You're just a locksmith! What are you doing catching swindlers at the start?

Chapter 23 Why did you give him your business card?

"Old Zhou: I'm a police officer, you're a witness. We're following two different procedures."

"Wang Dong understood in three seconds, so he simply leaned back in his chair."

"The lock-picking master's cooperation is a form of adult surrender."

The statement took thirty minutes to be taken.

Old Zhou asked very detailed questions.

What time does the crescent moon appear, and what time does it emerge?

When was the lock discovered?

What did the other person say on the phone? What tools did Lin Zhou use to open the lock? How many times did he knock? Where did he knock?

Did the latch damage the tires when it popped out?

Lin Zhou answered them one by one.

The tone was the same as when unlocking the door—neither fast nor slow, and without embellishment.

When asked "Why did you hand the suspect your business card?"

Lin Zhou said, "His lock is no good. It's cast iron, too brittle. Change it to steel, and no one will be able to break it later."

Old Zhou paused for a moment.

He looked down and wrote a few words in the notebook.

No further questions were asked.

Comments flooded in.

"Brother Zhou didn't ask any further questions."

"Because he was there, he saw it."

"He knew that when Lin Zhou handed over his business card, the man who locked the car hadn't been apprehended yet, and Lin Zhou was helping him keep the man calm."

"Old Zhou: I understand. But I have to write it in the statement."

Did he write "selling lock cylinder upgrade services to suspects," or "assisting the police in controlling suspects by handing out business cards"?

"The former is a fact, the latter is a characterization."

"What Brother Zhou wrote must be the former."

"Because he was holding an enamel mug."

Thirty minutes later, Old Zhou closed the notebook. He removed the pen cap from the end and put it back on the nib. He put the notebook in the drawer and picked up his enamel mug. "That's enough."

Lin Zhou stood up and slung his tool bag over his shoulder.

The two people walked out of the interrogation room.

The fluorescent lights in the corridor were on one after another.

Su Wan walked over from the other end, still holding the folder in her hand.

She glanced at Lin Zhou, nodded, and walked into the office next door.

The door closed.

My phone vibrated as I walked out of the lobby.

Lin Zhou took it out of his pocket and glanced at the caller ID—no name, just an unfamiliar number. He answered and put it on speakerphone.

"Fifty for unlocking, three hundred for changing the lock."

There was a moment of silence on the other end. Then a woman's voice burst out from the receiver.

"What? Lin Zhou! What are you talking to me about?!"

Lin Zhou stopped walking. Old Zhou, holding his enamel mug, also stopped.

"I've raised you for nothing all these years! And now you want money to unlock a door?"

Lin Zhou moved the phone slightly away from his ear. The call screen lit up, and the unfamiliar number flashed in the sunlight. His Adam's apple bobbed.

Oh no. This is his mother.

The live chat exploded instantly.

Hahahahahaha

"50 for unlocking, 300 for changing the lock"

"The Three-Second King Quotes for His Mother"

"I've raised you for nothing all these years, hahaha!"

"Lin Zhou's expression switched from that of a professional locksmith to that of a son being scolded by his mother in just 0.5 seconds."

"He was just leaning back in his chair and saying to Brother Zhou, 'Can we skip the statement if we have video footage?' Now he's standing ramrod straight."

"The Three-Second King: I remain calm in the police station. But one phone call from my mom and I stand up straight."

"Brother Zhou is listening; Brother Zhou's enamel mug is suspended in mid-air."

Old Zhou was indeed listening. He held his enamel mug to his chest, but didn't drink. His ear was slightly turned towards Lin Zhou.

Lin Zhou put the phone back to his ear. His voice lowered. "Mom. What's wrong?"

"You're asking me what's wrong?"

The voice on the other end of the phone was very loud, leaking out of the receiver and clearly audible in the quiet entrance of the municipal bureau.

"How long has it been since you called home? How much money did you make from that competition? Have you eaten? Are you wearing long johns?"

"I ate. I wore it," Lin Zhou said.

Old Zhou raised the enamel mug to his lips and took a sip.

"I've arranged for you to meet someone tomorrow morning at eight o'clock. She's a civil servant, your Aunt Wang's niece, and she's very beautiful. Go and meet her."

Lin Zhou glanced at the sycamore tree in front of the Municipal Bureau and spoke nonchalantly.

"Um."

"Don't be late at that Starbucks on Renmin Road."

"Um."

"Wear that blue down jacket, not black, it makes you look older."

"Um."

"Did you hear me?"

"I heard you."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. "You really heard that?"

"I heard you. Tomorrow at eight o'clock, Starbucks on Renmin Road, blue down jacket."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Then the voice softened a little. "...Then go to sleep early. Don't stay up late."

"Um."

It's over.

Lin Zhou took the phone away from his ear.

The call interface on the screen returned to the dial pad, and the unfamiliar number disappeared from the call log.

He put his phone back in his pocket and looked up.

Old Zhou was holding an enamel mug and looking at him.

"Your mom?"

Lin Zhou nodded.

Old Zhou took a sip of tea. His Adam's apple bobbed.

"What is it?"

Lin Zhou lifted his toolbox higher. Yang

He gave a bitter smile—not a real smile, but the kind of smile where the corners of his mouth twitch, a smile that comes from being pushed along by life.

"It's nothing. It's just that they want me to go on a blind date. Tomorrow morning at eight o'clock."

Old Zhou removed the enamel cup from his lips.

He looked at Lin Zhou for about two seconds.

Then he nodded. "Of course."

He switched the enamel mug to his left hand and patted Lin Zhou's shoulder twice with his right. The pats were neither too light nor too heavy.

"Xiao Su complained about it yesterday too. Her family is also pressuring her to go on blind dates. I need to put the statement file away first, so I can't take you anymore. You should go back now and don't come here so often in the future."

After saying that, he picked up his enamel mug and walked toward his car.

Her steps were neither fast nor slow, and the silhouette of her in the gray sweater appeared very steady in the afternoon sunlight.

Lin Zhou stood on the steps at the entrance of the Municipal Bureau.

The sunlight cast his long shadow on the polished steps.

He watched Old Zhou's retreating figure—the enamel mug in his hand, the red lettering on the lid shimmering in the sunlight.

The comments section went crazy.

Old Zhou: Xiao Su is also going on a blind date. Lin Zhou: ?. Old Zhou: I didn't say anything.

"Brother Zhou, were you implying something just now?"

"Old Zhou: I'm just stating the facts. Xiao Su complained yesterday. Lin Zhou is going on a blind date tomorrow. There's no logical connection between these two facts."

"Zhou left right after he finished speaking; he didn't explain."

Old Zhou: I patted you on the shoulder, you figure it out yourself.

"That's enough, upstairs!"

Lin Zhou stood on the steps, watching Lao Zhou's back.

He reached into his pocket—the cigarette pack was still there, but empty.

He crushed the cigarette pack and threw it into the trash can by the door.

The last few lines of comments floated by.

He threw away the cigarette pack.

"The guy in the work clothes had his cigarettes for two days, and he finished them all."

"I need to wear a blue down jacket tomorrow."

Will the "Locksmith King" do a live-streamed blind date tomorrow?

"He can. He livestreams unlocking doors, raiding brothels, rescuing people, and even going on blind dates."