Lin Shuyue returned the car to the rental agency and took a taxi to Teacher Liu’s house.

Hang Jiabai was already waiting at Teacher Liu’s house.

Teacher Liu already knew that the two of them were meeting at her house to discuss official business, so she tactfully took Aunt Wang out for a walk.

This matter was different from before. The moment Lin Shuyue saw Hang Jiabai, she scanned him. Hang Jiabai’s sin value was less than five percent, and Lin Shuyue breathed a sigh of relief.

This was the second time Lin Shuyue had performed a good-evil scan on Hang Jiabai. The first time was at the mountain search scene of the Suishan Village case. At that time, her good-evil radar was always on, and it had also scanned Duan Taoyong.

Hang Jiabai, like that group of police officers and armed police, had a good-evil value that didn’t even fill one-tenth of the ten percent grid.

But that scan was different from this one. This case involved a lot, especially since Hang Jiabai knew Yang Hao’an and had a very good relationship with him. Lin Shuyue had to be extremely careful. Otherwise, if she wasn’t careful, not only her would face eternal damnation. Wang Guiquan, Ah Qin, herself, and her mother and sister wouldn’t be able to escape those people’s persecution.

Lin Shuyue didn’t believe that people who could harm young children to cover up their crimes still had any conscience.

The two went to Teacher Liu’s study. Lin Shuyue took out the Walkman and pressed the play button.

A sharp female voice rang out in the quiet study. Hang Jiabai’s face instantly changed. This voice was too familiar. Every day when he returned from work, he could always hear this voice speaking.

After listening to the entire tape, Lin Shuyue pressed the pause button. Only then did Hang Jiabai speak in a deep voice, “This is the voice of Deng Ling, Yang Hao’an’s wife.”

Lin Shuyue nodded. This matched Lin Shuyue’s guess. The voice on this tape was too clear. It recorded the emotional changes of the woman speaking very clearly.

Just from this tape, a part of the whole story could be pieced together.

The evil of some people once again exceeded Lin Shuyue’s imagination. She really couldn’t understand why, when a man was unfaithful outside and committed a major crime, his wife would not only help him clean up the mess but also dismiss the lives of two children with a lighthearted sentence like “teach them a lesson.”

And in the following ten years, they had continued to monitor Wang Guiquan’s family for a full decade, without any relaxation.

Hang Jiabai said, “Leave this matter to me. I’ll arrange for someone immediately—no, I’ll go to the small fishing village myself to bring Wang Guiquan and his wife over.”

Thinking back to a few days ago, when he had just taken Zhengjun’s case file from the archives and then encountered Yang Hao’an at the entrance of the coffee shop, Hang Jiabai no longer believed it was a coincidence.

Pengcheng was so big. Yang Hao’an’s company was built in Taijiang District, which wasn’t exactly close to Pinghu District. In the past twenty-odd years, unless they actively made an appointment, they rarely ran into each other in the city center, let alone at the entrance of a coffee shop in Dingsheng Building.

It was too coincidental, so coincidental that now, looking back, he felt like an idiot. He had heard the saying “the darkest place is under the lamp” before, and today he had experienced it firsthand. It was also a resounding slap in the face for him.

And by identifying Yang Hao’an as the culprit in Zhengjun’s case, all the things Hang Jiabai couldn’t understand before now made sense. Yes, besides Yang Hao’an, who else had such great ability and background to make the police station and the court turn a blind eye at the same time?!

Hang Jiabai wished he could slap himself for organizing Zhengjun’s social relationships last night. Let yourself be blind and foolish!!

Hang Jiabai didn’t trust anyone to handle the matter of picking up the people.

He said, “I went to see Director He of the Criminal Appeal and Petition Procuratorate today. He has already issued the retrial process for Zhengjun’s case. On my way back, Zhao Youcheng called me. People from the procuratorate and the court have already gone to the Public Security Bureau.”

Only at this moment did Lin Shuyue reveal a genuine smile.

“Let me go with you to pick up Wang Guiquan and his wife. If you go over there rashly, they probably won’t trust you.”

It was already afternoon, and the two acted on their decision immediately. The Liu family had Hang Jiabai’s clothes. He went to his usual room, opened the closet, took out a white shirt and gray-blue jeans, put them on, and when he went out, he carried the bag he used in college and changed into sneakers.

His outfit inexplicably matched Lin Shuyue’s clothes very well.

When the two went downstairs together, they happened to meet Teacher Liu and Aunt Wang returning from buying groceries. Seeing the two of them looking so well-matched, Teacher Liu’s eyes lit up.

After the two left, the smile on Teacher Liu’s face never faded. She and Aunt Wang started talking about the relationship between the two.

Even though there wasn’t a single spark of romance between Lin Shuyue and Hang Jiabai, in their mouths, it was as if Hang Jiabai and Lin Shuyue’s child was about to be born tomorrow.

