Chapter 68: Another Voice in the Brain – 5
“You found him?”
‘Yes, I know you’re very concerned, so I’m letting you know right away. Are you busy?’
“N-No, I’m fine. Are you in a hurry to rest, Auntie?” It was past ten, and Xu Shanni must have called her right after closing. Jinglin looked at her colleagues, and finally her gaze fell on Tang Yingli’s back. She gritted her teeth. “Okay, see you in a bit.”
Tang Yingli was distracted and missed what Miller was saying. “…I’m sorry, Teacher, could you please repeat that doctor’s contact information…”
“Senior Ah Mu, I have an emergency. I’ll be back by noon at the latest.” Jinglin ran to Chen Huomu, and before he could react, she grabbed a radio and her service pistol and strode to the door.
“Hey, wait, Little Zhou.” Chen Huomu shouted at the swinging door. “What’s so important? Everyone is busy.”
Everyone’s attention was suddenly drawn to her, including Tang Yingli’s.
Although she had only heard a little, she knew that only news related to Li Yuejiao could be important enough for Jinglin to temporarily drop her work.
‘…Charlotte, are you listening?’
“Oh, yes.” She took out a pen. “Thank you, Teacher. I’ll contact him right now.” Considering the time difference, she sincerely hoped that the doctor was not yet asleep.
**
Looking at the heavy raindrops, Chomsky could only huddle in a dark alley, shivering.
He had been framed. That was his only thought right now.
The person who looked so much like Meta had fallen in his room, forcing him to flee in a panic. Thinking of her pained expression as she struggled on the floor, his heart ached, but he quickly told himself… that wasn’t her. It was just someone impersonating her.
Were the people who were following him still nearby? He gritted his teeth and forced himself to put on a brave face.
Because of his hasty escape, he only had his folding knife and his phone with him. The phone couldn’t be turned on; he didn’t want anyone to know his whereabouts.
He walked along the eaves. The streets were deserted, and even those who were out were holding umbrellas, which made him a conspicuous anomaly.
Screech…
A sudden tinnitus made him bend over. He gritted his teeth and endured it, panting heavily.
This sound… ‘Don’t believe…’
Who is it?
‘Don’t believe anyone.’
Who’s talking?
He managed to take a few steps forward, and the hunger gradually set in as the tinnitus subsided. He had wanted to get away from the hotel, but he was lost in the rainy, unfamiliar streets.
Until that person appeared.
“Are you okay, Professor Chomsky?”
Chomsky looked up, only because the stranger before him was speaking a language he knew.
“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”
**
At the entrance of the shop, Xu Shanni, who was smoking, saw Zhou Jinglin’s car and stamped out her cigarette.
“Auntie.” Jinglin rolled down her window and waved at her.
“I’m sorry to call you over during work hours.” Xu Shanni, who had gotten into the car, waved her hand to dispel the smoke.
“It’s fine. What’s the information you mentioned, Auntie?”
“It’s not convenient to talk here,” Xu Shanni said, glancing at her bag. “Let’s go back to my place.”
Xu Shanni’s residence was in an apartment on Zhongshan North Road. Although it was a bit old, it was in a prime location.
“You seem to be in a hurry to get back. I’ll make it quick.”
Taking off her high heels, Xu Shanni invited her in. “He came a few days ago. I had one of the hostesses feel him out, but this guy is pretty tight-lipped. He brought two ‘younger brothers’ with him. I paid special attention to his tattoo and found that he has a dragon on his left leg. Later, I asked a few of my regular customers, and someone who had done business with him finally found out his identity.”
She poured a glass of red wine and drank it herself. “His name is Wu Jianxiong. He’s in his fifties, and in our circle, he’s called ‘Master Xiong.’ On the surface, he’s a foreign labor agent, but he also smuggles some shady things. He disappeared for a long time, and some people said he had quit, and others said he had been locked up for a few years. In any case, he’s back now, for some reason.”
Jinglin recorded the nickname Xu Shanni had mentioned. “Do you know what he smuggles?”
“From cigarettes and alcohol to firearms. That’s why I asked you before if you had ever seen him with a gun.” She covered her mouth and yawned, taking out her phone from her bag. “And then, last night, I had Ah Di go and check on the hostesses at Givenchy. I was originally going to check on Dingdang and also find out how many of the hostesses knew Sister Lisa, but guess what I saw.” Xu Shanni said with a proud smile.
“Did you see him?”
“Smart.” Xu Shanni smiled and opened her phone. Jinglin leaned in and found that familiar figure on the screen.
