Halfway through the event, the security at the gate loosened, allowing Meng Jin to slip in easily.
The auditorium wasn’t large, crowded with reporters and media personnel. On the huge electronic screen on stage, the words “Little Angel Children’s Charity Foundation Reunion Ceremony” shone brightly.
Jennie Yang was introducing the life stories of three children who stood in the middle of the stage. Facing so many cameras for the first time, they were visibly stiff and bewildered.
All three had been abducted as children, mistreated by human traffickers, and suffered a lot. Even after being purchased by buyers, they didn’t live cherished lives. Instead, without exception, they dropped out of school early, never went to college, lacked qualifications and survival skills, and ended up working on assembly lines in electronics factories, with some even unemployed at home. When of marriageable age, they had no house, no car, no savings, making it impossible to find a spouse.
Beyond their material lacks, what was most tragic was their lack of parental love. The buyers didn’t offer them full parental affection. The three children desperately wanted to return to their biological families. At that point, the Little Angel Children’s Charity Foundation stepped in, dedicating substantial resources to finally locate their birth parents in the vast sea of people.
As Jennie Yang finished speaking, her eyes shimmered with tears. Countless cameras and smartphones focused on her. In the lens, her face was tender and compassionate, resembling the merciful Guanyin Bodhisattva.
The climax of the event followed, with the three children meeting their biological parents. They wept bitterly, parents crying loudly, clinging to their children as if they had finally found their mothers, like tadpoles finding water.
The scene was deeply moving, and Jennie Yang’s eyes brimmed with tears as she discreetly wiped them away.
She hadn’t shed so many tears even at the sight of Liu Tianshi’s corpse, her husband of many years.
Her emotions towards her husband seemed indifferent, even slightly resentful. Meng Jin noted this with a mental question mark.
As the event moved to its final segment, a Q&A with reporters, Jennie Yang silently walked to the side, exchanged a look with Secretary Huang, and prepared to exit through a side door.
Meng Jin quickly headed towards the exit, needing to reach the reception room before Jennie Yang.
“Ms. Yang, please wait!”
Jennie Yang had already stepped out when she heard a loud voice behind her, impossible to ignore.
She frowned, wondering which persistent reporter it was. Hadn’t she already arranged for someone to handle the Q&A? What question could possibly require her direct response?
Unable to pretend she hadn’t heard—since the voice was so loud—she stood still, not returning to the stage but instead offering a slight smile, showing no sign of upset at the disruption.
Her alert eyes scanned the crowd and locked on the journalist who had called out. Something about him was off; he wore a mask that covered most of his face, only showing his eyes, and a hoodie that obscured his vision as if fearful of being recognized.
She politely asked the journalist to pose his question.
The journalist loudly demanded, “Ms. Yang, do you remember Guo Yingying?”
Meng Jin, closely observing Jennie Yang, noticed a flicker of dilation in her eyes and a tremble in her lashes—a sign of nervousness.
“Of course, I remember,” Jennie Yang replied with a smile, though it was a bit stiff. “I’m sorry, I have some official matters to attend to. If you could, please schedule a time with my secretary, and I’ll answer your questions in person.”
With that, Jennie Yang hurried out the door.
Then, surprisingly, the journalist quickly caught up and grabbed Jennie Yang’s arm, demanding loudly, “Your son caused so much harm to Guo Yingying, shouldn’t you atone for his sins?”
His grip was strong, nearly pulling Jennie Yang to the ground.
Jennie Yang paled, and Secretary Huang, terrified, knew she’d be blamed if anything happened to her boss.
“Security! Security!” Secretary Huang yelled.
The scene unfolded so suddenly that the scattered security guards, who hadn’t anticipated an actual attack, were slow to react.
The journalist, still holding onto Jennie Yang, shouted, “Guo Yingying was also a lost child without parents. You should have helped her find her birth parents, or at least supported her for life to atone for your son’s sins!”
Several security guards arrived belatedly, pulling the journalist away as he continued to shout, “Jennie Yang! You must atone!”
The journalist clung to a tree and didn’t let go even as the guards harshly beat his hands with sticks. He screamed in pain as they dragged him away, his mouth stuffed to silence him.
Jennie Yang touched the arm the journalist had grasped, her frown betraying her pain. She quickly regained her composure, apologizing with a smile, and left swiftly under Secretary Huang’s escort.
Meng Jin hurried back the way he had come, eager to report what he’d seen to Zhao Yunzhi. It seemed their meeting today would likely be canceled.
Zhao Yunzhi lamented not following along, having missed such a dramatic scene. He knew the incident would soon be all over social media, and experiencing the news firsthand was different from merely watching it through a screen.
