TTS Chapter 51

Disclaimer: This chapter contains graphic descriptions of child abuse, SA, and SA of a minor.

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The address Xin You sent Han Huaixiao was not far from Yuyou Welfare Institute. Following the location, Han Huaixiao arrived at an old apartment building a short distance away. It had originally been housing for employees of a government work unit. After the unit relocated, most of the workers had moved away as well, leaving behind only a handful of retired employees. Far from the city center and tucked away in a remote area, the small residential compound consisted of only three buildings.

Aside from a few retired residents, most of the apartments were rented out. However, property management existed in name only, for even the security booth was unmanned so that anyone could enter or leave the compound without difficulty.

Though the buildings were old, they were spaced far apart, and the landscaping was surprisingly good. Flowerbeds filled with all kinds of plants lined the walkways, and three towering trees, planted decades earlier, cast generous shade over the courtyard. Retired residents often gathered beneath them to play chess, sort vegetables, or simply chat. The place was filled with the warmth and rhythm of everyday life.

Han Huaixiao climbed to the rooftop and saw Xin You standing alone in one corner, gazing down at the elderly men and women sitting beneath the trees below.

“Xin You, I’m here.”

She didn’t turn around. Her eyes remained fixed on the people downstairs as she spoke slowly, “When I was still living at Yuyou Welfare Institute, I used to sneak out to play. This neighborhood was the place I came to most often. Every time, I’d stand here and watch people chatting, listen to the sounds of families cooking dinner, and swallow hard as the smell of food drifted up from every apartment.”

“When I was little, all I ever dreamed of was having a family.”

“I wanted to go to school in the morning while my parents went to work. I wanted us to eat dinner together every evening, then go downstairs hand in hand for a walk afterward. On weekends, we’d clean the house together.”

“I wouldn’t have cared if all we ate was plain rice porridge and vegetables. I wouldn’t have cared if home was nothing more than a tiny one-room apartment. I would have treasured it all.”

“I waited until I was twelve. Just when I’d finally accepted that my dream would never come true… Tang Lan appeared. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, dressed in a white dress and looking like a fairy.”

“One of the staff told me, ‘She’s your mother.’ That beautiful woman… was my mother? I couldn’t believe it, so I just kept staring at her.”

“She hugged me, took a photo with me, and told me she’d come back the next day with my father to take me home. That was the happiest day of my first twelve years. It felt like I was dreaming, for I was finally going to have a home.”

“I was going to have a mom… and a dad.”

“That night, I didn’t dare fall asleep. I was afraid that if I closed my eyes, I’d wake up and realize it had all been a dream, so I stayed awake until dawn. I didn’t sleep for even a single minute, but somehow, I wasn’t tired the next day. I was nervous and excited; I kept staring at the orphanage gate until that gleaming luxury car slowly drove in… until Tang Lan and Xin Rong stepped out and walked toward me.”

“They shone so brightly, looking like the elegant socialites and successful elites I’d only ever seen on television. They drove me away from the orphanage in that luxury car and brought me to a high-rise luxury apartment.”

“They treated me so well, took me shopping for furniture I liked, enrolled me in a new school, took me out to eat… even brought me to amusement parks and took me to the movies.”

“I felt like I’d climbed out of the mud and into heaven. Every day, it was as though I were walking on auspicious clouds. I thought I was the happiest person in the world.”

“…”

A bitter smile touched her lips.

“But feelings are only feelings, and the clouds scattered with the wind. I fell from heaven… straight back into the mud.”

“No. Not mud.”

“Hell.”

“During the first summer vacation after they took me in, on the very first night of the break, I was sleeping soundly when movement beside me woke me. I opened my eyes and saw my biological mother and my adoptive father naked, tangled together, whispering filthy, obscene words to each other.”

“I froze. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I was just about to pretend I was still asleep…”

“…when Xin Rong reached out and touched me.”

“I was terrified; I struggled, but Tang Lan didn’t protect me. Instead, she held me down…”

“…and helped Xin Rong do whatever he wanted to me.”

Although Han Huaixiao had already seen the vile, sexually explicit messages Xin Rong had sent Xin You in the restored chat logs recovered by Wen Yu, hearing Xin You recount everything herself was an entirely different matter.

