No One Is Innocent

"How could she do this? How dare she do this? How could she be like this?" Zhao Han sprang to her feet, nearly knocking over the small bowl of soup in front of her.

Xu Yunshuang, beside her, reacted quickly and reached out to steady the bowl and plate, preventing the soup from spilling.

"What are you getting so worked up for?" Wu Shanshan tapped the table. "Sit down, eat properly, and stop wasting our time."

Zhao Han sat back down unhappily. On the way here, she had thought she had witnessed a scene of genuine human affection. Yet only a few hours later, her face had been thoroughly slapped.

"Shan Shan, don't be so harsh with her. Teacher Wenren is right—innocence is a wonderful quality," Xu Yunshuang said, seemingly unsurprised, soothing them both. "The fact that Zhao Han can't understand just proves she's a good girl."

"Hmph. She just hasn't been tainted yet. I'll be impressed if she can still react like this in a few years," Wu Shanshan said disdainfully.

"Enough. Whatever it is, talk about it after we eat. Don't waste a table full of good food." Wenren Sheng continued on to the next steamed dumpling.

Zhao Han looked at the delicious spread before her, but she had lost her appetite.

She felt rather wronged. She had no idea why Wu Shanshan kept targeting her today.

They had only just started interacting at close range. She had only recently transferred in and had not even been here for many days; she had not yet recognized all the trainees.

Could it be that Wu Shanshan had noticed her interest in getting close to Wenren Sheng? But her possessiveness was a bit excessive.

And Xu Yunshuang seemed to have a very good relationship with Wenren Sheng too. There was also that woman named Xiao Qing. Her uncle had mentioned that she seemed to be from the R&D Center. Why wasn't Wu Shanshan targeting them?

So she was just picking on her because she was new?

Thinking this, Zhao Han said stubbornly, "Senior Wu, perhaps I am naive, but I truly can't understand why a wife could go buy a luxury car without a care in the world while her husband was still in custody. And why did she say all those touching things before? I suspect that his wife may also be under the influence of Alien Power. We should go back and deal with this immediately!"

"Why are you shouting?" Wu Shanshan stared at her coldly. "Do you need to tell us what to do? Wenren never makes mistakes. If you mortals can't understand what he does, then shut up and wait for the results!"

"Don't. Don't set up that kind of FLAG for me." Wenren Sheng waved his hand, hurriedly refusing that jinx. Then he set down his chopsticks and explained to Zhao Han, "Your reasoning is only natural. But according to what they said over the phone, his wife has already been placed under Inspector Liu's control and thoroughly examined. No influence from Alien Power was found."

"What?" Zhao Han's mind buzzed at the news. She simply could not believe it.

She would rather believe that Alien Power had twisted He Sancai's wife's heart and made her suddenly buy a luxury car than believe that this had been her own choice from the start.

Wu Shanshan did not look at her again. She merely picked up a pair of plastic gloves, slipped them over her jade-like hands, brutally tore apart the roast goose, pulled off a goose leg, and stuffed it into Wenren Sheng's mouth...

"Why explain so much to her? Let her investigate it herself," she said with some displeasure. "A little girl has to take a beating from society before she can grow up."

"Alright, Shan Shan. We went through that stage too." Xu Yunshuang soothed both sides, then took Zhao Han's hand. "Actually, this isn't impossible to understand. Do you remember the information Team Leader Hu gave us earlier?"

Zhao Han immediately pulled out her notebook from her upper pocket and flipped through the shorthand notes she had taken earlier.

"He Sancai could only put down a twenty-five percent down payment, and the rest needed a loan. His wife felt that doing so would lower her quality of life, so she opposed it and mocked him for being incapable and timid..."

She read her notes carefully.

"That's right. Do you remember what his wife shouted just before we left?" Xu Yunshuang guided her patiently.

"Yes. She said that she had mocked her husband only to spur him into striving again. She also said she would work hard with him and wait for him to come out," Zhao Han said softly.

All of it was clearly recorded in her notebook.

"Think carefully. If a wife genuinely wanted to work hard alongside her husband, would she refuse to lower her own quality of life and merely use harsh words to provoke him?" Xu Yunshuang spoke slowly.

Zhao Han finally understood, though she would rather not have figured it out.

Still, she said it aloud. "I understand now. Those last words were only meant to trick her husband into handing over the house down payment to her without worry. From beginning to end, she never intended to endure hardship and strive with him. She only wanted to shove life's burdens onto someone else and enjoy the fruits herself!"

"The average housing price in Dongshui City this year is over twenty thousand per square meter. For a hundred-square-meter home, a twenty-five percent down payment comes to just over five hundred thousand." Xu Yunshuang added another figure.

