The screening room was exceptionally quiet. The dim arc of light from the movie screen illuminated their faces, creating a somewhat ambiguous atmosphere. Only the narration was somewhat out of place.
“After a relentless investigation by the police, Liang finally left traces. He admitted to purchasing a Swiss Army knife from Weimin Supermarket. After killing his wife, he disposed of her body in a septic tank…”
The first case of the top ten shocking cases was a wife-murder insurance fraud. Xu Zhi was quite engrossed. She thought this knife was the breakthrough; otherwise, it would have been difficult for Liang to be brought to justice. What if the police hadn’t found that Swiss Army knife? Or if Liang had stolen a knife from someone else’s house, and that friend was so absent-minded that they still didn’t know a knife was missing? Without this crucial evidence, and with Liang’s perfect alibi, would he have successfully claimed the insurance money?
“What if…” she began.
Chen Luzhou, staring at the screen expressionlessly, interrupted her, “It’s illegal.”
“No, I mean…”
Chen Luzhou: “Death penalty.”
Xu Zhi persisted in expressing her view, “No, I mean, do you think there could be such a coincidence? The insurance was bought in the morning, and the person died in the evening…”
Chen Luzhou leaned back on the sofa, glancing at her, “How did they die? Suicide or accident? Let me put it this way, even if a man is willing to die for you to help you get this windfall, suicide isn’t covered by insurance. If some poor soul bought insurance in the morning and had an accident in the evening, you’d be the police’s prime suspect. Do you know how many investigations you’d have to cooperate with to get that money? By the time you get it, you’ll be exhausted. I’m afraid you might not live long enough to spend it.” He raised one arm, resting it on the back of the sofa, turning his body towards Xu Zhi. The light from the screen blurred and overlapped on their faces, his voice clear yet strangely dreamy and low, “Have you seen a certain movie?”
Xu Zhi listened attentively, very respectfully, “Please, do tell.”
Chen Luzhou, seeing her manner, couldn’t help but smile, “I forget if it’s Korean or Japanese. It’s about a housewife whose husband bought her a huge insurance policy. About a month later, the husband died. The cause of death was drowning; he fell into a reservoir while fishing with friends. When the police investigated, they found that the husband had bought this massive insurance policy for his wife just a month before, which seemed suspicious. They began investigating the wife. The couple had known each other since high school, fell in love in college, and married not long after graduation. They had a good relationship. The wife had no apparent motive, so the insurance company should have paid out. However the timing of the insurance purchase was too coincidental, so the company delayed payment. Even a not-so-conclusive testimony from a neighbor – ‘A week ago I heard them arguing, I think he hit her’ – complicated matters.”
“…”
“Along with some other messy testimonies and doubts, the police didn’t close the case. The insurance company even hired private investigators to follow her, causing great distress to her life and mental state. She became paranoid. By the time she finally received the insurance payout, she was a wreck. During this time, countless netizens analyzed online whether she could have killed her husband. Some self-proclaimed high school and middle school classmates, and some acquaintances, came forward with allegations. They said she could do such a thing, claiming she had stolen from her deskmate in middle school, was a tattletale in school, and had stolen her best friend’s boyfriend, etc., attempting to expose all her past, glorious and inglorious, for public scrutiny.”
Xu Zhi’s curiosity was piqued. She leaned forward involuntarily, resting her arm on the back of the sofa like him, her sharp and clear eyes staring straight at him: “What’s the ending? Did she kill her husband? Did she get the insurance money?”
In the flickering light of the movie, those bright, shimmering eyes seemed to have butterflies flitting about, lightly dancing, with a clean eagerness, twinkling as she looked at him.
She was truly curious.
Chen Luzhou thought to himself, unbelievable, I just tell a random story, and she’s more interested in it than in me.
The young master’s temper flared up. He turned his head away, coldly staring at the faded movie screen: “I’m not telling you. Go watch it yourself.”
Xu Zhi took out her phone and opened the notes app to write down the name, “Okay, then tell me the title.”
Chen Luzhou thought for a moment, glanced at her, “Praise me first.”
“…” Xu Zhi looked at him, bewildered, slowly sizing him up from top to bottom, then stated an obvious fact, “You’re handsome.”
“Thanks,” Chen Luzhou’s mouth twitched with a suppressed smile, “But, the movie title is ‘Praise Me’.”
Xu Zhi: “…”
Chen Luzhou went out to take a phone call midway through. When he came back, he saw Xu Zhi engrossed in the movie. The bottle of wine was nearly empty. He sat down again, closer than before, just two fists’ distance from Xu Zhi, and asked, “Was it good?”
