Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 133

Although tempting, Lu Xu’s suggestion was obviously not taken into account.

Xing Conglian frowned and asked Lu Xu, “How can you not know who the customer who placed the order is?”

“Because now, customers all use their phone apps to place orders!” Lu Xu’s tone was inscrutable. “Rich people like to play like this, you know?”

“What do you mean by phone apps?” Xing Conglian asked calmly, as if he really didn’t understand the inner workings, but Lin Chen knew Xing Conglian was as excited as he was now.

Because if Li Jingtian had used his own phone to place the order, then there must be some records of it on his phone, and Wang Chao had gone through that phone because his Weibo account was “hacked”.

Since it was Wang Chao, naturally, there was an absolute possibility that he secretly backed up Li Jingtian’s phone data and usage.

“It means the customer uses their phone to order, and then a text message will be sent to my phone, telling me what kind of girl and which room to send her to. Isn’t this safe? It is said that when the guest departs, arrangements will be made to avoid meeting. Rich people love to do such nasty things all day long, so naturally they would pay attention to personal privacy, especially when they’re shameless.”

Xing Conglian nodded and called Wang Chao. After explaining the situation, Wang Chao asked him something, to which Xing Conglian turned back and asked Lu Xu, “Do you have that ordering software on your phone?”

Lu Xu sighed and said regretfully, “How can I have it? This is a treatment that can only be enjoyed by members who have paid a certain amount of dues and are very trustworthy. I hear that if the client isn’t satisfied after the order, they can leave a bad review and the lady who served them will have her salary deducted. That’s what I’ve been told anyway.”

“Truly keeping up with the times. Copy your text messages and send them to me later,” Xing Conglian said coldly to Lu Xu. He then asked Wang Chao to meet in the basement and hung up the phone.

Xing Conglian sighed regretfully and quickly switched topics, asking, “Do you know where Mu Zhuo is?”

Lu Xu didn’t react for a moment. “Who are you talking about? I don’t seem to have a lady under me named Mu… What?”

“Mu Zhuo.” Xing Conglian pointed to the advertisement on the large LED screen in the commercial plaza opposite of the building they were in. The image of a young man roaring on stage flashed away. “Is he here?”

“Oh him.” Lu Xu’s eyes lit up. “Ah, Mu Zhuo should be in Tianqing Lake on the outskirts of the city right now. Isn’t the Watermelon Music Festival coming up? He’s probably rehearsing there. Why are you looking for Mu Zhuo? Is it possible he’s also one of the guests?”

Lu Xu thought about it for a while.

“Why are you talking so much?” Xing Conglian walked out the door, hooked his finger at Lu Xu, and motioned for him to come out with him.

Lin Chen put down his coffee cup and stood up from the sofa.

When they walked out of the office, there was an instant change. Xing Conglian and Lu Xu seemed like good friends. Xing Conglian hooked his arms around Lu Xu’s shoulders as he faced the concerned eyes staring at the office. Lu Xu had to smirk, as if he were having a normal conversation with the police, and the events of being tortured to extract a confession and almost being shoved out the window never happened.

When they reached the elevator entrance, Xing Conglian shook Lu Xu’s hand and said, “I really appreciate Manager Li’s strong cooperation with our police work. If everyone could actively provide clues to the police like you, then our work would be so much easier.”

“Of course, of course.” Lu Xu finally noticed Xing Conglian’s abnormal attitude. He wanted to withdraw his hand but was still dragged into the elevator by Xing Conglian.

Lin Chen silently followed them.

After the elevator door closed, Xing Conglian instantly changed his expression. He let go of Lu Xu’s hand and wiped it on the neckline of his shirt. “Mr. Lu, look. If something happens to Royal One, will everyone suspect that you’re a mole?” After asking, he took the liberty to answer for him. “I think this is very likely.”

Just when Lu Xu thought everything would pass, he was so frightened his legs went limp again. “Captain Xing, what do you want? I told you everything you wanted to know!”

“Borrow your car to take it out for a spin,” Xing Conglian said casually.

“What?”

The elevator door opened with a ding, allowing the cool air of the parking lot to rush to their faces.

Wang Chao was at the elevator entrance, like an ant on a hot pan*. Seeing them, the teenager said anxiously, “Captain, Captain! Big news!”

*(热锅上的蚂蚁) Idiom describing the appearance of irritability, anxiety, and restlessness.

Xing Conglian raised his chin to Lu Xu and motioned for the other party to lead the way to the car, then asked Wang Chao, “What?”

“Li Jingtian bought a flight leaving Yongchuan at 15:30 to Xinni. He’s going to run away!”

“I know.”

“How do you know? How?!”

“Are you the only one who can surf the internet? There are only two flights a day from Yongchuan to Xinni. One at 9:50 and the other at 15:30 in the afternoon. Of course, I want him to leave during this period.”

Wang Chao turned his head and looked at Xing Conglian in disbelief. “I thought you were just talking about letting him go. What should we do now? Li Jingtian will leave in 6 hours!”

“Naturally, during this time period, we need to find key evidence to convict Li Jingtian.” Xing Conglian spoke nonchalantly.

While talking, they had already reached Lu Xu’s car.

Lu Xu drove a Mercedes-Benz S200. When Xing Conglian saw the car, he let out a “huh” in surprise.

Lu Xu was about to habitually sit in the driver’s seat when Xing Conglian patted him on the shoulder and motioned for him and Wang Chao to sit in the backseat.

Wang Chao showed a look of great reluctance, but under Xing Conglian’s gaze, he could only squeeze into the back seat with Mr. Lu, who was over 200 kg.

Lin Chen fastened the seatbelt on the front seat and heard Wang Chao shout from the back, “Captain, you still need to adjust for the time to get back to Yongchuan. If my math is right, that means we actually only have four and a half hours left to find evidence!”

Xing Conglian was fumbling with the Mercedes-Benz driving system, looking quite interested in the luxury car. “Mr. Wang…” He suddenly backed the car out of the parking space and slammed on the gas pedal.

“What?”

“What’s the situation on the internet now?” Xing Conglian wasn’t following Wang Chao’s line of thinking at all.

“Isn’t it still crazy from yesterday to today?” Wang Chao leaned towards the door on the other side and insisted on keeping his distance from Lu Xu.

Although the speed at which the car was going was a bit crazy and there was a time limit, Xing Conglian was still calm and relaxed. He rolled down the car window, lit a cigarette, and said to Wang Chao, “When you report to your boss, it’s best to be specific.”

“I—I—” Wang Chao suddenly blushed and quickly admitted his mistake. “Sorry, Captain. So far in 20 minutes, the ‘Report on the Xu Ran incident’ has received 3,000+ retweets and 700+ comments. Online comments are still roughly divided into two factions. Although there are signs of an increase in netizens who suspect that there’s something wrong with Li Jingtian, they are still overwhelmed by the vast number of fan comments. Li Jingtian’s fans are organized and planned to get people to give praise and attention to any comments that support Li Jingtian, pushing them to the forefront. They also are saying Xu Ran’s death was completely an accident during the police pursuit of a suspect and has nothing to do with the behavior of the fans… and…” Wang Chao paused for a moment before hesitating to speak.

“And what?” Xing Conglian asked impatiently.

“And, the hot comments are all conspiracy theories saying someone ordered the police to frame their idol and that the police are instructing others to target Li Jingtian all along.”

“Huh, the eyes of onlookers are indeed discerning.” Xing Conglian lamented.

Although Wang Chao was only summarizing, the online remarks would obviously be more heated than what he summed up. Of course, fans would continue to bite others in order to protect their idol, and they have less than six hours.

Lu Xu pulled on his seatbelt, looked at the scenery outside the elevated road, and suddenly said, “Captain, this road is going to Tianqing Lake. You—you just asked me where Mu Zhuo is. Are you really going to search for him?”

“Why? Does Mr. Lu have any objections?”

“I wouldn’t dare!”

Lin Chen raised his eyes and looked at the rearview mirror to where Lu Xu was sitting with an uncertain gaze.

“Mr. Lu, do you have any other clues that you want to provide to the police?” Lin Chen suddenly asked.

“Oh, it’s not that I have a clue. I’m just worried about the captain!” Lu Xu leaned forward and said very doggedly, “Based on what I just heard, you plan to fight with Li Jingtian. In this case, if you go to Mu Zhuo, CA Entertainment may not be happy about it…”

Xing Conglian held his cigarette and asked with a smile, “Whether they are happy or not, what does that have to do with me?”

“This… still has something to do with you.” Lu Xu acted like a loyal dog. “CA Entertainment isn’t like other entertainment companies. In fact, compared to them, CA Entertainment is much more powerful.”

“Mr. Lu, can you please speak clearly?” Xing Conglian dusted off the soot from his cigarette as he asked.

“CA is a veteran in the entertainment empire. For an entertainment company, what they are known for best is to make stars, right?” Lu Xu swallowed and continued, “But what is the essence of making a star? Isn’t it spreading layers upon layers of communication? Let a person or thing become popular—even the bad ones can be good for you. And CA is best at hyping and manipulating public opinion, and they have a very good relationship with the media that they could make an ugly monster reach the top 100 voted most handsome male stars. If you want to go head-to-head with CA, that’s like hitting a stone with an egg*.”

*(以卵击石) Metaphor for underestimating one’s own strength leading to self-destruction.

“They’re that powerful?” Xing Conglian seemed to have thought of something as he replied casually.

“More than that. Didn’t you just say that those fans on the internet are desperately attacking the police… CA must be involved. I know, you have been investigating Xu Ran’s case, but honestly, a beast like Li Jingtian can be whitewashed*, like now. See, his fans are still loyal to him. Isn’t it quite amazing the efforts that CA has put in?” When he said the worst beast, Lu Xu gritted his teeth.

*In terms of the entertainment industry, whitewashing is deliberately misleading people in various ways, causing them to forget a celebrity’s bad past.

“According to Mr. Lu, CA Entertainment is really scary,” Xing Conglian said.

In fact, from the start, a large-scale cleansing of online public opinion on the Li Jingtian incident wasn’t something an individual could do. It wasn’t surprising that there was a large company behind it.

Suddenly, Lin Chen heard Xing Conglian ask, “Consultant Lin, can someone who confounds black and white* remain invincible in public opinion forever?”

*(颠倒黑白) Metaphor for distorting facts and confuses right and wrong. 

Lin Chen thought for a bit and replied, “This involves the issue of communication. Although in theory, there’s no possibility of manipulating every public opinion by 100%, it’s still possible to guarantee an approval rating of more than 70% if done properly.”

“Then wouldn’t this be a good time for us to find Mu Zho?”

“Indeed,” Lin Chen replied.

“Why?”

The person who asked was Wang Chao, so Lin Chen answered patiently. “The reason is simple. Now that Li Jingtian is planning to leave China, either Li Jingtian or CA Entertainment will have to find a proper reason for this matter in order to avoid looking guilty. From current online public opinion, the reason is probably us.”

“What do you mean, A’Chen? What’s wrong with us?”

“Let’s find Mu Zhuo and ask about Song Shengsheng. If I were CA Entertainment, I would probably realize that we have hit a dead end regarding Xu Ran’s case, so we now want to overturn an old case and crucify Li Jingtian. For this kind of established entertainment company, how can such a good opportunity not be used?”

“’Hongjing police persecuted a well-known singer in Xinni. The singer was forced to return to his country after being overwhelmed by humiliation’. Mr. Wang, what do you think of this headline?” Xing Conglian added another knife.

Wang Chao took a deep breath. “Fuck, shameless!”

“Cut the crap.” Xing Conglian pressed out the cigarette butt and solemnly asked, “What about the ‘ordering’ software? Is there any trace of usage on Li Jingtian’s phone?”

Wang Chao frowned and shook his head. “There may be traces of installation and deletion, but I still don’t know. If Li Jingtian’s phone is in my hands, I can restore the data, but I don’t have it.”

He looked annoyed, as if he wished he could travel back a day ago. If he could have completely restored the data on Li Jingtian’s phone at that time, they would probably be sitting in the police station drinking tea underneath the blowing air conditioning by now.

But perhaps there was some unknown reason that made them have to see Mu Zhuo, and this in itself was Xu Ran’s wish.

……

In fact, before meeting Mu Zhuo, Lin Chen still didn’t understand the meaning of such an arrangement.

The time was 9:10 a.m. on May 7^th and the location was on the outskirts of Fengchun, on the banks of Tianqing Lake.

Because of the music festival, a magnificent steel stage was built on the vast grassland by the lake. From a distance, there was an inexplicable sense of awe.

There were music fans stationed on the grass who had come to camp early. They had set up an outing. Some were playing cards, others were chatting, and some were heavily asleep, most likely hungover, but most people in the venue were happy men and women. They were laughing or singing and dancing for self-entertainment, making it seem like this place had become paradise.

There were also some small booths that were selling souvenirs outside the venue. Because it wasn’t time for the performance, the booths selling support gear were half-closed.

Wang Chao walked there curiously and stood in front of a booth. He looked up at the two cartoon characters hugging each other printed on the banner and then became dumbfounded.

Lin Chen also raised his head. If he guessed correctly, the two villains hugging each other are Li Jingtian and Mu Zhuo. In addition, the cartoon avatars were encircled by a heart, and the words “T&M” and “Forever Illi” were marked at the bottom. Although they didn’t know much about current pop culture, it was obvious that this should be something like a fan CP*.

