Overly Intense [Criminal Investigation] 147

Chapter 147: Failure Attribution

The two of them arrived at the station. Qin Luo had just pushed open the car door when she heard the person in the passenger seat speak.

“I also happen to have something to talk to you about.”

Qin Luo sat back in the car and looked at Shen Yiyi properly. “Go ahead.”

“Zhan Luo wants to see you.”

Qin Luo frowned. Ever since Liu Jia’s incident, she had been basically unwilling to face this name. The entire company was not allowed to mention Zhan Luo’s matter.

Seeing her troubled expression, Shen Yiyi said step by step, “Ever since he was caught, he has refused to confess. We also don’t want to cooperate with his request…”

Qin Luo’s knuckles tapped lightly on the steering wheel. “What is his purpose?”

Shen Yiyi pursed her lips and was silent.

Qin Luo looked at her own reflection in the windshield.

She took off her glasses and her glamour. Her whole person was stripped of a layer of protective film. For a moment, she felt a sense of unfamiliarity with herself.

It was quite funny to say. The core of her ideals had become a weapon, and even she could not evaluate this double-edged sword.

Qin Luo sighed and rubbed her eyes. “I’ll go and see him.”

The next day, at work.

Qin Luo drove Shen Yiyi directly into the courtyard of the public security building. The director of the online propaganda department had heard that Qin Luo would be coming and had come early to wait.

The public opinion had been up and down this month. Not only had Logos’s reputation been damaged, but the work of the police’s media window was also not easy. The comment sections of various platforms had been repeatedly attacked.

The director of the online propaganda department knew about Logos’s abilities and would naturally not miss the opportunity to communicate with each other. He thought that after the case-handling department had finished its work, he could invite Qin Luo for a cup of tea.

“Director Wang, good morning.”

Qin Luo recognized him at a glance, shook his hand, and exchanged a few pleasantries. Shen Yiyi was not familiar with the leaders of the main building and stood on the side, her expression awkward as she listened to Qin Luo address him familiarly.

“I was in a meeting last night and heard from Little Piao that you were coming today. It just so happens that I’m also free today, so I came to show you the way.” With that, Director Wang looked at the Shen Yiyi who was being left on the side. “I didn’t expect you and Little Shen to be old classmates.”

Qin Luo did not respond and just smiled.

“Then when Her Kill came to the police to ask for someone, I didn’t hear you mention it.” At this, Director Wang clapped his hands. “Speaking of the movie, I also have some news to share with you. When you’re done, we can find some time to chat.”

Qin Luo also had this intention and nodded. “Then I’ll have to trouble Director Wang. I also happen to have something to talk to you about.”

The three of them entered through the main entrance and, after a few twists and turns, entered the iron gate of the interrogation building.

Director Wang did not have an ID card and could not enter. He made another appointment with Qin Luo outside the iron gate. The two agreed to meet at a teahouse in the afternoon, and only then did he leave with peace of mind.

Shen Yiyi was already used to Qin Luo’s identity. It was not surprising that she was so at ease in her dealings with the small leaders of the bureau.

Qin Luo took the initiative to explain, “After Her Kill had landed, we had a lot of communication with the public security and political propaganda. That’s when I got to know him.”

Shen Yiyi nodded.

“I contacted him today not only for the progress of the production, but also for your matter.”

“My matter?”

Qin Luo joked, “The matter of being signed by me as an internet celebrity.”

Shen Yiyi was amused by Qin Luo’s feigned domineering tone, her face radiant. After walking a couple of steps, she ran into Piao Zheng, who was coming from the stairwell.

Piao Zheng’s brow was originally furrowed. Seeing Director Shen smile so brightly, he was very surprised.

“What good news has made you so happy?”

Shen Yiyi put away her smile and introduced Piao Zheng to her. “Qin Luo.”

“Qin…” Piao Zheng had originally wanted to say Miss Qin, but thinking that she was a business owner, he immediately changed the title. “Director Qin, Piao Zheng, the person in charge of Zhan Luo’s case.”

