Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Huh?!” Su Jinmei exclaimed, “Sifu, what are you talking about? There was someone else that hired Chen Bingxian? Who? Oh…” The girl pondered, then shouted, “Would it be… Ai Lili?! This… This is too…”
“Tsk tsk…” Zhao Yu didn’t even look at her, as he was pouting. “What did I just teach you earlier? Calm down! Do you understand? I am just making a hypothesis, but look how excited you’re getting!”
“Oh… Yes yes yes!” Su Jinmei quickly tried to calm her face, then asked solemnly, “Sifu, was it really Ai Lili? If so, does that mean that Chen Bingxian was wrongly accused? No… That’s not right… Because Cheng Bingxian pleaded guilty!”
Zhao Yu creased his eyebrows, then said, “What if Ai Lili was the one who found Le Chao first, and then she planned a conspiracy within the original scheme? She sent Le Chao to get close to Chen Bingxian, then lured him to contract a killer. After that, she told Le Chao to leave the evidence of Chen Bingxian’s committing the crime, while Le Chao squared all accounts with death. Then, Ai Lili could extract herself from the list of suspects in the Jumping Off Building Case perfectly, thus removing both the obstacles of the Chen sisters and Chen Bingxian. And, all of that to become the new leader of Bai Shi Li Group?!”
“Oh my god…This is so strange!” Su Jinmei had her eyes wide open. “To think of plotting a conspiracy within a scheme, this Ai Lili must be very cunning and smart! And, she had to bet on herself being able to pull it all off!… Wasn’t it too risky?”
“What’s so risky about it?” Zhao Yu replied. “As long as she could settle things with Le Chao, everything would have been under her control!”
“But…” Su Jinmei pondered for a bit, then asked, “That’s not right…If Ai Lili were to hire Le Chao, Le Chao should proactively get to know Chen Bingxian. But Chen Bingxian clearly confessed that he had found Le Chao first.”
“That’s right, I thought so too, at least at the beginning!” Zhao Yu’s eyebrows were tightly knit, as he said meaningfully, “But, sometimes, the more something seems like a simple coincidence in a conspiracy within a scheme, the harder it it is to realize that something is wrong. So, Ai Lili made use of this conundrum beautifully, thus becoming the final winner!”
“Sifu, although I don’t quite understand what you mean, I can feel that what you have just said has profound meaning!” Su Jinmei complimented him, her face full of admiration. “But, could you please explain a bit more?”
“What else is there to explain?” Zhao Yu smiled. “Don’t you know that your sifu is best at playing things cool? Come on, pass me my notebook, I need to make a detailed investigation plan. What I need the most now, is to clarify the relationships among Chen Bingguang, Chen Bingxian, Ai Lili and the Chen sisters. Regarding this, the more detailed it is, the better! And, you need to get in touch with your Captain Zhang. I need to tell him some things!”
“Captain Zhang? You want him to be involved in this?” Su Jinmei asked.
“Nonsense! The Ruyang Branch is in charge of the case, so how could I, an outsider, be involved whatsoever?” Zhao Yu seized the chance to pat his chest, complimenting himself at the same time. “You came across a detective, who has lofty morals and a noble character, and who doesn’t bother with fame or ill-gotten gain! If it was someone else, looking into this case, who would bother with this now?!”
“Sifu, don’t worry. I am here, so we will definitely not neglect your contribution!” Su Jinmei patted her chest, guaranteeing him. “As long as you help us to find out the truth, I will make sure that everyone knows that you were the one who really solved the case!”
“Alright, it seems that I did not accept a disciple for nothing!” Zhao Yu nodded his head at Su Jinmei, pleased. “Disciple, go get ready! Let’s unearth the truth behind this Jumping Off Building Case!”
“Mm! Alright!” Although she didn’t know Zhao Yu’s intention, Su Jinmei nodded with confidence, passing along Captain Zhang’s phone number.
Zhao Yu immediately gave Zhang a call. When Zhang found out about the situation, he was extremely attentive, assuring Zhao Yu that he wasn’t the kind of person that hankered after petty gains, nor was he a person that couldn’t be bothered to seek the truth. He further promised that, if there was any loophole found, he would definitely give his full cooperation to Zhao Yu in solving it.