The third case was about an accidental killing between mother and son. Xu Zhi was watching with great interest. She nodded perfunctorily, “It’s good. Where did you buy it? I noticed the origin seems to be Spain?”
What do you mean where did I buy it? Did I fly overnight to Spain to buy it for you? What are you thinking? Are you that important?
“Just that import supermarket we went to last time,” he said.
Xu Zhi turned to look at him, seemingly casually, and suddenly asked, “Are you in a bad mood today?”
“How can you tell?” He looked at her deeply, his heart inexplicably skipping a beat. It felt like a sparrow had lightly pecked a grain of rice on the tip of his heart.
So, there is still some feeling, isn’t there?
“Oh, so you are?” Xu Zhi supported herself on the edge of the sofa with both hands, turning her head in sudden realization, “I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I just feel like you’re especially annoying today.”
Chen Luzhou: “…”
I shouldn’t have had any expectations of you.
“Let me ask you a question,” Chen Luzhou wiped his nose with the back of his hand, saying, “Just chatting, nothing else.”
“Mm, what question?”
“Have you ever thought about what kind of boyfriend you want?” he said.
“Never thought about it,” Xu Zhi said directly, “It depends on the feeling, I guess. But I’m quite shallow. I prefer someone smart who can also make money. No matter how handsome, if he’s too stupid, I can’t handle it. It’s too tiring to communicate, and I don’t have much patience.”
“How can you tell if someone’s stupid? Human intelligence doesn’t vary much, except for a few extremes. Most people’s intelligence levels are indistinguishable. Are you going to drag them to the hospital for an IQ test before dating?”
The topic had arrived. Xu Zhi said, “That’s why I said I’m shallow. For now, I can only go by feeling. But the college entrance exam is a clear dividing line. Those who do well and those who don’t naturally go their separate ways…” Xu Zhi suddenly remembered that Chen Luzhou seemed to have failed the college entrance exam. He must have done quite poorly, otherwise his mother wouldn’t have sent him abroad, right? Afraid of touching a sore spot, she promptly stopped talking.
“So, you plan to find someone in university?” Chen Luzhou said bluntly and straightforwardly, “To be honest, Qing University is just average.”
He did think Qing University was average, probably because no one from their class went there.
After all, what was the level of No. 1 High School’s Zongshan Experimental Class? Out of thirty-five students, thirty-four should, barring any surprises, go to A or B University. Except for him, who was going abroad. Of course, other schools were good too, but for Xu Zhi’s theory, Qing University was indeed average.
Xu Zhi felt he was being a bit sour, unable to get in himself, yet criticizing it. But she thought she could understand. After all, people who failed the college entrance exam were often more sensitive. “Oh, then which university do you think is good?”
“A and B Universities are decent.”
You’re so full of yourself, A and B Universities indeed.
Xu Zhi sighed inwardly. What a case of having dreams beyond one’s abilities.
“Mm, your idea is pretty good.”
Next time, don’t think about it anymore.
This was probably how Chen Luzhou killed the conversation. He forgot that Xu Zhi wasn’t his classmate, and he also forgot that she knew nothing about, or wasn’t familiar with, his lifelong aura. She might not even be very familiar with No. 1 High School, not knowing what kind of godly place Zongshan District was. He even forgot that Xu Zhi was just a regular high school student and that the number of students from her school who could get into A or B Universities each year was as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. He had probably gotten used to treating Xu Zhi like those genius classmates around him, so he spoke very directly.
**
After that night, they didn’t see each other for two days, nor did they contact each other. They didn’t even message on WeChat. Xu Zhi had never actively messaged Chen Luzhou, and Chen Luzhou had never actively messaged her either. He had been busy these few days, retaking some aerial shots for Fu Yuqing and teaching cultural courses to Chen Xingqi. His days were quite full, but whenever he had a moment of free time, he would involuntarily glance at his phone to see if there were any messages.
Xu Zhi hadn’t sent him any messages, but she had updated her Moments once.
Xu Zhi: “Thinking of buying a camera, any recommendations?”
There was one reply below, from Zhu Yangqi, ten minutes ago: “Ask Chen Luzhou, he’s an expert in this area. Plus, he has a friend whose family is in this business, the biggest dealer in Qingyi City. He can help you negotiate the price.”
