False evidence

Chapter 134 Amazement
Seeing Gao He's joking remarks, I didn't say anything more, so I just moved aside and gestured for Jiang Banxia to sit down.

The monkey glared at Gao He, "You, the captain, are even more... well, you know."

Gao He chuckled: "What? Tell me."

I remembered his nickname and laughed, "Brother Monkey was referring to a monk, what do you think, Brother Gao?"

Gao He quickly covered my mouth: "Don't talk nonsense, or I'll invite you to my office for jasmine tea!"

Jiang Banxia asked me, "What happened to your hand?"

"Just like your injury."

Jiang Banxia's expression changed: "You stinky egg also..."

I said, "We didn't know each other well at first, so there was a little misunderstanding. But it's all fine now."

Gao He is older than all of us, and once he starts talking nonsense, he quickly takes over my title of "King of Nonsense".

After a few rounds of drinks, Gao, his face flushed and red, said to me, "We're all good guys, so I don't think we need to hold back anymore, right?"

I raised my glass. "We're all friends, there's nothing we can't talk about."

"Yes, it's just friends chatting."

Gao and I clinked glasses and he downed his drink in one gulp.

As soon as he put down his cup, the monkey poured him another full cup.

"Don't keep this to yourself. When I was infiltrating the enemy, I drank two bottles of baijiu and half a bottle of foreign liquor, and then I played mahjong with the boss all night long."

Gao He smiled and said to the monkey, rubbed his nose, and gestured with his chin towards me: "On my way back today, I already arranged things for Tong Xiangnan for you. Let's just talk about that cat now?"

I nodded, took out the ring and photo from my pocket and placed them in front of him, then turned to Jiang Banxia and asked:

"Stinky Egg's mistress seems to be quite a bit younger than you, how did you two become best friends?"

Before she could speak, Gao He, with a toothpick in his mouth, mumbled, "You know what she does for a living. It's rare to have a close friend, so why wouldn't she open up to her? Tell me first, who gave you these two things? It was a perfectly good photo, how did it get ruined like this?"

I said, "The ring is a deposit, and the person in the photo is the target they want me to kill. There's a safe in the old house in Fenghua Lane. If I kill the target, everything in the safe will be mine."

Apart from the monkey, everyone at the table, including Gao He, was looking at me with the same gaze.

After a long while, Gao He exclaimed, "Oh dear, if you put it that way, this is a big deal!"

“I can vouch for him, he wasn’t joking,” the monkey said, raising his hand.

“I believe you!” Gao He asked me, “Who gave you the things? And what’s the story behind Fenghua Lane?”

Jiang Banxia interjected, "Oh, Zhang Xuan's family used to live in Fenghua Lane. After her husband Kou Yun passed away in the middle of the year, she moved to a new house."

Gao He turned to me: "Tell me about it."

I lit a cigarette, took a puff, and pointed at the monkey: "Brother Monkey, I've had too much to drink, and my old lip injury is hurting again. You tell him for me."

The monkey asked me, "Tell me everything?"

"Just tell us, we have no obligation to cover for that bald guy."

The monkey knew they were getting down to business, so it stopped exaggerating as usual and simply recounted its experience that night in a serious and methodical manner.

Meng Chao and Li Ping looked at each other, and Meng Chao covered his forehead and asked:
"Am I drunk? Or is that monkey from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio drunk?"

I took the bunch of keys out of my pocket again and placed them in front of Gao He. "These are the keys that Chou Dan gave you?" Gao He asked.

I nodded. "Now you understand why I don't let anyone else come to me, right?"

Gao He rubbed his forehead and said, "Hey, I'm getting old, my alcohol tolerance isn't what it used to be. Dude, if that's what you're saying, should I call someone to go and ambush that bald guy in Fenghua Lane?"

I shook my head: "As long as the safe isn't opened, at most he's just entered someone else's house without permission. If the safe is opened, Monkey and I will go back with you to do the puzzle. With his appearance, once a warrant is issued, unless he hides in some remote mountain village, the people will find him within three days."

"I knew it! How dare you challenge me on the phone? You must have planned this all along."

Gao glanced at me sideways, then suddenly picked up the cigarette pack, pulled out a cigarette, and shoved it into my mouth before I was looking. He then held the lit lighter in both hands, his face beaming, and leaned closer to me.

"Yuanfang, what do you think of this?"

"Stop messing around, why would I let you light my cigarette?"

I took the lighter, lit it again, took a drag of my cigarette, and said, "The chain Bai Jing lent me broke, so I was a little anxious on the phone last time. I've been waiting for you to come back since then."

I turned to Jiang Banxia and said, "You agreed to foster care for three days, but it went over by two days. We'll have to make up the difference with Sister Ling later."

Jiang Banxia nodded, but said, "I also think I've had a bit too much to drink."

Gao lit a cigarette for himself and looked at me through the smoke, saying, "It's only been a short time since we last met, but I already feel like I can't see through you anymore. Just tell me, what are your thoughts on this?"

"I definitely can't take the ring and the stuff in the safe, but the deposit was from Chou Dan. I can cheat anyone, but I can't go back on my word to a cat. Anyway... that's how it is. I won't ignore this. But how exactly to handle it is your idea, right?"

Gao He nodded, a cigarette dangling from his lips, "You've really changed a lot in just a few days. You've stopped tricking the cat and started tricking me instead."

He looked at Jiang Banxia: "Has Zhang Xuan been discharged from the ICU?"

After receiving an affirmative answer, he asked Jiang Banxia a few more questions.

Suddenly, he straightened up abruptly and said to Jiang Banxia in a commanding tone:

"You file your own case, and we'll immediately—no, starting first thing tomorrow morning—launch another police-community cooperation operation!"

After discussing it with him, Jiang Banxia finally decided not to take Chou Dan with her.

Gao and I agreed that he would come to pick me and Monkey up first thing tomorrow morning.

Mengniu, as if possessed, interjected, "Could you bring a bigger car? Besides Chou Dan, I'm also really interested in seeing Twenty-One-Year-Old Pi Dan."

After leaving the restaurant, Mengniu grabbed a case of beer from the nearby convenience store and returned to my place. We chatted for half the night about three topics: the house, the cat, and the girlfriend.

The next morning, I was woken up by Gao He's phone call, while the other three were still fast asleep in their respective corners on the first floor.

Meng Chao was the first to hear the noise. He sat up from the recliner, stared at me blankly for a moment, then stood up and walked over to me, whispering:

“Those two can’t hold their liquor, and there’s no need for so many people to go. I think we shouldn’t invite them; I’ll just go with you. If we’re almost done, we can use Brother Gao’s car to bring your sister-in-law and aunt back.”

"We're thinking the same thing."

I winked at him.

"Then I'll go wash my face and brush my teeth first." Meng Chao turned around, tiptoeing away while muttering exaggeratedly in a low voice, "Sneak into the village, don't fire a shot..."

As I watched him walk out the back door, my smile gradually faded.

"Yes, sneak into the village, don't fire a shot."

(End of this chapter)