Winter Returns

Chapter 165 The Detective Returns
Zhang Shutong bent down and looked down again.

The space under the seat was empty.

He remembered that when he took the popcorn, he casually stuffed his bag under the seat on the side of the aisle.

He turned on the flash, forgetting all about manners at this point, and shone it across the entire aisle, hoping against hope that it might have been kicked away by the surging crowd... but that was impossible; the bag was pressed tightly against the seat, and normally it wouldn't touch that spot when going up or down the aisle, unless—

There's a thief.

And in just a short while, the other party stole the bag.

Zhang Shutong felt half-sober up, and a cold sweat broke out on his back. He turned off the flashlight and slapped his forehead.

How could I even lose my bag?

"Hey, stop looking at it for now." Zhang Shutong sat up straight.

"Hmm?" Gu Qiumian stared intently ahead. The theater had already gone dark, and images flashed across the screen, occasionally illuminating people's faces. It looked stunning, but it was actually during commercial breaks.

Her voice was languid:
"Turn it to silent mode for me."

Normally, Zhang Shutong would observe whether drunk people would watch commercials with great interest, but now he quickly reported:
"I think I've lost your bag."

Although the situation was urgent, his tone had softened somewhat.

This isn't the thermos cup from before; it's a limited-edition luxury handbag. The bag itself costs five figures, not to mention what's inside.

As Zhang Shutong said this, he kept his eyes on the entrance to the theater. Putting aside how to find the thief, he at least had to make sure that the thief was still in the theater.

"what happened?"

The surroundings were chaotic, with adults talking and children laughing. Gu Qiu Mian turned her head, as if she hadn't heard clearly, and checked again.

"I said, your bag was stolen."

"what?"

Gu Qiumian was taken aback. She blinked in confusion for a moment, then her pretty face hardened.

Zhang Shutong could roughly guess her reaction. Such an expensive bag was stolen, and more importantly, the bag disappeared while she was in it. Although it was only for a moment, and although it was stolen, she could make many excuses, but she was indeed the one who hadn't done a good job.

Sure enough, Gu Qiu Mian's eyes widened little by little, and her thin eyebrows also stood up. Zhang Shutong knew this was a sign of impending anger, but he was entitled to be scolded a few times, so he braced himself and was about to apologize—

"Someone dares to steal our things?"

The young lady said angrily.

Like a lion whose territory has been invaded.

Ok.

She was indeed drunk.

But she was drunk, and Zhang Shutong couldn't be drunk.

His thoughts suddenly became clear, as if his brain, which had been idle for a long time, had been given the signal to start working again. Zhang Shutong first looked back, but the rows of audience behind him did not notice the small abnormality. Almost everyone was staring at the screen, and no one even took out their phones to reply to messages.

He dialed Gu Qiumian's number. The best outcome, of course, would be for the phone to ring, but it was too noisy around him, and the phone was covered in his bag. He couldn't detect anything amiss until the call automatically ended.

Gu Qiumian also turned around:
"who is it?"

"I'm looking for it." He exhaled, closed his eyes, and then opened them again. "I've asked Qingyi and the others to stay here while we go find the theater staff..."

Before he could finish speaking, Gu Qiu Mian had already pulled him up:

"Come with me to their manager!"

She exuded the air of a young lady from a wealthy family, while Zhang Shutong was taken aback. Why did she look like a child who had lost something and was being dragged around by an adult to look for it? He didn't say anything more, but quickly reached out and patted Ruoping's shoulder, and then sent a message in the group chat.

The commercials weren't over yet; a car ad was playing, and a male voice sang, "Dongfeng Nissan, people, cars, life..." The projector was shining with vibrant colors, and the music was reaching its climax, making the floor seem to tremble. The theater's equipment was certainly good, but Zhang Shutong wondered if their actions might alert the enemy.

The answer is definitely yes, but even if they pretend not to notice, the other party will still be observing them from the shadows.

That's why he instructed his best friends to pay close attention to whether anyone was going through his bag.

The two of them crouched down as they left their seats. Along the way, Zhang Shutong secretly observed Gu Qiumian's expression, afraid that she would cry. The good news was that she didn't cry, not even her lips trembled. The bad news was that she didn't say a word either.

In the darkness, her eyes flickered. Zhang Shutong wondered if the red wine was too strong; despite being extremely anxious, she seemed oblivious to what was happening.