On the way back to the small fishing village, Hang Jiabai drove. His car was a jeep assigned by the Public Security Bureau.

On the way, Hang Jiabai told Lin Shuyue about Yang Hao’an’s wife.

“Her name is Deng Ling. Her mother was an ordinary female worker at the textile factory, and her father was the head of the security department. They lived in the textile factory’s residential compound, not far from our Public Security Bureau’s residential compound. Deng Ling grew up hanging out with the kids in our compound. She started dating Yang Hao’an in junior high school.”

“Later, she was admitted to a teacher’s college and is now a high school Chinese language teacher at Pinghu No. 2 High School.” Before hearing that recording, Hang Jiabai had never thought that Deng Ling would become a murderer.

What kind of person was Deng Ling? Everyone in the entire residential compound praised her. She had a gentle personality, a decent job, was filial to her elders, considerate to her husband, kind to the younger generation, and very friendly to her neighbors.

Hang Jiabai’s older brother was thirty years old this year and still wasn’t married. Every time he went home, his mother would always nag him a few times, hinting that she wanted a daughter-in-law like Deng Ling.

And then there was Yang Hao’an. He had been a role model for the children in the compound since he was little.

Among his peers with similar family backgrounds, he had been praised by the elders since he was a child. When he was young, he had good grades, was sensible, and well-behaved. When he grew up, he was admitted to Capital University, which alone surpassed everyone else in the compound. After graduating from university, he gave up the secure job assigned by the school and returned to his hometown to start his own business.

Starting from scratch, he had grown from an unknown small real estate developer to a well-known, outstanding enterprise throughout Guangdong Province today. Who in their compound wouldn’t give a thumbs-up when mentioning Yang Hao’an?

Which parents wouldn’t use Yang Hao’an as a positive example when educating their children? Even Hang Jiabai’s parents were like that, weren’t they?

Hang Jiabai pursed his lips. The angrier he got, the steadier he drove.

From the time he discovered Zhengjun’s wrongful conviction yesterday afternoon until now, he had only slept for four hours. He had thoroughly reviewed Zhengjun and Liang Haihui’s interpersonal relationships, listed several suspects, and sent out several of his team members. Two of them hadn’t returned to the team yet.

And Yang Hao’an was among Zhengjun’s interpersonal relationships. Because he was too familiar with him, Hang Jiabai had never included him in the list of suspects!

Hang Jiabai had never doubted his character!

The car gradually fell silent. Amidst the swaying, Lin Shuyue leaned back in her seat and fell asleep.

Hang Jiabai saw this and turned the car’s air conditioning down to twenty-two degrees, making Lin Shuyue sleep more comfortably. He also subtly changed the car’s music to something more soothing.

He answered a phone call from time to time along the way. By the time they arrived at the small fishing village, it was already dark.

Hang Jiabai didn’t drive into the small fishing village but stopped the car outside.

Lin Shuyue was awakened by the aroma of instant noodles. Hang Jiabai was standing in front of the car, looking at the dark sea and eating instant noodles.

Lin Shuyue opened the door and got out of the car. Hang Jiabai pointed to another bowl of instant noodles on the hood of the car. “The environment is simple. There’s only instant noodles and bread. It’s all here. Take whatever you want to eat.”

Lin Shuyue’s stomach rumbled. She had only eaten breakfast that morning and didn’t have time to eat lunch on the way back to Pengcheng. Now, smelling the strong aroma of instant noodles, she felt a gnawing pain in her stomach.

“Instant noodles are fine. I haven’t had them in a long time.” Lin Shuyue picked up the instant noodles. It had a braised beef flavor. She scooped up a spoonful of softened noodles and put them in her mouth, instantly feeling happy and squinting her eyes.

As a foodie, no one can resist the deliciousness of instant noodles! Lin Shuyue was like that. No matter how much she ate, she would still occasionally crave a meal of instant noodles with a soft-boiled egg and a fried egg, which was her favorite!

Lin Shuyue also knew that instant noodles weren’t healthy, but what could she do? They smelled so good! For that aroma, it was worth being unhealthy once in a while! Moreover, Hang Jiabai especially knew how to eat instant noodles. There were even two softened sausages and two marinated eggs inside!

Hang Jiabai watched Lin Shuyue eat with gusto. He finished his bowl of instant noodles in a few mouthfuls, not even leaving any soup. He put down the noodle box and casually opened a piece of bread to eat.

After eating, Hang Jiabai took the initiative to throw away the trash in a roadside bin. The two then leaned against the car, enjoying the sea breeze and chatting, drinking their iced tea with the air of people drinking beer.

