Chapter 4: The Little Liar

The surrounding atmosphere was unusually bleak. Autumn Jiang truly felt that her luck was running dry. A careless idea she came up with to scare Wu Yongjun had inadvertently offended the leadership at the municipal bureau.

But how could she have known he’d be holding gloves?

If she managed to offend him on their very first meeting, how could she possibly work smoothly in the future?

She had to explain everything clearly—no, absolutely clearly.

“Sir, this is a misunderstanding,” Autumn Jiang said earnestly, her large watery eyes sincere. “There really was a dog by the corner holding something that looked exactly like a glove. That’s why I shouted out—I swear!”

Fearing he wouldn’t believe her, she almost ran back to grab the dog as proof.

But unexpectedly, someone else had already taken care of that.

Deng Xingwang came over, holding the little yellow dog, looking perplexed. “Jiang Jiang, for someone your age, what kind of eyesight do you have? Look at this glove.”

He lifted the dog forward. The two- or three-month-old yellow puppy stared at her warily, mouth clamped tightly, as if afraid she would snatch the glove away. Upon closer inspection…

Hmm… it was indeed white.

But no matter how she looked at it, there was simply no way to associate this fluffy, bright white steamed bun with a glove.

An awkward breeze blew by.

No one could hold back a sudden snicker, and like a contagious disease spreading, the few people who had just arrived burst into laughter.

Especially Guo Kai, who laughed heartily.

Laughter echoed all around. Autumn Jiang looked at that soft, fluffy bun with her face blushing as red as a prawn.

Having laughed enough, it was time to get down to business. Guo Kai clenched his fist, stifling his laughter, and respectfully addressed the new superior standing before them, who looked a bit annoyed but was clearly playing along with the children. “Captain Ji, nice to meet you.”

Ji Mingcheng raised an eyebrow. “You know me?”

“Director Zhang said you’d be coming,” Guo Kai replied with a smile.

Ji Mingcheng nodded.

After a brief exchange, the matter came to rest. Only then did Guo Kai find time to ask what had really happened.

Autumn Jiang, as the person involved, was naturally the first to be questioned. Seeing that they hadn’t mentioned the dog again, she unconsciously relaxed. She spoke seriously, “Leaders, I overheard Forensic Doctor Lu and others mention gloves and thought maybe the culprit was wearing gloves too. That’s when I saw the dog holding something that looked like a glove…” Her speech quickened noticeably at this point.

Ji Mingcheng showed a faint smile but didn’t expose her.

“I was worried it might be evidence from the crime scene, so I called out. Unexpectedly, just after I shouted, the suspect didn’t react at all. But Wu Yongjun flinched and looked very nervous. Then he lifted his leg and ran away—obviously hiding something.”

Upon hearing this, the two officers holding Wu Yongjun immediately saw red. “You filthy woman, you’re lying—”

Clearly, it was she who had scared him first. He only ran because he got nervous. If she hadn’t said anything, he wouldn’t have run at all. But in her version, it was as if he fled first.

Autumn Jiang feigned fright, hiding behind Chen Da.

Chen Da was not having it. He glared and said, “If you have nothing to hide, why run?”

At those words, Autumn Jiang nodded frantically and said with a pained expression, “Besides, he even assaulted a police officer. My shoulder can barely move.”

As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes, making her look very pitiful. When she pulled back her clothing around her shoulder, it was clear that a large red bruise marked her fair skin. The stark contrast made it obvious just how forcefully Wu Yongjun had struck her.

If he had a clean conscience, why would he run? And why attack the police so viciously, with such force?

In an instant, everyone’s gaze towards him was filled with suspicion.

Cold sweat dripped down Wu Yongjun’s forehead. His attitude soon softened. “I’m not like that. I only used to steal trivial things and was rejected from the bureau before. It’s a conditioned reflex. I’ve turned over a new leaf—I never meant to hit a police officer.”

He changed his tone too quickly. Autumn Jiang immediately saw through his plan.

He just didn’t want the police to link him to the case, so he was willing to reveal his past crimes.

After all, petty theft and fear of the police causing him to flee and assault an officer was far less serious than murder.

She couldn’t let him slip away so easily.

Autumn Jiang quickly wiped away her tears and said, “Captain Chen, I believe Wu Yongjun is definitely connected to Wang Qiumei’s murder case. Otherwise, why would he react so strongly to the mention of gloves? And if he really had a history of petty theft, he would have been punished long ago. I saw him nervously staring in the direction of the dog just now. Besides, he hit so fiercely. Think about the petty thieves we’ve caught before—none have reacted like this. I think he’s highly suspicious and should be investigated thoroughly.”

Chen Da and the others followed her line of thought and recalled the events.

Indeed, no petty thief acts so viciously or dares to assault police officers.

“I’m not, I didn’t—”

“And it seems our Captain Ji has already found the glove the culprit wore. We just need to test it to find out who the real murderer is.”

Guo Kai and the others followed her finger and stared at the evidence bag in Ji Mingcheng’s hand. They paused for a moment before making their decision.

“Take him away—”

When Wu Yongjun saw the gloves in his hand, his pupils constricted sharply. Hearing the harsh order, his expression turned desperate. He had no idea where he had slipped up when he was about to succeed.

It was all that witch’s fault.

As he was being escorted away, he suddenly lunged at her, arms raised high. “Die—”

The move was so sudden that no one reacted in time. They thought the unlucky girl was about to get punched again and felt a pang of sympathy.

“Ahhh—”

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