Several people entered the reception room of the police station one after another.
They were arranged in different rooms separately, but because they arrived around the same time, they inevitably met each other when they arrived at the police station.
The first to enter the police station lobby was a smartly dressed middle-aged woman. She had shoulder-length straight hair, and there was a faint smile on her lips, but it didn’t reach her eyes, giving off a kind of both friendly and aloof feeling.
“Lawyer Ran.”
A female police officer called out to the woman.
The woman with shoulder-length hair walked over with a flawless professional smile, “Officer Song, it’s you. Have you been busy lately?”
The two obviously knew each other. The female police officer called “Officer Song” smiled bitterly, “I wish there was a time when I wasn’t busy. I called you here this time because of the case of Su Xiaohua’s disappearance ten years ago. Officer Wang has something he wants to ask you about.”
Upon hearing the name “Su Xiaohua,” the smile on Lawyer Ran’s face instantly disappeared. Two seconds later, she put on a smile again, “I know, Officer Wang has already told me on the phone. If the clues I provide can find Xiaohua, I’m willing to tell you everything I know.”
[Lord Host, this person is Su Xiaohua’s good friend, Ran Jingjing. She majored in law in college and opened her own law firm after graduation. She has a high level of business and a high success rate in lawsuits. S419M’s voice echoed in Bai Lixin’s mind, [In addition,, she often does social assistance, so her reputation is also very good. Because she is a lawyer, she often deals with the police, so she has many police friends.]
In a corner where no one could see, an invisible young man stood alone, observing the lobby from the perspective of a bystander.
Just after Ran Jingjing entered the lobby, Cao Jiyun walked out of the interrogation room with a gray face.
She walked through the lobby in a daze, and when she saw Ran Jingjing, she clearly paused, unconsciously freezing in place.
When Cao Jiyun saw Ran Jingjing, Ran Jingjing also saw Cao Jiyun. Unlike the pale-faced Cao Jiyun, Ran Jingjing smiled and walked up to Cao Jiyun, greeting her, “Senior, long time no see.”
Cao Jiyun stiffly twitched the corners of her mouth, “Lawyer Ran.”
Ran Jingjing looked Cao Jiyun up and down, “The last time we met should have been during your father’s lawsuit, right?”
Cao Jiyun: “…Yes, six years ago.”
Ran Jingjing: “Where do you work now, senior?”
Cao Jiyun lowered her chin slightly, “I… I don’t work in a law firm.”
Ran Jingjing asked again, “Then are you a legal consultant in a company?”
Cao Jiyun shook her head, “No, I am now… delivering takeout.”
Ran Jingjing raised her eyebrows slightly, “Delivering takeout? Why? You are a genius in our profession. Isn’t it a waste?”
Cao Jiyun finally couldn’t bear it. She suddenly raised her head and looked Ran Jingjing in the eye, “Why am I delivering takeout? Don’t you know? I don’t know what means you used to make my father lose the lawsuit back then! Are you happy now? Ran Jingjing, in front of you, I dare not call myself a ‘genius’.”
Ran Jingjing raised her eyebrows, “As a senior law student, you should understand the rigor of the judicial system. Lawsuits are like this, there are wins and losses. I’m just a defense lawyer helping the plaintiff fight for their legal rights. Honestly, I’m happy to have won the lawsuit.”
Cao Jiyun looked at Ran Jingjing meaningfully for two seconds before saying: “Let us go.”
Ran Jingjing just smiled, “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Just as she was about to brush past Cao Jiyun’s shoulder and leave, another person walked into the police station lobby.
It was a woman who appeared to be in her forties, with a tired look beyond her age.
Plainly dressed, not tall, somewhat overweight.
She walked with a limp.
As soon as she entered the police station, she began to look around nervously. It wasn’t until Officer Song approached her with a smile that her nervousness eased slightly.
Bai Lixin’s attention focused on the woman’s limp, and S419M’s voice came into his mind: [Lord Host, this woman is named Zhang Li, she is Su Hong’s wife, also Su Xiaohua’s aunt.]
Bai Lixin came closer and listened to the conversation between Zhang Li and Officer Song.
Zhang Li: “Officer, did something happen to my husband, Su Hong?”
Officer Song: “Didn’t they tell you when they notified you to come?”
Zhang Li pointed to the hearing aid in her ear, “My hearing isn’t very good, I only heard ‘Su Hong’ and ‘police station’ on the phone. What happened to my husband?!”
