The room was so quiet that she could even hear the singing outside, surprisingly in Minnan dialect.
"I ride a white horse, pass through three passes, I change into plain clothes and return to the Central Plains..."
This scene, this song, this lyric, was a bit ridiculous.
Ji Feng sighed after pretending to be profound for a moment: "Blaming me is useless. I don't agree with Teacher Jian's approach either. But if you don't agree and I don't agree, will she stop?"
Kang Mu Cheng said: "You can stop her."
"On what grounds can I stop her?" Ji Feng retorted, "She's an adult who can take care of herself. Can I control her like I do my little sister?" Saying this, he inevitably felt a little regretful, "I can barely control my own sister."
Kang Mu Cheng was rendered speechless.
The logic was so simple that of course he understood, he was just upset because Jian Jing's life and death were unknown.
"Actually," Ji Feng went on, "I lied to her earlier, saying that if she dared to do this, I would tell on her to you. It was a bit shameless, but I don't mind being the bad guy if it helps get the job done."
"Why did you change your mind?" Kang Mu Cheng frowned. If it could guarantee her safety, he would gladly play the villain ten thousand times.
"Because you can definitely stop her." Ji Feng gave a wry smile. His reason was incomprehensible. "She has an accommodating attitude towards you, your relationship is there. If you push her, she'll give in, but that's not what she wants."
"In one's lifetime, there are always a few things that everyone says you can't do, but you insist on doing anyway." He said, "It's better that I agreed than not."
Kang Mu Cheng glanced at him and seized on the key point: "So even if you find her, for the sake of your plan, you won't rescue her right away?"
Ji Feng considered for a moment and cautiously said: "This depends on the specific situation before making a judgment."
"Saying this is the same as saying nothing." Kang Mu Cheng took a deep breath and barely maintained his calm. "Fine, I won't force you, but if we still can't find any trace of her, what do you plan to do?"
Ji Feng thought about it and said, "Based on my understanding of Teacher Jian, if the plan doesn't go smoothly, she will definitely find a way to contact us and restrain the target first."
Kang Mu Cheng was very perceptive: "How will she contact you? Did you agree on anything?"
"Nothing at all." Ji Feng confessed openly, "She just told me that when the time comes, I'll know naturally——Ha, she does have that flair for dramatic effect."
Kang Mu Cheng paid no attention to his joke and frowned in thought: "What about Jiang BaiYan?"
"Still at the police station." Ji Feng's expression was subtle, "His mouth is shut tight. I'm not sure if he knows something and just isn't saying, or if he only knows part of it."
Kang Mu Cheng asked: "Does he have any issues?"
"Double agent, who knows whose side he's really on." Ji Feng rubbed his temples, his brain was about to explode, "Anyway, you and I are on the third level this time, Teacher Jian is on the fifth level herself, and she must be good at writing scripts, right?"
Kang Mu Cheng said lightly: "Jian Jing doesn't like writing scripts."
Ji Feng: "......" Seemed quite eager just now.
--
Jiang BaiYan was waiting in the interrogation room, eating boiled eggs while flipping through the physical copy of Rose Gold. Ji Feng came in and handed him a thermos: "Your agent sent this over."
"Thank you." Jiang BaiYan opened the container. Inside were two large boxes of fitness meals, so he enthusiastically asked, "Do you want some?"
Ji Feng smiled and nodded: "Sure, thanks. I haven't had dinner yet."
Jiang BaiYan immediately handed over a box: "Don't stand on ceremony."
The two of them ate boxed meals face to face.
The food was exquisite, just a little small in portion. Ji Feng took a bite of the chicken and wondered if his taste buds were off - it looked pretty good but was so unpalatable.
"Fitness meals are all like this." Jiang BaiYan poked at a leaf of vegetables, lamenting life's bleakness, "Bear with it, close your eyes and it'll be over before you know it."
Ji Feng silently put down his fork: "It's not easy being a celebrity."
"It's even harder being a cop." Jiang BaiYan knew how to flatter people and immediately complimented, "Officer Ji has been working hard these past few days without proper rest, right?"
Ji Feng candidly admitted: "I'm very worried about Teacher Jian. But you seem quite calm about it?"
Jiang BaiYan said: "Of course I'm worried too."
"Doesn't look like it."
"I'm acting."
Ji Feng: "......" What an airtight response.
He moved on and went straight to the point: "Today is the fifth day since Teacher Jian went missing. For many kidnapping cases, the hostage would have already been killed by now."
Jiang BaiYan pursed his lips, not betraying anything: "I've told you guys everything I know."
He held up his fingers and earnestly counted off: "My 'betrayer script', what I know about the doctor, and the things I found out... I've said it all."
"But the situation is very bad now." In front of Kang Mu Cheng, Ji Feng was full of confidence, but in front of Jiang BaiYan he was all worried frowns again. "We need to confirm her safety."
Jiang BaiYan made a long face and said dolefully: "You're asking me, but I don't know either."
"Doesn't seem that way."
"I'm acting."
Ji Feng: "......" So frustratingly flawless.
He skipped over that and went straight to the point: "With the passage of time, hope diminishes more and more. We've had to pull back some of the deployed police forces too, there's another arson case, a series of molestation cases, two hit-and-run escapes, four homicide cases waiting for everyone to handle. To put it bluntly, quite a few people already think she's dead, and there's no need to spend so much effort."
Jiang BaiYan: "She won't die."
"Why are you so confident?" Ji Feng asked.
Jiang BaiYan looked innocent: "It's better to be confident than not."
