“Money… what money?” Cai Wan’s voice trembled slightly.
“When your father fled, he took three hundred thousand yuan with him,” Gong Yingxian said expressionlessly. “He said I should ask you about the rest.”
“Impossible!” Cai Wan said agitatedly. “He couldn’t have said that.”
Ren Yi raised an eyebrow.
Gong Yingxian pretended to flip through his notebook. “That’s exactly what he said. He told me to ask you where the rest of the money is.”
Cai Wan lowered her head and slowly wiped away her tears.
Gong Yingxian waited for a long time before tapping the table. “Raise your head. Answer the question.”
Only then did Cai Wan raise her head. Sniffling, she looked as though she were about to cry again. “I don’t know what he means. I don’t know anything about any remaining money. He wanted to burn Brother Zhen to death and make it look like an accident. He took all of Brother Zhen’s money.”
“Only three hundred thousand?” Gong Yingxian said. “The new type of drug you were using had only just come onto the market, and it required three different drug-making ingredients to mix together. I’ve heard that this is a very extravagant way of using it—not something just anyone can get their hands on. At the same time, Tao Zhen spent more than thirty thousand yuan at Fourth Perspective in just half a night. Are you saying that’s all the money he had?”
“How would I know? He was always very generous with money. I knew he had money, but I didn’t know how much.” Cai Wan answered quickly.
“Cai Wan, we’re going to conduct a more thorough investigation and interrogation of your father. If his testimony differs from yours, neither of you will get away with it.”
Cai Wan took a deep breath. For the first time, she looked directly at Gong Yingxian, her pupils bloodshot.
“I lied at first because… you—you have a father too, don’t you? You can understand me, right?”
Ren Yi secretly glanced at Gong Yingxian. He had just learned about Gong Yingxian’s childhood from Gong Feilan. Although Cai Wan had said it without any malicious intent, those words would undoubtedly be painful for Gong Yingxian to hear.
Yet there was not the slightest change in Gong Yingxian’s expression. He simply stared straight at Cai Wan.
“But now you know everything, and my father has been arrested. Everything I’m saying now is true.” Cai Wan cried. “He lost a lot of money gambling and owed loan sharks. I really didn’t expect him to do something like this.”
“You really knew nothing about it?”
Cai Wan shook her head vigorously.
“You were the one who told him you were at Fourth Perspective, weren’t you?”
“Yes, but I didn’t know he was going to do something like that.”
“Then how did he get Tao Zhen’s money?”
“I lived in the apartment Tao Zhen rented for a while. He came looking for me there.”
Ren Yi could not hold himself back any longer. He said coldly, “So you knew nothing about anything, yet by coincidence, you provided Cai Zhiwei with every condition he needed to do all of this.”
Cai Wan trembled as she glanced at Ren Yi, then suddenly began crying even harder.
“I don’t know! I didn’t start the fire. I really don’t know!”
As she cried, she suddenly began scratching herself violently and pulling at her hair for no apparent reason. She screamed and shouted like a madwoman, startling both men.
The withdrawal reaction had come far too suddenly. No matter how they looked at it, it seemed staged.
Gong Yingxian and Ren Yi exchanged a glance, then both stood up and left the interrogation room.
The two of them leaned against the hallway wall, both somewhat dazed.
Ren Yi said quietly, “I really want a cigarette right now.”
“You smoke?”
“I smoked when I was in school. I quit after joining the station.” Ren Yi licked his lips. “I just want something to calm me down.”
“Why?”
“Why?” Ren Yi glared at Gong Yingxian and pointed toward the interrogation-room door, his voice becoming agitated. “You’re asking me why? That woman is very likely an accomplice. She’s played us for this long. First it was a cigarette setting the curtains on fire, then she accidentally knocked over an alcohol lamp, then it was a stranger, then it was Tao Zhen, and finally it was her own father. No matter what, she’s the innocent one! As the only survivor in that private room, she’s the person who knows best what happened. Yet every single thing she says could be a lie.”
Gong Yingxian said in a low voice, “Yes. And the worst part is, if Cai Zhiwei doesn’t implicate her, we currently have no evidence proving that she committed any crime other than drug use.”
“So you’re still asking me why.” Ren Yi swore. “Use your instincts and tell me—do you think she’s an accomplice?”
“The law doesn’t believe in instincts. Maybe she is an accomplice, maybe she isn’t. Unless we find evidence, otherwise…”
“Then find it! We have to be able to find evidence. Whether she’s an accomplice or not, the victims’ families deserve to know the truth.”
Gong Yingxian wearily rubbed his brow and nodded. “I’ll keep investigating.”
