Chapter 48

“He’s the boss, so of course I see him.”

“Was he the one who raped you?”

“I forget now, too. Anyway, after I woke up, they just told me to take birth control pills, and somehow, here I am today.” Hong Moli’s voice was very airy, not exactly gentle, more like resignation. It was as if she were saying: Whatever, I’m going to die before the sunset anyway…

“The person who raped you committed a crime! Why didn’t you call the police?”

“Officer, what’s the point of asking me this question after all this time?” Hong Moli flipped her hair, her eyes looking at Lu Shimiao. A chill emanated from them for some reason, like the damp sweat on the skin she’d exposed that afternoon. “After calling the police, could I turn back into a virgin?”

So, what kind of perspective cultivated this kind of answer? Lu Shimiao pondered for half a second.

Knowing the law and breaking it was terrifying.

But breaking the law without even knowing it was pitiful and terrifying.

What was the law? They didn’t understand it.

So, some people can only rely on their parents’ teachings, living environment, self-restraint, and moral bottom line from birth to regulate their behavior.

But morality is not innate goodness.

Morality is worthless in the face of desire.

Therefore, criminal law is the absolute minimum standard of morality and ethics. Criminal law doesn’t necessarily represent justice; law is merely an art of balance.

Is premeditated murder or impulsive killing more heinous? Criminal law, penalties, and the legal system cannot give a precise answer. Their function is to protect violated rights and draw a red line against human evil.

“He stabbed my child; why was it ruled self-defense?”

“She’s my ex-wife; why can’t I sleep with her?”

“I just forwarded a video; did I kill someone or set a fire?”

“I was riding an e-bike! Why do I have to pay just because I hit a car? Is the car owner not at all responsible?”

Whether Community Police, Traffic Police, or Criminal Police, they are all plagued by these questions during law enforcement and case handling. Although they need to explain over and over that some cases seem serious but don’t constitute a crime and can’t be filed, other seemingly minor, negligible matters can lead to imprisonment.

So, sometimes the law is quite strange, biased in its fairness. The police are often troubled by it, too.

Take, for example, domestic violence.

Domestic violence cases that actually reach the Criminal Police are basically murder cases. The scene of the abuse is harrowing; besides the brutality, only the weeping of the victim’s family and the remorse of the abuser’s family remain.

But those that don’t reach the Criminal Police Unit are just civil mediation.

Lu Shimiao almost never encountered people coming for domestic violence injury assessments at the injury appraisal division. Almost never. Because most victims give up at the local police station level, thinking it’s unnecessary to make such a fuss. The abuser is despicable, but still a family member; they deserve another chance.

They’ll change for the better next time.

Just like how Lu Shimiao treated those people in the penthouse back then. Cowardice and fear of trouble only brought endless torment and nightmares. The situation wouldn’t get better due to a guilty conscience; the abuse would only worsen, entangling the victim’s life until the day they were nearly beaten to death.

Then, these victims would suddenly awaken. They might decide to sue these animals, only to look back and realize that during their tolerance, they had missed countless opportunities to collect evidence.

Thus, Officer Lu often felt helpless. Whenever she met a victim seeking injury assessment, she would always remind them:

“If you haven’t hired a professional lawyer, you can apply for legal aid. If you fear retaliation, you can apply to the Court for a personal protection order.”

“The injury assessment can only confirm your body has been damaged. It cannot prove who caused the damage. So besides the assessment, you also need to preserve evidence of the abuser’s violence.”

“Did the Police Station issue a warning notice? If the station didn’t provide one, you can download a template from the Public Security Department’s website. It serves as a form of proof of the abuse.”

…Collecting evidence was Lu Shimiao’s career, but sometimes she felt this career was excessively cruel. Both to the victim and to herself. The best she could do was try to let the evidence speak clearly and rationally.

Facing Hong Moli, a natural woman-to-woman sympathy arose, but Lu Shimiao was also speechless at this self-degrading life.

“Regarding the rape issue, if you have evidence, you can apply for a case investigation. The Procuratorate can appoint a lawyer to help you. But our questions today mainly focus on Cheng Guang. I’m sorry.”

An apology drew Hong Moli’s gaze.

The ghost of a smile hovered on her lips. Her eyes drifted vaguely between the birth control pill and Lu Shimiao. Her tone was casual. “Fine, ask away. I’ll definitely tell you everything I know.”

“Have you seen Zhang Lin?” Lu Shimiao picked up the victim’s photo from the table, stood up, walked over, and held it in front of her eyes. “Think carefully.”

“Seen her, she often came to the construction site.” Hong Moli leaned forward, resting her elbows on the interrogation table. “She’s pretty much the same as us, sleeping with the boss for money. But a bit better off than us; only services Cheng Guang.”

Lu Shimiao was stung by the word “services.” She sat back down. “How was the relationship between Cheng Guang and Zhang Lin?”

“Seemed pretty good. Zhang Lin often came to the site with the boss. We all called her Boss Lady; the workers did too. She seemed happy we called her that. Cheng Guang usually didn’t come to our place, maybe afraid of catching diseases or something.”

“Did Zhang Lin ever have any conflicts with the workers at your site?” Lu Shimiao jotted notes in her book.

“Not that I remember.” Hong Moli shook her head.

“During the Star Sea construction in 2020-2021, were you also involved in prostitution at this site?”

“Yes.” Hong Moli nodded.

“Did anything special happen during the construction process?” Lu Shimiao asked very meticulously, even pushing step by step, so that Hong Moli’s thoughts could keep pace.

“Special?” Hong Moli thought for a long while, shook her head. “Nothing special, just eating, drinking, sleeping, shitting.”

