Chapter 119.1

Inquiry

Fang Xin endured the whole night, and as soon as she obtained the appraisal results, she immediately sought out Song Yuhang.

She left in a hurry, only locking her computer without shutting it down. Someone passing by her desk glanced at it unintentionally, then paused, looked around to see no one was watching, turned back, tapped the keyboard, and copied a document into their USB drive.

“Captain Song…” Fang Xin, clutching the thin piece of paper, hesitated to speak.

Song Yuhang, on the other hand, smiled as usual and comforted her in turn.

“It’s okay, no matter what the result is, I can handle it.”

“Okay.” Fang Xin clenched her teeth and handed over the appraisal report.

The person claiming indifference hurriedly snatched it, quickly opened it, and smoothed out the creases of the paper.

Her gaze fell to the appraisal opinion at the very bottom, and suddenly, she was shaken, her face turning pale.

——Upon appraisal, the DNA sequence similarity between Sample No.1 and Sample No.2 is 0, indicating no kinship relation.

“How could this be…” Song Yuhang bit down hard on her teeth, her hands trembling, gradually crumpling the paper, her eyes slowly reddening.

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“Captain Song, just hold off on panicking for now.” Watching her teeter on the verge of collapse, Fang Xin licked her lips and began to explain.

“DNA identification is only relatively accurate, not absolutely so. Moreover, the accuracy of the sample collection process, the temperature and humidity of the environment, and the methods of testing all significantly influence the results…”

Having said so much, it’s unclear whom she was trying to comfort, before she added one last sentence.

“Don’t lose heart.”

Song Yuhang was, of course, aware that DNA evidence isn’t conclusive proof. Modern criminal investigations don’t rely solely on DNA results to convict.

But for her at the moment, this appraisal result was ironclad evidence, and it was her only hope in identifying Pei Jinhong’s true identity.

She buried her head in the steering wheel and sniffed, waving her hand to signal that no consolation was needed. After a good while, she raised her head, revealing an awkward smile.

“Thank you for the trouble.”

“No worries at all, Captain Song, please take good care of yourself. I’ll head back to work now.”

Seeing her like this, Fang Xin felt a pang of distress too and didn’t dare to stay longer, leaving her space to be alone. She opened the car door, stepped out, and bid her farewell.

Song Yuhang nodded, watching her enter the precinct’s main doors. Then, she reached for the cigarette pack thrown on the dashboard, tremblingly lit one to calm her nerves but ended up punching the steering wheel, tears falling down.

“I’ve got someone who wants to buy my stuff,” came a hoarse voice through the receiver.

He clenched his phone tighter at once.

“Can’t you just stop? Haven’t I turned a blind eye enough all these years?!”

His voice was already lowering into a growl by the end.

A sinister laugh emitted from the other end of the line.

“Not enough, still not enough. How could making money ever be enough? This is a deal worth two hundred million.”

Two hundred million.

A sudden chill ran down the spine of the man on the other end of the call.

“Aren’t you afraid this is a trap?”

“One cannot catch a wolf without risking the bait,” the man on the phone chuckled nonchalantly, stroking a parrot’s feathers and feeding it a sunflower seed.

“Why tell me something so important?” he gritted his teeth.

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“Naturally, because I’d like your help.”

The man snorted coldly, on the verge of hanging up the phone.

“I have nothing to do with you anymore.”

“That’s not necessarily,” Kuba was holding the phone for him while the old man freed his hand to scratch the parrot’s chin.

The man’s pet, imbued with a sense of spirituality, mimicked with repetition, “Not necessarily, not necessarily, not necessarily…”

Laughing, the man said, “Ha, see? Even animals understand the principle of repaying kindness.”

“What on earth are you trying to say?!” His tone grew colder, increasingly impatient.

“I have a meeting this afternoon; I don’t have time to waste on your nonsensical talk.”

The old man calmly reached for a handful of sunflower seeds to feed his pet, his voice smooth yet carrying an edge of sharpness.

“Still in meetings, better to retire now. Once you do, who will even remember you? Look how long you’ve been in this position. Wouldn’t it be better to give it one last shot before retiring? Maybe you could even climb higher.”

“Don’t you dare!” came the furious, hushed response from the other end.

The elder felt a wave of boredom and threw the melon seeds into the dish.

“Look at you, turning down money and glory that’s been handed to you on a silver platter. To be honest, I’m tired of Southeast Asia, this damp and sweltering place. This time, all I want is enough money to emigrate and enjoy my retirement. The rest of the goods, the people, I could give to you. With one fell swoop, we could take down the criminal gang that’s been threading through Southeast Asia, threatening border security, trafficking drugs into the country, and dealing in human trafficking. It would be a major achievement. Think it over, my old chum.”

As he spoke, he affectionately stroked the parrot’s head, feeding it a melon seed and watched as it mimicked, “Old chum, old chum, old chum…”

The sharp, eerie voice echoed far through the empty factory, sending chills down one’s spine for no reason.

The breathing on the other end paused abruptly, followed by a “bang” as the call was disconnected.

Kuba removed the satellite phone from his ear.

