Chapter Thirty-Three: A Bluff

It’s laughable, really. Chen Ziliang had already labeled Lin Zhen a “kept woman” in his mind, yet he prided himself on being objective and fair. Repeatedly, he booked Lin Zhen’s house under the pretense of “gathering evidence,” aiming to prove that his judgment of her was correct—that she truly was the pampered “delicate flower” hidden away in a gilded cage.

But when one looks through lenses tainted by prejudice, how could they ever see the true colors?

Chen Ziliang had already prejudged Lin Zhen as a parasitic woman living off others’ support. So all his so-called “evidence gathering” wasn’t about proving her independence, but rather a calculated effort to uncover details that would confirm she was the kind of materialistic parasite he could scorn at will.

Because of this, Chen Ziliang’s later “investigations” went smoothly. He even assigned Li Jialong—a man who frequently appeared with Lin Zhen in the house—the role he deemed most plausible: a “kept man” living off the money from Lin Zhen’s elderly benefactor.

Having cemented this conclusion in his own way, Chen Ziliang began plotting his “revenge” against the so-called “materialistic woman.” This was the origin of the strange, disgusting packages Lin Zhen received, as well as the inexplicable harassing phone calls.

But Chen Ziliang was a coward at heart. After sending a few packages and making a few calls, he didn’t dare to approach Lin Zhen’s neighborhood again, fearing he might run into her and be suspected.

The phone cards he used for these calls were even registered under his own real name. Fortunately, Lin Zhen hadn’t reported it to the police, or else the culprit behind the packages and calls would have been exposed in an instant.

During the period when Bai Yuni had her accident, Chen Ziliang had a solid alibi. Although he had harassed Lin Zhen before, he had absolutely no connection to Bai Yuni’s death.

Thus, after this investigation, Chen Ziliang was completely ruled out.

As for Li Jialong, while his own schemes and interests suggested no motive to harm Lin Zhen, he insisted he was the first to realize that Bai Yuni was a fake Lin Zhen, an impostor. This would seemingly remove any motive for targeting Bai Yuni. However, Luo Wei and his team still scrutinized the whereabouts of Li Jialong and his associates on that day, since he was closely linked to Lin Zhen and had attended the same gathering before Bai Yuni’s incident.

Li Jialong and his two companions left during the likely time frame of Bai Yuni’s death, as estimated by the forensic experts. There was no way to prove that Bai Yuni was still alive when they departed.

Considering all these factors, the movements of Li Jialong and his group remained under close watch.

That left only one person close to Lin Zhen who was still somewhat suspicious: Zhang Dong.

Zhang Dong’s background was relatively straightforward. Like Lin Zhen, he was a wealthy second-generation heir, known for his wild lifestyle. Though he never crossed major boundaries, he never refrained from smaller transgressions.

From Fang Touzai’s perspective, Zhang Dong was a familiar figure. What’s more, for some time before dating Lin Zhen, Zhang Dong’s personal bank account had seen no cash deposits. Without a stable job, he had become, in a sense, “poor” before their relationship began—well-dressed, well-equipped, living comfortably, even eating well, but without money to fund his external pleasures.

It seemed that Zhang Dong’s relationship with Lin Zhen contained some ambition. Later, he came to believe that Lin Zhen’s loose tongue had led to Fang Touzai’s incarceration. Then, when Lin Zhen exposed him to things he shouldn’t have been involved with, they fell out, shattering their already fragile romance.

Zhang Dong’s losses in this matter were indeed significant.

Kang Ge and Yan Xue first confirmed Zhang Dong’s appearance. Using distinctive facial features—such as his nose, jaw, and cheekbones—they scoured surveillance footage from the elevator and the first-floor stairwell. After multiple comparisons, they identified a man dressed as Dracula whose height and facial contours somewhat matched Zhang Dong’s.

However, it was unclear whether the costume was just so iconic and memorable that several men had adopted it that night. Since they were of similar height and build, it was difficult to distinguish them in the crowded, chaotic elevator footage. Thus, among the groups intermittently leaving, pinpointing which Dracula was actually Zhang Dong was quite a challenge.

Even if they could identify Zhang Dong himself, there was no way to confirm whether Bai Yuni was still alive when he left. The threatening calls Lin Zhen had received used internet numbers and voice changers, making it nearly impossible to find solid evidence to accuse Zhang Dong and force a confession.

“We’ll have to resort to trickery, just like Luo Wei’s team,” Yan Xue fretted. “But how can we break through Zhang Dong’s mental defenses in one fell swoop? How do we make him believe we have concrete evidence?”

“I have an idea, inspired by Lin Zhen,” Kang Ge said confidently. “Do you remember when we found her in Z City, she was surprised and asked if we had secretly installed a miniature tracking device on her? That’s how we could find her wherever she went.”

