"You said that Ye Junwen threatened you to do this, but the money you used to bribe the driver all came from Ye Junwen's card, so it would all be traced back to him anyway. What's the point of him threatening you?"
This question from the policeman hit a blind spot for Xiao Jianren, and she was at a loss for words, stammering, unsure of how to respond.
"I, I... maybe, maybe he's not all there in the head..."
Policeman: ...
They didn't have the time or patience to watch Xiao Jianren's performance. Seriously, he said, "Xiao Jianren! This is a very serious criminal case. It's best that you answer our questions truthfully. Confess and you'll be dealt with leniently, resist and you'll be dealt with harshly. Evading the questions won't change the fact that you committed a crime!"
Xiao Jianren was almost in tears. She didn't want to go to jail. She was thinking that if she had to go to jail for this, she might as well have just taken the other option Xiao Wenyao had arranged for her. At least then she would still have a chance to return to the Xiao family afterwards.
But now she had severed ties with the Xiao family, and they surely wouldn't take her in. If she got out, not only would she have no money, she might even end up homeless on the streets!
No, she couldn't admit to this. If she did, her life would be ruined forever!
Xiao Jianren shook her head frantically, "I don't know, I don't know, I've been framed. It was all Ye Junwen who threatened me to do this. He wants to take control of the Ye Group, so he forced me to find someone to kill Ye Jinchen. I don't know anything else!"
Seeing Xiao Jianren in such a distressed state, just repeatedly saying "he forced me to do it", the policeman could only temporarily take her away and show Policeman Shi the just-recorded statement.
After briefly reviewing the information, Policeman Shi roughly understood the situation. He quietly said, "Check the call records of all phone numbers registered to Xiao Jianren and Ye Junwen in the past month, see who they've been in contact with. Also check if there have been any conflicts between Xiao Jianren and Ye Jinchen or the Ye family."
"Right away, sir."
After the junior officer left, Policeman Shi went into an interrogation room and apologetically nodded to the person inside.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Ye."
Ye Junwen pushed up the bridge of his gold-rimmed glasses and smiled gently. "No problem, Officer Shi."
Shi sat down across from him, flipped through the file in his hand, and casually began, "We've arrested Xiao Jianren. Your Hai City Bank card was found in her possession, and it's been confirmed that she bribed the oil tanker driver."
Ye Junwen looked utterly shocked, unable to believe it. "Officer Shi, you're not lying to me, are you? Xiao Jianren really did this? But how could my card have ended up with her?"
"Mr. Ye, when was the last time you used this card, and when was the last time you saw Xiao Jianren?"
Ye Junwen thought for a moment. "The last time I saw her was the day she was kicked out of the Xiao family and came to me for help. That day, I took her to a hotel. The environment wasn't great, so I went into the room with her to check that everything was safe.
Then I used WeChat to transfer 100,000 yuan to her right there, and also gave her some cash.
Oh yeah, my WeChat is only linked to that Hai City Bank card, and that was the last time I used money from that account. Usually I just use the secondary card my father gave me."
"As for when I lost that card, I don't know. When did Xiao Jianren take it?"
Ye Junwen grabbed his hair, seemingly going crazy trying to figure out what happened.
Suddenly, he thought of something and looked up, quickly speaking to Policeman Shi. "Yes, yes, yes, I remember a detail. Before leaving the hotel that day, I used the bathroom. I think I just left my wallet and phone on the TV stand."
"When I came out of the bathroom, Xiao Jianren was standing by the TV stand. I didn't think much of it at the time, but now, is it possible... that's when my card was taken?"
Policeman Shi didn't say anything, his deep gaze fixed steadily on Ye Junwen, as if trying to see through to his innermost thoughts.
But Ye Junwen was unafraid, returning the policeman's stare with eyes full of shock, disappointment, and hatred.
"Why would she do this? I helped her so sincerely, and she used my money to harm my family! Officer Shi, Jinchen was injured so seriously, his life was even in danger. You have to find the truth, you have to help us get justice!"
Shi couldn't quite tell if Ye Junwen's emotions were genuine or put on, so he could only nod.
"Don't worry, we won't wrongly accuse an innocent person, and we won't let a guilty one go free. Anyone who breaks the law will face the consequences."
Just then, the door to the interrogation room was knocked. Apologizing to Ye Junwen, Policeman Shi went out.
"Inspector, this is the call record I just found for Xiao Jianren and Ye Junwen."
Shi took the file and looked it over, his brow furrowed.
On the nights of December 24th and 25th, Xiao Jianren and Ye Junwen had phone conversations. The one on the 25th was the call where Xiao Jianren had reached out to Ye Junwen for help.
After that, Ye Junwen's calls were all to colleagues and clients, with no further contact with Xiao Jianren. Meanwhile, all of Xiao Jianren's subsequent calls were from someone named Zhen Kechuan, and the addresses associated with that number were virtual locations.
Zhen Kechuan was a notorious, wanted thief on record, skilled at disguise and able to steal valuable items worth millions or even billions from high-end venues without a trace. He was known as the "super thief".
Policeman Shi didn't expect that the elusive super thief might be connected to this premeditated hit-and-run case. It seemed this case was more complicated than it appeared.
But based on the current evidence, there was nothing that could prove Ye Junwen's involvement in the case. For now, they could only let him go.
As Ye Junwen left the police station, a gloomy and sorrowful expression was etched on his face, but in his heart, he already understood the full development of the situation.
That's right, when Ye Junwen gave Xiao Jianren the order, whether by phone or text, he had used Zhen Kechuan's number and a virtual address. No matter how the police investigated, they wouldn't be able to trace it back to him.
Even if Xiao Jianren knew the voice on the other end was his, without evidence, who would believe her?
Now he had hidden that card well. It was the only way he could contact Zhen Kechuan.
