Rebirth
"Yu Xiaowei, you can go back first. I'll let you know if there's any progress."
Cheng Xiaoxiang put down the information and said to the person at the door.
Yu Xiaowei ignored him. She craned her neck to see the car approaching and ran down to greet it, "Captain Chen!" The person in the passenger seat got out first, "Jiang Li?"
"Yeah." Jiang Li responded calmly and walked past her inside.
"Is there something wrong?" Chen An asked after parking the car.
"I want to ask..."
The other party interrupted her, "If you have nothing to offer, go home and wait for news."
Yu Xiaowei said anxiously: "I'm going abroad in a few days, and I want to figure this out before I go."
Chen An stopped, perhaps she knew something that outsiders didn't know.
"Come in."
Yu Xiaowei sat stiffly in the conference room. The other people were all police officers, and sitting with them always felt a sense of coldness and oppression. So she moved her chair closer to Jiang Li. Jiang Li pushed her chair back and seemed to guess what she was thinking. He said, "Reserve police."
Yu Xiaowei laughed awkwardly. "Whatever you want to ask, I will tell you everything I know."
Chen An got straight to the point, "Has Zheng Tong ever joined any clubs?"
"Club?" Yu Xiaowei thought for a moment. "I don't know about that. I know she joined a poetry club, but she only stayed for one semester before dropping out. I've never heard her mention a club or anything like that."
"What kind of person do you think Zheng Tong is?"
Yu Xiaowei turned to look at Jiang Li, not quite understanding why he asked that. "She's a very nice person. Beautiful, outstanding, talented, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. I grew up with her, and her grades were always among the best in junior high and high school. As for her personality... she might have some minor flaws, a bit of a princess syndrome, but she's not a bad person at heart."
"Does she smoke?"
Yu Xiaowei shook her head. "No, she doesn't smoke or drink. At most, she's a little unfaithful, but otherwise, there's nothing wrong with her." After saying this, she even observed the expressions of Chen An and Jiang Li. Seeing that they both looked suspicious, she was shocked. "Could Tongtong have done anything illegal?"
Their silence undoubtedly deepened Yu Xiaowei's thoughts. "Peng Yue! It must be him. If Tongtong did anything, he must be involved! Peng Yue is not a good person! I reminded her time and time again that men like Peng Yue who live off her are not good people, but she insisted that it's okay. I am also... I should have advised her more. Men like this are the most petty. He must have taken Tongtong to those shady places! I was wondering why she didn't go back to school recently, didn't live in the apartment anymore, and stayed out all night. Now Tongtong is in trouble, and he doesn't even have a fart!"
While recording, Lu Yuyao asked, "Is Peng Yue a gigolo?"
"Yeah!" She got angry when she mentioned this. "Peng Yue originally planned to pursue Tongtong's roommate, but he accidentally discovered Tongtong's family background. Then he decisively changed his target and pursued my Tongtong for half a year. He was originally a gigolo. Before this, he had pursued many girls from wealthy families, but none of them lasted long."
Lu Yuyao bit the tip of her pen and grumbled quietly, "Zheng Tong is still with him."
Jiang Li fiddled with the pen on the table and said slowly, "A girl with good sense can easily see through this kind of scam. Zheng Tong knows that Peng Yue is a loser who lives off his wife, but Peng Yue has what she wants, so she can tolerate his snobbery and materialism. After all, Zheng Tong is not short of money."
"Seeing through and not exposing the truth don't conflict." His gaze, which had been resting on the table, suddenly shifted upwards to the person at the main seat. His handsome brows curved slightly as he spoke calmly, "Perhaps he hasn't yet identified his next target."
Chen An coughed lightly twice. "When you pointed out Anna before, you said that Anna always appeared beside Zheng Tong intentionally or unintentionally to observe her. Is that true?"
"It was true back then. Tongtong and I weren't from the same college, but we'd always make plans to have dinner together after class. Many times, I'd go to her classroom and wait for her, and Anna would always be observing her, looking at her, and..." Yu Xiaowei tried hard to recall the scene, recalling those longing eyes. "The way she looked at Tongtong was strange and uncomfortable. It seemed like there was some kind of desire in her eyes. She just stared at her straight and followed her, like a surveillance camera! It was really scary."
Just recalling it gave her goosebumps. "There were a few times when I caught her. When our eyes met, she would immediately lower her head, looking guilty. It was hard not to be suspicious."
Jiang Li asked: "When did you start to doubt Anna's true identity?"
Yu Xiaowei moved her lips and said, "That's when my uncle and aunt's medical examination reports came out."
Jiang Li raised his eyes to stare at her. "That's not right. As far as I know, the Vitus Hospital where you're interning is a private hospital. The annual physical examination period is in early December. Does that mean you were already suspicious of Zheng Tong's background last December?"
