Police officer Chen Shu.

The three arrived at Zhongshan Police Station. Chen Shu greeted Li Chaoyang, who was sitting at the duty desk in the lobby, and then led Zhang Yun into the interrogation room behind the duty desk.

The three of them took their seats.

The interrogation room and questioning room in a police station serve different purposes. The former is for victims, witnesses, or individuals involved in administrative cases, while the latter is primarily for criminal suspects involved in criminal cases.

Furthermore, the two bedrooms are decorated very differently.

The interrogation room can be understood as a small negotiation room or business meeting room. The interior has white painted walls, a long table, a few chairs, a computer, and a printer—very ordinary.

The interrogation room was decorated in a very elaborate manner.

The walls were covered with impact-resistant foam. A table and two chairs were placed on a platform about 20-30 centimeters above the ground, directly opposite the door. The chair facing the person being interrogated was placed alone in the center of the room. This chair was no ordinary chair; it was commonly known as an interrogation chair.

Of course, it's not that the use of two rooms must always be based on the nature of the person being interrogated. Sometimes, police officers switch between the two rooms for the needs of solving a case, which is quite common.

At this moment, Zhang Yun sat alone in the middle of the interrogation room on an interrogation chair. The small table in front of the chair was not locked and was open, leaning against the left armrest.

Chen Shu and Zhu Chaoran sat directly opposite Zhang Yun, about two meters away, on a raised interrogation platform near the door. This "platform" was only about twenty centimeters higher than the ground. It was designed so that the police officers could sit on the platform, look down at the interrogator, control the situation, or create interrogation pressure.

As Chen Shu turned on the computer and printer in the interrogation room, he asked, "Did you know that the girl in the room next to yours lost her phone?"

"I don't know," Zhang Yun replied quickly.

After entering his computer password, Chen Shu chuckled and asked, "Your wife knows about this, but you don't? Didn't you hear the girl shouting in the hallway? Or did you not come out?"

"I really don't know. I didn't hear it either."

"Beep beep! Thump thump, thump thump!" The computer boots up to the desktop.

Chen Shu peeked out from behind the monitor and, for the first time, seriously examined the middle-aged man who was a prime suspect in the crime.

The white spotlights in the interrogation room shone directly on Zhang Yun's face. Perhaps unable to bear the stimulation of the white light, he lowered his eyes and paced aimlessly on the floor; his expression appeared even paler under the light.

Perhaps due to his deep-seated nervousness, his lips were subconsciously pursed tightly together.

Li Chaoyang walked in from outside, came to Chen Shu's side, and leaned close to his ear to ask, "Senior brother, is this the phone theft case from this morning? I just received a call about a suspected close contact of someone with COVID-19, I have to go there first."

Two police officers must be present during questioning or interrogation.

Chen Shu winked and deliberately spoke a little louder, "OK, go ahead and get busy. Let's not rush to take the statement and enter it into the computer; that would leave a criminal record."

Li Chaoyang understood, nodded to Chen Shu and Zhu Chaoran respectively, and then left the room.

Taking advantage of Li Chaoyang interrupting Chen Shu, Zhu Chaoran quickly whispered, "Brother Shu, I'm feeling a bit stifled. Shall I go to the duty room to unload my equipment?"

Chen Shu lowered his voice and said very softly, "Close the door when you go out, and come back a little later."

Seeing that Chen Shu agreed, Zhu Chaoran quickly left the interrogation room.

At this moment, only Chen Shu and Zhang Yun remained in the room.

Chen Shu didn't say anything. He stood up, walked to Zhang Yun's side, looked down at him, and slowly circled around his chair.

"Clang. Clang. Clang..."

The leather shoes creaked on the wooden floor of the interrogation room.

Neither the police nor the suspect spoke.

On a grand scale, this is a war between good and evil; on a smaller scale, it's simply a head-on confrontation between two men.

I remember an old detective once saying that the bright white light shining directly into the interrogation room, the interrogation chair placed in the center, and the ticking clock hanging high behind the suspect are all sharp swords ready to pierce the enemy at any time.

