After Wu An was driven away, Niu Jian's status in the passenger market skyrocketed. He was not only a veritable "big brother" among taxi drivers but also a regular guest at gatherings of the owners of several taxi companies in the city.
That year, Niu Jian had three taxis under his name and had also quietly purchased two second-hand cars, hiring people to run them as "ride-hailing services." He didn't let others operate "ride-hailing services," but he wasn't foolish either. He knew the market for "ride-hailing services" and who could pass up money? Thus, he did nothing all day, renting out all his cars. The five cars alone generated 1600 yuan in rental fees daily, bringing in nearly 50,000 yuan a month. Logically, the fares for taxis or "ride-hailing services" shouldn't be this high, but whose cars were they? They were "Brother Niu's" cars. The passenger transport enforcement department didn't investigate "Brother Niu's" cars – they were counting on Niu Jian's cooperation to manage the market. Moreover, other taxis didn't dare to snatch passengers at bus stations from "Brother Niu's" cars – who would dare to provoke Niu Jian? As a result, Niu Jian's cars earned more than ordinary vehicles.
That year, Niu Jian bought a commercial property in town, rented out his old courtyard, and lived a carefree and leisurely life. What displeased him was that his son was becoming increasingly reckless. Not only did he refuse to go to school, but he also developed a terrible habit – lust.
Niu Jian was furious with his son's idleness and rogue behavior! He locked his son in his room, hoping to curb his son's wildness. However, instead of eliminating this wildness, it brought out his son's drug addiction, which he had acquired on the mountain. After just two days of confinement, his son was crying and wailing in the bedroom, even banging his head against the wall, saying he'd rather be dead...
Being the "sole heir" of the Niu family, Niu Jian couldn't bear to see his son suffer. He also couldn't trust his son to continue his dissolute ways, so he had to go to the city himself to find "stuff to get high" by any means necessary.
Although Niu Jian was a big shot in his industry, he was generally law-abiding. He had only ever seen drugs on television. Some of the taxi drivers around him were drug addicts, and he had discovered them, but each time he found one, he reported them to the police station! But now, for his son, where could he find drugs?
That night, Niu Jian returned home with a packet of drugs. Niu Jian's wife's eyes widened, and she pressed him about where he got it, but Niu Jian remained silent. Only after seeing his son "get high" and fall into a soft slumber did Niu Jian tell his wife the truth. It turned out that Niu Jian couldn't find any drugs, so he went to a bar to drink. Coincidentally, Wu An approached him, saying he knew what Niu Jian was looking for and could help him put aside their past grievances, but he needed a favor in return.
Niu Jian's wife said that to this day, she didn't know what Niu Jian had agreed to with Wu An. It was only later that Niu Jian started driving a taxi himself again, but he no longer indulged his son's drug habit, sending him directly to a rehabilitation center.
Another six months passed. One day, Niu Jian came home determined to report a person named Chen Nairong. Niu Jian's wife knew this Chen Nairong; he was a former traffic policeman, and he and her husband had gotten along well. After he left the police force, Niu Jian and his wife would still enthusiastically greet him as "Officer Chen."
He was such a good person, why would Niu Jian report him? Niu Jian's wife kept asking, but Niu Jian wouldn't say anything, even urging his wife to go back to their hometown to stay for a while. Seeing her usually confident husband like this, Niu Jian's wife became even more hesitant to leave. But something bad still happened. On the evening of September 9th, around 8 PM, Niu Daixing, who had been let off the hook and with whom Niu Jian had severed all father-son ties, suddenly returned home with a group of people, "escorting" Niu Jian.
Niu Daixing first locked his mother in the bedroom, then sat down and said he wanted to negotiate with Niu Jian. Niu Jian's wife, locked in the bedroom, overheard fragments of the conversation. It turned out that to report Chen Nairong, Niu Jian had not only contacted Ping An but had also printed out some pictorial evidence and hidden it somewhere. The son of the printing shop owner was Niu Daixing's "childhood friend." With a single phone call, everything was revealed. Niu Daixing brought his father home and "lectured him earnestly," hoping Niu Jian wouldn't report Chen Nairong and would continue working with them!
In front of his son and thinking of his locked-up wife, Niu Jian compromised. But the call had already been made, so what could be done? Niu Daixing said it was easy; they would stage it, and Niu Jian would pretend to make another call, but this time it would be "scripted"!
Niu Jian, who had already compromised, was acting according to his son's instructions and pretending to make a phone call. However, halfway through, he received a text message and refused to continue. As they argued, Niu Jian made one last call to Ping An in front of his son, and then was "escorted away" by his son.
Later, Niu Jian's wife waited until dawn and called for the help of early-rising neighbors to let her out. She wanted to call the police but feared her son would be arrested, so she waited at home. In the end, she only received her husband's corpse.
