Hang Jiabai had just entered the office when he received the call. After two days of cold weather, the temperature in Pengcheng had risen again, especially after nine in the morning, when the sun was so scorching that it seemed no different from summer weather.
After hanging up the phone, he immediately turned on the computer, logged into the forum, found the post that Lin Shuyue mentioned, and the person who spoke. After previewing all the historical message records of this person, Hang Jiabai took out his mobile phone and called his cousin Hang Jiaheng.
Hang Jiaheng is a lawyer. He is very well-informed in some aspects. In less than ten minutes, Hang Jiabai got a website address.
This website is from abroad, and if you want to access it, you have to climb over the wall. But this does not pose a problem for Hang Jiabai. When he climbed over the wall to access the Internet, he did not forget to share the website address with his team members and Lin Shuyue.
Lin Shuyue didn't use the company computer; the internet speed was too slow. She pulled out her own laptop, which she'd bought from the system. It had a strong signal and fast speed, allowing her to connect even in the deep mountains. The system also had a protection mechanism. Her laptop's appearance wasn't much different from any other laptop currently available on the market.
It was precisely because of this that she dared to take out her computer and use it so openly, and dared to let Ah Yang and others play with her computer.
She directly entered the URL into the website, and within a second, the page automatically jumped, without any need for climbing a firewall. The website was also automatically translated into Chinese.
Lin Shuyue slid the mouse and read the posts one by one. This post was similar to the small H website that Lin Shuyue accidentally entered in her previous life, but it included people from all over the world. The posts and messages on it were refreshed every minute. Lin Shuyue's main target was posts from China.
She searched by keyword, and soon the page changed. There were more than ten pages in total, with about thirty posts on each page. She took a deep breath and read them one by one.
Lin Shuyue picked up the water in her hand and took a sip. At this time, there was a noise outside. Li Mingfang was reading a novel at the desk. When she heard the noise, her eyes lit up and she pulled Lin Shuyue out.
The source of the commotion was Shengda Trading, and the quarrel was between its owner and his wife. They were standing at the entrance of their company, arguing fiercely, their faces red and ears blazing, their faces shrugging off even the most basic decency. A crowd of onlookers gathered around them.
Li Mingfang found an acquaintance and asked, "What's going on? Why are Boss Zhong and his wife arguing?"
As everyone knows, the boss and his wife of Shengda Trading are famous for their good relationship. Even with Zhong Jiali, the troublemaker, stirring up trouble, they rarely get angry with each other. This is the first time they have had such a quarrel.
Li Mingfang was asking about the people working in the room next door to Shengda Trading. They had just arrived two months ago, but they were already very familiar with everyone on the fifth floor.
"It's said that Zhong Jiali was kidnapped, and the kidnappers are demanding a ransom of five million. Boss Zhong wanted to pay the ransom, but his wife refused and insisted on calling the police."
Li Mingfang and Lin Shuyue looked at each other, especially Lin Shuyue. Could it be that she guessed wrong?
The people in the newspaper office heard everything clearly. They looked at each other as if they had a thousand words to say, but they only regretted that now was not the place to talk.
Just as everyone was engaged in a verbal battle, Boss Zhong started arguing with his wife.
"Zhong Jiasheng, I tell you, if you dare to use this money to redeem your sister, I will divorce you immediately." The proprietress of Shengda Trading pointed at the boss of Shengda Trading and cursed him. She cursed harshly, but her eyes were red.
"Wen Ying, how come you don't understand anything? Ah Li has been kidnapped now! The kidnappers want money! We have that money, what's wrong with using it to redeem her?" Zhong Jiasheng's face flushed and his neck was thick, looking at Wen Ying's face full of shock and disappointment.
Wen Ying saw Zhong Jiasheng insisted on his own way, and her body seemed to be unable to support herself and leaned against the door.
"I'm not sensible? How can I not be sensible? Zhong Jiasheng, I think I'm sensible enough. You and I built Shengda Trading from scratch, client by client. Your sister didn't get into university and said she wanted to study abroad, so you sent her away without a second thought. You didn't even discuss it with me."
"Three thousand yuan a month to send money abroad for four years, what did I say?" Wen Ying's tears fell.
