Chapter 67 The Shaking Wine Glass
The dim light was blocked by the curtains, while bright lights shone throughout the corridor.
Once the door to the private room was closed, the noise from the lobby was shut out, leaving only the low hum of the central air conditioning.
No one picked up their chopsticks to eat the dishes on the table, but the steaming tea had already been refilled to its second cup.
Sun Jianglin slowly put down her teacup and looked up: "You didn't come to see me just to invite me to a meal, did you?"
Ling Zhao put down the teapot, his eyes clear: "I've heard that you stopped Fang Yucheng from using my song at his concert."
"...You think I can trust someone with something like this?"
Sun Jianglin scoffed, his eyes suddenly darkening: "You can't be that naive, can you? If someone who could have come out of such a slump is really only this much, I would feel sorry for him for being brought to this state by you."
The suddenly sharp question did not cause Ling Zhao's expression to change.
He silently poured hot tea into his teacup before slowly speaking: "Fang Yucheng began plotting betrayal the moment you recruited him. You did your best to plan his future career, but he had already gotten involved with Li Yunjing."
At this point, he casually blew on the steam rising from his teacup and slightly raised his eyes: "How many years do you think Li Yunjing could be sentenced to?"
Upon hearing the question suddenly thrown at him, Sun Jianglin's expression remained unchanged; he simply lowered his head and fiddled with the teacup in his hand.
But the person on the other end did not stop asking questions because of her silence.
He abruptly changed the subject, casually contradicting his previous question: "No, that's a bit too mild a statement..."
Noticing the gaze finally directed at him, Ling Zhao, as if humbly seeking advice, continued, "Do you think Li Yunjing will survive past the end of the month?"
"...I really regret believing that kid back then."
Sun Jianglin chuckled and put down her teacup, tapping the bottom lightly on the table. Her gaze towards Ling Zhao held a genuine appreciation: "You are much more quick-witted and have quite the courage. If I had chosen to mentor you back then, perhaps I could be comfortably preparing for retirement at this age."
This woman, who appeared to be in her thirties or forties, had concealed her arrogance and domineering nature compared to her appearance in the photo; a few more gray hairs had appeared at her temples.
"Besides not betraying you, choosing me won't be much better."
Ling Zhao honestly spread his hands: "I'm also tired of socializing and scheming."
Sun Jianglin: "But you're sitting here now."
Ling Zhao: "...If I say I have no choice, will you withdraw your promise to give me the evidence?"
Sun Jianglin didn't feel offended by the sudden "promise," but before she could retaliate, her phone on the table vibrated.
She glanced at the name in the contact list and then simply put down her teacup: "I have a dinner engagement later, so I won't eat here."
Ling Zhao raised an eyebrow slightly, and saw that the other party only turned around when he walked to the door of the private room: "I'm serious, you can consider switching jobs to work for me."
Ling Zhao: "Too many people want to poach me, you'll have to pay more."
Sun Jianglin: "..."
Seeing that he was still unmoved by her words or threats, Sun Jianglin simply rolled her eyes: "Remember to check your email tomorrow."
The door to the private room closed softly and clicked shut, instantly cutting off the noise outside and leaving only silence inside.
The phone rang abruptly. Ling Zhao answered it casually, and after hearing the voice on the other end, he glanced at the clock on the wall.
"Okay, I'll go right now, officer."
——
Half an hour later.
Inside the interrogation room, after Jian Dan explained the situation to Ling Zhao, the police officer formally asked, "How did you meet the suspect?"
Ling Zhao: "It was a company dinner party, and my agent took me there."
"What was the exact time and what kind of drinking session?" The person opposite was writing notes with their head down, and the rustling sound could be clearly heard in the room.
Ling Zhao: "Three years ago in June, my agent said it was a business dinner."
"It is said that you had a conflict with the suspect, Li Yunjing, at the time?"
This time, Ling Zhao remained silent for a moment, and under the questioning gaze of the other person, slowly said, "I beat him so badly that he ended up in the hospital."
"……Why?"
"Because he made some inappropriate requests in public."
Ling Zhao slowly raised his eyes: "Specifically, it's the same requirement as what you caught him doing on the spot."
...
