Film and Television: My Cheat Code is AI

(Thanks to: Wangyang0Dahai and ZhaixinwenyiTaiyanggong, thank you both for your monthly tickets, I am very grateful.)

At Hongjie Restaurant, by the window, Zhang Yang was picking at the food on his plate with his chopsticks. After eating for a while, there was still more than half left. Hongjie came over with a pot of tea, refilled everyone's cups, and glanced at Zhang Yang. "What's wrong with you?"

Zhang Yang looked up and smiled, "It's nothing, Sister Hong, I'm probably just tired."

Hongjie then looked at Tianrui across from her. Tianrui's lips were always upturned, and she was smiling even while eating.

Hongjie asked her, "Why are you so happy today?" Tianrui put down her chopsticks and replied, "The case was solved, of course I'm happy."

Ji Jie picked up a piece of food from beside her and said, "Aren't you getting ahead of yourself?"

Tian Rui retorted, "How is it too early? The soil samples match, the neighbors have testified, and he himself has confessed. What other problems are there?"

Ding Jian chimed in, "That's right. Jiang Dali himself admitted that he harbored resentment towards Lin Ying for suddenly marrying Li Ming and had harassed Lin Ying multiple times."

Tian Rui said, "This is a typical case of love turning into hatred and revenge killing."

Ji Jie put her chopsticks on the bowl. "No matter what, I have to criticize you today. You spoke out of turn in front of the crowd and violated discipline."

Tian Rui stiffened her neck. "How did I break the rules? All I did was say he was a murder suspect. Besides, if it weren't for me, we wouldn't have been able to lure out that witness."

Ji Jie pointed at Tian Rui, "Look at you, I say one thing and you have three things to say back. Don't forget, Jiang Dali hasn't explained his crime yet."

Ding Jian said, "But he admitted that he killed Lin Ying."

Ji Jie said, "Unless he sobers up and confesses the crime in detail during his detention, we'll be at a disadvantage if he recants his confession."

Zhang Yang then spoke up, "There's still the murder weapon; we haven't found it yet."

Tian Rui glanced at him. "I don't think so. I think we can submit a report to apply for an arrest warrant tomorrow, unless you can find a second suspect."

"I do have someone I suspect, Lin Ying's husband, Li Ming."

Ji Jie glanced at Zhang Yang but didn't say anything. Tian Rui leaned back. "Li Ming? What kind of criminal suspect is he? He has no motive for committing a crime."

Zhang Yang put down his chopsticks. "What about the baby in Lin Ying's belly? That baby hasn't had a DNA test done yet."

Tian Rui said, "Zhang Yang, why are you so stubborn? Lin Ying and Li Ming got married after dating for only four months, and she was three months pregnant. What's wrong with that? There's nothing wrong with getting pregnant before marriage and getting married because of pregnancy, right?" Zhang Yang didn't reply and continued eating his meal.

The next day, Ding Jian drove, with Ji Jie in the passenger seat. The car turned into the neighborhood where Jiang Dali lived. Both sides of the road were lined with six-story slab buildings, their exterior paint a dull gray.

Ding Jian looked out the window and asked, "Sister Ji, Jiang Dali has been criminally detained. Wouldn't it be enough to just call his family? Is it really necessary to come in person?" Ji Jie replied, "I'm worried. He only has an elderly person and a child left at home."

Ding Jian said, "This doesn't seem to be within the scope of our criminal investigation work."

Ji Jie retorted, "Then tell me what the scope of a criminal police officer's work is." Ding Jian opened his mouth, but couldn't reply, and fell silent.

I parked the car in the residential area and turned it off when I heard a child crying. It wasn't the kind of crying that's just being spoiled; it was the kind of crying that comes from being bullied but not daring to fight back.

Ji Jie opened the car door and walked over. She saw Jiang Dali's son standing by the flower bed, surrounded by four or five children of similar age, clapping and shouting, "Murderer! Murderer! Your father is a murderer!"

The child's face was covered in tears and snot, the front of his school uniform was soaked, and he stood there crying without moving, his hands tightly gripping the seams of his pants. He didn't run away or shout. Ji Jie rushed over and chased the other children away, "What are you doing? A bunch of kids bullying someone."