“We can’t reach Su Hong.” At some point, Wang Tou, who was in charge of the “Xiaohua Missing Case,” had come in from the corridor to the lobby. He walked briskly towards Zhang Li, “You’re his wife, do you know where he is?”
Zhang Li tilted her head, brought her ear closer to Wang Tou, then shook her head, “I don’t know. He borrowed from loan sharks and the debt collectors knew our address, so he didn’t dare to come home and stayed outside. I haven’t seen him for over a month!”
Wang Tou had deep dark circles around his eyes, “What debt does Su Hong owe?”
The woman hesitated.
Wang Tou didn’t rush, he just asked casually, “Is there anything more important than a life? Have you heard about the dismemberment case in the abandoned park a few days ago?”
Zhang Li’s body trembled visibly, but she relaxed her tone, “Actually, I’m not very clear. I only know that Su Hong seems to have borrowed from loan sharks and couldn’t fill the hole, so he was targeted by the debt collectors.”
Wang Tou’s eyebrows were raised, “Which debt collection company?”
Zhang Li shook her head, “I don’t know, I only know that the leader of that group is called ‘Master Huang’.”
Officer Zhang: “Why did he borrow from loan sharks?”
Zhang Li shook her head again, “I don’t know. About three months ago, Su Hong suddenly said he urgently needed money. Our family already couldn’t make ends meet. Su Hong didn’t have a job and could only rely on my meager income from working in the supermarket to support the family. I couldn’t come up with that much money. He yelled at me and left. After a few days, he came back, saying the matter was resolved. After that, everything was calm for two months. A month ago, debt collectors suddenly showed up, and Su Hong left me and ran away by himself.”
The policewoman frowned, “Su Hong is able-bodied, why doesn’t he work?”
Zhang Li was a bit helpless, “There’s no way. He used to make a lot of money as a photographer. Later, he suddenly developed some kind of lens phobia, and it’s very severe. He would self-harm when he saw screens and lenses. With technology so advanced now, there are cameras and smartphones everywhere on the streets. He can only hide at home.”
The policewoman: “Then how does he communicate with the outside world?”
Zhang Li: “With an old-fashioned pager. It costs one or two hundred yuan per piece. It has a small screen, no camera, and can only make phone calls and send text messages.”
The policewoman: “How much money did he need?”
Zhang Li: “Three million.”
The policewoman was puzzled, “Since he never left home, how could he suddenly need such a large sum of money?”
Zhang Li shook her head, “I don’t know.”
Wang Tou and the policewoman glanced at each other, and just as the policewoman was about to continue questioning, she was interrupted by Wang Tou, “Xiao Song, you take her to the interrogation room first, and we’ll ask the rest later.”
The policewoman nodded at the words and led Zhang Li towards the corridor.
“Officer Wang, is there a clue about Xiaohua?!” When Zhang Li entered the lobby, Ran Jingjing, who had originally intended to walk towards the corridor, stopped. When she saw Zhang Li being taken away by the policewoman, she approached Wang and asked excitedly.
Wang Tou shook his head, “Not yet. Come with me, Lawyer Ran, I need to verify a few things with you.”
Ran Jingjing: “Okay.”
Just as the two were about to walk towards the interrogation room, two forensic detectives suddenly hurried past them and rushed into one of the interrogation rooms.
The door opened, and inside the interrogation room, a woman was lying on the table, panting heavily, showing signs of breathing difficulties.
Watching the busy figures of the two forensic detectives, Ran Jingjing asked curiously, “Asthma?”
Wang Tou: “She’s a victim’s relative, her husband was brutally murdered, and she had an asthma attack when she was stimulated just now.”
Ran Jingjing: “Mrs. Shen? Teacher Shen’s wife?”
Wang Tou: “Do you know Shen Shukuang?”
Ran Jingjing: “I’ve met him a few times. I handled his reputation case.”
“Specifically, I was the defense lawyer of the defendant.”
Wang Tou looked at Ran Jingjing with inquiring eyes.
After the woman in the interrogation room finished her medicine, her breathing difficulties improved a lot, and Ran Jingjing continued, “It was about four years ago, a student came to me to apply for social assistance, saying she was sued.”
“She told me she was molested by a college teacher, and out of anger, she posted it on the school’s forum. When that teacher found out, he directly gave her a lawsuit, making her the defendant. At that time, I found the girl quite pitiful and promised to defend her for free.”
