Skin - Chapter 90

Chapter 90 – Challenging Wu Jiayi

　　Wu Jiayi’s mansion is located in Baoyue District, the most prosperous area in Mingtan City. The dense green belts around it separate it from the hustle and bustle of the city center, and it is quiet in the midst of the hustle and bustle. There is no better location in the entire Mingtan.

　　Several policemen sent by the Municipal Bureau to monitor Wu Jiayi were on duty these days. When they saw Director Xu and Meng Zhao, they greeted them.

　　Meng Zhao followed Director Xu, passed through the huge courtyard, and entered Wu Jiayi’s home.

　　Wu Jiayi was sitting on the sofa drinking tea and reading the newspaper, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. When he saw Director Xu and Meng Zhao coming over, he put down the teacup in his hand, took off his glasses and put them on the coffee table, stood up and walked over to shake hands with the two: “Director Xu, Captain Meng, nice to see you again.”

　　Director Xu also shook hands with him: “Director Wu, how are you doing recently?”

　　”Alas, what can I do?” Wu Jiayi shook his head and sighed, “Wu Weihan caused such a big disaster, and the media flocked to me. I can’t have a moment of peace. Besides…” He said, looking at the police outside the door, “Does Director Xu have any misunderstandings about me?”

　　”No, I’m just following the rules. Don’t mind it, Mr. Wu.” Director Xu said.

　　”Come to think of it, it was the police sent by the Public Security Bureau to monitor me who helped me block the media. I should thank Director Xu.” Wu Jiayi said with a smile, “How are you guys, Director Xu? Come, sit down and talk.”

　　”I’m still the same, nothing to mention.” Director Xu sat on the sofa, “But Xiao Meng is not so good. A few days ago in Yancheng, Xiao Meng almost died under the siege of three assassins.”

　　Wu Jiayi looked surprised: “Is there such a thing? Has the murderer been caught?”

　　Meng Zhao observed Wu Jiayi’s expression opposite him, sneered inwardly, and thought to himself, how hypocritical it was.

　　”Not yet. One of the main reasons for coming here today is to ask Director Wu if he knows where the killers are hiding now?” Director Xu said, his face slightly gloomy. “The deputy chief of the criminal investigation unit of the Municipal Bureau was almost killed. This matter is not so easy to forget. We, the Mingtan Public Security Bureau, will definitely get to the bottom of it.”

　　”Director Xu, you must be joking. How would I know the whereabouts of the murderer?” Wu Jiayi raised his head and looked at Director Xu. “From what you said, you think I was involved in this matter?”

　　While the two were talking, Meng Zhao quietly observed the interior layout of Wu Jiayi’s house. The two-story villa was at least 300 square meters per floor, plus the large courtyard around it. In such a large space, was there a place like Wu Weihan’s fish tank where clues could be hidden…

　　”Don’t think too much, Mr. Wu,” Director Xu smiled, “After all, it was Xiao Meng who solved the Dark Cage case. No matter what, as a father, you will inevitably be implicated. Our police will keep you in custody in the surrounding area in the next few days. Mr. Wu, don’t go out, and please hand in your personal phone number in time. If you need anything, the police officers in charge of surveillance will fully cooperate with you to solve it.”

　　Wu Jiayi looked normal, but his eyes became a little gloomy: “Don’t the police use evidence when handling cases now? As a major taxpayer in Mingtan City, our Wu Group has made a lot of contributions to the economic development of Mingtan City every year, right? Provincial and municipal leaders often meet with me, and many cooperation projects are waiting to be handled by me. Is it appropriate to restrict my personal freedom without any evidence? It is true that Wu Weihan made a mistake in the Dark Cage case, but it is a joke to implement such a collective responsibility system in the 21st Century. As for what Captain Meng encountered in Yancheng, it has nothing to do with me. Director Xu, aren’t you going too far?”

　　At this time, Meng Zhao, who had been observing silently, spoke up: “Mr. Wu, we really don’t have any definite evidence to prove that you are related to the incident in Yancheng. We just have some suspicions, and we will not imprison you because of such suspicions. But is the incident in Dark Cage really unrelated to you as a father? As far as I know, more than half of all the girls who were victims in this case have received funding from a foundation called Left-Behind Children, and this foundation has long received large amounts of funding from the Wu Group. Is this just a coincidence?”

　　Seeing Wu Jiayi’s calm expression, Meng Zhao continued, “Also, one of the girls rescued from the basement of the nursing home has not fully recovered her consciousness yet, but she showed extreme fear after seeing Mr. Wu’s photo. If I tell you now that you have sexually assaulted this girl, you will definitely not admit it, but do you think we have sufficient reason to put you under personal surveillance now?”

　　After Meng Zhao finished speaking, he looked at Wu Jiayi with a stern expression.

