Chapter 52 - The Bully

For a few seconds, no one uttered a word as they stood staring at the women who appeared before them, like a feast for eyes.

Thanks to their job that involved interacting with deadly criminals and suspects, they rarely had opportunities to meet gorgeous women, so it wouldn't be a lie to say that they were gawping at the beautiful sight before them.

"Excuse me, I'm Zhi Lan." 

As soon as Bing Wen heard the name, he shockingly turned his eyes towards Wan Yi Jun, who stood there like a statue that lacked any emotions.

"Isn't she general Zhi's daughter, the one who likes their captain?" Unable to hide his curiosity, he shifted his gaze to Lao Yating as if he was trying to confirm his doubt.

Lao Yating, who understood the meaning of Bing Wen's prying eyes, gave a slight nod by confirming that the woman who stood before them was indeed the same woman who chased their captain everywhere.

Even though the eagle team were familiar with Zhi Lan, nobody dared to break into a welcoming smile as they waited for Wan Yi Jun to respond before any of them. 

After all,  he was the one who was supposed to talk to his alleged girlfriend.

However, to everyone's surprise, it was Han Ze Min who stood up from his seat and who allowed the ladies to enter the office with an astonishingly bright smile on his face. 

"Look who's here? Miss Zhi, it's been a while since I have heard from you." Han Ze Min extended his arm for a warm handshake towards Zhi Lan, unlike the rest of the men in the room. "What makes you come here? Visiting your father, perhaps?" 

The moment the eagle team members saw Zhi Lan shaking her hands with Han Ze Min as if both of them knew each other, they couldn't help but widen their eyes in shock.

Damn! How can they forget the rumour that Han Ze Min was also someone interested in Zhi Lan?

"Oh hi, officer Han, I am here with a friend..." Zhi Lan replied and looked sideways to urge her friend to speak.

"Good evening, officer. My name is Cai Hong. I'm a model under the label of Galaxy entertainments."  Cai Hong gently bowed her head and stated the purpose of her visit to the police headquarters late at night. When she received a call from the investigation team, Zhi Lan was the first person she called for help, even before her family's legal advisor. She was aware of the fact that Wan Yi Jun was the investigator in charge, so she assumed that it would be better to take Zhi Lan with her to avoid any complications. 

"Oh yes, actually I didn't expect that you would come here at this time, that too with miss Zhi. Please, take a seat." Han Ze Min added in his usual playful tone, which made others snap out from their dazed state and focus on their duties.

"I thought you might bring a lawyer."

"Do I need to bring a lawyer even if I'm here to record my statement?" For some reason, Cai Hong sounded a bit haughty as she spoke to Han Ze Min, who sat at the other end of the table instead of Wan Yi Jun.

"Usually, when celebrities become crime suspects, they won't speak to police without their lawyer. So, miss Cai Hong, you have the right to remain silent or to get a lawyer." He casually informed and signalled Fei Yan to join him for the interrogation. Since they have divided the duties related to this specific case, Wan Yi Jun has permitted his teammates to go to any extent to find the truth, especially for Han Ze Min, who prefers bizarre ways to seek information.

"I don't understand you, officer. How did I become a suspect in this case? I didn't kill that girl." Cai Hong immediately refuted as if she got falsely accused as a suspect.

The moment her sudden denial resounded in the room, Zhi Lan almost felt like face slapping on realizing that her friend had dug a hole for herself even before the interrogation started.

She had no idea why would Cai Hong say something like that. Even though she wasn't familiar with the procedures, she knew that one must wait until the interrogator elaborates the reason for summoning.

"Miss Cai, no one said that you have killed someone." Han Ze Min's thin lips curled into a slight sneer as he noted Cai Hong's slip of words and continued without giving the other a moment to rethink, "We summoned you because of something else. But it seems like you got your hands dirty with someone's blood."

As soon as Han Ze Min's fell into Cai Hong's ears, her pretty face lost its colours in a flash, equally shocking everyone else in the room.

By now, they were aware that officer Han's interrogation methods differed from their captain's, but none of them expected Han Ze Min would straight away accuse the woman.

