After getting out of the elevator, Zong Jinghao walked towards his car. Just then, a car sped over and stopped beside Zong Jinghao’s car.
The door of the car soon opened, and a guy got out of it before walking over to Zong Jinghao. “Where are you headed?” asked Shen Peichuan.
Zong Jinghao was actually on his way to talk to Shen Peichuan, but the former didn’t tell the latter that. Instead, Zong Jinghao simply stared at the man before him quietly. It was as if Zong Jinghao was waiting for Shen Peichuan to confess. Or perhaps Zong Jinghao was just waiting for Shen Peichuan’s update on the He Ruilin case.
For some reason, Shen Peichuan felt guilty all of a sudden. I didn’t actually do anything wrong, right? So why can’t I get myself to look him in the eye?
Shen Peichuan never told Zong Jinghao about how he accompanied Lin Xinyan to deal with some matters. Lin Xinyan asked for Shen Peichuan’s help because she trusted him, thus he couldn’t say anything without her permission.
Shen Peichuan had his head down when he happened to see a tiny pebble on the floor, he kicked and played with it as he informed, “I’m here to tell you that I’ve found out who murdered He Ruilin, but I haven’t got in touch with the murderer, so what do we do now?”
Zong Jinghao’s tone was calm when he asked, “Are you guilty of something?”
“Huh? W-what could I be guilty of?” blurted Shen Peichuan, who snapped his head up suddenly.
D-did he discover something?
Zong Jinghao chuckled and replied, “Look at you, you’re white with fear. I was just kidding. Why are you so nervous?”
Shen Peichuan rubbed his nose a little and insisted, “I’m not nervous. I just thought that you phrased your words rather strangely.”
Zong Jinghao simply grinned at that. He then walked towards his car and said, “Let’s go.”
“Where are we going?” asked Shen Peichuan with a confused look on his face.
“You said you found a lead, so shouldn’t we push further? Or are you going to wait until after the holidays and let the murderer flee?” said Zong Jinghao as he pressed a button and unlocked the car with a beep. He then got into the car, and Shen Peichuan hurried in afterward.
“Won’t we lose our element of surprise if we go ahead and arrest the perpetrator now?” asked Shen Peichuan. He was a little worried because only powerful figures could afford to bribe those people.
“How are we going to draw the mastermind out if we don’t make some noise?” refuted Zong Jinghao as he turned to Shen Peichuan.
Shen Peichuan thought that what Zong Jinghao said made sense, so he replied, “I’ll have my people get her somewhere private.”
Zong Jinhao frowned. “The murderer is a woman?”
Shen Peichuan nodded. “We can’t make too much noise though, lest the murderer gets silenced before we get to interrogate her.”
The years he had spent in the force hadn’t been in vain. Even though he didn’t hold any important or official titles, he had a lot of people on his side.
Zong Jinghao didn’t say anything. That was his way of agreeing with Shen Peichuan.
Shen Peichuan fished his phone out and made a few calls to send some instructions. He ended his conversation with, “And hurry. We’ll be there shortly.”
He only hung up after he received a reply.
After that, he leaned against the backrest casually when he asked, “Did you really have too much to drink last night?”
Is he testing me?
Zong Jinghao turned to Shen Peichuan and gave him an ambiguous answer, “What do you think?”
Shen Peichuan was speechless at that.
He wasn’t an idiot, and Zong Jinghao’s attitude meant that the latter must know at least something about it. “You and your wife will be the death of me,” murmured Shen Peichuan before he deliberately threw some shade in his remark. “It makes sense, I guess. You were drunk, but you’re not a pig, so it’s not like you’d suddenly turn that stupid.”
I can’t blatantly point the obvious out and have to endure Zong Jinghao’s weird behavior. What the hell is up with this couple? Do they see me as a fool? And who have I offended to be cursed into a crappy social situation like this?
“You’re getting pettier with your old age,” commented Zong Jinghao as he parked the car. The two men then got out of it.
The wardens stood behind the tall gates of the prison in B City. There was a small door at the right side of the gate, and everyone went in and out via that door. The gate rarely opened in its entirety. Shen Peichuan walked ahead to lead the way, and Zong Jinghao stood back because he trusted that the former could do a good job.
