Feeling that the other party suddenly interrupted the conversation, Gu Chen quickly asked: "Are you listening?"
"Yes... yes." After a few seconds of pause, the pancake owner on the other end of the phone said slowly:
"Officer Gu, I... I'm coming over to assist in the investigation. Are you going to Furong Branch?"
"No." Gu Chen objected, then said: "Now come to your lover's best friend's noodle shop, we will wait for you here."
"Ah?" When he heard that it was his wife's best friend's noodle shop, the pancake owner on the other end of the phone was stunned for a moment.
Gu Chen quickly asked again: "Is there any problem?"
"No... no problem, just come over now, right?"
"Yes." Gu Chen agreed.
"Okay, just wait for me there and I'll be right over."
After the words fell, the pancake owner hung up the phone.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the noodle shop seemed to be extremely awkward.
The noodle shop owner's wife looked at the police in front of her and the pancake owner who was about to confront her, and seemed to feel an indescribable embarrassment.
At this time, the noodle shop owner was still cleaning in the kitchen, looking in the direction of the restaurant from time to time.
However, the noodle shop owner never came out. It seemed that in this atmosphere, he seemed a little redundant and embarrassed.
Of course, everything that happens to the noodle shop owner is under Gu Chen's control.
At this moment, the noodle shop owner's cell phone suddenly rang.
Gu Chen looked over subconsciously.
But at this moment, the noodle shop proprietress didn't dare to pick up her phone and looked at Gu Chen.
"It should be a message from your best friend's husband, right?" Gu Chen said.
"Uh! This... I don't know about this, but... maybe it is." The noodle shop proprietress was a little flustered at this moment.
In front of the police, I am afraid that I will not do well.
Gu Chen raised his chin and said, "Click on it and take a look?"
"Okay." At Gu Chen's request, the noodle shop owner picked up her phone, unlocked it with her fingerprint, and then opened her chat software.
At this moment, Lu Weiwei and Yuan Shasha were standing behind her, paying attention to every move on her phone.
Taking a deep breath, the noodle shop owner saw the unread message.
Only six words: What is going on?
When she saw the news, the noodle shop owner subconsciously looked at Lu Weiwei and Yuan Shasha behind her.
He also smiled and said: "He may not know why you asked him to come to my place? So he wanted to ask me."
"Just tell him directly and ask him to come directly. Don't worry about the rest."
Officer Wang, who was sitting opposite the landlady, also crossed his arms and said casually.
"Okay, okay." The noodle shop owner didn't dare to neglect, so she could only follow Officer Wang's instructions and directly reply to the relevant information.
Not long after, the pancake boss sent another message, but it was just a simple and polite reply.
It seemed that the other party also knew that the police were beside the noodle shop proprietress.
And this extra comment seemed more like a cover for the boss's wife to make her less embarrassed.
Time passed by, and in order to thank customers behind closed doors, this noodle shop also kept its rolling shutters ajar.
In order to resolve the embarrassment, the boss brought everyone a stack of peanuts, so everyone ate peanuts to kill time.
I don’t know how long it took, but suddenly there was the sound of a battery car braking outside the door.
Soon, the pancake owner raised the rolling shutter door and got in directly from the outside.
Seeing Gu Chen and the others, as well as the couple from the noodle shop, the pancake owner was stunned for a moment, then nodded and smiled at Gu Chen:
"Officer Gu, how come you made an appointment to meet at this place so late at night?"
"Isn't this just to ask for clarification? You sit down first." Gu Chen stretched out his hand and motioned for the pancake owner to sit next to him.
Opposite Gu Chen, the noodle shop proprietress sat, and her husband sat behind the noodle shop proprietress.
Sitting around Gu Chen were Lu Weiwei, Yuan Shasha and Officer Wang.
Just after the pancake boss took his seat, Yuan Shasha turned on the law enforcement recorder and sat down facing everyone.
