Someone might block out the cries for help.
The outdoor interrogation took place again. The tall, thin man and the short, fat man, who had been squatting, were forced to stand up, and they were no longer allowed to smoke.
The lead investigator reprimanded them in dialect, while the slightly overweight man standing among the investigators remained silent, simply watching coldly.
Chen Sizhe thoughtfully withdrew his gaze from the man, the invisible silence that had been sewn onto his lips was torn away, and he said coldly, "Since the investigators are here, and these two are being watched by the investigators, let's go back to the car and wait. Aren't you tired of standing here?"
Subconsciously turning her head to meet Chen Sizhe's fox-like eyes, Wen Dai fluttered her eyelashes twice, discerning the unspoken meaning in his dark pupils.
She used both arms to push Wen Weiwei and Xiaohui, while Xuanxuan was led along by Wen Weiwei.
"Then let's go back to the car and sit down. We'll leave the rest to the professionals." Wen Dai said lightly, a superficial smile playing on her lips, as she and several girls followed Chen Sizhe into the car.
As soon as the passenger door closed, Wen Dai spoke up: "Is there a problem with the investigator there?" She leaned back in her seat naturally, raising one hand as if scratching the side of her nose, without even glancing at Chen Sizhe, let alone his body or face.
Standing outside the car and looking inside, all you could see was her sitting in the passenger seat, touching her face.
"Hmm. You think so too?" Just like Wen Dai's actions, a "cover-up" move. Chen Sizhe's hand covered his mouth, his palm obscuring his parted lips.
Wen Dai believes that the reason she linked Chen Sizhe's behavior to the "problem with the case officer" was because his behavior just now was too obvious.
“I didn’t pay attention to them. They had just arrived and you said that without communicating with them. You just told us to go back to the car and sit down. Your hints of avoidance were almost explicit.”
Chen Sizhe raised his eyelids slightly and glanced at the man casually before leaning back against the headrest. "Counting from the left, the third one, the slightly chubby male investigator with yellowish-white skin. He made eye contact with the two men standing there, and those two seemed to be afraid of him. They must be colluding."
He glanced at the person in the passenger seat and clicked his tongue, saying, "...Don't stare so openly."
Wen Dai, who had been craning her neck and peering at the group of investigators, shrank back.
She leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms, and said indifferently, "So what if there's collusion? He's just a small-time township police officer, probably just a nobody. The saying 'when disaster strikes, everyone flies away' doesn't just apply to couples. Human trafficking gangs have protectors, and even the real umbrella over his head will be torn down, let alone him?"
Leaning his head and back against the backrest, Chen Sizhe closed his eyes and said lazily, "I'm not sure if they'll make a false accusation. Nobody can guarantee that all the investigators are fully aware of what's going on here but are just ignoring it."
Occasionally, Wen Dai would even consider labeling Chen Sizhe as a jinx.
Her long-tense nerves seemed to relax at his presence; subconsciously, she knew she could rest for a while, that someone on the front lines had taken her place. But just as Wen Dai was about to drift off to sleep, there was a knock on the car window.
The person outside the car tried to open the door twice but failed, so they knocked on the window. Although they weren't knocking on Wen Dai's side, they still managed to wake her from the brink of sleep.
As the car window rolled down, the slightly overweight, yellowish-white male detective standing outside the car door frowned, his scrutinizing gaze sweeping around the car before finally settling on Wen Dai's face. "So it was you who infiltrated their hideout and rescued those trafficked people?"
The feeling of being forced to interrupt sleep was not pleasant. Her rational mind hadn't kicked in yet. Wen Dai stared at him for a while with her eyes open, and only after he asked a second time in an impatient tone did she slowly say, "Yes."
The slightly overweight, pale-faced male investigator's lips twitched, and he crossed his arms, which stretched his uniform so much that it was wrinkle-free, in front of him. He let out a cold snort.
"Everyone in our town knows the character of the villagers in this village; they are kind and honest... But you, you inexplicably came all the way from the city to this place. Lizhou is so big, why did you choose to come here?"