“It’s him… it’s him.” Jinglin’s heart skipped a beat, and the scene of being threatened at home a few weeks ago flashed before her eyes.
He had his arm around a hostess and was laughing and talking with the people around him. It didn’t look like he was talking business, but just drinking and having fun.
“And then… this is Dingdang.”
Jinglin stared at the woman in the silver evening gown on the screen. Although she was only in profile, her features were indeed delicate and beautiful.
“Ah Di said the two of them talked for a bit, but it didn’t look like they were close. It’s normal for Dingdang to go over and say hello. The place they were sitting wasn’t particularly high-end…” Xu Shanni drank her red wine, frowning as she scrolled through the other photos. “But the shop has clearly been renovated, so I’m not very sure.”
“So we still don’t know what the relationship between Wu Jianxiong and Dingdang is?”
“No. By the way… Sister Lisa was actually with him? If you, her daughter, hadn’t identified him, I really wouldn’t have believed it.”
“Is he very different from Mom’s other lover?”
“Completely different types. I’ve only seen that person a few times, but my impression is that he doesn’t have a gangster vibe at all, and he’s very handsome. But he often wears a hat and sunglasses… very mysterious.” She gave a wry smile. “Oh, that’s all I remember about him.”
But Jinglin vaguely remembered a strange man, in a suit, and because he was wearing sunglasses and a hat, she hadn’t seen his face clearly.
She remembered Li Yuejiao explaining—‘A friend. He heard I was coming for a check-up and specially arranged a single room for me.’
To be able to get a single room in a crowded hospital, you either have to have special connections like Tang Yingli, or…
“Jinglin, what’s wrong?”
“I think… I think I’ve also seen the person you’re talking about, Auntie.”
Xu Shanni was taken aback. “Really? When?”
“Before, when Mom came to see a doctor, I went to see her and happened to see a man in her room, dressed just as you described.” Jinglin touched her forehead, trying hard to remember Li Yuejiao’s reaction. “I asked her who he was, and she just said he was a friend who had helped her get a single room…”
Xu Shanni squinted. “To get a single room at the municipal hospital on short notice, you have to have connections.”
And with Xu Shanni’s previous revelation about that mysterious lover’s political background, Jinglin couldn’t help but bite her lip and guess, “Then could it be my… my dad?” To her, the word “dad” was so, so unfamiliar.
“I don’t know.” Xu Shanni took a deep breath and looked at Jinglin’s flushed, agitated face. She took Jinglin’s hand and said, “But I believe in Sister Lisa. She must have had her reasons for hiding it from you…”
“I really don’t understand.” Jinglin covered her face, a mixture of anger and sadness. “Why didn’t Mom tell me…”
“Don’t be sad.” She came to Jinglin’s side. “If you keep investigating, you’ll definitely find something. Here, Ah Di also took some other pictures.”
Jinglin wiped her tears. “There’s more?”
“Yes.” She swiped the screen. “After Wu Jianxiong left Givenchy, he didn’t take his younger brothers with him, but went to a bar by himself… here.”
Jinglin was immediately struck by the shop’s sign. “He was alone?” It was a moose-shaped neon sign, and the bar was also called that.
“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “Ah Di went in and didn’t see him. He might have been meeting someone there, but that’s just a guess.”
Jinglin remembered another question that was worth asking. “By the way… that Dingdang, we still don’t know if she was the one who leaked Mom’s address.”
“No, unless we can ask her directly. But I don’t get along with her, and now that woman has taken over Givenchy, even for Sister’s sake… it’s hard for me to really bow my head for something like this.”
“It’s fine. I’ll investigate this myself. Thank you, Auntie.”
“You’re welcome. That’s about all I can help with.”
“It’s more than enough.” Jinglin looked at the clock and gasped. “It’s almost noon? Oh my god.”
She hurried out of Xu Shanni’s apartment, and as soon as she got in the car, she received a call from Tang Yingli.
“Hello, Teacher?”
The voice on the other end was calm. ‘Are you done?’
Jinglin paused. “Y-Yes, I’m on my way back.” She didn’t say where she was going. Why does she seem to know…
‘Come back quickly. We’re going back to the hotel.’
“The hotel? The crime scene?”
‘Yes, I feel like I’ve missed something.’ The thoughtful voice came from the receiver, and Jinglin could perfectly imagine Tang Yingli’s pensive expression. ‘And the laptop has been unlocked. We found some suspicious emails…’
“Suspicious?”
‘We’ll talk about the rest when we meet.’
“Okay, I’ll focus on driving.” Her pupils narrowed, and she slammed on the accelerator.