"She came back from abroad. She learned nothing but bad habits there. She couldn't find a job and said she wanted to be a leader in the company, so you let her in. Besides the two arguments we had, I didn't say anything, did I?"
"She messed up the company because of her own preferences, and I didn't do anything to her, right? The kidnappers want a ransom, but the company's money and the money on the books combined are not enough to cover what the kidnappers want. How are you going to pay? Sell the company? You don't want me and the child anymore just for your sister, right?" Wenying's voice got louder and louder as she spoke.
Zhong Jiasheng looked at his wife, his mind flashing back to his son and daughter. He struggled and hesitated. After a long moment, and the crowd had waited a long time, he spoke: "Wen Ying, I'm sorry for you. My mother told me before she died that I only had one sister, and asked me to treat her well."
Wen Ying looked at him and started crying before she started laughing: "I know what you mean. You only have one sister. If you lose your wife, you can find another one. If you lose your child, you can still have another one."
Wen Ying pulled out her phone and dialed 110. Zhong Jiasheng, teeth bared, rushed towards her as fast as he could, but was stopped by a female subordinate beside her. Wen Ying quickly called the police, and Zhong Jiasheng finally rushed over. He slapped Wen Ying in the face: "Evil woman."
Wen Ying covered her face and didn't say a word.
Wang Mingzheng walked out and looked at the people from his own newspaper standing in the corridor. He scolded them with a dark face, "What are you all doing here? Have you finished your work?"
Li Mingfang and others dispersed in a hurry, but once they arrived at their workstations, they all opened the chat group at the same time, and the sound of keyboard clacking could be heard incessantly.
Lin Shuyue watched them chatting, and then she received a message from Hang Jiabai. They received a report and came to Dingsheng Building.
Lin Shuyue didn't go out, still browsing the website. At five o'clock, Lin Shuyue received a message from Hang Jiabai: "Zhong Jiasheng's DNA information matches the female corpse in the dismembered body."
Hang Jiabai's words confirmed Lin Shuyue's guess. Zhong Jiali died in the SM circle.
Lin Shuyue bookmarked the two webpages, stuffed her computer into her backpack, and carried it to the police station. When she arrived, Wen Ying and her two children were standing in the reception hall. Zhong Jiasheng was nowhere to be seen; he must have gone to take a statement.
The police officer who was receiving the call was very familiar with Lin Shuyue and smiled at her: "Lin Ji, come and see our Captain Hang's team. He's upstairs."
Lin Shuyue thanked her and walked upstairs with a smile on her face.
When she passed by Wen Ying, she scanned her with her good and evil radar. Wen Ying's good and evil value was 10%, and her two children were hovering between 5%.
Wen Ying's children secretly looked at Lin Shuyue, but Wen Ying didn't notice her. She looked at the electronic clock on the wall of the Public Security Bureau with a dazed expression.
She had been married to Zhong Jiasheng for fifteen years. At that time, Zhong Jiali was still a few years old. She was cute and respected her as her sister-in-law. But she didn't know since when, Zhong Jiali has increasingly looked down on her and women in general.
After returning from abroad, this contempt became more and more serious, and they went from being a sister-in-law with a good relationship at the beginning to being at loggerheads with each other now.
But Wenying hadn't thought of Zhong Jiali's death, much less her brutal murder. She had already told the police everything she needed to say, and they said they would search Zhong Jiali's residence shortly. Zhong Jiali had been staying at home to make things difficult for her.
"Mom, is my aunt dead?" Wen Ying's eight-year-old daughter asked Wen Ying. Wen Ying touched her head and neither nodded nor shook her head.
Wen Ying's daughter was holding a doll in her hand. She glanced at her mother and then lowered her head to play again.
Lin Shuyue passed by them and before she went upstairs, she heard heart-wrenching crying. Ye Xueyu came downstairs at that moment and the two of them stood in the stairwell and talked: "Did he recognized her?"
"He recognized her. Zhong Jiali had a tattoo on her belly button, and the tattoo was intact. Zhong Jiasheng recognized her at once." Ye Xueyu thought of Zhong Jiasheng kneeling at the door of the forensic room just now, and a look of pity appeared in her eyes.
"If you want to find Captain Hang, go directly to his office. He is busy looking up information." After Ye Xueyu said this, she walked downstairs.
