Skin - Chapter 25

　　Linjiang Pharmaceutical,

　　”Fan Xinxin asked for leave today.” After checking the company system, the female employee from the human resources department looked up and informed Meng Zhao.

　　”Do you know the reason?”

　　”It seems she’s sick and went to the hospital. She didn’t say anything specific.”

　　”Then give me her home address,” Meng Zhao asked casually and the person began writing the address on a piece of paper, “How many years has Fan Xinxin worked for you?”

　　”She joined as soon as she graduated, so it’s probably been three or four years.”

　　”Was it campus recruitment?”

　　”It doesn’t seem to be the case. Let me think about it…” the person stopped writing and thought for a while before explaining, “Although she came in at the same time as the campus recruitment batch, she should have come in through social recruitment channels. I don’t remember the exact details.”

　　”Can you show me the social recruitment conditions of the past five years?”

　　”No problem, wait a minute and I’ll look it up for you.”

　　Meng Zhao is good-looking. Although he didn’t look very friendly, he could still manage to get more information than others just by showing his face. He was a handsome guy and always made people interested in talking to him.

　　”Here you go.” The woman tore off the note and handed it to Meng Zhao. She also printed out a copy of the recruitment conditions and handed it to Meng Zhao.

　　”By the way, is Mr. Ren here?” Meng Zhao took the piece of paper and asked her about the owner of Linjiang Pharmaceutical, “Can you find someone to introduce me to him?”

　　”Mr. Ren? Are you talking about the chairman or the general manager?”

　　”Ren Hai.”

　　”Mr. Ren rarely comes to the company now. His son is now managing the company’s affairs,” the woman answered enthusiastically. “If it’s necessary, I could call his secretary and check if he has time to meet you right now.”

　　”No need for now.” Meng Zhao thought for a moment and then spoke.

　　Ten years ago, Ren Hai’s son was only in his early twenties and should still be in college. He probably knew very little about the campus bullying case. He could only find Ren Hai…

Meng Zhao received the address, thanked the woman and planned to look for Fan Xinxin first.

　　After leaving Linjiang Pharmaceutical, Meng Zhao got in his car and took Cheng Yun straight to Fan Xinxin’s house.

　　After reading a lot of information about Fan Xinxin, Meng Zhao could almost conclude that Fan Xinxin was unlikely to be the leader of the small gang of bullies back then- she did not have that kind of energy.

　　Whether it was leading an entire class to bully Zhao Tong, forcing Zhao Tong to death, or subsequently quelling the influence of public opinion, solving legal cases, or destroying court records, it was not something that Fan Xinxin could do… If Fan Xinxin was really that capable, she wouldn’t have been working at Linjiang Pharmaceutical for four years, still being a junior employee in the human resources department.

　　Standing in front of Fan Xinxin’s house, Cheng Yun raised her hand and knocked on the door. Meng Zhao leaned against the wall next to him and read the pile of information.

　　Looking through the peephole, only Cheng Yun was visible in front of the door. Fan Xinxin opened the door: “Who are you looking for?”

　　”Huh? You’re at home,” Cheng Yun said in a familiar tone, “But, your colleague said you went to the hospital.”

　　”I just returned…” Fan Xinxin was a little confused, “You are…?”

　　”Police,” Cheng Yun flashed her ID, “Can I come in and sit down?”

　　Probably because she was facing a bright-looking young girl like Cheng Yun, Fan Xinxin lowered her guard and opened the door wider. When she saw a tall young man standing against the wall, she was obviously startled.

　　Meng Zhao rolled up the information in his hand. He stood up straight, glanced at Fan Xinxin, and followed Cheng Yun into the entrance hall.

　　Walking into the living room, Meng Zhao noticed a bag on Fan Xinxin’s coffee table, with the name of the city’s top tertiary hospital printed on it. He leaned over and pulled it open with his fingers, and looked at the boxes of medicine inside. One of the bottles had ‘Amitriptyline’ written on it, which was the same drug as the expired medicine found in Zhao Yunhua’s home.

　　”Zhou Yan was strangled to death. The last few days haven’t been that great for you, right?” Meng Zhao asked while putting down the bottle of medicine.

　　”Yes, after all, we were former classmates.” Fan Xinxin raised her hand to smoothen the hair in front of her forehead and said somewhat unnaturally, “You can sit wherever you like.”

