Inquiry

The young officer locked under Lu Chengze's gaze had the veins at his temple twitch suspiciously. He did not dare look at Lu Chengze and continued looking at Bai Jin.

It was not that he was cowardly. He was simply handling official business and could not afford to be distracted.

Seeing Bai Jin's hesitant expression, the young officer braved Lu Chengze's freezing gaze. "Young Master Bai, please tell us the truth. You're able to sit here and answer our questions because Captain Lu vouched for you, but if..."

"This man brought two people tonight and blocked me on a path in my residential community."

Bai Jin nervously twisted his fingers, his face full of unease. "They said Li Yue, a member of our research team, paid them thirty thousand yuan to teach me a lesson."

Before the young officers across from them could continue, Lu Chengze could no longer sit still. He grabbed Bai Jin and turned him this way and that, checking him over. "What? That happened? Baby, why didn't you tell me?"

Bai Jin was turned back and forth by Lu Chengze. "I'm fine. I even beat them up. Then... then I threatened them into giving Li Yue a lesson instead. After they did it, I'd give them th-thirty yuan..."

By the end, Bai Jin's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

Lu Chengze: "..."

The young officers: "..."

Bai Jin looked at Lu Chengze helplessly. "Did I..."

Lu Chengze pulled Bai Jin back down into his seat. "It's fine. You did the right thing."

The young officers: "..."

No, did you hear what you just said?

Is that how you spoil your wife?

No, that was not the point.

"Young Master Bai, you said you met this man tonight and even had a physical altercation with him?"

Bai Jin: "Yes."

The young officer picked up his pen, ready to take notes. "Then please tell us the specific details of what happened."

So Bai Jin gave them a detailed account of everything that had happened when he encountered the three thugs.

When they heard that Bai Jin had fought three thugs alone, even managed to turn the tables, and had used their own methods against them to scare the three thugs into going after Li Yue, no one could hold back their laughter.

Bai Jin's face turned bright red from being laughed at, and he wanted nothing more than to burrow his head into Lu Chengze's chest.

Lu Chengze rubbed Bai Jin's head. "You did very well."

Then he looked at the clueless young officers who were still laughing. "Is it that funny?"

The young officers hurriedly stifled their laughter. "Ahem! Sorry, we've received professional training. Normally, we don't break character."

"Unless we can't hold it in."

This had not been a serious interrogation to begin with, and the young officers finally revealed their true nature. "I'm telling you, Fifth Master Lu, your little one is just too amusing."

Lu Chengze glared at them irritably. "Then why were you scaring him like that? He's timid. Restrain yourselves a little."

"Fine, fine, fine." They knew that if they did not rein it in, Lu Chengze would lose his temper.

Only then did the young officers clear their throats and put on kindly expressions. "Young Master Bai, let's continue. Just answer truthfully. Chengze already took responsibility for this matter."

After learning that Lu Chengze had actually bent the law for personal reasons in public, they had been so curious that they came to wait at the police station, wanting to see what kind of charm this Bai Jin possessed.

Lu Chengze's exact words at the time had been: "If there's anything, ask me. Bai Jin is just a simple, timid kid. If you really need to see him, I'll have someone bring him here. Going to find him yourselves would scare him..."

Yet after Bai Jin arrived, they saw Lu Chengze acting like a lovesick scholar bewitched by a demon, with only Bai Jin in his eyes and heart.

Tsk!

Was this really their elegant, aloof, and unapproachable crown prince of the capital?

Besides, if they said Bai Jin was smart, beautiful, and well-behaved, they all agreed.

But simple? Timid?

Wasn't that filter a little too thick?

Bai Jin, simple? Could someone simple stay calm and fight back after being cornered by three grown men?

Timid? Could someone timid look at photos of corpses without even blinking?

One had to know that when ordinary people saw photos of victims at a crime scene, no matter how ordinary the photos looked, their eyes would change.

But Bai Jin had not even blinked when he saw those photos earlier.

That showed he had strong psychological resilience.

But Lu Chengze firmly believed Bai Jin was simple. Besides, the police had indeed investigated Bai Jin's whereabouts before and after the deaths of Li Yue and the three thugs. He had never left Eight-Star Residential Community, so he truly had neither motive nor opportunity to commit the crime.

Moreover, Bai Jin had only had verbal disputes and grudges with the four victims. He was not a suspect in this case.

Otherwise, it would not have been just the few of them questioning him.

The questioning that followed was very gentle. Just as Lu Chengze had warned, they were all extremely restrained.

"...All right, that concludes tonight's questioning. Thank you for your cooperation, Young Master Bai." Closing his notebook, the young officers stood and smiled as they extended their hands to Bai Jin.

Bai Jin stood as well and shook hands with each of them. "Of course."

Yeah, right.

Did they think he understood nothing?

If they did not suspect him, why were the people questioning him not ordinary officers from this police station?

Why were they from the National Security Bureau?

Although they and Lu Chengze had not revealed from beginning to end what the deaths of Li Yue and the three thugs involved, for people from the National Security Bureau to be alerted in the middle of the night, there was likely another hidden truth behind their deaths.

The words National Security Bureau themselves carried an air of mystery.

That was also why, after seeing the insignia on the shoulders of these young officers the moment he entered the meeting room, Bai Jin had stayed by Lu Chengze's side the entire time and had not dared reveal the slightest flaw.

Especially that one sentence hidden amid their ordinary questions: "Some people always reveal their true nature when they least expect it."

Bai Jin could not help feeling that they had deliberately been hinting at him.

Because there were blank spaces in his file that could not withstand investigation.

But he truly bore no traces of a crime. So even if they suspected him, out of respect for Lu Chengze, all they could do was suspect him.

Otherwise, the National Security Bureau was different from ordinary police stations. The police might first look for evidence when they suspected someone, but if officers from the National Security Bureau suspected someone, they could detain them without conditions.

"Nothing else, right?" Lu Chengze stood, his tall body discreetly blocking the probing gazes of the others. "If not, I'll take the little one home first. He's still growing and can't have his rest affected."

Bai Jin's brow twitched. He subconsciously looked at his and Lu Chengze's heights. He was 178 centimeters, while Lu Chengze was 192 centimeters... Fine. He was short, and Lu Chengze was tall.

But he was only eighteen. He could still shoot up a little more.

Maybe he would shoot up to 198 centimeters!

Lu Chengze did not notice Bai Jin's subtle measuring glance. Holding Bai Jin's hand, he led him away.

Once only the young officers remained in the meeting room, one of them asked, "So? Did you find anything?"

"He's very simple. On the surface."

"What about the other aspects?"

"Strong psychological resilience, and he handles situations well."

"More importantly, he seems to truly overlap with the direction we're investigating."

At that moment, a voice suddenly came from the phone lying face-down on the table. "Then keep someone watching him."