At ten o’clock in the evening, the two drove into the small fishing village. Most of the houses were already dark. Hang Jiabai parked the car in the alley in front of Wang Guiquan’s house. Lin Shuyue got out of the car and walked towards Wang Guiquan’s house.

She reached out and knocked on the door. After waiting for two minutes, Wang Guiquan came to open the door. He was stunned to see Lin Shuyue returning.

Lin Shuyue pointed outside and said, “I came with a friend. He’s waiting for you at the alley entrance.”

Wang Guiquan looked next door. It was pitch black. Based on Wang Guiquan’s understanding of that family, they had already gone to bed.

Originally, Wang Guiquan should have been asleep at this time as well, but Ah Qin’s health had been getting worse these past few days. He was afraid that he would wake up one morning and his wife would have followed their children, leaving him alone. So he couldn’t sleep night after night.

Wang Guiquan didn’t trust Lin Shuyue, nor did he trust the police. He looked at Lin Shuyue warily. “Don’t think about tricking me. I won’t go with you.”

Lin Shuyue had guessed that Wang Guiquan wouldn’t trust her. When she got out of the car, she had asked Hang Jiabai for his police ID. She handed both the police ID and her reporter ID to Wang Guiquan.

Wang Guiquan subconsciously lowered his head. Under the dim light of the twenty-watt bulb by his door, he saw Hang Jiabai’s police ID.

He stared at Hang Jiabai’s ID photo for a good while before asking, “Is Hang Yuxing related to him?”

Lin Shuyue was taken aback and shook her head. “I’m not sure. Perhaps you can ask Hang Jiabai himself.”

Wang Guiquan took Hang Jiabai’s ID and looked at it again and again. A crisp sound from somewhere startled him. He told Lin Shuyue to wait and went back inside the house.

Lin Shuyue sent a message to Hang Jiabai and waited in the darkness where she wouldn’t be easily seen.

More than ten minutes later, Wang Guiquan came out, supporting Ah Qin and carrying a bag. Ah Qin smiled at Lin Shuyue but didn’t say anything. Wang Guiquan carefully closed the door.

The three of them walked towards the black jeep parked outside the alley.

Wang Guiquan supported Ah Qin, whose one hand was tightly holding Lin Shuyue’s hand.

Hang Jiabai saw Lin Shuyue and the others from afar and immediately got out of the car to open the door. The three got into the car, and Hang Jiabai started the engine, stepped on the gas, turned the steering wheel, and left the place.

The darkness completely enveloped the banyan tree in front of the Ancestral Temple. A gentle breeze blew, and the banyan leaves swayed from side to side.

Only after driving out of the small fishing village did Wang Guiquan and Ah Qin let out a heavy sigh of relief.

Wang Guiquan sat in the passenger seat and asked the same question he had asked Lin Shuyue, “Officer Hang, is Hang Yuxing related to you?”

Hang Jiabai focused on the road ahead. Hearing this, he glanced at Wang Guiquan and said, “Hang Yuxing is my second uncle.”

Hearing this sentence, Wang Guiquan’s expression suddenly relaxed.

Ah Qin, who was in the back seat, said upon hearing this, “During the big typhoon in ’98, our village was severely affected. Battalion Commander Hang was responsible for the rescue efforts in our village at that time.”

“Back then, we were drying kelp for people by the sea. The typhoon came too suddenly, and we didn’t even have time to run. We were trapped in the kelp workshop by the sea. If Battalion Commander Hang hadn’t carried us out of the water, I probably would have been gone long ago.”

Ah Qin was a person who clearly distinguished between love and hate. Especially Ah Qin, in her world, good was good, and bad was bad. She judged people. She wouldn’t hold a grudge against an entire group because of one bad person. She didn’t like those police officers at the Taijiang Police Station back then, but she wasn’t against other police officers.

She knew that there were bad apples everywhere. They were just unlucky to have encountered that group of people who were rotten to the core.

Wang Guiquan was the exact opposite. Since that incident ten years ago, Wang Guiquan had equally hated anyone in the police force. He would even get angry sometimes when watching television if there were police officers on it.

Since losing their two children, Ah Qin had become his life. Hang Yuxing, who had saved Ah Qin’s life, had become the person he was most grateful to.

Hang Jiabai looked very much like Hang Yuxing. Because of this resemblance, Wang Guiquan chose to believe him.

But if he betrayed his trust, Wang Guiquan’s hand touched his lower back, where there was a rectangular bulge.

In the darkness, Hang Jiabai could clearly see the bulge as well. He didn’t say anything and drove the car even more steadily.

Ah Qin also knew what her husband had taken when he went out. She didn’t say anything. She had even prepared herself for the thought that if they were deceived, she would join her husband in taking revenge on this world.

Ten years, more than three thousand days and nights, had tormented Ah Qin and turned Wang Guiquan into what he was now.

