CH 9

On October 27th, 3020, outside the Bolang Bar, a black car slowly approached and parked in the designated parking area. Jiang Chengyan and Su Ke got out of the car one after another.

Looking at the sign of the bar, Su Ke said with a smile, “this is different from an ordinary bar, so you have to be mentally prepared.”

“Different? What’s different, aren’t they all here to get drunk?” Jiang Chengyan said in disbelief.

“What is different, you’ll know later. Let’s go, let’s go in.” Su Ke said and took the lead towards the door.

Jiang Chengyan saw it and hurriedly followed, but was stopped by the security guard at the door.

“Two gentlemen stay. Please show your membership card.”

Su Ke took out his mobile phone from his pocket, showed his electronic membership card, and said lightly, “He’s my friend. It’s the first time he’s here.”

The security guard stepped out of the door and said with a smile, “you two, please come in.”

The two entered the door of the bar, Jiang Chengyan bumped into Su Ke’s arm, and asked softly, “Su Ke, if we don’t have a membership, is it really not allowed to enter?”

Su Ke nodded and said, “The homosexual group is not open. Under the pressure of parents and society, many people choose to hide it or even marry a woman. Only in such a private bar can they feel at ease and get drunk.”

Jiang Chengyan asked curiously, “Then how did you do this membership card?”

“A friend brought me here. If a newcomer wants to get into the bar, a member has to bring him or her to get in.”

“So that’s how it is.”

The two walked through a long corridor, when they turned in, they can hear soft and soothing music. Under the dim light, the rows of seats were far apart. In addition, the sofa also had a high backrest.

If not close enough, they can’t hear what other people are saying. The privacy is very good. There is a bar in the center of the hall, and a few people sitting sparsely, far apart from each other, holding wine glasses in their hands, but looking around.

Su Ke and Jiang Chengyan walked straight to the bar, and the bartender greeted him warmly “Mr. Su, long time no see.”

Su Ke said in surprise, “I’ve only been here once, but I didn’t expect you to remember me.”

Jiang Chengyan didn’t find it strange, after all, they might have to go back to work overtime at night. He looked around, checking the location of the surveillance camera.

Soon the bartender placed freshly squeezed orange juice in front of each of them and said with a smile, “Orange juice for both of you, please enjoy.”

Jiang Chengyan took a sip, then put down his glass. He took out Jiang Changping’s picture from his pocket, handed it to the bartender, and asked “Do you know this man?”

The bartender took the picture, looked at it, and said, “I don’t know.”

“You have such a good memory, you remember after meeting him once. He is a regular customer, how can you not recognize him, take a closer look.”

The bartender said with some difficulty, “Sir, we have a rule here that we’re not allowed to disclose information about our customers to anyone. Otherwise, I would have to lose my job.”

While the two were talking, a man in a suit came over and sat down beside Jiang Chengyan. He smiled and asked, “This handsome guy, can I buy you a drink?”

Jiang Chengyan was stunned for a moment, aware of the man’s unscrupulous eyes, he frowned slightly. Before he could speak, he heard Su Ke say with a smile, “Sorry, this gentleman… he is mine.”

Seeing Jiang Chengyan did not refute, the man said with some regret, “then excuse me. ”

Why Jiang Chengyan did not refute, it was entirely because he was stunned by Su Ke’s words. Seeing the man leaving,  Jiang Chengyan said softly, “Su Ke, what do you mean?”

Su Ke’s eyes flashed, and he explained, “Everyone who has company will go to the booth. Only single people will sit at the bar. That person is obviously interested in you. I’m helping you out.”

Jiang Chengyan looked at the man again, and sure enough, he saw him sitting back in his original position, but he always looked toward him. Although Jiang Chengyan felt a little weird, he didn’t take it to heart. He took out his police badge and looked back at the bartender, “I’m a police officer. I’m investigating a case. I hope you can cooperate. ”

The bartender was stunned for a moment, then reacted immediately and said, “Then I’ll ask the boss for instructions, please wait a moment.”

The bartender walked to the side, took out his cell phone, and dialed a number. His voice was very small, it was completely inaudible what he was saying, but Jiang Chengyan did not care. 

Jiang Chengyan frowned slightly and then asked, “Do you remember the last time he came to the bar?”

“The last time ……” the bartender thought before saying, “It was about two months ago, I can’t remember the exact date.”

“He seemed to be in a bad mood that day. He sat at the bar and drank a lot. He didn’t leave until we closed. “

“Two months ago? How long do you usually keep surveillance video here?”