Qin Luo and the two were taken to the conference room next door by Piao Zheng. He asked the two of them to rest for a bit. A dozen or so minutes later, he came in a hurry with four or five interrogating police officers and a few stacks of files.

The few police officers who had come all had dark circles under their eyes. It seemed that they had put in a lot of effort to make the person open his mouth. Seeing Qin Luo was like seeing a savior. Without much ado, they directly began to introduce the interrogation process. To ensure a smooth submission for inspection, they did not dare to be careless with any step. Qin Luo signed one word after another and read the script several times to the notary camera before she heard Piao Zheng start to talk about business.

“You can rest assured about the safety. He has no ability to move.” Piao Zheng confirmed with Qin Luo several times. “But verbally, we’re not sure if he will have an impact on you, so we’ll explain it to you in advance. If you have any emotional problems during the interrogation, we will terminate it immediately.”

With that, he looked at Shen Yiyi.

This was what Shen Yiyi had forced him to say. Usually, the parties involved in a jury trial did not have so many problems. He asked Shen Yiyi with his eyes if she was satisfied.

But Director Shen did not bother with him at all. Her eyes were only on Qin Luo. “Zhan Luo has been by your side all these years and knows you very well. It’s very easy to anger you.”

The reading group was not a simple matter for Qin Luo. The appearance of a traitor in it was a fatal blow to the original intention she had held onto. Shen Yiyi did not want Qin Luo to question herself, and she certainly did not want her to lose her ideals because of it.

“Don’t worry.”

Qin Luo patted Shen Yiyi’s wrist and comforted her, “I’ll be fine.”

Piao Zheng looked left and right. It was clear that the two’s eyes were surging with an undercurrent, and their relationship was not simple.

“Then before we go in, let’s briefly understand…”

***

The heavy security door was pushed open. The interrogation room had no windows, and the room had a musty smell, which made Qin Luo fan the air in front of her nose.

The room was dim, with only a white incandescent lamp on the ceiling emitting a cold light. The lamp was deliberately installed low, and the light shone directly on the person, illuminating them without any cover.

Zhan Luo had not yet been brought in. Qin Luo was arranged to sit opposite the iron table. The table was more than a meter wide, and the table and chairs were nailed to the ground. There were scratches on the corner of the table, as if someone had struggled here before. The tabletop was smooth but cold. As soon as she put her hand on it, it was like touching a stone slab. Sitting face to face was an absolutely safe distance.

Qin Luo observed calmly.

The walls around her were very oppressive, and it was dark and damp here. She felt extremely oppressed after sitting for a few minutes.

Suddenly, another iron door opened.

Zhan Luo was brought in by two police officers. He was wearing a detention center uniform and was walking slowly, the shackles on his feet making a slight sound as they collided. It wasn’t until he saw Qin Luo that his originally drooping expression loosened, and he smiled lightly.

Qin Luo avoided his gaze and turned to look at the clock on the wall.

After he had sat down, Piao Zheng had cleared the number of interrogators at the scene, leaving only two main interrogators and a recorder, including himself, who had also left.

Shen Yiyi sat outside the glass window, looking into the room.

Qin Luo was frowning and facing the person. It was the rarely proactive Zhan Luo who spoke first.

“You’re finally here.”

Qin Luo crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, staring at Zhan Luo.

At this moment, her silence was more oppressive than her words. The interrogators all sat up straight. “We’ve called Miss Qin here at your request. You’d better confess your crimes clearly.”

Zhan Luo’s handcuffs clattered on the iron table, his gaze locked on Qin Luo’s expression. He thought to himself that he had nothing to confess. He had invited Qin Luo here to let this matter linger in her heart forever, to become her eternal scar.

His gaze was locked on Qin Luo’s expression. “We’ve forgotten how long it’s been since we’ve had such a quiet conversation.”

Zhan Luo remembered very clearly. “Ever since the movie project had landed, your attention has not been on the reading group. It’s very disappointing.”

Qin Luo sneered. She raised an eyebrow. “Disappointing?”

