when the moon whispers

Chapter 405: Accomplice - Trump Card (Part )

Six accomplices in the case
Sixty-eight Hole Cards (Part 1)
Jiang Mo had just sang Black Cat Sheriff for the second time with an impassioned voice on his cell phone which he had casually thrown onto the sofa when the match playback on the TV screen suddenly erupted into a burst of loud cheers and applause.

Jiang Mo yawned and turned down the volume which was a bit disturbing at 10:30 in the evening. He clamped the remote control between his ear and shoulder, said "hello" twice but heard no voice. Just when he was about to tilt his head to confirm the name of the idiot who answered the call without saying a word, his phone, which had vibrated and slid behind the sofa cushion, started a new round of muffled shouting.

Jiang Mo blinked, and stood in the gap between the sofa and the coffee table for a long while, realizing what was happening belatedly. He chuckled silently and self-deprecatingly, paced a few steps, reached out to pick up the struggling cell phone, and placed it on the dining table gently and slowly.

The slightly disgusting caller ID that Shao Jie had secretly changed for her earlier was vetoed by Jiang Mo and changed back to the cold and dignified last name Shao Jie. But Jiang Mo couldn't stand Shao Jie's pouting and pitiful coaxing, so he hesitated and considered again and again, and finally added an obscure and intimate suffix to the upright "Shao Jie".

"Little Shao Jie" received a rare off-duty report from Officer Jiang at the end of the game. He calculated Jiang Mo's usual driving time back home and accurately predicted Officer Jiang's quick-fire style of washing. He kept dialing the phone three times and as soon as the call was connected, he hummed stickyly at Jiang Mo across the communication signal that was tens of thousands of miles away.

"Jiang Police——"

“Bang!!!” “Boom!”

Shao Jie's coquettish and naughty behavior was suddenly stopped by a sharp sound that sounded like an explosion. He asked anxiously, "What happened?" He didn't wait for any serious words until he heard the rustling sound of Jiang Mo cleaning up the bumps. Then he slowly reacted for a few seconds and sighed, "...What exploded? Did I get burned?"

"…The egg in the braised pork rice at the convenience store downstairs. It's warmed in the microwave, so it's not too hot—but I cut the egg open, so how can it be fried?"

Jiang Mo rubbed his forehead, which had hit the refrigerator when he subconsciously ducked when he heard the sudden noise. He stretched out his arm and pulled out the power cord of the microwave from a distance. He picked up the bowl of braised pork rice with the fried eggs almost broken into pieces and placed it next to the phone on the dining table. He glanced around with a hoarse voice, leaned over and asked the person on the other end of the phone, "Where are the takeout tableware packages I saved? I forgot to pick them up at the convenience store just now."

"...Eggs can also fry if cut and placed together. Next time, don't put anything round in the microwave." Shao Jie gave a very high evaluation of Officer Jiang's ability to survive, but his score for survival ability always hovered on the edge of the passing line. He smiled silently, as if covering the microphone to avoid the booing and harassment of his teammates behind him, "There is a small box next to the chopstick holder, the one that Eden drew, and the disposable chopsticks and plastic spoons of decent quality are all there."

"Ah...ah?...ah - I found it." Jiang Mo took great effort to stuff the bowl of ill-fated braised pork rice into his mouth. He chewed the half-heated meat oil, frowned, and took another big mouthful before putting it back in the microwave. He turned his head to look at the unfinished projection playback in the living room, and imitated the commentator's tone, congratulating cheerfully: "Oh, by the way, congratulations to DRG for successfully obtaining a ticket to the playoffs finals."

Shao Jie was stunned for a few seconds: "Are you watching the replay?"

"Winning in a dangerous situation is indeed not easy." Jiang Mo squinted his eyes and looked at Jiang Weili who was retreating out of the spotlight on the TV screen. He raised his eyebrows and curled his lips. "But it's mainly to listen to the sound. I haven't played the game before, so I don't really understand it."