The bartender said apologetically, “I’m not sure about that, I’ll have to ask the boss. In fact, I was not on duty that day, the reason why I knew he had been here was because I heard a colleague mention it, and he said that Mr. Jiang also had a conflict with someone else that day, and the boss personally dealt with it.

“Is your colleague at work today?”

“He left a month ago.”

“So what’s his name, and do you have his contact information?”

His name is Zhang Hua, his cell phone number is ……” The bartender picked up his phone and looked for it, “188 ****5619. Since he left, We haven’t been in touch, and I don’t know if he changed his number.”

Jiang Chengyan saved the number and then asked, “Is your boss here?”

“The boss is usually not here. If you want to find him, I can help to contact him.”

“Call him. I need to talk with him.”

“Wait a minute.” The bartender picked up the phone and made a call. After connecting, he said a few words and then handed the phone to Jiang Chengyan.

“Hello, I’m Jiang Chengyan, captain of the Huacheng criminal investigation team. Are you the owner of Bolang bar?”

“Hello, Captain Jiang. This is, may I ask what you want to see me about?” The voice sounded quite gentle and magnetic.

“May I ask how long the surveillance video of your bar is usually kept?”

“Sorry, Captain Jiang, I’m not in Huacheng right now. I can’t be back until the day after tomorrow. If you want to watch it, come back during business hours the day after tomorrow.”

“Is that so?” Jiang Chengyan paused, then asked, “Then do you remember Jiang Changping?”

“Jiang Changping?” The other party was silent for a while and said, “Sorry. We have a lot of customers in the bar and I don’t remember everyone.”

“Two months ago, he had a conflict with a guest in the bar. You handled it. Don’t you remember?”

“Two months ago ……”

The other side was silent again for a moment and said, “I really want to have some impression when Captain Jiang says this, but I only remember his surname is Jiang. Did something happen to him?”

“It is inconvenient to disclose the case, so we will trouble you the day after tomorrow.”

“You’re welcome. It should be.”Jiang Chengyan hung up the phone, handed the phone to the bartender, and said, “thank you. Let’s settle the bill.”

The bartender smiled, “you’re welcome, Captain Jiang. Leave your contact information if it’s convenient. If I remember of anything, I can contact Captain Jiang at any time.”

Just as Jiang Chengyan was about to speak, he was interrupted by Su Ke. He smiled and said, “****7031, call this number if you think of anything.”

The bartender who entered the number asked awkwardly, “This is?”

“It’s the phone number from the team. He is a criminal policeman. He often goes out to work, and sometimes it is inconvenient to answer the phone.” Su Ke smiled and then said, “Let’s settle the bill.”

The two of them settled the bill, turned around, and left the bar.

Su Ke said jokingly, “Captain Jiang… not bad… How long have you been sitting? You attract two men at once.”

“Two people?” Jiang Chengyan was at a loss for a moment, and then said, “you mean that the bartender also…”

Su Ke said in amusement, “What do you think? Would a normal straight man come to work here?”

Half an hour later, the car drove to the door of the neighborhood where Su Ke lived.  

Su Ke turned his head to look at Jiang Chengyan and asked, “Don’t you go up and sit down?”

“No, I still have to go back to the team.”

“Okay, then don’t be too late.”

It was so difficult to identify the deceased’s identity. With Jiang Changyang’s workaholic nature, it was impossible for him to get off work on time. Su Ke knew it very well, so he didn’t bother.

Jiang Chengyan agreed. After Su Ke got out of the car, he drove back to the police station. After parking the car, Jiang Chengyan looked at the time before looking at the grocery store across the street and muttered in a low voice, “there’s still half an hour, will it be okay if I go there now?”

After wandering around the front door of the police station a few times, Jiang Chengyan chose to take a step toward the opposite side.

Because Wang Lei was sent by Ling Hua’an to tail Li Qiuran, Ling Hua’an who was blind had to hire a part-time job. He was a third-year student at Longcheng University, named Sun Ming.

“Laoban, there seems to be a man peeping outside the door.” Sun Ming whispered in Ling Hua’an’s ear.

Ling Hua’an didn’t speak, he turned around and walked out of the cashier to open the door, “Captain Jiang, come in.”

Jiang Chengyang was stunned for a moment, somewhat sounding embarrassed, “ I just arrived.”

~~~

The author has something to say:

I met an old man in the elevator today who actually spit in the elevator. I was also shocked _(:з”∠)_, the mask must not be taken off