Attention Sir, I Have Your Heart Handcuffed!-Chapter 428 - 305: Endless Lifetimes, Unceasing Sounds (2nd update)
"Yes."
Shi Nian said as he clicked on the picture of the beauty on the webpage, revealing her name, age, measurements, hobbies, specialties, business intentions, and most importantly, her price and contact information.
"See, it’s this open and convenient. Anyone can privately contact someone they like from the photos. According to network regulations, the Starry Sky Network merely provides a platform and doesn’t charge any fees, so whatever business the clients do privately with the girls on the platform, the Starry Sky Network is not liable."
"Openly legal and very clever, isn’t it?" Shi Nian looked at Tang Yanqing.
Tang Yanqing narrowed his eyes and stared at the pad, "How did you come up with this?"
"Think from a businessman’s perspective." Shi Nian recalled that both Dad and Tang Yanqing had said in class that if there’s little to no evidence to analyze a crime scene, one should switch perspectives and imagine themselves as the suspect, looking at the problem through the suspect’s psychology.
"Any businessman would want to maximize profits from all their costs, let alone in a business like Tong’s wife, which not only involves crime but also risks great public censure. It’s likely the boss wants to squeeze the most profit from every girl."
"But from what we know, the girls from Yanwu Square are mostly aged between 12 to 16. Once they start developing and no longer meet certain religious standards, they become the scapegoat, like Nisha. Among those girls, I think Nisha, having given birth, is probably at the bottom of the pyramid; those over 16 who haven’t given birth, still young and beautiful, can continue to make money for the boss through other means."
Tang Yanqing’s eyes chilled, "Starry Sky Network. Offering themselves as extras through the Starry Sky Network."
"It’s an extension of the industry chain, Starry Sky Network is the continuation of Yanwu Square." Shi Nian also sighed, "And Meng Chuyan must be a standout among them to emerge from so many self-recommended girls on the Starry Sky Network, catching the eye of Luo Xiansheng, getting signed under his wing and receiving major promotion."
"But this so-called standout doesn’t mean honor or gratitude to her; it means prolonged darkness and an even more inescapable fate. So after she became famous, the brighter and more radiant she appeared and the more fans adored her, the sadder she felt and the more she wished to escape from the astonishing contrast."
Shi Nian looked up, worriedly at Tang Yanqing, "...So I suspect Luo Xiansheng is not only a client of Yanwu Square but also a co-operator in this entire business."
Tang Yanqing stood up, "Let me be alone."
He walked onto the balcony, standing alone under the expansive sunlight. The sky was very blue, and the distant water was equally azure, merging with the sky’s blue through the glass balcony walls, making it seem like Tang Yanqing was suspended in mid-air.
He was smoking.
Whenever faced with something difficult, he always hid away to smoke by himself.
Shi Nian was a bit worried, so he stood by the window, closely watching him.
After finishing a cigarette, Tang Yanqing came back with a somewhat gloomy look in his eyes.
"...You don’t really like Little Sound. After your meeting in Singapore this time, your attitude towards him seemed a bit confrontational."
Shi Nian thought for a moment and nodded, "A bit. Actually, it’s nothing personal since I don’t have much interaction with him. It’s... because of Sister Sheng."
"For Big Sister?" Tang Yanqing raised his eyebrows, looking over. "What do you mean?"
At that moment, Shi Nian continued to feel distressed for Da Sheng, "Turns out all these years, Little Sound never properly confessed his feelings to Sister Sheng. A man like him, although he also has his difficulties, should be braver since he is a man. But since he hasn’t been able to do that, I just feel he wavers too much. Sister Sheng wasted all her beautiful youth on such a man, over thirty, without really being in love... I feel it’s not worth it for Sister Sheng."
After speaking, Shi Nian suddenly had a revelation and couldn’t help but glance at him, "Are you thinking that because I hold a bias against him, my previous analysis isn’t objective?"
Tang Yanqing lightly nodded.
Shi Nian then laughed, "Then you are the same. He is your childhood friend, you unconsciously want to protect him, so you’d rather suspect that I’m not just."
Both felt a bit awkward inside, yet... they had been so close just a moment ago.
Tang Yanqing also felt a bit apologetic, reaching out to hold her hand, "I’m sorry."
But Shi Nian dodged, "Forget it."
She cautiously looked out the window, saying slowly, "Let me find another argument for you, actually, there is already a flaw in my analysis: If Luo Xiansheng is a co-operator, then he naturally knows Meng Chuyan’s true identity, so his signing Meng Chuyan and even promoting her heavily is very unwise."
