69novels Chapter 1123 Chang Li's Identity
Chapter 1123 Chang Li's Identity
Tong Ren immediately had someone investigate her recent whereabouts. What they found was shocking: she was not only colluding with Li Jianjun, helping to pass messages and keep an eye on Gu Nan, but also involved in several street fights and extortion cases from the past two years, and might even be related to several mysterious thefts of materials from the steel mill.
“It seems we need to interrogate Chang Li properly.” Tong Ren instructed his deputy, tapping his finger on the case file. “During Li Jianjun’s years at the steel mill, we might be able to get some clues out of her about whether he embezzled or how much he embezzled. We should take this opportunity to thoroughly investigate Li Jianjun’s dirty deeds and prevent him from harming others in the future.”
He naturally wouldn't conduct the interrogation himself; instead, he assigned Old Wang, the most experienced veteran detective in the team, to conduct a surprise interrogation of Chang Li, catching her off guard.
The detention cell was dimly lit, with only a sliver of light filtering through a small window. Chang Li huddled in the cold corner, her eyes dark and her hair plastered messily to her face. She had barely slept for days, her stomach growling with hunger. She could only manage a bite of the cornbread brought to her before she couldn't swallow it. Only one thought occupied her mind: waiting for Brother Hu to come and rescue her. She had been arrested before, and each time Brother Hu would manage to get her out within a day. But this time, three days had passed, and there was still no sign of him. Had Brother Hu forgotten about her?
Chang Li knew exactly what she had done—she had followed Ah Hu to collect protection money from vendors at the market, stalked debtors, and even recently delivered adulterated tea to Gu Nan's office for Li Jianjun… If she revealed all of this, she would be locked up in jail for several years. But she dared not speak. Ah Hu had said, "Keep your mouth shut to survive," so she could only grit her teeth and bear it, repeatedly telling herself: as long as I don't say anything, they can't do anything to me; they'll only be locked up for a few days at most before releasing me.
But she was also afraid. She'd always been timid; she'd been chased by stray dogs in the alley when she was little, and ever since, she'd been terrified of anything powerful. These past few days in the detention cell, she hadn't been eating or sleeping well, her nerves were stretched to the limit, and she kept dreaming of handcuffed police officers walking towards her. She always felt that the way those uniformed officers looked at her was strange, like they were looking at a rabbit in a cage. If they really started interrogating her, would she have the courage to withstand it? What if she couldn't help but confess everything? Would Brother Hu blame her? Then she'd truly be doomed.
Just as Chang Li was fidgeting and her mind was a jumbled mess, the iron door to the detention cell was slammed open, the sound of rust scraping against metal particularly jarring in the quiet corridor. Two policemen walked in and said expressionlessly, "Chang Li, come out."
Chang Li's heart skipped a beat, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She jerked her head up, a glimmer of hope flashing in her eyes—could it be that Brother Hu had pulled some strings to get her out? But when she was led into a brightly lit room with white walls and a white ceiling, containing only a table and a few chairs, that glimmer of hope vanished instantly. The eight characters on the wall, "Confess and you will be treated leniently; resist and you will be punished severely," were glaringly red; this was the interrogation room.
She forced herself to remain calm, twisting the hem of her clothes behind her back. Looking at the elderly detective, Old Wang, who sat upright opposite her, her voice carried a deliberately feigned innocence, even a hint of fear: "Officer, why...why did you arrest me? I've already told you everything. It was all Li Jianjun's orders. I was just a messenger; I didn't know anything."
The veteran detective, Old Wang, sneered, tapping his knuckles on the table. The young officer beside him immediately slammed a stack of photos and statements onto the table. The photos showed her a few years ago, fighting in an alley and accepting money, along with identification statements from several vendors. "Alright, Chang Li, still spouting nonsense?" Old Wang's voice wasn't loud, but it struck like a hammer, carrying undeniable authority. "You say you know nothing? Then how do you explain all this? Are the people in these photos you?"
Chang Li's face turned deathly pale, as if all the color had been drained from her instantly, even her lips were bluish-gray, as if she had just been pulled out of an ice cellar. She stared intently at the few sheets of paper on the table, her knuckles turning white from gripping them so tightly—they contained photos of her taken at a southern dock a few years ago, her hair in a messy ponytail, her eyes filled with the fear of a life adrift; the attached bank transfer records were even more glaring, the date and amount of each remittance clearly marked, the recipient's name written in her long-abandoned real name.
Every word felt like a needle piercing her eyes, causing them to sting and sting, yet not a single tear could be shed. Her lips trembled, and she opened her mouth several times, her throat feeling like it was stuffed with cotton, but she couldn't utter a single word. Those past experiences she had deliberately suppressed in her heart, wrapped up layer by layer under the name "Lili," surged into her mind like a flood bursting its banks: the panicked hesitation at the police station entrance when she forged her identity, the侥幸 (a sense of luck) she held when accepting the fake documents from Zhang Tao, hoping to "change her identity forever," and the nights when she would break out in a cold sweat every time she heard someone call "Chang Li"... A chill crept up her spine, making her tremble all over. The cold sweat on her back instantly soaked through her thin polyester shirt, sticking uncomfortably to her skin, like being covered in wet mud.
Chang Li was completely stunned. Her mind was buzzing, like countless bees swirling around her. For years, she had lived under the name "Lili"—she used that name when she worked at the textile factory, when she chatted with neighbors, and she had almost forgotten who "Chang Li" was. But now, the police officer in front of her clearly called out "Chang Li." Those three words struck her heart like a hammer blow, making her eardrums ache—they not only knew her real name, but they must have also investigated her past actions, those shady deeds hidden beneath the glamorous facade of "Lili."
The police officer sitting opposite me pushed up his black-rimmed glasses, his gaze behind the lenses calm yet sharp, his tone serious and unquestionable: "Chang Li, now that things have come to this, stop hiding anything. Tell me clearly, how much were you involved in Li Jianjun's case?"
Chang Li wanted to say something, but before she could even say, "I was just deceived by him," the police officer raised his hand to interrupt her. He took out another stack of documents from a file folder and flipped through them for her, the rustling sound of the pages echoing clearly in the quiet interrogation room. His voice reverberated throughout: "Three years ago, you used Wang Xiulan's identity in the south to obtain a temporary residence permit. Six months later, you came to this city with Ah Hu and entered the Hongguang Textile Factory under the name 'Lili.' During this time, you helped Zhang Tao deliver suspicious documents to the warehouse three times, and at his instigation, you gave the manager, Old Zhang, two bribes—once two packs of Hongtashan cigarettes and once three hundred yuan in cash… We've investigated all of this thoroughly. Tell me yourself, what exactly is your relationship with Li Jianjun?"