Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
So that’s how it was! Through Liu Guangxin’s words, Zhao Yu understood that although Cheng Lingfei didn’t factor in Zhao Yu impersonating Jiang Ke, she had realized there was a possibility that Jiang Ke could have been followed.
So she started the fire at the barn to kill Jiang Ke and burn any evidence down to a cinder. Before this, Cheng Lingfei had genuinely wanted to save Jiang Ke, which meant that if the meeting with the investors that led to their arrest didn’t happen, there wouldn’t have been a fire!
You couldn’t blame Zhao Yu for this. At that time, he thought the investors were the perpetrators, and as his tools had a limit, he had no choice.
“Then tell me,” Cheng Lingfei said. “What did you find in the fire?”
“Everything was badly burnt, but we discovered Cao Sifen’s skull. It wasn’t completely reduced to ashes, and it appeared a bullet had gone through it,” Zhao Yu exclaimed. “We also found a motorbike in the boiler room and from that bike we retrieved the female killer He Yubing’s DNA. Because we saw that bike at the scene of Wu Fangfang’s murder, we suspected Wu Fangfang must have killed He Yubing!”
“Zhao Yu…” Listening to Zhao Yu answer so truthfully, Miao Ying decided to warn him.
Cheng Lingfei fiddled with the gun, clearly trying to keep the pressure up.
“It’s fine, it’s fine!” Zhao Yu said. He had carefully planned out what to say. “Since we’re already at this point, what more is there to hide?
“Anything else?” Cheng Lingfei asked again.
Zhao Yu had planned to keep Yu Fusheng a secret but after seeing how persistent Cheng Lingfei was, he began to worry that she would lose patience. “Apart from He Yubing and Cao Siwen,” he said, “we also found DNA belonging to Yu Fusheng, Liu Guangxin, Yao Wenming, Yu Sunfeng, and the barn chief Tu Leikai. There was nothing else. We only know those people were there, but whether they were burnt to death or not is a mystery!”
After Zhao Yu finished, the room fell silent. It was obvious Cheng Lingfei was disappointed at the outcome. They had probably intended to use the fire to make it look like an accident, but the police still found something suspicious.
“Okay,” Cheng Lingfei said, “this is the last question. How did the two of you find me? What traces did I leave behind? Who else knows about you guys coming here to investigate me?”
“Sis, isn’t that three questions?” Zhao Yu said softly. “Bespectacled Sun was right. We merely looked at the damaged photos and came! We didn’t expect this to be the true nest either!”
“That’s impossible!” Cheng Lingfei said, fiddling with the gun again. She seemed like she was threatening to pull the gun at any moment. “So you expect me to believe that instead of investigating the fire or chasing Yu Fusheng, you guys decided to investigate damaged photos? Do you think I’m stupid?”
“Eh… sis, it’s not just one photo, it’s all of them! Wu Fangfang scratched every photo with you in it! How would that not raise suspicions in a brilliant detective such as myself? And also, saying something about your intelligence… Why does that sound like something Jiang Ke would say?”
“Indeed…” Miao Ying sighed. “Having a stun gun up her sleeves is exactly what Jiang Ke would have done!”
“Don’t change the subject! I taught Jiang Ke everything he knows!” Cheng Lingfei aimed the gun at Miao Ying. “Zhao Yu, I will count to five! If I’m unsatisfied with your answer you can say goodbye to your beloved!”
“Okay, okay, I’ll speak…” Zhao Yu nodded anxiously. “At first… at first I thought the person on the phone who asked me to help Jiang Ke break out of prison was a man, but the way he spoke sounded like a woman!”
“What?” Cheng Lingfei frowned, and loudly shouted, “FIVE!”
“And,” Zhao Yu said frantically, “when he was speaking, the voice sounded muffled, it was obvious he used a voice changer to fake it!”
“FOUR!”
“No!” Zhao Yu said in panic. “When Jiang Ke’s hideout was cleared out, we found some of his robbery plans, and they were photocopied so it was obvious someone else was behind this…”
“THREE!”
“Tsk tsk tsk!” Zhao Yu’s face turned red. “When I found out about the scratched photos, we investigated your background and found the companies you had control of were linked to Jiang Ke’s past robberies. We also found that your companies profited from his robberies!”
“TWO!” Cheng Lingfei was still unsatisfied.
