The snow has started falling again.
Outside the interrogation room.
Zhao Feng extended a hand. "Miss Xu, please."
His attitude was more like he was entertaining a friend than interrogating someone.
Xu Xinghe didn't say anything and stepped inside.
The interrogation room was small, containing a wooden table and two chairs.
The charcoal fire in the corner wasn't burning very well; it must have been lit recently, and it couldn't dispel the chill in the air at all.
Xu Xinghe was seated on a chair inside.
The chair was very hard, and even with a backrest, it was extremely uncomfortable, the kind of chair that was uncomfortable no matter what position you tried to move.
Xu Xinghe quickly sat up straight, looking calmly at Zhao Feng opposite her.
She noticed that the chair Zhao Feng was sitting in was different from hers.
It seems that this could very well be a form of interrogation, subtly interfering with one's mental and physical well-being without their knowledge.
Zhao Feng raised his hand and tapped his fingers lightly on the table, showing no sign of urgency.
He was observing Xu Xinghe.
I thought this delicate little girl would soon be scared, even trembling with fear.
But to my surprise, she was very calm, and her eyes even revealed a maturity beyond her years.
Since that's the case, there's no need to waste time.
He got straight to the point, taking out a collection of poems. "Do you recognize this?"
Xu Xinghe touched the poetry collection, and seeing that the other party did not refuse, she boldly picked it up to examine it.
The above is indeed her handwriting, and it is indeed her book.
“I recognize it.” Xu Xinghe put down the poetry collection and nodded. “This is a book I bought when I was in Shanghai. I occasionally flip through it. The title page also has a poem that I really like.”
"Then why did it appear at Chen Jingming's residence?" Zhao Feng immediately pressed, leaning forward slightly, his sharp gaze almost piercing through Xu Xinghe.
An invisible sense of oppression washed over me.
Xu Xinghe remained calm. "I don't know. I don't know Chen Jingming, and I didn't bring this book to Heilongjiang Province. Logically speaking, it should still be at the Xu family's place in Shanghai. Unless..." She paused, looked up at Zhao Feng, "someone brought it from Shanghai, or perhaps I lent it out."
"Who did you lend it to?"
“Wang Zhizhi,” Xu Xinghe said without hesitation. “She used to live in Shanghai and often borrowed books from me. Our mutual friends all know this. You can check whether this book came from her.”
Zhao Feng wrote it down in his notebook, then threw out a series of questions, "What is your relationship with Chen Jingming?"
"I have nothing to do with him."
When did you two meet?
"I don't know Chen Jingming."
Have you had any contact with each other privately?
"No, I've never even seen him."
Zhao Feng asked again, and Xu Xinghe gave the same answer: "I only heard the name yesterday. Other than that, I know nothing about Chen Jingming. I have never met him or had any contact with him."
During the subsequent interrogation, Zhao Feng repeatedly changed his questioning methods. Sometimes he probed indirectly, and sometimes he adopted a forceful approach, relentlessly pressing Xu Xinghe for answers, trying to find flaws in her responses.
But Xu Xinghe's answer has never changed.
Zhao Feng changed his interrogation method again, and began to ask her to recall what she had seen and heard in Heilongjiang Province during this period.
Whom did you meet, and what did you say?
If you can't remember, then keep thinking about it, force yourself to remember.
Then, while Xu Xinghe was reminiscing, someone suddenly interrupted and asked her to answer a question.
After all that, Xu Xinghe felt physically and mentally exhausted.
The chair was uncomfortable, causing her to have back pain.
You also have to keep using your brain, which makes it tired.
All of these factors combined made her start to feel irritable, and her temples kept throbbing.
Zhao Feng looked at her and raised an eyebrow. He took out paper and pen and said, "Draw a map of the route you have taken since you came to Heilongjiang Province. Don't miss any places you have been. Otherwise, I have reason to suspect that you are deliberately hiding something."
The paper contained maps of nearby villages, the entire town, and even the city, clearly marking some locations and buildings.
Xu Xinghe looked at it for a long time, then picked up his pen and drew all the paths he had walked.
After reading it, Zhao Feng accepted it. He planned to check later whether her movements overlapped with Chen Jingming's previous movements.
"Xu Xinghe, do you still remember your previous answers? Are you sure you haven't changed anything?"
"No." Xu Xinghe didn't need to recall to know that her answer was correct.
What she wanted was consistency, no lies, only the truth, no vague words, and no contradictions.
Truth can be woven into the best logic.
Moreover, she remained completely open and honest, as if the interrogation in front of her was just an ordinary conversation.
Before I knew it, the morning had passed.
The wall clock points to twelve.
Zhao Feng finally got up, called over a soldier, and spoke right at the door, not at all afraid that Xu Xinghe would hear him.
"Go to the cafeteria and get some lunch for me and for Miss Xu. Make sure to get plenty of dishes that ladies like, okay?"
"yes."
The meal was served quickly: simple sorghum rice, cabbage stewed with tofu, and a roasted sweet potato—that was considered a lady's meal.
Zhao Feng sat to the side, gesturing for Xu Xinghe to eat first, but he didn't touch his chopsticks, his sharp gaze never leaving her from beginning to end.
After the meal, he finally spoke, his tone softening but carrying a more subtle offensive: "Xu Xinghe, I know about your relationship with Jiang Linchuan. You are his fiancée. Jiang Linchuan is a promising talent. Even if I am not convinced by him, I have to say something fair. He has a bright future in the military and will definitely be promoted soon. At his age, he has already climbed to this position, so there is no need to say more about what will happen in the future."
Xu Xinghe put down her chopsticks, said nothing, and listened quietly.
"But if you've been hiding something about espionage..." Zhao Feng's tone shifted, his eyes suddenly sharpening, "once it's discovered, you'll become the biggest obstacle on Jiang Linchuan's path to promotion, and could even affect his entire future. Can you really bear that? Think about all he's sacrificed for you, are you really willing to hurt someone who loves you?"
He thought that mentioning Jiang Linchuan would make Xu Xinghe waver.
After all, women are very emotional, and once emotions are involved, they become less rational and indecisive.
As long as she shows the slightest hesitation or weakness, he can seize the opportunity to break through!
However, Xu Xinghe's eyes were even more determined than before. "Deputy Commander Zhao, my future with Jiang Linchuan will never be built on lies. I will never admit to things I didn't do. If I did, I would be burying everything we have with my own hands. I believe the country will clear my name."
Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear and resonant. It reminded Zhao Feng of the sound of ice blocks colliding when he chiseled through the ice last winter—a crisp and pleasant sound.
It seems... this method won't work.
This woman was much more resilient than he had imagined.
Zhao Feng was silent for a moment, then waved for the soldier to come in. "Take her to the rest room first."
Xu Xinghe thanked him and walked out of the interrogation room with her back straight.
She looked at the snowflakes drifting outside the window, not feeling cold at all, because she knew that Jiang Linchuan would definitely not abandon her.
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