Before getting off work, Lin Shuyue wrote a report on the court proceedings of Duan Taoyong’s verdict. For the concluding remarks, she used the sentence that the victim sisters’ father had asked her to convey.

The next morning, she didn’t go to the newspaper office. Instead, she followed her original plan and headed towards the address of the voice-over expert that Professor Bai had given her. She had the address for several days already, and it wouldn’t be appropriate to delay any longer.

Passing by a fruit shop, she bought several pounds of expensive fruits again.

This was a European-style villa district located near Pinghu District.

After registering to enter the community, the first thing that came into view was an artificial lake. Many lotus flowers grew in the lake, and plump koi fish were playfully swimming back and forth among the lotus leaves.

Willows swayed by the lakeside, and clusters of flowers bloomed. Every few steps brought a new scene.

Lin Shuyue looked for the house numbers one by one. Finally, twenty minutes after entering the villa district, she found the home of the voice-over expert.

Lin Shuyue rang the doorbell on the black wrought iron gate. After a short while, a middle-aged woman in her forties, dressed neatly and smartly, came out. She didn’t open the gate but stood in the middle of the yard and asked, “Hello, may I ask who you’re looking for?”

“Hello, my name is Lin Shuyue. I’m here to visit Teacher Liu Wushuang. I was recommended by Professor Bai Fuan from Yangcheng University.”

The middle-aged woman sized Lin Shuyue up and down several times before walking over to open the gate. “Miss Lin, please come in. Teacher Liu instructed me earlier that if you arrived, I should just let you in.”

Lin Shuyue followed her into the yard. Only then did Lin Shuyue take in the entire view of the small courtyard.

The small courtyard of over twenty square meters was filled with flowers and green plants. The greenery was lush, and it seemed it had just been watered in the morning, as some flower petals still had glistening dewdrops on them. The faint fragrance of flowers wafted into her nostrils, making her feel refreshed and happy.

After going up the steps, the middle-aged woman opened the door, and Lin Shuyue followed her inside. The woman then closed the door.

Upon entering, there was an entryway. To the left was a small room with the door closed. To the right was a small living room furnished with a brown leather sofa set. A European-style vase sat on a marble-patterned coffee table, holding a bouquet of vibrant red roses with white lilies as accents in the middle.

A faint fragrance of lilies permeated the air.

The middle-aged woman led Lin Shuyue through the small living room to a larger living room. The sofa here was a set of off-white leather sofas, and the entire living room’s decor matched the sofas.

A thin old lady sat with her back to them.

“Teacher Liu, Miss Lin Shuyue, whom you mentioned earlier, has arrived.”

The old lady turned around. She wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on her nose and adjusted them slightly.

Lin Shuyue quickly greeted her with a smile. The middle-aged woman took the fruits she had brought. “Hello, Teacher Liu. I’m Professor Bai’s student. My name is Lin Shuyue.”

The old lady smiled and said, “Hello, hello. So you’re Lin Shuyue. Old Bai praised you so much when he called me. I finally get to meet you today. Come, have a seat. Xiao Wang, quickly pour a drink for Ah Yue.”

Teacher Liu and Bai Fuan were comrades who had been sent to the countryside together during their youth. Later, after the resumption of the national college entrance examination, they both attended Capital University. Their careers then took different paths, but their friendship had remained strong over the years.

However, Lin Shuyue was the first student recommended by Bai Fuan to learn voice-over acting in all these years.

Lin Shuyue sat down beside the old lady as instructed.

Just as she sat down, Auntie Wang brought a cup of water and placed it in front of Lin Shuyue. The water was a brownish-tea color, with grains of barley floating up and down.

Teacher Liu said to Lin Shuyue, “When I was young, I was sent to the countryside in the north. Back then, we didn’t have tea leaves, so we educated youth would go to the fields after the wheat harvest to pick up fallen wheat, then roast it and use it to make tea. I’ve been used to drinking this tea all these years.”

Lin Shuyue picked up the barley tea and took a sip. The unique roasted aroma of the grain lingered in her mouth. “It’s delicious.”

Teacher Liu smiled. “Old Bai said you want to learn voice-over acting. Come, follow me to the study.”

The two of them went to the study on the second floor together.

