CH 160

Some people could always talk non-stop, while others were unable to speak due to bad luck.

Although Lin Chen didn’t know exactly what means the other party used to prevent Song Shengsheng from going to the police, there were dark forces at play that had many ways to make them shut up obediently.

Xing Conglian put his hand on Lin Chen’s shoulder and gently pressed it. Then he asked Li Jingtian, “Li Jingtian, was it really your idea to ask Liu Ying to trick Xu Ran into doing those things?”

Li Jingtian raised his head suddenly, seemingly inexplicable, but the shock hidden in his eyes couldn’t be concealed.

Lin Chen couldn’t grasp Xing Conglian’s question, so he turned to look at him.

“Answer me.” Xing Conglian slammed his hands on the iron table, leaned forward, and stared at Li Jingtian.

After a while, Li Jingtian pinched the cigarette butt tightly and casually said, “It’s really interesting for you to ask that.”

“Consultant Lin, does his answer represent ‘yes’ or ‘no’?” Xing Conglian asked.

“No direct denial means acquiescence.” After Lin Chen finished speaking, he suddenly came to a realization and was frightened. “What do you mean?”

Xing Conglian nodded and spoke to Li Jingtian with a sneer. “Nine years ago, your grandfather was the ambassador here. CA Entertainment might have shut Song Shengsheng up to protect you, but nine years have passed now. Your family is just at the end of its strength in Xinni. Have you ever thought that this time, the abandoned son has become you, and the person who is replacing your high position is Song Shengsheng?”

Li Jingtian’s face showed uncertainty.

However, Xing Conglian didn’t plan to let him go. “You know, Xiang Ye asked Song Shengsheng to work in a bakery near our place as early as three months ago. He did this just to let us relax our vigilance. He had been planning Song Shengsheng’s comeback as early as three months ago. Looking back now, in those three months after you raped Xu Ran, all you needed to do was calm down and keep your mouth shut. You can still be a big star and enjoy the admiration of passersby and the screams of fans. But you planned that throat-slitting case at Hongjing Ansheng International Mall and bumped into Consultant Lin.”

Li Jingtian suddenly pushed the table and chair away frantically and yelled at Xing Conglian. “Shut up! Shut up!”

“Sorry, the person who could shut me up hasn’t been born yet.” Xing Conglian smiled and took out a cigarette, lighting it. He took a puff and narrowed his eyes as he blew out the smoke. “You have chosen a good meeting place and a good candidate. Where did you find that girl who was superb at acting and looked like Xu Ran? It also happened in Hongjing… Tsk, it’s a suicidal attack.”

Li Jingtian’s hideous face finally appeared to crumble.

With a cigarette in his hand, Xing Conglian walked step by step toward Li Jingtian. “No matter who the person behind you is, they just need to give you a little guidance that even you won’t notice was guiding you into an abyss of self-inflicted crimes. Then, they just needed to gently push you. For example, they could just give us some tips in time, then it wouldn’t be difficult for you to not die.” Xing Conglian paused, pinched the cigarette butt, and said to Li Jingtian, “Of course, this is all my personal speculation. So, does this person really exist, Mr. Li Jingtian?”

Li Jingtian raised his head violently. Aroused by fierceness, he actually reached out to grab Xing Conglian’s neck but was easily kicked to the ground.

Xing Conglian seemed to think he was too dirty to even touch, so he lightly kicked Li Jingtian’s leg and feet. “Someone has done a lot of harm to you. If I were you, I wouldn’t make that person feel better. So, tell me, who is that person, okay?”

……

When they walked out of the airport interrogation room, the narrow room was filled with Li Jingtian’s screams. The cry was like the wailing of a wild boar that had been grabbed by the neck at the last moment of its life. With a strong sense of unwillingness and resentment, the escorts wrestled with Li Jingtian in the room.

Lin Chen walked out of the airport with Xing Conglian amidst the sounds of those screams and tables and chairs colliding.

The sky was blue and still high, and the scorching sun made people unable to keep their eyes open.

In fact, things were simpler than they thought. Although simple, they completely grasped Li Jingtian’s true feelings.

According to Li Jingtian, that person was one of his ardent fans. By chance, the other party added him on WeChat and sent him nasty and fanatical confessions every day, sometimes praising his songs and sometimes scolding the occasional attacks on him online. After Xu Ran’s incident, the other party made it clear that no matter what he thought, she would do a great thing for him, so the bitch who dared wrong him would taste the feeling of being reviled to death, and she would use this method to help clear his grievances.

A fanatical fan with unspeakable reverence. What Li Jingtian did was just simply push the boat along the water and let Liu Ying deceive Xu Ran to come to Hongjing.

