Replacing the Evil Way

Chapter 18: You Can Hear It

Du Ruanlan locked the door of the forensic department and passed by the criminal investigation section, where she noticed Captain He Wei in his office, munching on cookies while watching a documentary about solving cases. She knocked on the window, and He Wei looked up. Du Ruanlan smiled at him and pushed the door open, walking in.

“Off work already?”

“I just finished my shift. And you’re back to work again?” She inserted her hands into her white lab coat. “Didn’t even have time to eat after showering at home? You’re so dedicated.”

He Wei looked embarrassed and stammered, “…I got robbed.”

“Huh?”

“Instant noodles; they were stolen,” He swallowed the dry cookies, “from my place.”

Du Ruanlan became intrigued. It was hard to fathom how the Captain of the Criminal Investigation Division at the city bureau could have things stolen from his police dormitory. 

But He Wei’s expression clearly said, “I’m not joking.” She leaned over, half of her body resting on the desk, and supported her cheek with her hand. “I’m genuinely curious. Who dares to target you, Captain He? Any leads?”

“Fingerprints, I handed them over to the forensics team.” He hurried back to the bureau to submit the fingerprints, which was why he couldn’t get dinner.

“Oh, then solving the case should be a matter of minutes,” Du Ruanlan said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a bag of bread. “Here, have this. It’s better than cookies.”

After thanking Du Ruanlan and saving himself from making another trip to the convenience store, He Wei continued his investigation while munching on the bread. The strange occurrences at his home didn’t seem to affect his mood, and he focused on his work as usual.

At the same time, Cheng Zesheng didn’t return to the bureau; he went to Avenoir instead. He had already contacted Lian Jingyuan in advance, and upon arriving, Lian Jingyuan had prepared a Scorpio Palace cocktail, waiting for Cheng Zesheng’s arrival.

“Officer Cheng, is there anything else I can help you with this time?” Lian Jingyuan pushed the cocktail toward him. “I’ll share everything I know.”

Cheng Zesheng glanced at the beautifully colored cocktail. “Thanks, but I don’t drink during investigations. Does He Wei have asthma?”

Lian Jingyuan nodded. “Yes, he had it since university.”

“Does he smoke?”

“No, he has always led a disciplined and restrained life. At most, he’d have a beer or a cocktail, and he’d stop there. As for smoking…” Lian Jingyuan chuckled, his gentle eyes shimmering, “He knows about his asthma and has never touched cigarettes.”

Indeed. Cheng Zesheng nodded and asked, “I heard from He Wei’s attending physician that he and his brother, He Lu, used to have a good relationship. Why did their relationship turn sour?”

Talking about this matter, Lian Jingyuan seemed a bit awkward, “…It’s a bit complicated. Let me explain. It’s partly my fault as well. He Lu never believed that his brother, He Wei, was gay. He thought that being around me for so long corrupted him. He asked his brother and me to stop seeing each other, but his brother didn’t listen. He continued to frequent gay bars, which made He Lu feel embarrassed and disgusted by his brother’s behavior. So, he cut off contact with him, and they haven’t communicated for several years.”

“I see. It seems like he came to identify the body during a break in the meeting.”

Lian Jingyuan sighed. He Lu’s temperament was entirely different from He Wei’s. When he found out that his brother liked men, he caused a scene at a gay bar a few times. Later, seeing that his brother remained “unrepentant”, He Lu grew disheartened and grew colder toward him. He avoided meeting him whenever possible, and after a few years, they became complete strangers.

Cheng Zesheng took note and continued to ask, “On that night when He Wei came to see you, did you notice anything different from usual?”

Lian Jingyuan rested his index finger on his delicately shaped chin, seemingly recalling the details. After a moment, he spoke slowly, “If there was something different, it should be his whole demeanor. From his eyes to his aura, he appeared entirely different from the calm and quiet person I know. That night, he sat across from me, emanating a certain aura of oppression, even though he didn’t say a word while drinking silently.”

