Lin Han walked up. The fat guy rolled down the car window, and I, in the passenger seat, offered an embarrassed yet gentle smile. "What a coincidence."
"Worried about me!"
Seeing Lin Han's smile, I reached out and held her hand. "Why wouldn't you let me handle something so dangerous?"
"After Li Wenwen appeared, I knew she wasn't up to anything good. I looked for Sister Xiao Luo to resolve this, but neither of us are schemers. Sister Xiao Luo introduced me to that sister."
Finishing, Lin Han pointed at Zhang Cheng Ruixue. Around that time, things were wrapping up over there. I saw several tattooed men beaten to the ground, and Li Wenwen's face was ashen.
"The outcome was similar to what Sister said. I never imagined this sister was such a formidable schemer."
I released Lin Han's hand. "Get in the car, let's go home."
"You go ahead. I've made plans to have dinner with the two sisters. See you tomorrow. We should go check the wedding venue in advance."
...
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The fat guy and I didn't need to worry about Lin Han's safety. We drove home. The fat guy went to look after Chang Dachun, and on the way, he dropped me off at Wende Xiaoyuan. With the wedding approaching, my parents hadn't returned to our hometown. After returning home, I could still have a warm dinner.
Perhaps my excessive silence caught the fat guy's attention.
"Tang Nan, what's wrong? You don't seem right!"
"Did you hear what Lin Han said? That woman named Zhang Cheng Ruixue predicted this outcome."
The fat guy smiled dismissively. "What's the big deal? Aren't all you schemers like that?"
Perhaps the recent events had given the fat guy a misconception about schemers. The skill of a schemer lies in setting up schemes, and battles between schemers are about understanding the situation, setting up the scheme, and breaking it.
A schemer who can predict the outcome is called a 'phantom.' In this world, only a select few are known as 'phantoms': Zhu Guang, Huang Youdao, Cao Qian, and Old Ghost. These individuals possess exceptionally high intelligence and extensive experience. Zhu Guang was affected by Huang Youdao's medical skills; Huang Youdao's intelligence stemmed from the wisdom and luck of doctors. As for Cao Qian, there's nothing to say; she's the daughter truly saved by Professor Huang's life. As for Old Ghost's attributes, I'm truly unsure. However, a remark Huang Youdao made to me as he was leaving is particularly insightful. Pigs are naturally foolish; if one is intelligent, it must be an anomaly.
Zhang Cheng Ruixue can also predict the outcome. I refuse to believe it. If that were true, wouldn't Huang Youdao's entire life be a colossal joke?
...
Yet, the fact remains. Zhang Cheng Ruixue knew the outcome, which poses a problem. Two possibilities: First, Zhang Cheng Ruixue guessed correctly. Second, this entire affair is a scheme.
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Lin Han has been in Beijing for several years. Li Wenwen is also in Beijing. She hasn't shown up for a long time, and then precisely on the last day of our wedding photos, she appears in Lin Han's sight. Someone must have instigated her.
Does this have anything to do with Zhang Cheng Ruixue?
...
I slept poorly that night. In the morning, I spoke with Lin Han on the phone. Lin Han had drunk with Yu Xiaoluo and Zhang Cheng Ruixue yesterday and would wake up a bit later. We would go see the wedding venue in the afternoon.
With free time in the morning, I pleaded with Yu Xiaoluo to make a call so I could visit Li Wenwen at the detention center.
Li Wenwen and her group would likely be sentenced for insulting women and extortion. Li Wenwen herself was implicated in fraud and extortion. After identifying a target, Li Wenwen would usually step forward, get familiar with them, drug them, and then these tattooed men would take photos for blackmail. Furthermore, this man was also guilty of sexual assault. In short, they wouldn't be getting out anytime soon.
"As long as you tell me who instigated you to approach Lin Han, I will help plead for leniency."
Li Wenwen remained silent and shot me a contemptuous glance. She had no reason to tell me.
"You probably didn't understand. I said leniency. You're young. If you spend a long time in prison, your life will be ruined."
"You're sick. Even if I spend my whole life in prison, I won't grovel to Lin Han's man."
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"Do you hate Lin Han that much?"
"Goodbye!"
...
I met with another tattooed man. I told him I could help reduce his sentence, but only if he revealed who had instigated them. If he didn't tell me, I would emphasize the severity of the charges, leading to a longer prison term for him.
At the detention center, Li Wenwen, being a woman, was held separately from the three men.
Therefore, my current approach is akin to the prisoner's dilemma. Without knowing what the other is doing, they will confess and betray each other. This is human nature; people are selfish.
But clearly, it wasn't as I expected. The tattooed men's accounts were identical: they were caught, and no one instigated them. They seemed quite loyal. But I didn't think they were the type to be loyal. They must have pre-arranged their stories.
So, I called Yu Xiaoluo. "Sister, could you do me another favor? This is a task only a valiant female officer like you can accomplish."
"Stop flattering me. Speak, what is it?"