Although she wasn't grumpy when she woke up, it was really difficult for someone who was startled awake in the middle of the night to stay calm. Wen Dai propped her cheeks up and tilted her head to meet the male clerk's sharp gaze.
"I can go wherever I want, why do you have to control my travel? Why are you being so nosy? What, am I, as a citizen, being deprived of my freedom of movement? You don't actually suspect that I'm the one who trafficked those people, do you?"
"I was just asking a reasonable question. Why are you getting so emotional? Are you hiding something?"
"Instead of asking those two suspects, you come here to ask me, a citizen who risked my life, if you're colluding with them, right?"
Wen Dai, who easily retorted, leaned against the back of the chair.
She leaned forward slightly, leaning closer to Chen Sizhe, and admired the gloomy face of the slightly overweight, pale-faced police officer through the open car window. Intrigued, she pressed on, "Why aren't you saying anything? Did I make a good point? You came in and immediately told me the villagers here are kind and honest. Are you trying to cover it up? Trying to use your position for personal gain, sir?"
Standing some distance away from the slightly overweight, pale-faced male investigator, Wen Dai could barely hear him, but Chen Sizhe clearly heard the investigator's sudden, rapid breathing.
He glanced at the person outside the car window. The person's chubby, yellowish-white face looked as if the facial muscles were spasming. The already small eyes became even smaller when the person unconsciously stared at them, about the size of half a soybean.
"Stop spouting nonsense! Do you even know what slander and defamation are?!" Even with a car door and a person between them, they couldn't stop the slightly overweight, pale-faced male investigator from pointing his finger at the person.
He stretched out his short, thick finger, and with a slight tremor, it was as if he wished that finger could turn into a gun, and preferably spit out a few bullets.
The person who spoke out unexpectedly was Chen Sizhe, his low, husky voice escaping his throat as if to deliver another heavy blow to the male clerk:
The crime of false accusation is defined as "intentionally fabricating criminal facts and reporting them to judicial organs or relevant units with the intention of causing others to be criminally prosecuted." In administrative penalties, the definition in the Public Security Administration Punishment Law is "fabricating facts to falsely accuse and frame others with the intention of causing them to be criminally prosecuted or subject to public security administration punishment."
The crime of defamation is defined as "the act of intentionally fabricating and disseminating false facts that are sufficient to damage another person's character and reputation, and where the circumstances are serious," as per the Criminal Law. The Civil Code stipulates that "civil subjects enjoy the right to reputation. No organization or individual may infringe upon another person's right to reputation through insults, defamation, or other means."
The crime of insult is defined as "publicly degrading another person's character and damaging their reputation through violence or other means," and under the Public Security Administration Punishment Law, it is defined as "publicly insulting another person or fabricating facts to defame another person."
He finished speaking calmly and casually raised the phone he was holding, revealing the recording interface on the screen.
“Chief Inspector, I believe my partner hasn’t exhibited any behavior that fits any of the definitions I just outlined. But you—”
A man with exceptionally handsome features curled into a not-so-innocent smile, and he said in a drawn-out tone:
"Do you need me to explain the crimes of dereliction of duty or failure to perform duties under the Criminal Law, as well as the crime of bending the law for personal gain? And you questioned my partner as a 'human trafficker' without any evidence, which seems to fit the definition of false accusation or insult under the Public Security Administration Punishment Law."
As a grassroots case officer in a township, the slightly overweight man with a pale complexion was used to the peaceful life in town. Moreover, everyone dared not act recklessly when they saw his uniform. He had never expected to be left speechless by two people questioning him in succession.
He could recognize the brand of this car. It's understandable that he might not know other brands, but how many people don't know Rolls-Royce?
The man in the driver's seat, from his attire to his appearance, was clearly someone you couldn't afford to mess with at first glance. Yet, this man also fluently recited a bunch of legal regulations that even I was somewhat unclear about.
Especially after his gaze fell on the phone screen in the man's hand, the slightly chubby, pale-faced male investigator felt himself sweating profusely.
