Chapter 53

The clothed collarbone beneath his palm, the thin flesh supporting the shoulder blade, seemed as if it could be broken with just a little more pressure. Yu Lei didn't know how much strength to use to comfort her. If he pressed too lightly, she wouldn't feel it, but if he pressed too hard, it would be too much.

He didn't know why she was crying, but he knew that any inquiry would not yield an answer at this moment.

When Tang Ruxin was free, she acted like a weak and pitiful tea master. But when things really got tough, she wouldn't say a word. She wasn't used to relying on others, and even less so, asking for help. He'd noticed this the night she saved Song Mu. She was someone who would rather swallow her anger than face hardship alone.

Such people are not easily comforted and are easily hurt.

He didn't know when it started, but he understood her better than he hoped.

Tang Ruxin turned around, tears still on her fair face. She choked and said:

"It's too spicy……"

Yu Lei was stunned for a moment, then sighed deeply in frustration. Who did he inherit this stubborn personality from? Zhao Zheng was clearly a very gentle and easygoing person, so how could Zhao Lan, born of the same mother, be so stubborn and care about face?

He poured a glass of water and placed it next to her without exposing her poor excuse.

Tang Ruxin thanked him, drank the whole thing, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She said, "I've always wanted to ask you, why did you come to Tong Jiayu's birthplace?"

Yu Lei thought about it and thought that maybe chatting could relieve her emotional stress. Although this topic was not appropriate, there seemed to be nothing else for him and her to talk about.

"The police investigation is progressing. Given your personal relationship with Tong Jiayu, we can't reveal most of what we've uncovered to you." Yu Lei paused, then continued, seeing her expression remained unchanged. "So, I invited you here this time, partly because I need you to verify the consistency of the information, and partly because of my own selfish reasons."

"What selfish motive?"

Yu Lei leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He looked into Tang Ruxin's eyes and said seriously:

"As a police officer, I shouldn't let you get too involved in the investigation, but as your brother's good friend, I hope you can see the road ahead clearly and find the direction you should go sooner."

Tang Ruxin suddenly felt annoyed, "Did you make an appointment with Tong Jiayu?!"

Yu Lei was stunned. "What do you mean?"

Tang Ruxin glared at him angrily and stopped talking.

Yu Lei realized that Tong Jiayu had probably said something similar to her. If that was the case, Tong Jiayu had implicitly admitted that she had a problem—no wonder Tang Ruxin's mood had collapsed.

Yu Lei frowned and hesitated. He should give Tang Ruxin a strong blow now, but he was worried that she would not be able to bear it as she was already emotionally unstable.

"What did you find out?" Tang Ruxin asked with a cold face.

"To be precise, it was Yu Zhe who found out, but he just never told you. Tang Jiulin would ask Yu Zhe to find out the origins of everyone who appeared around you." Yu Lei said, taking out his mobile phone and opening a recording.

Yu Zhe's weak voice was heard from the recording software.

"Tong Jiayu has actually been in Donghe City for three or four years. The earliest migrant registration record for her was four years ago. She didn't tell Tang Ruxin that she had just left her hometown to work."

After the sound of the pen tip rubbing against the paper, Yu Lei's voice appeared.

"She met Tang Ruxin when she was seventeen, and she came to Donghe City when she was thirteen?"

"Yes. Ahem, ahem... The street registration information at that time stated that she was sixteen years old." Yu Zhe was weak and had to stop and rest after saying a few words.

"There's a huge difference between thirteen and sixteen. Are the people in the street office so blind?" Yu Lei's tone in the recording software was mocking, as if he had heard a joke.

The recording was silent for a while before Yu Zhe continued, "It's only a three-year age difference. I think she lied about her age to make it easier to get a job. As long as I knew she had no ill intentions towards Tang Ruxin, I didn't investigate further."

The recording ended here. Yu Lei locked his phone and picked up the notebook beside him.

"Is there any problem with this?" Tang Ruxin asked. "When the street office registers information about outsiders, they might not even see the person in person. They just make a phone call and the registration is done."

"That's right, so I went to check the part that Yu Zhe hadn't done back then." Yu Lei glanced at Tang Ruxin, "Are you sure you want to continue? I'm afraid you won't be able to accept it."

"I can't bear it if I don't listen."

Yu Lei then said, "The original records from the street office show her temporary address at the time: a restaurant. We found the restaurant owner. He said he hired Tong Jiayu as a kitchen helper for over a year, and the age listed on her ID card was indeed sixteen."

Tang Ruxin's face was full of confusion. "Four years ago, she was sixteen. So when I met her, she should have been twenty. But I saw her ID card, and she was seventeen at the time."

"Can't figure it out?" Yu Lei smiled and said, "It's okay, the following information will give you the answer. Do you know what Tong Jiayu's blood type is?"

Tang Ruxin was stunned and slowly shook her head.

"She was injured and hospitalized this time. I looked at her medical records and she has AB blood type. Her biological parents are type B and type O, respectively. And the person her mother cheated with, as Tong Qi suspected, is also type B. In other words, there's no way Tong Jiayu could be type AB."

Tang Ruxin's throat seemed to be blocked by something, which went all the way to her heart, making it difficult for her to breathe.

"Could it be, a mistake? It's something from so many years ago, with so many steps involved...it's normal for something to go wrong. Maybe the restaurant owner misremembered it, or...the hospital made a mistake with the test."

"I remember Tong Jiayu didn't have pierced ears," Yu Lei said calmly. "Her teacher just told me that when she was eight or nine, Tong Jiayu envied other girls wearing earrings and begged her to take her to get her ears pierced."

Tang Ruxin opened her lips slightly, her eyes full of disbelief.

Yu Lei was so calm that he was inhumane, and he threw out the last straw that broke the camel's back for Tang Ruxin.

"The answer is only one - the ID cards Tong Jiayu gave to the restaurant owner and to you were both fake. She is not the real Tong Jiayu at all."

Tang Ruxin turned to pick up the water cup on the table, but her fingers were shaking so much that she couldn't hold it steady. The cup fell from her palm and was caught by Yu Lei in time.

"My hands seem to be a little numb." Tang Ruxin stuttered, as if she wanted to smile, but she only revealed an expression that was uglier than crying.

She lowered her head and rubbed her fingers vigorously with both hands, until her knuckles turned red.

Yu Lei squatted down, took her trembling hand in his palm, and said slowly:

"No matter who she is, she hasn't done anything harmful to you personally in the past eleven years. She's targeting the entire Donghe Refining and Chemical Company. We don't know the reason yet, but we will find out one day."