Young Boyfriend

　　Following Benjamin's suggestion, James returned to the interrogation room where Ethan was being held.

　　Ethan was restless, like an ant tormented on a hot pan.

　　As soon as the three entered, he immediately asked, 'Have you found Alexander?' 'He has been at the police station all this time,' James said.

　　'Have you interrogated him? Did he confess to the crime?' Ethan asked anxiously, as if Alexander had already confessed everything and the police had come to release him.

　　'We have talked to him.

　　He denies everything, neither admitting to having the intimate photos of you and Sophia nor admitting to extorting money from you,' James said.

　　Reality often differs from imagination, and Ethan became angry.

　　He shouted angrily, 'Damn it, I knew it would be like this.

　　Damn, I have evidence of him extorting me on my phone.

　　If I hadn't lost my phone yesterday, I could prove that everything I said was true.

　　Let's see what he has to say then!' At this point, he innocently pleaded, 'Can you help me find my phone? I carefully recalled, and it's possible that I left it in the taxi when I went back last night, but unfortunately, I didn't remember the license plate number.' 'What model is your phone?' James asked.

　　'To be honest, I'm not familiar with phones.

　　Usually, I just use it to make and receive calls.

　　I only know that the brand is Lenovo,' he replied, which was somewhat strange.

　　A big boss of a real estate company didn't even know the model of his own phone.

　　'What color is it?' 'Black.' 'What is your phone number?' Ethan had seen on TV that the police can track the location of a phone through a call, but it's useless once the phone is turned off.

　　He shook his head and said, 'It's useless.

　　I've already tried.

　　The phone has been turned off.' James didn't give up and asked Ethan for his phone number.

　　When he dialed it, it was indeed turned off.

　　After leaving the room, he tried a few more times, but it was still turned off.

　　He sighed, 'If what Ethan said is true, the evidence on the phone would be the best proof to expose Alexander's lies, but he lost the phone.

　　The key is that he might have dropped the phone in the taxi, making it difficult to retrieve.

　　The phone could have been picked up by the driver or taken by a subsequent passenger.' 'Leave the search for the phone to me."

　　"Benjamin asked Emma for her phone and sent a text message.

　　Then, he turned to James and said, 'It's already 6 o'clock, and I've been running around with you all day without eating.

　　Let's go and have a meal.' Upon hearing Benjamin's words, James also felt unbearable hunger and nodded, 'No problem.

　　We need to fill our stomachs in order to have energy for work.' 'I'll decide on the place to eat,' Benjamin said.

　　'Alright.' At that moment, Emma's phone made a short sound.

　　She opened her phone and read, 'The other party replied that they will get back to you in an hour.' Benjamin nodded and said, 'Let's go, I'm starving.' James originally thought that Benjamin would take this opportunity to take advantage of him, at least by going to a high-end restaurant.

　　However, he didn't expect that Benjamin would bring him to a small restaurant outside the North Bank area, and all they ordered was a simple bowl of noodles.

　　James turned his head and looked at the noisy diners around him, furrowing his brow as he said, 'Why did we come all the way here to eat?' 'What's wrong with this place?' Benjamin savored the food, as if a picky gourmet had finally found a dish that suited their taste perfectly, carefully chewing the noodles.

　　'I just think it's a waste of time.

　　There are many restaurants near the police station with better environments.

　　I planned on continuing to work after dinner, but I didn't expect us to come all the way here for a meal,' James said, slightly reproachful.

　　'Proper rest will help in solving the case, and at least food can replenish our energy,' Benjamin said.

　　Indeed, the day's hustle and bustle had consumed too much energy, and they needed to replenish some energy.

　　James lowered his head and started to enjoy his meal.

　　He ate quickly, eager to finish quickly and leave this place.

　　As he ate, snippets of conversations from people around occasionally reached his ears.

　　'Hey, have you heard?' 'What?' 'There was a murder in our neighborhood.' 'Really?' 'It's absolutely true.

　　The police have come.

　　It happened in Apartment 601 of Building 5.

　　The victim was a woman.' 'I've seen that woman before.

　　She was quite pretty, didn't expect her to die.

　　What happened?' 'I don't know, but I do know that she was not decent.

　　She was someone's mistress and also had a boyfriend who is five years younger than her.' 'Is that so?' 'Hmm, guess who her young boyfriend is?' 'Who?' 'It's our neighborhood security guard.' 'No way!' ...

　　The speakers were two middle-aged women, one of whom seemed to know all the details and shamelessly shared her opinions.

　　After hearing this conversation, James finally understood why Benjamin chose to eat here.

　　Restaurants were always a gathering place for gossip, especially when a murder occurred nearby.

　　It naturally became the hot topic of discussion.