By the time permission to enter the visiting room was obtained, the police officer who had initially been somewhat "aggressive" in taking the statement had calmed down.
On the way, he repeatedly told Ling Zhao not to get agitated, that the law would fairly punish every criminal with conclusive evidence, and not to let momentary anger affect his future.
Although he didn't know why the police officer gave him such advice, Ling Zhao nodded in agreement.
But when they arrived at the meeting room and saw Li Yunjing sitting on the other side of the iron railing, Ling Zhao's eyes involuntarily turned cold.
The chair scraped against the cement floor with a screeching sound.
Ling Zhao pulled out a chair and sat down, looking at the person behind the glass.
This man, who once graced the news pages of major entertainment news outlets, now wears a drab prison uniform, his figure still upright, but only a deep, unfathomable melancholy remains in his eyes.
When she looked up and saw Ling Zhao, her emotions remained calm and showed no sign of any turmoil.
Even through the glass barrier, Li Yunjing's voice remained calm, as if she were discussing business: "You shouldn't have made such a big deal out of this."
Ling Zhao said expressionlessly, "You should say that to the police."
Li Yunjing twitched the corners of her lips, but the smile didn't reach her eyes: "I've been in this industry for so many years, and I never thought that I would fall into your hands in the end... It's a real pity that I didn't just have someone break your legs and send you to bed back then."
A dark undercurrent surged in Ling Zhao's eyes, and his aura momentarily transformed into that of a ferocious beast unleashed. But he quickly suppressed it, coldly scoffing, "The hospital doctors are really too dedicated. I never expected that something so rotten could actually be saved?"
Seeing the slight change in Li Yunjing's eyes, he understood and then snorted coldly with disgust, and stood up straight: "You should enjoy your last few days of living."
A faint shadow crossed Li Yunjing's eyes, but it quickly returned to its unfathomable state.
Don't be too happy yet.
His voice was deep, with a hint of sinister intent: "Do you think you have no weaknesses on you?"
Ling Zhao frowned, intending to retort without hesitation, but when his gaze fell upon Li Yunjing's meaningful smile, he inexplicably had a bad feeling.
The cold wind outdoors carried a chill that swept over us.
Ling Zhao felt inexplicably uneasy after meeting Li Yunjing.
After hesitating for a moment, he found a number in his contacts that he hadn't dialed in a long time.
After a long wait, the call was finally connected on the other end.
"Hello?"
Ling Zhao's fingertips tightened slightly. When he heard the soft babbling of a young child in the background, he subconsciously took a deep breath: "Mom."
"What's wrong? Has something happened lately?"
That familiar, always cold and decisive female voice—it almost made him imagine the expression on her face when she said those words.
He always had a furrowed brow and looked preoccupied.
"No, I have nothing here."
Ling Zhao gazed at the passing traffic, her tone softening, a hint of tentative concern in her voice: "I just wanted to ask, how have you all been lately?"
"Yes, everything is fine here. If you come abroad with us, I won't have to worry about you all the time."
Upon hearing this, Ling Zhao's expression softened, and then he heard the voice on the other end become gentler, coaxing someone in the distance in a low voice, "Call me brother."
A child's innocent voice immediately broke the silence: "Giggle!"
The pure and soft voice entered Ling Zhao's ears, making him unconsciously want to twitch the corners of his mouth.
But for some reason, I feel that this expression is too heavy to make now.
In the end, a smile failed to reach his eyes; instead, a layer of indescribable emotions welled up in his heart.
He couldn't tell whether he was annoyed or trying to escape; he just felt that his existence was too disconnected in this phone call, so he quickly found an excuse to hang up.
"I'll get back to work now..."
Just as I was about to hang up, a slightly hurried voice came from the receiver: "Wait."
Ling Zhao stopped what he was doing, but didn't say anything.
There was a two-second silence on the other end before the person spoke again: "Your ex-girlfriend contacted me before."
Ling Zhao's eyes widened slightly in surprise, and she heard the voice on the other end of the line continue: "She cares about you a lot. I was worried that you would get hurt if you stayed in that dirty circle, but with her around, I feel a little more at ease."
"...I feel like I've always been a failure as your mother."
Ling Zhao opened her mouth, subconsciously wanting to say something, but heard her mother sigh deeply: "No matter what, you are still my child."
