Clown Game
Chapter 253 - 240: Simple, Yet Perfect Murder Case (Twelve)

Chapter 253: Chapter 240: Simple, Yet Perfect Murder Case (Twelve)

Chen Xiao happily skipped toward the sedan... appearing very cheerful. Meanwhile, he inexplicably started running in circles while looking around, as if he was checking out something.

Soon, he arrived at the car door... but he just stood there, not touching the vehicle.

The woman inside was still rubbing her foggy head, puzzled as she noticed Chen Xiao simply grinning at her through the window.

At this moment, Chen Xiao pointed at the car door with his finger, signaling the woman to open it from inside.

The woman hesitated for a second, but still leaned over and pushed it open.

... And the moment she pushed it open, Chen Xiao stepped forward and grabbed the woman’s wrist...

"What... are you doing!" the woman asked in confusion, not particularly panicked, as if she had become indifferent to everything...

Chen Xiao didn’t answer the question. Instead, he quickly pressed her hand onto the passenger seat, and like wiping with a cloth, he wiped the seat cushion and backrest thoroughly. Then, with a flick of his hand, he eagerly settled into the seat.

The woman didn’t understand Chen Xiao’s behavior but didn’t try to stop him either.

Now inside the car, Chen Xiao started rummaging around again, the sun visor, the small box in front of the passenger seat, under the seat. Then he turned around to check the back seat, and finally, he even attempted to squeeze into the foot space in front of the seat... Finally, after 3 minutes, Chen Xiao, quite satisfied, closed the car door.

"Let’s go. It’d be really embarrassing to be seen like this," he said, as if they were a couple of illicit lovers afraid of getting caught.

The woman hesitated briefly, probably thinking, do you even know the meaning of embarrassment? Nevertheless, she started the sedan while also asking with a puzzled expression, "What are you doing?"

Chen Xiao sprawled comfortably against the backrest, "Ah, nothing much, just afraid you might kill me. It’s always good to be cautious."

The woman was momentarily stunned, "Kill you?"

"Yep, although there are security cameras all around, I still feel a bit nervous, who knows if you would go crazy and attack me right outside the detective squad’s front door..."

"But..." the woman was obviously still baffled.

"Ah, about that, I was worried the car might be electrified; unlikely, sure, but the thought popped into my head, so I just acted cautiously. I hope you don’t mind. Besides, I didn’t want to be ambushed by some strange device or a needle under the seat; that would be quite embarrassing. Then, under the seats, the rear seat, the car ceiling, these places always need checking, after all, it’s better to be safe than sorry."

Chen Xiao spoke quickly, his tone polite.

The woman frowned, seemingly not expecting this oddly behaving man to be so thoughtful, "Well, I don’t know why you’d think that, but as you said, if I wanted to harm you, I could just lock the doors now and hit something with one acceleration..."

Chen Xiao still smiled politely, "Ah, I know, tampering with the passenger’s airbag in advance and then deliberately causing an accident is a decent method, but the lethality isn’t very high, so I suggest... oh, I digress. What I mean is, that’s why my hand never left the door handle. If you had any thoughts of locking it, I would have opened the door ahead of time. Also, if you suddenly accelerated, I’d roll out of the car immediately. Given our current speed, I should be alright with just a few rolls, following the inertia," Chen Xiao explained.

...

After hearing yet another monologue from him, the woman merely showed a hint of surprise.

A few seconds later... "Why do you think I killed him?" she asked indifferently.

Chen Xiao nodded, knowing she would ask this question, "Ah, well, you think the same, don’t you? Otherwise, I wouldn’t be sitting in this car."

"The reason?"

"Uh... to tell you the truth, there’s no particular reason. It’s just that you were the closest to the victim, so you came to mind first. Like when someone dies in the water, you’d first think about drowning."

As he spoke, Chen Xiao scratched his head rather sheepishly, and then added, "If I had to give a reason, it’s your recent purchase of a new perfume."

"Hmm?" the woman voiced her question.

Chen Xiao continued, "You never wear perfume usually. Honestly, if you wore it regularly, I could tell with a whiff near your vanity. If you used it only occasionally, you’d never finish a bottle. But there’s a box of brand-new perfume on your vanity; it probably wasn’t cheap. It doesn’t match your approach to life. I can tell from the way you dress and care for your skin. Oh, and it’s not impossible that you sometimes used perfume earlier, but just before your trip, you suddenly decided not to and threw the whole bottle out, buying an expensive new one and cleaning your room at the same time! No scent left, but that’s just too far-fetched, so..."

"Enough!" the woman interrupted him, and surprisingly, a woman obviously preoccupied, while driving, could keep up with Chen Xiao’s pace and listen without any sign of effort.

"Yes, I did buy a bottle of perfume. What about it? You suspect me?"

Chen Xiao immediately waved his hands, "Don’t sound so serious. I just like to let my imagination run wild." He said, and with a cryptic twist of his head, added, "A woman who prefers to stay at home, living a carefree life, suddenly buys perfume, what does that suggest?"

"I haven’t done anything wrong to him!" the woman responded quickly, her voice revealing a slightly assertive tone.

"Of course, you didn’t cheat; you just wanted to make him think you did..."

The woman fell silent for a bit, "...that’s far-fetched."

"Hmm... it is far-fetched, to conclude all that just because you bought perfume, but that’s what I saw. In life, when only the two of you are together, any minor act can be magnified. For example, usually, you read a book before bed, but in recent months, you suddenly start looking at your phone and inexplicably giggling, deleting chat histories, checking yourself out in the mirror frequently, and all those types of suggestive behaviors. In the end, placing a conspicuous bottle of perfume on the vanity for a shrewd man, that’s like clearly written proof... Of course, this is all hypothetical; you just made some insignificant moves, and the individual you’re supposedly cheating with doesn’t exist."