Previously, Zhao Yunzhi had mentioned Jennie Yang’s son Liu Er’s incident, but Meng Jin hadn’t paid much attention. Today, the journalist’s questions had piqued his curiosity.
“Was Guo Yingying the girl Liu Er raped?” he asked, searching for Liu Er and Guo Yingying’s names on his phone.
It seemed he had missed a lot during the half-year he’d been injured and unconscious.
As Zhao Yunzhi prepared to share his journalistic insight, there was a knock on the door.
Both men paused, falling silent as Zhao Yunzhi sat down on the sofa and pretended to casually browse his phone.
“Come in,” Meng Jin said.
Secretary Huang entered with a professional smile.
Seeing her smile, Meng Jin couldn’t help but think of Jennie Yang.
Unexpectedly, Secretary Huang announced that Jennie Yang would arrive in five minutes.
“What happened?” Zhao Yunzhi feigned ignorance.
Secretary Huang paused briefly, then chuckled, “Just a little situation.”
Meng Jin shot Zhao Yunzhi a glance, prompting him to realize his blunder—his question had sounded even more unnatural, like admitting guilt.
Jennie Yang was shrewd, and so was Secretary Huang, who saw through the pretense but remained silent.
Five minutes later, Jennie Yang appeared on time, her trademark Yang Corporation smile intact, any trace of the earlier altercation gone. If Meng Jin hadn’t witnessed it himself, he wouldn’t have guessed she had just been through a violent questioning.
If it had been anyone else, they might have found some excuse to dismiss the police, perhaps going out to indulge in food and drink to soothe themselves, scolding their secretary and security to vent, or seeking a quiet place to drink alone.
Jennie Yang was no ordinary person. She seemed like a machine always in operation, hiding any surplus emotions and feelings—or perhaps she simply didn’t possess them.
Every encounter with her felt like there was a wall between them, even when they were face-to-face, just inches apart.
“Ms. Yang, do you know Lin Kun?” Meng Jin asked, staring at Jennie Yang’s face but feeling as if he was peering through a crack in a wall, his eyes aching but still unable to see clearly.
Jennie Yang appeared surprised. “If I’m not mistaken, you’ve asked this question before.”
“Yes. Police work can be tedious. We often have to ask the same question multiple times, even dozens of times,” Meng Jin said, “although usually in an interrogation room.”
“Captain Meng, are you suggesting I lied?” Jennie Yang’s tone was light, as if joking with a friend. “Well, I’ll answer again. I don’t know Lin Kun.”
Peering through a crack, eyes sore, heart weary. Meng Jin was ready to tear down the wall.
He signaled Zhao Yunzhi, who took a document from a folder and handed it to Meng Jin. Meng Jin slapped it in front of Jennie Yang.
“Ms. Yang, there was a drop of blood on Lin Kun’s body that, after testing, matched your DNA exactly. How do you explain this? How could your blood appear on the body of a man you claim not to know?” Meng Jin’s question was tinged with sarcasm; he was tired of Jennie Yang’s pretentious politeness, and he wanted to break through the façade.
Jennie Yang took the report, glanced at it, her pupils contracting slightly as she calmly responded, “Captain Meng, I haven’t lied to you. I truly don’t know Lin Kun, but my husband did. As for why my blood was found on his corpse, I have no idea.”
Meng Jin scoffed, “Earlier, you said you didn’t know Lin Kun at all. Now you’re saying Liu Tianshi knew him. Ms. Yang, stop beating around the bush, or we’ll have to suspect you’re directly involved in the deaths of Lin Kun and Liu Tianshi. Tell us everything you know. How did Liu Tianshi know Lin Kun? What was their relationship? What happened in the United States?”
“Captain Meng, the Lin Kun case isn’t even in your jurisdiction, is it? If you want to conduct an international investigation, please apply through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I have nothing to say. As for my husband, I didn’t kill him, and I’m not afraid of your investigation. As a family member, I hope you find the murderer,” Jennie Yang spoke calmly but her tone had cooled noticeably.
“If you really hope for the murderer to be brought to justice, you should disclose what you know, not play dumb with us. Ms. Yang, what exactly are you trying to hide?”
“Out of respect for my late husband’s privacy, I must decline to comment. I understand him; he would not want to be associated with a scandal in another world. Moreover, I promised him I’d keep his secrets forever. As for what you investigate and find, I have no influence. Regardless, I will honor my promise to him, even in death.”
Jennie Yang’s demeanor was soft yet assertive, showing for the first time in front of the police the assertiveness of a listed company’s CEO.
She was beautiful and charming, her social status at the pinnacle of society bestowed upon her an untouchable aura, both gentle and firm, exuding a unique charm.
King of the Women’s Country. Meng Jin’s mind conjured the dazzling presence of the King from the Women’s Country in “Journey to the West.”
