Chapter 86 You look really good in that red scarf...
The March sun wasn't scorching; the sunlight felt cool yet warm on people. After finishing her classes for the day, Han Yunxing pulled her baseball cap down low, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and weaved through the bustling crowd.
An unfamiliar voice pierced through, interrupting her steps.
Han Yunxing turned her head and saw two or three boys standing arm in arm under a tree at the corner. When they saw that she was really looking over, they grinned and looked at Han Yunxing's outfit today, and silently mouthed the words to each other.
It's a bit too much for my eyes.
Han Yunxing didn't understand, nor did she want to understand, their subtle misunderstandings. She lowered her head and sent a message to Han Mingyou, then turned and walked out.
Seeing Han Yunxing about to leave, the man in the middle pushed aside his partner's shoulder, smoothed his hair, and walked towards her. He stopped in front of Han Yunxing, his gaze sweeping over her before finally settling on her striped shirt: "Really, the same clothes."
"Han Yunxing, you've been photographed without my knowledge."
After saying that, for some reason, he exaggeratedly covered his mouth and shook his shoulders, while his companion next to him laughed so hard he almost fell over.
Han Yunxing watched them smile expressionlessly, her eyes turning cold. Her patience wearing thin, she turned to leave.
The boy reached out to stop her, but withdrew his hand under her dark gaze. He stopped laughing and pretended to be very reliable: "Give me your contact information, and I'll send you the photos."
He then took out his phone, handed it to Han Yunxing, and waited for her to enter her number.
Han Yunxing had no time to play these pointless games with them. She glanced at the screen, then walked past them with a cold face.
The boy reached out to grab her in a panic, but was stung by her sharp gaze. He withdrew his hand and blurted out, "Stop pretending to be so high and mighty! Of course, why would I talk to a vixen like you?"
Han Yunxing stopped in her tracks: "Choose. Show me the photo, or do you want to go to the police station?"
*
Upon receiving the message, Shen Lina rushed to the lounge, where Han Yunxing was staring blankly at the things on the table.
"Yunxing, don't be afraid." After she came in, she first held Han Yunxing's hand tightly, then turned to Han Mingyou and asked, "What's the story behind the photos?"
Before Han Mingyou could explain, Han Yunxing's voice came through.
"Here."
The table was covered with ornaments that had just been taken from the bookshelf. Han Yunxing glanced at the reddened pupils of the teddy bear, grabbed its face and squeezed it hard. The next moment, the plastic eyeballs slipped from her palm, revealing the miniature circuit board inside.
When Han Yunxing saw the photo, she knew it was AI-generated, but it wasn't entirely fake, since the clothes in the photo matched and the background was indeed the sofa area of her lounge.
Sure enough, a camera had been secretly installed here.
Upon seeing the miniature camera hidden inside the bear, Han Mingyou gasped in shock, overwhelmed by guilt. He had rushed to the scene after receiving the news and learned the contents of the photos.
The images are crudely made composites, but they represent men's carefully crafted fantasies.
There are men leaning against the sofa watching Han Yunxing sleep, men hugging Han Yunxing intimately, and men kissing her. The men in each photo are all different, but without exception, the protagonist is Han Yunxing.
"These are some items from the coffee shop downstairs. I thought they looked nice, so I brought them back." Han Mingyou covered his face and took a deep breath.
"Surroundings? What surroundings?"
Unlike Han Mingyou, Shen Lina frequented the coffee shop downstairs every day. She had never heard of any "surroundings" or "neighborhoods" before, and she frowned.
"The male shop assistant told me..."
Han Mingyou realized what was happening. His face flushed red with guilt and anger. He spun around in place, his fists clenched, as if he were about to rush downstairs and grab the shop assistant by the collar.
"Call the police."
The firm tone broke Shen Lina's thoughts. She looked up at Han Yunxing and saw only her slightly trembling eyelashes.
Han Yunxing clenched her fists and repeated, "There's no need to reflect on someone else's wrongdoing. Let's call the police."
