Chapter 5: They Are All Liars

Old Chen suspected a love triangle between Li Banfeng, He Jiaqing, and Lu Xiaolan.

Li Banfeng was a little angry.

Not just a little, he was very angry.

But he controlled himself.

Not only did he suppress his anger, but Li Banfeng’s lips curled into a slight smile.

Old Chen was deliberately provoking him to get the information he wanted.

He might even try to push me to have a breakdown on the spot, then treat me as a suspect with a mental disorder and arrest me.

Li Banfeng, without any emotion, said word for word, "Lu Xiaolan and I are not even friends, and there's no other relationship between us. You can ask my college roommates or other classmates to confirm this."

Old Chen asked again, "Really no other relationship?"

Li Banfeng calmly replied, "If there is, there is. If there isn't, there isn't. If you don't believe me, go investigate. It's that simple; there's no need to complicate things."

It truly was that simple.

Old Chen nodded. "I believe you."

Li Banfeng continued, "It's true that I took He Jiaqing to the hospital, but you can't consider me the culprit because of that, can you?

He Jiaqing's third uncle is right here at the hospital. Why don't you call him over, and we can clarify everything together?"

"Nobody is treating you as a murderer, otherwise I would have taken you back to the police station already," Old Chen fumbled for his cigarette pack, resisting the urge to pull out a cigarette. "As for He Jiaqing's third uncle, you mean He Haisheng, right? He's the one who called the police, he's the one who brought me to the hospital, and he's the one who told me to find you."

Li Banfeng fell silent.

This third uncle was very sly.

Old Chen put the cigarette pack back in his pocket. "Before He Jiaqing had his accident, he had dinner and drinks with you. After that meal, he fell into a coma.

You said you took him to the station; we'll check the surveillance footage there. I believe what you're saying is true, and I hope this matter has nothing to do with you.

But I must warn you, the current situation is very unfavorable for you. For the time being, you should cooperate with our investigation as much as possible, and try not to leave Yuezhou."

Click-clack~

Li Banfeng's phone rang.

Li Banfeng's eye twitched. This was likely a message from He Jiaqing.

Li Banfeng was conflicted about whether to tell the police officer named Chen about this.

"Someone's calling you?" Old Chen smiled meaningfully, seeming to discern Li Banfeng's hesitation. "There are some things you might not want to tell me, and that's fine. Come find me when you're ready."

Old Chen led Li Banfeng out of the patient room. At the hospital entrance, they parted ways.

Old Chen got into a black sedan. In the back seat sat a woman in her early twenties.

The woman wore a business suit, brushed her ear-length hair, adjusted her rimless glasses, and turned sideways towards Old Chen, her legs together. Only a third of her well-rounded figure touched the seat.

Her name was You Xuehan, codenamed Tangyuan, and she was the team's secretary.

You Xuehan held a delicate notepad and respectfully asked, "Captain Chen, how was the situation?"

Old Chen lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. The crow's feet and nasolabial folds on his face simultaneously relaxed, and his overall demeanor improved significantly.

"This kid has excellent psychological fortitude; he can control his emotions. But I don't think he's a dark energy user; he should be a 'white lamb.'

Still, he definitely knows something about He Jiaqing. Has anyone called him these past few days?"

Upon hearing this, You Xuehan opened Li Banfeng's file. "I just checked his call records. Since He Jiaqing's incident, he made one emergency call.

The school also called him twice. Other than that, there are no other call records, not even a single message."

"I suspect it's not that there aren't any, but that we can't find them," Old Chen exhaled a puff of smoke. "When Li Banfeng heard the message sound, he seemed a bit nervous. Someone is contacting him, but he doesn't want others to know."

The man in the passenger seat turned his head and offered a suggestion: "Since this person is suspicious, why not just arrest him?"

The man was around thirty years old, with thick eyebrows, large eyes, and sharp cheekbones and jawline. He was quite handsome, though his hair was a bit sparse, but it was slicked back, gleaming, and perfectly neat.

"Arrest him?" Old Chen frowned, looking at the man in the passenger seat. "On what grounds?"

The man didn't seem to realize there was an issue with his reasoning. "Since he has a motive, keeping him under control is the safest approach."

"What motive does he have?" Old Chen's tone grew heavier.

The man remained unconcerned. "If He Jiaqing's situation has nothing to do with him, why would he take He Jiaqing to the hospital?"

Hearing this, Old Chen angrily exclaimed, "What kind of rubbish is that!"

The man said nothing, turning his gaze towards the car window.

His name was Xiao Zhenggong, and people here called him Deputy Captain Xiao.

He kept looking out the window, his disdainful expression conveying a message.

He wasn't afraid of Old Chen, nor did he believe he had done anything wrong. He simply didn't want to waste words on the old man.