The kid who was leading the group said defiantly, "Who told him his dad was a murderer?" Ding Jian snatched the toy gun from the kid's hand and said, "Go away, go play somewhere else."

Ji Jie squatted down and held the child in her arms. The child cried so hard that he could hardly breathe, his little body twitching. It took a while for him to slowly calm down and then squatted down by the flower bed to scratch the soil with a twig.

As I walked towards Jiang Dali's building, I could hear a commotion from afar. A large crowd had gathered downstairs; some were dressed in black, some wore black armbands, and others held wreaths. Lin Ying's mother was being supported by several people, standing at the front, with Li Ming beside her and a group of relatives behind them. Lin Ying's mother cried out, "Give me back my daughter! A life for a life! My poor daughter was only twenty-five!"

Li Ming stepped forward and shouted upstairs, "You, surnamed Jiang, come out here!"

Li Ming reached for a flowerpot on the nearby balcony and smashed it on the ground, scattering ceramic shards everywhere. He bent down, picked up another shard, and smashed it again, shouting, "Come out, come out!"

Jiang Dali's mother stood at the entrance of the building, her back pressed against the iron frame of the unit door, a few strands of hair falling down, tears streaming down her wrinkled face. She kept muttering, her voice low, repeating the same sentence over and over: "My son is innocent, he didn't kill anyone, he's not a murderer."

Li Ming lunged forward, fist raised, intending to strike Jiang Dali's mother. Ding Jian stepped in front of him, pressing his hand against Li Ming's chest, and said, "What are you doing?"

Li Ming shouted, "I want revenge!"

Lin Ying's mother cried out from the side, "Officer, you must avenge my daughter!" Li Ming echoed, "Yes, Jiang Dali, that murderer, must be severely punished!"

Ji Jie stood in the middle of the crowd, shielding Jiang Dali's mother behind her, and asked Li Ming, "Who said Jiang Dali is definitely the murderer?"

Li Ming was taken aback by the question and lowered his hand halfway down.

Ji Jie turned to everyone and said, "Everyone, please calm down. If this continues, the nature of the problem will change. Please rest assured, the job of criminal investigators is to catch the real culprit, but no one has the right to convict anyone before the court makes a verdict."

The crowd fell silent for a few seconds. Jiang Dali's mother stepped out from behind Ji Jie and knelt down on the ground. Ding Jian quickly went to help her up, but the woman wouldn't get up. She supported herself with her hands on the ground, looked up at Ji Jie, and tears streamed down her face. "My son is innocent. Dali... he couldn't possibly have killed Lin Ying."

Ji Jie held the older woman's arm, feeling her trembling all over. It wasn't the kind of trembling that comes from crying, but the kind of trembling that comes from having something bottled up inside for a long time, wanting to say it but not daring to. Ji Jie and Ding Jian exchanged a glance, neither of them speaking, but this case was probably not as simple as Tian Rui thought.

The Office of Major Crimes Unit Six.

Yang Zhen walked in and handed the file to Lao He. At this moment, Lao Zheng said, "Hey Yang Zhen, what's going on?"

Yang Zhen explained the situation: "We visited their residence, workplace, and relatives, and found nothing suspicious. Everyone said that the couple was very loving and had no enemies in their lives."

Old Zheng said, "Could it really have been an accidental fire?"

"An accident?" Yang Zhen said, "The fire started on the bed, and there was a two-year-old child on the bed. How could it be an accident?"

Zhang Yang also spoke up, saying, "I've read the on-site report. Even if it was an accident, how could the child on the bed not cry or make a sound? Babies can't speak, but they can cry, right? Didn't any of the neighbors hear the child crying?"

Yang Zhen also had doubts after hearing Zhang Yang's words.

At this moment, Tian Rui poured tea for Yang Zhen and said with a smile, "Look how well we solved this case. The crime happened at night, and the suspect was identified the next day. They were summoned and detained on the same day, and now they have applied for an arrest warrant. Look at your case, from yesterday until now, you haven't gotten anything out of them, have you? I think this fire was set by aliens."

Yang Zhen said, "Radishes grow quickly without getting muddy, so the outcome is still undecided."

At this moment, Ji Jie walked in...