CH 115

Municipal hospital, intensive care ward.

Comrade Zhang Xiaolong, the undercover who was arranged by Xing Conglian, was waiting for them at the elevator entrance.

Seeing them, the policewoman said nervously, “Captain Xing, Captain Xing… You’re finally here…”

Zhang Xiaolong was extremely panicked. Xing Conglian patted her on the shoulder and asked, “What’s wrong, Xiaolong? What happened?”

Zhang Xiaolong didn’t even have time to greet them and just blurted out, “I found out in the doctor’s office that Li Jingtian is transferring to another hospital!”

“Where is he transferring to?” Xing Conglian asked calmly after he walked out of the elevator without revealing anything in his expression.

Zhang Xiaolong looked around. It seemed her “undercover” career had left a shadow, since she kept feeling as if someone was eavesdropping.

“It’s okay. There are no outsiders here,” Lin Chen comforted.

Hearing this, Zhang Xiaolong walked with them and lowered her voice. “It said that Li Jingtian is going to the Xinni Embassy.”

Hearing this, Xing Conglian was still calm. “I didn’t know that the medical facilities at the Xinni Embassy are better than the municipal hospital.”

“No, Captain Xing. It’s said that Li Jingtian is afraid of being attacked again, so he’s staying there for protection.” Zhang Xiaolong was confused. “Who the hell is Li Jingitan? I only know that he’s from Xinni, but I didn’t know he could actually stay inside the embassy.”

“He’s from a privileged class.” Wang Chao couldn’t help but sneer as his old and new hatred for Li Jingtian collided.

“What privileged class?” Sensing gossip, Zhang Xiaolong’s eyes lit up.

“His grandfather is the former Consul General of Xinni to our country. Don’t you think that’s a privilege class?” Wang Chao said angrily.

“Wow, Li Jingtian’s family is actually that good!” Most likely because girls were the same, once she heard Li Jingtian was the son of a diplomatic family, coupled with his status as a singer, Zhang Xiaolong’s mood immediately turned turbulent.

“That’s quite troublesome.” Xing Conglian rubbed his chin.

“What’s troublesome?” Zhang Xiaolong asked.

Wang Chao couldn’t help but interject. “Ah, are you dumb? According to international conventions, personnel of the resident country aren’t allowed to enter the embassy and take action or implement legal procedures. As long as Li Jingtian stays in it, the Xinni Embassy will shield him, and we can’t do anything about it.”

Zhang Xiaolong suddenly realized something, and her expression became more frightened. “What? Captain Xing, are we going to arrest Li Jingtian? Why?”

“Because the prince broke the law and committed a crime against the common people,” Wang Chao said sternly, although in fact, he couldn’t explain clearly what Li Jingtian had committed.

Xing Conglian didn’t seem to want to deal with his two little comrades anymore. “What ward is Li Jingtian in?”

“Room 907,” Zhang Xiaolong hurriedly replied.

Hearing this, Xing Conglian nodded to Comrade Zhang Xiaolong. He took two steps forward, then, as if remembering something, turned his head and made a silent gesture to Zhang Xiaolong.

Zhang Xiaolong understood and quickly zipped her mouth, indicating that she knew to keep them shut.

The intensive care ward, also meant, the high-end ward.

The floor tiles in the aisle here were whiter than those in other parts of the hospital. Lin Chen heard his footsteps echoing in the corridor as they walked. There were few people around, so this was a good place to come and rest.

Xing Conglian walked without hesitation. When he passed the nurse’s station, Lin Chen felt him look at him and suddenly asked him, “Is there any strategy, Consultant Lin?”

It was rare for Xing Conglian to be so cautious.

Lin Chen frowned.

In fact, they all knew very well that if Li Jingtian was truly an innocent victim, then all was fine. If not, he may be both the event planner and the culprit behind the scenes. He was protected by the diplomatic system, which meant his mind was much more treacherous and different from ordinary people. The most important thing was that they didn’t know what Li Jingtian wanted to do.

In this case, ordinary play by the ear actions may not be enough, which was why Xing Conglian had specially asked him if he had a strategy in mind.

Lin Chen shook his head gently. Many images appeared in his mind.

The singer whose throat was slit, the nightingale who died tragically, the boiling internet situation, a case that attracted worldwide attention…

While he was thinking, they had reached the door of room 907.

Seeing that he didn’t respond, Xing Conglian was about to knock on the door. Lin Chen suddenly held down his hand and raised his head. “I do have an idea.”

“What?”

“Please don’t talk to Li Jingtian.”

After three knocks on the door, the door opened in response, letting out the light from the bright sky. There were only three people in the room. Ignoring the other two women, the only man in the room was half leaning against the hospital bed and looking at them with a light and elegant smile, as if they were old friends who had learned of the news and came to visit him, not the police or anyone else.

After more than an hour, they finally met Mr. Li Jingtian face-to-face.

With only a glance at Li Jingtian, Lin Chen turned his gaze away from the famous singer.

The ward was clean, and there was a slight smell of disinfectant in the air, but the smell was faint—covered up by the scent of a bunch of pink lilies on the bedside table.

Although they did hear that Li Jingtian planned to leave the hospital, even so, there was no shortage of flowers at the head of the bed or fruit baskets on the dining table.