Zhao Han lowered her head and said nothing more. The others continued eating.

But she suddenly stood up. "I still want to go ask her right away what she really thinks."

"You?!" Wu Shanshan glared at her, while Wenren Sheng gave Xu Yunshuang a slight nod.

"Honestly, what am I supposed to do with you?" Xu Yunshuang reached out and pulled Zhao Han back into her seat. Her seemingly slender arm held a strength Zhao Han could not resist.

She put down her chopsticks, took out her phone, placed it on the tablecloth, opened an app, and showed it to Zhao Han.

Zhao Han instinctively looked over. It was a multifunctional app with a blue-black background called "Key of Secrets," somewhat similar to the commonly used QChat. Xu Yunshuang opened one of its windows and quickly typed on it.

"Inspector Liu, we'd like to watch the upcoming live interrogation of He Sancai's wife. Is that alright?"

"Miss Xu, of course. But leave these minor chores to us. We'll push the results to you as soon as we have them." A person with a raccoon avatar and the nickname "Inspector Liu Bear" replied.

"Oh, we have a new trainee here who wants to observe everyone's questioning techniques and learn from them."

"Miss Xu, you're too polite. It's just ordinary stuff. Alright, I'll start the livestream now. We'll question her in a moment."

Not long after, Zhao Han saw the app screen change. A black screen appeared, followed by a plain white room.

Inspector Liu and a female inspector were inside, seated side by side behind a table.

Not far in front of the table sat a woman in her thirties. She was somewhat attractive, wore light makeup and an elegant outfit, and had a fairly good figure.

Earlier, after hearing the woman's loud, vigorous shouting, Zhao Han had assumed she was a burly middle-aged auntie in her forties. That was clearly not the case at all.

The woman was not under any restraints, so it appeared that the situation was not serious.

At first, the questioning proceeded routinely—name, age, social connections, and so on. Soon, they reached the matter Zhao Han cared about.

Inspector Liu asked in a businesslike tone, "Wang Qingyue, when you met with your husband He Sancai earlier, you said you would hire the best lawyer for him. Why did you turn around and immediately use the bank card and password he gave you to buy a BMW 5 Series at an XX dealership?"

"Inspector, I haven't violated any laws or regulations by doing that, have I?" Wang Qingyue drew her legs together and asked in return.

"No. This is joint property between you and your husband, and any disputes arising from it are to be resolved through negotiation between the two of you. However, the question concerns an incident we are investigating. Please fulfill your obligation and cooperate with us voluntarily," Inspector Liu said flatly.

Wang Qingyue seemed greatly relieved at that. She immediately leaned back in her chair and said readily, "That He Sancai is no good at all. He went offline to meet a female internet friend who needed his help. Did he think I didn't know? Later, that slut from the news was killed by her own husband, and He Sancai acted as though his own wife had died. He was in a daze for days. How am I supposed to rely on him for the rest of my life?"

"Since this happened to him, I took the money back and bought a nice car. Consider it compensation for the years of my youth. Once he's sentenced, I'll file for divorce and finally let out this resentment. I followed him thinking I could live a good life, but he's already thirty-three and still can't even buy a house outright. What a useless coward. Back when he was pursuing me, quite a few of the other men are bosses now."

As Wang Qingyue spoke, her face carried both hatred and a trace of pleasure.

"Oh, right, Inspector. How many years will he get in his situation? The more the better. That way he won't come out and pester me." She lowered her voice and asked.

Inspector Liu shook his head. "You don't need to ask about that. Come sign these papers. Once you've signed, you can leave. But remember not to leave the city. You may be summoned again later. We'll notify you when you are free to leave."

As he spoke, he pushed several sheets of A4 paper on the table toward her.

"Thank you, Inspector." Wang Qingyue hurriedly stood up and went forward to sign them.

The livestream ended shortly afterward. After watching it, Zhao Han sat blankly behind the dining table.

"The adult world is so dark... I want to go back to the two-dimensional world."

She muttered to herself, feeling as though her emotions had ridden a roller coaster in such a short time, rising and falling again and again.

In the end, no one had been completely innocent. That was the truth. Her Alien Power could see through many things, but it alone could not see through the human heart...

Xu Yunshuang reached out and stroked her head, comforting her. "Don't be afraid. As long as you keep your eyes open, view this world rationally, and believe in the things truly worth believing in, you'll walk your path well."

Hearing this, Zhao Han instinctively rested her head against Xu Yunshuang's chest, seeking comfort, completely unaware that she had only known the other woman for a single day as well.