Chapter 14.4

“When did you start feeling unconscious?”

“When I got into the car.”

“Who was in the car with you?”

“My friend, who is also my younger brother’s girlfriend, Zhao Chuchu, and my boss, Fan Jiancheng.”

“It seems like you trust them a lot?”

“Yes.”

“Why do you trust Fan Jiancheng?”

“Because he’s a very nice person, very caring to all of us, and upright. When someone tried to take advantage of me before, he helped. I think he’s very honest.”

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In fact, she understood, even at the moment the incident occurred, she harbored this thought, desperately trying to remember all the relevant information. So now, she could vividly recall many details.

These details, these emotions besieged her, allowing her to instantly return to the moment of the assault at any moment.

But for some reason, she couldn’t speak it out at this moment.

She couldn’t help but wonder what the two people in front of her were thinking.

Would they pick apart these details in their minds? Would they talk about them afterwards and spread them to others?

She calmed her emotions a bit, restraining these wild thoughts, and continued with difficulty, “When I woke up, I felt like I was lying in the back seat of a car, my eyes were blindfolded, and the seat underneath me was leather, very narrow. He was lying on top of me, moving.”

“When you say moving, do you mean he was touching you, having sex, or something else?” Zhang Yong’s tone was devoid of warmth, and Ye Sibei gritted her teeth to respond, “Having sex.”

“How long did the process last?”

“I don’t know.”

“How many people were there in total?”

“One!” Ye Sibei responded quickly.

Zhang Yong nodded, one hand supporting his chin as he looked at the file, the other hand twirling the pen as he inquired, “How many positions did you use?”

Ye Sibei felt embarrassed. She lowered her head, her voice barely audible, “Two.”

“Which ones?”

“He was on top of me, and I was kneeling.”

“Did he speak to you?”

“Yes.”

“What did he say?”

Ye Sibei hesitated, and seeing her silence, Zhang Yong raised an eyebrow in confusion, “Hmm?”

“Is that… important?” Ye Sibei dared not lift her head. “He spoke in a disguised voice, I couldn’t tell who exactly it was, but probably…”

“What did he say?” Zhang Yong interrupted her.

Ye Sibei didn’t respond. The unbearable memories enveloped her, and she trembled gently.

Zhang Yong called her name, “Ye Sibei?”

“He should be somewhat older,” she answered irrelevantly, as if she hadn’t heard Zhang Yong’s voice at all, and instead offered what she thought was more useful information, “Bushy hair, probably not very tall, with chest hair…”

Zhang Yong observed her as Ye Sibei seemed to be staring at the table in front of her, reciting the information she remembered like reciting a lesson, “Smells of tobacco and alcohol, not much muscle…”

“Ye Sibei,” Zhang Yong interrupted her, “What did he say?”

“Could I speak to another officer?” Ye Sibei finally looked up, seeking help from Lin Feng. Lin Feng hesitated, glanced at Zhang Yong, who lowered his head without saying a word. After a moment of consideration, Lin Feng finally reassured Ye Sibei, “Miss Ye, even if we switch officers, these are still questions that must be asked.”

“Must they?” Ye Sibei repeated, Lin Feng dared not look at her, nodding, “All for the sake of finding the truth.”

“If it’s about finding the truth,” Ye Sibei asked hoarsely, “Aren’t the information I provided enough?”

This time, Lin Feng didn’t respond. Zhang Yong looked up at her, “Not enough.”

“Why?” Ye Sibei couldn’t understand, “Isn’t the most important truth finding out who he is and then arresting him?”

“Ye Sibei,” Zhang Yong’s voice was steady, “I hope you understand that what you say, to others besides you, may not necessarily be the truth.”

Ye Sibei hesitated, looking at Zhang Yong. There was no retreat or pity in Zhang Yong’s gaze; he calmly stared at her, “So, you must tell the truth. Only the truth represents the truth.”

“I am telling the truth.”

She clenched her fists.

“Then continue.” Zhang Yong looked at her, facing her scathing gaze without fear.

The two remained quietly at a stalemate for a long time until Zhang Yong spoke softly, “The truth can only be spoken out, verified, and then recognized. The process is painful, but if it’s not spoken out, the truth will never appear.”

Hearing this, Ye Sibei lowered her head, turned her head to look around, tensed her body, as if struggling violently.

