Chapter 142
Please, help me.
The meeting, which lasted for most of the day, finally came to an end, and the police officers gradually left the conference room.
Director Zheng remained seated in the main seat until only he and Ji Nanxing remained before speaking: "I am reassured that you are in full charge of Lin Sheng's case, but I still have a few words of advice. As the year draws to a close, work will become increasingly busy. This case is intricate and involves many parties, and it will likely be reported to the provincial leaders soon. Therefore, you must work diligently and deliver outstanding results before the year-end summary meeting."
"I understand." Ji Nanxing nodded in agreement, without stopping the work of tidying up the documents.
Director Zheng stood up, holding his teacup, and glanced at his watch. He probably had other important meetings to attend, so he didn't linger.
He walked to the door, then turned back to look at Ji Nanxing and instructed, "Report to me immediately if there are any new developments in the case. If you encounter any problems with cooperation, come to me. As long as the case-handling process doesn't go too far, just follow your plan. I only have one requirement: get it over with quickly."
After all, Ji Nanxing was an outstanding talent whom he had personally trained. Director Zheng's attitude towards Ji Nanxing was both affirmative and authoritative.
Ji Nanxing gave a soft "hmm," mimicking Director Zheng's gesture of checking his watch by raising his arm and tapping his wrist, indicating that another meeting was about to begin.
Director Zheng pointed at her with an annoyed expression, chuckled and said "disrespectful" before turning and leaving.
The meeting room fell silent instantly.
Ji Nanxing was still in no hurry to leave. Instead, she felt that finding a quiet place would allow her to sort out her thoughts.
She sat leaning against the conference table, clutching a pile of documents, and looked up at the projector that was still on. She couldn't help but wonder where Lin Sheng would hide.
Ever since the day they rescued Cheng Sangluo and Lin Jin, the entire criminal investigation team has been working day and night to review city surveillance footage.
Lin Sheng's escape from the Lin family ancestral home that night was traceable. His car was eventually found in a scrap yard, but by then it was nowhere to be found, and his whereabouts have been unknown ever since.
"Playing the same old disappearing trick again?" Ji Nanxing rubbed his chin with his fingertips, muttering to himself, "It can't have been eaten by a dog, can it? This is really strange."
'Knock knock knock—'
Suddenly, a light, rhythmic knocking sound interrupted Ji Nanxing's thoughts.
She turned her head to look at the slender figure standing at the door, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a faint smile as she greeted him, "A rare guest indeed."
Lin Jin leaned on a European-style carved cane with one hand, wearing a camel-colored overcoat that reached her ankles, with a cashmere scarf of the same color wrapped around the collar.
"Can we chat for a bit?" She had half her face buried in her scarf, so no one could see whether her lips were parting or not.
"Of course." Ji Nanxing strode toward the rare guest, seemingly expecting an unexpected reward from today's meeting, hence his somewhat hurried pace.
She had a pair of sharp, indifferent eyes that could easily detect anything unusual that ordinary people couldn't, like the lack of warmth in their interaction right now.
Lin Jin's face was pale and sickly, but she didn't try to hide it with makeup. Even though she didn't have any extra expression on her face or say a word, she just walked down the corridor in an ordinary way. Ji Nanxing could smell a kind of uncomfortable emotion, or you could say a strong sense of sorrow.
What could have made this elegant woman so disheveled? She must have had a fight with Cheng Sangluo, otherwise she wouldn't be looking so absent-minded.
Ji Nanxing asked herself the question, and thankfully she wasn't a curious or gossipy person, so she didn't ask what had happened between the two.
In the narrow corridor, besides the two figures walking one after the other, there were only scattered footsteps.
Ji Nanxing followed behind Lin Jin, thinking that they should talk about something eventually, so he took the initiative to ask with concern: "Now that you can walk slowly with crutches, it seems that your leg has recovered well."
"Hmm." Lin Jin was taciturn, her gaze sweeping across the dark corridor, without continuing the conversation.
Ji Nanxing was taciturn to begin with, and when he finally took the initiative to start a conversation, he felt like he had been rebuffed, so he simply fell silent as well.
Only after entering the private office with the sign of the criminal investigation team leader did she speak, saying, "Please sit down. What would you like to drink? Plain water or tea? My place can't compare to the tea room in your office building, so I really can't offer you many options."
"No need for that trouble, I'm not thirsty." Lin Jin declined and sat down in the guest chair. Before Ji Nanxing could sit down, she got straight to the point: "There's something I need your help with, and only you can accompany me to do it. I hope you can grant my request, as this matter will be extremely helpful to you in solving the case."
Ji Nanxing was standing in front of the water dispenser, bending down to pick up a disposable cup, when he heard Lin Jin's tone, which was not as arrogant as before, and his hand suddenly stopped moving.
She turned to look at the woman with dim eyes and felt that such a plea was as absurd as the sun rising in the west. They had known each other for several years and had always disliked each other. This was the first time she had seen Lin Jin show weakness and beg for forgiveness.
Ji Nanxing poured a glass of warm water and placed it in front of Lin Jin. Only after sitting down in his office chair did he ask, "You have to tell me the specifics, right? I need to understand the details before I can decide whether to agree to your request. But before that, can I ask you something else?"
Lin Jin clasped her hands on her lap, her eyes half-closed, looking very tired. She didn't react much to Ji Nanxing's request, only nodding her head slightly and saying, "Speak freely."
Ji Nanxing took out the set of evidence for Cheng Sangluo's retrial from the drawer, and while spreading out the documents, asked, "This set of documents has always been in your hands. Why didn't you hand it over to the criminal investigation team at the time? Why did you wait until today to take it out? Do you know that this behavior has delayed Cheng Sangluo for three years and even made her live with the stigma of being a labor camp inmate until today?"