To utilize all of this, one must first learn how to break down a suspect's first psychological defense by using the clatter of leather shoes against the wooden floor in the quiet space of an interrogation room.

At this moment, all they could fight back against were those two thin lips.

Inside the interrogation room, Chen Shu paced slowly, his mind already racing.

He obediently followed me from home to the police station. Even sitting in such a harsh interrogation room, and even though I had deliberately hinted at "having a criminal record" earlier, there was still no arguing, no explanation, and no glib talk.

He must have stolen the phone, but he seems like a novice; it was probably something he did on impulse...

As time ticked by, Zhang Yun's head drooped lower and lower, almost disappearing into his own stomach. It seemed that all he could see now was his own thighs.

Chen Shu stopped and tapped the small, flipped-down square table on the interrogation chair with the knuckle of his index finger.

"Bang bang bang!" The sound echoed in the small interrogation room.

Zhang Yun raised her head, glanced at Chen Shu standing beside her, and then hurriedly lowered her head again, her mouth still tightly shut, without saying a word.

Chen Shu wasn't in a hurry. He started chatting: "Zhang Yun, have your two children always lived with you and your husband in Dongzhou, or did they come from your hometown this summer?"

Zhang Yun did not react, but the clenched fist on his thigh betrayed his inner tension and unease.

Despite my reminder, there was still no response. I guess they realized my earlier bluff and were prepared to deny everything. After all, the restroom is small, and you can easily slip your phone into your pocket. Whether anyone was nearby at the time is something you can easily figure out if you think about it calmly...

Chen Shu returned to his seat on the interrogation table, deciding to try to bluff one more time.

"Zhang Yun, didn't you say earlier that you weren't a thief? Tell me, what were you doing then?"

Zhang Yun kept her head down, but this time she spoke: "I've been lying in bed watching the news all morning, I haven't gone anywhere."

At least they've spoken up; things will be easier from here on out...

"Snapped!"

"Look up! The police are asking you questions!" Chen Shu slammed his hand on the wooden table and roared fiercely.

Zhang Yun abruptly raised his head, his eyes filled with fear as he looked at Chen Shu. This policeman, who had been all smiles and friendly since they first met, had suddenly changed his demeanor, leaving Zhang Yun completely bewildered.

Chen Shu's eyebrows shot up, and he raised his arm, pointing at him as he continued to shout, "Huh? I gave you some face earlier because I was considerate of your wife and children. What, you're taking advantage of my kindness?"

With Xiao Li gone, I have to play both the good cop and the bad cop. It's not easy... Chen Shu thought to himself, his expression unchanged, but he kept yelling, "Where do you think this is! Huh! Look carefully!"

"Officer, I..."

"What?! Everyone saw your filthy affair! And you're still pretending not to know?" Chen Shu slammed his raised arm back onto the table, this time with a hint of melancholy, as if talking to himself:

"If it weren't for your two kids... sigh."

This sigh, coupled with Chen Shu covering his face with one hand, perfectly expressed his disappointment.

"Life is a play everywhere..." Chen Shu thought to himself.

Interrupted by Chen Shu, Zhang Yun's face turned pale and then red, his mouth half-open, his arms raised in mid-air, his expression trembling and helpless.

"Officer, actually, actually back then I was still... sigh..."

Chen Shu raised his head and stared intently at Zhang Yun: "I know you didn't do it on purpose; you were just momentarily blinded by greed."

"Officer, well, this morning, I..." Zhang Yun exhaled a breath of stale air, preparing to recount what had happened.

"Bang!"

The closed door to the interrogation room was opened, and the two people inside stopped talking and looked towards the door.

"Brother Shu, it feels so good to take off the gear! Yeah, I even turned on the central air conditioning in the investigation area! It's so cool when the door's open!"

Zhu Chaoran, covered in sweat, stood at the doorway and laughed heartily.

A gust of cold wind blew in from outside.

Chen Shu suddenly felt a chill.