A tragic childhood under the shadow of a stepfather, a desolate love that could never be, a clown-masked man in a late-night alley, the crisp moonlight, and the cold blade.
Oh, and the waiter...
Seeing that Han Lin's emotions had calmed down a bit, Wang Shen continued, "Since you don't want to answer this question, I'll ask another one. The recording says you helped Acheng get close to Qi Huan. I have two questions I hope you can answer truthfully. First, why were you willing to agree to help Acheng get close to Qi Huan? Second, how did you help Acheng get close to Qi Huan?"
Han Lin took another cigarette from the pack, lit it, and took two deep drags. "Things have come to this, so there's nothing left to hide. I agreed to let Acheng get close to Qi Huan because Acheng found out about my relationship with Han Mo."
"Oh? Ah Cheng found out about you and Han Mo?" Wang Shen feigned surprise. "But didn't you just say that you and Han Mo had almost no contact after that incident?"
“Yes.” Han Lin nodded. “Ah Cheng found out about Han Mo and me when I first went to deliver food to Han Mo.”
"Did Acheng go that day too?" Wang Shen was increasingly confused. "Does one order require two people to deliver?" Wang Shen pressed on.
Han Lin shook his head after listening. "It was just a coincidence that day. I probably didn't say goodbye to anyone when I left the store, so they assumed that Han Mo's order hadn't been delivered. Maybe A-Cheng had just finished what he was doing and got this task. Who knew I was already at Han Mo's house at the time. Naturally, he saw everything that happened between Han Mo and me." After saying that, Han Lin exhaled two more smoke rings.
After listening, Wang Shen seemed to understand Han Lin's meaning. Could it be that things in this world are truly full of coincidences? Wang Shen's mind remained filled with questions. "And the second question?"
"Officer Wang, your memory isn't very good." Han Lin lay on the sofa, a cigarette between his fingers, looking at Wang Shen. "I already explained to you clearly a few days ago how I helped Acheng get in touch with President Qi. I didn't lie to you."
"You mean your company's annual meeting two years ago?" Wang Shen asked knowingly.
Han Lin readily agreed, nodding and replying, "Yes."
"So, it's fair to say that the three of you each have something on each other that's causing all this entanglement, right?" Wang Shen continued to press.
"That was true before, but now I have nothing to hide. I was really stupid back then, worrying about this and that. Actually, I have a clear conscience, that's enough. It was just that Ah Cheng got off easy, he almost rode on my head." After Han Lin confessed all these things to Wang Shen, he didn't bother to maintain his usual refined image anymore.
"Almost?" Wang Shen raised his voice and repeated the two words.
"Well, isn't his life hanging in the balance right now? Whether he'll survive is still unknown." Han Lin spoke more and more directly, as if he had no more reservations.
"Judging from Manager Han's tone, it seems he doesn't really want Acheng to get better." Wang Shen smiled at Han Lin.
Hearing Wang Shen's words, Han Lin flicked the ash from his cigarette into the ashtray and smiled back at Wang Shen, "Yes." Then, Han Lin took a few more puffs of his cigarette. "Officer Wang, everyone is selfish. What good would it do me if A-Cheng were alright? Don't you think so?"
Wang Shen looked at Han Lin, and after a while, he nodded. "Manager Han is absolutely right. It's not wrong for people to be a little selfish, but it's absolutely unacceptable if it involves infringing on other people's lives."
"Officer Wang, what are you saying? I've always been a law-abiding citizen," Han Lin said, looking away from Wang Shen.
"That would be perfect." With that, Wang Shen stood up from the sofa.
Seeing Wang Shen stand up, Han Lin was still willing to maintain basic courtesy. Han Lin escorted Wang Shen to the door, which was actually only a few steps. Han Lin walked ahead and personally opened the door for Wang Shen.
"Officer Wang, please take care. I won't see you off any further." After saying that, Han Lin was about to close the door.
“Manager Han, please wait a moment. Finally, I have a few more words to say. Since this was discovered in your store, I think it's necessary for you to understand it.” Wang Shen gently blocked the door from closing and smiled at Han Lin. “Besides, I think Manager Han would be interested in this clue I discovered.”
After hearing Wang Shen's last sentence, Han Lin's hand truly stopped closing the door. Han Lin stared intently at Wang Shen, desperately trying to guess what else Wang Shen wanted to say. After this round of conversation, Han Lin's impression of Wang Shen was one of fear. Han Lin prided himself on being a shrewd and eloquent person. However, he found himself unconsciously being led into traps by Wang Shen, leaving him completely helpless and barely able to resist.
"I checked the lockers in the men's changing room. The lockers are fine, but the numbers on them are a bit off." Wang Shen's face remained smirking as he spoke.
"What do you mean by this?" Han Lin's expression turned serious again, his eyes fixed on Wang Shen's.
"Manager Han, do you still remember the first time you took me to the locker room?" Wang Shen didn't avoid Han Lin's gaze, but just kept smiling at Han Lin.
Han Lin didn't answer, but nodded with a dark expression. However, Wang Shen had already caught a fleeting glimpse of panic in Han Lin's eyes.
“I have a habit of taking pictures. I took a picture of the entire cabinet. But when I went to check the cabinets a second time, I found that the cabinets had grown legs. Manager Han, do you know what happened?” Wang Shen still refused to directly reveal the clues he had, instead keeping Han Lin in suspense and constantly observing Han Lin’s reaction.
"A cabinet isn't a person, where would it get legs?" Han Lin replied with a furrowed brow.
"Yes, that's the problem. Cabinets aren't people, how could they grow legs? But those cabinets really did grow legs and change their positions on the wall. At first, I couldn't figure it out either. I kept asking myself, what's going on? Did the cabinets come to life? Of course, I wouldn't believe such an absurd thing. So I think someone must be up to something. But how did this person change the cabinets' positions on the wall? I checked each cabinet, they're very sturdy, you can't move them at all. Manager Han, can you help me figure out what's going on?" Wang Shen continued to keep Han Lin in suspense, refusing to tell him the final results of his investigation.
"Officer Wang, stop beating around the bush. Just tell me what you want to say." Han Lin finally grew impatient and urged Wang Shen to tell him everything he knew.
"Unfortunately, I don't know either. If Manager Han finds out the answer, please let me know. I'm always ready to answer for you. I hope you find out the answer before I do. I believe it will be more helpful to you." With that, Wang Shen finally disappeared from Han Lin's sight.