Silent Testimony - Chapter 47

The small conference room, the first one on the left on the second floor of the police station, had been converted into a temporary office for the task force. It was early evening, the rain had stopped, and the sun’s afterglow poured casually through the windowpane, coincidentally bathing Li Hewei, who was sitting to Wang Cen’s right. She was wearing a capable, casual spring suit—a beige French-style blouse and khaki straight-leg pants. Her long hair was loose. She traced the leather armrest of the chair with her index finger, immersed in a tight, profound silence.

Just moments ago, when questioning Jiao Yong’s wife, Li Lifang, Li Hewei felt that the woman’s panicked expression was overly exaggerated and formulaic, as if rehearsed. Thus, upon leaving the interrogation room, she immediately alerted Wang Cen, who arranged for Xiao Liao and Xiao Zhou to investigate the massage parlor.

“It’s strange; they divorced 5 years ago.”

Li Hewei’s gaze finally focused on the information displayed on the laptop screen.

Wang Cen immediately followed up: “I checked Li Lifang’s assets. It turns out she married Jiao Yong in March 1996 and divorced him on May 11, 2010. At that time, they each received 12,000 yuan.”

Li Hewei recalled Liu Yang’s testimony: “That’s not right. No one mentioned they were divorced.”

“Maybe they divorced but didn’t leave home.” Wang Cen clicked on the voice message sent by Xiao Liao. “Listen to this. The massage parlor owner, who is probably Jiao Yong’s mistress, claims that Jiao Yong was at the parlor last night and left around 2 a.m.”

“What about surveillance footage?”

“None. The massage parlor is in a secluded location.”

“Could they have coordinated their stories? Li Lifang deliberately brought up the massage parlor owner, but is actually helping Jiao Yong.” Li Hewei was puzzled. “What would she gain from that?”

“They divorced but didn’t leave home—maybe because of the child? The child was starting middle school in 2010 and is now preparing for the college entrance exam.” Wang Cen tapped on another photo. “Also, she has liquid assets of 570,000 yuan, which is more than Jiao Yong. She bought a new apartment in Puchen this March, paid for in full at 380,000 yuan, and also owns a Honda vehicle worth 150,000 yuan.”

“Didn’t Jiao Yang run an e-commerce business? Li Lifang put in a lot of effort, so the source of this money should be legitimate.”

“Jiao Yang? How is Team Leader Qiu? Any progress?” Li Hewei pulled out her phone and scrolled through the chat interface to check unread messages.

“Jiao Yang’s wound is infected. Her attending doctor has temporarily blocked Team Leader Qiu from the interview room.”

“That’s normal; the doctor must prioritize the patient.”

“Alright, I’ll order takeout. Let’s fill our stomachs first.”

Li Hewei nodded: “Okay.” Her gaze shifted, resting on Tao Ling’s profile picture, her expression growing increasingly heavy.

[Are you awake?]

[What is your temperature now?]

[You are not allowed to get up and cook. Just eat takeout. You need more rest.]

The messages sent 40 minutes ago had sunk into silence. She didn’t know the other person’s current state and was worried.

Tao Ling and Cheng Yingqiu arrived home around 5 p.m., washed up, and went back to their rooms to rest.

Cheng Yingqiu found a good angle for a photo and sent it to Qiu Wan: [Lying in bed now, the patient is taking care of me.]

Qiu Wan was waiting quietly in the interview room. She saw the message the other person sent and, before she could type, another one followed: [You focus on your work; no need to rush to reply.] She calmly composed her text: [I’m not busy now. Are you on holiday today and tomorrow?]

[Yes, working from home. Nine days of National Day fun.]

[Mm, that’s good.]

Since she wasn’t busy, Cheng Yingqiu opened the floodgates: [Have you eaten? The set meal at Dao Yun’s across from the hospital is good. My sister strongly recommends the spare ribs with potato.]

[Not yet.]

[Go on, you need to eat to work. Or which department are you in?]

Qiu Wan understood the hidden meaning and hastily declined: [Xiao Qiu, just take good care of yourself.] After her breakup with Liang Bing, she gradually got used to being alone, to a life without warm solicitations, so she feared sinking into Cheng Yingqiu’s thoughtful care.

[I’m ordering takeout, too. Sister Tao Ling is probably still asleep; there’s no noise in the living room.]

[Mm, are you talking about Dao Yun’s on Yixue Road? I’ve already placed an order.] Qiu Wan used the app to fill in the delivery address and pay.

Cheng Yingqiu didn’t mind: [Aiya, I lost a chance to butter you up.]

Qiu Wan couldn’t help but ask: [Why would you want to butter me up?]

[You need to teach me how to dance.] She tapped ‘Send,’ saw the message notification in the upper-left corner, and exited to check it.

[Yingqiu, is Tao Ling sleeping?]

[Probably.]

[Can you go take a look?]