Gu Chen opened the notebook and turned the pen with his right hand. He also looked at the pancake boss and said: "Our investigation into your lover's situation has revealed that it is indeed a bit strange."
"How...how do you say that?" The pancake owner crossed his hands and raised his head and asked.
"She also has a friend in Jiangnan City, do you know?" Gu Chen asked.
"No...not sure." Shaking his head, the pancake owner also looked confused.
Gu Chen nodded silently, and then said: "Okay, let me ask you, how is the relationship between you and your lover?"
"Ah?" Feeling a little confused, the pancake owner said with a smile: "Comrade police, when you came to me to understand the situation before, didn't I tell you?"
"We didn't know enough about it before, so we want to fully understand it this time." As soon as the pancake boss finished speaking, Lu Weiwei took over.
The pancake boss was stunned, feeling that something was obviously wrong with the atmosphere.
If the first time the police approached me to understand the situation, it was with a relaxed atmosphere, then this time, it was obviously with a questioning tone.
It seemed that he had become the subject of the interrogation.
Of course, the pancake boss is also a smart man, and he can hear everyone's tone, which is obviously different from before.
In addition, the couple in the restaurant were also here, and they obviously talked about something related to themselves, which prompted the police to come over to verify the situation.
Moreover, the police called him to the noodle shop late at night for questioning, or in other words, for a confrontation. Obviously, they wanted to verify the content of the previous interview with the couple in the noodle shop.
"Don't be nervous, speak slowly." Officer Wang reminded.
"Okay." He nodded silently. The pancake owner was a little panicked, but he still tried to calm down and then said slowly:
"Didn't I tell you before? I have always had a very good relationship with my wife. If I hadn't gone too far that time, he wouldn't have run away from home."
"So all this is my fault. It's my fault. I shouldn't have spoken to her like that."
After saying this, the pancake owner couldn't help but wipe the corners of his eyes, as if he was still sad about this matter.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Looking up at Gu Chen and others, the pancake owner continued: "Besides, I shouldn't ignore her."
"I knew clearly that she had run away from home, but I didn't get in touch with her."
"The main reason is that I thought she would go to her best friend's house to stay for a few days, and then come back after her anger subsided, as she had done several times before."
"But this time, she didn't go to her best friend's house, so, I don't know what to do?"
Shaking his head, the pancake owner also sighed with regret.
Gu Chen nodded silently and echoed: "I know, you really want to find your lover, especially for your lover, you went to our Furong Branch Criminal Investigation Team."
"It shows that you are still very nervous about your lover."
"Yes." Faced with Gu Chen's words, the pancake owner nodded silently and couldn't help but say:
"My wife and I have been together for many years. Over the years, we have worked hard together and started a business together."
"We trust each other, but if she hadn't started to be a little unusual recently, I don't know why she suddenly became like this?"
After a pause, the pancake owner continued: "As you said, you said she met her previous boyfriend."
"We have verified this. It is indeed just an ordinary communication." Yuan Shasha reminded.
"Okay, I also believe it's just an ordinary exchange." It felt like the police had already reached a conclusion. The pancake owner nodded silently, but still said unwillingly:
"However, I am still a little worried. After all, my wife suddenly changed and even dressed differently, just to meet her ex-boyfriend."
"She may just be thinking that she can't let her ex-boyfriend look down on her, and she wants her ex-boyfriend to know that she is living a good life now. This is understandable. But, I don't know what the man named Zou Yaohua thinks?"
"We'll talk about this later." Gu Chen interrupted the pancake boss's words and said again:
"I'm here to find you now just to verify whether you are suspected of lying to us?"
"Wha... what? Lying? Do you think I'm lying?" Listening to what Gu Chen said, the pancake owner looked confused, as if he didn't know what Gu Chen was talking about?
Lu Weiwei said quickly: "You don't know what we are talking about? We are asking you, are you suspected of lying about the circumstances you told us? This is very important."
