Chapter 502: The Hero Rescues the Beauty

Chen Shi, Lin Dongxue, and Yue Chao entered a meeting room at the company. Yue Chao lit a cigarette, tossed the pack on the table, and lazily exhaled smoke towards the ceiling. “Make it quick, I’m busy,” he said.

His attitude annoyed Lin Dongxue. “Do you want to go back to the station for tea?” she snapped.

“Tea? Ha, no thanks. The water there is terrible.”

“The banner insulting the police, that was from you, right?”

Yue Chao laughed. “What banner? Beautiful lady, what are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb. Your fingerprints are on it.” Lin Dongxue said, showing him the forensic report. Yue Chao’s expression changed. He quickly stubbed out his cigarette, sat up straight, and smiled apologetically. “I was just joking, can’t the police take a joke?”

“What a convenient excuse!” Lin Dongxue scoffed.

Chen Shi cut in, “We’re here about Yan Qilin. We heard from Zhang Jinlei’s father and Xiao Ran that you helped the Zhang family split them up using some despicable methods. Is that true?”

“No…” Yue Chao started.

“Don’t play games with me. You attacked a police officer, and even though you wore a helmet and avoided being seen, the incident was recorded at the local station. The statute of limitations hasn’t expired. Do you want to go to prison?”

Yue Chao looked terrified. “If I tell the truth, will I avoid prison?”

“Yes, but if you lie, even a single word, we’ll make sure the station knows.”

“I’ll tell the truth. Yan Qilin really liked me!”

Lin Dongxue was shocked. “How can you be sure?”

“Even though she was with Zhang Jinlei, she couldn’t forget me. Every time I called or texted, she always told me to stop bothering her, but I could hear the struggle in her voice. She was torn. For example, I waited outside her house, and though she told me not to, she still walked with me. She had feelings for me but was too shy to admit it because of Zhang Jinlei’s control over her. It’s like that saying, ‘when a girl says no, she means yes.’ That’s what she was like. What’s the word for it? Tsundere!”

Lin Dongxue thought Yue Chao was delusional. Yan Qilin was clearly rejecting him, but he interpreted it as her having feelings for him.

“I heard about the issues between her and Zhang Jinlei. His family didn’t approve and tried to split them up. Zhang Jinlei’s father even visited her father to negotiate. She often cried to me, and I comforted her like a big brother. I told her there are plenty of fish in the sea. What’s so good about Zhang Jinlei? One day, an older lady who said she was Zhang Jinlei’s mother approached me. She wanted my help to break them up and offered a reward. I didn’t care about the reward. I was happy to break them up. I thought of a plan…”

“You tried to smear the girl you liked? Where’s your humanity?” Lin Dongxue interjected.

“Without doing that, Zhang Jinlei wouldn’t break up with her. You know how stubborn he is. And it wasn’t just me; Xiao Ran was involved too.”

“She was?”

“Yes. What did she tell you? That day Xiao Ran asked Yan Qilin to hang out, left her on a certain street, and minutes later the police arrived and arrested Yan Qilin with the street girls. I was hiding nearby. When I saw her crying, I felt bad and rushed in to save her. I grabbed her and rode off on my motorcycle! The police were stunned.”

Yue Chao’s story was entirely different from Xiao Ran’s. Chen Shi asked, “What about the 200,000 yuan reward?”

“I couldn’t stand seeing her cry.” Yue Chao put on a sentimental look.

“You planned this all along, didn’t you? You staged a rescue to win her over and break them up. You could still get the reward. Why else would you be lurking nearby with your motorcycle and helmet?”

“Wow, I didn’t think of it that way. You’re smart!” Yue Chao laughed nervously. Chen Shi thought, this guy isn’t as simple as he looks. He’s clever, as shown by how he conned those elderly people earlier.

“I told you, if you lie…”

“Please, don’t. I worked hard to get this job. If I have a criminal record, how can I survive?” Yue Chao pleaded.

“It depends on your attitude.”

Yue Chao bit his lip, weighing his options. Finally, he said, “I have some information that could help with the case. Will you let me off if I tell you?”

“Let’s hear it,” Chen Shi said.

“The numbers on Yan Qilin’s hand… They were the serial number on tickets from the theater where I worked. If you lost your ticket, the number would still get you in.”

Lin Dongxue was surprised. The mysterious numbers finally had an explanation. Chen Shi asked, “Why didn’t you say this before?”

“I was scared. If I mentioned it, you’d suspect me.”

“You think the police are stupid? If you were the killer, why would you leave a clue linking back to you? Tell us about the ticket.”

“I gave it to her. After I saved her from the police, she was shaken up and crying. I took her to the riverside to calm her down. Afterwards, I gave her a ticket and invited her to see a play where I had a small role.”

“Did she accept?”

“Yes. The day she died was the day of the play. Her seat was empty. I was distracted during the performance. When I got backstage, I had several missed calls from Xiao Ran. She told me Yan Qilin was in trouble. I rushed to the scene and was shocked. How could this happen?”

He seemed genuinely distressed. Chen Shi thought his reaction wasn’t faked.

“What time did Xiao Ran call you?”

“I can’t remember. It’s been years, and I’ve changed phones several times.”

“Yan Qilin was supposed to meet Zhang Jinlei that day, but you say she was coming to your play. Isn’t that a contradiction?”

“Don’t listen to Zhang Jinlei. She was coming to see me. After almost being arrested, she saw how awful the Zhang family was. She knew she couldn’t be happy with Zhang Jinlei. I took the chance to confess my feelings, and she agreed to date me. We even went shopping together a few times. Even if she was meeting Zhang Jinlei that day, it was to break up with him!”