Ren Yi sighed. “At least we’ve identified the real culprit now. A month’s worth of work wasn’t for nothing.”
“You should go back.” Gong Yingxian looked at Ren Yi.
“If there’s any progress, will you let me know?” Ren Yi looked back at him. “Tell me immediately. If you promise me, I’ll leave.”
“Okay.”
Ren Yi continued looking at Gong Yingxian. He took several steps backward, then suddenly stopped.
“Get some more sleep. Your health is the foundation of everything.”
Gong Yingxian was slightly stunned.
Ren Yi waved a hand and turned away.
Gong Yingxian watched his back until he disappeared around the corner of the hallway.
On the first day of school, Phoenix Station received an emergency call from students. However, the emergency was not at the school, and the students had not called 119. Instead, they had run directly into the station, saying that a young child had been locked inside a car by the roadside.
After the beginning of autumn, the temperature was not as brutally hot as it had been in summer, but it was still hot. Inside a sealed car, the temperature could easily reach forty or fifty degrees Celsius. Forget a child—even an adult would not be able to withstand it.
So they brought out the lightest tool in the station’s history and responded to the closest call in the station’s history—carrying a window breaker across the street.
Two teenage boys pointed at a black sedan.
“Uncle, that’s the one. We saw it when we were walking past just now.”
Ren Yi leaned against the car window and looked inside. Sure enough, there was a child in a rear-facing infant seat, probably one or two years old, biting her hand and crying.
“Did you leave a phone number or something?” Sun Dingyi walked around to the front of the car.
“Forget the phone number.” Ren Yi turned to Ding Qing. “You distract her.”
Ding Qing lightly tapped on the window and made funny faces, getting the child’s attention and making her turn her face toward him.
Ren Yi went around to the other side, pressed the window breaker against one corner of the glass, and pulled the trigger.
With a sharp snap, the glass shattered.
Ren Yi reached inside and opened the door. He had just started to pick up the child when a furious shout came from behind him.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
Ren Yi turned his head and saw a man rushing toward them.
“What are you doing?!”
“Is this your car?” Ren Yi’s brows knitted tightly. “Is this your child?”
“Of course she’s mine!” The man shoved Ren Yi aside and angrily stared at the shattered window.
“In this weather, you left a baby inside a sealed car?” Ren Yi gritted his teeth and demanded sternly. “Who are you to the child?”
“She is my daughter!” the man snapped angrily. “I just went to the bathroom. Five minutes, that’s all. Who the hell are you? Who gave you the right to meddle in our business?”
The two students exchanged glances and nervously looked at Ren Yi.
Sun Dingyi pointed toward the station across the street. “We’re firefighters, sir. You’ve done something extremely foolish and dangerous. It could easily have resulted in—”
“Cut the bullshit!” the man shouted. “I just went to the bathroom! Do you seriously care about my daughter more than I do?! Look at my car! This car is expensive! Are you going to pay for the window? Is the fire department going to pay for it?”
Ren Yi suppressed his anger. “We were rescuing your daughter. You’re the one who acted irresponsibly and put your child in danger. If you’re going to leave her in the car, at the very least, you need to leave a window cracked open.”
“I told you, I only went to the bathroom. What could happen in a few minutes? Is there anything wrong with my daughter? Huh?”
The man grabbed Ren Yi.
“Look for yourself. She’s perfectly fine. What about my car window? What are you going to do about it?”
Sun Dingyi walked over and glared fiercely at the man.
“Let go of our captain.”
“Oh, you’re the captain, huh? Who are you trying to scare? You broke my window just to make yourselves look useful, is that it? What are you going to do about my window? Damaging someone else’s property means you have to pay compensation. If you don’t pay, I’ll call the police!”
Ren Yi shook off his hand and looked down at him.
“Go ahead and call the police. Follow the proper procedure. Whoever is responsible will pay.”
The man’s face turned bright red with anger.
“I’ll call them! I’ll file a complaint against you! I’ll sue you!”
Ren Yi turned and walked away. When he passed the two students, he stopped.
The two boys looked at him guiltily, as though they had done something wrong.
Ren Yi said softly, “You did a very good thing. If you ever see someone who needs help again, do the same thing. Understand?”
The two boys nodded vigorously.
After returning to the station, Sun Dingyi cursed furiously and complained for quite some time.
Ren Yi was furious too. He knew that if this matter reached the police and was then transferred from the police to the fire department, he would inevitably have to write a self-criticism and receive disciplinary action. But for the moment, he simply could not swallow his anger.
He planned to give Qu Yangbo a heads-up first. After all, these kinds of matters would ultimately be handled by Qu Yangbo anyway. He had just picked up the phone when it rang.
Gong Yingxian’s name was prominently displayed on the screen.