To be honest, even Wan Yi Jun seemed a bit curious to know how Han Ze Min would handle the situation. 

"We got some evidence that you bully your fellow labelmates, especially the newbies." Han Ze Min stated in a resilient tone and placed his arms over the table while asserting his upper hand in the flow of the conversation.

"No...no... that's not true. I didn't-" Cai Hong made a vague effort to refute, but when she saw Zhi Lan's disappointed face, she unknowingly stumbled upon her words. She could easily comprehend the reason for her friend's disappointment-

"Don't dig your grave." That was the only definition her brain could come up with,

"Didn't you hear me saying 'evidence'? We have written statements and pictures as the proof of your bullying." Han Ze Min warned her as he sat there with a pair of burning eyes. On the way to Shu Li Li's apartment, he had talked to Feng Tian Wei regarding the bullying and other things that Shu Li Li had to go through and even managed to gather statements from other victims through 'his ways'.

"Why would I bully someone and ruin my career? I don't know whether you know it or not, but Galaxy Entertainment is my uncle's company." Cai Hong, who was on the verge of exploding in anger, retorted harshly as if she got no idea of the mess she got herself into it.

"Yes, your uncle owns the company, and that gives you the  freedom to do whatever you want." Without any hesitations, Han Ze Min spat out the merciless words as if he wants to see her suffer.

At that instant, Zhi Lan, who realized that her silence would only make things worse for her friend, opened her mouth and enquired about the allegations.

"Officer Han, if it is possible, can you show us the proof?"

"There are so many bullying complaints from Miss Cai's school days, itself. Don't tell me you never know about it. Or did you just overlook it because you were also a part of it?" Han Ze Min's eyes narrowed as he spoke in blaming tone towards Zhi Lan, who acted like she knew nothing about her friend.

"I'm sorry, but as far as I know, the officer who contacted Cai Hong said that you want to talk about the girl who got murdered on New Year Eve. I don't understand why you were mentioning something that happened when she was young." Zhi Lan had no intention to admit to Han Ze Min's claims tried her luck to talk it out. Not only did she regret coming with Cai Hong, but she was embarrassed to make a scene in front of Wan Yi Jun by taking the side of someone who had a dark past as a school bully.

"Ah...So you were aware of it." Han Ze Min attentively nodded and glanced at Wan Yi Jun, who stood there without interrupting the interrogation.

For a moment, he felt proud of Wan Yi Jun for turning to blind eye towards Cai Hong who brought Zhi Lan with her so that she could stay out of the trouble.

"The bullying, back at the school, I do know about it. But officer Han,  Cai Hong has changed. She is a celebrity and she does care about others." Zhi Lan argued back in an attempt to save her friend.

"People never really change, miss Zhi. Even if someone claims that they have changed, the traces of their real self remains hidden under their pretty masks." Han Ze Min added with a bitter smile and handed over his phone to Bing Wen to plug into the system so that everyone can show the evidences Zhi Lan asked for.

They were secret footages of Cai Hong scolding and making fun of Shu Li Li before others.

"There were many instances where people have witnessed you have verbally and emotionally targeted Shu Lili. Not even for once, miss Cai has addressed Shu Li Li by her name. She always used the terms 'country bumpkin' 'ugly bitch' 'outcast' and  more than anything else, you used to humiliate Shu Li Li in front of others using racist slurs." Han Ze Min leaned forward and glared directly into Cai Hong's eyes, "You won't always get lucky, Queen Cai."

The moment Cai Hong heard Han Ze Min mentioning her nickname which everyone used to call her in the school, she finally understood his real intentions to trap her. 

She quickly regained her bearings and averted her eyes to Wan Yi Jun who stood like a silent spectator.

"I demand someone else to interrogate me...This man...I don't want him to question me...he is trying to take revenge for his dead girlfriend." She demanded in desperate voice,

The people in the room, including Zhi Lan who sensed the intensity and weight in Cai Hong's voice, stared at Han Ze Min in incredulous disbelief.

"Han Ze Min's dead girlfriend, who is that?"