After he spoke, it surprised me even more. For a moment, I even doubted if this person was He Wei, considering the vast difference in their way of speaking and tone.” Lian Jingyuan lifted his Negroni and took a sip, “In the past, when we chatted, I was usually the one taking the initiative, but that day was completely the opposite. I was practically answering his questions, completely led by him.” 

Cheng Zesheng asked about the content of their conversation, and Lian Jingyuan mentioned that the main topic was He Wei’s heartbreak and how he couldn’t find a way to win back the person he liked, hence drowning his sorrows in alcohol. Lian Jingyuan was surprised because he had never heard He Wei express interest in anyone before, nor did he understand why he would be heartbroken out of the blue.

“We haven’t found any evidence of him having intimate contact with anyone, so I wanted to ask if you know where he might go between 9 p.m. and 12 a.m.,” Cheng Zesheng said.

Lian Jingyuan pondered for a few seconds, wearing a bitter smile. “I really can’t imagine. He Wei’s life is too monotonous, and his personality isn’t one to easily change his routines. So, besides coming to my place or going home at night, I can’t think of any other places he might go.”

Cheng Zesheng observed the changes in Lian Jingyuan’s facial expressions. His eyes were like cameras, capturing every subtle detail of Lian Jingyuan’s expressions— the curvature of his lips, the number of blinks, the intensity of his frown, and so on, all possible indicators of whether he was telling the truth. Unfortunately, in Cheng Zesheng’s eyes, Lian Jingyuan not only showed no signs of deception but also seemed sincere. If he was lying, then his mental resilience must be extraordinarily strong, and he could outperform even the best actors.

“By the way, do you know what this means?” Cheng Zesheng took out his phone and showed the sheet music image found in He Wei’s phone. “We discovered this there. Could it have any special meaning?”

Lian Jingyuan stared at the music sheet for a while, then stood up and invited Cheng Zesheng to follow him inside the room, where there was a piano. Playing it might provide some inspiration.

They went to the boss’s resting room, and Lian Jingyuan unveiled a creamy-white piano from under a black cloth. Cheng Zesheng asked, “Can you play?”

Lian Jingyuan nodded. He had learned for many years, and his parents hoped he would become a music teacher, but he ended up becoming the owner of a gay bar. He looked at the music sheet and played a small section of the tune. Cheng Zesheng had no talent in this area and was merely listening like a “fool at a concert.” Lian Jingyuan played it again and shook his head, saying, “It doesn’t belong to any classical piece, and I haven’t heard it before. Should we record it and try to match it in a music database?”

As there wasn’t a better option, Cheng Zesheng agreed, asking him to play it once more. After recording, Lian Jingyuan closed the piano. “I’ve played it a few times, and I just don’t feel like it’s a musical score, nor does it sound pleasant.”

“At first, I suspected it could be a password, but after trying several methods, none of them worked.”

“Like the ones in the movies, like Morse code?”

Cheng Zesheng explained, “Usually, musical scores using Morse code represent the relationships between dots and dashes with dynamics and lengths of notes. But this music sheet, when decoded using this method, doesn’t reveal anything. I’ve tried every possible code but with no results.”

Lian Jingyuan was not knowledgeable about these specialized fields. He was just a bar owner and didn’t possess a Sherlock Holmes-like mind, so he couldn’t be of much help. Cheng Zesheng, on the other hand, was thankful for the thorough information he obtained from Lian Jingyuan and for helping with the music sheet. Having such cooperative civilians made the police feel relieved.

As Cheng Zesheng was leaving, he suddenly asked, “You said He Wei was different that day. Did you ever suspect He Lu?”

Lian Jingyuan replied calmly, “No, he couldn’t possibly pretend to be He Wei.”

“Why?”

“Officer Cheng, it’s really hard for someone with an outgoing and emotionally expressive personality to hide anything. On the contrary, people like Senior, who are reserved, calm, and silent, are the ones that no one can figure out what they’re hiding.” Lian Jingyuan smiled, “A cup filled with water will spill out no matter how small the stones you put in it are, but a cup filled with stones can easily accommodate even more water; that’s the point.”