The impact left him speechless. For a moment, he didn’t know what he could possibly say to the young woman standing before him.

Xin You finally turned to look at him, continuing, “Your police force has probably been wondering… Xin Rong was a senior executive. He could have had any woman he wanted, right? So why was he involved with someone like Ju Jiezhen?” She laughed softly, but there wasn’t a trace of humor in it.

“Because he was a pervert. He had a mother-and-daughter fetish. The reason he married Tang Lan was that she knew about his obsession.”

“In order to marry him and live a comfortable life, she suddenly remembered the daughter she’d abandoned. And she used me…”

“…as the bargaining chip that let her marry Xin Rong.”

Through Han Huaixiao’s earpiece, Xia Ling heard every single word without missing a syllable, so furious she was almost panting.

“How can there be a mother like that?! Someone like her doesn’t deserve to be called a mother.”

“No…”

“She doesn’t deserve to be called human!”

Xia Hang frowned deeply as he listened. They still couldn’t determine why Xin You had called Han Huaixiao here, so he and Xia Ling had accompanied him. Han Huaixiao had gone upstairs alone while the two of them remained downstairs as backup.

“So…” Han Huaixiao looked at Xin You. “You investigated Ju Jiezhen. And that’s how you learned about Liao Wenwen?”

“When I was little,” Xin You said, “Xin Rong used the younger children at the orphanage to threaten me, forcing me to keep everything secret. I had no choice but to submit. By the time I was finally capable of fighting back, Tang Lan had already died. After she died, Xin Rong stopped touching me, but I still couldn’t find an opportunity to take revenge. So I pretended to be afraid he’d throw me out of the house. I flattered him and took care of his daily life. Eventually, he let his guard down and forgot to lock the study door several times. From his study, I learned about Ju Jiezhen and Liao Wenwen. I also found out that his manhood no longer worked like before, so he had to take pills to perform. As for what happened after that… you should have figured it out already.”

“You don’t have a driver’s license, and you don’t even like Xin Rong’s parents,” Han Huaixiao asked, “yet you still accompanied them to the Municipal Bureau. Was it to find out how the investigation was progressing?”

“Yes.”

Han Huaixiao began, “You…” but Xin You interrupted him. “I had a hundred different ways to kill him,” she said. “Do you know why I chose this one?”

Han Huaixiao thought for a moment. In the end, it didn’t take him long to understand.

“That’s right,” Xin You nodded.

Why had Xin You wanted Xin Rong to die in a way that would involve a police investigation? Han Huaixiao already had an answer in mind, but he still asked, “Why did you want us to investigate him?”

“Captain Han, you’re a smart man. There’s no need to fish for answers. You’ve been to Yuyou Welfare Institute. You should know why I wanted you to investigate Xin Rong.”

“Him and that bastard Shen Bing… When those two met in private, they were both beasts wearing human skin. There was no way anything good could come from them being together. As for what has happened at the welfare institute with those poor kids over the past few years… it definitely has something to do with them.”

“So you wanted us to uncover what happened at the welfare institute while investigating Xin Rong?” Han Huaixiao looked at her.

“Yes.”

Thinking of the fate that awaited her in the near future, Han Huaixiao couldn’t help but ask, “Why didn’t you just go to the police?”

“One is an old director with an impeccable reputation, respected by society,” Xin You glanced toward the welfare institute in the distance. “The other is a corporate executive. Who would believe someone insignificant like me? They could make me disappear as quietly as those children from the orphanage with just a snap of their fingers.”

Seeing her slowly walk closer to the rooftop railing, Han Huaixiao immediately said, “We’re already investigating. But we need your help. Come downstairs with me first.”

“You don’t have to worry,” Xin You suddenly smiled. “I like this place too much to do something foolish here and stain it. Let me look at it a little longer. Then I’ll go with you.”

After they came downstairs, just before she was taken away, Xin You looked at Han Huaixiao.

“Captain Han, once what happened at Yuyou Welfare Institute comes to light, public opinion is going to explode. They’ll definitely try to suppress it. Will you really see it through and uncover the whole truth?”

“We absolutely will,” Han Huaixiao met her gaze. “We’ll investigate it thoroughly and make the truth public.”

