S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 3 Chapter 78

Lucky Murderer 08 – A Large and Complex Family

---

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang brought Qin Ou and Luo Tian with them to the vicinity of Lian Tongli's villa.

"Hoo.... another rich man." Zhan Zhao looked up at the villa surrounded by greenery in the distance, "Xiao Bai, do you think there are really people who are massively rich but still live in cheap houses, ride bicycles to buy groceries, and pick up their kids from school or something?"

Bai Yutang smiled, "Then what is his motivation for earning money?"

"Hmm." Zhan Zhao stroked his chin, "Actually, within the most primitive desires of people, what they seek is simply food, spouses and the like. But as time went on, people discovered that money could bring food and spouses... so they shifted their most primitive desires. Nowadays, it has evolved to the point where many people in this world have been given food and spouses but still pursue money."

"Cat, is power one of the most primitive genetic desires?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Power is also a derivative." Zhan Zhao thought for a moment, "Power and money are the same, and to facilitate the achievement of the original purpose, there is one that is rather special."

"What?"

"Vanity." Zhan Zhao laughed, "Vanity is a strange thing, you can say it's a derivative, but you can also say it's primitive. Winning, wanting to win... and all the other spiritual pursuits, all of them have nothing to do with primitive desires."

"Don't they all say it's because of sex?"

The corners of Zhan Zhao's mouth twitched, "Don't listen to Freud's nonsense."

"But the social climate is really bad now.” Qin Ou walked behind, slightly saddened, "I really don't want Xiao Yi to grow up in such a gold-digging culture."

"You can let him pursue other things." Zhan Zhao smiled, "Doesn't he admire you?"

Qin Ou hurriedly shook his head, "Let him become a police officer or a bomb disposal expert? My god!"

"I don't want Yang Yang to be a police officer either. I always felt that this would often expose him to the dark side of society and human nature, and it would become very negative and decrepit."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged a look – almost forgot that they were both super dads!

When they arrived at the entrance of the villa, what they saw was someone arguing outside the main gate.

Those who were having a verbal argument were a man and a woman.

The man was dressed in an elegant suit, and he looked like an elite. Bai Yutang thought he looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him before.

The woman was even more special, dressed in a red suit, extremely young and beautiful.

"What do you mean?" The woman reprimanded the man unhappily, "I didn't mean it!"

Not to be outdone, the man said, "I didn't mean to, Mrs. Lian."

“That’s right!" The woman seemed to get angry, "I'm Mrs. Lian, so what!"

"Heh." The man sneered and turned his eyes to look away.

Everyone looked at each other in disbelief, and felt that it was a bit weird to witness such an episode.

"Ahem."

Zhan Zhao may be the only person who likes to watch disputes, not because he likes to gossip, but when people have a big emotional outburst, when they are extremely angry or extremely sad, they tend to reveal their true nature, and this is the best time to understand a person. For example, a man who doesn't even think about resorting to physical force when he's extremely angry is definitely not the type to commit domestic violence.

The man and woman in the middle of an argument immediately turned around, the embarrassment on their faces clearly visible.

When Zhan Zhao saw the look on their faces, he raised an eyebrow slightly. Reaching out and gently rubbing his chin, he whispered to Bai Yutang, “Dog blood.” (Angel: Dog blood is a term that refers to the vulgar plots that have been well-known by heart.)

Bai Yutang was a little confused but didn't dig deeper, he just showed his ID to the two of them, "I'm SCI detective Bai Yutang, I have an appointment with Mr. Lian Tongli."

"Oh, Mr. Policeman, Tongli is waiting for you." The young lady immediately shook hands with Bai Yutang, "I'm Lian Tongli's wife, Chen Huifen, and this is Lian Qianzhong."

"Hello." As Lian Qianzhong shook hands with Bai Yutang, he looked at him closely and thoughtfully, "I think I've seen you somewhere before."

Zhan Zhao raised his eyebrows and asked, "Does Mr. Lian know Bai Jintang?"

