you. Sometimes going out is always better than being at home. Take care of yourself.”

While the two were talking, Jiang Chengyan came over with the wooden box and said, “Hua’an, I’ve brought the thing.”

Ling Hua’an took the wooden box and opened it. Inside was a spherical, dark blue crystal pendant with runes engraved in cinnabar. He took out the crystal and said, “If you wear this, it can ward off evil spirits, which is more effective than the paper talisman given to you before.”

Yan Yu took the pendant, put it on, smiled, and said, “Don’t worry, I will wear it close to my body. I’m leaving. Wait for me to come back.”

Yan Yu left without looking back. Jiang Chengyan closed the door and asked, “Hua’an, what does his last sentence mean?” 

“He is going abroad, and it may take a while before he can return.”

“Going abroad? Is it because of me?” Looking at Yan Yu’s departure, Jiang Chengyan should be happy. After all, there was one less threat around Ling Hua’an. But he was in a complicated mood. There was always a feeling of guilt for robbing someone else.

“Captain Jiang is thinking too much.”

Ling Hua’an knew Jiang Chengyan. Although he was jealous, he has a kind heart. If he knows that Yan Yu left because of him, he will definitely have wild thoughts.

“Captain Jiang, when you came back at this time, did you quarrel with your father again?”

“No. I had a New Year’s Eve dinner with them very calmly, then I chatted with him very calmly before I came back here. Why? Lao Ling did not welcome me back?” Jiang Chengyan imitated Ling Hua’an tone of voice.

“Welcome. How could it not be welcome? That big bed is too deserted to sleep alone.”

The corners of Jiang Chengyan’s mouth rose, but he retorted, “in a word, it’s still about craving over my body. There’s nothing serious in your head.”

Ling Hua’an was just about to speak when he heard a cell phone ringing.

Jiang Chengyan, stunned, took out his phone and said with a bitter smile, “Lao Ling may really have to sleep alone tonight.”

Ling Hua’an raised his eyebrows and said, “The team?”

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“Hmm. “Jiang Cheng Yan answered and connected to the phone, “Hello, Yao Min, what’s the matter?” 

“Captain, there was a murder in Yihe Apartment. Come here quickly.”

“Okay, send me the specific address. “Jiang Chengyan hung up the phone, looked at Ling Hua’an, and said, “Hua’an, there has been a murder in Yihe Apartment. I have to go there. You can go to bed first, don’t wait for me.” 

Ling Hua’an took down the jacket hanging by the door and said,

“Let’s go. I’ll go with you.”

Thinking of Ling Hua’an’s ability, Jiang Chengyan nodded and said, “Okay, let’s go.”

The two drove to Yihe Apartment. After revealing their identity, Jiang Chengyan directly went in. The car stopped downstairs of the accident unit building. Ling Hua’an looked up and saw that there was a place entangled with resentment in the air.

“Captain Jiang, you go with your business, don’t worry about me.”

Jiang Chengyan hesitated for a moment and told him, “then take care of yourself and call me if anything happens.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be in the car.”

Jiang Chengyan got out of the car, put on his work badge, and walked towards the police line.

In the crowd downstairs, Yao Min saw Jiang Chengyan coming over, waved her hand quickly, and said, “Captain, this way.”

Jiang Chengyan walked over and asked, “What’s the situation? Who is the person reporting the crime?”

Yao Min pointed to the woman in the crowd and said, “The person who reported the case is that woman in the red woolen coat, named Sun Ting, who is the girlfriend of the deceased Liang Yijun. At eleven o’clock in the evening, she received a text message from Liang Yijun, saying he would break up with her. Sun Ting felt puzzled, so she called Liang Yijun, but no one answered the phone. Then she decided to come over asking for some explanation, but she found Liang Yijun’s body in the bathroom and reported it.”

Jiang Chengyan looked at the woman and felt familiar, but he couldn’t remember where he had seen her.

Seeing this, Yao Min said, dissatisfied, “Captain, it’s not good for you to look at people so directly. Don’t forget that you are now a family man. Be careful, or I will tell Ling Dage!”

After returning from the trip, Jiang Chengyan and Ling Hua’an invited people from the criminal investigation team to dinner and officially announced their relationship. Because of the previous case of Jiang Changping, they were very touched. They accepted the fact that they were together and gave them all their blessings.

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Jiang Chengyan felt a little guilty before subconsciously looking into his car, and he said with a smile, “stinky girl, can you think of something serious in your mind? I looked at her because she looked familiar. I warn you, if you dare to say something in front of Hua’an, I will see you at the training ground!”

Yao Min pouted and said, “Captain needs to be more restrained. Liu-Jie and I are on Ling Dage’s side.”

“You white-eyed wolf that can’t be fed!¹” 

Jiang Chengyan burst out laughing,  ignored Yao Min, and walked toward Sun Ting.