"Ok."
Lin Shuyue went up to the second floor. Zhong Jiasheng was crying very sadly on the chair at the door of the interrogation room. Lin Shuyue took a look and found that Zhong Jiasheng's good and evil value was within the normal range.
Lin Shuyue knocked on the door of Hang Jiabai's office. Hang Jiabai looked up from his desk, saw that it was her, and walked out.
The crying in the corridor did not stop, but instead became louder. Lin Shuyue was taken to the reception room by Hang Jiabai. As soon as she entered the reception room, she remembered the first time she came to interview Hang Jiabai. It was obviously not long ago, but it felt like a long time ago.
Hang Jiabai poured her a glass of water. Lin Shuyue was thirsty, so she took a sip, then took out her computer and opened the two saved web pages to show Hang Jiabai.
"This is the information I found based on the website you gave me. Take a look and see if it helps you."
Hang Jiabai looked at the two pages that Lin Shuyue had saved, the full Chinese translations on them, and then glanced at Lin Shuyue. In the end, he didn't ask anything. He sat down and read carefully, reading ten lines at a glance and finishing them quickly. He said to Lin Shuyue, "It's very helpful."
The website that Hang Jiaheng gave him was entirely in English. After leaving school, these police officers from the criminal police team had almost handed the language back to their teachers. Now, they could only read some simple things, but they could not understand anything more advanced.
That afternoon, only Hang Jiabai, Jiangzhou, and Ye Xueyu had managed to get to the Chinese forum. But there were so many posts that they couldn't translate many of them. The few they did manage to translate were all eye-wateringly irritating and completely useless.
But the two posts Lin Shuyue gave were different. One post had a Penguin group number on it, and the other was a recruitment post. It said that an excellent S in Pengcheng was looking for a young M who could devote herself, be well trained, and be able to inspect the goods.
The poster's name is Skin, and under this post, there are dozens of replies, which are nothing but some meaningless screams and personal information.
Lin Shuyue pointed to one of the floors and said, "Look at this one, called Flesh-colored Rose. Does her height, gender, and age look like Zhong Jiali? The reply time was twenty days ago."
Hang Jiabai said, "The day after she replied to this post, Zhong Jiali told Zhong Jiasheng she was going abroad. Since then, she has been in contact with Zhong Jiasheng via text messages. Until today, someone called Zhong Jiasheng and said that Zhong Jiali had been kidnapped and a ransom of five million was demanded."
"Have you found the poster on the Pengcheng local forum?"
"No, he used a fake foreign IP and cannot be traced in China. He was one of the first people to register for the forum. At that time, real-name registration was not required, and there was not even a phone number. You can log in with just a username and password." Hang Jiabai rubbed his eyebrows.
He was so busy this afternoon that he didn't even have time to drink water. Not only did the case make no progress, but he was also called by his boss from time to time to ask about the progress.
Fortunately, there has been a breakthrough. Hang Jiabai took screenshots of the two posts and asked Lin Shuyue to send them to his email.
Lin Shuyue's purpose in coming here today was to deliver information to him, and gathering information was just a side job. The leaders in the bureau knew about her covert and overt inquiries and acquiesced to them.
After leaving the conference room, Zhong Jiasheng was no longer outside. There was a lot of noise in the reception hall downstairs. Lin Shuyue and Hang Jiabai looked at each other and quickly went downstairs.
In the reception hall on the first floor, Zhong Jiasheng and Wen Ying started arguing again. Zhong Jiasheng, ignoring the presence of the children, tried to hit Wen Ying, but she stood there motionless. Before Zhong Jiasheng could reach her, Ye Xueyu held him down.
"The police are here, and you want to hit her?" Ye Xueyu hated men who hit women for no reason. Her eyes were cold, and she locked onto Zhong Jiasheng's hand tightly.
Zhong Jiasheng had lived a life of luxury for years, but this was the first time he had been beaten like this. Seeing that the person who beat him was a female police officer, he was furious. He didn't dare to get angry at Ye Xueyu. He still knew a little about the law. He could beat his wife, but he couldn't assault a police officer.