She probably hadn’t seen it yet, so she hadn’t contacted him. However, after a day, the phone was still silent. Xu Zhi still hadn’t contacted him.
Chen Luzhou opened that Moments post to take a look. She hadn’t deleted it, and Zhu Yangqi’s reply was still there. There were two more replies below, one from Cai Yingying and one from Xu Zhi replying to Cai Yingying. She hadn’t replied to Zhu Yangqi.
Cai Yingying: “How about I ask my cousin for you? He used to be a Canon dealer, and his cameras are quite cheap.”
Xu Zhi replies to Cai Yingying: “Okay.”
Zhu Yangqi saw Xu Zhi’s reply, came out of the bathroom, walked to Chen Luzhou with his phone, and clicked his tongue twice, “I don’t understand. There’s a bigger and better option right in front of them, yet they go ask some cousin. Did you make her angry?”
Chen Luzhou found it rather novel, “She can get angry?”
“Then why haven’t I seen you two contacting each other lately? You’re not going out drinking at night anymore either?” Zhu Yangqi said.
Chen Luzhou leaned against the headboard reading a book, one leg propped on the headboard, the other lazily stepping on the ground. He laughed self-mockingly, turned a page of the book without even looking, and said, “Come on, she has her connections. Why would she need me?”
If she gets scammed, it’s her fault.
Whether it was a self-fulfilling prophecy or not, Xu Zhi did get scammed. She bought a refurbished camera. Cai Yingying’s cousin said he wasn’t in the dealership business anymore and recommended a WeChat contact. Xu Zhi added it, checked various aspects, and thought there shouldn’t be any problems. Moreover, the camera wasn’t for her, it was for her cousin. Uncle Xu asked her to help find a reliable source. Trusting Cai Yingying’s cousin, she didn’t ask much and just passed on the WeChat contact. Who knew that after her cousin received it, he used online methods to verify the camera and said it was refurbished?
“Nikon D810?”
The camera was with her cousin. He sent a few photos to Chen Luzhou. Chen Luzhou, holding the phone, hadn’t even finished flipping through the photos before recognizing it at a glance. He continued flipping through the photos casually while saying, “Do you even need to verify this? It’s refurbished. There are no new 810s now, they’re all second-hand. How much did you buy it for?”
They were sitting in the bar, still at the bar counter position from last time. Chen Luzhou sat on the high stool, one foot touching the ground. Xu Zhi sat beside him, ordered a cocktail, sighed, and said, “Just under 7,000?”
He nodded, smiled, and said, “That’s just second-hand. A new one with a kit lens would cost 20,000. You weren’t scammed.”
Xu Zhi didn’t know much about it. She took a sip of her drink and said, “Should I send him a voice message and let you explain it to him?”
“Sure.”
As soon as the call connected, because the speakerphone was on, her cousin eagerly spoke first, “How is it? What did the expert brother say?”
Chen Luzhou was still holding the phone, interestedly examining the details of the photos. Hearing the word “expert”, he instinctively looked at Xu Zhi. Tsk tsk, how she boasts about me outside.
Xu Zhi coughed, “I’ll let him tell you.”
Chen Luzhou took the phone and first explained that he wasn’t an expert, “You probably didn’t understand clearly at the time. What you bought is a second-hand camera. Refurbished ones have seals, yours doesn’t even have a seal. The seller probably told you it was second-hand. I can’t be certain just by looking at photos, but keep everything for now. When your sister and I come down the mountain, bring the actual item for me to take a look.”
“Brother, are you a photographer? Are you Chen Luzhou? I saw the photos you took in my sister’s Moments.”
Chen Luzhou didn’t expect he had already become a celebrity in Xu Zhi’s family, but he didn’t know that the level in his mind might be slightly different from reality. Hearing the cousin ask like this, he glanced at Xu Zhi, smiled, and said to the phone, “Yes, I’m Chen Luzhou.”
Although this dialogue seemed very ordinary, the natural ease with which he answered gave the impression that people around him often knew of his fame and admired him greatly.
“Wow, so you’re the legendary Chen Luzhou?”
“Yes, I’m Chen Luzhou.”
Just that kind of impressive feeling.
But Chen Luzhou probably didn’t know that the reason the cousin asked like this was simply because Uncle Xu had spoken at home, listing him as the number one wanted person.
— “It’s that guy, right? That Chen Luzhou guy! Xu Zhi hasn’t come down the mountain for so long, it’s all because of that Chen Luzhou guy! I’ll kill him!”
Of course, Xu Zhi didn’t know this either.