The policeman was taking a statement for Sun Ting. When he saw Jiang Chengyan walking over, he quickly greeted him and said, “Captain Jiang, you are here.”

Jiang Chengyan nodded and looked at Sun Ting. Seeing a surprise flash in her eyes, he confirmed his thoughts and asked, “You are Sun Ting, right? Haven’t we met before?”

Sun Ting wiped the corners of her eyes and said, “we met on the plane to Licheng.”

Jiang Chengyan was stunned, “no wonder Miss Sun looks familiar. We’ve met before. Miss Sun, can you show me the text message you received?”

Sun Ting nodded, took out her mobile phone, opened the text message, and handed it to Jiang Chengyan.

Jiang Chengyan took out his mobile phone and took a picture, saying, “it’s 11:15. Have you quarreled before?”

“There has been a quarrel. How can there be no quarrel between lovers, but we always make up after that. When I received this text message, I felt so baffled. Then I tried calling him, but no one answered. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got, and I felt unwilling. So I came to look for him. But I didn’t expect to see his dead body when I opened the door.” Sun Ting cried again as she spoke.

Seeing this, Yao Min quickly took out a tissue and handed it over, saying, “Miss Sun, I’m sorry for your loss.”

Jiang Chengyan nodded and said, “Yao Min, stay here to take a statement for Miss Sun.”

Jiang Chengyan turned around, entered the unit building, and took the elevator to the 7th floor. Yihe Apartment is a garden house with three households on each floor with total of ten floors. It is located in the South New District of Huacheng. Because the city government will move south, this is the nearest community to go there. Also, the surrounding area is under construction.

In the future, it must be another downtown area, so the houses here are very tight, and the families that can buy them now will make good choices.

Jiang Chengyan put on his footwear and gloves, stepped into Liang Yijun’s house, walked straight to Qin An, and asked, “Mr. Qin, what did you find?”

Qin An looked around and said, “the doors and windows are intact, no signs of external damage, the room is clean and tidy, and nothing out of place can be seen at the moment.”

Jiang Chengyan nodded and turned towards the bathroom. Su Ke was squatting by the bathtub to check the body, while the bathroom floor was a bright red.

Translated by Cafe No. 20 – cafeno20.wordpress.com

Su Ke glanced back and teased, “Captain Jiang was so late today.” 

Jiang Chengyan touched his nose, embarrassed, “I just talked to the person who reported the case downstairs, and I came up a little late. How did he die?”

“The wound on the wrist is deep, and the artery has been injured. Judging from the bleeding situation, it’s presumed to have died from excessive blood loss. The time of death should be between 10:00 and 12:00 at night. Su Ke pointed to the bottle of wine on the side of the bathtub and said, “When we came in, there was a strong smell of wine in the bathroom. This bottle was empty, he should have drunk a lot of wine before he died.”

Jiang Chengyan frowned slightly and said, “Do you suspect his death was suicide?”

“Looking at the situation, the possibility of suicide is high. As for whether it’s true or not depends on you, Captain Jiang, to judge.”

Jiang Chengyan nodded and carefully observed the situation in the bathroom. The body was lying naked in the bathtub. The clothes he had taken off were placed in the plastic frame in the corner. An empty red wine bottle was beside the bathtub, put upside down. Next to it was a goblet with a bit of remaining red wine in it.

Jiang Chengyan came to the plastic frame where the clothes were placed. He reached it out and picked up the clothes inside, turned it over, then took out a shopping receipt from his trousers pocket. When he saw the words clearly, Jiang Chengyan said, “Su Ke, I’m afraid you have to do a drug test.”

Su Ke was stunned, looked at Jiang Chengyan, and said, “What have you found?”

“I found a shopping receipt in his trouser pocket.  It was a diamond ring, and the date was today.” Jiang Chengyan hands the receipt to Su Ke.

“Diamond ring?” Su Ke took a closer look and said, “he bought a female-model diamond ring, which shows that he might propose, but he committed suicide on the same day. It doesn’t make sense.”

“Yes. Just now, I learned that his girlfriend, Sun Ting, received a text message at 11:15. It was a text message from the deceased to break up with her. After that,  Sun Ting called him, but no one picked up after she called many times. There must be a reason for two people to break up, not to mention that it was serious enough to commit suicide. But Sun Ting didn’t even know what was going on. It’s a bit unreasonable for him to commit suicide. 

Jiang Chengyan pointed to Liang Yijun in the bathtub and said, “Look at him, his whole body is naked. Who commits suicide and has the heart to strip himself like this?”

“Okay, just as you said, I’ll do a drug test when I return.”

Ling Hua’an got out of the car and stood in the crowd, not far from him, a familiar face floated.

~~~

The author has something to say.

I’ve been a little lazy the last couple of days, but luckily I’ve got a draft.

1. mean thankless wretch / an ingrate ↺