*Couple. You can think of them as “shippers” who pair up two people (usually celebrities or fictional characters) whom they imagine are in a relationship.

“What the hell? Didn’t Illi dissolve long ago?” Wang Chao asked incredulously. “Is this Mu Zhuo’s and Li Jingtian’s gay booth?”

Lin Chen didn’t have time to cover the teenager’s mouth.

A girl who was dozing off in the booth heard this and suddenly woke up. She glared at them with a strange look.

“Sorry.” Lin Chen nodded to the other party and apologized.

He wanted to pull Wang Chao away, but the girl in the booth jumped up excitedly and shouted, “Wait!”

Wang Chao looked strangely back and saw the girl pick up a brochure at the booth, run up to them, and stuff it into his hands. “Young man, you have a good eye. I’ll give this to you. I hope you study hard!”

After the girl finished speaking, she patted Wang Chao on the shoulder.

It was probably the first time he met someone who was more into 2D than himself. The strangeness in his eyes turned into horror. He looked down at the brochure in his hand, neither tossing it nor reading it.

“Hey, what’s that?” Xing Conglian casually took the brochure from Wang Chao and then flipped through a few pages. Sure enough, his eyes also changed. “What kind of relationship do Mu Zhuo and Li Jingtian have?” he asked.

“Isn’t it cute! So cute! Isn’t TianMu so cute*?!” The girl jumped up and asked enthusiastically.

*Clarity: She’s saying isn’t it meng (moe). TianMu = Li Jingtian x Mu Zhuo.

“Of course it’s cute.” Xing Conglian didn’t even know what “TianMu” was, but he lied smoothly.

“Ah, you’re the legendary Uncle Fan.” Upon hearing this, the little girl happily grabbed Xing Conglian’s hand and didn’t let go.

“Yeah, he has liked these two for a long time, since they were in Illi,” Lin Chen seriously lied for Xing Conglian.

“Oh my, you still like Illi. That’s great! It’s really rare to see such a discerning straight guy! Well, this year is Illi’s 10^th anniversary, so maybe we can still expect Jingtian and A’Mu to make a comeback on the same stage, but now that Jingtian is in such big trouble, they may not have the opportunity to go on stage together again. It’s a pity.”

The little girl chattered nonstop. From her words, Lin Chen knew that Mu Zhuo and Li Jingtian had a very good relationship and often went out together, especially after Mu Zhuo was sexually assaulted by Song Shengsheng. Li Jingtian gave him great support. Their friendship had thus been maintained to the present.

Naturally, the public liked this kind of story about relying on and supporting each other to overcome difficulties together. This also made the fan groups of Li Jingtian and Mu Zhuo overlap a lot because their popularity complemented each other. Although the group disbanded, their performances after flying solo were much better than when they debuted.

Listening to what the fan was saying was far more useful than looking for hours of information elsewhere.

“It seems that CA is quite powerful. It’s rare for individuals to develop so well after their group disbanded.” Xing Conglian was dragged by the little girl for a long time before he finally managed to break free. He yawned and looked around. On the empty stage, there were only sporadic staffers debugging equipment. “Mu Zhuo is really dedicated. Didn’t he perform late yesterday and now he’s rehearsing?”

“This is what makes CA so great. Artists have the same working hours as employees and they need to be strictly followed,” Lu Xu said.

Xing Conglian smiled. “A company with strict rules—we generally call them a criminal syndicate.”

Lu Xu only nodded and smiled bitterly.

“Then please tell Mr. Lu, where are we going to find Mu Zhuo?”

“You’re too polite. What are you talking about?” Lu Xu hurriedly answered. “I’ve already called ahead and asked about it. Mu Zhuo is backstage right now, but there’ll be rehearsal soon.”

Before his voice fell, the lights on stage in the distance began to change, and after a cluster of violent, intense flashing lights, a person who they had only seen in advertisements so far suddenly appeared on stage.

Mu Zhuo was nearly 30, but he still looked like a young man. He had blond hair and a tender face. Although he was wearing plain clothes, he had infinite charm when he was holding the microphone.

The sound wasn’t turned on, so Mu Zhuo just walked around holding the microphone with his backup dancers. On the huge, elevated stage, he was as small as an ant, but such a small ant seemed to cast a spell over the audience.

The fans on the lawn also noticed him on stage and started cheering. Even if they couldn’t hear any sound, they were as excited as if they were listening to a real concert.

From start to finish, the cheers swept across the lawn without pause.

At the end of the rehearsal, Mu Zhuo stood panting on stage. The weather was hot, and he was sweating profusely. He seemed a little tired. At this moment, Mu Zhuo’s hand couldn’t help but grip the microphone tightly. Then, his finger began to gently scratch on the microphone’s non-slip sleeve, again and again. After a certain moment, he couldn’t help but close his eyes.

Mu Zhuo’s action was very brief, but Lin Chen saw all this clearly. He looked at Xing Conglian, and like countless times of tacit understanding, Xing Conglian was also looking at him.

“What’s wrong with this?” Xing Conglian asked.

For a while, Lin Chen couldn’t answer Xing Conglian’s question, but the scene in front of him reminded him of many things. “Did Wang Chao bring a bug?” He suddenly asked Xing Conglian rhetorically.

When they looked at the stage again, Mu Zhuo was already laughing and joking with the dancers as he walked down the steps. When he was with his dancers, he didn’t have any celebrity status and was acting as if he were the normal boy-next-door.

Although they had previously lamented how powerful CA Entertainment was, seeing the stars from CA revealed how strict and regular their training system was. Even Li Jingtian or Mu Zhuo were really different from those high-strung little stars.

Furthermore, such a system was evident not only in artist training but also in internal management.

Backstage security was extremely strict. If they didn’t have a “traitor” like Lu Xu, it would have taken a lot of effort for them to see Mu Zhuo.

Mu Zhuo looked like he was in excellent spirits. He had a ruddy complexion. He was drinking water at the moment after he just got off the stage. When he saw them enter his dressing room, he even winked at them.

“Manager Li?” Mu Zhuo politely put down the water cup and greeted Lu Xu. “You had free time to come here?”

Although Mu Zhuo responded well, the attitude of the manager in the lounge wasn’t as polite. “Manager Li, isn’t it clearly stated in the company’s regulations that you shouldn’t bring strangers casually in and out of the backstage?”

Unphased, since Lu Xu was a veteran at dealing with this kind of manager, he said, “What’s with your attitude? See these three? They are all police officers and came to Mu Zhuo to ask some questions.”

“What questions?” The manager instantly became vigilant.

It was probably because the role of a manger was like a lioness protecting her calf. Whether it was Liu Ying or Mu Zhuo’s manager, after hearing their identities, they stopped in front of Mu Zhuo and told them to leave immediately.

“I want to ask Mr. Mu Zhuo something about Mr. Li Jingtian.”

Lin Chen took a step forward, raised his eyes, and took a close look at this flamboyant and unbridled rock and roll youth.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 132

It was no wonder that Lu Xu didn’t have any record of his identity for four years. Because, after he was released from prison, his name was no longer Lu Xu.

Lin Chen guessed that Xing Conglian had already figured things out by having Wang Chao wait downstairs, but his face was like usual. Before entering the general manager’s office, he took a roll of plastic tape from the secretary’s desk by the door.

The office was indeed empty.

Xing Conglian seemed to have expected this. He slammed the door and locked it, ignoring the shouts of the secretary outside.

At the moment when the office door was slammed shut, there was a brief silence, followed by the subtle sounds that echoed in the office.

Lin Chen looked around, and his eyes fell from the half-open glass window to the wine cabinet at the corner of the office, and finally landed on the European-style leather sofa on the other side of the room.

In fact, people like Li Gaoqiang or Lu Xu weren’t particularly smart, but they had rich life experiences. They lived in the dirtiest pit of society and were best at veiled compliance. In order to survive, they have done many ugly things in the world.

And, because they spent so long in the pit, they often mastered strong survival skills and could live well.

However, if their opponent was Xing Conglian, even foresight wouldn’t be enough.

Lin Chen walked to the wine cabinet and made himself a cup of hot coffee. He stirred in some sugar cubes with a small silver spoon, and then sat down on the leather sofa.

Xing Conglian turned around the office for half a circle. When he walked to the data cabinet, he kicked the iron door.

After a loud noise, a sibilant sound came from inside the cabinet.

“Come out,” Xing Conglian said lightly.

The door of the data cabinet opened abruptly, and a fat man rolled up like a small mountain and was lying on his back on the ground.

Sure enough, it was Lu Xu.

There were bruises and swelling on Lu Xu’s mouth and nose. He repeated the same trick and directly hugged Xing Conglian’s thigh and began to cry. “Captain Xing, I really didn’t know your true identity yesterday, so I did some bad things. Adults don’t really care about such small trifles. Please forgive me!”

Lin Chen took a sip of his coffee.

“Raise your head,” Xing Conglian said faintly.

Lu Xu raised his head obediently. His entire face looked like a mangy dog. As he looked up, he blinked nervously, as if his mouth would never snap back.

Xing Conglian took out the tape and easily sealed Lu Xu’s mouth.

Lu Xu opened his eyes abruptly, completely unaware of what was going on. He screamed twice, and then, seemingly like in those classic cop dramas, he widened his eyes and showed real fear in them. However, Xing Conglian didn’t have the mind to care about this. Before Lu Xu could reach out and tear off the tape, Xing Conglian had used a beautiful grappling technique to hold him back and drag the middle-aged man towards the window.

What happened next was somewhat frightening.

Xing Conglian first pushed the glass window that was on the 25^th floor a little higher, then lifted Mr. Lu Xu and pressed him out the window.

In fact, this wasn’t really a dangerous action since, due to Mr. Lu Xu’s physical attributes, he really couldn’t fall out of the window. However, with the high-rise roaring wind pounding against him like a knife and the blaring honking noises from below, once he looked down, against all reason, it gave him the illusion that he would plummet 25 stories down.

Lu Xu struggled fiercely, slamming his body against the edge of the window, but Xing Conglian’s hand held him firm.

“Mr. Lu,” Xing Conglian got close to his ears and whispered. “Whether you believe it or not, even if I really push you out today, I’ll only sit in jail for a few years at most, but in your situation, you’ll certainly die.”

Naturally, to deal with a hob, they had to be ruthless. Lin Chen took another sip of his coffee.

Lu Xu shouted something and then nodded desperately. Finally, as if the window outside had blown enough, Xing Conglian let go, and Lu Xu fluttered to the floor.

He shivered, and his face was as white as a sheet of rice paper. He was so terrified that he couldn’t even make those disgusting groveling gestures.

Lin Chen glanced at Xing Conglian.

Xing Conglian squatted down and patted Lu Xu on the shoulder and said politely, “What I ask, you answer, just like the game you played last time.”

Lu Xu nodded his head fiercely as if he were pounding garlic. Xing Conglian stretched out his hand and took off the tape. Lu Xu panted suddenly and didn’t even dare to scream.

Xing Conglian took out his phone and started to read something.

“Three weeks ago, on the evening of April 15^th, as Li Gaoqiang, you spent a total of 184,115 yuan using a credit card at the club named Royal One. May I ask if this credit card consumption was used to pay for all the entertainment consumption activities of CA Entertainment artists and employees at Royal One that night?”

Lu Xu kept his mouth shut. At this moment, all he would do was nod his head, as if he had lost his ability to speak.

“Was any money used to pay for sex services provided by Royal One?”

Lu Xu’s eyes rolled in half a circle, and he hesitated. “This…”

“Yes or no. Got it, Mr. Lu?”

“It was all normal alcohol consumption. You have to believe me. Although you know my background, our company…”

Lin Chen finally put the white porcelain cup down on the coffee table. He leaned forward slightly, staring at the fat face on the ground not far away, and said to Xing Conglian, “The answers just now are all lies.”

Xing Conglian shrugged and, without saying a word, pulled Lu Xu up and dragged him back to the window. Lu Xu was so scared that he hugged Xing Conglian’s waist and refused to let go.

Xing Conglian said with annoyance, “I say Mr. Lu, can you stop taking advantage of me?”

Lu Xu hurriedly let go, extremely frightened. He limped to the ground and no longer had any devious thoughts. “It’s… Actually, it’s not… The money wasn’t paid by CA Entertainment…”

Hearing this, Xing Conglian was quite surprised.

“What do you mean?” Xing Conglian asked.

“That… That CA…” Lu Xu looked up at Xing Conglian cautiously and said wretchedly, “It’s little artists from CA, sell… money from selling.”

Xing Conglian tugged at his ears and asked incredulously, “Money from selling?”

“Sell—selling their asses.”

In a rare moment, Lin Chen was also surprised. He looked at Xing Conglian and saw him point at the fat man who was spread out on the ground as he asked him, “Is there something wrong with my hearing?”

“No?”

“What the hell is going on?” Xing Conglian said as he irritably kicked Lu Xu. “Speak clearly.”

“You see, it’s the unspoken rule of the industry. In such a big entertainment company, there are dozens of men and women, and there are those who don’t want to work hard but still want to get ahead, so of course…” Lu Xu shivered. The thumbs on his hands did a kissing motion. “There are some trainees who are resourceful. They can make a little money and get to know a big boss. It’s a win-win. But this isn’t rape. We’re not forcing them since they are willing to do it, really.”

