Captain Lu was aloof again today.

Chapter 140: Eliminating Suspicion
After speaking, Pu Xingquan explained, "There are some things that you police officers should know. In our line of work, there are always a few bad apples who ruin the reputation of the entire industry. When we deliver food, it's best to stick to our duties. Once the food is delivered, don't talk to anyone. Just leave and deliver the next order quickly, so as not to be mistaken for having ulterior motives."

Lu Jingming understood his implication but did not comment. He glanced down at the time recorded and asked, "The surveillance footage shows that you stayed on the 22nd floor for about ten minutes before leaving. This doesn't seem to fit your principle of leaving as soon as you finish delivering the food."

"Yes, that's right. When the milk tea was delivered yesterday, I noticed that one of the cups was slightly damaged, so I explained the situation to the girl."

"Because I didn't bump or knock anything along the way, this must be a mistake made by the merchant when packing it. I was afraid the girl would give me a bad review, so I called the merchant in person to verify. I had no choice; if the girl thought I damaged the milk tea packaging and gave me a bad review, I would have my pay docked."

"However, the girl didn't seem to intend to pursue the matter. After I explained, she didn't say much. I wasted about ten minutes there before leaving to deliver the next order."

Pu Xingquan did not hide anything and told the whole truth.

This explanation is very reasonable and consistent with the behavior of the parties involved.

He couldn't have done much in the ten minutes he stayed, so logically he shouldn't have been a suspect in the first place.

Lu Jingming remained silent for a while, then readily accepted his explanation. He didn't press further about the timing, but instead asked, "When you delivered the food, you lingered at the door of 2202 for ten minutes. Did you notice anything unusual or anything that left a deep impression on you?"

Pu Xingquan fell into deep thought, seemingly recalling something seriously. After a long while, he shook his head blankly: "No."

Lu Jingming asked some more questions, and Pu Xingquan also showed his delivery records and medical records for his cold to confirm his statement.

After questioning, the police completely ruled out Pu Xingquan's suspicion and let him go home.

Wei Qingsong sat at his desk, holding the time record he had taken from yesterday's surveillance footage in his left hand and Pu Xingquan's testimony in his right.

"Li Linlu ordered two cups of milk tea, which means that when the deliveryman arrived, there was another person in room 2202 besides Li Linlu."

"The time record in the surveillance footage shows that the deliveryman was the last to arrive, and the young woman and Zhang Tianhua had not yet left at that time."

"So here's the question: how many people are actually in room 2202 at this time?"

Wei Qingsong's murmurs gave Chen Jin, who was standing next to him, goosebumps.

How did a perfectly normal sentence become so chilling when it came out of Sister Wei's mouth in that cold and eerie tone?
Lu Jingming calmly said, "This timeline seems contradictory, but it doesn't conflict. Although Li Linlu ordered two cups of milk tea, it doesn't prove anything."

Whether you are alone, in pairs, or in groups of three, you can order two cups of milk tea. The number of milk teas cannot be used to determine the number of people.

After much thought, Chen Jin still felt that Zhang Tianhua, who was the last to leave, was the most suspicious.

“Zhang Tianhua arrived around 12:00 and didn’t leave until evening. He had plenty of time to set up the secret room and clean up the scene.”

Lu Jingming pondered for a moment, then looked up and said, "Let's ask him over."

Zhang Tianhua is one year older than Li Linlu, but he started school a year later than Li Linlu, so they were in the same class.

It is reported that he and Li Linlu were classmates in junior high school, but later went to different high schools. After many twists and turns, they ended up in the same university, but not in the same college.

Li Lirong had always wanted Li Linlu to have contact with the Zhang family, but Zhang Tianhua and Li Linlu were classmates and had a special connection, so they were quite close.

Li Linlu also regarded Zhang Tianhua as an elder brother and trusted him very much. The two often went out to eat, drink and have fun together without Li Lirong's knowledge.

Upon hearing the news of Li Linlu's death, Zhang Tianhua appeared very sad, his expression and tone filled with sorrow.

"I really can't believe she's dead. She was perfectly fine when I left yesterday," Zhang Tianhua sighed deeply.

Upon hearing this, Lu Jingming and Wei Qingsong both frowned and simultaneously looked up at Zhang Tianhua.

Zhang Tianhua continued, "Lulu and I have always been very close. Yesterday, I went to Lulu's house just to pick up some things."

Lu Jingming's face was cold and stern as he asked in a deep voice, "What are you taking?"

"Lulu and I are both novel lovers. A few days ago, Lulu told me that she was going to give me a deluxe collector's edition of novels. I happened to have some free time yesterday, so I went to pick it up. We were chatting and laughing and even had milk tea together. How could this happen..."

As he spoke, Zhang Tianhua slammed his fist on the table in frustration, his expression revealing genuine pain.

"How can you prove what you said?" Lu Jingming asked coldly, his face stern.

Zhang Tianhua paused for a moment, then quickly replied, "I have chat logs on my phone that prove Lulu asked me to come and pick up the book sometime. Also, the set of hardcover novels she gave me is in my bookshelf right now, and her mother can come and identify it."

Lu Jingming stared at him silently for a long time, not missing a single change in his expression.

Zhang Tianhua maintained an extremely natural demeanor throughout, not appearing to be lying.

Lu Jingming raised an eyebrow and continued, "Then tell me, why did you linger for so long before leaving?"

"Because Lulu has been reading a very popular novel recently, and I happen to be reading the same book, we discussed the plot for a while," Zhang Tianhua replied without hesitation.

Lu Jingming glanced at him and said calmly, "Is it necessary to discuss the plot from noon until evening?"

Zhang Tianhua looked confused for a moment, but then he realized: "No, I only stayed for an hour or two before leaving. Lulu was fine when I left."

"The surveillance footage shows that you didn't leave until 6 PM. How do you explain that?" Lu Jingming's expression remained unchanged, and his tone was very calm.

Zhang Tianhua seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, then said with a wry smile, "So that's why the police suspected me."

Seeing Lu Jingming's cold expression, he coughed twice and solemnly explained, "It's like this, Huang Ying, who lives in 2201, is my girlfriend. I have a key to 2201. She's quite busy with work and doesn't have weekends off, so she usually doesn't have time to clean the room. I happened to have some free time yesterday, so I helped clean the room before leaving."

"If you don't believe me, go ahead and verify it. I guarantee that every word I say is true."

(End of this chapter)