Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

At this moment, there were still ten minutes before class ended. The teacher was explaining arithmetic problems on the podium, and the students below were either listening attentively or secretly slacking off. Zhang Dabiao sat by the window, resting his chin on his hand, lost in thought. Junior high math wasn't difficult for him; it was even a bit boring. He was pondering how to develop his business in Hong Kong if he got into a vocational school.

Just then, the classroom door was suddenly pushed open, and Chen Guangliang walked in with Lao Mo and Xiao Li, his police uniforms particularly eye-catching.

"Zhang Dabiao, come with us. You've gotten yourself into trouble!"

Chen Guangliang's voice was icy, and his gaze was fixed directly on Zhang Dabiao by the window.

Zhang Dabiao was instantly stunned: "Huh?"

Zhang Dabiao was completely baffled. What was going on?

Without offering any explanation, Da Mao Chen Guangliang came over and pulled out handcuffs to Zhang Dabiao.

"Hey? Chief Chen, this isn't right!"

Zhang Dabiao didn't resist, but frowned and said, "What did I do wrong? I haven't even been convicted yet, and you're already handcuffing me? Isn't that against procedure?"

"And in front of so many classmates and teachers, you should at least give me some face."

Chen Guangliang stared at him coldly, his face expressionless, and uttered only three words: "Jia Dongxu".

For a moment of lapse in judgment, Zhang Dabiao instinctively asked, "Huh? Dead?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Guangliang, Lao Mo, and Xiao Li's eyes lit up instantly—the case was solved!

Good heavens, this is a self-incriminating confession! The case was solved at lightning speed; this trip was definitely worthwhile!

Chen Guangliang snorted coldly, his tone certain: "It really was you!"

"Whoa—" The classroom erupted instantly. The students were so frightened that they all shrank back, some even taking a big step back with their chairs, the chair legs scraping against the ground with a screeching sound.

"A murderer! Zhang Dabiao is actually a murderer!"

"My God, that's terrifying! He seemed perfectly normal usually!"

The murmurs rose and fell, and even the teacher on the podium was so frightened that he moved closer to the blackboard, gripping the eraser tightly with both hands, as if he was about to run away at any moment.

Zhang Dabiao finally realized what he had said and wanted to slap himself. "Damn it, I spoke too quickly! Didn't I just ask for trouble?"

He hurriedly shook his head and waved his hands, urgently protesting, "I didn't! I didn't! Director Chen, don't talk nonsense, I'll sue you for defamation!"

"Whether it's true or not, we'll talk about it when we get back to the station!" Chen Guangliang didn't listen to his explanation at all, grabbed his arm, and walked out of the classroom.

Zhang Dabiao knew that going head-to-head with the police in this day and age was useless. Since the procedures were irregular, he could only go to the police station first. As he was being dragged along, he muttered to himself, "Chief Chen, these handcuffs are easy to put on but hard to take off. What if I'm wronged? My reputation will be ruined!"

"Couldn't you at least give me some clothes to cover myself up, or even just a paper bag over my head? Don't let passersby laugh at me and cause public panic."

Chen Guangliang was getting a headache from Zhang Dabiao's nagging and muttered to himself, "He's about to die, why is this kid still talking so much?" He suppressed the urge to shut Zhang Dabiao up and quickened his pace without saying a word.

As he passed the podium, Zhang Dabiao turned back and waved to the teacher and students (with both hands), shouting, "Teacher and students, don't worry, this is all basic!"

"Don't spread rumors before the verdict is handed down, or I'll be furious when I get back!"

He knew in his heart that he hadn't done anything wrong, but these teenagers were the best at gossiping. If he didn't give them a heads-up, by the time he came back, the whole school might be talking about him being a murderer.

It's easy to spread rumors, but it's incredibly troublesome to clarify them.

------------

After leaving the school gate, Chen Guangliang pushed Zhang Dabiao onto the back of his bicycle, with Lao Mo and Xiao Li following on either side. The three of them rode the bicycle, escorting him to the police station.

In 1961, when the local police station arrested people, they mainly relied on bicycles. Either the suspect would walk while the police officer accompanied him on a bicycle, or, like now, the suspect would be escorted on the back of a bicycle. Motorcycles and jeeps were only available to the municipal police bureau and were only used when arresting serious criminals or when multiple people were being escorted.

Zhang Dabiao, his hands cuffed, sat on the back seat, muttering to himself, "Chief Chen, your police station's equipment is so shabby! At least get a sidecar motorcycle for arresting people. Look at this bicycle, if I jumped off halfway and ran, could the three of you catch me?"

He swore to God that he said it offhand, simply because he felt that escorting people by bicycle was too unsafe, and he wanted to remind the police officers to fill in the gaps in their knowledge.

Unexpectedly, Chen Guangliang suddenly slammed on the brakes, and the bicycle came to an instant. He turned his head and gave Zhang Dabiao a cold look. Lao Mo and Xiao Li also stopped their bicycles immediately. The three of them simultaneously drew the pistols tucked into their waistbands, and the muzzles of the guns were all pointed at Zhang Dabiao.

"Come on, try running one."

"..."

Chen Guangliang's voice was filled with murderous intent, and his eyes were sharp as knives. He was clearly angered by Zhang Dabiao's gossiping.

Zhang Dabiao immediately fell silent, obediently sitting in the back seat. He raised his handcuffed hands and said with an embarrassed smile, "No, no, no, Chief Chen, you're joking. How could I dare to run away? I'm a model citizen, and I will definitely cooperate with the police."

[Did I break some kind of cardinal rule? Three guns are pointed at me at the same time?]

Chen Guangliang snorted coldly, put away his pistol, and started pedaling his bicycle again. Along the way, Zhang Dabiao dared not say another word, only watching the strange looks cast his way by passersby, cursing Jia Dongxu's ancestors in his mind. "You're dead, fine, but to pin this on him after you're dead? Isn't that just asking for trouble?"

Zhang Dabiao was handcuffed and sitting on the back of Chen Guangliang's bicycle, inwardly cursing himself for his loose tongue—that "Huh? Dead?" he had just blurted out was a complete lapse of judgment, and now he was being mistaken for a murderer, which was a real pain to explain.

"Chief Chen, no offense, but after holding back for less than three minutes, his cheeky tone returned. He leaned forward slightly, "This way of escorting you is no good. I'm sitting here in the back, and I can easily reach your holster with my arm outstretched. What if you manage to steal my gun..."

"Squeak—" Chen Guangliang quickly stopped the old-fashioned bicycle, grabbed Zhang Dabiao from the back seat, his knuckles turned white from the force, and his eyes were filled with shock and anger.

He really hadn't thought about that!

Just now at the steel rolling mill, Yi Zhonghai, Jia Zhangshi, and Qin Huairu insisted that Zhang Dabiao had used evil magic to harm Jia Dongxu. They also recalled Zhang Dabiao's prediction last year that "Jia Dongxu will not live for more than two years," and Zhang Dabiao's blurted question, "Dead?"

His mind was filled with thoughts of "solving the murder case quickly and earning a third-class merit," and he didn't care about the safety of escorting this half-grown boy at all—after all, they were old acquaintances, and they would nod and greet each other when they met in the alley. Who would have thought that this kid was so dishonest?

Jumping out of the car to escape, and then trying to steal a gun? You're defying the heavens!

Lao Mo and Xiao Li immediately surrounded them from both sides, quickly drawing their pistols from their waists and aiming the muzzles at Zhang Dabiao, the cold metallic gleam exuding a chilling aura.

"Don't move!"