Attention Sir, I Have Your Heart Handcuffed!-Chapter 309 - 3. The Loneliness of the Flying Bird ()
Jia Tianzi and Guan Liang both coughed, quickly stepping forward to block the shots.
Guan Liang walked over to Tang Yan Yi, blocking the screen, exaggeratingly complaining: "Xiao Yi! My computer is downloading data, why did you pause it just to transfer a few photos? Come on, any other computer in the office can handle this!"
Jia Tianzi leaned close to Tang Yanqing’s ear to persuade: "These photos are nothing. To Shi Nian, Huangfu Huazhang is the school director and lifesaver, frequent interactions are normal."
People say pictures speak the truth, and these pictures have made everything so clear, yet Jia Tianzi and Guan Liang are still covering for Shi Nian!
Especially Guan Liang!
Tang Yan Yi glared at Guan Liang, letting out a cold laugh: "Shi Nian is indeed skilled at navigating relationships. She used to be at ease between Xiang Yuan and my little brother, and now with Xiang Yuan out, she’s replaced him with an even higher rank, Huangfu Huazhang. But if their relationship is so close, why did she act unfamiliar with him during the welcome party at our family courtyard? What is she trying to hide? Or was she really unfamiliar with him back then, but quickly got intimate in just a short time?"
Even Guan Liang couldn’t help but press down on Tang Yan Yi’s shoulder: "Xiao Yi, enough!"
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Tang Yanqing stared at Tang Yan Yi’s face for a few minutes, then silently turned and walked out of the computer room.
Jia Tianzi exchanged a glance with Guan Liang and quickly followed.
The two walked down the corridor.
Jia Tianzi couldn’t help but ask: "...Actually, during the last court trial, I already felt something was off. Someone like Huangfu Huazhang, willing to appear in public to testify for Shi Nian. Mark is his relative, and more crucially, a major shareholder of Lin Qi Group. He said he wouldn’t help Mark because Mark hurt Shi Nian. Yanqing, am I missing something?"
Tang Yanqing pocketed his hands, arrogantly stretched his neck, squinting his eyes.
"Yes, because they knew each other long ago. When Huangfu Huazhang met Shi Nian, she was only thirteen; later, when he faded out of her life, she was just nineteen. Huangfu Huazhang said he started liking her years ago, shut his heart for her, rejecting all other women, solely waiting for her to grow up."
Jia Tianzi was also shocked, turning his gaze to Tang Yanqing, with a growing weight of astonishment.
Tang Yanqing stopped, looking back: "You have something to say. Speak."
Jia Tianzi frowned: "Words like that are romantic and touching to women. But you and I are not women, we are officers, so his behavior does neither move nor inspire me—it makes me suspicious. I suspect he might have a pedophilic tendency."
Tang Yanqing raised his chin high, squinting, staring at Jia Tianzi.
Jia Tianzi nodded: "Right, continue this line of thought and you’ll think of Nisha, Zhou Guanghan’s death, and the child wife case that remains elusive now."
Tang Yanqing lowered his head: "I understand."
Jia Tianzi stared at Tang Yanqing: "The dense area of the incidents is Kangchuan University, and Kangchuan University is Huangfu Huazhang’s kingdom, where he reigns supreme. He knows everything about the university, including hardware and software. Students and campus police are surely at the bottommost layer in that kingdom, if he wants to eliminate them, it’s a piece of cake; he has the capability, resources, and connections to arrange the murder scenes in a manner he desires."
Tang Yanqing hummed lightly: "Exactly. You must have noticed, whether it’s Zhou Guanghan, Sean, Mark, or even Wang Chuan, they’re all pale, slender men, meticulous, high IQ, thorough in their work."
Jia Tianzi listened, squinting: "Practically a replica of Huangfu Huazhang to some extent."
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Inside the computer room.
Tang Yanqing left silently, the sound of the door closing sharply like a slap on Tang Yan Yi’s face.
She closed her eyes tight, leaning back.
Guan Liang also felt uncomfortable inside, whispering softly: "Sorry..."