——

He Lu opened his mouth as the personnel from the police technical team collected his oral swab. After Cheng Aiyue finished swiping the cotton swab around his mouth, finished the collection, and placed the swab into an evidence box, He Lu asked if they needed to draw blood and rolled up his shirt sleeves.

“No need for a blood draw, just leave your fingerprints,” Cheng Zesheng said, holding his arms crossed.

Without hesitation, He Lu extended both hands, being quite cooperative and straightforward. Cheng Zesheng stood by with his arms crossed as He Lu provided all ten fingerprints. He stood up and sneered, “If you have time to investigate me, the real culprit must have already fled.”

“Don’t waste words. Who’s the culprit? Just because you said it, should I believe you? Are you Sherlock Holmes or Hercules?”

He Lu’s expression changed, and he asked Cheng Aiyue, “Can I complain to the Public Relations Department about this attitude of yours in handling the case?”

Cheng Aiyue replied with a fake smile, “Go downstairs, take the first turn to the right, and you’ll find it. We won’t see you off. But be aware that any complaints will be investigated. As a colleague present at the scene, I didn’t perceive any issues with Vice-Captain Cheng’s attitude.”

He Lu sneered again, glancing at Cheng Zesheng with disdain. “With someone like you, it’s no wonder you can’t solve the case and resort to these tactics. Is the police department that desperate for personnel?”

He Lu sneered again, glancing at Cheng Zesheng with disdain, “With looks like yours, it’s no wonder you can’t solve cases and resort to playing politics. Is there anyone worthwhile left in your police force?”

Cheng Zesheng: “…”

Cheng Aiyue: “…”

After the sampling was done, He Lu had to leave early to catch his flight. Annoyed, Cheng Aiyue said, “What kind of person is he? Such a waste of a face. I really want to punch him.”

Cheng Zesheng also felt disgusted. Ever since their first encounter, he had had a bad impression of He Lu. He was like a prickly hedgehog, rolling around and hurting everyone, launching indiscriminate attacks. Cheng Zesheng had a brother too, and if his brother acted like He Lu, he would have knocked him down and made him search for his teeth all over the floor.

As for this case, Cheng Zesheng didn’t suspect He Lu. The reason they took his DNA was to solve another mystery. Jiang Tan had already applied to conduct genetic sequencing for the twins, and several colleagues from the forensic department were working tirelessly under the leadership of the department head, taking part in this enormous project.

He couldn’t tell He Lu that the police were currently suspecting that the body in the morgue might not be his brother. That would not only be difficult to explain, but also potentially create chaos. So, it was best to treat him as a suspect and follow the proper procedures.

In the evening, Cheng Zesheng deliberately went to the supermarket, bought all the essential items, and also got a bucket of braised beef noodles. After returning to his apartment, the busy neighbor hadn’t come back yet. Cheng Zesheng placed the instant noodles on the coffee table as a thank-you gesture for last night’s dinner.

Tonight, He Wei also came back specifically. He had initially planned to stay at the bureau, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the intruder who broke into the conference room. He decided to return to the future domain to see if that person might come again.

Sure enough, as soon as he opened the door, there were shoe prints on the floor again. He Wei took photos to preserve the evidence. He walked into the living room and saw a bucket of noodles on the coffee table. He picked it up and checked the kitchen to make sure it wasn’t his own stash but an extra bucket of instant noodles.

What’s going on? Was this an apology for yesterday? Did someone come back specifically to return it?

He Wei returned to the living room, contemplating the bucket of noodles. Suddenly, there was another noise from the kitchen—the refrigerator door opened, and a short beep sounded.

He Wei quickly walked in, but the kitchen was still empty. The refrigerator’s display was lit, indicating that the door had just been closed. He had checked it just before, but now, the milk and sandwiches were gone.

“…” He Wei’s face turned unpleasant, and he clenched his fist, immediately taking out his phone to call the technical team, requesting them to prepare a high-resolution, full-color camera to install it tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Cheng Zesheng hummed a tune, inserting a straw into the milk and taking a bite of the sandwich while leisurely reading the reports.

His neighbor was really kind, with a fridge full of food. It was embarrassing to keep eating someone else’s food, so tomorrow, he would buy some supplies to replenish it.