"Yes, Boss Bai and I often have business dealings. Bai Yutang... Bai Jintang..." Lian Qianzhong understood at once, "Oh! I say they really look alike, so they are blood brothers, the Bai family is indeed very good looking."

Bai Yutang smiled and shook hands with him, remembering that he had seen him at a certain banquet. Originally, he wouldn't have participated in Bai Jintang's business banquet, but his elder brother's hotel was always having deaths, and most of the people he invited were psychopathic killers.

"Please come inside."

"Is Mr. Lian the eldest son?" Zhan Zhao had heard that Lian Tongli had two sons and a daughter who had become adults, and only recently did his concubine give birth to a young son, who was still an infant in swaddling clothes.

“Qianzhong is the eldest, the second is Qianyi, the younger sister is called Lian Shuli, and the baby is the youngest, his name is Lian Qianren." Chen Huifen explained to Zhan Zhao, not hiding anything, “My sister's name is Wang Yi, she passed away three years ago."

"Oh..." Zhan Zhao nodded, Bai Yutang had no expression on his face, and Luo Tian and Qin Ou naturally wouldn't say anything, except everyone was thinking in their hearts – An old husband and young wife, ah, there is no telling whether this Chen Huifen is older or younger than Lian Qianzhong, such a stepmother would be embarrassing.

Only Zhan Zhao stroked his chin and found something more interesting

Soon, everyone walked through the long corridor and entered the living room, where Lian Qianzhong invited everyone to take their seats. He went upstairs to call Lian Tongli, while Chen Huifen enthusiastically poured the tea herself.

Bai Yutang looked around and asked Zhan Zhao in a low voice, "Cat, what have you found?"

"Hmm?" Zhan Zhao was puzzled.

“Oh please." Bai Yutang frowned, "You touch your chin to indicate you've found something, touch your nose to indicate you're thinking, touch with your right hand to indicate you're finding it difficult, and touch with your left hand to indicate you're finding it interesting! You just touched your chin with your left hand!"

Zhan Zhao gasped and stared at Bai Yutang, "How dare you analyse my behaviour!"

Bai Yutang shrugged, "Those who are close to vermilion are red.” (Angel: This is a proverb that means that the objective environment will gradually affect people.)

At this time, Chen Huifen came over with a tea tray, put the Pu-Erh tea in front of everyone and said, "Please wait a moment, Tongli will be right down." Then she went back to the kitchen.

Zhan Zhao took a moment and whispered to Bai Yutang, "I bet Chen Huifen and Lian Qianzhong are interested in each other, maybe this is the original couple!"

Although Zhan Zhao's voice was low, Bai Yutang, Luo Tian, and Qin Ou all heard him, and they all looked at him with wide eyes.

"Is it reliable?" Bai Yutang was surprised. A father and son fighting over a woman? That's too much like a dog blood plot!

Zhan Zhao picked up his cup of tea indifferently "It should be the old man who robbed his son. It's a big family, and there is still some kind of jianghu atmosphere, so naturally, filial piety is the first thing. The son wouldn't dare to disobey the old man, so I guess this Lian Qianzhong has a bit of filial piety." (Angel: The ordinary understanding of 'jianghu' is chivalrous, righteous, and generous.)

Saying that, Zhan Zhao then pointed to a metal punk style ashtray on the table, "But then, this ashtray doesn't quite match the whole room, so there should be a particularly rebellious one in his family… Men are unlikely to buy such small things, so that Miss Lian Shuli should be the rebellious child."

"What about the second child?" Bai Yutang asked.

"The second child is probably more normal, and maybe even separated from Lian Tongli's father-son relationship, do you believe this?" Zhan Zhao asked with a smile.

Bai Yutang frowned slightly as Qin Ou and Luo Tian exchanged glances, "How can you tell?"

The sound of footsteps had come from the stairs, and Chen Huifen came out from the kitchen with a cup of ginseng tea. Zhan Zhao smiled and waved his hand to the crowd, "Just a few details."