　　Meng Zhao sat on the sofa, his tone was gentle, but his words were very direct: “Compared with Zhao Tong’s suicide before the college entrance examination, which incident do you think is more difficult to deal with?”

　　Fan Xinxin didn’t respond. As soon as she sat down, her fingers tightly grasped the corners of her clothes.

　　Cheng Yun sang the red face on the side: “Don’t be nervous, we are just here to ask about the situation of your class back then. Miss Fan, you should have read the news. It has been confirmed that Zhou Yan was strangled to death by Zhao Tong’s mother. His murder was considered as revenge. Thus, considering the nature of the case, we need to understand the whole thing. To do that, we are reaching out to the students of that class to inquire about the situation at that time.”

　　”Miss Fan, please recall, did Zhou Yan also participate in bullying Zhao Tong at that time?” Cheng Yun’s tone was calm and persuasive.

　　”No…” Fan Xinxin smoothed her hair again, “I don’t remember clearly either.”

　　”That’s it, it doesn’t matter,” Cheng Yun smiled at her, “Miss Fan, could you please recall again, who were the classmates who participated in bullying Zhao Tong at that time?”

　　”I really can’t remember,” Fan Xinxin still shook her head, “you can try asking others.”

　　”Then this photo,” Cheng Yun put the printed photo in front of Fan Xinxin, “do you know who took it?”

　　Meng Zhao stared at Fan Xinxin and observed that the moment she saw the photo, there was a little fear in Fan Xinxin’s eyes.

　　”Do you remember?” Cheng Yun asked again, “As far as we know, you were standing on the rooftop of the building and witnessed Zhao Tong’s suicide. Who were with you? Such an important thing , you won’t forget everything, right?”

　　Fan Xinxin avoided the photo and shook her head a few times: “I really don’t remember. I’m sorry. Please ask other people. I’m going to work…” After she finished speaking, she stood up. Her body language seemed to be giving an order to expel guests.

　　Cheng Yun turned to look at Meng Zhao. Although Fan Xinxin refused to reveal any information, in panic, she did not deny that she was at the scene of Zhao Tong’s suicide. In other words, Fan Xinxin knew the truth behind Zhao Tong’s death but she had chosen to hide the truth!

　　”Don’t worry,” Meng Zhao raised his hand and pressed down, gesturing for Fan Xinxin to sit down. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t remember clearly. We’ll ask you something you can remember clearly.”

　　He flattened the pile of information, pulled out the top page and put it in front of Fan Xinxin: “Fan Xinxin, the average score in the three years of high school ranked in the top 20% of the school, the college entrance examination score ranked at the bottom of the grade. Can I know the reason?”

　　”I failed the exam. What more reason do you want?” Fan Xinxin’s attitude turned uncooperative.

　　”It’s not unusual to fail in exams, but it’s quite unusual to be able to find a good job in a big company immediately after graduation.” Meng Zhao drew out. The paper below was pushed in front of Fan Xinxin, “This is the recruitment requirement at Linjiang Pharmaceutical in the year you graduated. The basic requirement for campus recruitment was a good grade in college entrance examination and a reputed university. The social recruitment requirement for your position required two years of relevant work experience. However, as soon as you graduated, without any work experience and without the right major, you managed to enter the human resources department of Linjiang Pharmaceutical through social recruitment channels. Can I ask you, Miss Fan, how did you apply for this position?”

　　”I…” Fan Xinxin was stunned speechless, “My relatives introduced it to me.”

　　”What relatives?” Meng Zhao pulled out the third piece of paper and pushed it in front of Fan Xinxin, “I have also checked the relevant information regarding it, but I can’t find any relatives who are capable enough to recommend you to such a job. It may be an oversight on my part. Tell me, I’ll check it out one more time.”

　　”Does it make sense for you to force me like this?!” Fan Xinxin suddenly lost control of her emotions and raised her voice, “It’s been so many years. It’s not like I forced Zhao Tong to die. What does this matter have to do with me?!”

　　Meng Zhao’s temper was not very good, but his tone was surprisingly calm: “Even if all the people who may have forced Zhao Tong to death were gathered together now, everyone would have the same opinion as you. They would firmly believe that it wasn’t them who had forced Zhao Tong to death. If a group commits a collective crime, everyone in that group feels that they are innocent.”