They quickly exited the theater, bathed in sunlight. There was a staff member outside, and Zhang Shutong hurriedly explained the lost bag incident, asking if anyone had seen her come out.

This was also his biggest worry, fearing that the thief would run away in those few minutes while the staff were still in shock, probably imagining what a five-figure bag meant. After a moment of reaction, the staff member hurriedly shook his head and said no, losing something so expensive would be a big deal no matter where it was.

Zhang Shutong first breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Gu Qiumian:

Do you have any cash in your bag?

In 2012, cash payment is still the norm in life, let alone for a young lady like Gu Qiu Mian, it is not uncommon for her bag to be stolen in public.

"Have."

"Is it much?"

“Not many,” she tried to recall, “less than five thousand.”

"Five thousand isn't enough?" Before Zhang Shutong could speak, the staff member next to him had already opened his mouth wide.

"Where is the monitoring room?" Zhang Shutong asked directly.

To everyone's surprise, the other party stammered and said:
"It's probably not open today, you see..."

As he spoke, he pointed to the sign next to him that indicated construction was underway:

"The central air conditioning in Hall 5 is leaking a bit this month, and some wiring is short-circuited. There's a sign at the entrance saying it's under renovation, right? Our cinema is quite old. Actually, it's not just that one; some wiring in Hall 6 is also connected, right by the surveillance camera line..."

Zhang Shutong's heart sank upon hearing this. He had initially thought this matter was merely a mood-ruining issue, but not difficult to resolve; if there were no surveillance cameras on the island, the city should have some. However, it just so happened that the power lines were being upgraded.

The complexity of the matter instantly increased to a new level.

He thought with a headache that the employee in front of him probably hadn't been there long, and that the employee was getting flustered as he talked. In the end, the employee only went to find the manager after he reminded him.

Zhang Shutong watched him walk away.

The hall fell silent. He opened the theater door a crack, observing the activity inside, and dialed 110. He subconsciously calculated how long it would take for the police to arrive at the scene—at most half an hour. Just then, Gu Qiu Mian exclaimed, "Oh!"

"Oh no, oh no!" she stomped her foot.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Shutong's heart sank again. Could there be something even more valuable in the bag?
"Then my phone was stolen too!" Gu Qiumian said anxiously.

Zhang Shutong opened his mouth silently.

……

"Manager Wang, another bag has been stolen! It happened in Hall Six, where the security cameras aren't on!"

Staff member Xiao Wei pushed open the office door, so anxious that he didn't even bother to knock.

"Damn it, not again?"

The fat man, known as Manager Wang, was playing Zuma on his computer. Upon hearing this, he was first taken aback, then cursed:
"What's the situation with the customer? What was lost? Be specific... Also, which hall was it in? Have you called the police? Never mind, take me there first, we can talk as we go..."

The two walked quickly out of the office, and Xiao Wei recalled:
"I think they're students from the city, a young couple, and they lost their bag..."

"A student?" Manager Wang breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

A similar incident occurred at the cinema earlier this month.

The woman who lost her bag was in her forties. These kinds of customers are the most difficult to deal with. As expected, she only realized her bag was stolen when the movie ended. The thief had already run away. The woman came to the movie theater and made a scene for three days in a row, almost tearing the ceiling off.

"The students are alright, the students are alright. Don't let them stand at the theater entrance. What if so many people see them? Go to the front desk and get some snacks and drinks. If you can appease the girl, half the problem will be solved..."

"But they said the lost bag was worth 20,000 yuan..."

"How much?" Manager Wang was taken aback again.

"Twenty thousand, and there's another five thousand in cash in the bag..." Xiao Wei said weakly.

"What student carrying a bag worth 20,000? Are you kidding me?" Having seen this kind of thing many times, Manager Wang knew that some people would deliberately exaggerate the amount of the loss. Otherwise, what if the police wouldn't even file a case if you lost a bag worth 200?
Not to mention five thousand in cash. He thought to himself, do you know how thick that stuff is? It's not just a thin stack of paper. Manager Wang frowned, wondering if there was anything fishy going on, when Xiao Wei said again:
"The boy also said that we should pause the movie and clear the theater first, since the thief hasn't left yet and it would be easy to find him."

"How can it be."