Yu Xiaowei sniffed and said obediently, "Yes, last December."
"That's still not right. Anna didn't show up last December. Even if you suspected her based on those unclear looks, your suspicions wouldn't be valid if she didn't show up."
Chen An knocked on the table and said, "Tell the truth, Yu Xiaowei."
Yu Xiaowei twisted her hands under the table and finally let out a deep breath, "Okay, Peng Yue told me."
Lu Yuyao was completely confused. "Why is it him again?"
"Two months ago, he accidentally overheard my conversation with Tongtong." Yu Xiaowei lowered her head, her tone dejected. "At the time, I advised her to break up with Peng Yue as soon as possible. We were going abroad to study, and we couldn't bring this guy with us. And from what I know about her, she wouldn't like someone for too long, so it wouldn't be difficult for her to give up Peng Yue, but I made a mistake."
"She refused to break up with him no matter what, and even told me in all seriousness that she seemed to have fallen in love with Peng Yue. I thought she was crazy," Yu Xiaowei said in disbelief. "How could she really fall in love with a loser who had nothing but his looks? She had everything: a good family, good manners, and talent. But after falling in love with Peng Yue, she ignored everything. From skipping classes during the day to staying out all night, I felt like she was a completely different person."
"One night I happened to catch Peng Yue taking her out to get a tattoo! I was furious, I felt she was degrading herself, so I brought her back to my place and we had a big fight. After that, I was angry and didn't contact her for almost a week. The next time we met, Peng Yue threatened me by claiming to be Zheng Tong's boyfriend."
"Threaten you?" Lu Yuyao wrote down the key words.
"Peng Yue got a DNA report from somewhere, which directly revealed the fact that Zheng Tong is not the Zheng family's biological child. Also included in the attachment is a test report for Anna and Aunt Zheng."
Chen An said: "That's why you noticed the inconspicuous Anna."
Yu Xiaowei nodded. "Anna is indeed very low-key. Even though she attends classes every day at the Faculty of Arts, few people in the class know her. I formed an impression of Anna because of this report, which led to my conclusion that she was also observing Zheng Tong, and which led to my subsequent questioning."
At this moment, everything is truly connected. Peng Yue wants to use this secret to protect his unearned second half of life. He has a way out no matter which side he chooses, Anna or Yu Xiaowei.
Bai Shuo tilted his head, "Does Zheng Tong know about such a big thing?"
Yu Xiaowei shook her head, "I don't know."
"Peng Yue threatened me to stop obstructing their relationship. To put it bluntly, he wants to marry into the Zheng family. As for Anna, I've been worried that she might suddenly tell Uncle Zheng and Aunt Zheng about this. If she really wants to snatch it away, Zheng Tong will definitely get hurt."
"Robbery?" Lu Yuyao frowned. "Anna was originally the lost child of the Zheng family. Her return is considered a homecoming, right? How can it be called robbery?"
"That's different!" Yu Xiaowei became excited. "Even if a child who has been missing for many years finds his biological parents, what good does it do? The gap between them is eternal. The years lost together can't be made up by blood. Besides, they already have Zheng Tong. What are you going to do with Zheng Tong?"
Tears welled up in her eyes. "Before my mother passed away, she asked me to take good care of Zheng Tong. I've treated her like a younger sister for so many years, but this is no longer the case."
"You don't want them to know that Zheng Tong isn't their biological daughter, and you don't want Anna to return to her parents." Lu Yuyao found her ideas absurd. "You're so selfish. You haven't considered other people's feelings at all. You only care about Zheng Tong."
"I admit that I'm selfish, so I didn't say anything when the previous police officer was investigating the case. I just didn't want them to know the truth. I don't want Zheng Tong to lose both her life and her reputation. I don't want anyone to take Zheng Tong's place! No one!" Yu Xiaowei's eyes were red, and she looked at Chen An with all her might. "Captain Chen, you promised me, you'll keep your promise, right?"
Everyone's eyes were immediately turned to him.
Chen An casually adjusted his turned-up cuffs and asked in a calm tone, "What did I promise you?"
Yu Xiaowei suppressed her anger and said, "Promise me you won't tell uncle and aunt!"
Chen An raised his eyes, the regular lines in his pupils revealing a coldness, "Did I agree?"
"You don't keep your word!"
Yu Xiaowei was on the verge of tears when Chen An finally revealed what had happened. "I remember my original words were, 'I will do my best to satisfy your demands while preserving the truth.'"
"Then you return!"
Jiang Li explained considerately, "But Anna's life story is also part of the truth."
Yu Xiaowei glared left and right. She felt like she was being fooled by two cunning men. She picked up her bag, stomped her feet in indignation, and turned away.
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