Lin Jin initially wanted to avoid this series of soul-searching questions, but a final shred of self-importance made her tone sound somewhat awkward: "So you're asking me these questions just to criticize me? What's the point?"
"The complicated relationship between you is none of my business as an outsider. Besides, the one who should blame you is Cheng Sangluo, since she is the victim. I just want to know what your purpose is in doing all this?" Ji Nanxing viewed the matter of hiding evidence from a neutral perspective and did not agree with such an extreme way of doing things. However, the evidence was painstakingly collected by Lin Jin, and whether or not to provide it was up to her. It was indeed not up to others to point fingers.
As he spoke, Ji Nanxing confirmed his guess by asking questions: "Actually, even if you don't explain the whole story to me, I can understand the whole picture through Shi Nian. It's just that my time is limited. The director gave me a death order today, and I must arrest Lin Sheng before New Year's Day. I hope to solve all the mysteries through you. Even if you don't care about yourself, you should at least try to put Cheng Sangluo's case on the agenda as soon as possible, right?"
"Actually, I was outside the door when you were having the meeting. I heard your speech. Thank you, Ji Nanxing. Thank you for thinking of helping Sang Luo overturn her case. Thank you." Lin Jin revealed her most vulnerable and tender side. Every word of thanks stripped away her arrogance as a person in a superior position, and her tone was full of sincerity.
She held the disposable water cup in both hands, staring at her face reflected on the surface. The ripples spreading out in circles reminded her of the twists and turns of her life.
When the topic of Cheng Sangluo's imprisonment came up, she felt a tightness and pain in her throat, so she simply drank large gulps of water, as if using this method to prepare her emotions for what was to come.
She finished drinking the water in her cup before speaking slowly and deliberately: "I have already explained to Sang Luo that this set of evidence for overturning the case will not be of much use to her when she is sentenced to prison. Although it can help her clear her name and avoid imprisonment, it will only be a minor blow to Lin Sheng."
Lin Sheng is cunning, and his best tactic is to use others to do his dirty work. If he had presented this evidence at that time, the most likely outcome would have been that Xu Songheng would have taken the blame for all the crimes and been sentenced to a maximum of ten years or so. After that, he would still be able to live a carefree life.
Things are different now. Xu Songheng, as Lin Sheng's henchman, ended up dying at his hands. The arms trafficking was exposed, and kidnappings and murders began to occur one after another.
Looking back now, it's easy to see that as events unfolded, this evidence finally reached its maximum effect, not only exposing Lin Sheng's crimes one by one, but also adding another charge of framing and fabrication against him.
My goal has never changed: I want Lin Sheng to never recover in this lifetime, and even to lose his life. So every move I make has no turning back.
But in a conflict, how could there be no outcome without death and injury? Sang Luo became the inevitable victim.
I truly love her, and I would never do anything to hurt her if I had more options. But I can't choose to lose the whole game just to protect one pawn; the price is too high, a consequence I can't bear.
I feel sorry for Sang Luo, so I've always wanted to make up for the three years she missed, but I also know that money can't buy back a person's lost time or a ruined life.
When the time came for me to present this evidence, it wasn't just Sang Luo who suffered, because I, too, had been repeatedly deceived and tormented over the years.
I love her, so I empathize with her pain; it's a double torment and agony.
When Lin Jin spoke of her grief, her voice became hoarse with sobs, and she covered her face with her hands in anguish. No matter how much she repented, she could not change the cruel reality that had already occurred.
Ji Nanxing slumped his shoulders and sighed, but couldn't continue the heavy topic. He silently pulled out a tissue and handed it to Lin Jin. "We can't keep looking back now. Since your goal is so clear, let's think about what to do next. I can wait until you've calmed down before we talk about the main issue."
Lin Jin took the tissue handed to her and wiped her crimson eyes. It took her a while to calm herself down before she could speak in a slightly trembling, tearful voice.
Her face regained its composure, and her pale lips parted and closed as she recounted, word by word, the arduous journey she had taken from childhood.
She initially recalled that torrential rainy night, a memory that time could not erase, vividly depicting the horrific scenes she witnessed. She even took off her coat and shirt in front of Ji Nanxing, revealing the ugly scar that she had refused to heal.
The story doesn't stop at Lin Jin's childhood. The timeline shifts to her experiences after returning to China, including repeated kidnappings and countless threats, which ultimately create this intricate and interconnected game that spans many years.
Although Ji Nanxing listened intently, he still took notes in his notebook out of muscle memory, occasionally gripping his pen tightly for a dramatic experience.
Her brows furrowed, and her expression grew increasingly serious as she pursed her lips. The story ended with a soft tapping sound as the pen tip touched the paper, and the atmosphere in the office became quiet and broken.
Lin Jin explained the whole story clearly, without overlooking any small detail, and even presented evidence to prove whether it was true.
She meticulously detailed her painful experiences and showed them to everyone without holding back, never crying. Only when talking about Cheng Sangluo would she choke up and be unable to speak.
"Captain Ji, you are the final winning piece in this game. With this one move, all the games I've been working on for so many years will be won." Lin Jin stared at Ji Nanxing with a desolate expression, her pleading tone beyond humble. "Help me...please...help me...I'm so tired...so tired..."
Ji Nanxing remained silent for a long time before bringing the topic back on track: "Tell me, what is it that you need my help with, and that you absolutely need me to do it?"
[Author's Note]
1. My pre-order novel, "The Sinful Lover," is available for collection.
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