“What the hell can I do? If I can’t get Xu Ran here and she pretends to be her on stage, those stupid mad dogs online will say I made it all up!”

Similarly, Li Jingtian wouldn’t have anything to lose if the rabid fan hadn’t come on stage and slit his throat. Besides, with a great opportunity to attract everyone’s attention, Li Jingtian was obviously tempted.

In the whole plan, the only thing Li Jingtian didn’t expect was that the other party planted a nightingale in the bouquet of roses.

Lin Chen stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows of the airport. The sunlight shining on him was hot, but he actually had a cold, biting feeling.

The roses left at the scene of the crime were nothing more than clues created by those behind the scenes for him. One hinted at the wandering warbler, Xu Ran, and the other hinted at Li Jingtian’s psychological condition. If he guessed correctly, the other party simply induced him to track down Li Jingtian’s rape on Xu Ran, and they were sure if he had followed the trail, he would stumble upon Song Shengsheng’s old case back then.

If so, it was no accident that Xu Ran walked into that room; someone deliberately arranged it through the prostitution app.

After that, with Li Jingtian’s reputation in ruins, the effects of a short-term news outbreak would be terrifying, and Song Shengsheng could naturally recover his reputation quickly. Lin Chen remembered the public opinion data that Wang Chao had summarized. The second information outbreak was far more terrifying than the first.

And the person behind the scenes wasn’t afraid that he would find out someone was behind Li Jingtian’s instigation, because if Song Shengsheng wasn’t dead, Lin Chen would naturally suspect all this was planned by him for revenge.

At that time, Song Shengsheng, under the control of others, could only remain silent again.

Proficient in the media, hype the entertainment industry, and have a possible vested interest in this case; it seemed it could only be Xiang Ye and not CA Entertainment. CA was already exposed to being involved with Royal One in this case and compromised two of their big names, Li Jingtian and Mu Zhuo. Song Shengsheng, who hadn’t been in the news for ten years, wasn’t worth this kind of loss at all.

Lin Chen clenched his fists tightly. The question now was, how did Xiang Ye control Song Shengsheng. Who was he and why did he plan these series of events for Song Shengsheng’s comeback?

And the only way they could make things clear was to ask Xiang Ye himself.

Xing Conglian bought two cans of iced coffee from the vending machine. He opened one and handed it to Lin Chen and asked, “Do you regret it?”

Of course, this regret was referring to whether he regretted clearing Song Shengsheng’s name and bringing Li Jingtian to justice, just as Xiang Ye had hoped.

“I don’t.” Lin Chen found that he didn’t hesitate when he answered Xing Conglian’s question. He would never regret this kind of thing.

“Isn’t this the end?”

Xing Conglian pressed the iced coffee to his cheek, and the sudden cold and refreshing feeling made Lin Chen raise his head.

“It may be cruel to say these things to you now, but it’s not over. Please keep your chin up, Consultant Lin.”

Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian’s calm and resolute eyes and nodded. “I understand.” He turned and leaned on the floor-to-ceiling window and said to Xing Conglian, “This is almost an exhaustive plan, and even the retreat has been thoroughly thought out. If it weren’t for Song Shengsheng’s suicide, Xiang Ye’s plan might not have been exposed.”

Lin Chen once again remembered the man who ended his life with a blade in the bathtub. Only then did he realize that the deeper he investigated the case, the more reluctant he was to let Song Shengsheng leave.

But as Xing Conglian said, it wasn’t over yet. Xiang Ye still hadn’t faced the law, so now wasn’t the time to reminisce.

They quickly rushed back to the police station.

While on the road, Xing Conglian called the Yongchuan police officers and told them that Xiang Ye was a suspect and they had to detain him, but when they arrived at the police station, Xiang Ye wasn’t there.

“What happened?” Xing Conglian asked with a frown.

“Our people are with Mr. Xiang and have detained him, but the entire line at the Ludi Lake Tunnel is blocked by traffic, and the road development in that zone isn’t smooth, so they haven’t arrived yet.”

Lin Chen’s heart was slightly relieved. At this moment, the police officer said, “The autopsy of the deceased, Song Shengsheng, has been completed. Do you want to go and have a look?”

……

Lin Chen walked to the front of the autopsy room with Xing Conglian.

He was about to push open the door, but Xing Conglian held his hand.

“It’s okay. It’s not the first time I’ve seen a corpse,” he said as he was about to enter.

“Lin Chen, this isn’t the crime scene. You going in now will just be purely torturing yourself.”

This was probably one of those rare moments when Xing Conglian called him by his name.