Ren Yi’s heart gave a violent jolt.
A week had passed since the last time they had interrogated Cai Wan at the substation. What was this call going to tell him? Could it be good news?
Somewhat nervously, he answered.
“Hello?”
“Captain Ren, the bar fire case is about to be closed.” Gong Yingxian got straight to the point. His voice was low, even somewhat heavy.
“What? So soon?” Ren Yi asked in surprise. “How did the investigation go? Cai Wan, and what about that money?”
“Cai Zhiwei insists that he did everything himself. Apart from the three hundred thousand, we haven’t been able to find any other money.”
Ren Yi was stunned.
“You mean there’s no evidence proving that Cai Wan was an accomplice?”
“No.” Gong Yingxian spoke slowly. “There are minor discrepancies between their statements, but they’re not enough to implicate Cai Wan. As long as neither of them admits it, there’s… nothing we can do.”
“Nothing we can do?” Ren Yi’s anger surged straight into his chest. “That woman may very well be one of the people responsible for killing twenty-nine people, and you’re just going to let her go?”
“The higher-ups are pressing us to close this case. We have no leads on Cai Wan, while the evidence against Cai Zhiwei is conclusive. Under these circumstances, the station has made the appropriate decision and transferred the case to the procuratorate.” Gong Yingxian let out a long breath. “The case is closed.”
“Closed? Just like that?” Ren Yi snapped angrily. “You’re going to hand over the case just because you’ve caught Cai Zhiwei? If Cai Wan is also an accomplice and you let her walk free, what about all those victims…”
“There is nothing I can do.” Gong Yingxian’s voice became heavier. “We have procedures, orders, and laws. Without evidence, you can’t rely on instinct and speculation to accuse someone falsely.”
His voice carried both frustration and anger.
Ren Yi’s entire body stiffened, and his scalp prickled.
He could not explain what he was feeling at that moment.
That’s right. They could not falsely accuse someone based on instinct. But what if—just what if—Cai Wan really was an accomplice?
Were they really going to let her escape legal punishment like this?
But what else could they do?
Ren Yi suddenly felt completely powerless. He could not bring himself to say another word, and silently hung up the phone.
At that moment, Qu Yangbo knocked on the doorframe and leaned against it, quietly looking at him.
Ren Yi looked back at him, his expression extremely grim.
Qu Yangbo said, “Sun Dingyi told me what happened. I’ll handle this. You’re not in a good emotional state right now, so you’re not fit to command. There’s no point in staying here either. Why don’t you go home for a while?”
Ren Yi nodded. He walked over to Qu Yangbo and squeezed his shoulder.
“Thanks for handling it.”
Qu Yangbo comforted him. “We’re brothers. No need to be polite.”
Ren Yi went straight downstairs and headed home. Qu Yangbo was right. A commander could not go into the field while being driven by emotion. He needed to calm down.
When he got home, Auntie Wang had just finished preparing dinner. She looked surprised.
“Oh, Captain Ren, why are you suddenly home? You didn’t even call. I didn’t make any food for you.”
“It’s okay, Auntie. I’m not hungry.”
“Wait. I’ll make a couple more dishes.”
Ren Xiangrong was watching television. He glanced at him.
“Why did you suddenly come home?”
“I’ve been busy lately. Since I had some free time, I hurried home to see you.” Ren Yi smiled faintly at Ren Xiangrong.
Every time he stepped through this door, it was almost like tossing a coin. He never knew whether he would encounter a normal father or a sick one.
Fortunately, today his father was normal.
Ren Xiangrong seemed to notice something.
“What is it? Something happened at the station?”
“Just trivial things. Nothing major. Yangbo is handling it.”
“Oh. How’s Xiao Qu doing lately?”
“Pretty well.”
“That kid Xiao Qu is really something. Smart, and good at dealing with people. Just like his father. He’ll definitely go far in the future.”
“Yeah.”
Ren Yi sat beside Ren Xiangrong. Just exchanging a few casual words like this slowly calmed his mind.
That was the power of home.
The three of them enjoyed a warm, harmonious dinner together. Afterward, Auntie Wang went to clean up while Ren Xiangrong and Ren Yi continued talking about things at the station.
Several times, Ren Yi felt an urge to confide in his father—the frustration, the anger, the confusion, the resentment. He had no one else he could talk to about it.
But he held back.
After all, he was already an adult.
Yet Ren Xiangrong noticed.
“Ren Yi, what’s wrong with you today? Did something happen?”
“Really, nothing.” Ren Yi smiled. “I’ve just been writing reports all day. My head hurts from it.”