Wang Tou glanced at the woman in the interrogation room, walked to the side, and lowered his voice, “That teacher wouldn’t be Shen Shukuang, would it?”
Ran Jingjing nodded, “That’s right, it was him.”
Wang Tou’s eyes darkened slightly, “What happened afterward?”
Ran Jingjing: “Afterward, I started searching for physical evidence everywhere, trying to win the case for her. But this case wasn’t easy to win; she didn’t have any evidence. Whether it was surveillance or any records, there was nothing. But I still found a clue.”
Wang Tou: “What clue?”
Ran Jingjing: “My idea at the time was, if this incident is true, there must be a second or third victim. Since I couldn’t find physical evidence, I looked for eyewitnesses. Sure enough, I found a second girl who claimed to be a victim.”
Wang Tou: “The lawsuit was obviously lost.”
Ran Jingjing smiled, “You’re right, I lost. If it had, Teacher Shen would have been disgraced four years ago and couldn’t continue being a respected teacher.”
Wang Tou: “Why didn’t you win?”
Ran Jingjing: “The day before the trial, the two girls suddenly changed their statements.”
“They suddenly told me that they were not molested; they only accused Teacher Shen because he gave them failing grades in their final exams and they wanted revenge. The girls lost the case. Teacher Shen was a kind and honest person, he only asked the girls to delete all their posts and apologize privately to him to end the matter. Because the incident was dealt with quickly from start to finish, it ended without causing much commotion.”
Wang Tou: “Lawyer Ran, from your many years of experience, do you think Shen Shukuang was really falsely accused, or is there another story behind it?”
Ran Jingjing shrugged, not answering his question, but instead asked, “Officer Wang, from your many years of solving cases, do you think Shen Shukuang was falsely accused, or did he escape legal punishment?”
The air fell into silence.
Two seconds later, Ran Jingjing suddenly chuckled, “Two years ago, those two girls were recommended for postgraduate studies.”
Wang Tou: “Do you suspect academic transactions?”
Ran Jingjing waved her hand, “I dare not say that. Those of us in this profession must be responsible for every word we say. I’m just stating the facts.”
Wang Tou: “…”
Several people entered the reception room of the police station one after another.
They were arranged in different rooms separately, but because they arrived around the same time, they inevitably met each other when they arrived at the police station.
The first to enter the police station lobby was a smartly dressed middle-aged woman. She had shoulder-length straight hair, and there was a faint smile on her lips, but it didn’t reach her eyes, giving off a kind of both friendly and aloof feeling.
“Lawyer Ran.”
A female police officer called out to the woman.
The woman with shoulder-length hair walked over with a flawless professional smile, “Officer Song, it’s you. Have you been busy lately?”
The two obviously knew each other. The female police officer called “Officer Song” smiled bitterly, “I wish there was a time when I wasn’t busy. I called you here this time because of the case of Su Xiaohua’s disappearance ten years ago. Officer Wang has something he wants to ask you about.”
Upon hearing the name “Su Xiaohua,” the smile on Lawyer Ran’s face instantly disappeared. Two seconds later, she put on a smile again, “I know, Officer Wang has already told me on the phone. If the clues I provide can find Xiaohua, I’m willing to tell you everything I know.”
[Lord Host, this person is Su Xiaohua’s good friend, Ran Jingjing. She majored in law in college and opened her own law firm after graduation. She has a high level of business and a high success rate in lawsuits. S419M’s voice echoed in Bai Lixin’s mind, [In addition,, she often does social assistance, so her reputation is also very good. Because she is a lawyer, she often deals with the police, so she has many police friends.]
In a corner where no one could see, an invisible young man stood alone, observing the lobby from the perspective of a bystander.
Just after Ran Jingjing entered the lobby, Cao Jiyun walked out of the interrogation room with a gray face.
She walked through the lobby in a daze, and when she saw Ran Jingjing, she clearly paused, unconsciously freezing in place.
When Cao Jiyun saw Ran Jingjing, Ran Jingjing also saw Cao Jiyun. Unlike the pale-faced Cao Jiyun, Ran Jingjing smiled and walked up to Cao Jiyun, greeting her, “Senior, long time no see.”
Cao Jiyun stiffly twitched the corners of her mouth, “Lawyer Ran.”
Ran Jingjing looked Cao Jiyun up and down, “The last time we met should have been during your father’s lawsuit, right?”