Tang Yanqing’s eyes lit up.
Shi Nian hesitated for a moment but then nodded, "Luo Xiansheng is suspicious, but maybe not so deep. Or even more likely, he may not necessarily know Meng Chuyan’s original identity."
Tang Yanqing paced the room twice, "I hope so."
Putting aside the topic of Luo Xiansheng for now, Shi Nian sat back in the chair, taking out the previously found photos of the music bar to show Tang Yanqing.
"For some reason, I find those wind chimes a bit unusual." Shi Nian pointed to pictures from different time frames, "Look, a few days before the incident, there was no wind chime at the door. The wind chime was only hung up shortly before the incident, maybe even on the night itself; but afterward, the wind chime disappeared."
Tang Yanqing carefully looked at the images sent by netizens, then raised an eyebrow with a smile.
"I’ve seen the same wind chime." He said, taking out his phone to show Shi Nian the picture.
It was in Hong Kong, Lan Gui Fang, at the entrance of a bar.
Shi Nian examined it closely, surprised, "It’s almost identical!"
Tang Yanqing said, "The night Meng Chuyan disappeared, that’s where I found her."
Shi Nian’s heart roared, "The wind chime hanging at the entrance of the nightclubs where Meng Chuyan appears... this can’t just be a simple coincidence!"
Tang Yanqing nodded, "Look, the facade of this bar is entirely Western style, yet there is this traditional Chinese wind chime hanging at the entrance, isn’t it a little incongruous?"
Shi Nian nodded emphatically, "So you noticed something off and paid particular attention to that wind chime."
Tang Yanqing put away his phone, sat down, stretching out his legs, "Know what this kind of wind chime is called?"
Shi Nian thought for a moment and nodded, "It shouldn’t be called a wind chime; it should be called an ’iron horse.’
Thanks to maternal grandfather teaching at Nankai and having close connections with many masters of Chinese learning, Shi Nian absorbed a lot of knowledge.
Tang Yanqing smiled with satisfaction, "What’s an iron horse used for?"
Shi Nian continued, "First, for warning; second, for feng shui adjustment; third, for Buddhist significance." Saying this, she suddenly slapped her leg, "But all these are supposedly hung under the eaves. In folklore terms, hanging an iron horse at the entrance is used for summoning souls!"
Tang Yanqing nodded, "That’s why I think if it weren’t for me finding Meng Chuyan in Hong Kong a step earlier, she would’ve already been dead there that night."
.
Shi Nian’s heart sank heavily.
That wind chime might just be a marker indicating where Meng Chuyan was, subtly summoning accomplices to act.
Or it was a signal, like spies using a pot of flowers at the window in espionage movies to inform allies "this place is safe."
"In that case, there must be someone among the music bar’s owner or employees from their group; also, the nightclub in Lan Gui Fang, Hong Kong, needs thorough investigation!"
Tang Yanqing raised an eyebrow, finally revealing a faint trace of a smile, "It’s already being done."
They had been alone together for quite a while, and Shi Nian took a deep breath, tidying up her notebook and pen, preparing to leave.
Tang Yanqing watched her intently, every small action as she packed her notebook was full of effort... Her reluctance was written all over these actions.
He sighed quietly, "It’s all my fault. If I could be the hero in golden armor, I should have long resolved the case, and not let you be caught in the middle."
She laughed instead, raising her eyes to glare at him, "I enjoy it. Why is it that Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, Conan, Kindaichi, regardless of nationality and age, are all men?"
She finished packing, stood up, eyes sparkling, "Besides, seeking the truth has always been our duty as journalists. I am a journalist; I am duty-bound."
He nodded with a smile, his eyes glowing softly like a clear spring.
As she reached the door, she grabbed the handle, "Mr. Tang, although you can’t enforce the law in Singapore, I’m sure you already have a list of suspects in your mind."
He too reached out to hold the handle, placing his palm over the back of her hand, deeply gazing at her.
"Mm-hmm. The number one suspect is me."
The door opened, Shi Nian withdrew her hand, and with a flip of her hand, she slapped Tang Yanqing across the face, "Mr. Tang, please conduct yourself with dignity!" Saying this, decisively she turned and walked away.
Her maternal grandfather once lectured that according to "Sutra," having "Bell" at a stupa can grant good sounds every lifetime. Hence, she kept thinking of those two names with "sound" in them.
Lifetime after lifetime, the sound never ceases.