　　”But if a person who has benefited from such a matter thinks the same,” Meng Zhao collected all the papers he had spread out and looked up at Fan Xinxin, “then, that’s really a bit shameless.”

　　”Let me guess, although Zhao Tong’s mother took you to court at that time, the real instigator was not someone among the defendants. In order to conceal this person’s identity, you accepted the generous terms proposed by then. The trial date for the case was July 18. At that time, the college entrance examination scores and corresponding cutoffs were already available. You failed the exam, so the benefit they provided you was that no matter which pheasant school you are admitted to, they would help you. After graduation, they provide you with a well-paid job, on the condition that you keep this matter to yourself for the rest of your life. Am I right, Ms. Fan?”

　　”If you really don’t cooperate with the investigation, we have no way to impose compulsory measures on you. However,” Meng Zhao held the pile of information, stood up and approached Fan Xinxin, lowering his voice, “Miss Fan, you have taken benefits at the expense of human blood. Have you enjoyed these benefits over the years? Did you sleep peacefully after Zhao Tong’s death? When you heard Zhou Yan being strangled to death, did you ever think that it might be your turn next?”

　　Fan Xinxin suddenly looked up at him.

　　”The mastermind of this incident only needs to easily provide you with a good job, so that you can help him bear such a blood debt, and he himself may now be rising to the top with a clear conscience. Well, do you think it’s fair?” After Meng Zhao finished speaking, he held a business card and handed it to her: “If you need our help, or if you have figured it out and want to provide us with clues, please feel free to contact us at any time.”

　　Until Meng Zhao and Cheng Yun left, Fan Xinxin was still standing motionless in the living room. Meng Zhao glanced at her before closing the door. This young girl looked lost at the moment, her shoulders were shaking slightly, and she was crying silently.

　　After going downstairs, Cheng Yun followed Meng Zhao: “Brother Zhao, what you just told her is not in compliance with the rules…”

　　”None of it was recorded. Besides, she is carrying the cost of a life on her body. Are you worried that she will report me?” Meng Zhao glanced at her, “Or are you planning to report me?”

　　Cheng Yun immediately raised her finger: “I definitely won’t!” Then she said worriedly, “But if they had negotiated the terms ten years ago, wouldn’t all those involved be willing to disclose information…? ”

　　”It’s possible, but,” Meng Zhao opened the car door and looked up at Fan Xinxin’s floor, “Are there really airtight walls in this world?”

　　After getting in the car, his phone on the centre console vibrated twice. Meng Zhao picked up his and saw that it was a message from Lu Shichen: 【The results of the overseas number inquiry are out.】

　　【I’ll treat you to dinner tonight.】 Meng Zhao picked up his phone and sent a voice message to Lu Shichen.

Chapter 28

　　As the time to get off work neared, colleagues who had gone out to investigate according to the list of defendants came back one after another.

　　”Zhang Lin is quite honest,” Zhou Qiyang opened the afternoon notes he had made and said to Meng Zhao, “He said that the class began to isolate Zhao Tong inexplicably at that time, saying that he was gay, a transvestite, etc. There was no one like Zhao Tong in their class. Back then, if someone got too close, especially a boy, then they would definitely be laughed at.”

　　”Zhang Lin used to be Zhao Tong’s deskmate. According to him, Zhao Tong was actually a pretty good person. Although he was a bit girly, he had a good temper and responses to almost everyone’s requests. He had no idea why Zhao Tong suddenly became a target.”

　　”So he was Zhao Tong’s deskmate?” Cheng Yun raised her head and asked, “So since he thought Zhao Tong was a good person, then why didn’t he help him?”

　　”I asked him about that. He told me that in that kind of environment, if anyone dared to even stand with Zhao Tong, then they would definitely be considered to be a couple with Zhao Tong.” Zhou Qiyang shrugged, “Not long after the bullying began, he applied to change his seat. It so happened that a girl in the class was on leave at that time, so Zhao Tong’s seat was reserved.”

　　Cheng Yun muttered: “How cowardly…”

　　After Zhou Qiyang finished speaking, Ren Bin followed him and said: “Xu Yangyang was very wary of us, and we didn’t get anything useful from him. But, I feel that he knows the inside story, but he just refuses to cooperate with the investigation.”