[Sis! My foot hurts!] Cheng Yingqiu grumbled, complaining that the other person didn’t care about her and only had Tao Ling in her heart. Yet, she still lifted the blanket and got out of bed, hopping on one foot to knock on the door next door, calling out softly, “Sister Tao Ling, Sister Tao Ling…”

10 seconds later, the door opened from the inside. Tao Ling was wearing a mask, her voice hoarse: “Yingqiu?”

Cheng Yingqiu scrutinized her: “Are you still running a fever?”

“Mm, viral colds tend to be recurrent.”

“Have you taken your temperature? Sis is worried.”

Tao Ling shook her head: “I was in a deep sleep.” She coughed twice. “You go back and rest. I’m fine.”

“No way. The living room has better air circulation. Come out and sit for a bit, and I’ll order takeout.” Cheng Yingqiu reached for her pant pocket. “Huh? Where’s my phone?”

“In the bedroom, maybe.” Tao Ling helped Cheng Yingqiu sit down on the sofa, then went back to the room to retrieve the phone, asking as she walked, “Yingqiu, what do you want to eat?”

“Bring me my phone. I saved two restaurants yesterday that are having a promotion.”

“What are the names? I’ll place the order.”

They usually split the bill, occasionally taking turns to treat each other. Cheng Yingqiu didn’t stand on ceremony and gave her the restaurant names.

Tao Ling scrolled the screen: “You recommended homestyle cooking. How about scrambled eggs with tomato, eggplant with minced pork, and three-delicacy soup?”

“Sounds good.” Cheng Yingqiu suddenly realized, “Oh no, I forgot to reply to the message. My sister is getting anxious. You contact her first?”

“Mm.” Tao Ling tapped the WeChat icon, rushing to open the chat with Li Hewei, but Cheng Yingqiu easily noticed the clue. Why were only the work group, the account noted as ‘Mom,’ and ‘Sister Wei’ pinned to the top?

She made a quiet sound, watching Tao Ling type with an eyes-for-gossip.

[Sister Wei, I just woke up.]

Li Hewei instantly replied: [Are you still uncomfortable?]

With Cheng Yingqiu by her side, Tao Ling couldn’t lie. She pressed her thin lips together: [A little. I’ll take my temperature shortly.]

[Listen to me. If the fever doesn’t break tonight, you must go to the hospital tomorrow morning.]

Tao Ling’s ears instantly turned red: [Okay.]

Aiya, Cheng Yingqiu considered Tao Ling’s fever and suppressed what she wanted to say, but as soon as she got her phone, she bombarded Li Hewei: [Sis, I know who your secret crush is!]

[Is this a silent admission? You’re asking a cripple to help out—it goes to show how much she means to you.]

Li Hewei laid her cards on the table: [You guessed right.]

Cheng Yingqiu’s fingers danced across the screen: [How exciting! The ‘aunt-sister-in-law’ genre coming to life.]

[…]

[Why are you speechless? It’s great anyway. You and Tao Yang have a marriage in name only and are getting divorced soon.] Cheng Yingqiu mused, [But are you serious? Are you sure you like girls? After my education, Sister Tao Ling has probably opened up to a new world. I’m not worried about her.]

[After your education?]

[Yes, the resources I sent you? She got them too.]

[You…]

[What ‘me’?]

[When it happens, I’ll give you a big matchmaker’s red envelope.]

[No good. You haven’t said if you’re serious yet. After all, straight girls play a lot of games. Don’t be a jerk to Sister Tao Ling.]

[I’m serious. You know I never liked Tao Yang. Maybe before I lost my memory, I was secretly gay?] Li Hewei thought, This counts as the original owner confessing to her cousin, right?

[Good, I believe you. Her temperature is 38.4∘C. Take medicine after eating.]

[Keep me updated on her condition at all times.] [Transferred 500.]

[Sis, are you the domineering CEO? I’m not a money-grubber.] Cheng Yingqiu accepted the red envelope.

[Your hand moved faster than anyone else’s.]

[It’s hard to refuse such generosity!]

[Be more proactive with ordering takeout when I’m not in Puchen.]

[You don’t want her to spend money?] Cheng Yingqiu knew Tao Ling was usually frugal and guessed that Li Hewei didn’t want to hurt the other person’s self-esteem, choosing to discreetly pay for things, which added up over time.

[You should understand.]

[I do, but she insisted on paying tonight. I couldn’t win the fight.]

[Once or twice is fine.]

[She has a good temper. I like this sister-in-law!]

[Sister-in-law?]

[My sister’s wife. A term I created.]

The takeout arrived, and Tao Ling went to pick up the order.

Cheng Yingqiu looked at her slender back and couldn’t help but ask: [In the future, who will be the top?]

[Cheng Yingqiu?]

[Just curious. I feel like you don’t know.]

Li Hewei admired Cheng Yingqiu’s jumpy train of thought: [It’s not even a sure thing yet. What are you thinking about?]

[Being prepared. You can start studying beforehand.]