　　He glanced at the two women, but they suddenly changed the topic, as if this subject had suddenly lost its news value.

　　He wanted to go over and ask for more information but was stopped by Benjamin's gaze, realizing that this place was not suitable for inquiries."

　　After hastily finishing their meal, he waited outside with Benjamin and Emma.

　　When the two women he had previously spoken to emerged, he immediately approached them, showing his identification and saying, "Hello, I am a police officer." The two women were startled, as if they had just done something wrong and encountered a police officer.

　　"Comrade Officer, do you have something to discuss with us?" James said, "I overheard you talking about today's homicide and wanted to ask, who is the security guard you mentioned?" "Actually, I don't know who it is.

　　It's just what Grandma Ava told me.

　　If you want to know, go ask her!" one slightly overweight woman said.

　　"Who is Grandma Ava, and where can I find her?" "Grandma Ava is our neighborhood's 'News Broadcast.' She knows everything that happens in the neighborhood.

　　She lives in Apartment 101 of Building 5.

　　That's all I know.

　　We have other matters to attend to, so can we leave now?" "Alright, thank you." "You're welcome." The two women hurriedly left.

　　James turned to Benjamin and Emma with a smile and said, "It seems like we overlooked a very important person.

　　She may be able to provide us with valuable clues." Benjamin checked his watch and said, "We still have some time.

　　We should go meet Mrs.

　　Ma now." "Hmm," James replied.

　　He was more eager than anyone else to know who the deceased's boyfriend was and what relationship he had to this homicide.

　　Benjamin and the others entered the Beian neighborhood and didn't go far before they saw a group of people gathered by a flower bed.

　　Even from a distance of twenty to thirty meters, they could see a gray-haired, overweight lady in red clothes telling everyone about the homicide in Apartment 601 of Building 5.

　　Benjamin and the others stood by, calmly listening.

　　It was apparent that this lady loudly sharing stories was the famous "News Broadcast" Grandma Ava in the neighborhood.

　　Her account was even more thrilling and sensational than listening to a novel.

　　It was as if she had personally witnessed the entire case unfolding.

　　However, after listening for a while, Benjamin and the others realized that her narrative had more imagination than factual basis.

　　"I heard that woman had many lovers." Benjamin suddenly said.

　　"I heard that too, and it seems one of them is our neighborhood's security guard," Emma chimed in perfectly.

　　Grandma Ava stopped talking and listened intently to Benjamin and Emma's conversation.

　　"Our neighborhood's security guard? I haven't heard of that, who is it?" Benjamin pretended to be surprised.

　　"It seems his last name is Li, called Li Bing or something," Emma said, sounding uncertain.

　　Grandma Ava couldn't stand it anymore.

　　She walked over and shouted, "You're wrong, it's not surnamed Li, and there's no person named Li Bing in our neighborhood!" "Who are you?" Benjamin turned and asked, as if he had just discovered Grandma Ava's presence.

　　"You must be new here if you don't even know me, Grandma Ava."

　　"Ava Auntie lifted her head high like a proud rooster, saying, 'Let me tell you, there's nothing that Auntie Ava doesn't know about in this neighborhood, big or small!' 'Do you know what we're talking about?' 'Aren't you talking about the lover of the woman in 601 in Building 5?' Ava Auntie smiled and said, 'I live right below her, and there's no one who knows her affairs better than me!' 'Do you know her lover?' 'Not only do I know, but I'm acquainted with them.

　　She has several lovers, and I can tell you what they do just by counting on my fingers.

　　I even know the name of the person who rented her apartment!' 'I guarantee you, you definitely don't know that she has a boyfriend who is five years younger than her.' 'Ridiculous, I was the one who spread that news!' 'Do you really know?' 'That guy who is five years younger than her is William, the security guard of our neighborhood.

　　But you won't be able to see him anymore because he resigned last night, right around the time she was murdered.' Ava Auntie paused for a moment and then continued, 'To be honest, I think the biggest suspect is William.

　　How else can you explain that he resigned and then she died? It's too coincidental.

　　In my opinion, he's on the run out of fear!' Hearing the name William, the three of them were somewhat stunned.

　　They had only heard this name in the morning, referring to the person who found the body in the river.

　　'William!' James exclaimed.

　　Damn it, he had suspected that guy for a while, and it turns out he was the deceased's little boyfriend, claiming not to know her.' Ava Auntie was startled by James' exaggerated reaction and asked softly, 'Do you guys know William?' 'We do know someone named William, but we're not sure if it's the same person you're talking about,' Benjamin said.

　　They couldn't confirm yet if this security guard was the same William who found the body.

　　'That's easy.

　　If the William you know is the security guard in our neighborhood, then it's the same person.

　　You can go to the security office and check.

　　There should be his work permit with his photo on it,' Ava Auntie said."