Shen Peichuan was familiar with the place, so he immediately headed to the guardhouse and informed, “I’m here to talk to a prisoner.”
The guard knew who Shen Peichuan was because he would drop by every now and then. Hence, the guard didn’t ask many questions before letting them in.
Zong Jinghao walked to Shen Peichuan’s side and glanced at him before saying, “Peichuan, you should get yourself a woman.”
Shen Peichuan was taken aback. He paused suddenly and turned to look at Zong Jinghao.
“W-what did you say? No, I mean, what do you mean by that?” asked Shen Peichuan, who thought that Zong Jinghao’s words sounded weird.
Zong Jinghao simply kept walking without saying a word.
What the hell?
Shen Peichuan quickly chased after Zong Jinghao and barred his path before demanding, “Hey, answer me. What did you mean by that?”
Zong Jinghao frowned at Shen Peichuan’s nervous expression, he then pointed out, “Just look at yourself. You can’t even stay calm. Don’t you think you’re acting like a woman who’s going through menopause?”
Shen Peichuan was left at a loss for words.
Zong Jinghao, on the other hand, simply walked around him and continued on. Zong Jinghao was already far ahead when he saw that Shen Peichuan was still stunned in place, so the former paused and called out, “Are you going to stand there forever?”
Shen Peichuan cleared his throat and quickly followed up. By the time he had reached Zong Jinghao’s side, he had calmed down a lot, but he still murmured his complaints, “You and your wife are the reason I’m in such a mess.”
Lin Xinyan knew full well that Shen Peichuan was Zong Jinghao’s close friend, yet she went to Shen Peichuan, anyway. She even told Shen Peichuan every single thing.
The most annoying bit, however, was that Shen Peichuan wasn’t allowed to tell Zong Jinghao anything.
Shen Peichuan put on a serious face and said, “I will say this, though. She truly loves you a lot. Everything she does is for you. In fact, the only reason she contacted Bai Yinning was for your sake.”
Everything Shen Peichuan just said was obvious, and Zong Jinghao would have figure it out even if Shen Peichuan never said it.
Zong Jinghao’s gaze shifted downward to hide the complex emotion he was experiencing at the time.
He knew that he was the center of Lin Xinyan’s secret when she got close to Cheng Yuxiu, yet refused to tell him the truth.
Zong Jinghao didn’t want to look into the matter, but Bai Yinning showing up confirmed his suspicion.
Cheng Yuxiu… That woman had been a thorn in my heart for over twenty years, but then…
Zong Jinghao knew the truth, but he didn’t want to say it out loud. He simply couldn’t face the complex emotions in his heart.
Words could not describe how Zong Jinghao was feeling. He was in pain, but the pain he felt was something that could not be verbally explained.
That night, the tears that landed on Lin Xinyan’s face were actually the accumulation of pain and despair that he was feeling.
Shen Peichuan seemed to have been thinking about what Zong Jinghao said as he suddenly blurted, “Introduce a nice lady to me, will you?”
He’s right. It’s rather strange for me to still be single at this age.
Zong Jinghao shot a look over and joked, “And here I thought that you’re into me.”
Huh?
Shen Peichuan blinked. It wasn’t until he regained his senses that he shot a glare at Zong Jinghao. He growled, “You’re the one who’s gay.”
I am a straight and extremely manly dude.
Just then, someone walked over and said in a low voice, “You may interrogate the criminal privately here, but you don’t have much time, so please hurry. She is right inside.”
The room was a private room, but he told the guards that he needed to interrogate the murderer, so they got her over.
Shen Peichuan murmured a reply to the whispering guard, who then stood by the door and told Shen Peichuan, “You guys go ahead. I’ll keep an eye out. Try not to cause too much of a ruckus, though.”
The guard was worried about alerting the others.
Shen Peichuan nodded before he opened the door.
The prison had night shifts and the private room was prepared for the night shift guards to rest in it if they were tired.
It was a small, clean room, with a single bed against the wall and a table at the head of the bed with a thermos flask placed upon it. The woman’s hair hung loosely as she sat on the edge of the bed. She was wearing a prisoner’s outfit with blue stripes and had her head down until she heard the door being opened.