"Yes." As soon as Lu Weiwei finished speaking, Officer Wang also said quickly:
"After all, we need to investigate your lover's disappearance based on the actual situation."
"But if you conceal something, or if you are suspected of lying in what you told us, it will undoubtedly have an important misleading effect on our investigation."
"So we hope you will tell the truth and don't hide anything from us."
"You mean, I have something to hide?" Feeling that the police had misunderstood him, the pancake owner suddenly felt unhappy and retorted:
"What did I lie about? What did I hide?"
"Did you and your wife quarrel because of the purchase of ingredients? Didn't you have any conflicts before?" Seeing the pancake boss refute everyone, Gu Chen directly refuted it.
At this moment, the pancake boss also looked confused and said weakly: "I...I didn't."
"You have." Yuan Shasha responded directly and continued:
"A few days before your lover ran away from home, you came to this noodle shop and looked for the lady boss."
"Because the boss lady and your lover are best friends, and they are from the same village. They grew up together, and they are also your lover's very close friends in this city."
"So you came here to see her because your lover was quarreling with you, right?"
As soon as Yuan Shasha finished speaking, the pancake boss was stunned on the spot.
He looked at the noodle shop proprietress with a dull look.
At this moment, the noodle shop proprietress also sighed and whispered: "Don't look at me like that. It was a police comrade who discovered it through surveillance."
"I have no choice but to tell the truth." The noodle shop owner knew her current situation and was in a dilemma.
Thinking that the police had dug a hole for him just now, if he still persists in jumping in now, it will obviously outweigh the gain and loss.
Thinking about it, I can only tell the truth.
The pancake owner was stunned and looked at Gu Chen hesitantly.
Gu Chen, on the other hand, said calmly: "A few days before your lover ran away from home, you came to this noodle shop, discussed matters with the proprietress, and even had a dispute."
"Can you tell me what happened that day? Why did you argue with the noodle shop owner? What did you talk about?"
Gu Chen asked a series of questions, instantly leaving the pancake owner speechless.
It seems this is an unsolvable problem.
But when faced with Gu Chen's questioning, the pancake boss couldn't help but say something.
After thinking about it, the pancake owner also said slowly: "That day, I came here to see her just for some trivial matters."
"What trivial matter?" Lu Weiwei asked.
"It's about my wife." The pancake owner lowered his head.
"Be more specific." Officer Wang also said angrily.
With a faint sigh, the pancake owner raised his head and shook his head helplessly:
"Actually, as you told me before, my wife's behavior is a little strange, and she even started to make changes in her dressing."
"After so many years of being married, I even had an ominous premonition, and men also have a very strong sixth sense."
"Just like what you revealed to me when you were chatting with me before, in fact, I have already noticed it."
"Keep talking." Seeing that the pancake owner started to sigh halfway through his words, Gu Chen quickly reminded him.
The pancake owner nodded silently and continued: "Actually, I know that my wife is always with her best friend. When she has something to do, she goes shopping with her best friend."
"I know that if something happens, her best friend will know about it, so I went to her best friend just to find out what my wife has been up to recently, because I always feel uneasy."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Speaking of this, the pancake boss also scratched his head and felt a little crazy.
"Then what?" Lu Weiwei asked.
"Then?" Rubbing his face with one hand, the pancake owner looked at everyone with a decadent look, lowered his head and said:
"Then, I asked her best friend if my wife had someone outside? But she didn't want to tell me, so we started arguing."
"Is it just that one time?" Gu Chen knew that it was not the first time that the pancake owner came here to find the noodle shop owner and had a dispute.
But the pancake boss admitted it generously at this moment, sighing and saying: "This is not the first time. Every time I feel that my wife is behaving unusually, I will find her best friend privately."
"I will ask her about the specific situation. Anyway, it ends on bad terms every time."