“I remember,” Yan Xue said, already catching on to Kang Ge’s plan. “You mean we fabricate some kind of sci-fi high-tech concept to intimidate Zhang Dong?”

“But Zhang Dong isn’t Lin Zhen. He knows all about using internet software to make threatening calls and that such software can’t be traced back by number. How could we possibly fool him?” Yan Xue wondered.

“You won’t believe it, but I actually have a little ‘gadget’ that might come in handy!” Kang Ge glanced at the time. “Come with me back to my place. I have an old computer with some stuff we can use.”

“Let’s go! I’m curious about this ‘gadget’ of yours,” Yan Xue said.

They drove to Kang Ge’s apartment. Though it was her second visit, Yan Xue still felt uncomfortable with Kang Ge living alone in such a large, empty space.

While Kang Ge searched for his old computer, Yan Xue stood by the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room, absentmindedly watching the greenery and decorations below. The view was good, and the weather outside was pleasant, the expansive vista lifting her spirits somewhat.

But the tranquility didn’t last long. Yan Xue’s phone rang, pulling her back to reality.

The caller ID showed “Father Yan.” She had expected this call for some time now; it was overdue.

Still, what must come will come, and there was no point in avoidance. Yan Xue took a deep breath and answered.

As usual, Father Yan began with his usual warm inquiries: how busy she was at work, whether she was eating and dressing well, to be careful and take care of herself, not to overwork. Only after this litany of concern did he awkwardly shift to the real topic.

“Xiao Xue, I know you’re a police officer and want to be fair and just. But your cousin is family. Maybe you should be a bit more careful in how you ask her for help? Tone matters—you don’t want to hurt your own family, right?

“Your aunt told me that Chen Chen called home, crying so hard she could barely breathe. She said you wanted to handcuff her and lock her up in jail. No matter how she explained, you wouldn’t listen or believe her. Even after proving she had nothing to do with it, you didn’t apologize...

“I know you’re not that close with Chen Chen, but she’s still your cousin. You two are the only children in your generation, no brothers or sisters—she’s one of your closest relatives. You have to trust family a little, don’t you?”

Yan Xue felt anger rising to her throat. Normally, at such moments, she would lash out at Father Yan, arguing over right and wrong before calling Song Chen to confront her directly.

But she knew this would only lead to a second round of cries from Song Chen, a second round of her aunt causing trouble with their parents, a second round of their parents urging her to be kind to her cousin, and so on in an endless cycle.

The outcome would almost certainly be her explaining herself endlessly, with no resolution, no chance to confront Song Chen and vent her frustration—just swallowing her anger silently.

This time was different. During the night stakeout with Kang Ge, their candid conversation and the stories he shared from his childhood had inspired her. She was determined not to follow the old path.

So she suppressed the anger rising in her mind, kept silent, and listened quietly to Father Yan’s admonitions without a word.

Father Yan, sensing something was off—because in the past, his impulsive daughter would never stay silent so long without a single retort—worried she might have hung up in anger.

“Xiao Xue? Xiao Xue? Are you listening?” he asked uncertainly.

Yan Xue adjusted her emotions and, to avoid raising suspicion, pressed one nostril to add a subtle nasal tone. Then she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, her voice trembling slightly, as if struggling to hold back pain and sorrow, even tears.

“What’s wrong, Xiao Xue? Are you crying?” Father Yan sounded surprised. He hadn’t seen his daughter cry in a long time. Since puberty, she’d been strong-willed—while other girls relied on tears, Yan Xue took action.

Hearing a suppressed sob in her voice shocked him.

“It’s nothing, Dad. I’m fine, really. Don’t worry,” Yan Xue said, doing her best to sound as if she had just cried. “I understand what you mean. If it comes down to it, I’ll apologize to Song Chen…”

“What happened? Why are you crying? Daughter, what’s wrong? Are you facing difficulties? Talk to me. Don’t keep it bottled up. Mom and Dad may not be able to do much, but at least we need to know. What’s going on?” Father Yan grew increasingly anxious.

Yan Xue hesitated, sniffled, then said, “It’s nothing, Dad. It’s all over now. No big deal. I just didn’t expect that on the day Song Chen went to W City, she would run off with some stranger from the internet to attend a masquerade ball. And it just happened to be the one connected to our case. We had no choice but to bring her back for questioning.

“When we got back to the station, she threw a tantrum, saying I was her relative and should trust her, skip the investigation, and not take her to the police station. Our captain happened to overhear it all.

“I was trying to be supportive as her cousin, to help her be brave during the investigation. But her outburst was heard by the captain, who made me recuse myself and scolded me for such a mistake after working for years. He said he was very disappointed…”

Yan Xue choked up momentarily, then forced herself to steady her voice. “It’s okay, Dad. Our leaders are good. Everything’s been said and done. I’ll work hard and make sure it doesn’t affect their impression of me. Don’t worry, I won’t let you be embarrassed. I’ll apologize to Song Chen soon.”