"Wen Ying, it's all your fault. If you hadn't opposed Ah Li, she wouldn't have gone to study in France. If she hadn't gone abroad, she wouldn't have contracted that strange disease. If she hadn't contracted the strange disease, she wouldn't have gotten into trouble today!" Zhong Jiasheng shouted this.
Wen Ying had long known that Zhong Jiali's death would drive Zhong Jiasheng mad, which was why she asked not to go upstairs to take the statement. She stood there, unmoved: "Zhong Jiasheng, you can't blame me."
"Zhong Jiali's current situation is entirely your fault. Back then, she wasn't a good student. She was terrified during the Gaokao (National College Entrance Examination) and didn't dare take it. She took a cold shower and had a fever so severe she missed the exam. I found her a counselor and a repeat class at Experimental High School. How many favors did I owe her? How much effort did I put in?"
"What do you think of me? You said I had ulterior motives. I found a psychological counselor for her because you think I said she was mentally ill, and I found her a repeat class because you think I couldn't bear to see her happy, so I wanted her to live a life of fear, going to bed at three in the morning and getting up at six in the morning." Wen Ying thought of herself back then and smiled self-deprecatingly.
"Before I could do anything, you sent her abroad without telling me. This was entirely your decision. You are the culprit who caused her to end up like this today. What right do you have to blame me?"
Veins bulged on Zhong Jiasheng's forehead. Seeing that he was obedient, Ye Xueyu let him go, but she had already taken out the baton from her waist.
Wen Ying held her daughter in one hand and her son in the other. She faced Zhong Jiasheng directly. "Zhong Jiali returned from France and developed a love for being a slave. Why didn't you say anything to her? She was whipped all over, day and night. Why didn't you say anything to her?"
"What? You know you ate something bad when you have diarrhea, and you know how uncomfortable it is to hold it in when you wet your pants? Zhong Jiasheng, I was so blind to follow a man like you. Divorce, we must divorce."
Wen Ying's daughter burst into tears and threw the rag doll in her hand towards Zhong Jiasheng: "Daddy is bad, bad daddy, I don't want you anymore."
Wen Ying's son is twelve years old and he is sensible. In his memory, his aunt Zhong Jiali has always bullied his mother. His mother has given in again and again for the sake of the family. Zhong Jiasheng, as his father and his mother's husband, has never stood on his mother's side.
They had a conflict with Zhong Jiali. They were still minors, but they had to give in to the adult Zhong Jiali. Wen Ying's son couldn't stand it any longer. He stared at Zhong Jiasheng hatefully and said, "We don't want to follow you. We follow our mother."
Zhong Jiasheng was so angry that he wanted to step forward and beat up the two unfilial children, but he was surrounded by several policemen, and Zhong Jiasheng's arrogance subsided.
When going to his home, Zhong Jiasheng was taken alone into another police car. Several burly men including Hang Jiabai were watching him, and he didn't dare to move.
In another car, Lin Shuyue, Ye Xueyu, and Wen Ying and her children were sitting together.
Ye Xueyu asked Wen Ying, "Did Zhong Jiasheng often hit you guys before?"
Wen Ying shook her head. "It was rare before we got married, but once or twice after we got married. But I didn't let him down either. If we fought, it was hard to say who would get hurt."
Wen Ying doesn't hold grudges, and whenever she and Zhong Jiasheng fought, they were over it. Therefore, she didn't think she was being abused. She felt that they had only fought each other.
Wen Ying looked out the window and said, "Over the years, I've seen clearly that in this man's eyes, apart from his sister, everyone else, including his own children, is not a human being."
After saying this, Wen Ying looked at Lin Shuyue again: "Reporter Lin, right? I've heard a lot about you."
Lin Shuyue was sitting next to Wen Ying's daughter. She had just taken a candy from her pocket and gave it to the little girl. When she heard her name being called by Wen Ying, she looked over.
Wen Ying suddenly smiled. "I've read all your reports, and I agree with what you said. Women are born without the need to rely on men. I can still live a wonderful and free life without a man."
Wen Ying has been thinking about divorce for a long time. When Zhong Jiali was causing trouble in the company, she had already asked someone to draft a divorce agreement. The reason why she had not given it to Zhong Jiasheng was mainly because of her two children. Now that both children are standing by her, Wen Ying feels like an invincible warrior.