Lu Xu finished.

What he meant was that he was actually introducing CA artists to provide sexual services to Royal One’s customers while earning an intermediary service fee.

Lin Chen felt that his worldview was a little shaken.

Although he had heard of the unspoken rules inside the industry, those things were far from his life. Even if he had seen breaking news about a certain artist being caught at a hotel in newspapers and on TV, it was just a flash of news that didn’t affect his reality, making it seem unreal.

In short, it was probably because the entertainment industry was too glamorous that it separated itself from normal life with an unbreakable film.

On one side of the film were the stars, and on the other side were people watching the drama.

But now, because of this whole case, they seem to have gradually touched the other world. Although they couldn’t break the membrane, they had touched strange things in it.

Xing Conglian’s reaction was faster. “Mr. Lu sure is busy. It’s not easy matching both ends every night, right?”

“It’s not about making a living,” Lu Xu laughed.

But even if Lu Xu was the matchmaker for both ends, why was this so-called prostitution fund paid by Lu Xu to the club?

“What’s the relationship between CA Entertainment and Royal One. Is it a subsidiary of the same company?” Xing Conglian asked.

“This, how can we match CA? They are a large multinational company that’s particularly successful in the entertainment industry. Compared to them, we’re just a small business here. It’s a matter of mutual benefit. Who doesn’t do it?”

“Why are you paying for it?”

“You see, this is actually an account. I don’t know how you found it. If CA directly pays Royal One, won’t it be obvious what’s going on? I’m a middleman. The bosses give me the money, I transfer it there, and then it gets transferred to someone else. The water runs deep. I can go undercover for you if you really want me to look into it.”

Perhaps seeing Xing Conglian suddenly had a good attitude, Lu Xu became weaselly again.

Xing Conglian glanced at him and said, “Financial crimes are not my responsibility.”

“I know you’re here because of Xu Ran’s case. I deserve my bad luck in Xu Ran’s matter. You shouldn’t have asked about Xu Ran. I really didn’t betray you last night.”

Xing Conglian was still polite. “Then I violated a taboo?”

“Xu Ran is a taboo.” Lu Xu got up from the ground, trying to get closer to Xing Conglian, but in the end, he supported himself at the table and didn’t dare to get up again. “Think about it. Although I’m not the boss, what’s the most important thing to a boss that opens such a big club?”

“Please enlighten us, Mr. Lu.”

“Of course, it’s the privacy of the guests!” Lu Xu shook his head as if what he was saying was profound. “You have to make your guest feel safe before others will come to spend their money, right? But Xu Ran actually went to sue a customer. This touched the bottom line. If a club can’t even protect the privacy of a customer, how can the boss keep his doors open?”

Lu Xu’s look became deeper as he fawningly looked at Xing Conglian, as if he knew everything while saying nothing.

However, Xing Conglian already had a clear idea and didn’t dwell on these details. He simply asked, “Answer me directly. Was Li Jingtian at Royal One that night?”

Lu Xu shook his head and asked with a smile, “Do you want me to answer yes or no?”

Like the wise saying, a dog can’t change eating shit*.

*(狗改不了吃屎) Idiom referring to nature is hard to change.

“Tell the truth.”

“The truth is that I really don’t know who ordered her, but if you want me to testify in court, that’s not a problem. I promise that I can lie seamlessly and help you nail that little bitch, Li Jingtian.”

Looking at Lu Xu’s cunning and oily face, Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian in disappointment and shook his head.

The reason why he shook his head was because all of Lu Xu’s reactions were saying: I’m telling the truth. I really don’t know who was waiting for Xu Ran in the room that night.

Although all clues pointed to Li Jingtian, the club had already cleared all possible evidence for the so-called business in order to protect the privacy of their guests, so they still didn’t have anything substantial that could crucify Li Jingtian.

Lin Chen suddenly felt that Lu Xu’s suggestion just now was very enticing.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 131

This was a matter of thinking about the case. Previously, they had been looking for traces of whether Xu Ran was at the crime scene. Through testing for bloodstains, fingerprints, or even footprints, it was all to prove this point. If they couldn’t find evidence, they couldn’t prove that Xu Ran was there, and since she wasn’t a criminal, the typical presumption was that she was innocent.

But this case was different. From the beginning, the emergence of online public opinion has presumed Xu Ran’s guilt. The people believed she was a criminal, which forced them to find an alibi for Xu Ran; otherwise, she would be considered guilty.

While it was hard to say, Li Jingtian had designed it almost seamlessly. With Xu Ran dead, naturally, she could no longer argue her case.

The only loophole in this was, coincidentally, Li Jingtian.

Xing Conglian slowly raised his phone and dialed the number for the trace inspection officer.

“Captain Xing, please. I really haven’t finished yet. You’re killing me here!”

Before Xing Conglian could speak, the police officer was the first to cry. His voice was a little hoarse, obvious that he had stayed up all night like them.

“There’s no need to check these things,” Xing Conglian said.

“Ah? What, can we call it a day?” The police officer asked in amazement.

“No, check for fingerprints.”

“Fingerprints where?”

“Clothes,” Xing Conglian said slowly. “Check Xu Ran’s bloody clothes.”

“Uh, Captain Xin, the fabric absorbs water so well that it’s almost impossible to find any fingerprints on it. And whose fingerprints are you looking for on Xu Ran’s clothes?”

“Xu Ran’s bloody coat has two decorative straps on the shoulders. Check to see if Li Jingtian’s fingerprints are there,” Xing Conglian stated clearly.

After a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, there was an excited shout. “I—I—I get it! Great!”

After the police officer on the other end of the line finished yelling, there was the sound of tables and chairs colliding, doors opening and closing, and echoes of running in the empty corridor. For any police officer handling a case, there was nothing more exciting than finding a clue.

Xing Conglian silently hung up and turned off the computer. His expression was calm and cold.

In the room, there was dead silence again.

Lin Chen sat next to him, only to feel mixed feelings in his heart. At this moment, he didn’t know what to say.

However, Xing Conglian was the first to speak. “Go and wake up Wang Chao.”

Lin Chen looked at him hesitantly.

Xing Conglian said, “Time is running out. We have to hurry. We’ll go to CA Entertainment to find Li Gaoqiang later and check to see whether Li Jingtian was at Royal One on the day of the incident. We’ll also meet with Mu Zhuo, who should give us an advance breakthrough in Song Shengsheng’s case.”

“An old case from nine years ago?”

“Doesn’t Consultant Lin have confidence?”

It was rare for Lin Chen to feel relieved. “How can that be?”

After he finished replying, he stood up and looked at the teenager, who was asleep on the opposite side, and said to Xing Conglian, “Carry him to the sofa and let him sleep for a while.”

Xing Conglian was taken aback for a moment, and then showed a disgusted expression, but he still walked over and picked up Wang Chao and slowly put him on the sofa.

The moment Xing Conglian withdrew his hand, Wang Chao suddenly woke up. He opened his eyes wide and looked at Xing Conglian with frightened eyes. “What the fuck, Captain?”

At that time, Xing Conglian was still holding Wang Chao in a princess carry. He quickly pulled his hand away and angrily said, “Shut up and go to sleep.”

Wang Chao groaned and fell asleep again.

Lin Chen found a coat and covered Wang Chao before walking to the teenager’s computer. Before he sat down, he heard slight snoring coming from Wang Chao.

Looking at the teenager’s soft face and long eyelashes covered by black hair, Lin Chen said to Xing Conglian, “The story from last time isn’t over yet.”

Xing Conglian quickly understood what he was referring to. It was rare that they could pick up on things that the other said in just a few words during extremely tense moments without the need for further padding. “When I arrived, half the people had been killed, and the ground was littered with corpses and blood. In a place like Africa, the temperature is relatively high, so the corpses rot quickly. Wang Chao was protected by a group of workers. At that point, a child of his age already knew the truth that people who die will no longer come back, so the first thing he asked after he saw me was: Can I no longer talk to my mother and father?”

Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian again. In an instant, he was struck by great sadness, but he didn’t regret asking about this; neither then nor now.

“How did you answer?” he asked.

“This question was too difficult to answer. If it were you, Consultant Lin, what would you say?” Xing Conglian asked rhetorically.

Lin Chen thought for a while, then replied, “I would say: Yes, but look, you can still talk.”

Xing Conglian smiled lightly as he lit a cigarette. “Consultant Lin, don’t you think your answer is too esoteric for a ten-year-old child?” He took a puff and exhaled a ring of cyan smoke. “Although your parents are dead, you’re still alive, and you’re still fortunate to be able to speak. More importantly, because you’re alive and able to speak, you have the opportunity to be heard by others—by those who are still alive. They can hear your words that tell the stories of your parents…”

Lin Chen asked, “Then what did Captain Xing say at that time?”

“Oh, I said, yeah kid, so you’re going to hang with me in the future.”

“So he obediently left with you?” Lin Chen asked in disbelief.

“Of course not at first, but then I took him to the biggest local electronics store and bought him the latest computer. Then he was convinced.” Xing Conglian acted like he was rich.

“Really?” Lin Chen asked suspiciously. “Did you really answer him like that?”

“Yeah. I have to analyze the words I say very carefully because there are things that can’t be said.” Xing Conglian coughed shamelessly.

“Did he understand?”

“Of course not. He’s stupid…” Xing Conglian sighed. When he told the story, his tone was relaxed from start to finish, as if he were talking about something irrelevant.

Lin Chen didn’t ask about what came next. He thought that would be the next part of the chapter.

He clicked on the information compiled by Wang Chao and began to look at it.

Although the dead couldn’t speak, the living still had the opportunity to tell their unfinished story for them.

……

When Xing Conglian’s phone rang again, Wang Chao woke up.

The teenager abruptly jumped up from the sofa, as if he wanted to defend his family and country with a heroic sacrifice.

Xing Conglian motioned for Wang Chao to be silent and turned his phone on speaker.

It was a tense moment. The result of the appraisal determined the direction of their subsequent investigations, and even the direction of the entire unfinished story.

“Captain Xing! No! It’s really not!”

The police officer on the other end of the line had obviously finished everything as he was panting heavily.

“What’s not?” Wang Chao couldn’t help asking.

“The two leather decorative straps of Xu Ran’s bloody clothes didn’t have Li Jingtian’s fingerprints!”

The moment he learned the truth, the air suddenly froze.

They all became silent; even the police officer on the other end of the line stopped talking. Wang Chao knew that it wasn’t appropriate to speak now.

After a while, the frozen air turned gel-like and began to flow slowly.

Li Jingtian’s fingerprints weren’t found on the decorative strap on Xu Ran’s shoulders, which proved that she wasn’t the fan that was hugged by him. This further proved she wasn’t at the fan meeting and that she wasn’t the person who slit Li Jingtian’s throat. Further, it proved she was indeed mistaken for the true culprit, and she had died innocently and tragically under the pursuit of Li Jingtian’s fans.

Although they had expected these results, the moment they found evidence to prove it, it was too sad to speak.

It was Wang Chao who finally spoke first. “Then, Xu Ran’s suspicion has been cleared, and she wasn’t at the scene?” The teenager asked with some difficulty.

Lin Chen nodded to him.

“Then what are we going to do next?” Wang Chao asked.

Even the police officer on the other end of the line said, “Captain Xing, with the results out now, what are we going to do?”

In fact, the questions they wanted to ask were all the same. Although the words and expression were different, the underlying question was, with the fingerprints clearing Xu Ran’s suspicion, what should they do with the results?

If this was an ordinary case, the police could just issue a report, but the problem was that the case report for Li Jingtian’s throat slitting case wasn’t so easy to write. First, the police hadn’t determined the true culprit, so it wasn’t appropriate to release this report’s result. It could backfire and become proof of the police’s incompetence or become a problematic position.

Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian, who was also looking at him.

“What does Consultant Lin think?”

“Release it,” Lin Chen said.

It was rare for Xing Conglian to raise the corners of his mouth. Though he was half-smiling, his eyes remained cold. He said to the police officer on the other end of the line, “I’ll notify the PR department to make an announcement. Thank you for your hard work.”

“But, Captain Xing… This!” The police officer on the other end wanted to say more, but Xing Conglian hung up.

“Captain, what the hell?!” Wang Chao still had a look of confusion. “If we release this result, what if Li Jingtian buys a plane ticket and returns back to his country?!”

“That’s why I need you to immediately monitor movements on his passport,” Lin Chen said calmly.

“What?! Why?”

“Do you think it’s just a problem between us and Li Jingtian right now?” Lin Chen asked rhetorically.

“Isn’t it?”

Lin Chen shook his head. “The question now is, who has more credibility.”

“Is it that complicated?”

“Li Jingtian is a singer who usually has a good reputation. He has many fans and is good at controlling public opinion. We have no tangible evidence to prove his crime right now, so his innocence remains high, while we, the police, have been in an embarrassing situation. Our investigation result is often scrutinized by the public, so how do we win this war of public opinion against Li Jingtian?”

“I don’t know!” Wang Chao thought for a while but was still confused. He turned around and asked, “Captain, you have a bad mind. What are you thinking?”

“We’re going to force him to buy a plane ticket to return home.” Xing Conglian gave him a look as if saying, ‘Why are you so stupid?’