Ah Qin knew that her days were numbered. She was afraid that Wang Guiquan would do something unforgivable after she was gone. So she handed over the evidence when Lin Shuyue came.

She thought at the time that this should be her last cry for help in this world. If no one came to save her and Ah Quan, then he would drag them down with him.

Ah Qin looked at Lin Shuyue’s face and told herself again in her heart, trust her one more time. Just once, the last time.

–

At two fifty in the morning, the jeep sped through the silent Pengcheng and finally stopped in front of the Pengcheng Public Security Bureau.

The group walked inside. Wang Guiquan held Ah Qin’s hand, his other hand hanging down by his leg.

The Pengcheng Public Security Bureau was brightly lit that night. The director of the Pengcheng Public Security Bureau was personally waiting here.

He would personally take the statement that night. And the deputy director who had been promoted from the Taijiang Police Station and his faction were nowhere to be seen.

People from the procuratorate had also arrived. They would completely supervise this interrogation. People from the neighboring traffic police brigade also brought the dispatch records for the car accident on Songshan Avenue ten years ago.

Everyone saw Wang Guiquan’s knife, but no one asked him to hand it over. They were taken to the interrogation room. As a member of the media and the person who had uncovered this matter, Lin Shuyue would also observe this interrogation.

She held a camera in her hand, which every reporter had.

When entering the interrogation room, Lin Shuyue slipped the Walkman into Ah Qin’s hand. She looked at Ah Qin, who was about to enter the interrogation room, and said softly to her, “Sister-in-law, Nana and Ganggang are waiting for you to seek justice for them.”

Ganggang was the name of Ah Qin’s son.

Ah Qin’s eyes instantly turned red. She looked at Lin Shuyue, who said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m inside too. I’ll be with you.”

Ah Qin tightly clutched the Walkman, straightened her back, and walked into the interrogation room as if going into battle.

This statement took place from three-thirty in the morning to six-thirty in the morning. The sky outside was already bright. The crowd filed out of the interrogation room.

Ah Qin and Wang Guiquan supported each other. Ah Qin’s face was covered in tears, and Wang Guiquan’s eyes were bloodshot.

As they walked outside the Public Security Bureau, a ray of morning sun squeezed out from the clouds, showering the world with golden light.

Ah Qin looked at the newly risen sun and murmured to Wang Guiquan, “Ah Quan, it’s dawn. The sun is out.”

Tears welled up in Wang Guiquan’s eyes. He seemed to see that little five-year-old girl leading her one-year-old son, who had just learned to walk, sitting at the doorway, happily calling “Papa.”

Lin Shuyue found a spot and took a picture of them.

Soon after, Hang Jiabai, wearing his uniform, arrived with an arrest warrant and a group of people.

Their destination was directly to the residential compound of the Public Security Bureau.

At this time, Deng Ling had just gotten up and was wearing soft and expensive home clothes, making breakfast for the whole family in the kitchen. Her son and daughter had already been sent to school by the family’s nanny. Her husband and her husband’s grandfather were still asleep in bed.

Yang Hao’an liked Western food, so she was making him a sandwich. Her grandfather-in-law liked fried dumplings. She had gotten up at six o’clock to make dumplings with corn, pork, and carrots, which was her whole family’s favorite filling.

She had a happy smile on her face, humming an unknown song as she cooked.

Hearing someone knock on the door, she went out with the spatula in her hand to open it. Seeing Hang Jiabai and the several serious crime unit detectives following him, she smiled gently and asked, “Ah Bai, are you here to see Grandpa? Grandpa hasn’t gotten up yet. You’ll have to wait a moment.”

Hang Jiabai’s gaze towards Deng Ling was very unfamiliar. He said coldly, “We’re not here to see Old Mr. Yang. We’re here to see you.”

Hang Jiabai held up the arrest warrant in his hand. “Deng Ling, someone has accused you of deliberately driving a car to hit people on Songshan Avenue ten years ago, resulting in two deaths and two injuries. Now, according to the law, we are arresting you on suspicion of intentional homicide.”

The hand holding the spatula tightened its grip. After a while, she relaxed again. “Ah Bai, are you mistaken? How could I deliberately drive a car to kill people, and ten years ago at that! That’s ridiculous.”

“However, I will go with you. I believe that the law will eventually clear my name.”

Hang Jiabai remained unmoved and took out handcuffs.

Deng Ling glanced at Hang Jiabai and then placed the spatula on the cabinet by the door. She held out her hand towards Hang Jiabai. As Hang Jiabai handcuffed her, she didn’t forget to say, “Ah Bai, you must know that by handcuffing me, our families’ half-century of friendship will be gone.”

The implied threat in these words made Hang Jiabai take another look at Deng Ling. Then, with a cold face, he remained unmoved. “Let’s go. You can say these words to me again when you’re standing in the defendant’s dock.”