Zhao Yu was very satisfied with the attitude of his brother-in-law. So, he immediately delegated to him three tasks.
Firstly, Zhang had to investigate the human relationships among the Chen family. Part of this included his clarifying all of their old scores.
Secondly, he had to investigate the reason why Chen Bingguang would fall into a coma three months back? Specifically, he needed to discover if it was really an accident.
Thirdly, he immediately needed to send someone to monitor Ai Lili’s movements, in order to make sure that they wouldn’t miss out on any details. After listening to Zhao Yu’s straightforward instructions, Zhang did not delay any further, but took action immediately.
After hanging up the phone call, Su Jinmei couldn’t wait to ask, “What do we do next?”
“Let’s eat!” Zhao Yu said, looking at his watch. “As you are formally my apprentice, you have to show some respect and sincerity, right?”
“Oh… No problem, no problem!” Su Jinmei agreed, but both sides of her cheeks were covered in a cold sweat.
….
Around one in the afternoon, Zhao Yu and Su Jinmei ordered a few simple dishes in a small restaurant. Zhao Yu had only been joking with his disciple. After all, he would never really make a mere little girl buy him a meal!
The rain outside was still pouring. The raindrops streamed down from the roof, forming a puddle at the door. There were not many people on the street, so everything seemed extremely quiet.
Zhao Yu turned to address Su Jinmei, who was enjoying her food, “You told me that you helped me last time, so who did you find to aid me, exactly? And, why didn’t I feel that help at all?”
“The last time?” Su Jinmei then recalled when Zhao Yu was interrupted from the investigation. But, she did not let on that she remembered at the moment, but only pouted and replied secretively, “In short, I absolutely did find someone to help you! But… I can’t tell you who! It is a secret!”
“Hey! How could you not be completely honest with your sifu?” Zhao Yu pretended to be angry, as he took a gulp of his beer.
Actually, he wasn’t really bothered at all, since all this time, he had thought that the person who had gotten him out of a fix was Bureau Chief Hong himself! If Bureau Chief Hong wasn’t the one after all, then it would mean that Zhao Yu would have to admit his mistake. Thus, it would be very difficult for him to help Feng Kuo reverse the verdict!
“Hehe…”
Su Jinwei was worried about Zhao Yu’s being angry, so she quickly made a funny face, then playfully got up to pour Zhao Yu some more beer.
“Sigh!”
Zhao Yu sighed, “Although the Ruyang Branch is a small place, it is a place with great Feng shui, where many talents can still be found! For instance, there was Miao Renfeng in the past, and now, there is Su Jinmei! Hehe…”
“Sifu,” Su Jinmei said, her eyes glowing, “I heard from Captain Zhang that Sis Miao is well-known within the police league!” Su Jinmei said with admiration. “Or, should I call her Siniang? Captain Zhang also said that both of you…”
She suddenly realized that what she was about to say sounded inappropriate, so she quickly shut her mouth.
“Why did you stop talking?” Zhao Yu looked up lazily. “It must be something wrong with the food, then?”
“No no no… That’s not it!”
Just when Su Jinmei was panicking, Zhao Yu’s phone rang. It was Captain Zhang calling.
“Brother-in-law, the tasks that you delegated, we are already working on them!” Zhang addressed Zhao Yu differently now, reporting to him with respect, “Ever since Ai Lili left the prison, in order to protect her from anyone that might want to harm her, we have kept her under watch!”
“And, regarding the reason why Chen Bingguang fell into a coma, we have found that out, too!” Zhang said quickly. “It wasn’t any sudden illness or attack, not like the rumors led us to believe, but it was due to carbon monoxide poisoning!”
“What? Carbon monoxide poisoning?!”
Zhao Yu suddenly felt a tug on his nerves.
A rich man in the shoes industry, who was well-known in the commercial world, got carbon monoxide poisoning? Could it be that his coma was actually a segment of the shocking conspiracy within a scheme?!
