Chapter 383: The Secret About the Past (1)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
An Youqing pushed Jin Bao’er away with all his might. She fell onto the ground and began bawling out loud.
Fan Shixin hurriedly helped Jin Bao’er up and comforted her.
Long Xiaoxi held onto An Youqing’s hand and remained silent, after which the three of them including Long Wenlun returned inside the house.
Likewise, Jin Bao’er returned to Jin Qingyue’s room while still sobbing.
“What’s the matter?” asked An Xiaoning as she stood up.
Glaring daggers at her, Jin Bao’er hollered, “Stay away from me. If it weren’t for you, would my Mommy have gotten injured? I heard everything while I was standing by the door. Your son even pushed me, you’re all crooks!”
An Xiaoning was taken aback by her sudden outburst.
“Watch your tone, how could you be so rude to your Auntie? Is this how Mommy taught you?” Jin Qingyue admonished Jin Bao’er.
“It’s clearly their fault. Why do you have to scold me?” Jin Bao’er retorted, covering her face as she burst into tears.
An Xiaoning was rarely that patient, though she did not wish to argue with a child.
“Your Mommy did get injured because of me and I’m very guilty for that too. But no one wanted this to happen. I know you’re just concerned about your Mommy, but we’re all worried about her too. You’re not the only one.”
Jin Bao’er remained silent while An Xiaoning said to Jin Qingyue, “You continue to coax her. I’ll have to get back to the police station to carry out interrogations.”
“Alright, it’ll be fine. Go ahead, Sis-in-law.”
An Xiaoning nodded and turned around to leave.
She closed the door after she left. Jin Qingyue leaned her head against the headboard and stared at her daughter without uttering a word. She suddenly felt as if her daughter was a reflection of her younger self.
“Mommy…”
“Who said you could talk to your Auntie so rudely?” Jin Qingyue questioned.
“She’s not my Auntie yet.”
“Who said she isn’t? If you’re already so rude and bratty when you’re still young, no one will like you,” Jin Qingyue chastised with an austere expression on her face.
Jin Bao’er hung her head low and kept quiet.
“It was all my fault for spoiling you rotten. I’m not going to let you go about your willful and insensible ways anymore. If you dare to be so rude again next time, Mommy is going to berate you.”
“You’d better beat me to death. Once you do that, you won’t have a daughter anymore!”
Jin Qingyue was astonished. She did not expect her daughter to be threatening her at such a young age.
—
An Xiaoning drove back to the police station where Ma Jianguo and the rest were waiting for her.
The man was sitting in the interrogation room with his jaw still dislocated, leaving him drooling uncontrollably. An Xiaoning tied a rope of medium thickness around his lips in order to prevent him from biting his tongue to kill himself while answering their questions.
After fixing his jaw, An Xiaoning stood by the bars and looked inside. “Do you plan to tell the truth?”
“There’s nothing much to say, I was the one who did everything. No one else is involved,” the man answered straightforwardly, showing no signs of fear at all.
Keeping her eyes fixed on him, An Xiaoning questioned, “Could you tell me what your motive is, then? Why did you want to kill me? We don’t even know each other. There must be a reason why you wanted to kill me, isn’t there?”
“No reason, I just wanted to kill you. Can’t I do that?”
“Oh wow, I didn’t know people would actually kill for no reason nowadays. It’s alright if you don’t wish to speak up. I have a thousand ways to force the truth out of you. But, the process might be very painful. If you don’t wish to undergo torment, you’d better hurry up and speak. Don’t wait ’til we subject you to ruthless punishment before you confess.”
“You… you’re going to force me to confess by subjecting me to physical torture!?!”
“See, I told you to confess while we’re still being nice. Since you choose to be so tight-lipped, I won’t go easy on you.” An Xiaoning then said to Ma Jianguo, “I’ve hired someone to dig up a tunnel in the ground of my house. Officer Ma, what do you say we take him to live in there for a while?”
“What if he crawls up?”
“He can’t. I’ll place two hungry Tibetan mastiffs in there. Let’s see if the mastiffs will eat him up. I’m really looking forward to it,” said An Xiaoning, placing her hands together.
Everyone’s hearts skipped a beat, for they did not know if she was being serious or merely trying to scare the man.
The man immediately turned pale as a sheet in fear. “An Xiaoning, you’re way too vicious. You’re not going by the book!”
“Your bullet missed my heart by just a teeny weeny bit. Do you still expect me to treat you in accordance with the rules? You’re right, I’m a vicious woman. Whoever does me wrong, I’ll make him pay double the price. The feeling of wishing you were dead must be great. I’m sure you’d like to have a try. Since you don’t wish to tell the truth, we’ll have to bring you to Wei Ni Estate,” An Xiaoning said with a straight face.
Noticing that the police officers were about to take him away, the man began to struggle vigorously and refused to budge but to no avail, since both his hands and legs were tied up. Thus, he was taken away forcefully.
Upon reaching the door, An Xiaoning asked one last time, “You should really think this through carefully. It’s important to decide if you want to act like a hero and sacrifice for the mastermind or to save yourself from a cruel punishment. Don’t think about how you’ll be hunted down and killed by the mastermind when you’re released, because by then, that person would no longer be around.”
The man raised his brows in astonishment. He had never expected the small and petite woman in front of him to have such a sharp tongue.
“I told you, I did everything out of my own accord.”
An Xiaoning instructed Zu Dong and Gong Le, “Take him away immediately.”
She then gave Fan Shixin a call and instructed him to dig up a basement with a width of two meters and a depth of three meters right away, claiming that it was extremely urgent.
Fan Shixin proceeded to do as instructed without delay.
Once the police car arrived in the courtyard, An Xiaoning took the lead and alighted.
“Is it done yet?”
“Almost. What do you need it for?” Fan Shixin whispered softly.
“You’ll know later. Bring me two Tibetan mastiffs now.”
“Tibetan mastiffs?” Fan Shixin asked in bewilderment.
“Yes, hurry,” An Xiaoning said with a gesture.
“Okay, I’ll go right now.”
She chucked her hands in her pockets and stood there to wait. The rest of the police officers alighted from the car one after another while dragging the man out forcefully.
Fan Shixin returned 20 minutes later with two dog owners, each walking their Tibetan mastiff towards An Xiaoning and the rest.
Noticing the scene before them, everyone soon realized that An Xiaoning was not joking!
By the time they moved to the hole, the man’s legs had already turned to jelly. He stared at the Tibetan mastiffs, which were sticking their tongues out, before looking at An Xiaoning, who had a stern expression on her face. He was almost on the verge of despair.
“Dump him into the hole before sending the mastiffs to accompany him. Let’s watch how determined he is to cover up for his organization and the mastermind,” An Xiaoning said with a smirk.
Zu Dong and Gong Le pushed the man along and were about to throw him into the hole. Just as they approached the edge of the hole, the man finally conceded and yelled at the top of his lungs while appearing as pale as a sheet, “I’ll tell you everything! Don’t throw me down, I’ll speak up!”
An Xiaoning reached a hand out and gestured for Zu Dong and Gong Le to stop, which they did accordingly.
“Why? Weren’t you still very tight-lipped and stubborn earlier? Are you afraid now? Weren’t you unafraid of death?”
“I’m afraid, who wouldn’t be?”
“Take him back to the police station,” An Xiaoning instructed.