Yin Wuwang listened quietly from the side.
He noticed something—when Xiao Zhou described these things, there was no "sharing gossip" excitement in his manner. Instead, his tone carried a thread of uncertainty and caution, as if he was carefully describing exactly what he'd seen without daring to add any judgment.
That meant he had respect for Chen Wan. He didn't want to speak ill of him after his death.
"What happened after the fight?" Xie Qingyan asked.
"Miss Xu left. Left in a hurry, eyes all red." Xiao Zhou said. "And then the next day—this really stuck with me—Miss Xu came again. Still sat in the VIP room. Brother Chen still went in to keep her company."
"Like nothing had happened?"
"Like nothing had happened." Xiao Zhou shook his head. "I couldn't figure out their relationship."
Yin Wuwang could figure it out.
Or rather—he had a preliminary judgment. The patterns were there: a woman who came regularly, who got special treatment, who fought with Chen Wan but came back the next day like nothing happened. In the cultivation world, he'd seen this dynamic a thousand times—not between lovers, but between people bound by something deeper than romance. Obligation. Guilt. Debt.
But now wasn't the time to say it.
Xie Qingyan switched directions.
"Besides Xu Ruolin, were there other regulars who were close to Chen Wan?"
Xiao Zhou thought about it. "Other regulars... just the normal kind. A few old customers who came for a drink or two each week, chatted with Brother Chen a bit, nothing particularly close."
"Female customers?"
"Plenty of female customers. Brother Chen was good-looking—lots of girls came just for him." Xiao Zhou smiled, a knowing look crossing his face. "But Brother Chen never flirted with customers. Never. Some of the girls would try pretty hard, too—leaving their numbers, asking what time he got off work. He'd just smile and change the subject. Very smooth about it, never made anyone feel rejected, but also never gave anyone hope."
He paused, seeming to think of something.
"Actually, that's one of the reasons I noticed Miss Xu was different. She was the only woman Brother Chen ever... paid attention to? Like actually paid attention to, not just the customer service kind."
Xie Qingyan nodded, glancing at the list in his notebook.
"What about other bar employees? The ones you mentioned last time—servers, cashier, cleaning—was any of them close to Chen Wan?"
"Employees..." Xiao Zhou blinked. "The servers are all part-timers, come and go, not really close with Brother Chen. The cashier is Old Sun's wife—just comes in to settle accounts and leaves."
"What about cleaning?"
Yin Wuwang noticed that when Xie Qingyan asked this question, his tone was exactly the same as before—no emphasis, no hint. If Yin Wuwang hadn't known what he was thinking, he wouldn't have detected any special weight to the question.
The Sword Sovereign's interrogation style. Bury the question you actually care about in a string of innocuous questions, so the subject answers without their guard up.
"Cleaning—that's Sister Li." Xiao Zhou's tone suddenly relaxed considerably. "Li Jing. She's really nice."
They already knew the basics from the daytime visit—Saturday and Sunday mornings, Morning Light Cleaning. What they needed now was the relationship angle.
"Was she close to Chen Wan?"
"Wouldn't say particularly close. But Brother Chen was polite to her." Xiao Zhou thought about it. "Once I came in early and saw Brother Chen helping Sister Li carry a box of cleaning supplies. Sister Li was startled, kept saying no need, no need. Brother Chen just smiled and said 'This is too heavy for you to carry.'"
His expression turned a bit wistful as he said this.
"That's the kind of person Brother Chen was. Good to everyone. Whether you were a VIP customer or the cleaning lady, he treated you the same."
Yin Wuwang filed away this new detail—the interaction between Chen Wan and Li Jing. Polite but not close. Nothing suspicious on the surface. But "nothing suspicious" was exactly why she'd caught his attention in the first place.
Xie Qingyan finished asking what needed to be asked and closed his notebook.
Yin Wuwang took the opportunity to prop his elbow on the bar counter very naturally, shifting slightly—this posture shortened the distance between him and Xie Qingyan from "colleagues" to "couple." Not deliberate, but if anyone was watching, they'd think these two were standing very close, very natural, very comfortable.
Business mode.
Xiao Zhou obviously noticed. His gaze lingered for a second on that shortened distance between them, the corner of his mouth quirking up.
"Officer Jiang, how long have you two been together?" He asked casually while wiping a glass.
"Two years." Yin Wuwang answered without hesitation.
"No wonder. You can tell." Xiao Zhou placed the glass on the rack. "That kind of... how do I put it, chemistry. When you talk, Officer Jiang, you shift half a step to the side. When Dr. Shen takes notes, you block other customers' line of sight for him. You can't fake that stuff."
Yin Wuwang's brain spun rapidly for a moment.
Those actions Xiao Zhou mentioned—shifting half a step, blocking the line of sight—he had indeed done them just now. But not as part of the act. It was unconscious.
He shelved this question temporarily.
"I'm just a bartender; I see everything." Xiao Zhou smiled and shook his head, then his tone shifted slightly, taking on a layer of emotion. "Brother Chen was actually the same way. When he was good to people around him, it was that kind of—never saying it out loud, but doing everything. Always watching out for others without making a big deal of it."
He lowered his head to wipe the counter.
"Too bad no one could help him in the end."
That sentence fell into the warm yellow light, softer than the jazz melody.
Yin Wuwang glanced at Xie Qingyan. Xie Qingyan's expression hadn't changed, but his fingers gripping the pen tightened slightly.
He'd heard it. And he'd remember it.
[End of V2_Chapter 37]
Next: Miss Xu vanishes during the week of the murder, and a question that goes unfinished in the car.