Cao Jiyun: “…Yes, six years ago.”
Ran Jingjing: “Where do you work now, senior?”
Cao Jiyun lowered her chin slightly, “I… I don’t work in a law firm.”
Ran Jingjing asked again, “Then are you a legal consultant in a company?”
Cao Jiyun shook her head, “No, I am now… delivering takeout.”
Ran Jingjing raised her eyebrows slightly, “Delivering takeout? Why? You are a genius in our profession. Isn’t it a waste?”
Cao Jiyun finally couldn’t bear it. She suddenly raised her head and looked Ran Jingjing in the eye, “Why am I delivering takeout? Don’t you know? I don’t know what means you used to make my father lose the lawsuit back then! Are you happy now? Ran Jingjing, in front of you, I dare not call myself a ‘genius’.”
Ran Jingjing raised her eyebrows, “As a senior law student, you should understand the rigor of the judicial system. Lawsuits are like this, there are wins and losses. I’m just a defense lawyer helping the plaintiff fight for their legal rights. Honestly, I’m happy to have won the lawsuit.”
Cao Jiyun looked at Ran Jingjing meaningfully for two seconds before saying: “Let us go.”
Ran Jingjing just smiled, “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Just as she was about to brush past Cao Jiyun’s shoulder and leave, another person walked into the police station lobby.
It was a woman who appeared to be in her forties, with a tired look beyond her age.
Plainly dressed, not tall, somewhat overweight.
She walked with a limp.
As soon as she entered the police station, she began to look around nervously. It wasn’t until Officer Song approached her with a smile that her nervousness eased slightly.
Bai Lixin’s attention focused on the woman’s limp, and S419M’s voice came into his mind: [Lord Host, this woman is named Zhang Li, she is Su Hong’s wife, also Su Xiaohua’s aunt.]
Bai Lixin came closer and listened to the conversation between Zhang Li and Officer Song.
Zhang Li: “Officer, did something happen to my husband, Su Hong?”
Officer Song: “Didn’t they tell you when they notified you to come?”
Zhang Li pointed to the hearing aid in her ear, “My hearing isn’t very good, I only heard ‘Su Hong’ and ‘police station’ on the phone. What happened to my husband?!”
“We can’t reach Su Hong.” At some point, Wang Tou, who was in charge of the “Xiaohua Missing Case,” had come in from the corridor to the lobby. He walked briskly towards Zhang Li, “You’re his wife, do you know where he is?”
Zhang Li tilted her head, brought her ear closer to Wang Tou, then shook her head, “I don’t know. He borrowed from loan sharks and the debt collectors knew our address, so he didn’t dare to come home and stayed outside. I haven’t seen him for over a month!”
Wang Tou had deep dark circles around his eyes, “What debt does Su Hong owe?”
The woman hesitated.
Wang Tou didn’t rush, he just asked casually, “Is there anything more important than a life? Have you heard about the dismemberment case in the abandoned park a few days ago?”
Zhang Li’s body trembled visibly, but she relaxed her tone, “Actually, I’m not very clear. I only know that Su Hong seems to have borrowed from loan sharks and couldn’t fill the hole, so he was targeted by the debt collectors.”
Wang Tou’s eyebrows were raised, “Which debt collection company?”
Zhang Li shook her head, “I don’t know, I only know that the leader of that group is called ‘Master Huang’.”
Officer Zhang: “Why did he borrow from loan sharks?”
Zhang Li shook her head again, “I don’t know. About three months ago, Su Hong suddenly said he urgently needed money. Our family already couldn’t make ends meet. Su Hong didn’t have a job and could only rely on my meager income from working in the supermarket to support the family. I couldn’t come up with that much money. He yelled at me and left. After a few days, he came back, saying the matter was resolved. After that, everything was calm for two months. A month ago, debt collectors suddenly showed up, and Su Hong left me and ran away by himself.”
The policewoman frowned, “Su Hong is able-bodied, why doesn’t he work?”
Zhang Li was a bit helpless, “There’s no way. He used to make a lot of money as a photographer. Later, he suddenly developed some kind of lens phobia, and it’s very severe. He would self-harm when he saw screens and lenses. With technology so advanced now, there are cameras and smartphones everywhere on the streets. He can only hide at home.”
The policewoman: “Then how does he communicate with the outside world?”