Teacher Liu’s study had books covering two entire walls. Against the wall without bookshelves stood a shelf displaying some video discs and rows of trophies.

Certificates of award covered another wall, all bearing the name Liu Wushuang as the recipient.

“Shall we begin now?”

“Yes, please.” Lin Shuyue adopted a serious attitude.

Teacher Liu was a strict teacher. As soon as they entered the study, she transformed, and the expression on her face became serious.

For the next two hours, Teacher Liu taught, and Lin Shuyue learned. Both the teacher and student were very focused.

It wasn’t until Auntie Wang came up to call them for lunch that they finished their lesson. Teacher Liu looked at the grandfather clock on the wall and said to Lin Shuyue, “It’s already twelve-thirty, Ah Yue. Why don’t you stay for lunch?”

After the first lesson, Teacher Liu was very satisfied with Lin Shuyue.

The difference between a voice actor and an actor is that a voice actor must not only be able to dub but also to act. In a literary work, an actor might only play one role, but it’s different for voice actors. Voice actors need to portray multiple characters based on the different timbres of the actors they are dubbing for.

If someone is skilled enough, it’s even possible for one person to dub an entire literary work.

And Lin Shuyue was completely new to voice-over acting, but her grasp of the characters’ expressions and tones was remarkably accurate! Teacher Liu hadn’t seen such a promising voice actor in a long time. It was a pity she wasn’t studying it professionally.

“Okay, Teacher.” Lin Shuyue didn’t decline.

The two went downstairs together, and then Lin Shuyue saw a familiar figure in the living room.

“Team Leader Hang?”

Hang Jiabai turned around and was also taken aback when he saw Lin Shuyue. “Reporter Lin?”

Then he looked at Teacher Liu, who was walking beside Lin Shuyue, and smiled. “So you’re the honored guest my grandmother mentioned!”

Teacher Liu looked at her little grandson, then at Lin Shuyue, and smiled very kindly. “Ah Bai, you and Ah Yue know each other?”

Hang Jiabai walked over to the stairs, extended his hand, and Teacher Liu placed her palm on his, using his support to come down.

“Reporter Lin is a good reporter. Several important cases in Pengcheng recently were reported by her.” Hang Jiabai subconsciously lowered his voice, as if a louder sound would startle Teacher Liu.

Lin Shuyue looked at Hang Jiabai like this and thought of the Empress Dowager in TV dramas and the eunuch by her side. Teacher Liu was wearing a dark green cheongsam today and had a very elegant and outstanding demeanor, not much different from the image of an Empress Dowager.

As for Hang Jiabai, he wasn’t wearing his uniform today. He was still wearing a white shirt, similar in style to the one he wore the day Lin Shuyue went to report the case, but the fabric was a bit different. He wasn’t wearing jeans either, but a pair of black suit pants that slightly accentuated his figure, making his backside look more shapely and his legs longer.

This was too different from the image of a eunuch in film and television.

Lin Shuyue was amused by her own imagination.

Auntie Wang had already set the table for dinner in the dining room next to the living room. Teacher Liu called out to Lin Shuyue, and Lin Shuyue quickly stepped forward, supporting Teacher Liu on one side while Hang Jiabai supported her on the other.

Three dishes and a soup were laid out on the dining table.

Spareribs stewed with tea tree mushrooms, stir-fried Dutch beans with Chinese sausage, stir-fried water bamboo shoots with pork, and a plate of stir-fried water spinach.

It was currently the season when water spinach was abundant in Guangdong Province. It was cheap and fresh, and stir-fried with garlic and chili, it was very delicious.

Beside the dishes was a plate of cut fruit, and judging by the variety, it was exactly the fruit Lin Shuyue had brought in the morning.

The three of them sat down at the table, and Lin Shuyue and Hang Jiabai naturally started chatting. They talked about the weather these past few days and which fruits were in season and tasted good.

It was very ordinary, very domestic, and very natural. They didn’t seem like people who had just met a few times, but rather like old friends who had known each other for a long time.

Teacher Liu took small sips of the tea tree mushroom and chicken soup in her bowl, watching the two young people of similar age with excellent conversation skills, and the smile on her face grew wider.