Lin Chen explained, “It’s simple. When we issue the notice proving Xu Ran isn’t a criminal suspect, it’ll have a huge effect on public opinion, pushing Li Jingtian back into the limelight. If Li Jingtian buys a plane ticket to return home at this time, what will that look like?”

“Like…absconding due to guilt?” Wang Chao stared wide-eyed. “You’re so insidious. But will Li Jingtian really leave? If he buys a plane ticket to return home, won’t it be difficult for us to catch him?”

“Which is why this is a double-edged sword.” Lin Chen patted the teenager’s head. “But for us, the benefits of doing so still outweigh the disadvantages. In this kind of thing, we have to take a gamble.”

“Okay! A’Chen, how do we want to bet?”

Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian and asked, “What does Captain Xing intend?”

“Let’s go to CA Entertainment and find the only possible witness to Xu Ran’s rape case, Mr. Li Gaoqiang.”

“So, is this to force Li Jingtian again?” Wang Chao snapped his fingers as if he finally understood something. “Are you afraid he won’t buy a ticket to return home?”

Xing Conglian picked up his phone and coat on the table but didn’t answer.

……

Lin Chen always felt that the reason why Xing Conglian dared to make such dangerous moves was because he was emboldened, as if whether Li Jingtian was hiding in the Xinni embassy, sitting on a flight back home, or even after Li Jingtian stepped into Xinni’s territory, he had the ability to bring him to justice. Although Lin Chen didn’t know where Xing Conglian’s confidence came from, it was always good to be confident.

It was 7:30 in the morning. They took a taxi from the internet café on the side of Red Street to CA Entertainment.

There were advantages to not having a car. For example, Xing Conglian didn’t need to drive fatigue after staying up all night. For example, they could listen to Mr. Driver, who had nothing better to do than gossip.

After getting in the car, Xing Conglian sat in the front passenger seat and only said one sentence to them before he fell asleep—a deep sleep that couldn’t be shaken.

Wang Chao glanced forward, excitedly twisted his butt, and said, “A’Chen, how about we get out of the car and dump the Captain?”

Lin Chen pretended not to hear. There were gradually more vehicles outside the window. The road was completely different from what it looked like in the middle of the night. Fengchun was much larger than Hongjing, and in terms of scale, it was only slightly worse than Yongchuan. The headquarters of many multinational companies in China were located here, such as CA Entertainment.

When passing by the city center, a huge poster that flashed outside the window attracted Lin Chen’s attention.

The poster showed a young man holding a microphone. He had dyed blonde hair and was lying on the grass, which seemed to extend infinitely, and was laughing. Lin Chen didn’t know if this was intentional or not by the photographer, but the most impressive thing in the entire picture was the small dimples on Mu Zhuo’s cheek.

The infinite magnification of the giant outdoor poster seemed to also infinitely magnify the vigor of the young man. He was so enthusiastic and energetic that it burned one’s eyes.

At the bottom of the huge poster was the line of the same slogan. As the vehicle moved, Lin Chen turned his head and read it softly. “Century Nianhua Stadium, May 6^th, Mu Zhuo is waiting for you.”

“A’Chen, are you talking about that poster?” Wang Chao asked after turning his head around.

“Yes.” Lin Chen looked back, always feeling an inexplicable emotion. When he turned his head to look at the poster again, he couldn’t see anything.

“I found there’s something seriously wrong with CA Entertainment. They like to make everything so big. Even their concert posters are so exaggerated,” Wang Chao said angrily, probably because he remembered Li Jingtian’s huge poster in Ansheng International Mall.

“Hey, sir, are you going to Mu Zhuo’s concert?” Mr. Driver suddenly asked.

“Uh… no. I’m just curious about it,” Wang Chao replied.

“I’ve picked up a lot of music fans these days. Isn’t the Watermelon Music Festival going on? Many people come to our concerts every spring. I also picked up a group of little girls who came for Mu Zhuo’s concert. Is this Mu Zhuo famous?”

“Do you know him?” Lin Chen asked.

“Yes, the little girls I picked up were quite noisy. They told me a lot about him while I was driving them,” the driver said as he gave a thumbs up. “They said he didn’t have it easy. He was raped by a man before, but still persisted and is now quite popular?”

“It seems so,” Lin Chen replied.

“This is worthy of respect. His struggles,” Mr. Driver said with some emotion.

Hearing what Mr. Driver was saying, the young man laughing indulgently on the grass appeared in Lin Chen’s mind again. When he was investigating the case of Song Shengsheng, he also more or less saw the news about Mu Zhuo at that time. Public opinion showed infinite sympathy for him, which was completely different from the treatment Xu Ran was getting now.

This was social prejudice. It was always easy for people to hold an unfair and unreasonable negative attitude towards a certain kind of person or a certain type of group. This was both unreasonable and deeply rooted.

Lin Chen once again remembered the strong singer the driver was talking about. Although it was appropriate to sympathize with the victim in any case, Lin Chen felt something inexplicable when it came to Mu Zhuo. Somehow, he felt that the face gradually coincided with Song Shengsheng’s face.

Due to the traffic jam on the road, it was 8:30 before they arrived. In fact, the timing was quite good, since it gave Xing Conglian more time to rest. At the same time, this was exactly the time when work hours started up.

Xing Conglian opened his bleary eyes and quickly woke up. After getting out of the car, he lit a cigarette, looked at the office building towering into a courtyard, and without saying a word, walked straight in.

Just as he walked through the revolving door, he took out his phone and dialed the number for the PR department of the municipal bureau.

During the time when they got into the taxi and got off, Xing Conglian hadn’t reached out to the PR department once. He seemed to be waiting to strike at the right time, which was the moment when he walked into CA Entertainment.

He said dryly, “Make a statement on the case report of the wounding case in Ansheng International Mall on May 6. The general content is that Xu Ran, the deceased rumored on the internet, was not at the scene of the crime, thus clearing up all rumors…”

The person on the other end of the line didn’t know what to say. What Xing Conglian requested was quite difficult, as they didn’t even have a clear suspect now. If they issued this clarification announcement, it would make the police seem incompetent.

However, Xing Conglian insisted. “It’s fine. Weibo, newspapers, major news outlets—issue it to all of them. Anyway, it’s me who they will scold. What are you afraid of?”

When they reached the front desk, Xing Conglian hung up, gripped the phone, and knocked on the table of the front desk. He then took his badge from his pocket with his other hand and flashed it. “I’m looking for Li Gaoqiang.”

The lady at the front desk was a little startled. She hurriedly put down her powder puff and asked out of habit, “Do you have an appointment?”

Xing Conglian put down his badge and said with a smile, “Sorry, I don’t.”

“Then… Then I will call and ask.”

Xing Conglian stared at the little girl’s face and faintly said, “Wang Chao?”

Comrade Xiao Wang Chao was extraordinarily clever and said directly, “The office of the Public Relations Department is on the 25^th floor.”

Xing Conglian nodded and walked in.

The lobby security had already noticed them, but in broad daylight, no one dared to stop a policeman who came to handle a case, not to mention an entertainment company was much different than an entertainment club. After reporting to the front desk, they went to the elevator entrance unhindered.

At this moment, Xing Conglian gave a wink to Wang Chao.

Comrade Xiao Wang Chao quickly understood. He obediently pressed for the other elevators, and when they opened, he stopped the door gracefully. This was obviously to prevent Manager Li on the 25^th floor from escaping in advance.

Xing Conglian then walked into another elevator with a swaggering appearance, as if he was afraid everyone in CA Entertainment wouldn’t know of their arrival. When they got to the 25^th floor, there were already public relations staff waiting at the elevator entrance.

“Where’s your manager?” Xing Conglian glanced at the name tags on the female staff members that were around the elevator exit. It clearly had the words CA Entertainment Public Relations Department printed on it.

“Our manager hasn’t been at work today. I’m sorry, Mr. Police Officer.”

“It’s okay. We can go to his office and wait.”

How could a person like Xing Conglian be fooled by words like “Our manager isn’t at work”? After he finished speaking, he stepped forward and walked towards the office.

The female staff in the office all looked at each other, wondering what was going on. In the spirit of watching the excitement, many took out their phones and started taking pictures, creating an array of flashing lights in the room.

When Xing Conglian walked past the wall placard of staff members, under the manager’s column, they saw Mr. Li Gaoqiang, whom they hadn’t gotten to meet yesterday.

When Lin Chen looked at the photo embedded on the staff wall, he couldn’t help but sigh.

What a coincidence that Mr. Manager Li looked very familiar, and even more coincidentally, last night, this gentleman was named Lu Xu.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 130

Naturally, sneaking into the residence of a single woman was wrong, but since it was more inconvenient for two men to stand in the corridor of the lewd apartments, after Xing Conglian quickly unlocked the door, Lin Chen flashed into the residence with him.

So, when Miss Lily arrived home and opened her door, she saw two men sitting on her sofa.

One of them was looking at the photo frame on the coffee table. Lily quickly recognized the other person as the man who gave her fake checks, which caused her serious trouble today.

When the two heard the door opening, they both turned to look at her.

Lily didn’t say anything. She picked up her handbag and rushed over and smacked it at the fake rich man. “Fuck, you still have the face to come here and do this to me?!”

Listening to Miss Lily’s shouts, Xing Conglian didn’t even fight back and was firmly beaten a few times.

“Asshole, using fake checks. If you’re poor, don’t go looking for whores!”

As if she felt it was useless to keep hitting, after venting, Lily took out her phone and was about to make a call.

Xing Conglian’s eyes flashed, and he quickly took the phone from her hand.

“Still trying to rob me, huh?” Lily’s cry became louder.

Lin Chen looked at the girl with heavy makeup and put down the photo frame. “We’re here because of Xu Ran. I know you know her.”

Hearing what he said, the anger in Lily’s eyes quickly dissipated. She subconsciously looked at the photo on the coffee table, which showed two girls hugging each other.

Lin Chen also looked at the photo frame.

Although girls loved beauty and often exaggerated themselves, he could still clearly tell from the photo that the person who was making the peace sign on the left was the one standing in front of him, while the one on the right was Xu Ran.

Lin Chen glanced back and saw Lily’s eyes covered in sadness, which she couldn’t hide.

After taking two deep breaths, Lily trembled and asked, “Xu Ran… Is she dead?”

“Her life remains uncertain,” Lin Chen said.

“I know she must be dead! I persuaded her not to go or she would definitely be killed!”

Lily covered her mouth, trying her best to hold back her tears. She leaned against the wall and slowly slid to the ground.

“We’re here because of her, so I hope you will trust us.” Lin Chen took out a tissue from the table and squatted in front of the girl, wiping her tears.

The snow-white tissue gleamed with the eyeshadow sequins.

The tears turned Lily’s entire face into a palette of colors. She suddenly looked up, showing bruises around her mouth and under her cheekbone, and said to them, “Are you good people?”

Her eyes were suspicious but innocent, showing a look of distrust towards everything in the world.

“I said, you can trust us.”

Lily sobbed a few more times, then calmed down. She said to them with tenacious restraint, “Xiao Ran, she left a letter.”

……

Before walking into the room, Lin Chen never thought they would get a letter left by Xu Ran.

If Xu Ran didn’t have the ability to predict the future, how could she leave behind a letter?

He followed Lily into the narrow bedroom by the living room.

The old-fashioned apartment was filled with a musty smell from the damp walls. Lily squatted down in front of the closet and found an old shoebox under the closet.

“Xiao Ran… They smashed up Xiao Ran’s room, but she gave me something important for safekeeping, so…” Lily’s voice suddenly became gentle. She sobbed and looked up at Lin Chen. “So she has a lot of things with me, but in fact none of them are really important. Then she gave me a letter, saying if she died or if the police came to Royal One to investigate her case again, to have me secretly hand them her letter. If there’s a police officer that’s willing to go to Royal One to check her case again, then they must be a good person, but if not, then forget it.”

Lily tucked her hair behind her ear. “Actually, I think that’s just wishful thinking—as if there were that many good people in the world…”

She opened the lid of a shoe box and took out a plastic bag from it, then sat down on the bed.

Lin Chen dragged a chair from the desk and sat next to her.

Lily carefully opened the plastic bag and took out the stack of things inside.

Those were all things like photos and postcards, as well as a sticker book and two posters.

Those things looked old. Some of the photos had an obvious trace that they were removed from a photo frame, showing trim marks. The backs of the posters were still sticky with some adhesive. After Lin Chen asked for Lily’s permission, he felt for a while that he couldn’t read the letter. He picked up the sticker book and opened the first page.

Sure enough, the records of these things belonged to the same person.

Lin Chen held the sticker book for a long time, silently. There was a lone lamp on the bedside table, which was so bright that it made him feel extremely sour.

Finally, he raised his head.

Xing Conglian was standing at the door frame, facing the bed full of photos, and was relatively speechless.

Everything had a reason.

For example, why did Xu Ran fight fiercely when facing Li Jingtian despite having worked in this industry for so long?

Or, why did she go to the police and accuse Li Jingtian, knowing that it was impossible for her to take him down?

And after that, why did she still insist on going to Hongjing knowing the dangers it possessed?

Although Lin Chen still didn’t understand what the connection between these things was for the time being, looking at the young singer on the bed who was laughing, singing, posing in various funny ways, and giving his middle finger to the camera, Lin Chen knew that the reason was here…

Because it was Song Shengsheng.