“I asked your classmates and found out that you and Wu Fangfang both liked Shi Hai!” Zhao Yu said trembling. “I was suspicious about how you got your family inheritance. If must have been done illegally because it wasn’t plausible for you to have taken back both the inheritance and have taken ownership of that many companies in such a short time…”
“ONE!” Cheng Lingfei glared at Zhao Yu and aimed at Miao Ying’s temple. “Say goodbye to your lover!”
“Late Autumn! Late Autumn!” Zhao Yu suddenly shouted just as Cheng Lingfei was about to pull the trigger. After hearing those words, Cheng Lingfei froze, her eyes uncertain.
“What did you just say?” She trembled slightly, unable to shoot.
“Late Autumn, cello!” Zhao Yu shouted agitatedly. “We found a disc in Jiang Ke’s safe and that song was circled on the album cover. We even got professionals to check, but there weren’t any hidden messages on the CD. It was just a regular CD, which meant that the song was meaningful to him!”
“Then…?” Cheng Lingfei’s face turned solemn.
“Then…” Zhao Yu used his chin to nudge in her direction. “I heard this song from your house being played by a cello. You see if you were in my shoes, wouldn’t you think this was a coincidence?”
“Useless! What useless trash!” Cheng Lingfei screamed in hatred. “Jiang Ke, how many times must I tell you! Complete utter trash!”
After Cheng Lingfei finished screaming, she smiled creepily and slowly lowered the gun. “Who would have thought that I, Cheng Lingfei, who spent all these years surviving on my wits, would be outsmarted by a scratched photo and a piece of music…”
“Eh… didn’t I already say there was more than one photo?” Zhao Yu reminded her innocently.
“Indeed… hmph!” Cheng Lingfei laughed. Her laughter caused goosebumps. “Zhao Yu, you are indeed a genius detective! I have never underestimated you, but to think I’d still lose to you…”
“Stop, you’re making me blush!” Zhao Yu said shamelessly.
“Okay!” Cheng Lingfei continued, raising her gun once again, only this time she aimed it at Zhao Yu. “Tell me, does anybody else know you’re here?”
“Yes!”
“No!”
Zhao Yu and Miao Ying answered together, but with different replies.
Miao Ying couldn’t understand why Zhao Yu had said no. She had said yes so Cheng Lingfei would think twice. If Cheng Lingfei thought they had some backup, she would treat them as hostages, and there would still be room for discussion. If not, Cheng Lingfei would have no reservations about shooting them now!
“What the f*ck!” Liu Guangxin shouted. “Do you think you guys are in a drama? Is there someone who knows you are here or is there not?”
“There is!” Miao Ying exclaimed.
“For god’s sake, don’t you think that at this point, lying is kind of meaningless?” Zhao Yu said, blaming Miao Ying. “Sis, don’t listen to her. Even though I realized there was something suspicious about the cello, I couldn’t be sure you were the mastermind, could I? And since I couldn’t be seen in public, I asked Miao Ying to come here first. Who would have thought you’d have acted so quickly? I was completely unprepared!”
“Zhao Yu… you…” Miao Ying muttered, gritting her teeth.
“Good!” Cheng Lingfei laughed, pointing the gun at Zhao Yu and miming a shot. “Since it’s like this, then there’s no point keeping you alive!”
“Hahaha!” Now at gunpoint, Zhao Yu began to laugh uncontrollably. Upon hearing his laughter, Cheng Lingfei hesitated.
“What are you laughing at?” Liu Guangxin asked in place of Cheng Lingfei.
“Oh!” Zhao Yu shook his head in laughter. “Haven’t you seen those gory films? If someone talked this much rubbish the main character would definitely have something up his sleeve! So if you want to shoot, make it quick, okay?”
“I… you…” Liu Guangxin was furious.
Cheng Lingfei was so angry that her eyelids were twitching as she raised her arms, ready to pull the trigger.
“Wait!” Just then, Zhao Yu seemed to regret what he had said. “Cheng Lingfei, there is something I have to discuss with you!”
“You… what are you up to this time?” Zhao Yu had many tricks up his sleeve, which made Cheng Lingfei suspicious. She kept her arm raised without pulling the trigger.
“Do you know why I’ve been so honest with you?” Zhao Yu asked seriously. “It’s because I know that there was no way we would walk out of here alive, so, uhm how should I say this… since we can’t escape, we might as well make our deaths quick, right? But since I’ve been so honest with you, why not return the favor? How about that? I, Zhao Yu, genius detective, would like to know the truth before I die. That is if you dare to tell me!”
