Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Didn’t you just say you were a self-proclaimed genius?” Cheng Lingfei snorted coldly. “What is it that you could possibly not know?”
“Sis!” Liu Guangxin said anxiously. “Don’t waste your breath on them! This guy is cunning, and he’s obviously playing for time! Maybe they really do have backup on the way!”
“There’s so much I don’t know!” Zhao Yu interrupted Liu Guangxin.”If I knew everything, would I be in this situation now? Our roles would be reversed, wouldn’t they?” he said sincerely. “Please, you should understand that as detectives we are all a little paranoid. So please tell me truth! I promise if you tell me the truth, I won’t haunt you after I die!” Zhao Yu nodded.
“Seriously…” Miao Ying rolled her eyes at Zhao Yu.
Surprisingly, Cheng Lingfei actually laughed. “Zhao Yu, as a detective who’s cracked so many huge cases, I wouldn’t have pegged you as someone capable of telling jokes!”
“I think this teasing is more accurate. Sis, let’s not waste any more time talking nonsense with him. If you’re afraid of getting your hands dirty, you can pass me the gun,” Liu Guangxin said.
“Miss Cheng, you have established a criminal empire without the police noticing,” Zhao Yu continued. “If you tell me how you did it, I might be able to learn something and use it in my next life! Are Jiang Ke, Yu Fusheng, and Cao Sifen your younger brothers? Also, you coordinated Jiang Ke’s prison break so expertly that we still haven’t been able to solve the case yet!”
“Is that so?” Cheng Lingfei smiled smugly again. “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice! Your goddaughter didn’t actually start school that day…”
“Sis!” Liu Guangxin jumped in anxiously. “Are you kidding me? This policeman is obviously trying to fool you! Don’t fall for it!”
“Ah Guang! You should be following the plan!” Cheng Lingfei ordered, putting pressure on Liu Guangxin and her other lackeys.
“But…” Liu Guangxin frowned, but upon seeing Cheng Lingfei’s serious face, decided it’d be better to follow her orders. The other lackeys didn’t dare speak up either and followed Liu Guangxin to begin their evacuation preparations.
Zhao Yu saw a glimmer of hope, and his eyes lit up. He wanted to continue talking. But before he could say anything, Cheng Lingfei spoke. “It’s a special kind of fate to meet a brilliant detective who’s cracked cases such as the Headless Female Corpses Case and the Devil Case. In that case, let’s talk. I counted five seconds just now, so I’ll let you have five questions. Ask away!”
As she spoke, she continued fiddling with Miao Ying’s pistol, letting Zhao Yu know that she would shoot after the five questions.
“Jiang Ke!” Zhao Yu said immediately. “The relationship between you and Jiang Ke!”
“Alright, that’s question one!” Like a princess from a fairytale, Cheng Lingfei stood in front of Zhao Yu in a white dress that complemented her regal disposition. However, in the eyes of Zhao Yu and Miao Ying, she seemed to be more of an evil princess!
“In the early days of my career, I got Jiang Ke in as my fighter,” Cheng Lingfei said. “I investigated him and found out that he had a criminal record from assaulting someone. Hence, I hired him to help me with my business. I found he was smarter than a regular fighter. He was a good catch, so I focused my efforts on training him and letting him discover his potential while secretly controlling him.”
“Not long after, my business got bigger and bigger, so I needed Jiang Ke to go out and clear the paths for me!” Cheng Lingfei said softly. “You know what happened after that. Thanks to his crimes, I managed to build my empire. All those so-called investors were merely pawns in our plan. If the police ever caught on, we could use them as scapegoats!”
“And you were right, all his plans came from me. I was the mastermind behind everything! I love a challenge. After every case, watching the police scramble around like sheep made me feel exceptionally satisfied!”
“Oh…” This time it was Miao Ying who replied.
“So strictly speaking, Jiang Ke is my apprentice!” Cheng Lingfei said, intoxicated by her own brilliance. “I taught him everything!”
“I don’t understand. Jiang Ke might not be as smart as you but he’s definitely not stupid!” Zhao Yu said. “What are you using against him as leverage?”
“Oh?” Cheng Lingfei said with a smile. “Can I consider this the second question?”
“Ah… nevermind, forget I asked,” Zhao Yu said, shaking his head hurriedly. “In fact, if I think about it, you and Jiang Ke are almost the same. You both have a common interest and it’s mutually beneficial. In addition, he likes ‘Late Autumn’, so it’s obvious that he likes you! Who would have thought…”
Zhao Yu had initially wanted to say that in the end, she had still wanted to kill Jiang Ke, but on second thoughts, he realized it was better to not say anything. Whether or not Jiang Ke had burned to death was something even Miao Ying didn’t need to know. He quickly changed the subject.
“Time for question two! This time, it’s Yu Fusheng!”
“Well…” Cheng Lingfei had wanted to say something, but hearing Zhao Yu’s question she decided to go with the flow instead. “Yu Fusheng was even simpler! He was a contact I arranged many years ago overseas!”
“Really? Zhao Yu was genuinely surprised.
“In fact, he and Jiang Ke were always running parallel to each other. There’s hardly any overlap. They don’t know each other exists, nor do they know about each other’s relationship with me!” Cheng Lingfei said smugly.
“A long time ago, Yu Fusheng was a local triad member in Gao Lanqi. As part of my revenge plan, he even helped me a little. But unfortunately, he was subsequently involved in a lawsuit and was arrested by the police. As I was afraid he would rat me out, I gave him some money to flee the country!”
“From then on, I continued wiring money to him and helped him establish his own empire overseas. Through this, my own business was able to expand internationally. But he is a very different person to Jiang Ke. He has a toxic personality and is greedy, so I have no choice but to control him through his family in Gao Lanqi!”
At this point, Cheng Lingfei let out a sigh. “I didn’t expect that it would lead to an accident. There was a mole in Yu Fusheng’s team and although he was lucky enough to escape, his son was killed by the police!”
Oh! Zhao Yu and Miao Ying both knew that the mole was the father of Qu Ping’s team leader.
“So, from that moment on, Yu Fusheng gradually spiraled. He had only one son and became consumed with thoughts of revenge, even to the point of wanting to take revenge on the police. This caused a great deal of trouble!”
“Finally, if it wasn’t for my help in getting a fake substitute to lead the police on a chase, he would be a goner!” Cheng Lingfei shook her head. “Since then, Yu Fusheng has been hiding out at the cattle farm and lost all his purpose. So…”
Seeing how Cheng Lingfei was looking at him, Zhao Yu said, “I guess it’s time for question three?”
