Lin Dongxue was stunned and instinctively said, "Then why didn't you just…"
"Cough, cough!" Chen Shi interrupted her and asked Shen Jun, "How did you two meet?"
"We met on a social mobile game called…"
"I don't mean that. Did you know each other's appearance before you met in person?"
"No, we didn't. We used cartoon avatars in the game. Our break times matched, so we often played together. Later, she suggested meeting in person. The first time didn't work, but a week later, we met at a café. We hit it off and started dating."
Chen Shi rubbed his chin. "How do you usually spend your break time?"
"The company's busy, so I only get an hour for lunch. I don't nap, and I finish work at 9 PM. We get Wednesdays off in rotation, and she has the same day off."
"Thanks for your cooperation!"
With that, Chen Shi took his leave. As they were going downstairs, Lin Dongxue said, "You dug up all his private matters and didn't even comfort him?"
"Comfort him? You're a cop, not a therapist."
"Cold and heartless! How could he stand it and not break up with her?"
"Our law doesn't regulate cheating. People react differently. Some can't tolerate it even once, others can be totally indifferent."
"If it were me, I couldn't tolerate it once…"
Chen Shi suddenly stopped. "Wait here for me. I forgot to ask something."
He quickly turned back. While waiting downstairs, Xu Xiaodong called. "Where are you?"
"None of your business."
"I found something big. The driver from this morning—according to one of his friends, he's only been in the job for less than a year. He got his driver's license just a year ago."
"What did he do before?"
"Before 2015, he was in prison in another city. After getting out, he vanished. There were even rumors he died. Then in 2018, he suddenly appeared in Long'an, alone."
"Alone? Didn't he say he had a mother?"
"Did he say that? No, he didn't. He claimed his family was in his hometown, but we checked, and there's no record of him there. It's like he just appeared out of nowhere."
Hearing footsteps, Lin Dongxue quickly hung up and looked at Chen Shi, wondering, what's his background?
"What's wrong?" Chen Shi noticed her expression and asked with a smile.
"Nothing. What's next?"
"What do you think?"
Lin Dongxue thought for a moment. "Let's investigate Gu Mengxing's social circle. Her friends with the wild personalities?"
Chen Shi shook his head with a smile. "You think we can track all of them? Let's go to her home and her company!"
They arrived at the pharmaceutical company where Gu Mengxing worked. Since she had just passed away, her desk hadn't been cleared yet. There was a bouquet of red roses on her desk. Chen Shi said, "Looks like she was well-liked!"
It was around 5 PM, and most employees were out for dinner. The office was empty.
Chen Shi sat at her desk and started going through her things. Lin Dongxue reminded him, "Hey, watch for fingerprints!"
"I'm wearing gloves." Chen Shi raised a hand, showing a pair of cleaning gloves he had grabbed from the company.
He opened the drawer and found several boxes of oral medication. Chen Shi said, "These are the same as the ones we saw at Shen Jun's place—gonorrhea treatment."
Chen Shi examined the desk. "The deceased was easygoing, trusting, and liked to try new things. But she had a stubborn side. People like that often rationalize their actions."
"How can you tell?"
Chen Shi gestured with his hands. "A workstation shows a person's personality. Look at her desk—everything's in plain view. Her books are casually placed, and the bookmark is a sanitary napkin wrapper. She was carefree. The handwriting on the memo is lively, but the sharp corners of the strokes show she had a stubborn side."
Lin Dongxue was impressed. Chen Shi smiled at her. "I'm a driver, so I meet a lot of people and can read them well."
A young man came in with a lunchbox. Seeing them at Gu Mengxing's desk, he walked over and asked, "What are you doing here? Who allowed you to go through things?"
Lin Dongxue flashed her badge, and the young man softened. "Oh, you're the police. Are you investigating her death?"
"We're just looking into her social circle." Chen Shi noticed the young man glancing at the flowers on the desk. He asked, "Did you buy these flowers?"
"No… the colleagues chipped in to buy them. It's such a loss. A girl like her, gone so suddenly, it really hit us all."
"What's your relationship with her?"
The young man became flustered. "Just a colleague…"
"Really?" Chen Shi pulled off the tag from the flowers and compared it with the name on the young man's lunchbox. "The handwriting matches. You bought these flowers. Would a 'regular colleague' do that?"
"I…"
"There are no outsiders here. Tell me the truth."
The young man's face turned red. "I… we were dating."
"What!?" Lin Dongxue gasped.
"We've been dating for half a year. Honestly, I've liked her since I started working here. She was so beautiful and gentle, like a goddess to everyone. I thought I had no chance. One time, we went karaoke, and after a few drinks, I confessed. She actually agreed. I was over the moon. We started dating, but there was something strange—she never talked to me at work, never left together after hours. We'd only meet occasionally on Sundays. But I was content… Then when she passed away, I found out she had another boyfriend. That really hit me hard, but I truly liked her. This bouquet is my way of mourning her."
"Such deep feelings," Chen Shi smiled. "I've got a personal question for you. Have you been sick lately?"
"No!"
"Have you contracted any STDs?"
The young man was confused at first, then suddenly threw his lunchbox, jumping up angrily. "Bastard! What are you talking about!"