Having said this, the pancake owner looked up at the noodle shop owner in front of him and continued:
"You don't have to blame me. I came to you because I was concerned about my wife's condition. I'm sorry for the cruel words I said, but I just hope that my wife is okay."
"Besides, you don't have to hide everything from me. If you explain some things clearly, everyone can trust each other, and there will be no barriers."
"I didn't say anything?" After listening to the conversation between the pancake owner and the police, the noodle shop owner sighed helplessly and continued:
"I know the character of my best friend. She just wants to show off in front of her ex-boyfriend, that's all."
"But, I'm afraid you'll think too much, so I advise you not to worry. But every time your wife goes out, you're always suspicious, and I'm caught in the middle. I'm not human inside or out."
Speaking of this, the noodle shop owner's wife also turned her head to one side and seemed unable to face the pancake owner in front of her.
The pancake boss said angrily: "It's because every time you communicate, you are mysterious and behind my back and don't want to tell me the truth, so I'm in a hurry."
"This rush can easily lead to estrangement from my wife. But when misunderstandings accumulate, it is easy to have quarrels over trivial matters."
With a heavy sigh, the pancake owner also scratched his head with both hands, feeling that his emotions could no longer be restrained.
Gu Chen reminded: "So, you said that you had a dispute with your lover because of the quality of the ingredients that day, which ultimately led to her running away from home. Is this just part of it?"
"Yes." Faced with Gu Chen's question, the pancake owner also said frankly:
"Actually, we have had many quarrels before this."
"It's because my wife started to change and became extremely dissatisfied with her current life. I don't know where I offended her?"
"It was fine before, but now, she has started to complain. She feels that this is not the life she wants."
"But it's clear that the money we make now is several times, or even more, than before, but she is still not satisfied. I don't know what offended her?"
With a heavy sigh, the pancake owner also blamed himself and said: "I know, I am just a pancake maker, and my job may not be very respectable, but the money we make now is unmatched by many senior white-collar workers."
"That's it, she's still not satisfied. It's hard work, but we are in this business to make hard money."
"I can understand." Faced with various complaints from the pancake boss, Officer Wang nodded silently and echoed:
"How can doing business not be hard work? Actually, it's nothing. We want to know now, before your wife ran away from home, was the conflict between you already intensified?"
"This..." After a brief hesitation, the pancake owner said slowly:
"It can be said that since she met her so-called ex-boyfriend, she has not been calm. She always seems to feel that her current life is unsatisfactory."
"I am also a man, and I can be jealous, so since then, I have often talked about her ex-boyfriend and often had quarrels with her."
With a heavy sigh, the pancake owner rubbed his face with both hands, tried hard to control his emotions, and said slowly:
"Because of this, we usually don't let outsiders notice when we do business outside, but at home, we often quarrel."
"Sometimes, the words she says make me so angry that I vomit blood."
"Sometimes, she doesn't even tell me where she is going when she goes out. I know I shouldn't care, but after all, she has created a gap with me."
"I also think about her safety. When she doesn't answer the phone, I will panic, and then I can only call her best friend."
Having said this, the pancake owner subconsciously glanced in the direction of the noodle shop owner and said apologetically:
"I'm sorry for causing trouble to you every time, but I love my wife and I just want to know her condition, so every time I talk to you, I speak loudly and very rudely."
"It doesn't matter." Seeing the pancake boss admitting his mistake at this moment, the noodle shop owner also said indifferently:
"Anyway, I know my best friend very well. We grew up together, and she has been arrogant since she was a child."
"At that time, her vision was as high as the sky, but later she didn't get what she wanted. After marrying you, her mentality became stable."
"Perhaps it's because the poor couple has been grieving for a long time. Following you, she has been used to living a hard life, and she has accumulated a lot of resentment over the years."
"But now, you have taken pancakes to a new level and made a lot of money. Perhaps, because of this, the suppressed emotions deep in her heart were released."
