Chapter Six: The Orphan (4/4)

Ren Jingting wiped away her tears, and after letting her emotions settle, she said, "My brother was born on March 17, 1998, and I was born on May 3, 2002. There's a four-year gap between us. We were both born locally in Zhuji, and we're both locals. My father was named Ren Jiahua—he was the founder and first president of Jiangzhu University. He was murdered fifteen years ago, and afterward my mother also died in a car accident. From that point on, my brother and I were separated. My brother was sent to live with our uncle's family, while I was sent to an orphanage in Shanghai. I spent fifteen years in that orphanage, and only came back two days before the semester started."

Mu Ningxiang took a deep breath, briefly gathering her thoughts, then asked, "You know Ren Jie is your real brother—but does he know you're his real sister?"

"Of course he knows. He was the one who found me at the very beginning—that's how we recognized each other."

"Since you're real siblings, why would you tell everyone you're a couple?"

"Because the murderer who killed our parents is still at this university. I'm even in the same class as his daughter. If he found out that my brother and I had recognized each other, we'd both be dead for certain. We had no choice but to pretend to be a couple—that way it would at least look normal, and it wouldn't get out."

Mu Ningxiang seemed to understand, and asked tentatively, "The person you say killed your parents—is it the current president, Dong Lixin?"

Ren Jingting nodded and answered, "Yes. It was Dong Lixin who killed our parents. His position as president, all his wealth—it was all seized after he killed my father."

Mu Ningxiang's head was buzzing as she listened. Her eyes and mouth opened wide, looking utterly blank, as if she'd been struck on the head with a club. After a long moment, she finally asked tentatively, "Then your brother... Ren Jie, did he kill anyone?"

"No," Ren Jingting said firmly. "There's absolutely no way my brother could kill anyone. He would never throw away his future for someone like that. He must have been wrongly accused."

As Ren Jingting spoke, she began crying again, out of worry and grievance. Mu Ningxiang quickly pulled her into an embrace, gently patting her back and stroking her hair, saying in her gentlest tone, "Jingting, since your brother is innocent, then even if he's been taken in, they won't be able to get anything out of him. It's probably just a little 'tea invitation'—he'll be released before long, so don't worry too much. If your brother comes out and sees you like this, he'll be heartbroken."

Ren Jingting said nothing more. She was still making faint crying sounds, but gradually they became intermittent, and before long they stopped altogether, turning into the steady breathing of sleep. She had fallen asleep. Seeing this, Mu Ningxiang gently helped her lie down on the sofa, and wiped away her tears with a light touch.

At that moment, Zheng Huiwen came back. Through the glass door, she saw Ren Jingting asleep on the sofa. She glanced questioningly at Mu Ningxiang, who simply nodded. While Zheng Huiwen was still pondering this, Tang Haoyang unexpectedly showed up. The moment he saw Zheng Huiwen, he called out loudly, "Huiwen!" — which startled Ren Jingting awake, though he didn't notice. Zheng Huiwen quickly raised a finger to her lips and gave a sharp "Shh," then immediately walked over to Tang Haoyang to speak with him privately. Ren Jingting closed her eyes again, and Mu Ningxiang stayed by her side.

Tang Haoyang asked first, "Did you call Ren Jingting here?"

Zheng Huiwen nodded. "Yes."

"What did you call her here for?"

"Ningxiang said Jingting's been very upset these past few days, so we wanted to comfort her—it's the least we friends could do."

"Then do you know that Ren Jie was taken away by the police?"

"I know."

"Ren Jie and I are roommates. We were all shocked when he was taken away. Ren Jingting even contacted me, asking what she should do. All I could do was tell her to try to let it go. I've known Ren Jie for two years now. I can't claim to know him as well as his parents would, but I do know his character well enough—he wouldn't do something like that. Huiwen, you're the smartest person I've ever met. I want to ask you to help me investigate this case with me."

Zheng Huiwen looked troubled. "But without police authorization, uninvolved people aren't allowed to get involved in a case."

"I know. But even if it's not allowed, I can't just watch Ren Jie be wrongly accused."

"You and Ren Jie are just friends. You don't need to worry about him this much, let alone go against the police."

"Ren Jie helped me establish this poetry club. He even paid for the books and the small sofa in the activity room. Given his situation now, if I just sit by and do nothing, I won't feel right. Ren Jie isn't a bad person—he shouldn't be treated like one."

Yet Zheng Huiwen agreed readily. "Alright. Even though I don't know what to do, let's do what we can to help them, okay?"

Tang Haoyang's heavy expression broke into a smile, and he said gladly, "Okay. Thank you, Huiwen."

Meanwhile, Ren Jingting was asleep. Mu Ningxiang crept out quietly to join them and said, "President, Sister Huiwen, I've never come across a plot like this even in novels. It's completely blown my mind."