“Boss, why did you tell him that? Aren’t you afraid he might betray us?”

“Hmph, at this age, when one is practically one foot in the grave, what do you think is most important to a person like that, do you know?”

Kuba honestly shook his head, “I don’t understand.”

Though a big fellow, brimming with muscle, his mind was cluttered with nothing but schemes involving women and drugs. Such matters were beyond him, even headache-inducing at times.

The Supreme Lord, precisely because of his simplicity yet unwavering loyalty, had taken him under his wing.

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“Child, it’s all about saving face,” the Supreme Lord, with a parrot perched on his shoulder and leaning on his cane, shakily stood up and patted his shoulder.

“People who have always been in the limelight, experiencing a sudden fall from grace, the shock and disparity that comes with it… perhaps only death could fill that void.”

Kuba supported him, saying, “Supreme Lord, I still don’t understand.”

A trace of a smile appeared on the corners of the elderly man’s lips.

“Not understanding is good, not understanding is good.”

If you did understand, that would be dangerous.

The work at the grassroots police station was much quieter than she had imagined, at least compared to before.

When there were no street disputes, after she finished her patrol duties, she could go off shift on time.

Song Yuhang drove first to the Ji family’s place to visit her mom and Xiaowei. She had thought Ji Jingxing wouldn’t be back at this time, but to her surprise, it was she who opened the door.

“How come you’re…”

How come you’re home so early?

Ji Jingxing took the gift she bought for Xiaowei from her hands.

“Why are you buying things again, given the salary now…” She stopped mid-sentence, swallowing her words back.

Ji Jingxing knew this was a sensitive topic for Song Yuhang, so she quickly switched gears.

“You probably don’t know yet, but I’ve resigned from the law firm. I’m going to be an independent lawyer now, so please take good care of me.”

Probably noticing her downcast mood, she deliberately cracked some playful jokes to cheer her up.

Mother Song also peeked out from the kitchen, smiling at her with a glint of hope in her eyes.

“Yuhang, you came just in time. I made braised pork. Stay for dinner.”

Song Yuhang couldn’t bear to go against her mother’s wishes and reluctantly agreed.

“Alright.”

Xiaowei, hearing the noise from the living room, also poked her head out from the bedroom and called out, “Auntie.”

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Song Yuhang was overjoyed and was about to rush over to embrace her when she slipped back inside and locked the door.

Ji Jingxing laughed. “She’s willing to call out to people now, which is much better than before. Let’s take it slow and not pressure her.”

Presumably, her decision to quit her job and become an independent lawyer was also for the sake of taking better care of the child.

Song Yuhang felt moved in her heart. “Sister-in-law has worked hard.”

Soon, the dishes were served on the table.

Inside the house, the warm yellow light was on, and the table was set with four dishes and a soup, steaming warmly, with the family sitting together in harmony.

“Yuhang, try this.”

“And this one, the crispy yellow croaker, bought fresh from the market this morning. It’s very fresh.”

……

Song Yuhang suddenly stopped using her chopsticks, staring blankly at the mountainous pile of rice in her bowl, murmuring to herself.

“Yellow croaker, she liked to eat it, and the braised pork too.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Yuhang…” Mother Song looked at her worriedly.

Suddenly, Song Yuhang stood up and walked to the kitchen, taking out an empty bowl and a pair of chopsticks, placing them beside herself.

The whole room exchanged puzzled looks as she divided the food in her bowl with another, for someone who wasn’t there.

Mother Song’s heart ached immensely; she put down her chopsticks, her eyes brimming with tears.

“Yuhang…”

Song Yuhang looked up, lifted her rice bowl, and smiled.

“Mom, it’s okay, let’s eat, or the dishes will get cold.”

Intending to comfort her mother, she was instead the one offering consolation. Mother Song, taken aback, was at a loss for what to do next.

Ji Jingxing deftly eased the tension, playfully poking her arm.

“It’s fine, Mom, let’s eat. Yuhang, you too, eat more. Xiaowei, try this.”

Song Yuhang mechanically shoved rice into her mouth, occasionally adding dishes to the empty bowl beside her, her gaze persistently dim and lifeless.

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She only lifted her head to offer a smile when called upon.

That smile, too, was hollow and void of meaning.

After dinner, Song Yuhang wanted to clean up the dishes, but was stopped by Mother Song.

“You don’t come back often, go and play with Xiaowei for a bit.”

Ji Jingxing also echoed on the side: “Exactly, exactly. Xiaowei has missed her auntie, hasn’t she, Xiaowei?”

Xiaowei shyly burrowed into her embrace.

When they sat down, she then gently stroked the child’s head, softly saying.

“Xiaowei, be good and go play with your blocks in the room for a while. Mom and your auntie need to talk.”

Song Yuhang sat at a distance from her, on an isolated single-seater sofa, which she had noticed the moment she entered. She observed that Song Yuhang would occasionally caress the ring on her finger and get lost in thought.

Like right now.

Ji Jingxing felt a bit worried. Throughout the process of taking Xiaowei for treatment, she had been in contact with many psychologists and had also self-studied this area extensively.

She could tell that Song Yuhang’s current state was actually very poor.