Afterward, Niu Daixing returned home several times, sometimes speaking kindly, sometimes cruelly, saying that Niu Jian's death was because he angered the "big boss," and there was nothing he could do. For his own and his mother's survival, he had to keep his mouth shut, or the family would not survive.
Thus, when the police came to take statements and government departments came to talk, Niu Jian's wife remained tight-lipped and said nothing. It wasn't until her son was caught by the police for breaking the law and subsequently executed that Niu Jian's wife finally let down her guard and told Ping An everything she knew.
"Sister, you have to stay strong. Listening to you, Niu Daixing was corrupted by that rich woman and Wu An," Ping An said emotionally after hearing Niu Jian's wife's account.
"Wu An wasn't that bad. He came to our house a few times later and drank with Old Niu. It was under his suggestion that we sent Little Niu to rehab," Niu Jian's wife said. "I asked Old Niu if Wu An was the one who harmed us. Old Niu said no, Wu An also had his difficulties. On the contrary, after Old Niu passed away, Wu An came once and gave me some money, telling me to leave quickly. I said I was worried about Little Niu, and he smiled, telling me to consider this son dead."
"Sister, since it has come to this, you must live well, not for anyone else, but for Master Niu Jian. In fact, he was an upright person," Ping An comforted her.
"Yes, yes. I remember when that group was pressuring Old Niu at home, I overheard Old Niu banging the table, saying something like, 'Unless you take my head,' or something like that? Oh, otherwise, after 12 o'clock, and then, and then..." Niu Jian's wife said, thinking hard.
"'Take'? If it's a threat, shouldn't it be 'chop off' or 'kill'? Why 'take'? What can a head be used for?" Ping An's eyes gradually became distant.
At this moment, he suddenly turned and glanced at the self-service lockers not far behind him...
"Sister, go home. Don't wander around or say anything. Believe that there are still good people in this world!" Ping An patted Niu Jian's wife's shoulder and ran towards the self-service lockers.
The supermarket provided item storage services for customers coming from the subway and parking lot, and a whole row of self-service lockers was installed there. Ping An walked up to the self-service lockers and found that they used a facial recognition system. Unlike those that used numbers or QR codes, customers had to register their faces before placing items in the lockers. When retrieving items after use, the person who registered their face would need to open it again with their facial information.
Ping An circled the row of self-service lockers and found that although this was one of the supermarket's entrances, there were almost no people using it for storage during off-peak hours in the morning or evening. During his observation, he discovered a crucial piece of information – the "instructions for use" on the locker doors clearly stated, "Every night at midnight, regardless of whether items are stored or not, all lockers will automatically open. After being cleaned by management staff, they will be reset for further use – if items have not been retrieved before midnight, please register at the supermarket customer service to claim them."
Head! Face! Self-service lockers! Facial recognition! Must retrieve before midnight! Niu Jian's pictorial evidence! And – the place where the head was found – the supermarket cold storage!
"It connects! It all connects now! Why was Niu Jian murdered! Why was his head severed! Why was the head found in the supermarket! It was all because of this!" Ping An jumped for joy. It was at this moment that Ping An finally felt like he had a breakthrough in solving the case. This clue, so hard-won, yet so easily obtained, seemed destined. It appeared it was time to break through!
Despite his excitement, Ping An remained vigilant. Based on the information he inadvertently obtained from Niu Jian's wife, he deduced that on the day Niu Jian was murdered, Niu Daixing should have known that Niu Jian had hidden the evidence in the supermarket's self-service lockers. This location was less than thirty meters from the subway police station, so it was unlikely they would resort to violence. They could only try to make Niu Jian cooperate. But when Niu Jian refused, they forcefully took him away. Then, in the cold storage, under the cover of night and before the supermarket's inventory count ended, they severed his head and, finally, opened the self-service lockers.
"Yes, if they didn't open it before midnight, the supermarket staff who came to clean the lockers would have taken the evidence. And if Niu Jian had left any instructions on the evidence, Chen Nairong and Gao Min's group would have been exposed early!" Ping An's brain worked rapidly, carefully piecing together the cause and effect of Niu Jian's murder. He then looked at the surveillance cameras above the self-service lockers and had another idea.
Gao Da, who had bought many things at the supermarket, waited and waited, but Ping An didn't come out. He thought something had happened to that timid fellow and was about to go look for him when he saw that timid fellow appear before him out of nowhere.
"Let's go, let's talk outside!" Ping An pulled Gao Da and mingled with the crowd, exiting the supermarket.
In the wonton shop, Ping An, wearing a mask, cautiously looked around. Then, he lifted a corner of the mask and quickly scooped a spoonful of wontons into his mouth.
"How was it?" Gao Da, without bothering to eat his wontons, stared intently at Ping An.