Shen Lina hesitated. She knew that calling the police would only make things worse. Her rational mind told her to settle things privately, but looking at Han Yunxing, who was trying to remain calm, the words that came out of her mouth were: "Okay, let's call the police."
"You should get some rest first." Once she made up her mind, Shen Lina immediately took action. She opened her phone to report to the president, and before leaving, she patted Han Mingyou on the shoulder, indicating that he should stay by Han Yunxing's side from now on.
*
It was Saturday, and the coffee shop was operating smoothly when the wind chimes at the door rang. The clerk taking orders looked up with a friendly smile, but when she saw that the people who came in were two police officers wearing body cameras, a hint of doubt appeared in her eyes: "Hello, is there anything I can help you with?"
“We have something to ask Zhao Bingyuan.” The officer put away his badge and glanced around the coffee shop.
Bang--
The sound of a glass breaking came from the kitchen. The police officer looked sharply and saw a tall, thin man with his head down, his hands hanging in the air, staring at the shards of glass on the ground. His expression was unreadable.
Without needing an introduction from the shop assistant, one can easily guess that this is Zhao Bingyuan.
"Ashi."
The young police officer approached to take Zhao Bingyuan away, but was stunned by the man's sudden upward gaze and couldn't help but curse.
Zhao Bingyuan's eyes were bloodshot, and a shard of glass bounced off his right cheek, leaving a bloody mark. He grinned, revealing a strange smile.
Zhao Bingyuan had no doubts or intention to argue. He obediently allowed the police officers to take him into the car, his eyes gleaming red, like a hyena devouring its prey.
He kept muttering "She saw me" all the way, but when they were almost at the police station, he shut his mouth and stared out the window in silence.
With a stern face, he stepped into the police station under the control of the officers beside him. His dull eyes came alive after scanning Han Yunxing and the others. He exerted force with both hands, bursting out with amazing strength, and dragged the people towards them, but the officers reacted quickly and subdued him.
As Zhao Bingyuan was being led past by the back of his neck, he suddenly turned his head. The police station's fluorescent lights illuminated the bloodstains on his face, and his gaping mouth almost stretched to his ears: "Yunxing, you look really good in that red scarf—"
That red scarf that was lost and found again?
Han Yunxing, her face pale, grasped Shen Lina's hand.
A chilling cold, like ice, ran through her bones. Shen Lina gripped her hand tightly and stood in front of her.
Their reactions made Zhao Bingyuan laugh even harder, and the chilling laughter could be heard until he entered the interrogation room.
As the door closed, the laughter abruptly stopped. Han Yunxing picked up the warm water the policewoman handed her, her mind replaying the words she had just heard.
wrong.
Previously, there were not only red scarves but also threatening letters; that person was largely a hater.
But now Zhao Bingyuan's every move is exactly like that of her obsessive fan, and Han Yunxing feels it's all very strange.
She turned to Shin Lina and asked, "Unnie, does the person in the surveillance footage resemble Zhao Bingyuan?"
Shen Lina had already asked her assistant to send over the pictures from the computer. She clicked on the pictures, and the person holding the express box was noticeably shorter than Zhao Bingyuan.
Zhao Bingyuan also had accomplices.
In the interrogation room, Zhao Bingyuan lowered his head and remained silent from the moment the AI photos were mentioned. He refused to cooperate with the police officers' attempts to persuade him.
No matter how you look at it, he's hiding something.
After hearing that he had accomplices, the officers in the interrogation room continued to stall him. Zhao Bingyuan seemed to remember something, and his eyes flickered with emotion.
*
Meanwhile, several police officers arrived at Zhao Bingyuan's residence.
The team leader broke down the door. The curtains inside were tightly closed, and not a breath of wind could get in. In the dim light, only a blurry corner of the sofa was visible. The computer screen was the only source of light, its cold blue light flickering, attracting the officers to walk towards it.
The beam of the flashlight shone on the wall, and as the light source moved, the faces of girls suddenly came into view.
It wasn't just Han Yunxing; this wall was like a wall of honor, displaying photos of dozens of women—some pretty, some glamorous, some secretly photographed, some looking directly at the camera, some laughing, some crying...