Manager Wang refused outright:
"What kind of movie lets the audience shout out halfway through? If so many people find out, how can we keep our business open? How are we going to explain this to the boss? Do you know how much damage this will do to our reputation? We definitely need to follow the proper procedures for this. We should call the police first. At most, we can stand at the entrance and register the incident. We'll wait for the police to arrive before we decide what to do next..."

"But that male student said he had five thousand yuan in cash. We should look for it now before the commercials end. If we wait until the movie is over, the thief might have already secretly broken the cash, and then even a body search won't help!"

Xiao Wei recalled the boy's analysis and actually thought it made a lot of sense.

Bags, phones, and other items are relatively easy to identify; the owners can simply point them out. However, everyone carries cash. Even if the bag is found in the theater, the thief might have already taken some cash beforehand, making it impossible to recover. Time is of the essence; waiting for the police to arrive will be too late.

Even if you search every audience member and find a lot of cash, the other party could simply say that they were already carrying that much cash.

Xiao Wei relayed the other party's analysis to the manager, but the manager listened with annoyance and said:
“I know that makes sense, but the problem is whether the five thousand in cash actually exists. Things aren’t as simple as you think. What if there isn’t that amount? What if they blame us for it in the end?”
"How can you be so naive? You actually expect to find it back? Everyone suffers in silence. What can we do if the social order is so bad? Alright, just keep quiet for now."

As he spoke, the two students came into view. Manager Wang's chubby face broke into a smile. He thought to himself that the boy was actually the most troublesome one; the girl was easier to deal with, probably the type who would lose her composure in the face of trouble.
"Two students—"

Manager Wang waved from afar; his immediate priority was to wait for the police to arrive and hand the headache over to them.

"I'm very sorry about what happened to you. The cinema also takes it very seriously. How about this: I'll go and report to my superiors, and we can go to the office to rest for a while. Staying here like this isn't a solution, right..."

Before he could finish speaking, the girl turned her face away.

Manager Wang suddenly blinked, a breath caught in his chest. It was winter, and the central air conditioning was humming, blowing warm air incessantly.

Manager Wang felt his back was soaked with cold sweat:

"Miss Gu?"

……

"How many minutes has Shutong been gone?"

Du Kang opened his eyes wide and tried to look ahead.

"Three minutes, I guess. You can just watch until the commercials are over."

Qingyi put away her phone.

"How could the bag suddenly disappear?" Ruoping sighed. Ever since she saw the message in the group chat, she had been calling Gu Qiumian, but no one answered at first. "We've only been sitting here for a short time, maybe two minutes?"

"It was right next to the aisle, and it was taken away in the blink of an eye. Plus, Shutong was drunk today and was a bit confused, so to be honest, you can't blame him." Qingyi was very loyal.

The three of them were leaning against the railing below the corridor. The theater had nine rows of seats, and each person was supposed to watch three rows, so the division of labor was quite clear.

After looking for a long time, they still couldn't determine which one was the suspect.

For example, a woman rummaged through her bag, but only put her phone inside.

For example, a man did something similar, but his daughter was sitting next to him. It turned out that the man was getting water for his daughter.

For example, there's a child... never mind, let's just rule that out.

"What if we can't find it later?" Du Kang asked, munching on popcorn.

"Don't jinx it," Ruoping said, grabbing a handful of things as well. "Why don't we just check the security footage?"

"I know, I know." Du Kang nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. "I'm just worried that if we really can't find it, what if Gu Qiu Mian gets angry? Do you remember what happened with the scarf? Wouldn't Shu Tong be in trouble?"

“It’s impossible not to find it,” Qingyi said slowly. “Even if the surveillance cameras don’t capture it, we can just wait for the area to be cleared out. Everyone will line up to leave, and we’ll check each one. The bag is so big that it can’t be hidden on your person, and thieves won’t dare to take it out directly. I estimate that the worst-case scenario is that the bag is found somewhere, but the contents are missing.”

"Hopefully Gu Qiumian isn't carrying much cash. No wonder Shutong asked us to keep an eye on her. The problem is, the event won't end for more than two hours, which is troublesome..."

After Du Kang finished speaking, he glanced at the screen, where a green dragon logo appeared. But then the screen suddenly went dark, and the overhead lights came on. The contrast between light and dark made him blink uncomfortably. A fat man walked in.