　　Wu Jiayi looked at Meng Zhao and didn’t say anything at first. After a moment, he smiled slightly. “Then I will wait for the results of your investigation. I believe the police will not wrongly accuse an innocent person. I will fully cooperate with the police. If you have any questions, you can come to me at any time.”

　　After saying this, Director Xu and Meng Zhao got up and left Wu Jiayi’s mansion. When they reached the door, Meng Zhao said a few words to the police officers in charge of surveillance, and then got into the car with Director Xu.

　　Sitting next to Director Xu, Meng Zhao said, “This old fox is really able to keep his composure. Even after talking so much, his expression showed not the slightest change. He is much more difficult to deal with than Wu Weihan.”

　　Director Xu snorted and laughed, “Wu Jiayi has come this far from scratch, so he must be a real talent. You’re looking down on him by comparing him with his idiot son.”

　　”Indeed, but the way this father and son confront the police is the same. As long as there is no evidence, they refuse to admit their guilt.” Meng Zhao sighed, “Where is the direct evidence…”

　　”Didn’t we say we were going to interrogate the person from the charity foundation this morning? What was the result?”

　　”The person in charge of the charity foundation said that every year they not only accept funding from Wu Jiayi, but also from many other companies and individuals. Moreover, in order to ensure the use of funds, they would indeed provide the information of the recipients to the donors to facilitate their verification and follow-up. According to this statement, it is indeed not easy to find loopholes…” Meng Zhao said, and began to have a headache for evidence again.

　The two were talking all the way, and when the car was about to arrive at the gate of the Municipal Bureau, Meng Zhao saw Lu Shichen standing near the gate of the Municipal Bureau with his head slightly lowered across a traffic light intersection. His long legs looked particularly eye-catching.

　　Then, the phone vibrated, and Meng Zhao received a message: “Are you in the bureau?”

　　Meng Zhao said to the driver in the front seat, “Uncle Wang, please stop when we get to the gate. I’ll get off.”

　　Director Xu also saw Lu Shichen not far away and spoke up: “I saw that this Xiao Lu was always inseparable from you before he became a consultant. Does he not have a girlfriend?”

　　”No,” Meng Zhao said, and then half-jokingly asked, “You don’t want to introduce one to him, do you?”

　　”Yanyan has been asking me about Xiao Lu recently,” Director Xu showed a rare kindness on his face when talking about Xu Yan. “Just ask, but she always uses you as an excuse to ask if he has come to the bureau to look for you recently, and what you two have done… this kid.”

　　Meng Zhao: “…” Why does it sound a little wrong?

　　The car arrived at the gate of the Municipal Bureau. The driver stopped the car and Meng Zhao opened the door: “Director Xu, I will get off first.”

　　Director Xu said “hmm”.

　　After getting out of the car, Meng Zhao walked towards Lu Shichen.

　　When he saw Lu Shichen, he thought about what happened last night and got angry again. To be honest, it was because he was soft-hearted at the time, so he couldn’t blame Lu Shichen entirely, but what happened this morning was enough to make him angry like a string of firecrackers.

　　With every step closer to Lu Shichen, the lit fuse got closer to the gunpowder.

　　Just as Meng Zhao walked in front of Lu Shichen and his temper was about to explode, Lu Shichen reached out and handed him a small package.

　　”What is this?” Meng Zhao looked at the brown paper bag in his hand.

　　Lu Shichen still said in that calm tone: “I saw a lot of people queuing up on the side of the road, and I thought it would be delicious, so I bought some for you.”

　　Meng Zhao took it and opened it. It was just a bag of ordinary sugar-roasted chestnuts, still steaming. In an instant, the anger he had been accumulating all the way suddenly went silent: “…You queued up to buy it for me? How long did you queue?”

　　”About twenty minutes,” Lu Shichen said, “I don’t know if it tastes good, you try it.”

　　Meng Zhao took one out of the paper bag, peeled it with his fingers, put it in his mouth, chewed it and swallowed it.

　　”Is it delicious?” Lu Shichen looked at him.

　　Meng Zhao saw a hint of emotion in his eyes, as if he was a little curious, and seemed to want to get a positive answer from him. It sounded like… Lu Shichen had never eaten sugar-roasted chestnuts before?

　　”Not bad, quite sweet.” He took out another one, peeled it and handed it to Lu Shichen, “You haven’t eaten it before?”

　　Lu Shichen took it: “No.”

　　”I remember there was a small stall selling it near our high school, and there were always a lot of people lining up around it. Have you ever thought of buying some to try?”

　　”There were too many people, and I wasn’t very interested.”

　　‘Then do you not mind the crowds and waste time queuing?’ Meng Zhao thought so, but didn’t ask the question. He raised his hand and threw the chestnut shells into the trash can a few steps away, then held Lu Shichen’s wrist and pulled him towards the city bureau: “Let’s go, take a look at the situation in the bureau first, and then we’ll go home and eat.”