Lin Han was meeting Lina again today. I handed her a small, compact device. Lin Han took it in her hand, asking in surprise, "What is this?"
"Where did you get it?"
"I applied for it."
I had signed a contract with the Criminal Investigation Bureau, a position as a civilian police assistant, and a role as an informant. I had only recently learned that informants just needed approval from the public security organ. Not only would they receive a salary, but they could also apply for operational funds, and have a direct line to a specific police officer. My contact person wasn't Wang Zeyian, the team leader of the action team. My contact was Yu Xiaoluo, who had only recently returned to work.
Acquiring intelligence needed to be legal and compliant. Eavesdropping was a gray area and generally not recommended. However, due to my identity and Yu Xiaoluo's current state of mind, she was very cooperative in helping me apply for this set of listening devices.
Even now, I could recall Yu Xiaoluo's words to me: "Memorize my number. Call me immediately if you find Leng Yan. I want to send Leng Yan to the execution ground myself." Her heavy mood had affected me, and I could only nod.
...
Lin Han had only seen such listening devices on television. She was very curious and asked me, "Where should I put this thing?"
"Anywhere, as long as you can carry it with you without being discovered."
Hearing this, Lin Han began to unbutton her shirt. Seeing this, I turned away. She unfastened two buttons and noticed I wasn't looking, then glared at me. I sheepishly turned back, "Just a reminder, this isn't my fault."
We tested the device; the reception was excellent. There was still some time before Lin Han went to Lina's place. Seeing that the others weren't around, I started chatting with her.
"Yesterday, I noticed you were looking up a lot about college life. Do you want to go to college?"
"Go to college? I've already dropped out of school for two years. Besides, I wasn't a good student to begin with."
"Then why are you looking up college life?"
"I was preparing in case Lina asked. Can you stop asking these questions?"
I chuckled awkwardly and said earnestly, "Actually, I really wanted to leave Beijing and go back to my hometown for college, but it seems that won't be happening anytime soon."
I thought it was my problem, but it wasn't. Lin Han's expression was extremely forlorn. I regretted bringing it up and was about to apologize. However, Lin Han said sadly, "My mother really hoped I'd go to college, but I'll never go back to that home."
"Can you tell me about your home?"
"No, Tang Nan, don't be so nosy. I'm leaving, traffic can be bad on the way."
It was still early, and not the time for traffic jams. Lin Han's reaction was clearly an avoidance. I knew I had to find an opportunity to talk to her properly. She couldn't go through life appearing happy while carrying such a heavy burden in her heart.
...
After Lina and Lin Han met, they exchanged brief pleasantries. Lina then shared some good news with Lin Han. They had jointly applied for a QQ account and added someone named Leng Yan as a friend. The person had accepted their request.
Lin Han wrote down Leng Yan's QQ number. Last night, Da Huang had used two QQ accounts with obvious female identifiers, but the recipient hadn't responded. Hearing this through the listening device, I couldn't help but wonder if there were unknown rules to adding Leng Yan. Why was Lin Han's new account accepted, while Da Huang's two accounts were rejected, even though both seemed like random accounts?
"Sister Lina, what should I talk to this Leng Yan about?"
"Just tell him directly that he's a fraud."
"Won't that alert the snake?"
"Leng Yan is an extremely intelligent person. I had my classmate Jiao Lirong interact with him before. My classmate disguised herself very well, but Leng Yan still perceived it. Leng Yan made her pay 290,000 for a jade pendant from the Qianlong era. However, instead of following the procedure to have the antique sent abroad, he directly had Jiao Lirong interact with an account monitored by the police, and then cut off contact with her."
"How did he find out?"
"I don't know. Those who were scammed by Leng Yan are divided into two groups. One group transacted with problematic accounts, becoming scapegoats. The other group takes antiques from the Ming and Qing dynasties, even national treasures, out of the country."
"What is this Leng Yan trying to do?" Lin Han asked seriously.
"I don't care what he's doing. I want to be with him. I love him. I want to follow him for the rest of my life, even if it means being his slave."
...
I, eavesdropping from the side, could barely stand it. This person clearly had psychological issues. How could someone with such psychological problems be a psychologist?
However, Lin Han was very smart. She didn't dwell on that point and continued, "If I'm discovered by Leng Yan like your classmate Jiao Lirong, and become a scapegoat, what then?"
"That's why we can't act based on fixed thinking this time. We need to target Leng Yan's weakness."
"Does Leng Yan have a weakness?"
"Yes. Pride is a common weakness for all intelligent people. As long as we let Leng Yan know that someone is impersonating him, that should be enough."
"Impersonating?"
"Not just online, we need to impersonate a real person. So, you just need to tell Leng Yan that we've discovered he's a fraud, and that we know his whereabouts. Give him the address too. I believe Leng Yan will show himself."
...