"I gained a lot. Investigating cases freely and unrestrained is so satisfying," Ping An said. "Old Gao, I want to stir things up again right now, and I need your help."
"How do you want to stir things up? Do you want to go to the Public Security Bureau again?" Gao Da asked.
"Yes, yes! Old Gao, you truly understand me!" Ping An nodded enthusiastically.
"Get lost! Are you crazy? If you go, won't they arrest you!" Gao Da rolled his eyes.
"Listen to me!" Ping An said while eating his wontons, explaining his deductions. The complex situation surprised Gao Da so much that he stopped eating his wontons.
"I inquired earlier. The supermarket surveillance storage lasts for at most ten days. Since Niu Jian's head was found in the supermarket cold storage, based on my understanding of police investigations, they would most likely have taken all the surveillance videos from the surrounding area. The self-service lockers are next to the subway entrance, so the surveillance from that area would probably have been taken as well. I need to see that surveillance now," Ping An said.
"Only you! If there was a problem with the surveillance video, the police would have found it long ago. Why are you still doing this?" Gao Da disagreed.
"It's different. The police might pay attention to people entering and exiting, but because they don't know about the self-service lockers, they won't focus their energy on people retrieving items." Ping An said, at this point, he couldn't let go of any clue, even if it meant taking a risk.
"Is the Public Security Bureau your home? You can just go whenever you want?" Gao Da no longer objected, but he was still worried about Ping An sneaking into the Public Security Bureau.
"I'm not kidding. Don't worry, I won't be foolish enough to break into the Public Security Bureau. This time, I'm planning to use a honey trap!" Ping An raised his eyebrows and said with a smile.
It had been difficult for Mei Qian these past few days.
The most painful thing in the world is to live under the same roof, with mutual affection, but be hindered by an interfering elder brother. And the most agonizing thing in the world is when the elder brother leaves, allowing for secret dealings, only for the girl to be angry.
Mei Qian swore that since Ping An had been on the run, he hadn't had a peaceful minute. Finally, with his elder brother away and no one else around, on the first night of solitude, An Jing didn't even cook and barely spoke, just rolled her eyes a few times and went upstairs alone.
Mei Qian felt extremely wronged. He sent WeChat messages all night, turning his not targeting Ping An into a novel, but the girl simply ignored him. This morning, Mei Qian tried to kiss her to win her affection, but he didn't get the kiss; instead, An Jing gave him a beautiful hip throw and sent him right out the door.
An Jing naturally knew that Mei Qian was innocent, and she even vaguely guessed that her brother had deliberately arranged all this, but her heart couldn't calm down, and she couldn't be bothered to comfort Mei Qian's grievances.
In the wrestling gym, after An Jing finished teaching a class, she sat alone in the classroom to rest. At that moment, Gao Da, the former security guard of the wrestling gym, walked in with a masked person, smiling.
"Brother!" An Jing exclaimed softly and threw herself into her brother's arms.
"I'm fine. The case has a lead. Don't worry, I'm not a murderer!" Ping An whispered, comforting her.
"I know, I know. But the police are looking for you everywhere, why are you back?" An Jing asked, confused.
"I'll tell you later. By the way, how is Lin Dang?" Ping An asked urgently.
"Don't worry, she can eat now. Sister Fei and I have decided to take turns staying with her. Today is her turn to stay by her side," An Jing said with a smile.
"Very good. It was worth my absolute devotion to her! That's true brotherhood!" Ping An teased.
"Brother, are you back for something?" An Jing asked.
"Yes, there is something. Come here, I need your help, brother," Ping An said, narrowing his eyes and pulling An Jing away.
In the classroom, Gao Da, holding his teacup, guarded the hallway as usual, while the Ping An siblings whispered in a corner of the classroom.
"Ah?"
"Oh my!"
No one knew what the siblings were talking about, only hearing An Jing sigh with various shy sounds.
"It's settled, but the principle is, you can only seduce, not lose your virginity. If you want me to shoot your good boyfriend dead, try it!" Ping An convinced An Jing, then quickly added this condition.
It turned out that Ping An wanted to check the surveillance footage but couldn't enter the Public Security Bureau. However, he knew that someone as meticulous as Mei Qian would definitely store all these video materials on his laptop. Mei Qian had been in charge of case investigations for a period of time, so his computer must contain these materials. However, Mei Qian was a very stubborn person, and if Ping An went to ask for it so brazenly, he would likely be caught on the spot! Therefore, Ping An could only ask his sister to use a honey trap, specifically to lure Mei Qian out of his bedroom for half an hour, giving Ping An time to sneak in and look at the materials.
People often say that the most dangerous place is often the safest. After Ping An went on the run, there was only a symbolic police car stationed outside his house. It was very easy to avoid this police car, and Ping An had a hundred ways to return home undetected.