Lin Chen couldn’t think of any words to refute Xing Conglian. He quickly woke up, took a step back, and said to Xing Conglian, “Then, let’s ask Mr. Medical Examiner to come out and talk about it in detail.”

He sat on the bench outside the autopsy room and watched Xing Conglian’s figure enter the door. When the door panel closed, it made a soft squeak.

Song Shengsheng’s cause of death was obvious. At that time, the medical examiner had already stated it clearly. He slit his throat without hesitation with a blade.

The reason he committed suicide was to let them find Li Jingtian and tear off Xiang Ye’s mask, but deep down in Lin Chen’s heart, he always felt that Song Shengsheng’s death wasn’t that simple.

Song Shengsheng… Song Shengsheng…

You have persisted for so many years. None of them have been able to make you succumb. You have said so many things with your death. So, is there anything I haven’t heard yet?

After Xing Conglian entered the autopsy room, he walked out again shortly after. Lin Chen could smell the scent of formalin floating on him.

Xing Conglian walked quickly towards him. Lin Chen stood up and asked, “How is it?”

“There are not many suspicious things about the autopsy. It was suicide.”

Lin Chen thought, ‘Sure enough.’ Before he had time to think of what to say, Xing Conglian said, “But there’s a problem.”

“What?”

“Song Shengsheng is missing a tooth.”

Lin Chen suddenly raised his head. “What do you mean?”

‘The second molar tooth of his lower jaw. According to the medical examiner, he could have lost it more than ten years ago. It was pulled out from the root. At the same time, there are obvious signs of dentures installed there.”

Lin Chen still didn’t know what Xing Conglian meant by this. Xing Conglian said, “I know a little bit about this kind of device. If I’m not mistaken, this is why Song Shengsheng couldn’t speak.”

“I don’t understand.” He couldn’t help but grab the cuffs of Xing Conglian’s uniform.

“This method is commonly used in espionage. Many things can be installed in a small denture, such as bugs, positioning devices, and the like. More than ten years ago, this technology had already matured.”

Lin Chen felt as if lightning had struck him. “You mean, Xiang Ye pulled out Song Shengsheng’s tooth and installed an eavesdropping device on him, so no matter what he said, he would be monitored, and he couldn’t take off this tooth because Xiang Ye would find out? So, are you telling me that Song Shengsheng has lived under 24-hour, non-stop surveillance for nearly ten years?”

“I’m afraid it’s more than that. Because even so, there’s still no way to avoid other forms of communication.”

“You mean writing?”

“Yes, Song Shengsheng has a lot of time to be interrogated separately at the police station. He could write on paper and tell the police what happened. So, how on earth could Xiang Ye make him obedient when he’s unable to write?”

“I can’t think of it. Please tell me.”

Every word that Xing Conglian was saying was so cruel that Lin Chen couldn’t imagine the experience behind this cruelty.

“In fact, the tooth itself is meaningless, but it’s like a sword of Damocles* hanging high on top. It’s telling Song Shengsheng, don’t step out of line. This is all I know. To find out how he could control a person to the point of no resistance, you still need to go from here.” Xing Conglian raised his finger and poked his heart.

*Commonly used as an allusion to imminent and ever-present peril faced by those in positions of power.

“So, Xiang Ye was threatening Song Shengsheng with someone.”

Lin Chen thought about this issue, but he thought about it for a long time and couldn’t come up with a correct conclusion. How could Song Shengsheng have so many important people worth caring about? At that time, he couldn’t figure out this question. It was simply too evil to think about.

Besides his fans, who else did Song Shengsheng care about?

Lin Chen raised his head, and Xing Conglian was staring at him with clear eyes.

Xing Conglian was one step ahead and said the most difficult thing on their minds. “If I were Xiang Ye and wanted to control Song Shengsheng, I just need to install a bug on him and tell him as long as he dares take it out or disclose any information to the police, I’ll kill one of his fans. There are thousands of fans out there. Please believe me and the forces behind me that we have ways to kill many fans before the police can act.”

Lin Chen really wanted to deny Xing Conglian’s guess, but he searched his guts and found that it was the most suitable shackle for Song Shengsheng. The other party could even tell him that as long as he dared to die, he would kill his fans as well, so he could certainly try it.

Anyone under such torture either would become a lunatic or would choose to die, but Song Shengsheng even lost the right to die freely. He had an arduous psychological struggle and may have been on the verge of collapse, but he was still sober and alive until he died.

Song Shengsheng remained silent. He walked into prison and gave up any chance that anyone would like him again, and Lin Chen finally knew what kind of belief was behind the symbol Song Shengsheng drew.

He looked at Xing Conglian and asked solemnly, “If you guess right, why did he choose to commit suicide today?”