With a heavy sigh, the noodle shop owner looked at the pancake owner and said slowly:
"You don't have to blame yourself. I know her very well. This is the kind of person she is. However, she just wants to use her ex-boyfriend to make you angry."
"Because your attitude towards her has been very bad recently, which makes it difficult for her to release her already aggrieved mood."
"That's why she went to her ex-boyfriend to complain."
"But, isn't it inappropriate for her to do this? After all, she has a family." After hearing this, Lu Weiwei also interrupted.
The noodle shop owner nodded silently: "I admit that this is indeed inappropriate. She has a family, so she shouldn't hang out with other men with families."
"You mean talking? Haha, we are all adults and understand this."
"But I think my best friend essentially just wants to make her husband angry. She also told me that her husband has a very bad temper recently, and he gets angry at all times, which makes her feel suffocated."
"Obviously she is exhausted every day because of work, but when she returns home, she still has to face all kinds of strange things from her husband."
"She said she couldn't bear it anymore and needed to go out for some air. Maybe it was for this reason that she went to complain to her ex-boyfriend, that's all."
After the noodle shop owner finished speaking, the scene suddenly became quiet.
Everyone will look at the pancake boss.
At this moment, the pancake boss seemed to be ashamed, and then he sighed heavily and reflected on himself:
"Okay, maybe I went too far before and was petty, but I didn't cause all this."
"Our business has been calm before, but recently, there have been so many problems. I don't know what went wrong?"
Pointing to himself, the pancake owner continued: "I am still myself, but she is no longer her. I don't know how many things she still hides from me?"
"Do you know Zhao Deming?" Seeing that the situation mentioned by the pancake boss seemed to be not much different from what he investigated.
At least it can explain why he went to the noodle shop owner's wife to discuss it many times and even got into a dispute.
Perhaps it was because this matter was in line with Gu Chen's judgment.
But after all, Gu Chen also got another idea from the mine manager Zhao Deming.
That is, in Zhao Deming's opinion, there is already a deep gap between the pancake proprietress and her husband.
Moreover, it seems that the best friend of the pancake proprietress is also on the side of the pancake proprietor.
This made the pancake proprietress very depressed.
This may explain why the pancake proprietress went to the mining area to find her former colleague Zhao Deming.
Moreover, according to Zhao Deming's dictation, he has a very close relationship with the pancake proprietress, just like close friends who talk about everything.
That's why Gu Chen mentioned the name "Zhao Deming" in front of the pancake boss.
But when he said this, the pancake owner was stunned and said a little confused: "What does this Zhao Deming you are talking about do?"
"You don't know him?" Seeing the pancake owner, he didn't seem to know him, and Gu Chen was also very curious.
The pancake owner shook his head and said inexplicably: "I have never heard of this person. Could it be that this person also has some connection with my wife?"
Faced with the pancake owner's question, Gu Chen did not reply immediately. Instead, he turned to look at the noodle shop owner in front of him and asked:
"As the best friend of the pancake proprietress, have you ever heard of this person?"
"Zhao Deming? I think you've heard of her. Have you ever been a colleague with her?" After all, the noodle shop proprietress is the best friend of the pancake proprietress, and the two of them seemed to have talked about this person.
But when he heard what the noodle shop owner said, the pancake owner suddenly became a little uneasy and quickly asked:
"What does this person do? Why do you know it? But you didn't tell me?"
"I just know. Besides, you didn't ask, right?" Faced with the pancake boss's question, the noodle shop owner's wife also directly refuted it.
But just when the pancake owner was about to ask again, he was suddenly interrupted by Lu Weiwei:
"Okay, please stop arguing."
Turning to look at the noodle shop proprietress, Lu Weiwei asked: "Since you know Zhao Deming, please tell me."
"What did you say?" Feeling surprised, the noodle shop owner's wife also raised her eyebrows and asked.