Nine years ago, the unruly young man was imprisoned for rape.

“Xu Ran… She…” Lin Chen finally came back to his senses. He looked at Miss Lily on the bed and realized that he was choking uncontrollably.

“Xu Ran likes Song Shengsheng. She has liked him for a long, long time. She always believed that Li Jingtian and Mu Zhuo, those bastards, framed Song Shengsheng. But what’s the use? Song Shengsheng is already finished.”

Lily took out the letter left by Xu Ran and handed it to him.

Lin Chen lowered his head and looked at the snow-white letter paper in front of him. For the first time, he felt a little scared.

He slowly opened the letter when suddenly his hands were pressed.

Xing Conglian had appeared at some point behind him.

“I’ll read it,” he said to him.

Lin Chen pressed Xing Conglian’s hand, remembering that when they were on the same bed, the other party took the initiative to take on the embarrassing role.

Xing Conglian always took the initiative to take on the responsibility.

But, Lin Chen thought, he had things he should bear, and no one could replace that.

“Let me do it. This is what I should see.”

Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian’s worried gaze and pushed his hand away. He felt that although he had never said a word to Xu Ran and they were complete strangers who had never crossed paths, he seemed to have depicted Xu Ran’s appearance countless times in his mind.

The moment he opened the letter, he seemed to see Xu Ran’s appearance quietly writing this letter a few days ago.

Hello,

I don’t know how to call you, so let me just talk to you.

If you’re reading this letter, then it means I’m probably dead.

Many letters or suicide notes will say this at the beginning. I thought it was hypocritical before, but now that I’m writing this, I find that it’s quite a suitable way to start.

My name is Xu Ran. A woman who’s 28 years old.

Three weeks ago, I received a job. The job I’m talking about is sex trading. Yes, I am a prostitute. In more popular terms, I’m a chicken—the kind of woman who’s dirty to the bone. I can’t deny this.

So when I walked into that door, I knew very well that I was going to provide services to men.

But behind that door, the man sitting there was indeed a person I’ll never forget.

I hate him. Hate him to the bone. I used to like a person very much, and that person was ruined by him, never to be reborn.

The person I hate is Li Jingtian.

And the person I like is Song Shengsheng.

In fact, before entering the door, I didn’t know exactly what Li Jingtian had done to Shengsheng, although I always suspected that Mu Zhuo’s false accusation against Shengsheng was planned by him.

So, when I saw Li Jingtian, I was angry. I couldn’t control my anger, but what could I do to him? I can only tell him I didn’t want his business because he’s too disgusting.

After I told him this, I slammed the door and wanted to leave.

But he didn’t let me leave. He grabbed my hair and slammed my head on the door.

I told him to get out. I don’t want his business. I don’t want to do those things with him.

You see, although I’m a prostitute, sometimes I turn down clients.

But Li Jingtian didn’t give me a chance to refuse. At that time, I was so angry that I kept scolding him. I scolded him for being disgusting and treacherous. I told him I didn’t want to sleep with him.

When he heard Shengsheng’s name, Li Jingtian suddenly laughed, excitedly.

He grabbed my hair and pushed me to the ground. He was jubilant. He said to me, “So there are still people who like Song Shengsheng.”

Later, I don’t really remember much of it. I was dragged to the bathroom by him. He stomped on my head, then shoved it into the toilet. He beat me, humiliated me. He didn’t treat me like a human, but like an animal. I shouted for help, but no one cared about me.

I don’t know if such a situation can still be considered rape.

You see, a prostitute took the initiative to deliver herself to the door, but refused a client, and was beaten to death by him.

This should be deserved.

Then, as I was submerged in the toilet, he entered me.

It hurts. It really hurts.

When he raped me, he whispered next to my ear, “The Song Shengsheng you like was also fucked by me like this. He likes it very much. He’s dirtier than you.”

Then, he beat and abused me repeatedly and kept telling me how he tortured Shengsheng in the same way. He said that Shengsheng was a masochist and liked to be fucked by him.

Shengsheng loves him to death and even volunteered to go to jail for him.

Those words are still swirling in my ears now.

At that time, I felt that the sky was falling. I really regretted that I couldn’t record his words and show them to everyone. Li Jingtian himself admitted that Shengshemg was innocent.

At that time, I felt I had to live. I wanted everyone to know that Li Jingtian isn’t human.

Later, I really didn’t die. When Li Jingtian left, he threw me into the bathtub and washed me many times.

He told me there was no evidence now. If I want to call the police, I can report it, but he said the police will never believe a whore. Who would believe a woman who sells her body would be raped at a place like Royal One?

Yeah, he’s right. No one will believe me, but I want to try. I think I should try.

The policewoman who received me was a very nice person. She really believed me. She took me for an examination. At that time, I felt Li Jingtian wasn’t necessarily right.

But I made a mistake. I regret it. I really, deeply regretted it.

When they asked me where the crime scene was, I remembered Li Jingtian’s words. If I said it was at Royal One, the police wouldn’t believe me, so I lied. I told them I was raped at his hotel.

I don’t know why I said that, but I really lied. Everyone scolded me, and they all sympathized with Li Jingtian. Then I realized that it was impossible for me to defeat him.

Because I lied, I lost the opportunity to get justice for myself and even the chance to seek justice for my voice. No one will believe what I say anymore. I screwed up, and I only have myself to blame. It’s all my fault.

This afternoon, Li Jingtian called me and asked me to meet in Hongjing. He said he wanted to compensate me.

I know he must want me to die.

But if I die, will someone look into my case?

Will I meet a good police officer, like that female police officer who trusted me and gave me another chance?

If my life can be exchanged for another chance to let you read this letter, then why don’t I die?

In fact, I didn’t have much hope, but I thought, ah, if I’m going to die, I might as well create some fantasies, right?

I know very well that it’s difficult for you to have the opportunity to get justice for me, but I hope that in any case, you can get justice for Shengsheng. He’s really innocent.

Please, believe me.

……

There was no final signature for this letter.

It started with a hello and ended with believe me.

Xu Ran didn’t know whether someone would eventually read this letter, but she still clearly stated what happened. She just wanted justice.

For the first time, Lin Chen felt that the word “justice” was so heavy—as heavy as Mount Tai—that it made people despair.

Unconsciously, Lin Chen found that his fingers were trembling. He knew very well that his eyes were frighteningly red now, but he thought, he really couldn’t cry.

His hand brushed over the snow-white letter; it was immaculately clean. Although Xu Ran’s handwriting was childish, the paper was really clean.

When Xu Ran wrote this letter, she didn’t shed a tear.

Every sentence in this letter was strong. Lin Chen raised his head and looked at the other girl sitting by the bed.

Although the girl had loose hair and messy makeup, she was looking at him with firm eyes.

Yes, they were all girls with the tenacious vitality of weeds. Although their lives were gloomy, the beliefs in their hearts were sometimes firmer than others.

Xing Conglian placed his hand on his shoulder.

He stood behind him and read the letter with him.

Lin Chen took a deep breath, turned his head, and looked at the man who had been silent this entire time.

At this moment, Xing Conglian’s phone rang.

Xing Conglian kept his hand on Lin Chen’s shoulder as he picked up the phone with his other hand.

The call was short.

The person on the other line probably only said one sentence.

Xing Conglian only replied with, “I see.”

But Lin Chen clearly felt Xing Conglian’s hand on his shoulder begin to tremble. The tremor was short, but such a thing was impossible for someone like Xing Conglian.

Lin Chen looked into his eyes and understood everything in an instant.

“Xu Ran is gone,” Xing Conglian said calmly.

After he finished speaking, the room suddenly became quiet.

This was the inevitable ending, and this was also the ending she prayed for.

Lin Chen looked out the dark window.

There was continuous rain. It was fine and soft, like a girl’s soft hair, like a girl’s insignificant life.

The night was dark, and it must equally be as dark in Hongjing.

Lin Chen looked at the dark night sky. He suddenly thought if people’s faith could really break through time and space, then Xu Ran should know they have read this letter.

So, she had persisted until now, and finally she could end her not-so-long, not-so-good life.

Xing Conglian patted Lin Chen lightly on the shoulder.

Lin Chen looked back at the man he loved deeply.

He suddenly wanted to ask a question, so he naturally did. “Your guarantee is very effective, right?”

Xing Conglian suddenly squatted down in front of him.

He stared at him with deep but serene eyes and then answered him.

“Please, believe me,” he said.

……

Wang Chao came later on.

When he arrived at Red Street, Lin Chen had already sorted out all the photos and letters with Xing Conglian.

When they left, Miss Lily was sleeping soundly in the room. They closed the dilapidated iron door and walked into the drizzle.

The teenager held his head and squatted under the streetlight where they were standing.

Seeing them approach, Wang Chao jumped up excitedly and shouted in a low voice, “Captain, A’Chen, you’re finally here. This place is too scary.”

Wang Chao really had a strange magic power. When they looked at the boy’s eyes that would never dim, it was like meeting a flame that would never go out in the endless night. He would make you believe that everything would be fine.

Lin Chen walked over, rubbed the boy’s wet head, and said, “Let’s go.”

Probably because they were so close, Wang Chao noticed their abnormality.

“A’Chen Gege, what’s wrong? You… You were crying again?”

Lin Chen couldn’t help but smile. “It’s really not this time.”

“Then what happened?”

Lin Chen found that when Wang Chao asked this, he was unable to answer.

“Xu Ran is dead.”

Xing Conglian walked up to him and answered it for him.

Wang Chao instantly became shocked, and he asked incredulously, “Then, do we have no case?”

Looking at the teenager’s disappointed but not sad gaze, Lin Chen began to understand why Xing Conglian was always protective of Wang Chao.

Lin Chen thought that although the night had many ups and downs, the luckiest thing was that Wang Chao didn’t read the letter.

This arrangement was probably their only good luck tonight.

“No, now we can start investigating the murder case,” Xing Conglian said.

“But, isn’t Xu Ran dead? Could it be that you found some important clues from Miss Lily?” Wang Chao sharply asked.

“Yes, we found clues.” Lin Chen pinched Wang Chao’s face.

“But this clue makes you very uncomfortable, right?”

“Why are you talking and thinking so much? Do you want to learn psychology from your brother A’Chen?” Xing Conglian abruptly cut in.

As they talked, they started walking out of the alley.

Lin Chen and Xing Conglian walked side-by-side, while Wang Chao faced them, briskly walking backwards. “Then what about the investigation of the murder case, Captain? Did you find evidence that Li Jingtian is suspected of murdering Xu Ran?”

“There’s no evidence,” Lin Chen said.

“Then, how can it be called murder?”

“Mr. Xiao Wang, do you have a misunderstanding about the murder?” Xing Conglian asked seriously. “It’s not like Li Jingtian stabbed Xu Ran to death with a knife. That’s murder. Those who persecute, trick, or incite others to commit suicide are all punished according to the crime of intentional homicide. You really should study harder.” Xing Conglian concluded.

“So now, are we going to investigate the evidence chain of how Li Jingtian caused Xu Ran to commit suicide? Wait, did Xu Ran commit suicide?” When they reached the entrance of the alley, Wang Chao finally turned around. “What are we going to do next?”

“We have to prove one thing first,” Xing Conglian said.

“What’s that?”

“We have to prove that Xu Ran isn’t the culprit who took to the stage and tried to slit Li Jingtian’s throat.”

Lin Chen thought about how Xing Conglian would arrange their next move, but he never thought Xing Conglian would say that.

He didn’t understand for a moment, but then he got it in an instant.

This was Xing Conglian.

……

Xu Ran’s suicide note was written too early, and she didn’t mention what happened after she went to Hongjing. She just said that Li Jingtian asked her to go there.

As for why she wore that red dress, dressing exactly like the culprit who slit Li Jingtian’s throat, Xu Ran didn’t explain these things.

Therefore, the contents of the letter were all unilateral statements by Xu Ran. Even Xu Ran herself stated at the end of the letter that she had no evidence to prove those statements.

In other words, they still couldn’t rule out that possibility—the possibility that all the incidents were committed by Xu Ran. In order to avenge Song Shengsheng and herself, Xu Ran planned all this and used her own death as the final touch of the entire conspiracy.

Although it was impossible for anyone to believe in the possibility that Li Jingtian was innocent after reading that letter, a fact-based investigation of the case had nothing to do with Xu Ran’s plea; it could only include factual evidence.

Even an extremely terrible monster like Li Jingtian or Xu Ran; both had the right to a fair and impartial investigation.

And the most critical breakthrough point of this investigation was whether the person who slit Li Jingtian’s throat was Xu Ran.

In fact, the identity of the throat-slitter had always been the primary focus of the investigation in Li Jingtian’s case.

Lin Chen was grateful for Xing Conglian.

Xing Conglian trusted his judgment on Li Jingtian, so he took him to Fengchun before the investigation report from the forensic department was released.

But it was necessary to investigate the truth of the whole matter, so it was impossible to bypass the threshold of the throat-slitting case.

It was 16 hours after the incident, which meant it had been 6 hours since they left Hongjing.

Lin Chen thought that Xing Conglian was stretched for time. During this period, Hongjing’s forensic department could release the investigation report of the throat-slitting case, while at the same time, during this blank period, Xing Conglian was able to bring him to Fengchun to investigate Li Jingtian’s sexual assault on Xu Ran.