Xin You was taken into custody. The case involving Ju Jiezhen, Xin Rong, and Li Cheng was solved, but no one in the task force could relax. The things this case had uncovered were far from over.

“The elevator accident at Yuancheng Residential Complex, the human trafficking case in Lingshan Village, the drug tampering case at the Children’s Hospital, and the drug-related homicide we just solved…” Zhang Tianhua said, “all of them have He Qi’s organization behind them. More and more evidence shows that this group is involved not only in human trafficking and organ trafficking, but likely drug trafficking as well. The deeper we investigate, the wider the scope becomes.”

“Qu Mingzhe, Chen Zhengde, even Ah Tai, the one who killed Lin Fei, they’re all He Qi’s people,” Xia Ling said. “He Qi has always operated in the Golden Triangle. I never expected him to extend his reach all the way here.”

“If we’re going to bring this organization to justice,” Kong Qinmao continued, “we first have to identify their accomplices inside the country.”

“Could it really be Taiyi?” Ling Yue asked.

With that, Han Huaixiao turned to Wen Yu, saying, “Wen Yu, tell everyone what you’ve found.”

“Everyone’s guess was correct,” Wen Yu agreed. “Their accomplice is very likely Taiyi. Captain Han had me investigate Taiyi by starting with Xin Rong. I discovered that Taiyi’s vice president, Guo Gangyi, has been secretly in contact with Wang Cang.”

Ling Yue frowned, asking, “Who’s Wang Cang?”

“He Qi’s son-in-law,” Han Huaixiao replied. “He works for He Qi. If I’m not mistaken, he’s the one directing their operations on this side.”

“As far as I know, Wang Cang is no ordinary person,” Zhang Tianhua said. “He’s ethnically Chinese, but he used to run a jade business in Dian City and somehow ended up in Myanmar. He Qi only has one daughter, and he treasures her dearly. He’s always kept her well protected. Unlike her father, she’s rather innocent and loves horseback riding. Once, while riding in the mountains, her horse was startled and nearly threw her off a cliff. Wang Cang was the one who saved her. He’s very handsome, smooth-talking, and a master at romance. It didn’t take long for He Qi’s daughter to fall in love with him. She even threatened to kill herself if He Qi refused to let them marry. Left with no choice, He Qi agreed. Later, seeing that Wang Cang treated his daughter well and handled things in a way he appreciated, He Qi gradually allowed him to become involved in his business.”

“Taiyi’s vice president, Guo Gangyi, started out as an ordinary employee and worked his way up to vice president step by step,” Kong Qinmao added. “He’s no simple character either.”

“Alright,” Han Huaixiao nodded. “That’s enough for today. Everyone, get off work.”

The team packed up and began leaving. Seeing Xia Hang still sitting at his desk, Ling Yue asked, “Brother Hang, aren’t you leaving?”

Han Huaixiao had gone to see Yan Zheng, and Xia Hang was waiting for him, so he said, “I’ll head out a little later.”

Ling Yue glanced toward Han Huaixiao’s office with a mischievous grin, asking, “Waiting for Captain Han?”

“I was thinking of going to the training room to loosen up a bit,” Xia Hang rubbed his hands and smiled as well. “Want to spar with me?”

“…”

“No thanks!” Ling Yue immediately waved him off. “Go spar with Captain Han instead.”

Meanwhile, Han Huaixiao and Yan Zheng sat facing each other in Yan Zheng’s office.

“How do you plan to investigate this?” Yan Zheng’s expression was grave.

“Start with Taiyi.”

“Taiyi is one of Lang City’s biggest taxpayers,” Yan Zheng frowned. “Its connections run deep. Are you sure you want to begin with Taiyi?”

“Are you afraid?” Han Huaixiao looked at him, and Yan Zheng glared back.

“When have I ever been afraid?”

“Then it’s settled.” Han Huaixiao stood up.

“I’m leaving.”

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T.N: ahhh, I was right, but I’m not at all happy. Is it because my brain is already corrupted and perverted, or is it simply because I’m too desensitized to the world we’re living in and the horrors that happen every day? Anyway, Xin You’s story didn’t surprise me in the slightest. If anything, I’m more surprised that Liao Wenwen wasn’t involved in the plot at all. If I were her, I would have wanted the bastard to die by my own hand as well. Anyway, moving on.

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