Impervious to wheedling or probing, not leaking a drop, and a superb actor to boot.
Ji Feng was helpless. He told the blunt truth: "You need to think carefully, is her affection more important, or is her life more important?"
Jiang BaiYan was confused for a moment: "What does that mean?"
Ji Feng glanced at him and said slowly: "It's not that hard to guess, is it? You're a big celebrity, getting involved in this mess does you no good and only damages your reputation. You're still filming, this kind of trouble must be very inconvenient. There must be a reason why you still did it, and even dealt with a murderer——"
He tilted his head curiously: "So what is it?"
Jiang BaiYan made a funny expression and asked: "So what do you want to know?"
"I'm not interested in your secrets." Ji Feng lifted his eyelids, the whites of his eyes were bloodshot but his gaze was sharp and not like someone who had been sleepless for days. "I only ask if you really have a way to contact Jian Jing."
Jiang BaiYan thought for a moment and asked: "What makes you think I do?"
"You do." Ji Feng said evenly. "She needs a contact person."
Jiang BaiYan said: "It doesn't have to be me, though."
"It can't be Kang Mu Cheng because he would definitely prioritize her safety. It can't be me either." Ji Feng gently tapped his teeth, as if he had impacted wisdom teeth. "That only leaves you."
Jiang BaiYan tilted his head again but asked instead: "Why not you?"
Ji Feng: "Is this fun for you?"
"Just curious." He waved his hand very generously. "You don't have to say if you don't want to."
Unexpectedly, Ji Feng snorted derisively and directly said: "There's nothing that can't be said." He took out a lighter and lit a cigarette. The flickering sparks illuminated his face. "I have my principles and regulations to abide by. She doesn't want me to be put in a difficult position."
His eyes flashed with amusement: "Is that reason enough?"
"You're so sly." Jiang BaiYan complained.
"Not as scheming as you," Ji Feng insulted him lightly, then said: "Have you ever thought that because of your personal motivations, we may have missed the best chance to save her?"
"I'm an actor, I don't understand investigating cases." Jiang BaiYan smiled and said: "For actors, just following the script is enough."
Ji Feng rolled his eyes and got straight to the point: "Where is she?"
Jiang BaiYan unfastened the electronic watch on his wrist: "This is a tracker. As long as she activates it, it can display the location. But there has been no message so far, which is why I didn't mention it——and I can't just trust you either, right?"
The last two words were full of slyness.
Ji Feng was too lazy to argue with him. He picked up his watch and weighed it in his hand: “Just this thing? It might have already been found and thrown down the drain.”
Jiang BaiYan disagreed: “She said it would absolutely not be found.”
Ji Feng raised his eyebrows, unable to help pondering it.
*
The simple positioning device was in the storage compartment. Let alone a body search, even an X-ray wouldn't be able to find it.
But at this moment, the positioning device was temporarily unimportant.
She and Wang Shi were trapped.
In reality, one was lying on a wire bed pretending to be Sleeping Beauty, while the other was sitting on a chair napping, looking extremely harmonious. However, in the war of consciousness, the situation was much more severe.
It was still Wang Shi's memories of home.
The drunken man became more violent, slapping the woman in the face: “I told you to properly accompany Manager Qian, get the contract for us, but what did you do?”
"I'm not a nightclub hostess," the woman sobbed. "How can you do this? How am I supposed to live after this?"
"Still pretending to be a chaste martyr huh? Everyone knows what kind of woman you are." The man sneered coldly, "Before we got married, you were already fooling around with other men. You got knocked up by someone, then found me to take over the burden."
The woman wiped away her tears: "I didn't fool around with anyone. I...I don't even know him!"
"You don't even know him yet you spread your legs for him, you slut." The man grabbed her hair and slammed her head heavily on the dining table. "Since you married me, you're one of my family. I want you to do as I say. Dare to resist, think about your little bastard child."
Squeak, the bedroom door was opened. Wang Shi, dressed in pajamas, stood in the shadows behind.
The man was already drunk out of his mind. Without a second thought, he strode forward, grabbed Wang Shi by the collar, and dragged him out, pushing him heavily to the ground.
Jian Jing immediately took a tumble.
She dazedly raised her head, and saw a huge slap flying at her face. Her body staggered from the blow, her nose slamming into the floor, blood flowing instantly.
That's right, she had become "Wang Shi".
"Don't hit Shi'er!" The woman let out a shriek and rushed over to shield Jian Jing, pleading, "I'll listen to you, I'll listen to everything you say!"
Under the light bulb, the man's shadow loomed over them, like a ferocious ghost.
Fury rose in Jian Jing's heart. She pounced over and bit down on his palm, teeth sinking into flesh, a rush of bloody, salty stench. She spat twice in disdain: "You're useless yourself, yet you force your wife into prostitution. All you know is to bully women, what good are you?"
"You little brat, what did you say?" The man was incensed. He picked her up like a chicken.
Jian Jing was completely fearless: "I said, you're a useless waste, a useless piece of trash, a heartless bastard, a shameless petty man. You fawn over those more powerful than you like a grandson, but punch and kick women and children. You're just a spineless coward."
This was the consequence of usually not cussing people out. She racked her brains but couldn't come up with more insulting words, and could only reluctantly give up.
She jerked free of him and helped the woman stand up: "Leave this place, leave him!"
"I can't, I can't." The woman wept piteously, "What about Shi'er? How can he be without a father, without a home?"
Jian Jing fell silent.
The child hiding behind her back revealed a mocking smile.