The conditions for going out to handle cases were difficult, and the time was really late—or rather early.

The Jeep wasn’t around, so they found an internet café next to Red Street. Naturally, the place was chosen by Wang Chao because of its internet speed.

After Xing Conglian sat down in the small cubicle, he started making phone calls.

Lin Chen went out and ordered instant noodles. When he came back, he heard Xing Conglian speaking on the phone to another police officer who was in charge of the blood test.

“Status?” Lin Chen put down the instant noodles and asked Xing Conglian.

Xing Conglian put it on speaker, and the voice of the police officer responsible for the blood test sounded.

“Captain Xing, the blood test has just been completed. The blood on Xu Ran’s dress only contained her DNA. There are no other people’s blood samples mixed in. I really have no way to prove whether Xu Ran was or wasn’t the assailant. Shall we test for other things, like hair samples on the stage, and see if we can prove that Xu Ran was there?”

“I see.” Xing Conglian hung up and remained silent.

Sitting across from him, Wang Chao took a big mouthful of noodles and sighed. “Captain, don’t you feel uncomfortable being a police officer? You have to give evidence for everything!”

“Check on your stuff.” Xing Conglian knocked on the teenager’s head.

Wang Chao was dissatisfied. “Why don’t you say things like, Wang Chao, have a good meal first. I’m still a kid!” Wang Chao slurped up another mouthful of noodles unhappily but didn’t forget to move the mouse with his other hand.

Xing Conglian didn’t bother talking nonsense with him. He made another call. Lin Chen glanced at the number. It was another police officer who was in charge of the scene investigation.

“Captain Xing, Captain Xing, please don’t rush me, okay? Do you know how many things are on that stage? I have to test everything…”

“Has any DNA sample belonging to Xu Ran been detected?”

On the other end of the phone, the on-site police investigator seemed to be checking through documents. After a while, he replied, “I haven’t detected any DNA of Xu Ran for the time being…”

“Continue.” Xing Conglian hung up again.

The third call was to the officer in charge of trace inspection.

But the result was still disappointing.

“Captain—Captain Xing, don’t mention fingerprints. The outer surface of the bouquet was covered with fabric, so there wouldn’t be any left behind. The footprints were also checked, but they’re basically useless. You know how many people were at the scene. All I can say now is that the assailant’s height is similar. There are photos floating around on the internet everywhere, but hey, it’s the same as if I’m not saying anything.”

Xing Conglian hung up the third call.

Everything was returning without success and without evidence. Despite that, it was actually a good thing.

Although the test results they got were no use in solving the case, at any rate, they cleared up some suspicions on Xu Ran.

After contemplating for a moment, Xing Conglian was about to start calling again, but he stalled and didn’t dial out.

Lin Chen pushed the instant noodles in front of Xing Conglian and said, “Let’s eat something first.”

At this time, he really couldn’t find any breakthroughs, so Xing Conglian put the phone down.

Lin Chen opened the instant noodle bowl with him.

The noodles were soaked just right.

The smell of cigarettes in the room was strong, and the rain outside the window gradually turned from light to heavy. Inside the room, except for the slurping sound of instant noodles, there was only the hissing noise from the computer fan.

Wang Chao was the first to finish his bowl. He drank the soup, wiped his mouth, and said, “Captain, A’Chen, I have taken all the photos of the crime scene that were taken by the fans that I could find online. They have been sent to you. Hey, at such a critical moment, you still have to rely on me!”

Xing Conglian didn’t respond.

As if feeling lonely, the teenager started to chatter again. “Captain, don’t ignore me. I looked at all the photos and videos of the fans for you. There are not many photos where you can see the assailant’s face clearly. It seems that Li Jingtian’s brain dead fan group called for deletion of the bloody and violent photos of the scene, so no one posted pictures. That is to say, only the first photo that was posted showed a clear picture of the assailant. I suspect that the person who posted the post was arranged by Li Jingtian, but unfortunately, there’s no problem on Weibo’s end. It really is a Li Jingtian’s die-hard fan… You said that it would be nice if the surveillance wasn’t blocked, but let me tell you, Captain, it’s useless even if it wasn’t. You also know that face recognition algorithms are based on feature points. The assailant only showed their eyes. There are not enough feature points, so it won’t help you. Don’t blame me for talking too much. The assailant really looks very similar to Xu Ran. When she was caught on the street, she looked fearful, like she committed a crime, and ran to the streets and was hit by a car. There really is no proof. What should we do if we can’t find evidence proving Xu Ran wasn’t at the scene of the crime?”

“That can only be done by pulling a net and seeing if someone has seen Xu Ran within the time of the crime, so we can establish her alibi.”

Listening to what Xing Conglian said, Wang Chao was stunned, and the fork in his mouth fell to the table with a thud.

Lin Chen turned his head and looked at Xing Conglian’s face, which was hidden under the dim light. Xing Conglian ate his noodles carefully, neither fast nor slow; extremely methodically.

He suddenly realized that Xing Conglian’s attitude towards Xu Ran was actually more determined than his.

In fact, after stumbling into a dead end at the clubhouse and after reading the letter, Lin Chen subconsciously felt despair for Xu Ran’s sexual assault case because there was no evidence. Someone had wiped it all out in advance.

But after experiencing these things, Xing Conglian’s attitude towards this case was clear on who was innocent and ambiguous results couldn’t be accepted. If there was no evidence, then he would continue to look for evidence.

Lin Chen recalled what he thought. If people’s beliefs were strong enough to break through time and space, then they must also be able to break through bad luck.

Even if Li Jingtian’s calculations were foolproof, there would still be oversights.

People like them had to embrace faith.

……

Lin Chen pushed away the noodle bowl and checked all the photos and videos of Ansheng International Mall that were sorted by Wang Chao together with Xing Conglian, trying to find any omissions.

Those fan photos were either clear or blurry, but the protagonist in all of them was Li Jingtian. To be honest, even if he forced himself to look at these photos with the mentality of proving Xu Ran’s innocence, Lin Chen still felt nauseous every time he saw Li Jingtian’s hypocritical face.

Moreover, he was in a terrible state today. The hangover made his vision gradually blurry. He lowered his head, rubbed his eyes, and noticed that Xing Conglian had patted him on the shoulder. “Go and help Wang Chao find out more about Song Shengsheng’s case. I can look at these things myself.”

“Yeah, yeah, A’Chen. Stop looking at that disgusting idiot!”

Lin Chen habitually wanted to be polite, but since it was Xing Conglian saying this, there was no need to. He nodded, changed his seat, and sat beside Wang Chao.

“Okay, A’Chen Gege, my big sword is hungry and thirsty. Tell me what I need to check!”

Wang Chao was full of vigor.

In fact, there were as many as three cases they needed to investigate.

Lin Chen sorted out his thoughts and said, “I’ve seen the files for Song Shengsheng’s case. In fact, files that can be closed have been heavily reviewed, so the possibility of any issues isn’t high. However, Xu Ran believed that Song Shengsheng was innocent. So, I think there must be a lot of his former fans that also insist on this, and among them, some may have evidence, which may exist in previous fan debates or forums. Please try to search for them.”

But what Lin Chen didn’t tell Wang Chao was that Xu Ran also revealed in the letter a piece of information that Song Shengsheng and Li Jingtian might have been in a relationship, and the relationship between them was quite distorted.

“A’Chen, what are you talking about? Why are you being so polite to me? Don’t you love me anymore?”

Wang Chao was focused on the wrong point.

Lin Chen had no choice but to rub his head and say, “Of course I love you, good boy.”

Xing Conglian coughed softly.

“Captain, what’s wrong with you? Jealous?” Wang Chao snickered and then said, “A’Chen, do you want to sleep for a bit? It’ll take a while for me to check these things, and there’s still some time before dawn. You should rest for a while.”

Wang Chao pointed to the sofa at the corner of the room.

Being polite would look hypocritical. He really needed sleep. “Okay.” After Lin Chen replied, he laid down on the sofa.

“Thank you for your hard work,” he said before closing his eyes.

“You don’t love me anymore!” Wang Chao continued to draw out his whining.

Lin Chen quickly closed his eyes.

Sleepiness covered him like a tide.

In fact, before going to sleep, Lin Chen wanted to tell Wang Chao to wake him up in an hour, but before he could, he had already fallen asleep.

He had a dream.

The dream began on an extremely long, red street. The neon lights that washed over him turned into thin shades of red and green lights on the ground; as thin as the eyeliner on Lily’s face.

Then he saw Lily crying to him, and soon, Lily’s cries turned into the laughter of the taxi driver, Master Guan. It was equally loud and full of emotions.

The scene reverted to the dark basement of Royal One, where Xing Conglian was pulling him to run, then the two of them were lying in the same bed, with Xing Conglian on top of him, jerking him around.

While on the bed, he turned his head sideways and saw Xu Ran’s face.

Xu Ran stared at them with her face covered in blood as she fell into a pool of blood and a truck ran over her.

Li Jingtian’s face suddenly appeared. His eyes were vicious, staring with excitement at the person in the pool of blood. The scene seemed to be rewinding, frame by frame, going back to the beginning of everything.

The surroundings were noisy. People crowded over each other as Li Jingtian was singing. Through the gap between people, Lin Chen saw someone walking onto the stage.

It was a girl in a red dress; not tall, very thin, holding a bouquet of roses in her hand. She handed the flowers to Li Jingtian, who hugged her.

Bright red blood seeped out of Li Jingtian’s throat.

Lin Chen suddenly opened his eyes.

He got up from the sofa. Before he knew it, the sky outside the window was already bright.

Wang Chao had fallen asleep at the table, while Xing Conglian was steadily clicking his mouse. He looked at him but said nothing.

Lin Chen closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead vigorously.

If every dream revealed something, Lin Chen thought, his dream must also be indicating something.

Li Jingtian hugged Xu Ran.

He opened his eyes again, stood up from the table, and walked over to Xing Conglian’s side. Xing Conglian was looking at a photo. It was the first photo that was posted, accusing Xu Ran of being the assailant.

The picture was clear.

For them who had lost on-site surveillance, this was the clearest of all the photos.

In the photo, Li Jingtian turned his back to the camera and seemed like he was about to hug the fan holding the bouquet. His hand was raised high to put his arms around the assailant’s shoulder.

Xing Conglian kept zooming in on the photo to see the position of Li Jingtian’s hand.

Xing Conglian turned his head and asked Lin Chen, “Do you remember where Li Jingtian’s hand ended up?”

“On the shoulder,” Lin Chen replied with great certainty.

His gaze finally fell on a very unusual place in the photo.

On the shoulders of the red dress, there were two leather decorative straps.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

This was a fairly heavy and graphic chapter.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 129

The air in the thin blanket quickly became sultry due to the dense carbon dioxide they exhaled.

In the quiet love suite, in the middle of the night, under a blanket, both Xing Conglian and Lin Chen panted and lifted the blanket at the same time.

Perhaps because they were panting too loudly, or maybe it was because they were breathing too much together, but Xing Conglian once again heard Wang Chao’s high-pitched voice ringing in his ears.

“Captain, A’Chen! What are you doing?! You can’t treat A’Chen Gege like that, you beast!”

“Shut up.” Xing Conglian felt that the situation wasn’t right, but he still steadied his mind and asked, “Where did you drive the car?”

“Ah! I’m at Heping Avenue, YOYOYO*!”

*Slang for LOL.

Wang Chao’s voice became even louder.

The sound of the night wind clashed with the sound of the crazy engine, mixed with the hearty laughter of the teenager came through the headset. Xing Conglian said coldly, “Park the car at Heping Avenue and tell us the current situation.”

However, Wang Chao had fallen completely into the extreme excitement of drag racing. “The situation? The situation is very cool! Hahahahaha, Captain, are you asking me? Beg me!”

Xing Conglian rubbed his temples and began to regret, deeply.

“You’d better not let him touch the steering wheel in the future.” Immediately, Lin Chen’s voice sounded close to his ear.

“Indeed.” As he said this, he could hear the sound of the car rubbing against some cement surface through the headset again, so he looked at the ceiling and couldn’t help but add, “Consultant Lin, according to your experience, interpret what’s wrong with this. How the hell can touching a steering wheel be no different than smoking marijuana?”

“The reverse-upgraded version of road rage.” From Lin Chen’s voice, Xing Conglian couldn’t hear any traces of drunkenness, but he was convinced Lin Chen was still inebriated. Although he didn’t lose his ability to think and act, his thinking and logic weren’t as clear as usual.

“Some people, when they encounter some ‘trigger points’, will become another person.” Lin Chen’s clear and drunken voice sounded.

Xing Conglian would like to ask, “For example, if you encounter alcohol, is that the same?”

However, Wang Chao had interjected into their conversation with interest. “Captain, A’Chen, what are you doing? Are you just purely chatting underneath the blankets? Fuck, at least pretend a little. Aren’t you afraid you’ll get caught? Get high*!”

*Org. written in English. It’s netizen language referring to enlivening the atmosphere (get excited, get happy).

As soon as Wang Chao finished speaking, before Xing Conglian had time to ask what he wanted, he suddenly felt the person next to him move.

Lin Chen lifted up the blanket and suddenly rolled over onto him.