Her emotions were involuntarily pulled by Zhan Luo. The condescending gaze and the accusation made Qin Luo feel disgusted. “Because I disappointed you, you’re going to commit a crime? To kill someone?”

Zhan Luo’s gaze was sharp. “Then why did you give up on the reading group?”

The questioning tone sounded very unhappy. Qin Luo did not want to answer. She looked at the interrogating police officer beside her. “Do I have to answer his every question?”

Zhan Luo spoke before the police officer. He lowered his voice a little. “It’s that you yourself are unwilling to face the fact that the reading group you single-handedly supported has also become a commodity in the end.”

“It was packaged, it was sponsored, it had a membership with an annual fee, it had co-branded merchandise. It seemed like a self-sufficient means, but you know in your heart that it’s no longer the place we started.”

Zhan Luo leaned forward, his handcuffs clattering on the table. “It’s no longer a corner where people can resist and heal, but has become another exhibition stand.”

Zhan Luo seemed to be mocking, but his expression was very sad. “As long as you talk about aid, it seems that you can get a lot of brand public welfare cooperation.”

“Reading has become storytelling. Logos has successfully marketed one agricultural aid project after another. Those pains and struggles have become the background board in the planning and operation PPT.”

“At first, you would still stop it from becoming a commodity. Later, you gradually got used to it.”

Qin Luo’s throat was blocked. She leaned back heavily, somewhat detached.

When the reading group was still in Nanjing, she had organized a “candlelight reading” in the living room of her old apartment. In her memory, Wang Xi was also by her side. Several girls were sitting on the rug in a circle. The candlelight was dim, and the wind outside the window was biting cold. Someone was reading aloud, and someone was sobbing. In an instant, the scene in her memory was orange-red.

Those reds were not the fuel of traffic, but the original intention was still there.

Qin Luo felt that she did not need to refute him. She adjusted her posture, like she was leading a roundtable at the reading group. “It’s moving forward. This is something it will always encounter on its way forward. Packaging it is to let more people see its outline.”

Qin Luo felt a sense of relief. “Disbanding it is a choice to change direction. I have never denied that its existence is without value.”

She asked back calmly, “But what about you?”

“Just using it.” Her volume was not loud, but it had strength. “Using it as a moral cover.”

Zhan Luo’s originally forward-leaning posture finally leaned back.

Qin Luo did not give him a chance to explain. She wanted to tear his self-esteem. “Before you did it, your life was already in pieces. The reading group has never healed you.”

Although Qin Luo had been avoiding facing Zhan Luo these past few days, before she had come, she had still had Wang Xi organize the materials for the police and had had a copy mailed to her. She had stayed up all night flipping through the emails.

Zhan Luo was not qualified to join the violent structure and could not enjoy the dividends of being a man. When he had come to the reading group, he had also been unable to integrate into the female emotional community.

He was trying to find meaning in this gap.

And the reading group was that seemingly warm, fair, safe, and open corner.

Zhan Luo had approached it to prove that he was not stupid, not a coward.

“It’s just because you think that we are the same as you, that we can’t get the right to speak, that we can’t get aid. Because you understand our position too well, you chose to stand on our side.”

It was shameful to use an ideal for another purpose.

He was not doing it for the group itself, but was using the consciousness as a self-cover, an identity laundering, or a spiritual comfort. Not only men would do this, but women would also often extort women. This was a very deceptive and destructive phenomenon of a false ally. This was very common in life. As long as the information or consciousness was not unified, they would immediately use slogans to condemn. They were not the strong in society and could not face the power structure itself. Instead, they chose to “seek salvation” in the camp.

Qin Luo finally showed a smile.

Just now, when she had heard his question, Qin Luo had no longer seen him as a traitor.

“In your eyes, the girls in the reading group are not men and can be very strong. But in my eyes, they are very strong themselves. They just need more opportunities to be created.”

“Failure attribution.”

Qin Luo’s fingers tapped lightly on the table. “You’re just looking for a community that can make you happy.”