r18novel Chapter 1125 Powerless
Chapter 1125 Powerless
Anyway, there was no one else in the private room at the time, so even if Gu Nan reported it, he wouldn't have any solid evidence. As long as I insist it was a misunderstanding, the police will only detain him for a few days at most; they can't sentence him for nothing. Once he gets out, I can talk to Zhang Li and we can still deal with Gu Nan.
Just as I was pondering this, the iron cell door was flung open with a bang, and the prison guard's voice was as cold as ice: "Li Jianjun, come out!"
Li Jianjun's heart skipped a beat, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Here it comes. He slowly stood up, deliberately stomping heavily, and walked out with his neck stiff, looking like he was saying, "I'm not afraid of anything."
The incandescent lights in the interrogation room were blinding, causing Li Jianjun to squint. Two policemen sat opposite him, with case files spread out on the table. Unlike last time, they weren't in a hurry to slam their fists on the table; instead, they exchanged a smile, a smile that made Li Jianjun's heart pound.
The older policeman slowly picked up his enamel mug, took a sip of tea, and then spoke: "Well done, Li Jianjun. You've been keeping a low profile. You've been secretly doing quite a bit with Chang Li, haven't you?"
"Chang Li?" Li Jianjun was taken aback, his brows furrowing. "Who is Chang Li? I don't know her." He ran his fingers through his mind, only remembering a woman named Lili. Where did this Chang Li come from?
The policeman scoffed, pulled a photo from the file, slammed it on the table, and pushed it in front of him: "Room 308 at the Peace Hotel, the woman arrested with you, Chang Li is her real name. What, you don't recognize her after only a few hours?"
Li Jianjun stared at the photo. Lili's face was indeed in it, but he had never heard of the name "Chang Li." He was about to retort when the policeman continued, "They're not as stubborn as you. They explained everything clearly, from how you plotted to set up Gu Nan to how you gave her the drugs, and how they conspired to swindle Old Zhang's retirement money a couple of years ago."
Li Jianjun's face turned deathly pale. She swindled Old Zhang out of his money? That happened two years ago, how could she bring this up again? He abruptly looked up, his eyes wide like saucers, his voice trembling: "You're talking nonsense! She's mistaken me for someone else! I don't know any Chang Li, and I've never swindled anyone!"
"Whether you admit your mistake or not, we know what we're doing." The police officer took back the photos, his tone turning serious as he tapped his fingertips on the case file. "We have plenty of evidence, both witnesses and physical evidence. Whether you talk now or not won't make much of a difference. Once the case is cleared up, you won't be able to escape any responsibility you're owed."
Seeing the police officer's confident demeanor, Li Jianjun felt a pang of panic for the first time. He had always thought Lili was in the same boat as him, so why would she suddenly betray him? Had the police used some kind of trick on her?
But he remained defiant, his neck twisted like a steel bar: "I don't know what you're talking about! I didn't do anything!" But as soon as he finished speaking, he felt his voice trembling, and his legs went weak—the certainty in the policeman's eyes didn't seem fake.
The incandescent light in the interrogation room shone like a cold sun, illuminating every speck of dust. Li Jianjun huddled in the hard interrogation chair, cold sweat trickling down his neck and staining his shirt with a small, dark line. His face was as white as crumpled paper, his lips pressed into a stiff line, only his trembling eyelashes betraying his panic.
The police officer opposite him, surnamed Wang, was a seasoned veteran who had handled countless cases. He twirled a pen between his fingers, the smile on his lips as faint as a thin mist, yet carrying a sharp, penetrating edge. His gaze fell on Li Jianjun, unhurried and composed, as if he were examining a moth that had crashed into a windowpane and was still fluttering in vain.
“Li Jianjun,” Officer Wang stopped twirling his pen, the pen tapping softly on the table, a sound that sent a shiver down Li Jianjun’s spine. “Your mouth is tighter than a welded iron door. But I have to tell you the truth, being stubborn isn’t a skill here.”
Li Jianjun's knuckles dug so hard into the wood grain of the interrogation chair that they almost pressed the crisscrossing lines into his flesh. His Adam's apple bobbed; he wanted to say something, but ultimately swallowed his words. A small drum seemed to be pounding in his head—he couldn't say it, absolutely couldn't say it. His father-in-law, Zhang Li, had been in the underworld for so many years, with connections everywhere. In the past, when he'd hit someone with his drunk driving, or beaten someone up in a fight, Zhang Li had always settled things with a single phone call. This time it might just be a bigger commotion; his father-in-law would definitely have a way.
But the thought of Zhang Li's face made him shudder. Last time, when he gambled away the factory's payment, his father-in-law cornered him in his office, smashing the enamel mug on the table into three pieces, calling him a "good-for-nothing pig," his eyes filled with murderous intent. But this lingering fear was nothing compared to the chill of the interrogation room. Now, only one thought occupied his mind: get out, get out as quickly as possible. He was willing to accept being hung up and beaten by his father-in-law as long as he could leave this hellish place with its four white walls.
The sky outside the window was overcast, with leaden clouds hanging so low they seemed to press into the windowpane. Li Jianjun's gaze involuntarily drifted over, and his heart sank—this awful weather mirrored his current predicament.
"What, planning to settle down here?" Officer Wang noticed him staring blankly out the window and slowly leaned back in his chair. "Fine, if you don't want to talk, we won't force you. There's plenty of time, and the detention center has plenty of steamed buns." He gestured with his chin toward the young officer taking notes beside him. "Xiao Zhou, take him back to his cell."
The young officer responded, and as he stood up, he accidentally knocked over a thermos on the corner of the table with a loud thud, startling Li Jianjun who jerked his head up. Only then did he belatedly realize his panic—why had they stopped the interrogation? Did they think he was no longer of any use?
Two police officers had already approached him, one on each arm. Li Jianjun struggled to turn around, wanting to say something more, but his throat seemed to be blocked, and he couldn't utter a sound. The cold iron door slammed shut behind him, shutting out the interrogation room lights and that all-knowing smile into another world.
Under the sycamore tree in front of the Public Security Bureau, Zhang Li sat in his black Santana, the cigarette between his fingers burned down to a single butt, only snapping him back to reality when it burned his finger. He irritably stubbed out the cigarette butt in the ashtray, which already contained seven or eight, leaving the cigarette pack empty. The car window was slightly ajar, letting in a gust of autumn wind carrying some dust, but he didn't bother to close it.
"Damn it, this is weird," he muttered under his breath, staring at the steering wheel. Normally, in these kinds of situations, if he found the right person to pass the word and slip in a bribe, the person would be out in two hours at most. This time, he'd specifically asked his old connections in the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, who assured him there wouldn't be a problem. But he'd waited from morning till afternoon, and there was still no word from the detention center. He'd just called, and the person on the other end was evasive, only saying that Tong Ren was watching the case and it was difficult to handle.
Tong Ren? Zhang Li frowned. That police chief had always kept to himself, so why was he suddenly blocking Li Jianjun's case? Could it be that Gu Nan was behind it all? Just thinking about Gu Nan's seemingly gentle but actually sharp face made Zhang Li feel like he had a wad of rotten cotton stuffed inside him, both suffocating and choked.