After work in the afternoon, Ping An secretly returned home and made the final preparations with his sister.
"Brother, I still don't want to do this, it's too embarrassing..." An Jing said, looking wistful.
"You old rascal! You're already like this, and you still talk about being embarrassed? Haven't you been thinking about offering yourself for a long time?" Seeing that his sister's words and actions were completely contradictory, Ping An was both angry and resentful.
"Brother! Didn't you tell me to be a little seductive? Is there a problem with me being like this?" An Jing feigned innocence.
"I'm warning you one last time. After I finish looking at the materials, I'll deliberately break this vase and pretend it was blown in by the wind from outside the window. When you hear this signal, you must immediately push that southerner down!" Ping An said, holding his sister's hand. "You must hold on!"
"Go to hell!" An Jing pushed her brother out.
At 6 PM, after listening to Xiang Wanfeng and Gao Xiaofei argue all day in the office, Mei Qian returned home, exhausted.
"You're back? Was it hard?" As soon as he entered the door, he didn't see An Jing rolling her eyes at him; instead, he saw a table full of delicious food and a sweet-as-ever An Jing.
"Darling, have you come to your senses? You're not mad at me anymore!" Mei Qian said, a little excited.
"What are you talking about? I was just angry that you didn't believe your brother was innocent," An Jing said with her unique gentle demeanor. "I wasn't angry last night. You're such a blockhead, why didn't you come find me?"
Oh my! It was his fault!
"Yes, I am indeed a blockhead!" Saying this, Mei Qian finally noticed that his "beauty" today was wearing something sexy, exuding an aura of, well, seduction!
"Eat quickly. Later, I'll give you a good massage to relieve your fatigue," An Jing continued to say meekly.
"Mmm! You have no idea how wronged I've been, how wronged I've been!" Mei Qian complained appropriately, embracing An Jing.
Alas, they were lovers to begin with. Even if it was "acting," when emotions run high, who can resist?
Watching his sister and Mei Qian embrace passionately from the shadows, Ping An felt as if his precious cabbage had been gobbled up by a pig from the south.
"Bastard!" Ping An cursed inwardly.
The plan went smoothly as usual. An Jing didn't put up much of a fight, and Mei Qian, eager, pulled her upstairs before they even finished dinner.
Watching the two of them being intimate, Ping An's heart felt like ten thousand southern pigs were running through it.
However, he still knew what was important. He quietly entered Mei Qian's room, opened the laptop, and silently chanted, "Don't shut down, don't shut down, don't shut down," closing his eyes and opening the computer.
Fortunately, Mei Qian habitually left his computer on. Ping An quickly searched, diligently looking for the video footage.
Within a few minutes, he found the video. He clicked on it, slowed down the playback, and watched intently.
In the video, people were constantly retrieving items from the self-service lockers. Ping An didn't know which locker Niu Jian had placed the evidence in, so he had to watch person by person. Fortunately, he knew the time Niu Jian had his accident, so he limited the retrieval time to within an hour.
A tall, thin man wearing a hat and carrying a cardboard box caught Ping An's attention. He zoomed in on the video and watched carefully. The man walked to a set of self-service lockers, looked around, then opened the seal of the box and aimed it at the facial recognition system. Perhaps due to the dim lighting, the "face scan" failed. Seeing someone approaching in the distance, he left. A few minutes later, he returned from afar, holding a glowing object, whether it was a flashlight or a phone was unclear. This time, whether the "face scan" succeeded or not, the locker door didn't open. He didn't leave but walked to another set of lockers – it seemed he was trying them one by one.
In front of the second set of lockers, after he "scanned his face," a locker door suddenly opened. He quickly closed the box and retrieved the item from the locker.
"He got the item, why doesn't he leave?" In the video, the man's back was to the camera. He took out the item from the side. To see his face, one would have to wait for him to return the same way. But after retrieving the item, he didn't leave immediately. Instead, he took out something and pointed it at the evidence – was he taking pictures?
Ping An watched a flash under the man's hand. It could only be taking pictures.
This period was not long. It was evident that Niu Jian's evidence was not extensive, at most three or four pages. After the man finished taking the pictures, he turned and returned the same way, finally revealing his face – it was Wu An! What was even more surprising was that Wu An was not alone. Just as he was about to leave the surveillance screen, a woman wearing the uniform of the third supermarket in Hechuan City, with a braid, suddenly appeared on the screen. She exchanged a few words with Wu An, and then the two walked out of the frame side by side.
Who was this woman? Why did she not appear when Wu An was investigated before?
However, the case finally had a breakthrough. Why was Wu An blown up? Why was his phone treated specially? Now he understood everything.
Next, it seemed he would have to deal with Wu An. Although he was dead, he wondered if the woman with the braid was still at the supermarket!