Naturally, laying shoulder to shoulder was completely different from this current posture. Although Lin Chen had just straddled him in the darkness, at that moment, Xing Conglian could clearly picture the position they were in.

Lin Chen had sat down from his waist, and his legs were spread apart. His feet were covered by a cotton blanket, with his ankle exposed.

In fact, the word slender may not be appropriate because, while Lin Chen was thin, he was well-proportioned, which was a typical example of someone being thin but not delicate. However, in Xing Conglian’s opinion, Lin Chen’s ankles were still slender and fair.

Xing Conglian didn’t know why he was imagining these kinds of things right now, but when he thought of Lin Chen’s legs that were further up, suddenly it became Lin Chen’s hands.

Lin Chen’s hands were now gently propped up on his chest, shaking lightly as he breathed.

He looked at Lin Chen’s face. Right now, his consultant’s eyes had changed from indifferent and emotionless to misty; distinctly gentle from the loss of focus.

It was too gentle.

Xing Conglian opened his mouth lightly, trying to say something, but before he could speak, Lin Chen slowly leaned down, pressing their stomachs and chests together…

Then, at the moment when their lips and teeth were about to intertwine, Lin Chen turned his face, buried his head in the crook of Xing Conglian’s neck, and breathed gently.

Because he was very close, Xing Conglian discovered that Lin Chen was indeed drunk. His body was hot, and he smelled full of absinthe, with the unique sweetness and warmth of alcohol.

Although Xing Conglian believed the gasping was just Lin Chen’s uncomfortable groaning due to alcohol, those warm breaths that sprayed in his ear, side, and neck had an unexpectedly seductive effect.

In the deep night, next to one of his ears, the breathing of one of his same-sex friends sounded, while his other ears picked up the sound of the night wind and a teenager’s wanton laughter. When he was almost about to pull out the headset and put his arms around Lin Chen’s waist, there was a sound of braking, an engine stalling, and the laptop opening and closing from the headset. In an instant, those sounds became clear.

Lin Chen must have heard it too, because his voice was calm as it rang in Xing Conglian’s ears. “Wang Chao, continue to check on Lily.”

Xing Conglian couldn’t tell how he felt right now, but he thought it was truly like Lin Chen. Under such circumstances, he was still focused on investigating the case.

……

In the Jeep, Comrade Wang Chao heard Lin Chen’s voice assigning him a mission, but he didn’t immediately start looking for information.

As a professional and upright electronic information practitioner, he naturally carried more than one laptop with him.

After stopping the car, the first thing he did was quickly open a small video in Room 1105 of the Oho Hotel, and then, after carefully placing the tablet and adjusting it to a perfect angle, he began to search for what Lin Chen asked him for.

“Lily doesn’t sound like a real name,” he muttered as he hacked into Royal One’s system. After flipping through a few pages in boredom, he looked up and saw two vaguely overlapping figures in the dark picture. He thought to himself, ‘My god, it’s a pity there are no potato chips here!’

Comrade Wang Chao sighed regretfully, then lowered his head and looked through the photos of the background page by page. God knew why normal people would want to make themselves into such a ghastly look. Their almost indistinguishable faces flashed before his eyes, suddenly dazzling him. Going through the photos was useless and only made him want to vomit. He quickly turned off the webpage depressingly and obediently looked at the salary records.

Sure enough, how could a shady place like Royal One put money on the salary records!

He looked through all the records and found that none of the princesses or young masters in Royal One had any salary records or social security records. Wang Chao recalled the magnificent building and suddenly felt it was like a dark, cannibalistic cave.

He touched the goosebumps that appeared on his arms and continued to report. “A’Chen, I haven’t found Lily’s real name yet, because there’s nothing in their system that can prove Lily’s identity. The social security and medical insurance records of all the staff don’t include the young masters and princesses who accompany customers at the table.” As Wang Chao replied, because he was too busy looking for the blank records, he didn’t have the mental energy to continue to observe the dynamics between the two on the tablet.

“What about medical records?”

At this point, he was startled to hear his boss’ voice, which was deeper than usual. It was even a little hoarse, with a hint of forced calmness.

Wang Chao grinned, and then he heard his brother A’Chen speak again.

Lin Chen said, “Yes, clubs like Royal One must have regular medical examination records presented to customers to prove that their people are clean and problem-free, and hospital medical exam records are supposed to be difficult to falsify.”

“Oh!”

Wang Chao became aware of this and immediately began retrieving medical examination records from all large and small hospitals in Fengchun. Sure enough, he found the regular medical examination reports of Royal One.

However, although he found the report, he also stumbled upon a bigger problem. He looked at the names and photos of the reports woefully and said to the two on the other end, “I found the records, but Captain, A’Chen, you have to wait a bit. The photos of these people here are all liquefied into a mess. I can’t use the photo retrieval function, so I have to compare each medical record one by one!”

“How long will it take?” Xing Conglian asked suddenly. As if he thought of something, he said, “Wait, if the alarm is because of Lu Xu’s snitching, they will most likely go to Room 1103 where Xu Ran’s incident happened, so keep an eye on it.”

“I’m keeping an eye on it,” Wang Chao hurriedly replied. He looked up at the erotic pornographic video, pressed the recording button, and then pulled out another tablet and brought up the full surveillance of the elevator and emergency exit.

The moment the picture appeared, Wang Chao’s heart almost jumped out of his throat. As Xing Conglian said, a group of heavily armed security guards had just taken the elevator up to the 11^th floor.

At the same time, he looked at the video recorded by the pinhole camera in the room again. He returned to the main interface of the other party and found that someone was turning on the video in room 1105 to view it. He quickly said, “Captain, someone really went to it. Ahh!”

Because there was no corridor surveillance, Wang Chao felt like a blind man.

“Captain, a team of security guards just went to the 11^th floor, and there are people watching the video in your room. Hurry up and act! Don’t just be still. If you’re exposed, you’ll be caught!”

He shouted nervously, but after he finished speaking, he heard his brother A’Chen’s weak and calm voice. “Wang Chao.”

“I’m here, A’Chen Gege!”

“Turn off the video of our room and don’t watch it, then delete the ones you just saved.”

Shit. What are you doing that you don’t want to be watched!

Wang Chao shuddered and couldn’t help but look around the Jeep. The surroundings were pitch black, but why was his back so cold!

“No, A’Chen Gege, how can I record your video? Later, I can also help you delete it. Believe me. I’ll take care of it!”

“Turn off the surveillance,” Lin Chen repeated solemnly.

……

With the end of Lin Chen’s last words, Xing Conglian heard the clear sound of the door opening and many people entering the room to search in Room 1103 next door.

Lin Chen obviously discovered that too, because his consultant raised his head and put a little distance between them as he stared at him in a daze.

The tips of their noses touched each other. Lin Chen was obviously hesitating.

But soon, Lin Chen seemed to have made a decision. Xing Conglian felt Lin Chen’s body start to slide backward, and at the same time, he arched his back.

Xing Conglian guessed what Lin Chen wanted to do in an instant. He grabbed Lin Chen’s wrist and said softly, “No need to do this.”

After he finished speaking, he pushed his knees hard, protected Lin Chen’s neck with his other hand, turned over, and pressed Lin Chen under him.

Because of the sudden inversion, Lin Chen was lying on the bed with his head up. Xing Conglian looked at the person under him quietly and found that Lin Chen was still staring at him. His eyes were gentle and serious.

His hand was still between Lin Chen’s neck, which made Xing Conglian recall what Lu Xu had said when he approached Lin Chen.

He said, “You smell good.”

At that time, Xing Conglian felt this sentence made him sick, but at this moment, he leaned on Lin Chen and couldn’t help but think of it.

Although there was no incense smell in the love suite and Lin Chen didn’t smell of soap or shower gel, Xing Conglian still felt Lu Xu’s words weren’t wrong. The smell on Lin Chen’s body was clean and refreshing, which was quite comforting…

And it was really fragrant.

Footsteps came out of the next room, one after another. The security guards obviously didn’t find them there, but perhaps the next moment they would knock on the door to the room where they were.

It was truly a tense moment right now. One door away were the security guards who were chasing them, but he was quietly lying on the body of his friend and colleague.

Xing Conglian felt that he hadn’t been this stimulated in a long time, but, although his senses were stimulated, he suddenly felt he needed to calm down.

Because Lin Chen was calm.

“Sorry.” He reached out and caressed Lin Chen’s face, and then started to move.

When Lin Chen heard Xing Conglian apologize, he felt choked up for a while. It was truly a bittersweet moment.

Lin Chen looked at the man on top of him.

The surroundings were dark.

This may be the only opportunity in his life, and a person who was as unlucky as him may not be able to get the same opportunity a second time.

He would not get drunk again; not forced to enter an erotic love suite with Xing Conglian after being drunk; he would not be pressed down under Xing Conglian to avoid the chasing security guards; and be as close to Xing Conglian as he was now.

The current situation was the result of numerous coincidences.

Now he only needed to simply raise his head and kiss Xing Conglian’s lips. Xing Conglian might push him away or he might respond to him, but it was more likely that Xing Conglian would regard this as just common drunken promiscuity, and he could even explain that there were some drugs added to the drink he had consumed.

He would definitely be able to find an excuse for this gaffe.

But Lin Chen knew exactly where his physiological response came from. When normal men experience movements such as theirs, even if they were facing a wall, they would still react a little. What was more, this was the Xing Conglian he loved. Even if he were hugged by him, this would make him happy.

How normal all this was.

It was normal enough that he could reach out and put his arms around Xing Conglian’s neck, kiss him, confess to him, and seriously state his physiological response.

However, this was the wrong time, the wrong place; everything was wrong.

Because more than half a month ago, Xu Ran suffered inhumane abuse in the room next door, and there was probably someone who had suffered just like Xu Ran on the bed they were lying on, perhaps even more inhumane things.

But in the final analysis, it was because Lin Chen was clear that it was the most irresponsible behavior to use being drunk as a cover-up, so that he could use it as an excuse if his test failed. At least, Lin Chen thought he didn’t want to use such an excuse. He wanted to respect Xing Conglian more.

Lin Chen stared at Xing Conglian’s dark eyes. He didn’t know whether he was drunk or not. If he was really drunk, it turned out that people could still be sober and rational even after being drunk.

Desperately sober.

……

It took a long time before Wang Chao’s voice sounded in their ears again.

“Captain, A’Chen, the security guards are gone.”

Xing Conglian finally stopped.

That was a really awkward moment. Lin Chen nodded at him and tried to control his expression as usual.

“We’re going to the next room. Open the door for us.” Xing Conglian rolled off of him. His voice instantly switched to a calm, clear state. He acted as if nothing had just happened.

However, Lin Chen still saw traces of panting on his chest.

“Holy shit, Captain. Are you guys seeking death?” Wang Chao shouted. “You’ll be discovered!”

“It’s fine. When they come to outflank us, we’ll have a chance to leave. Can you control an elevator? I remember there’s another elevator next door to room 03. We’ll go to the basement parking lot. Can you help us find a way to leave safely?”

Xing Conglian looked at him and commanded logically and clearly.

“Oh! That’s a good idea! The elevator is computer-controlled, so I have no problem opening it for you,” Wang Chao responded solemnly.

“By the way, call us a taxi at the exit of the parking lot.” Xing Conglian raised his watch and glanced at it. “It’s 1:05 a.m. After five minutes, open the door to the next room.”

“Roger!” Wang Chao said. “But Captain, I can also drive and pick you up!”

“I want to live a few more days,” Xing Conglian said coldly, and Wang Chao sensibly shut up.

“Are you okay?” After Xing Conglian arranged everything, he turned his head and asked Lin Chen.

“I’m going to wash my face.” Lin Chen sat up in his bed and fumbled out of it in the dark. However, because he was probably too restrained just now, his muscles were tense, so his legs suddenly twitched when he stepped on the ground in pain, and he staggered violently. Just as he fell to the bedside table, thinking he needed more calcium, his waist was supported by a broad and strong hand. Xing Conglian had wrapped his arm around his waist and said, “Be careful.”

This was really an afterthought.

Lin Chen felt that his face must be red.

In the end, it was Xing Conglian who helped him to the bathroom.

Lin Chen turned on the faucet, lowered his head, and let the water wash over the top of his head and the ends of his hair. The biting cold made him suddenly sober up.

For a minute, none of them spoke. There was only the sound of water flowing through the porcelain sink. When Lin Chen raised his head again, he saw Xing Conglian standing with his arms crossed. As he calmly puffed out rings of smoke, there was a faint odor of smoke in the air.

Now it was more like an afterthought.

Lin Chen pulled out a towel and wiped his face, adjusted his mood, and finally said, “What time is it?”

“There’s one minute and three seconds left.” Xing Conglian looked at his watch as he responded.

Then, there was silence between them again.

Lin Chen dried his face and looked at his eyes in the mirror, which had become red from the alcohol. He said, “Xing Conglian.”

“Hmm?”

“Your skills should be good, right?”

“Is Justice Bao satisfied?”

“Uh, do you need me to recuse myself?” In the quiet bathroom, the joking voice of Wang Chao sounded.

Lin Chen suddenly thought that if he hadn’t known that Wang Chao was listening and that someone was watching them, he might really have made a move on Xing Conglian.