"I need to transfer one of the tattooed men to another detention center, and I need to walk out openly, so everyone sees."
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Yu Xiaoluo, presumably, was extremely puzzled on the other end and retorted, "Isn't interrogation your job? What are you doing at the detention center? Didn't we find all the usable evidence at the scene?"
"Sister, my dearest sister~"
"Alright, alright, I'll ask for you. Hang up!"
With a snap, Yu Xiaoluo decisively hung up the phone. She had a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Moments later, her call came back; it was done.
...
I didn't try to manipulate Li Wenwen, who harbored hatred. I then asked a staff member to bring another tattooed man for interrogation and told him directly, "Someone has confessed, and they've already been released."
The tattooed man's eyes darted around as he contemplated, knowing one of his accomplices had left the prison.
I said expressionlessly, "You haven't had any targets recently, and finding targets isn't Li Wenwen's area of expertise. However, this time, Li Wenwen found you and told you she would be approaching a target in the next couple of days, a wealthy woman worth over a hundred million."
At this, the tattooed man stared at me in astonishment. I saw a smile on the criminal investigator's lips and gestured with my eyes. The investigator suppressed his smile.
"If you have anything to confess, then do so. If not, it's fine. Essentially, by the time it reaches court, these will be your charges."
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The tattooed man, perhaps alarmed that his companion had confessed, appeared flustered. "I'll talk, I'll talk, alright?"
"Speak!"
"Normally, I find the targets. But this time, I had nothing to do with it. Li Wenwen commissioned us to help. Li Wenwen's intention was to rape and then kill. She was responsible for disposing of the body and gave each of us twenty thousand yuan."
Li Wenwen was truly ruthless. Hearing this, I felt a surge of hatred. However, my expression remained unchanged. "I'm sorry, you're too late. Someone has already confessed."
"Wait... wait... I have more. I know where Li Wenwen got this target. I accidentally saw her interacting with that person at a restaurant that day. This time, she gave me another twenty thousand yuan. I suspect she's already been following that man."
"The man, who is it?"
"Brother Da Peng from Yinhe Dazhong Bathhouse, officer. Can I get a reduced sentence?"
"I'll ask the supervisor later. That's all for now."
...
As I came out, the investigator gave me a thumbs-up. "Impressive!"
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"You flatter me. I should thank you for not exposing my identity."
"Oh, actually, I don't know your identity. Sister Yu said your identity is inconvenient to mention. I guessed you're probably an informant. I'm just saying it, and you just listen."
I smiled and bid farewell to the investigator. The informant status was from ages ago; the contract had long expired.
I realized something: the current Yu Xiaoluo is still as righteous as before, but her methods of handling things have completely changed. Taking photos first, then committing violence. And when asking for favors, she lies and uses my old identity. If this were the Yu Xiaoluo of 2000, she wouldn't have done this. Interacting with schemers over the years has made Yu Xiaoluo more sophisticated without her realizing it.
This is good. It allowed me to find out about Brother Da Peng.
I called the fat guy. He was indeed very busy. His entire family was occupied. His wife had gone to Xi'an to look after Chang Dachun's child. Brother Dah Huang was busy with business at the Tianjin branch. The fat guy had then rushed to Beijing to care for the car-accident victim, Brother Chang. Now, I was assigning him another task. Fortunately, Brother Chang could now take care of himself.
What I admire most is that I can summon and dismiss the fat guy at will, and he doesn't mind or complain. Yinhe Dazhong Bathhouse, Brother Da Peng. Once the fat guy confirmed the target, he left with his camera.
...
Meanwhile, Lin Han and I went to the wedding venue. We were both quite satisfied with the environment. I paid, and the server went to get me an invoice. Seeing that the server was gone, Lin Han tiptoed to the doorway, then turned to face me, chin held high, humming the wedding march, and walked towards me step by step.
Looking at Lin Han's happy face, my mood lifted as well. I shouted, "Attention, march forward, one, two~ one!"
These two sentences instantly ruined the atmosphere Lin Han had created. With a smile of happiness, she reluctantly chased me. After receiving a few playful punches, I held her close and asked her, "Regarding the wedding day, your father has passed away. Chang Ge and I discussed it, and we'll have him escort you to me."
Hearing this, Lin Han's eyes glistened with tears. "Okay!"
Looking at Lin Han, I was about to kiss her when a slightly hearty voice interrupted me. "I'm not interrupting you, am I?"
The owner of this voice made me frown. Lin Han, however, said cheerfully, "Sister Ruixue, why are you here?"
Zhang Cheng Ruixue pointed at me and smiled. "Could I borrow your husband for a moment?"
"Take him, take him!"
I didn't want to deal with Zhang Cheng Ruixue. I asked indifferently, "Is there something you need, Miss Zhang?"
"A strange case has been transferred to our criminal psychology department. Teacher Wang Ren has gone to the Shanxi Provincial Public Security Department, and we can't make a decision for the time being. I believe this case is the work of a schemer, so I'd like to ask for your help."