Zhang Li: “With an old-fashioned pager. It costs one or two hundred yuan per piece. It has a small screen, no camera, and can only make phone calls and send text messages.”
The policewoman: “How much money did he need?”
Zhang Li: “Three million.”
The policewoman was puzzled, “Since he never left home, how could he suddenly need such a large sum of money?”
Zhang Li shook her head, “I don’t know.”
Wang Tou and the policewoman glanced at each other, and just as the policewoman was about to continue questioning, she was interrupted by Wang Tou, “Xiao Song, you take her to the interrogation room first, and we’ll ask the rest later.”
The policewoman nodded at the words and led Zhang Li towards the corridor.
“Officer Wang, is there a clue about Xiaohua?!” When Zhang Li entered the lobby, Ran Jingjing, who had originally intended to walk towards the corridor, stopped. When she saw Zhang Li being taken away by the policewoman, she approached Wang and asked excitedly.
Wang Tou shook his head, “Not yet. Come with me, Lawyer Ran, I need to verify a few things with you.”
Ran Jingjing: “Okay.”
Just as the two were about to walk towards the interrogation room, two forensic detectives suddenly hurried past them and rushed into one of the interrogation rooms.
The door opened, and inside the interrogation room, a woman was lying on the table, panting heavily, showing signs of breathing difficulties.
Watching the busy figures of the two forensic detectives, Ran Jingjing asked curiously, “Asthma?”
Wang Tou: “She’s a victim’s relative, her husband was brutally murdered, and she had an asthma attack when she was stimulated just now.”
Ran Jingjing: “Mrs. Shen? Teacher Shen’s wife?”
Wang Tou: “Do you know Shen Shukuang?”
Ran Jingjing: “I’ve met him a few times. I handled his reputation case.”
“Specifically, I was the defense lawyer of the defendant.”
Wang Tou looked at Ran Jingjing with inquiring eyes.
After the woman in the interrogation room finished her medicine, her breathing difficulties improved a lot, and Ran Jingjing continued, “It was about four years ago, a student came to me to apply for social assistance, saying she was sued.”
“She told me she was molested by a college teacher, and out of anger, she posted it on the school’s forum. When that teacher found out, he directly gave her a lawsuit, making her the defendant. At that time, I found the girl quite pitiful and promised to defend her for free.”
Wang Tou glanced at the woman in the interrogation room, walked to the side, and lowered his voice, “That teacher wouldn’t be Shen Shukuang, would it?”
Ran Jingjing nodded, “That’s right, it was him.”
Wang Tou’s eyes darkened slightly, “What happened afterward?”
Ran Jingjing: “Afterward, I started searching for physical evidence everywhere, trying to win the case for her. But this case wasn’t easy to win; she didn’t have any evidence. Whether it was surveillance or any records, there was nothing. But I still found a clue.”
Wang Tou: “What clue?”
Ran Jingjing: “My idea at the time was, if this incident is true, there must be a second or third victim. Since I couldn’t find physical evidence, I looked for eyewitnesses. Sure enough, I found a second girl who claimed to be a victim.”
Wang Tou: “The lawsuit was obviously lost.”
Ran Jingjing smiled, “You’re right, I lost. If it had, Teacher Shen would have been disgraced four years ago and couldn’t continue being a respected teacher.”
Wang Tou: “Why didn’t you win?”
Ran Jingjing: “The day before the trial, the two girls suddenly changed their statements.”
“They suddenly told me that they were not molested; they only accused Teacher Shen because he gave them failing grades in their final exams and they wanted revenge. The girls lost the case. Teacher Shen was a kind and honest person, he only asked the girls to delete all their posts and apologize privately to him to end the matter. Because the incident was dealt with quickly from start to finish, it ended without causing much commotion.”
Wang Tou: “Lawyer Ran, from your many years of experience, do you think Shen Shukuang was really falsely accused, or is there another story behind it?”
Ran Jingjing shrugged, not answering his question, but instead asked, “Officer Wang, from your many years of solving cases, do you think Shen Shukuang was falsely accused, or did he escape legal punishment?”
The air fell into silence.
Two seconds later, Ran Jingjing suddenly chuckled, “Two years ago, those two girls were recommended for postgraduate studies.”
Wang Tou: “Do you suspect academic transactions?”
Ran Jingjing waved her hand, “I dare not say that. Those of us in this profession must be responsible for every word we say. I’m just stating the facts.”
Wang Tou: “…”