After a long time, she wiped away her tears with her hand and finally looked up again, facing Zhang Yong.

“He said to me, ‘Still pretending?’ Then he forced me to kneel down and said to me, ‘Call out, or I’ll kill you.'”

“And then?” 

Ye Sibei listened to these words in silence for a long time. Finally, with a calmness tinged with despair and stubbornness, she spoke again, “I called out.”

The process of recording took a long time, and Ye Nianwen and Qin Nan waited in the lobby.

The two sat on a bench, initially silent.

After a while, Ye Nianwen spoke first, “Actually, reporting to the police is just the beginning. Although my sister was prepared, you still need to be extra careful later. The process of recording will repeatedly ask about the details of the incident, which might be more impactful for the person involved. In the past few days…”

“I’ll keep an eye on her in the future.”

Qin Nan knew what Ye Nianwen was worried about and replied directly. Ye Nianwen nodded, about to say something more, when footsteps came from the direction of the interrogation room, accompanied by Lin Feng’s instructions, “Don’t overthink it when you go back. Wait for our notification. Captain Zhang kept the information from your last report. You don’t have to worry too much…”

“Sis!”

Hearing Lin Feng’s voice, Ye Nianwen quickly stood up and walked over. Ye Sibei had just come out from around the corner, and Ye Nianwen had already reached her. He looked Ye Sibei up and down, carefully asking, “Are you okay?”

Ye Sibei shook her head, her eyes red, her emotions noticeably lower than before she went in. Qin Nan stood behind Ye Nianwen. After confirming that Ye Sibei was not seriously hurt, he patted Ye Nianwen on the shoulder, “You take care of your sister first.”

Speaking, Qin Nan looked towards Lin Feng, “Where’s Captain Zhang?”

“Ah, he’s still inside,” Lin Feng turned her head, pointing to the interrogation room. Qin Nan nodded and went in.

When he found Zhang Yong, he was still in the interrogation room, staring blankly at Ye Sibei’s record.

Qin Nan knocked on the door, and Zhang Yong looked up, smiling when he saw Qin Nan.

“What brings you here?”

“Ye Sibei,” Qin Nan gestured outside, “is my relative.”

Zhang Yong was taken aback, then slapped his forehead as if regretting something, “No wonder she suddenly came back to report the incident. If I knew she was your wife, I wouldn’t have shown you that photo.”

“By the way, a few days ago, I went to see Ye Sibei’s boss, Fan Jiancheng,” Qin Nan said, reminding Zhang Yong, “the owner of the Crown car. He admitted to me that they had a relationship.”

“Was it consensual or non-consensual?”

Zhang Yong asked directly, and Qin Nan hesitated for a moment, but Zhang Yong understood. He nodded, “We’ll do a DNA test here. Don’t worry.”

Qin Nan nodded, quietly pleading, “Please.”

“This is part of my job.”

After thanking Zhang Yong for the information, Qin Nan left.

Back in the lobby, Ye Sibei held a cup in her hand, sitting on the bench with Ye Nianwen, waiting.

When Qin Nan came out, Ye Nianwen stood up, “Brother-in-law.”

“Yeah.”

Qin Nan nodded, glanced at Ye Sibei, “Brother-in-law, you take my sister home first to rest. I’ll handle some things here and go back to the law firm later.”

“Alright.”

Qin Nan agreed, looking at Ye Sibei, “Shall we go?”

Ye Sibei nodded, getting up to leave with him.

As they drove back to the hospital, neither of them spoke a word. Qin Nan noticed Ye Sibei’s mood wasn’t good. After some thought, he hesitated to comfort her, “Actually, it’s okay. They’re all police officers, they won’t spread anything.”

“Are you worried about me?”

Ye Sibei noticed Qin Nan’s intention, she turned to look at him, Qin Nan didn’t say anything, and Ye Sibei turned to look out the window.

“Don’t worry about me.”

Her voice was very soft. She watched the morning sunlight filtering through the branches, scattered on the ground. She rolled down the window and reached out her hand.

The slightly chilly wind brushed past her fingertips, and she tilted her head. The wind gently brushed her hair.

“I’m happy.”

“Even though it’s painful, disgusting, and scary.”

“But I finally feel,” Ye Sibei smiled, “my future isn’t a muddy puddle, it’s unknown.”