Shao Jie obviously heard the hidden meaning in Jiang Mo's words, and he didn't intend to cause trouble for Officer Jiang who was busy all day. "Anyway, the first game was a victory, and Jiang Weili was forced to take a step back on the court. At least, the next thing can be postponed until the off-season."

Jiang Mo didn't let him brush it off lightly. He bit the tip of his chopsticks and glanced at the microwave with two minds focused: "Have you talked to Jiang Weili? When do you plan to report the match-fixing and gambling-related incident to the Municipal Bureau of Criminal Investigation? I can open a green channel for you." "...It will probably take some time. It's hard to get clues about the boss behind Jiang Weili. And--" Shao Jie paused and hesitated for half a second, "I took some of Jiang Weili's account details and exchanged them for a clue with him, and promised him not to report it for the time being..."

"All is fair in war. If we keep Jiang Weili, we can move others." Jiang Mo held the hot takeaway lunch box in his hands and put it on the table. He twisted his ears because of the heat: "Agreeing to these nonsense things... is it because of your ex? Or the former teammate with a broken arm?"

"Shen Yu'an is my former partner. You can't be so frugal... This time it was mainly because of Tao Fang. His wrist injury was not entirely caused by Jiang Weili and his gang. There was someone else who instructed him at the time. However, Tao Fang was in so much pain that he almost fainted, and he has never been able to grasp the specific situation. I... still want to help him find the real culprit of the intentional injury."

"I will report Jiang Weili's case to Officer Jiang as soon as it is confirmed, but let's not talk about him today. It's rare that you have time to rest. I'm annoyed even if you don't mind..." Shao Jie lowered his voice slightly, turned his head and glanced at Wen Xi and Li Zechuan who were tiptoeing and trying to get close to eavesdrop, and reluctantly changed the subject: "I estimate that after the finals... until the offseason before preparing for the mid-season game, I should be able to take a few days off. If you can't understand the game, if you have time after finishing this case, I can teach you how to play the game, right? One-on-one teaching, guaranteed to teach you until you can do it - but I'm quite expensive, I have to charge tuition fees."

"Still charging a fee?" Jiang Mo refused mercilessly: "Then I won't learn it."

"Don't...don't, give me some face."

"I can give you face." Jiang Mo snorted and laughed softly, "What's the benefit?"

Shao Jie suddenly realized that it was a waste of time to stir up trouble with a policeman who had to fight wits and courage with criminal suspects all day long. He said a few words to get himself involved, then looked around and saw Tao Fang waving at the group of people who were dawdling to hurry over to the group interview room to prepare for the interview. He raised his chin and nodded his phone as if to signal Manager Xu who was blocking the door, then turned his head and ignored the curse that was about to come out of Xu Muyang's mouth, and slowed down his steps.

"These few days, things really happened suddenly, and I was unable to remind you on time and at the right place. Officer Jiang, while protecting the people and tracking down criminals, please be sure to pay attention to your own safety. Don't forget that there are people here who are longing to meet you. Last time, I went out to compete for a few days and I didn't show my presence. You were so busy that you almost forgot about me. This time, you can't do that. I am a person of status. Officer Jiang, please don't spread your charm around casually. What if someone remembers you? If they really run away with them, I can't beat them. Who can I cry to then..."

Jiang Mo coughed and chewed the broken and dry eggs: "Did Xiao Letian make some irrelevant reports again?"

"Look, you feel guilty!"

Jiang Mo sighed, thought for a while, and slammed the table: "Liang Ji, right? Did he tell Xu Muyang about me taking Mi Lu to his suburban sanatorium to investigate and collect evidence?"

"Because Mr. Liang's hospital signed a batch of medical equipment from Manager Xu's company, the two of them had conflicting opinions, and they started arguing while holding a video call on the way to the venue. When he saw everyone getting off the car, he suddenly called me and said a few inexplicable words." Shao Jie frowned after a few words, mentioned it briefly, and tilted his head with mixed doubt and belief.

"You'd better be more careful. Liang Ji's attention to you... seems a little strange."

Due to work and health reasons, I will be working on another day~
"I just say this now, the gardenia smells sweet when the plums are ripe."