"Captain Bai," Lian Tongli walked over to the sofa and shook hands with Bai Yutang before taking his seat, "I've long admired that name."

"Mr. Lian." Bai Yutang stood up and shook Lian Tongli's hand.

"Just call me Uncle, I’ve known your father and Bao Sir, for a long time, as well as Justice Zhan." The old man looked older than his actual age, at least compared to Bao Zheng and Bai Yunwen.

Bai Yutang smiled and did not answer, and Zhan Zhao was somewhat helpless...

Since the last incident with Bai Jintang, Bai Yutang seemed to have been angry with Bai Yunwen and had not returned home once. The actual fact is that it is difficult for Bai Yutang to judge what really happened back then, and he suspects that Bai Yunwen has harmed Bai Jintang. Given his nature and his feelings for Bai Jintang, it is certain that the father-son relationship is considered over. But in Zhan Zhao's opinion, this is where Bai Yutang and Bai Yunwen are most alike: stubborn, paranoid. and uncompromising. In comparison, Bai Jintang is not so much like them in this respect. In terms of personality, Bai Yutang is definitely Bai Yunwen's son, but Bai Jintang is like someone else's son.

Zhan Zhao had suspected many times that there was a big story hidden within the so-called details. Bai Jintang was superficially similar to both Bai Yunwen and Bai Yutang, but at his core, excluding his PTSD, he was completely unlike them in terms of his nature!

Bai Jintang is a rather contradictory person, his nature is relatively gentle, but his PTSD has made him violent, and his years of hardship have made him cold... So in general, by mixing these personalities together with his handsome appearance, Brother becomes quite attractive!

Add a little bit of victim's innocence… and it gets even better. The vulnerability behind a strong man will always make one's heart flutter easily.

Zhan Zhao felt that his thoughts were starting to run wild again and he couldn't control them, so he hurriedly stopped and returned to the main topic.

After exchanging pleasantries with Bai Yutang, Lian Tongli came to shake hands with Zhan Zhao, "Dr. Zhan? Haha! The new generation is fearsome."

Zhan Zhao smiled, "Uncle Lian is too polite."

“Ai." Lian Tongli sat down and greeted Qin Ou and Luo Tian with a polite nod as he said, "I am often envious of Yunwen and Qitian, one with martial arts and the other with literature, and now their successors are even more talented. Not to mention the fact that there is a dragon among phoenixes like Jintang, I can't even catch up."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both smiled politely.

Chen Huifen took a chubby little baby from the servant's hand. He seemed to have just woken up, puffing out his chubby cheeks and looking at the crowd with a dazed look. Zhan Zhao immediately narrowed his eyes and wanted to pinch it!

Chen Huifen and Lian Qingzhong both sat by the side. Chen Huifen couldn't help but say, "If only Qianyi was here, he also studied psychology and worships Dr. Zhan more than you know."

“Ai!" Lian Tongli frowned, unhappy, "Don't mention that sinful son!"

The crowd froze.

“Father," Lian Qianzhong opened the ginseng tea for Lian Tongli, “Qianyi is still young, the things he says are out of anger, so don't take him seriously."

"If he says he won't acknowledge me as his father, then he shouldn't set foot in my house!" Lian Tongli said, coughing. Chen Huifen hurriedly gave the baby to the nanny and reached out to gently pat his back.

Everyone inexplicably felt that Lian Tongli felt so much older than he actually was!

Zhan Zhao drank from his cup of tea in a calm manner, and Bai Yutang remained motionless on the sidelines, he was used to it anyway. Luo Tian and Qin Ou looked at each other – Zhan Zhao was psychic! How could he have seen this?!

“Right," Bai Yutang waited for Lian Tongli to finish coughing, then put down his cup of tea and asked, “let's talk about the case."

"Okay." Lian Tongli nodded and gestured for Lian Qianzhong to do it for him.

Before Lian Qianzhong could say anything, he heard a servant come in at the door and say, "Master, Miss is back."

Lian Tongli frowned and waved his hand, "Got it, we'll talk about serious matters here, send her back to her room first."