Tang Yan Yi tiredly opened her eyes, staring at Guan Liang coldly: "Real humans are unreliable; today you’re rushing to help Shi Nian, my little brother, keen to tread me underfoot for pleasure just like them!"
Guan Liang felt apologetic inside: "I should side with you, but..."
Tang Yan Yi slammed the mouse on the desk: "Enough! Do you think I’m disappointed in you because I depend on your affection for leaning towards me? Guan Liang, you simply don’t get me... I’m disappointed because you fail to differentiate between public and private interests! My little brother and Jia Tianzi misunderstood I captured those photos to blacken Shi Nian, that is forgivable; but you who have secretly assisted me for so long, how could you also fail to know!"
"I’m not a paparazzi, I don’t have heaps of free time to follow Shi Nian for unfavorable photos to tarnish her. The real target of my investigation is Huangfu Huazhang, anyone associated with him will not escape my scrutiny. Since she’s recently been meeting Huangfu Huazhang frequently and their behavior is intimate, naturally I can’t easily overlook her."
"As for why I came to your computer room to export those photos, thinking it’s to intentionally let my little brother see—they fail to understand I did it for secrecy, so no one knows I’m secretly investigating Huangfu Huazhang?!"
"You should understand, even in the police station, for elites like you top hackers, these computers are not safe; within the police station, only your professional hacker-computer’s encryption is top-notch. With Huangfu Huazhang’s influence, he can monitor every external computer if he wants, so I must export and organize related data here to ensure he doesn’t know about my investigation’s progress."
Huangfu Huazhang already knows she’s investigating him, hence he certainly wants to know what information she has on him, and at what stage is her investigation. These need not be communicated verbally, finding her used computer and viewing its contents makes everything evident; hence her intuition says Huangfu Huazhang is tracing and monitoring her online.
Guan Liang was still stunned: "You know I’m a hacker?"
His identity was hidden well, even if Tang Yanqing noticed the clues, Tang Yanqing never clearly stated it, only assumed he was a computer expert.
Tang Yan Yi shrugged, laughing: "Even though I’m not part of your world, but I am the daughter of Tang Mingxiang and Su Xi Liu. In police academy’s final year, FBI proactively recruited me, I trained at FBI, so I roughly know your world’s rules: Each top hacker owns a unique ’stamp,’ some it’s an unchanging code; others it’s a decoding method. After each world-shattering event, you leave no names or identities, but still leave that ’stamp’ to mark your achievement, so later hackers find it, they automatically leave upon seeing your sign. Just like the animal kingdom, if they don’t leave, it’s equal to issuing a public challenge."
Tang Yan Yi squinted looking over: "In FBI’s training courses, there’s a specific class for identifying the world’s top 50 hackers’ exclusive stamps. Some of these fifty became your world’s temple legends, retired successfully, hiding within the crowd, never appearing again; some decisively employed by FBI, Homeland Security, State Department—as they can’t defeat you, they make use of you."
"In those fifty stamps, I particularly remember one, using encoded cryptic language, after decoding the corresponding letters it forms: say-yes; and this stamp frequently accompanies another string, decrypted as only-lonely."
"Western trainees find it puzzling, but I know. Both strings remind me of an East Asian singer-poet. Say-yes is his representative music album, and Only-lonely his poetry collection."
She spoke raising her chin, her gaze settling on Guan Liang’s face: "That singer-poet’s stage name is Aska, Guan Liang—Liang for Aska, Liang sounds like ’cool.’ Don’t tell me it’s not you."
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Guan Liang laughed, could only lower his head shaking it: "Seems you’ve discovered me, Ma’am, should I officially surrender to the police?"
Tang Yan Yi squinted, boldly stepping forward, grabbed his wrist, twisting his arm behind, pushing him heavily onto the desk.
"Speak, why did you apply to become an officer? Did someone instruct you to infiltrate the department?"
Guan Liang didn’t expect to be effortlessly subdued by Tang Yan Yi, awkward yet couldn’t help but smile, repeatedly begging: "Ma’am spare me, release me, I’ll confess everything."
Tang Yan Yi stepped back, letting go.
Guan Liang rubbed his elbow, smilingly looking at her, his gaze shining with even brighter light.
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[Second morning update.]