The other person was holding a megaphone, wiping sweat as they shouted:

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the cinema manager. A theft has occurred in Theater 6, with a total value of 20,000 yuan stolen. For your safety, we ask for your understanding and cooperation. The movie will resume shortly..."

"Wow, you got here so quickly?"

Du Kang was first surprised, then became excited:
"That makes things simple. I'd like to see which bastard is quick as a flash!"

Qingyi simply patted him on the shoulder:

"Keep a close eye on things, don't let your guard down, this is the most chaotic time right now."

Sure enough, just as he said, the crowd was quiet for a moment, then immediately became noisy again.

The manager's words caused a slight panic, and most people subconsciously checked their belongings, their worries disappearing without them even realizing it.

The manager was quite clever; he shifted everyone's attention to "property security," making such a big fuss in order to catch the potential thief.

Even so, some people realized what was happening, and discussions began to arise:
"Twenty thousand... What kind of thing costs that much money?"

"No way, are you kidding me? Who starts broadcasting and then suddenly stops?"

"You might as well just close down. How many times has this happened? Why don't other cinemas have this many thieves?"

"Exactly, if you keep messing things up like this, who's going to come here?"

The manager could only pretend not to hear. He quickly gave a wink to the door, and in addition to Xiao Wei, three more staff members were called over.

The four of them searched along the seats, and for a moment everyone held their breath. The nine rows of seats were quickly seen, and even the audience members checked each other's seats.

But no one noticed the bag's existence.

"Didn't you miss anything?" Manager Wang asked.

"No," Xiao Wei said softly, "It might have been kicked under the seat, that would be troublesome..."

"Are you guys done yet? Did you find it or not?"

Someone asked again from their seat.

Manager Wang gritted his teeth and decided to go all the way, repeating the request for everyone to cooperate with the inspection in an orderly manner.

He wouldn't budge, so those who complained were helpless. After all, the decision was in the hands of the cinemas, and they had abruptly suspended operations. They couldn't just sit around waiting.

Someone compromised:
"Let's get this over with quickly, I want to see who it is..."

"Yes, let's go, I have things to do tonight..."

As the crowd began to leave in small numbers, Manager Wang's stiff expression finally eased slightly.

He then called a few more staff members out.

One person was responsible for apologizing and handing out freshly brought bottled water, while two others were responsible for checking the customers' belongings—this was against the rules, as the cinema had no right to search customers. Fortunately, the lost bag was large enough to be easily concealed, and it was only a glance away to find out.

Xiao Wei finally found a moment to ask in a low voice:

"Manager, didn't we say we'd wait for the police to arrive..."

“The situation has changed,” Manager Wang interrupted. “I spoke with that guest and confirmed that it’s true that five thousand yuan in cash was lost. Naturally, we must first ensure the safety of the audience’s property.”

As he spoke, he glanced at the entrance again, where a boy was leading a girl in against the flow of people.

Manager Wang's gaze lingered on the girl for a moment, thinking to himself, "What do you know! I still want to keep working here!"

……

When I met up with a few close friends, the theater was already a third empty.

Zhang Shutong asked:

"So, did you notice anything unusual?"

“It’s difficult. If you put the bag at your feet and reach in to rummage through it, you won’t notice anything wrong at all.” Qingyi shook her head. “But luckily, the manager arrived in time.”

Zhang Shutong had somewhat anticipated this answer. Now that everything had been prepared and the response had been timely, he might have to rely on luck from now on.

The theater was quickly cleared out.

The chubby manager led his staff to search along the rows of seats.

The process went smoothly; he quickly retrieved a bag from the fourth row—the very white bag Gu Qiumian had lost. The man's face lit up, and he rushed down, carefully handing the bag to Gu Qiumian.
"Take a look first, see if anything is missing?"

Zhang Shutong quickly went over and counted the cash; there was less than two thousand yuan.

He frowned.

It's still too late.

Gu Qiumian said the cash was less than five thousand, so conservatively speaking, at least half of it was stolen.

The manager's expression turned somewhat unpleasant upon seeing this, not only because of the money, but also because complaints were once again heard outside.

Zhang Shutong understood that this was already the limit for the cinema; what else could they do? He looked at the huge crowd outside the theater and was feeling a headache coming on.

Gu Qiumian also spoke coldly:
"It wasn't just the money; he also took my phone with him."

(End of this chapter)