Although his back was to Old Chen, Old Chen could clearly see his face in the rearview mirror.

Old Chen sighed. "From the day you joined the bureau, I told you that while we get things done, we must also follow the rules and never forget our conscience. You still haven't understood that, damn it!"

You Xuehan pursed her lips. The tense atmosphere made her uncomfortable, so she quickly changed the subject. "Li Banfeng's background has been mostly clarified. He's an orphan who grew up in an orphanage, has no criminal record, but has been investigated several times for acts of self-defense."

"Self-defense?" Old Chen was quite curious, taking Li Banfeng's file and looking at it. "One against three: two seriously injured, one lightly injured. One against five: one seriously injured, four lightly injured...

He's that good? Doesn't seem like it; his physique looks pretty average!"

Old Chen meticulously flipped through Li Banfeng's case file. Halfway through, he couldn't help but laugh aloud. "This kid, he's genuinely crazy."

You Xuehan asked, "Captain Chen, do we still need to keep an eye on Li Banfeng?"

Old Chen thought for a moment. "Let 'Lightbulb' keep an eye on him."

You Xuehan reminded him, "'Lightbulb' just started a month ago. Let 'Big Head' go instead."

Old Chen, with the cigarette between his fingers, took another deep drag. "It's just a 'white lamb,' no need for 'Big Head.' It's a good chance for 'Lightbulb' to get some practice.

Have 'Big Head' keep an eye on He Haisheng. He's not easy to deal with."

***

On the subway, Li Banfeng took out his phone.

There was indeed a message on his phone, but it wasn't from He Jiaqing.

"Hello, this is Old Chen."

Old Chen?

He sent a message?

That old man, was he deliberately trying to trick me just now?

What did he mean by sending this message?

Was it just to trick me?

Not entirely. By sending this message, he also left his phone number.

He genuinely wants me to contact him willingly.

Li Banfeng had no intention of contacting Old Chen, but one thing made him very curious.

During their conversation, Li Banfeng never saw Old Chen take out his phone. How did he send this message?

Was someone secretly assisting him? Or did Old Chen possess special abilities?

He Jiaqing was currently sleeping in the hospital. Could he also send messages to me?

This world seemed different from what he knew.

Different or not, what did it have to do with him?

He Jiaqing's third uncle was also here, so he didn't need to worry about his affairs anymore. From now on, he would steadily live his life, and none of these matters would concern him.

Li Banfeng wanted to forget all this as quickly as possible. He opened his phone and aimlessly scrolled through self-media news.

The first news item:

8.83 seconds! Star sprinter Qiao Yuesheng breaks the 100-meter world record again! After the race, he actually said this!

What did he say?

Li Banfeng clicked on the news.

"At the recently concluded Diamond League, star sprinter Qiao Yuesheng once again broke the world record he set last month with a time of 8.83 seconds. Who would have thought that this legendary sprinter nearly gave up on his dream due to hardship? Qiao Yuesheng was born into an ordinary farming family..."

The news article was long, covering Qiao Yuesheng's life from birth until his Diamond League victory. Li Banfeng scrolled to the end and finally saw the quote from Qiao Yuesheng:

"Dreams have no color."

A very inspiring quote.

However, Li Banfeng remembered him saying that exact phrase last year.

It was also starting last year that he, as an East Asian, conquered the 100-meter track, breaking the nine-second barrier.

The next news item:

Renowned artist Chu Zikai, with a single statement, pulled back the curtain on the secrets of the domestic entertainment industry.

"Ten years ago, Chu Zikai stunned the Chinese music scene with his song 'I Am Your Guokui.'

His clear and heartfelt vocals touched countless fans. Yet, this exceptionally talented music star made an unexpected statement in public, revealing little-known truths about the entertainment industry to many.

Chu Zikai, currently thirty-one, was born into an ordinary working-class family and loved music from a young age..."

Starting from birth again.

Li Banfeng couldn't be bothered to read anymore and directly scrolled to the next one.

Shocking: The Sun is Not Alone! Astronomers Discover the Sun May Have a Sibling.

"Recently, astronomers made a stunning discovery: our Sun might not be alone; it could have an unknown companion star.

As the master of our solar system and the star on which humanity depends for survival, our Sun was born 4.6 billion years ago..."

Even for the Sun, they start from the year it was born.

These self-media accounts must have all been taught by the same mentor!

Click-clack!

Annoyed, Li Banfeng received another message. This one was from He Jiaqing.

"Brother, don't believe them. They're all liars."

Li Banfeng replied, "Who are 'they' you're talking about?"

"Third Uncle, the police, and the He Jiaqing you saw—they're all liars."

Li Banfeng put away his phone, suddenly feeling that the subway car was colder than usual.