“I mean regarding the construction site’s engineering aspects. Was there any worker stoppage, strike, fighting, mass rioting, or anything like that.” Lu Shimiao stuck close to the question, probing step by step.

Hong Moli glanced at the camera in front of her, then at the male officer taking notes next to her.

“Officer.” She called out, paused for half a second. “How many years will I probably be sentenced for my situation?”

Lu Shimiao calmly said: “Cooperate with our investigation. If it’s determined you weren’t involved in organizing prostitution or other crimes, the Procuratorate will inform you of your sentence length.”

Lu Shimiao sat with her legs crossed, hands resting on her knees. She felt she was often unconsciously imitating Xue Tong’s posture, which gave her a sense of security. She looked at Moli. “See those big characters up there? Leniency for those who confess!”

“Oh, oh.” Moli lowered her head, pondered for a moment.

“Answer my previous question. During the 2020-2021 construction project, regarding the construction site’s engineering aspects, were there any worker stoppages, strikes, fights, triads, or similar situations?”

“No.” Moli quickly shook her head, but after thinking for a moment, she spoke again, her eyes showing a lack of conviction. “What about 2022?”

2022? Lu Shimiao flipped through the documents in her hand. They showed that Chengshang Construction was only involved in one Court judgment in 2022: that “Illegal Subcontracting” case.

“What happened in 2022?” Lu Shimiao patted the note-taking officer, telling him to perk up. “Tell us in detail.”

Hong Moli pursed her lips. Her eyes, when she glanced at Lu Shimiao, showed nonchalance. “It… wasn’t really a big deal. Just someone died on the construction site.”

Lu Shimiao put her leg down, immediately straightened up, both hands on the table. “Someone died? Who? How did they die? Is it related to Cheng Guang? Explain clearly!”

As she spoke, she tapped the table twice with her pen cap, trying to make the interrogation room atmosphere more severe.

Hong Moli was startled by Lu Shimiao’s suddenly raised tone, shivered, and raised the unfinished disposable paper cup in front of her.

She tilted her head back to swallow. After calming down for a long time, she timidly said, “It was… the kid of a worker demanding unpaid wages.”

…

The kid of a worker demanding unpaid wages.

Lu Shimiao was jolted with shock. Maybe this was a lead on the arson case. She frowned deeply, pointing at Hong Moli, her tone even more stern.

“Speak. Continue.”

Seeing Lu Shimiao’s expression change, Hong Moli immediately lowered her head. She wanted to scratch her dry, frizzy hair, but cuffed, she scratched twice and put her hands down. Her voice was tense and regretful, regretting she’d spoken too much.

“I didn’t break the law, did I, officer? I don’t know anything. I just went for a smoke after finishing a job. Maybe I didn’t see it clearly either.”

“Tell us everything you know!” Seeing Hong Moli start to dawdle, Lu Shimiao slammed the table. “Did you know that seeing a criminal commit murder and helping conceal it is Harboring a Criminal?”

“I didn’t harbor anyone! The police took the body away! They even came to the construction site several times! Cheng Guang was taken in for questioning and then released. How does that make me harboring Cheng Guang?”

Hong Moli became agitated as she spoke. She glared at Lu Shimiao, even slamming her own hand on the table.

The police took the body away?

The police shielded Cheng Guang?

Lu Shimiao exchanged a glance with the note-taking officer. This could escalate to an investigation targeting higher-ups…

“Tell us exactly what you saw and heard, everything you know. Alright, I’ll give you some time to think.” Lu Shimiao picked up her phone, ready to discuss this with Li Siting.

“Can you give me a cigarette?” Hong Moli licked her lips. Although she’d drunk water, her skin was still dry and parched. “Maybe with a smoke, I’ll remember.”

“Then think first. I’ll go outside and get you one.” Lu Shimiao seized the chance to leave the interrogation room.

The moment she was out the door, she immediately pulled out her phone and spoke incredibly fast. “Captain Li, come to the interrogation room. We might have hit the bottom of this.”

She hung up. Less than thirty seconds later, Li Siting rushed over from afar.

He was panting. “What do you mean?”

“The woman said a murder happened on the construction site. And that the police were there, took someone away, then released them. But Cheng Guang has no criminal record in our Public Security system…” Lu Shimiao practically whispered into Li Siting’s ear, her voice extremely low.

“Should we report this up?” Lu Shimiao signaled with a look.

Li Siting hesitated on the spot for a long time after hearing this.

He knew perfectly well in his heart: if the testimony was true, and Cheng Guang was suspected of conspiracy to murder or involvement with a criminal syndicate during construction, and the police had arrested and then released him… then this matter would implicate more and more people… potentially involving red lines for leaders, power-for-money deals, dereliction of duty…

“Don’t report it yet. Let’s interrogate first.”

Li Siting weighed his options, not daring to delay. He pushed open the interrogation room door.

“Sign the transcript to certify its accuracy and step out. We two will take over the interrogation.” Li Siting waved to the note-taking officer.

“Here, have a cigarette.”

Lu Shimiao took a cigarette from Li Siting’s pack, placed it between Hong Moli’s lips, and lit it with a lighter.

The woman took a deep drag, her fingertips trembling uncontrollably. Smoke spread through the sealed interrogation room; Lu Shimiao coughed and fanned the air.

“You got your cigarette. Now you can talk.” Li Siting was getting impatient waiting.

Lu Shimiao pulled out the plaintiff information file for the “Illegal Subcontracting” case from the archive. Inside were photos Li Siting had ordered printed, headshots of plaintiffs whose physical characteristics roughly matched the suspect’s profile.