　　Everyone thoroughly studied the investigation results and eliminated two people who were not directly related to Zhao Tong’s suicide. There were no particularly valuable clues.

　　‘This work of winning people’s hearts had been done thoroughly,’ Meng Zhao thought to himself. Many years had passed, but the insiders involved in the incident had still kept it secret, and no one was willing to tell the truth. However, it also verified the fact that the person who had taken the photograph was the same person who was responsible for everything, the person who everyone involved were trying to protect.

　　”There are two people left whom we still haven’t contacted,” Meng Zhao rolled up the information in his hand, “Xiao Zhou and Brother Bin will go look for them again tomorrow.”

　　After walking downstairs, Meng Zhao first went to the parking lot and kept the information folder inside his car.

　　Lu Shichen would drive over, so Meng Zhao planned to return to the bureau and then drive his own car after dinner.

　　After walking out of the city bureau, the light on the opposite side was changing from red to green. A dozen people were walking on the zebra crossing. Meng Zhao spotted Lu Shichen at a glance.

　　Lu Shichen’s broad shoulders and long legs, coupled with his aloof and out-of-touch temperament, made him stand out among the crowd.

　　”You didn’t drive?” Meng Zhao asked as Lu Shichen approached him.

　　”Don’t we have your car here?” Lu Shichen stopped and said, “Let’s drive your car.”

　　”Then wait a moment and I’ll drive over.” Meng Zhao answered, walking towards the parking lot of the city bureau.

　　When Meng Zhao drove over, Lu Shichen was answering the phone at the door of the city bureau.

　　Meng Zhao turned the steering wheel and drove the car to the side of the road. When he pressed down the window, he vaguely heard Lu Shichen speaking about a ‘nursing home’ or something, but Lu Shichen glanced in his direction and then walked a few steps in the other direction.

　　‘Was it a trade secret…?’ Meng Zhao looked at Lu Shichen’s back.

　　After a while, Lu Shichen finished the phone call and walked towards Meng Zhao.

　　”Who did you call?” Meng Zhao asked when he saw Lu Shichen getting into the car.

　　Lu Shichen pulled on the seat belt: “A friend.”

　　When Meng Zhao started the car, he smelled a very light sandalwood-like fragrance. He had smelled that fragrance before when he was riding in Lu Shichen’s car. He thought it was some kind of high-end car perfume, but now he realised that it was the smell from Lu Shichen’s body.

　　So particular that he’s even wearing perfume , Meng Zhao thought to himself.

　　After studying at the Public Security University and then arriving at the police station, he had dealt with either a group of rough policemen or criminals who were even rougher than the rough policemen. Occasionally, he met one or two elite-looking lawyers, who often dressed up like salesmen. But they looked far less elegant than Lu Shichen.

　　In the past, he thought that perfumes were only sprayed by women, but now the sandalwood scent on Lu Shichen’s body was very light, if it was not present, it was not only unfeminine, but…a bit sexy too.

　　After realising that he had such a thought, Meng Zhao felt a little speechless with himself. He had been single for a long time, and he thought about something smelling the smell of perfume. He even ignored the sex of the other party…

　　He quickly turned his thoughts back to the case and asked Lu Shichen: “By the way, has your friend living abroad helped you find the owner of that number?”

　　”Yes. It’s a foreign Internet phone call.”

　　”Foreign…Internet phone calls? There’s multi-layer encryption, they are very cautious.” Meng Zhao was a little worried. If it was a domestic Internet phone call, he could at least locate the location of the server, but for foreign encrypted numbers, no matter how skilled their technology department was, they couldn’t track them down…

　　Lu Shichen continued: “My friend cracked the encryption layer, located the server location of the Internet phone, and went to inquire.”

　　”Hey, your process is very neat,” Meng Zhao knew. Although Lu Shichen’s words were simple, achieving this step in just two days meant that the resources Lu Shichen had abroad were no less than what he had in China, “What’s the result?”

　　”They are accepting domestic commissions.”

　　”Did the client find out?”

T/N’s Note

My exams are finally done. Some subjects went good while some were just shitty. Either way, I’m back, hopefully gonna drop regular updates.

~Yours Truly
Ruel