"What is it that I can't be allowed to hear?" As soon as Lian Tongli's words fell, a girl dressed in a particularly punky outfit walked in from the doorway. She had a nose ring, earrings, and thick smoky make-up, which inexplicably reminded Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang of Qi Le back in the day.

Luo Tian and Qin Ou couldn't help but get goosebumps. They really admired Bai Yutang for being able to live with Zhan Zhao without feeling creeped out, and even managed to restrain Zhan Zhao most of the time. Their captain was really not a mortal, and Zhan Zhao was simply a magician! (Angel: The author used 神棍, or God stick, a term for a magician who is a liar who plays tricks.)

Lian Tongli's face immediately turned ugly.

"Shuli, Dad is talking about serious matters." Chen Huifen said to her.

“Stepmother," Lian Shuli, however, picked up the corners of her mouth and laughed grimly, "why are you still calling him Dad... shouldn't you call him your husband? Do you want me to call you sister-in-law?"

Chen Huifen's face turned pale and she bowed her head without speaking.

Looking at Lian Qianzhong again, he sipped tea from his cup to hide his embarrassment.

Lian Tongli's face was even more ugly.

"Hehe." Lian Shuli walked in, looked at Bai Yutang and then at Zhan Zhao, and suddenly pointed at Bai Yutang, "Oh! I know you, a police officer!"

Bai Yutang was stunned.

"The super handsome policeman who drives a limited edition sports car." Lian Shuli sauntered over and sat down on the sofa, setting her studded boots up on the coffee table, the tassels on them and the large holes in her jeans complementing each other.

"Heh." Lian Shuli smiled a little punkishly, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it, "Those sisters of mine all said that it would be best for you to arrest them if they commit crimes in the future, and that they would definitely molest you, but alas, I heard that you only take care of the big murder cases."

Zhan Zhao narrowed his eyes and showed a smile, raising an eyebrow at Bai Yutang with unclear meaning.

Bai Yutang bowed his head and drank his tea – an undeserved disaster.

Luo Tian and Qin Ou inexplicably thought if Luo Yang and Xiao Yi were to dress like this in the future – oh my god, rebellious kids are so scary!

"Bastard!" Lian Tongli slammed the blanket onto the coffee table, "Get your ass back to your room!"

"No need." Lian Shuli stood up with her cigarette in her mouth, "I'm going to stay at my second brother's place for a few days, just in time, you guys go about your business." After saying that, she went upstairs.

Lian Tongli was so angry that he was gasping for breath, but Chen Huifen patted him on the back, "That child is still young, don't get angry."

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao – Perhaps you should do it, this relationship is too messy.

Luo Tian and Qin Ou, on the other hand, did not want to talk at all, trying to pull their thoughts away from their sons.

Zhan Zhao happily put down his cup and suddenly spoke, "The one who has been harassing you with threatening phone calls should not be an outsider."

Everyone was stunned.

Zhan Zhao, on the other hand, smiled, "Just ask Miss Lian."

Lian Tongli frowned, slapped the table, and said to Lian Qianzhong, "Go and bring your sister here!"

Lian Qianzhong looked suspiciously at Zhan Zhao, and then at Chen Huifen, who nodded her head.

None of these details escaped Zhan Zhao's eyes, and Luo Tian and Qin Ou clearly saw Zhan Zhao reach up with his left hand and touch his chin… They glanced at each other – there's another good show coming!

Lian Qianzhong went upstairs and didn't take long to run back down, "Dad! Little Sister jumped out of the window and ran away."

"What?!"

“She didn't run away." Zhan Zhao suddenly said, “She's hiding in the closet."

Lian Qianzhong was stunned for a moment, then turned back and went back upstairs, and soon dragged a laughing Lian Shuli down from upstairs.

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao – Cat, nice.

Zhan Zhao smiled faintly – My recent research project happens to be on the mental journey of delinquent young boys and girls.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter

Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: April 7, 2022 by Angel