I truly hadn't expected Lina to have such a plan. After they chatted for a while and provoked Leng Yan online according to their plan, they took a taxi to the fake Leng Yan's place. To avoid exposing my identity, I didn't follow them. The listening device became inoperative once it left the designated range.
Lin Han returned home late. Seeing us all waiting for her, she squinted and gave a charming smile, making a "yes" gesture with her slender hand.
"I met the fake Leng Yan. He looks like a young man. Lina said he works as an extra near Beijing Film Academy."
"What did he look like?"
"About your height, quite thin. He nodded and bowed when he spoke, with a fawning expression. Oh, give me a piece of paper, I'll write down the address."
I glanced at the address and then handed it to Fatty. "It's going to be tough. Starting today, you and Da Huang will follow him twenty-four hours a day."
"Sure thing."
Chang Dachun interjected a bit awkwardly, "What about me? I can help them monitor the fake Leng Yan."
"No need. Didn't you go to the auction house today?"
Hearing the words "auction house," Chang Dachun's face contorted in misery. "We went, but we didn't find out anything."
"You only inquired at the entrance, of course you wouldn't find out anything. What if you went as a client, wouldn't that be different?"
"A client? That place is a high-consumption venue. Without at least a hundred thousand, they won't even let you in the door."
I pushed the leather suitcase I had brought today towards Chang Dachun. "Here's two million for operational funds."
Since I started cooperating with them, we'd bought photography equipment, computers, rented a place, renovated it, and even bought a second-hand news command vehicle. Now, I was taking out another two million for operational funds. The three of them were stunned into silence.
"Lina's idea of using a fake Leng Yan to lure out the real one is good, but it's not enough to really ignite things. So, we need to add fuel to the fire. I have an antique here. Later, Brother Chang can take a photo of it and specifically express interest in buying it. Then, Sister Lin Han will give this antique to Lina, so she can make arrangements. Leng Yan is well hidden, but I believe he's hiding within this Beijing Xingsheng Auction House. We need to make Leng Yan deeply aware that someone is using the scam he built his reputation on."
Chang Dachun listened and was the first to give me a thumbs up. "Your plan is brilliant, a hundred times more sophisticated than ours." Fatty chimed in, saying Brother Tang Nan was a genius strategist, and Da Huang followed suit. Tang Nan truly lived up to his reputation as a master planner with great foresight.
I remained silent. Lin Han, however, heard their flattery. "Brothers, can you stop flattering him? He's just acting on Lina's plan."
This combination of three old hands and one innocent young girl was quite rare. I interrupted their praise. "If everyone understands, let's eat and then get to work."
Lin Han suggested, "Let's eat at a restaurant. Anyway, Tang Nan has money."
Brother Chang disagreed, like the head of the household. "We can't just spend money recklessly. I've already bought the ingredients from the kitchen, I'll cook, and then we'll act."
...
Fatty and Da Huang were discussing how to divide their tasks, specifically how to monitor the fake Leng Yan and the people around him. Chang Dachun was cooking. I watched Lin Han leaning on the balcony, enjoying the cool breeze. I took a jacket and walked out, draping it over her shoulders, and asked with concern, "Aren't you cold?"
"I feel too agitated, I need to cool down, calm down, calm down."
"Are you scared?" I asked, smiling, hearing her say that.
"I'm not scared at all!"
Like Lin Han, I leaned on the window sill, watching the dazzling neon lights of Beijing at night. "Brother Chang said he's going home shortly. Da Huang and Fatty aren't here tonight, so I'm supposed to keep you company."
"Aren't they inviting the wolf in?"
I was shocked. "You trust them, but you don't trust me."
"They are all good people."
"So, I'm the bad guy."
"Brother Chang has rich experience. He looks like a street hoodlum from Beijing, but he's not. He went to prison because he took the blame for his wife's crime, for fraud. While Brother Chang was in prison, his wife also ran off with someone. Brother Chang only found out about this after he was released. At that time, his mother-in-law and father-in-law were in poor health, and their only six-year-old son had become the spiritual sustenance of the elderly couple. Brother Chang didn't take back his son, but he paid monthly living expenses to the elderly couple. This year, his son started elementary school, so Brother Chang only goes to the elderly couple's home in the evenings to supervise the child's homework."
So, Chang Dachun was this kind of person. Birds of a feather flock together. I assumed Fatty and Da Huang were also kind people. Otherwise, Lin Han wouldn't have trusted them so much.
"Alright, you're the 'Good People Four-Man Group.' But what puzzles me is, you know the backgrounds of these brothers very well, yet they know nothing about you. You..."
Before I could finish, Lin Han interrupted me. "Don't mention me, or we can't even be friends."
I looked at her and could feel the seriousness in her tone. I decided to drop it. Then, I took out the antique I had prepared and handed it to Lin Han. "Fatty has already taken photos for Brother Chang. You'll give this antique to Lina tomorrow."
"Okay!"
Lin Han took it and glanced at the antique. Her expression changed drastically. "How did it end up in your hands?"