A small part of the reason was profit. Shengda Trading was built from the ground up by her and Zhong Jiasheng, bit by bit. Her interests had long been intertwined with Zhong Jiasheng's, and they were inextricably linked. She refused to relinquish her control of the company, and even when she became pregnant and had a child, she never relinquished her control.
At that time, she was ridiculed and mocked by Zhong Jiali more than once because of this matter. Her parents also advised her to put her work aside when she had to run around to banks to get documents even though she was pregnant.
Wen Ying was incredibly grateful for her persistence. Because of her persistence, she had complete control over the company's accounts, the number of clients, and even Zhong Jiasheng's real estate holdings. She controlled the company's finances, preventing Zhong Jiasheng from transferring his assets.
What she knew would undoubtedly be of great help to her during her divorce.
Lin Shuyue couldn't help but laugh: "Yes, women don't necessarily need to depend on men."
Wen Ying wiped her son's tears, took out her phone, and called the lawyer she had already contacted. After hanging up, she said to her two children in the softest and most compassionate voice, "I'll take you to Disneyland in a few days. Isn't that what you've always wanted to go?"
The two children were just children after all, and they became happy when they heard this. Especially the little girl: "Is it the place with lots of big toys? Is it the place where my aunt took the photo?"
The little girl's voice was full of childishness, yet it left Wen Ying with a pang of sadness. Her two children had longed to play with their parents since they were little, but they had waited from the age of three until they were twelve, and from the age of three until they were six, without a father's company. Yet, their father, who worked constantly, could accompany his twenty-something sister four times a year.
How ridiculous, they should have divorced long ago.
Wen Ying thought, it was a pity that she only became convinced of this now.
Ye Xueyu didn't say anything. Even if she wanted to agree with Wen Ying, as a law enforcement officer, she couldn't say it, even if the words of agreement did not violate any discipline.
When they arrived at Wen Ying's house, it was a three-story villa. The first floor was the room where the aunt invited by the family lived, the second floor was the room where Wen Ying's family of four lived, and the third floor was Zhong Jiali's room alone.
There was a lock between the second and third floors. Under the watchful eyes of the police, Zhong Jiasheng unlocked it and entered. The decor was incredibly luxurious. To say it was magnificent was an understatement. Clothes, mostly revealing and risqué, were scattered across the living room sofa. A laptop was nestled among the pile of underwear.
Zhong Jiasheng had become accustomed to the scattered decorations on the third floor. Looking at this familiar scene, he couldn't help crying again.
"My mother is a widow who raised my sister and me with great difficulty. My sister is my mother's greatest concern, and I promised to take care of her for the rest of her life. Tell me, who is so heartless? My dear Ah Li, why did you abandon your brother and leave?"
Zhong Jiasheng was sitting by the doorway, crying while Ye Xueyu was inside taking photos. Lin Shuyue stood by the doorway, watching Zhong Jiasheng weep so hard. She felt that he was a very contradictory person. She was particularly uncomfortable with his composure towards the underwear on the floor after entering Zhong Jiali's room.
She watched Hang Jiabai turning on Zhong Jiali's computer. Hang Jiabai felt Lin Shuyue's gaze, and the two looked at each other. Lin Shuyue nodded at him, turned and went downstairs. Wen Ying was at the stairs, and Lin Shuyue motioned her to go to the side.
Lin Shuyue asked her softly, "Sister Wen, how is Mr. Zhong's relationship with his sister?"
Wen Ying listened to the whimpering sound beside her, glanced upstairs, and said with a sneer, "How's his relationship with her? He usually holds it in her hands for fear of dropping it, and holds it in his mouth for fear of it melting. Now that she's dead, he's even more heartbroken than when his mother died."
"Sister Wen, tell me, since Mr. Zhong loves his sister so much, and his sister went to play in that circle, and he has witnessed so many injuries on his sister many times, why didn't he stop her?"
Wen Ying suddenly looked up at Lin Shuyue. Lin Shuyue looked at her calmly and continued to ask questions: "Sister Wen, think carefully, who does Zhong Jiali listen to the most? What is her attitude towards her brother?"
Wen Ying murmured to herself, "Of course she obeys. As long as they disagree and Zhong Jiasheng makes a decision, no matter how domineering Zhong Jiali was before, she will obey obediently."