“Oh, I don’t like writing reports either. But you’re an officer now. It’s part of the job.” Ren Xiangrong smiled. “You should be satisfied. You can use computers to write reports now. Back in our day, everything had to be handwritten. I’d rather train all day than spend an entire day writing reports.”
“Me too. It’s a pain.”
“Hey, let me show you some of the reports I wrote back then.” Ren Xiangrong pointed toward the TV cabinet. “Take those paper boxes out.”
“Okay. Your treasures.”
Ren Yi walked over and opened the TV cabinet. Inside were several old shoeboxes.
“Which ones?”
Ren Xiangrong said, “I don’t remember. Bring them all over.”
Ren Yi carried the shoeboxes over and placed them on the coffee table.
Ren Xiangrong opened one of the lids. Inside was a box full of old documents, yellowed with age. He picked up the top one.
“Look. The format back then was a little different from what you use now. These are all copies or drafts. The originals were archived at the fire department. Later, everything became electronic.”
Ren Yi picked it up and looked at it, then snickered.
“Dad, your handwriting is awful. Who can even read this?”
“What do you mean, who can read it?” Ren Xiangrong rolled his eyes. “One of my reports was even used as an example back then for all the different stations to study.”
“That was after you became a battalion commander, right?”
Ren Xiangrong laughed and cursed at him.
“Get lost.”
Ren Yi opened another shoebox.
“I remember there are photo albums in here too.”
When he opened the third box, there really were several thick photo albums inside.
“Yeah. You used to look through them when you were little.” Ren Xiangrong picked up one album and casually flipped through it. “This photo… Ah, what year was this taken?”
Ren Yi glanced over. It was a photograph of Ren Xiangrong leaning against a fire truck. He looked as though he might even have been younger than Ren Yi was now.
Ren Yi picked up another album and slowly flipped through it. He had seen some of the photographs when he was little, while others he had no memory of.
When he reached the final page, he found that what was tucked between the plastic sheets was not a developed photograph, but a black-and-white photograph cut out of a newspaper.
The picture showed a firefighter covered in dirt, holding a child in his arms. Neither of them was looking at the camera. It was clearly a candid shot. The child’s half-profile rested against the firefighter’s filthy turnout gear, creating a scene that was deeply moving.
“Dad, that’s you, isn’t it?”
“This…” Ren Xiangrong took the photograph and examined it carefully before nodding. “Yes. I remember now.”
“What accident was this? Who reported it? I don’t remember seeing it.”
“You were boarding at school when you were in middle school, so you probably didn’t know about it.” Ren Xiangrong sighed. “That accident… it was truly horrible.”
“What happened?”
Ren Yi looked at the photograph again. Because of the angle, lighting, and the age of the newspaper, the child’s features were not very clear, but it was still obvious that he was an adorable child.
“The boy was very young, six or seven years old, I think. He was especially good-looking, and his family was very wealthy. They had a huge villa, and the whole thing burned down. It was tragic.” Ren Xiangrong shook his head.
Ren Yi sighed. “Poor kid.”
“Later, we found out that the fire had been started by the man of the house.”
“What?” Ren Yi asked in surprise. “His father started the fire?”
Ren Xiangrong nodded.
“Why?!”
“His father was the chairman of the group that owned Baosheng Chemical Plant. After the chemical plant explosion, he was under investigation for a long time, and the group was also facing bankruptcy. At the time, he was out on bail. Apparently, he couldn’t withstand the pressure and committed suicide.”
Ren Yi stared blankly at the photograph.
Just then, his phone suddenly chimed.
It was a new message from Gong Yingxian.
Ren Yi opened it.
There were only two simple words:
Thank you.
Gong Yingxian’s handsome yet cold face immediately appeared in Ren Yi’s mind. But he knew that there was not actually nothing going on inside that man’s heart.
The case had ended in such a way that even Ren Yi felt frustrated and furious. How could Gong Yingxian, who had personally investigated it, possibly be satisfied?
Ren Yi suddenly regretted getting angry at Gong Yingxian.
“You were still young back then, so you probably didn’t pay much attention to it. Everyone from our generation knew about it. It was national news.” Ren Xiangrong continued talking. “The man’s name was Gong Mingyu, I think. So many people died in the chemical plant explosion. Anyone would have a hard time dealing with such a blow. But the child was innocent.”
Ren Yi’s attention remained on the text message. The information occasionally reaching his ears suddenly made his entire body stiffen.
“What…?”
“Huh?”
“What was that man’s name?”
“Gong Mingyu? I think that’s the name. At any rate, I’m sure about the surname. It’s a fairly distinctive surname.”
Ren Yi suddenly felt cold all over.
His voice trembled.
“Which… Gong?”
“Gong as in palace.”