It seemed he wasn’t such a righteous man either.

Thinking of this, he laughed with relief. Sure enough, everything was wrong.

He put the towel back on the shelf and said to Xing Conglian, “Let’s go?”

“Okay.”

Wang Chao was always the typical example of efficiency taken to the extreme.

When they walked out of the love suite, the door of the next room opened in response.

There was no need to be reminded. At the moment when Xing Conglian opened the door, Lin Chen thought that the security alarm of the entire building would sound again.

After all, their purpose was different. After entering, Xing Conglian turned on all the lights in the room.

However, when Xing Conglian wanted to take out his gloves and inspect the room, they both were stunned…

Because the furnishings, though they looked the same as the one next door, were completely different.

This room was very new and seemed unused.

The carpet was spotless, and the cabinets still had burrs. Under the bright light, the bed and cabinets, and even the handcuffs hanging from the ceiling in the room, seemed to glow with a shiny luster.

Lin Chen sniffed the air, which was filled with formaldehyde and the smell of banana water that would only be found in newly renovated rooms.

It seemed that someone had just completely remodeled this room.

Indeed, if they remembered the deleted video records, how could they not clean up all the physical evidence.

It would be strange if any evidence could be found here.

Beside him, Xing Conglian squatted down and touched the carpet, then raised his head and said to him, “The carpet is also new.”

“It seems they are much more meticulous than we thought,” Lin Chen said lightly.

“Captain, A’Chen, the taxi has arrived… What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing. We just reached a dead end again.”

After Lin Chen finished speaking, Xing Conglian took out his phone and took a few photos of the scene from multiple angles.

Afterwards, Xing Conglian quickly put it away, glanced at his watch, and then asked, “Wang Chao, report the current situation.”

“A group of security guards is rushing down from the 13^th floor, and another wave is outflanking from the emergency exit on the 7^th floor. Hurry!”

Xing Conglian nodded.

As if he had timed it perfectly, Xing Conglian went to the back door and glanced at his watch again.

About ten seconds later, he suddenly opened the door, and almost at the same time, the indicator light for the elevator that had just reached the 11^th floor lit up.

At the moment when the elevator closed, Lin Chen seemed to hear a team of security guards shouting out from the emergency exit.

As the elevator slowly sank, Lin Chen didn’t have the slightest fear of being chased; rather, he felt quite calm.

If Xing Conglian knew what he was thinking at that time, he would probably hold his hand and say, “What a coincidence. When I was on the bed just now, I looked at you with the same calmness.”

However, they were now in an after-the-fact state and couldn’t communicate with each other.

Therefore, the two of them simply faced the smooth inner wall of the elevator, waiting silently for the moment when the door would open again.

……

The process of escaping from the parking lot was smooth.

Wang Chao’s ability to command was quite good, and Xing Conglian’s sense of direction matched it frighteningly well.

Lin Chen followed Xing Conglian through hordes of luxury vehicles, listening to the footsteps that were chasing them from far behind. At the moment when the security guards were almost close enough to smash their baton into the car window, they got into the taxi that Wang Chao had called in advance.

The taxi driver stepped on the gas and looked at the angry, nervous, and disappointed faces of the security guards. Lin Chen actually felt like he was escaping from ascension.

The driver was also frightened. Although he subconsciously stepped on the gas, he still shook his hands nervously when he saw the security guards waving their batons while rushing towards him. “Who the hell are you?”

“Police. Handling a case.”

Xing Conglian quickly flashed his badge.

The moment the driver saw the badge, he seemed to have powered-up and slammed on the gas again. The taxi smashed through the guardrail of the parking lot, flying like an arrow released from a string, and flew frantically into the distance.

“Police. It’s great you’re the police. I really want that place checked out. It’s best if it gets shut down!”

After the taxi driver said this to them, the taxi started zooming down the wide road at a speed of no less than 100 kilometers an hour.

Xing Conglian put his hand on the car window. He glanced at the name on the badge and praised the taxi driver. “Master* Guan, there are very few men with a strong sense of justice like you. Ordinary men can’t wait to soak in there all day.”

*He’s addressing him as shifu (关师). It’s a term frequently used for cab drivers or other skilled laborers in modern times.

The driver blushed and said honestly, “I can’t afford to go. It’s too expensive.”

Xing Conglian laughed heartily.

“What case are you investigating?” The driver asked again.

Lin Chen glanced at Xing Conglian and heard him reply, “It’s not convenient to speak of it.”

The driver gave a long “Oh” and said, “I mean, it’s no wonder those security guards are like mad dogs. Don’t worry. I’m a top-notch driver. They won’t be able to catch up!”

“Do you often come here to pick up customers?” Xing Conglian suddenly asked.

“Occasionally, but who hasn’t come to Royal One to pick up a few people if you’re working the night shift.”

Xing Conglian’s eyes lit up. “Then do you know where the princesses of Royal One usually live?”

“I don’t know about that.” Master Guan laughed shyly again. “I’ve come here to pick up guests a few times, but I can’t tell who the young masters and princesses inside are.” As Master Guan said this, he suddenly seemed to remember something. He smacked his forehead and said, “Wait, wait, let me ask for you. We have a radio station. I can ask about it!”

Before Xing Conglian had time to refuse, Master Guan had already pulled out his walkie-talkie and shouted, “Hey, which one of you often does business at Royal One? Do you know where the princesses and young masters usually live?”

Soon, chattering voices from many night shift drivers sounded on the radio.

Someone said, “Lao Guan, what’s wrong with you? Are you dissatisfied with your wife?”

Another person said, “Yes, Lao Guan. Finally, you want to have some fun!”

The middle-aged man named Lao Guan coughed twice, pretending to be righteous, and interrupted them. “Be serious. Right now, I have two police comrades who are handling a case. I’m asking for them.”

“Are they real cops?”

Lao Guan looked back at Xing Conglian. Xing Conglian nodded, took the walkie-talkie, and said to the drivers, “I’m Xing Conglian. My police badge number is 20151014xxx. You can verify it.”

Following that, more chaotic sounds erupted from the radio station.

“It’s really Mr. Police Officer!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Mr. Police Officer!”

“I hope everyone can provide clues to what Master Guan asked just now. It will be very helpful for us in solving the case.” Xing Conglian’s relaxed voice quickly calmed the commotion on the radio.

Taxi drivers were probably the most enthusiastic group in the city. When they heard there was a police investigation, the drivers immediately began to give ideas. Some said the girls lived on the east side of the city, while others said they lived on the west, but there was no accurate number.

Finally, a Mr. Driver who seemed to have received the notification suddenly said loudly, “I—I—I—I know, uh. Just now, Master Chen called me in a hurry and asked me to listen to the radio. I know. Royal One, uh, I usually pick up a few ladies there every night and send them home. Most of them lived on Red Street, but cars can’t be driven in, so I don’t know where they live!”

Lin Chen glanced at Xing Conglian again.

“Thank you very much,” Xing Conglian said sincerely to the drivers.

On the subsequent drive to Red Street.

Master Guan chatted with them. Most of the time, Mr. Driver was telling them about his heroic experiences and those of his old buddies who had rounded up thieves or transported supplies to rescue teams.

Although they couldn’t exchange the same stories with him, listening to his pleasant boasting voice, because of the effect of alcohol, Lin Chen fell asleep again.

By the time he woke up, Master Chen had already driven the car smoothly to the location of Red Street.

He and Xing Conglian got out of the taxi, only to find that, at some point, it was slightly drizzling. The rain hardly wetted their clothes, but it plunged the entire city into a misty fog.

Xing Conglian took out his wallet to pay, but Master Guan pushed it away. “You’re the police handling a case. It’s appropriate for citizens like us to assist. I don’t want your money!”

Xing Conglian was used to paying, and rarely did he encounter a situation where someone would refuse payment. He smiled and said, “You’re quite enlightened, but money still needs to be collected for services rendered. We also have our own rules.”

“Oh, I’m not charging you anything, or else I’ll be teased to death by those guys later!”

Seeing the 100-yuan bill about to be crushed by them, Lin Chen stepped forward and said to the driver, “You can accept it. If you don’t, I’ll report him for not paying a taxi driver when I go back.”

Lin Chen thought that his face must have looked serious, since after he said it, Master Guan finally accepted the money.

Xing Conglian had already gone ahead, and Lin Chen followed after him.

“Mr. Police Officer.”

Suddenly, the hoarse voice from smoking too much of the middle-aged driver sounded from behind them.

“Royal One isn’t really a good place. Can you shut it down?”

The streets in front of them were dark, and behind them was an ordinary citizen who was making a selfish request.

Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian.

Xing Conglian’s figure paused under the streetlight, before it turned back. He stopped in front of the taxi, bowed forward solemnly, and said, “Don’t worry.”

……

Just like Royal One was named Royal One, Red Street was exactly as it was named.

From beginning to end, there were endless spa parlors with most of the doors closed. They walked slowly inward and found that there were still a few shops open. The air was filled with a dirty smell that came from the sewers. The alley was narrow but just wide enough.

Lin Chen and Xing Conglian walked side by side, bathed in the veil-like drizzle and fog in the alley.

The shops were glowing with pink light, and some of it flowed out from the cracks in the doors while others leaked from the floor-to-ceiling windows. Lin Chen looked at the shops that were still open and saw that most of them were filled with ladies lying in various promiscuous positions. Some were extremely old, while others looked as if they had just become adults.

It was really late. Most of these ladies were lying on sofa beds and didn’t even have any desire to attract guests.

The problem had become clear again.

How were they going to find Miss Lily’s residence in this long street full of alleys?

“Wang Chao, did you find it?”

“No!” The teenager responded angrily.

Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian. Apparently, Xing Conglian’s order had prevented him from driving again, which made Wang Chao angry.

However, Wang Chao could only voice it, as Lin Chen heard the sound of him clicking on a mouse. “I just checked the medical examination records of the hospital. You don’t even know what I saw. God, just now, I’ve seen five cases of AIDS, not to mention countless cases of herpes and genital warts. A’Chen, I feel like I’m going crazy. I feel so uncomfortable.”

“Ah, I know,” Lin Chen said calmly.

“Why is this happening? Why do they have to do that kind of thing? Can’t they make good money!”

“Wang Chao,” Lin Chen stretched out his hand to hold back Xing Conglian and stood with him under the quiet light. “Not everyone is entitled to choose their own life.”

“But—but why are they so unclean? Wear a condom? Is it that difficult?!”

“Actually, you can look at these people from two points of view. First, they are indeed engaged in illegal industries. From this perspective, you can despise them and spurn them without any problem, but you can also imagine what kind of family they grew up in and what kind of life experience they have, which caused them to live such a life of selling their bodies. Of course, it’s true that they broke the law, and their life experience is just our speculation, but I think… Among those girls, there must be people who wanted to go to a good college and make a decent living by working in an office. I think some of them want such a life, but, really, not everyone in the world is qualified to choose their own life trajectory, and even some do not know they have the right to choose.”

Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian.

The other party did not speak, but instead placed his hand between his neck and gently shook it.

This was a slightly intimate and familiarly comforting action.

But at that time, neither of them noticed that this action was not only intimate but also ambiguous.

Probably because they had slept together just now, even Lin Chen didn’t feel anything strange, as if this were normal and natural.

After a long silence, he finally asked, “Well, did you find Lily yet?”

Perhaps it was because of what Lin Chen said, Wang Chao’s voice had some choking in it, but the teenager quickly adjusted his emotions and said to him, “Found it, A’Chen. Lily’s name is Zheng Wenli, female, 21 years old.”

“Any information on her residence?” Xing Conglian quickly asked.

“Wait for me to check her records.”

After a while, Wang Chao said, “Damn, I found it. It’s really in Room 502, No. 3-117, Red Street. Zheng Wenli’s card paid the utility bills for that place. God, that old driver is really experienced!”

The teenager sincerely sighed.

Lin Chen stopped and looked at the house number. They were about to reach it.

In fact, he was a little surprised. He thought that a princess like Lily, who worked in a high-end club, should have enough income to provide her with better housing, but there was obviously no so-called better housing on this street.

No. 3-117 was an old-fashioned residential building with mottled walls. The corridor door was open, revealing a rusty door frame. Lin Chen looked up, and there were all kinds of dazzling underwear hanging from the balcony. Some windows were lit with pink and purple lights, which looked quite ostentatious. Lin Chen thought they had found the right place.

However, the process of finding Miss Lily was quite difficult. They stood in front of the locked, old-fashioned iron door and fell into trouble again.

Xing Conglian rubbed his nose and asked Lin Chen, “Is it illegal to break into a private residence?”

Lin Chen leaned against the handrail of the stairs, feeling a little dizzy. “What do you think?”

“Can you not report me?”

Lin Chen silently turned around.

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Kinky Thoughts:

Keep in mind that Wang Chao is only a teenager, so the things he says sometimes can be immature, but as an 18-year-old raised by Xing Conglian and given his experience with the police force, I would’ve imagined he would be more worldly.

Personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with prostitution, and it shouldn’t be looked down upon. Unfortunately, many people who go into it are often victimized and exploited, and some are even forced. As Lin Chen says, it’s best not to judge others, especially when you don’t know their circumstances.

Just some food for thought.

Oh, and in case you missed it, Lin Chen and Xing Conglian were pretending to fuck in this chapter.

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