Lin Chen’s gaze fell on the two ladies in the room.

He had previously only felt the strong aura of Li Jingtian’s beautiful manager through photos and her voice on the phone. Now seeing the real person, Lin Chen only felt that she was more awe-inspiring than a flat image.

The woman was wearing a plain dress. Her long hair was lightly tied up, and she was leaning against the window. She stood with crossed arms and slightly raised brows, giving off a calm, majestic demeanor.

Seeing them, the elegant and beautiful lady raised her head slightly with an indifferent expression. “Mr. Police Officer, you’re finally here. We’ve been waiting for quite some time.”

Lin Chen glanced at Xing Conglian. Xing Conglian’s acting skills were better than his. As he had instructed, Xing Conglian never looked at the singer on the hospital bed from start to finish but instead walked a few steps quickly and stood in front of the beautiful woman and stretched out his hand with a gentlemanly demeanor to shake hands with her, then he quickly let go. “Sorry, sorry. We are indeed late. The main reason is that the chaos in Ansheng International Mall was so large that it was a lot of trouble cleaning up. Please forgive me.”

Xing Conglian was a smooth talker. Since he alluded to Li Jingtian’s trouble in Hongjing, making it troublesome for the police to clean up, it was hard to find fault with the police’s attitude towards the victim.

“Well, at least you’re here now. May I ask, when is the Hongjing police going to start their investigation?” Liu Ying asked.

Although it sounded like an ordinary inquiry, the tone behind Liu Ying’s words was more like a manager reviewing their subordinate’s work.

Xing Conglian wasn’t someone who would get angry because of this kind of attitude. Instead, he humbly replied, “The police now have certain clues…”

Before his voice fell, the beautiful lady interrupted. “Those are the clues provided by our Jingtian’s fans, aren’t they?”

“That’s only part of it. We’re here this time mainly to…” He paused. Lin Chen saw the obvious smile in his eyes. “Check Mr. Li Jingtian’s phone.”

At that moment, Liu Ying was taken aback for a second, as if she couldn’t believe what she had heard. Then, like an elegant long-haired cat with its tail stepped on, her haughty face finally showed cracks. “Captain Xing, I know that police procedures are different in various countries but respecting the victim should be the minimum of professional ethics of the police. Now that you have come to us, not only do you not express any sympathy for the victim, but your first reaction is to check Mr. Li Jingtian’s phone?”

“Sympathy…” Xing Conglian stared at the woman in front of him with calm eyes. “How can we not sympathize? Not only the police, but anyone with humanity will sympathize with the victim’s plight. However, I hope you understand that compassion doesn’t solve problems. Mr. Li Jingtian’s phone was hacked by someone, and they were able to steal his pictures and number and hack into his account. For us, this is probably no longer a simple case of assault.”

“I feel that you don’t respect us,” Liu Ying said. “Looking at your attitude, if it weren’t for the wound on Jingtian’s neck, I would think that we’re being treated like criminals…”

Liu Ying’s tone rose higher. At this moment, someone called to her softly.

“Liu Jie.”

The voice was hoarse and low, like kneaded velvet. Although it wasn’t loud, it was enough to interrupt the angry manager.

In this room, naturally, the only one who could interrupt Liu Ying was Li Jingtian.

Hearing this, Liu Ying hurriedly rushed to the edge of the hospital bed and said to Li Jingtian with concern, “Speak less!”

“It’s okay.” Li Jingtian slowly coughed. It was obvious that the wound on his neck made it difficult for him to speak. “Let them check. I also want to know what’s going on.”

After Li Jingitan finished speaking, he looked at Xing Conglian and nodded.

Li Jingtian’s persistence made Liu Ying unable to say anything. The female manager stood up and said, “It’s fine to check, but Jingtian’s phone can’t leave out sights.”

“Of course. After all, we have to protect the privacy of an artist.”

When Liu Ying said that, she was trying to give Xing Conglian a hard time. Unexpectedly, Xing Conglian relented submissively.

As if receiving some signal, the teenager that was nestled in the corner hurriedly jumped out. “No problem. Can I check it here?”

While speaking, he sat cross-legged directly on the floor in front of Liu Ying. He opened the laptop on his lap, then stretched out his hand with an expectant gaze to the lady next to the bed.

Liu Ying didn’t expect that Xing Conglian actually brought a technician with him. Her face suddenly turned ugly, but Wang Chao was different from ordinary police officers. He wasn’t timid despite facing a big star and their manager. To be precise, Wang Chao was quite good at maintaining his facial expression, except in the face of Xing Conglian.

Seeing Liu Ying stunned, the teenager thought she was worried about something, so he rubbed his hands together and said solemnly, “Don’t worry. I won’t scan the photos and videos on the phone. You can also rest assured that there won’t be any pornographic photos leaking out. I guarantee it on my honor and with my bank account number…”

Liu Ying’s face suddenly turned black like the bottom of a pot. “Captain Xing, what is the meaning of this?”

“Children are ignorant. Adults have to be more open-minded*. Forgive me.”

*Adults have a lot (大人有大量) Idiom derive from a folklore that refers to being open-minded and kind when dealing with people.