His eyes widened unconsciously, and something seemed to roll twice on his thick neck—probably his Adam's apple wrapped in flesh.
The recording time on the tape recorder in his eyes was still changing. The changing numbers made the slightly chubby male investigator with a yellowish-white face lose his senses and then come back to his senses. He squeezed the flesh on his face and forced a smile.
"I was just asking, I didn't say she really had a problem. As investigators, isn't it normal to be vigilant? Don't overthink it."
The other investigators who were standing in front of the tall, thin man and the short, fat man seemed to finally notice the situation. Two or three investigators came over and stood next to the slightly chubby, yellow-faced investigator.
"What are you doing here? They put in a lot of effort. Didn't the people who came up earlier say that it was all thanks to this girl inside who risked her life? What are you doing here nagging them? They're probably exhausted, and you're just making a fuss. Let them rest for a bit."
It was common for the investigators in the office to joke around with each other. Although the slightly overweight, pale-faced investigator had an eccentric temper, this wasn't the time to dwell on whether he was strange or not. The investigator who patted him on the shoulder used some force to pull him away, and during the process, he whispered a reminder that was clearly heard by two people with sharp ears in the car—
"Can you change your temper? There's a limit to how much you can bully others. It's one thing to do it here at the institute..."
It's unclear how this slightly chubby, pale-faced male investigator usually interacts with his colleagues; even the other investigators guessed that he was here to assert his authority.
Chen Sizhe rolled up the car window again, and Wen Dai, in the passenger seat, tilted her head and glared at him, saying, "You're quite good at being a jinx; you're pretty good at hitting the nail on the head." Her sarcastic tone almost filled the car roof.
Chen Sizhe only responded with a cold snort, and put the phone back where it was placed.
Among the three people sitting quietly in the back seat, Wen Weiwei vaguely knew that Wen Dai and her mother knew each other and had communicated in their childhood. Even though she had forgotten that experience, Wen Weiwei still had the courage to talk to Wen Dai.
She leaned forward, placing one hand on the back of the passenger seat where Wen Dai was sitting. "So, was there something wrong with that investigator just now?"
Just as Wen Dai was about to fall asleep, she opened her half-closed eyes, turned her head to look at Wen Weiwei who was craning her neck, and nodded, saying, "Yes."
“Society…is much more chaotic than I imagined. I always thought that the most reliable people were the investigators, that even in danger, as long as I could meet an investigator and ask them for help, I would be safe,” she murmured.
Wen Weiwei slowly leaned back, her whole body adopting an inward curl structure—her neck was lowered and her head was buried, her shoulders were drawn inward, as if she wanted to raise her knees so that her arms could hug them, and she picked at her fingers.
Sitting next to her, Xiaohui had Xuanxuan on her lap. Xiaohui held Xuanxuan's hand in her arms and said very calmly, "I knew it a long time ago. The investigators here don't do anything. Maybe some people want to do something, but some people will block the sound, block the sound of crying for help."
Wen Dai's body, which had been leaning back in her chair, suddenly stiffened for a moment as she thought of her past self. In her daze, she seemed to see ten-year-old Wen Dai; that still naive self, who seemed to be able to do nothing but cry, seeking help but receiving none.
"Hmm... Xiaohui is right. Being an administrative investigator is just a job. All the people we think we can trust are just human beings at heart, and people are always fickle. The halo of a profession can be extinguished by a bad person. But we can't generalize and condemn all people. Good and bad exist in every profession. There are administrative investigators who are genuinely for the people, and there are people who cherish ideals and hope for peace and prosperity for the country and the well-being of the people."
Her fist, resting on her thigh, gradually clenched, and her unfocused eyes regained focus. Wen Dai thought of Cai Qi.
She was willing to trust herself, willing to try every tiny possibility, and willing to listen to the voice of the people.
Wen Dai believed that her future was limitless.
It is also believed that there will be more than one Cai Qi in this world.
Looking out the car window, small figures gradually took shape, forming a group in rows, becoming clearer in the field of vision.
They are abducted persons who have been hidden.
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