"..."
The buzzing of busy signals filled my ears, and then the wind blew in again.
Ling Zhao stood on the street, staring at his phone with a complex expression.
Suddenly he realized something, his expression changed slightly, and he pulled out Mu Jiu's phone number from his contacts.
But this time, the call didn't go through.
——
Warm light from the restaurant spilled across the table, and a crystal glass filled with dark red wine swayed, creating a shimmering halo. Fang Yucheng's fingertips caressed the glass, his phone vibrated under the table, he glanced at the screen, quickly pressed the button, and a faint smile played on his lips.
Mu Jiu looked up at him, her tone indifferent: "Who called you?"
Fang Yucheng casually placed his phone face down on the corner of the table, smiling relaxedly: "Irrelevant people."
His expression betrayed his undisguised joy, and his eyes gleamed with a sense of certainty.
Seeing this expression, Mu Jiu subconsciously wanted to frown, but she held back.
In order to find out what Fang Yucheng was up to, she agreed to meet with him.
But just in case, she couldn't completely put herself in danger, so she set a timed message.
But now, Mu Jiu vaguely sensed that the man opposite her was different from before.
Call it madness, or even demonic possession.
He seemed to have lost most of his former judgment.
Mu Jiu lowered his eyes and didn't ask any more questions. He picked up the wine glass in front of him with his left hand and lightly touched the rim of the glass to his lips.
As Fang Yucheng watched her movements, the smile on his face instantly lost its pretense and became more genuine.
Just as Mu Jiu was about to pretend to take a sip of red wine and find an opportunity to spit it out, she heard a piercing electric shock in her ear.
This time, the emotionless, mechanical voice was clearer and closer to her than before.
[System, does the shop have any potions that can increase favorability when consumed?]
Wait, what's that sound...?
[Warning, Luck value too low! You cannot use quest items outside the world's operating rules on physical objects. Please abide by the rules to complete the quest.]
[Tsk, then let's put truth serum, aphrodisiac... and to be on the safe side, add some drugs too.]
[Host request received, retrieving items... Deployment successful]
Upon hearing the first two terms, Mu Jiu felt the veins on his forehead almost bulge out.
Even as a professional actress, she could hardly maintain her composure. When she heard the last word, she felt as if a taut string in her mind snapped.
With lightning speed, Mu Jiu grabbed the wine bottle on the table with his right hand, met the man's surprised gaze, and swung it fiercely at him.
"You stinking, stupid, social scum, incurable poisonous insect! Your mother should regret giving birth to you. Spending a night with your father is utterly shameless and immoral. To even say you were born is an insult to your very existence!"
With a loud crash of shattering glass, Fang Yucheng clutched his forehead, staring at her in disbelief: "Xiao Jiu, you..."
"Don't call my name with your disgusting voice."
Mu Jiu then viciously grabbed another bottle of red wine from the side: "Drug me? You want me to get drugged? You bastard, go to hell!"
Just as she was about to smash the bottle in her hand, a loud bang suddenly came from outside the door.
Amidst the tremendous impact, the sound of shattering glass became barely audible.
The door was smashed open.
The first people to enter were police officers in riot gear. Then, when they saw what was in front of them, a brief moment of hesitation flashed across their faces.
Behind the police line, Ling Zhao anxiously peered out, holding his phone.
The first thing you see is red liquid spilled all over the floor inside.
Ling Zhao:...!
Mu Jiu belatedly glanced down at his phone, which was lit up on the call screen, and for some reason, he suddenly raised his hands.
"Officer, that's red wine."
Mu Jiu looked at them with an innocent expression.
...if the half-empty bottle in her hand hadn't dripped suspicious red liquid down.
-----------------------
Author's note: Although I was being secretive while writing, everyone figured out the truth very quickly. My little angels are all detectives; they figured it out almost as soon as the clues started to emerge.
Only the author, worried about spoilers, hesitated to praise the story.
Regarding Li Yunjing and Fang Yucheng, I wanted to hint at it more deeply a long time ago, but I felt that writing about such things would be too offensive to the eyes. However, before the final ending, all the evildoers must be brought to justice, so I've probably made it clear in a subtle way... right?
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