It was already one o’clock after they finished eating. Teacher Liu was old, and she looked tired after eating her fill. Lin Shuyue appropriately bid her farewell, and Teacher Liu didn’t insist on her staying.

“Try to set aside half a day every Tuesday and Thursday in the future to come here for lessons. If there are any special circumstances, just give me a call.” Teacher Liu had already figured out Lin Shuyue’s work schedule.

But she also knew that the profession of a reporter, like Hang Jiabai’s profession as a police officer, always had unexpected situations.

Lin Shuyue’s eyes lit up instantly. “Thank you, Teacher!”

Professor Bai had already told Lin Shuyue that Teacher Liu was one of the earliest voice actors in the country. Although she was retired now, her basic skills were extremely solid. Being able to receive her guidance, even for just half a lesson, could help someone go further and further on the path of professional voice acting.

Teacher Liu looked at Hang Jiabai with a smile, her tone becoming even more amiable. “What teacher? You’re the same age as our Jiabai. Just like him, you can call me Grandma.”

Lin Shuyue glanced at Hang Jiabai. In front of Teacher Liu, Hang Jiabai’s expression was much softer. The coldness that had filled him when Lin Shuyue first saw him in Suishan Village had completely disappeared.

Hang Jiabai was also looking at Lin Shuyue, and he even smiled at her.

Lin Shuyue calmly shifted her gaze. “Alright, then I’ll call you Grandma Liu from now on.”

“That’s right, that’s right. Ah Bai, see Ah Yue out.”

“I was just about to head to my unit anyway. We can go together.” Hang Jiabai agreed quickly.

“Thank you, Team Leader Hang.”

He had driven there and had parked in the designated parking space outside the gate.

The two got into the car, and Hang Jiabai asked Lin Shuyue where she was going. He was a bit surprised when he heard that Lin Shuyue was going to Taijiang Prison.

“That’s quite far. Why are you going there? Do you have an interview assignment?”

“No. I received a letter from Taijiang Prison yesterday, and I plan to go take a look. My mentor said he also received a letter from that criminal.” Lin Shuyue told Hang Jiabai what she had heard from Huang Qiang.

Hang Jiabai frowned. A death sentence commuted to life imprisonment involved many complexities. He asked for the criminal’s name and the time of the crime, then said, “This should be a case from over ten years ago, a long time ago now.”

Lin Shuyue knew this.

Wrongful convictions were not uncommon at any time, and many were concentrated in the 1980s and 1990s. The occurrence of these wrongful convictions was mostly attributed to the complexity of the cases, the imperfect legal system, and the underdeveloped forensic technology. A small number, however, were due to the real culprit having powerful backing, operating in the shadows, and manipulating the entire course of the case.

Among them, the case of the Sun in the Southwest^[1]T/N: It is a real case wherein Sun Xiaoguo, a notorious gang leader and serial offender from Yunnan, China, evaded justice for years due to corruption in the judicial system. Despite being sentenced … Continue reading was the most famous.

“This is the first request for help I’ve received in my career. Whether I can help or not, I have to go take a look.”

Hang Jiabai nodded and said, “Then I’ll drop you off at Shuanglin Village. You have my number. I’m not busy this afternoon. Call me when you’re done, and I’ll come pick you up.”

“Thank you, but there’s no need. Just drop me off at the car rental place. I’ll rent a car and drive to Shuanglin Village myself. That will save some time, too.” Lin Shuyue said this to Hang Jiabai.

Hang Jiabai thought about it and didn’t object.

Lin Shuyue rented a car at the rental agency and drove towards Taijiang Prison.

Hang Jiabai returned to his unit. After finishing his work, he got up and went to the archives.

The records officer managing the archives greeted Hang Jiabai when he saw him. Hang Jiabai nodded at him and said, “I’d like to look at the files from around 1994. You go ahead with your work and don’t mind me.”

“Alright, it’s over there. Take your time looking, Team Leader Hang.” The records officer pointed to a shelf inside.

Hang Jiabai walked over to the shelf and quickly found the file for the “Shuanglin Village wife-murder case” that Lin Shuyue had mentioned.

After quickly Browse through it, he left the archives with the file.

At this time, Lin Shuyue had also arrived at Taijiang Prison.