His pupils contracted, and he was no longer nonchalant. He signaled to the technicians to handle the computer forensics, and then slowly paced around, scanning the layout of the room.
Suddenly, a series of muffled thuds rang out.
He walked towards the sound, placed one hand on his waist, and pressed the doorknob with the other.
A blinding light shattered the darkness inside, revealing a young girl bound to a chair, her mouth gagged only with whimpering sounds. Her eyes were wide open, the bright light from the ceiling blinding her and bringing tears to her eyes.
All of this was recorded without reservation by the camera set up on the other side.
The officer in charge immediately stepped forward and untied her. The moment the tape was torn off, the girl's first words were a accusation: "Why are you trespassing on my property! Where is Zhao Bingyuan?"
*
Shen Shiya wolfed down her rice ball, her throat dry and sore. She took the water the policewoman handed her and drank it quickly. A stinging pain came from her throat as she swallowed, but the burning sensation in her stomach made her unable to stop.
Shen Lina watched coldly, noticing the gazes fixed on her. Shen Shiya swallowed the food in her mouth, staring at them triumphantly, as if she were fearless.
"I already told you, don't cross the line."
Han Yunxing: "I know you hate me."
From the moment she planned to become an artist, she was prepared to accept malice.
But Han Yunxing was, after all, a spirited young woman. She accepted that evil existed in the world, but she didn't know that evil had no limits.
Just like she couldn't understand why Shen Shiya was willing to cooperate with Zhao Bingyuan in making videos, just to provide amusement for a group of people with special fetishes.
"Did Zhao Bingyuan coerce you into taking the film?"
“Coercion?” Shen Shiya looked at her reflection in the glass and casually combed her bangs: “I did it voluntarily.”
It's just being tied to a stool and starving all day. As long as she cooperates with Zhao Bingyuan's filming, she can get 1 million won just by sitting there. Even a fool would choose that.
"Making some money isn't illegal, is it, officer?"
The police officer who had just participated in the technical collaboration could no longer contain his anger. He slammed his fist on the table, stood up, and roared, "You volunteered? What about the others?"
The policewoman blocked his way, shaking her head disapprovingly. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Shen Shiya, who was trembling behind her, and sighed helplessly.
Just then, two lights appeared at the doorway, and a car and a motorcycle approached from afar. The vehicles screeched to a halt on the ground, and two figures hurriedly pushed open the door and entered.
"I'm late." Han Yunxing was held tightly in his arms, the strength of which made it hard for her to breathe, but her heart calmed down.
Han Yunxing had been trying to remain calm ever since she found the camera, but now, nestled in Han Daoen's arms, she realized that her hands were trembling.
At the same time, Shen Shiya tore off the clothes the policewoman had draped over her and hurriedly put them on, stiffening her neck and turning her head away from the person in front of her.
"You brat..." The man's eyes widened as he tugged at Shen Shiya's sleeve, examining it closely. When he saw the red marks on her wrist, his hands trembled slightly, and he dared not touch her with his calloused hands.
"I'm Shen Shiya's father." He stepped in front of Shen Shiya, his back hunched over. "I'll take responsibility for whatever she did wrong. I'm so sorry..."
"Ahhh!" Shen Shiya screamed, kicking her legs wildly in the air: "Dad, you're always like this! It's not like I was the one who secretly took the picture of her."
"Quiet!" The man turned his head, his eyes bloodshot.
The atmosphere in the lobby became tense, and the crisp sound of leather shoes on the marble floor made each step feel like stepping on taut nerves.
Han Daoen looked down at the man in front of her.
"What does your daughter's young age have to do with me?" His sharp gaze pierced through Shen Shiya's father's last line of defense: "She knows what she has done. Whether it's her or that person in the interrogation room, I will get revenge for everything, one by one."
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Author's Note: Previous events will be explained in Chapter 61.
It's obviously not going very smoothly; I still owe two thousand and I have to cram before bed to catch up [please].
I've actually encountered people who steal things and then return them after a while in real life, and I still can't understand the psychology behind that...
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