"What happened?"

"I'll cut to the chase. Ren Jie and Ren Jingting aren't a couple at all—they're real siblings. Their father was the founder and first president of this university, Ren Jiahua. Both their parents were murdered, and the one who killed their parents is none other than the current president, Dong Lixin."

"What?!"

Tang Haoyang's head buzzed too as he listened. He looked at Mu Ningxiang's utterly serious expression, unable to believe it, then turned to look at Zheng Huiwen, only to find her surprisingly calm. She said, "So the first president was killed by the second president. Ren Jie and Ren Jingting are both orphans left behind by the first president—this is a blood feud over their father's death. No wonder, when Dong Qian died, the police took Ren Jie away—he's a suspect."

"But," Tang Haoyang said, finally managing to organize his thoughts, "even so, revenge should be aimed at the one responsible. Ren Jie should have gone after Dong Lixin—why would he kill Dong Lixin's daughter?"

Mu Ningxiang spoke again. "I heard from Jingting that she and Dong Qian were in the same class, and that Dong Qian used her status as the president's daughter to bully people in the class. She often bullied Jingting too, humiliating her in all sorts of ways—once she nearly pulled down her pants in front of everyone. And also, it seems Dong Qian somehow found out about the two of them, and she'd taken a fancy to Ren Jie. She used their lives as leverage to force Ren Jie to be with her. It's really twisted."

Zheng Huiwen and Tang Haoyang were both stunned for a moment. Then Zheng Huiwen said with a cold smile, "Sounds like Dong Qian took after her father—neither of them any good. But... what kind of man couldn't she have? Was there any need to be so fixated on Ren Jie?"

"That's exactly why it's twisted. Maybe she just liked how good-looking Ren Jie is. I heard Ren Jie couldn't stand her at all—despised her, even. But she still shamelessly threw herself at him, tried to seduce him, sent him expensive watches and clothes—none of it worked. She even bought his private information and hired people to tail and stalk him. Good grief, that's crazy to the extreme."

Hearing Mu Ningxiang say this, Tang Haoyang suddenly thought of that girl he'd seen pestering Ren Jie before—it must have been Dong Qian. The more he thought about it, the less sense it made, and his brow furrowed tightly. "But even so, Ren Jie only despised her—there's no reason for him to kill her."

"This whole thing really is a mess," Zheng Huiwen said, closing her eyes briefly to think for a couple of seconds. "It seems there's still a lot we don't know. We need to find someone who knows and ask them clearly."

After saying this, she picked up her phone and dialed He Shaobin's number. It connected before long.

"Hello, Officer He, it's me, Zheng Huiwen."

"Oh, what's up?"

"Are you still at the school right now? There are some things I'd like to ask you about."

"I'm about to head back to the station at this hour. How about you come with me to the station instead?"

"Alright, I'll wait for you at the main gate."

"Okay, see you in ten minutes."

Zheng Huiwen agreed and hung up the phone. The two beside her were both puzzled. Mu Ningxiang asked, "Sister Huiwen, since when did you start being in touch with the police?"

"I'll tell you when I get the chance. You two take good care of Ren Jingting. I'm heading to the school gate first."

"Wait, Huiwen, I'll go with you." Tang Haoyang called out to stop Zheng Huiwen again. "I'm Ren Jie's roommate. By rights, the police should be summoning me too—might as well go early, and maybe I can help him sooner."

"Fine, then come with me. Ningxiang, you stay here and watch over Ren Jingting. If she says anything, be sure to write it down and tell me later."

"Okay, got it."

Zheng Huiwen left together with Tang Haoyang. It was quite a walk from the Innovation Park to the school's main gate—about seven or eight minutes. The two of them walked side by side, chatting on and off along the way. Waiting for them at the school gate was not a police car, but He Shaobin's private car. Seeing that Zheng Huiwen had brought someone else along, He Shaobin looked a little puzzled at first, but after Tang Haoyang explained his purpose, He Shaobin said nothing more about it. After the two got into the car, He Shaobin asked, "It's almost 6 o'clock now—have you two eaten?"

Both of them answered that they hadn't.

"Alright then. As it happens, I don't feel like eating at the station today either. Let me treat you two to a meal. So, what do you feel like eating?"

"Anything's fine with me, whatever you say." Tang Haoyang didn't mind either way.

"What about you, Huiwen?"

"I'll eat whatever you want to eat. If you can't decide, I'd suggest a buffet—how does that sound?"

"Sure, that works."

He Shaobin wasn't a stingy man. He drove the two of them to a seafood buffet restaurant that cost 148 yuan per person. He led them up to the counter, paid the deposit, and got the receipt. Then the three of them sat down together at a large table. By unspoken agreement, none of them discussed the case over the meal—instead, they ate while chatting about topics unrelated to the case. In short, the three of them had a fairly pleasant meal together.