At first, Big Guy didn't believe that the "woman" was Xu Lun in drag. Di Zhen confidently told him that the walking posture and body proportion clearly indicated a man. Moreover, Xu Lun had a burn scar on the back of his right hand, and so did this "woman".
Big Guy stared at him in surprise. "I've been following with you. Why did you notice such details?"
"Because you were just looking, while I was observing."
"Quit being a smart - ass! I don't believe it!"
"The target is getting away. Hurry up and follow!" Di Zhen didn't want to argue and pointed at the "woman" in the crowd.
At seven o'clock, they tailed Xu Lun to a busy pedestrian street nearby. The two stood at the entrance of an alley to observe.
Xu Lun looked at the people coming and going, and there seemed to be something shiny in his hand.
Leaning against the wall and picking his nose, Big Guy remarked, "Is he working as a gigolo?"
"Gigolo?"
"Some men dress up as women to work as gigolos. Haven't you read the news?"
"Is your brain stuck in your balls?" Di Zhen scoffed.
"Come on!" Big Guy refused to admit defeat. "Don't think you've won. He must be dressing up like this to meet someone. By the way, if he's having an affair with a man, it still counts as cheating!"
At this time, Uncle Xu started moving. It seemed that he was tailing a couple. Di Zhen motioned for Big Guy to follow.
A scene of the mantis stalking the cicada while the yellow oriole lurks behind (a Chinese idiom meaning someone is unaware of a threat behind them) played out in the bustling downtown area crowded with people.
The couple walked slowly. The girl was holding a cup of milk tea in her hand. Uncle Xu kept his head down looking at his hand, as if he was hiding something in it.
When the couple turned a corner, Uncle Xu suddenly approached from behind, raised his hand and swung it at the girl's back. Then he turned around and, taking advantage of the cover of the crowd on the sidewalk, fled into a large shopping mall and quickly disappeared without a trace.
"Ah!"
The girl didn't feel anything until a few seconds later. She stopped, touched her back and let out a scream.
"What's wrong, honey?" the boy asked with concern.
"I... I seem to have been pricked by something... Ah!!!!" She suddenly started trembling.
"Hey, what's wrong with you!" The boy panicked and hugged her. The girl trembled more and more violently. Di Zhen used the camera to take continuous photos of the two. He noticed that the girl was drooling from the corner of her mouth and her pupils were dilated. Her palm tightly grasped the boy's clothes, and her legs were tightly clamped together.
The people around were attracted by this scene and stopped one after another. Someone said, "It's that guy again!" "That psycho stabs people with needles every day!" "This must be a poisoned needle. Call the police quickly!"
The boy was scared out of his wits and took out his phone to call 110.
Di Zhen watched all this and thought that the girl's reaction didn't seem like the symptom of being poisoned. He was about to step forward to check when Big Guy grabbed him. Big Guy said, "What are you doing? That old man might be watching in the dark. Don't expose yourself!"
Big Guy added, "This damn is a pervert. I overestimated him. After being a private detective for so many years, I've never encountered such a thing... This... This doesn't count. Who could have thought it would be such a thing!"
"You don't have to drink that. I was just joking. If I lost, I believe you wouldn't push it too far, right?"
Big Guy originally wanted to renege on his promise, but unexpectedly Di Zhen took advantage of the situation and showed a magnanimous attitude of not caring about it. Big Guy felt that his self - esteem had been greatly insulted and shouted, "No, a real man never goes back on his word. I'll go back and drink it right away!"
Di Zhen looked at him and smiled, "You're quite a man!"
"Of course I'm a man!" Big Guy actually felt proud. He patted his chest and said, "A man must keep his word. Let's go. Let's go back and find the old lady first!"
"No, let's find out what's going on with this matter."
"We've already found out. This old man is just a pervert. He must be old and ugly himself, so he takes it out on those pretty girls."
"So what kind of 'pervert' is he, and why is he 'perverted'? Don't you want to know? After being a private detective for so many years, dealing with investigating mistresses every day, now there's finally an interesting assignment. Aren't you curious at all? Where's your professional dignity?"
Di Zhen had already seen through that Big Guy's weakness was his self - esteem, and Big Guy indeed hesitated.
Di Zhen added, "How about we make a deal? If you accompany me to figure this thing out, the debt of the bet about drinking urine will be waived!"
"We won't earn any extra money even if we keep investigating," Big Guy reminded.
"Interesting commissions don't come around every day."
"Tsk, I don't need your pity. I'll drink urine and solve the case, but not for your sake!"
The sound of police sirens came. Big Guy quickly pulled Di Zhen away and hid behind a nearby small stall selling stinky tofu.
Then two policemen arrived. It was actually Lao Gong they'd encountered last time, and the other seemed to be his partner. They dispersed the onlookers and asked the boy what had happened.
"Damn, it's him!" Big Guy murmured.
"Do you know that policeman?"
"That kid is Gong Jingfan. He's thick - headed. Once he sets his sights on someone, he'll dig into the matter to the end. We had a run - in with him because of a wife - killing case before. He caused trouble for the detective agency and almost put us out of business. He's so hateful! Want some stinky tofu? I'll treat you!"
"No, thanks."
Big Guy still bought two pieces of stinky tofu. The large pieces of stinky tofu were wrapped in newspaper and topped with three types of sauces. It tasted good. It was rare to find such authentic street food in a big city.
The two of them crouched in the corner and observed secretly. Di Zhen said thoughtfully, "She doesn't seem to have been poisoned."
"If it's not poisoning, why is she shaking like that?"
"Pleasure!" Di Zhen said firmly.
With dilated pupils, drooling at the corner of the mouth, and legs tightly clamped, Di Zhen was sure it was pleasure rather than pain.
"Pleasure?" Big Guy was stunned. "Damn, so that's why he locked himself in the study. He was messing around with drugs! He must have a terminal illness and wanted to leave a fortune for his wife. He was worried the drugs he made were impure. So he used passers - by for experiments! Shit, this might involve the underworld!"
"But why didn't he target all those single people and instead choose this girl who was with her boyfriend?" Di Zhen fell into deep thought and became strongly interested in this commission.
When Gong Jingfan and Wang Bing were discussing taking the girl to the hospital, the girl actually stood up by herself and said, "Comrade policeman, thank you. I'm fine now."
Gong Jingfan was a bit surprised. "You'd better go for a check - up. We don't know what the suspect injected you with. What if it's poison or a virus?"
The girl was a bit scared, and the boy also persuaded her, "Yeah, go for a check - up. The police will pay. You mustn't have anything wrong with you!"
The girl didn't dare to tell others, especially the police, that after being pricked by the needle, she felt a floating sense of comfort, like feeling tipsy. She was worried that if the police knew, they'd send her to a drug rehabilitation center or something.
After being persuaded by the boy and the police, the girl finally agreed to go to the hospital for a blood test.