"Let's just talk about Zhao Deming. Tell us as much as you know about him." Lu Weiwei reminded.
At this moment, everyone was looking at the noodle shop proprietress.
The noodle shop proprietress was also stunned, and said with an embarrassed look on her face: "I have only heard of this, what do you want me to say?"
"Say what you have to say." The hostess of the restaurant said coquettishly, while Officer Wang also said angrily.
After being stabbed by Officer Wang, the noodle shop owner became more honest. After thinking for a moment, she slowly said: "Okay, actually I don't know much."
"I only know that my best friend once mentioned something to me. She said that one of her former colleagues is doing well now and is working as a leader in a mine in Jiangnan City."
"I heard that the company is quite big, and their boss is very rich. He also thinks highly of him and makes him a big leader."
After the words fell, the atmosphere suddenly became quiet again.
"That's all?" It felt like the noodle shop proprietress was half-sentence, so Lu Weiwei also hurriedly asked.
The noodle shop owner also nodded silently: "Yes, that's all I know."
Shrinking her neck, the noodle shop owner also frowned and said.
Officer Wang shook his head and continued to remind: "I'm afraid it's not that simple, right? According to the characteristics of you women who like to gossip, I feel that you should be able to get to the bottom of it. It's impossible to know such a little thing, right?"
"Ouch!" Upon hearing Officer Wang say this, the noodle shop owner's wife immediately said angrily:
"Comrade police, we women like to gossip, but we don't talk about everything, right?"
"She said that one of her friends is doing well, but she just mentioned it casually. I also have friends who are doing well, so I will tell her."
"Everyone talks about what they have and what they don't have. What's the big deal? We don't know everything."
"Okay." The hostess of the meeting place retorted to herself, which seemed to be reasonable. Officer Wang did not argue with her, but continued;
"I just want to know, how much do you know about this Zhao Deming? Has your best friend had any contact with him recently?"
"Uh... I don't know him very well. I just know that he is a manager of a mining area. And... my best friend seems to have had contact with him recently."
After thinking about it, the noodle shop proprietress quickly added: "Oh, by the way, my best friend told me that she, a former colleague, is very close, like a brother."
"Because they all worked in a company before. At that time, the guy named Zhao Deming was still a fool and was often bullied in the company."
"It was my best friend who stood up for him, so the relationship between them is very good."
After thinking about it, it seemed that there wasn't much to add, so the landlady said, "This is all I know."
"Officer Gu, what's going on with Zhao Deming?" After the noodle shop owner's wife finished speaking, the pancake owner lost his composure and looked at Gu Chen, pleading.
Since the previous investigation had found Zhao Deming’s mine, Gu Chen also told the truth:
"After your lover ran away from home, you found Zou Yaohua and asked him to drive your lover to a ferry bridge in the suburbs."
"Later, she got on a cargo ship from under the ferry bridge and followed the river to a dock."
"And this terminal was invested by the owner of the mine, and Zhao Deming is the manager here."
"So, your lover went to this mine to find Zhao Deming, and Zhao Deming invited her to dinner and arranged a place for her to stay."
"Then... what then?" After hearing the news about his lover, the pancake owner's eyes lit up and he quickly came over to ask.
Gu Chen said slowly: "That night, your lover went to the supermarket opposite the guest house with Zhao Deming to help your lover purchase daily necessities."
"Because according to Zhao Deming, your lover is planning to stay near the mining area for a few days to relax, mainly for a change of environment."
"But because Zhao Deming was busy with work, he left early. In the next week, because Zhao Deming had many people to receive, when he was busy, he forgot that your lover was still living in a nearby guest house."
"But when we found Zhao Deming, he took the initiative to contact your lover, but the phone call was definitely unreachable."
"No, he must have lied to you." After hearing Gu Chen's story, the pancake owner choked up and said:
"How can a friend come to stay in a guest house and not contact him for a week? There must be something wrong with him. Don't let him deceive you."
