It was almost 8:20, and He Yan didn't even have time to feel sad. She had to hurry for roll call. Fortunately, there were spare clothes in the room. After changing hastily, she rushed over. When she arrived, although it wasn't considered late, most of the students were already there, and even the department head was present. He only gave her a glance, seemingly suppressed his urge to criticize her, and didn't pull her aside for reprimand.
The forum was scheduled to open in the afternoon, and He Yan and her colleagues were even busier than yesterday. The opening ceremony of the forum was finally held at the convention center in the afternoon, allowing the hotel side to breathe a little. He Yan checked the time and, using a headache as an excuse, switched shifts with her colleague and returned to her room alone. She called the girl from yesterday using the room phone, told her the room number, and asked, "Can you come now? If not, I'll contact you another day."
"I can!" the girl replied. "I'll come right away."
In less than twenty minutes, the girl arrived, knocked on the door but refused to come in. She stood at the door and peeked inside, seeing only He Yan. Then she hesitantly asked, "Do you know who I am, Miss He?"
"You are Officer Chen's daughter," He Yan answered, the girl had a few photos with Officer Chen on her phone, showing a close relationship. They were taken in the same background and clothing, and given the age gap between them, He Yan could naturally guess the girl's identity. He Yan motioned for her to come in and said, "We have limited time, please speak quickly."
The girl looked surprised but obediently entered the room. She sat down at the coffee table by the window and took out a black, tattered notebook from her backpack, along with the notebook He Yan gave her yesterday. She opened the notebook and handed a sheet of paper to He Yan, asking, "Miss He, do you recognize this?"
He Yan did recognize it. It was the personal information she gave to Officer Chen when verifying Fu Shenxing's identity – information she gleaned from Fu Shenxing's ID, including his name, date of birth, and address.
Seeing her nod, the girl continued, "My name is Chen Heguo, and Chen Jingyan was my father. He died in a car accident on October 21. I found this note while sorting through his belongings before. Miss He, did you write this for my father?"
He Yan nodded again. "Yes, I did."
Chen Heguo stared at her and asked, "Why did you give my father this note?"
He Yan didn't answer, she gazed at her for a moment and asked back, "What are you investigating? Why did you approach Fu Shenxing? Just because of this note?"
"No," Chen Heguo shook her head, showing a maturity beyond her years. "Not just because of this note. As for why I'm investigating Fu Shenxing, Miss He, you have to tell me why you wrote this note for my father first." She raised the black notebook in her hand and said, "This is my father's notebook for recording case notes, and everything inside is related to the cases he handled. He kept the note you gave him in here."
This was a very clever girl. He Yan looked at her and dodged her question, only asking her, with a serious tone, "How old are you? Do your family members know what you're doing now?"
Chen Heguo seemed well-raised and, despite being somewhat dissatisfied with He Yan's evasiveness, patiently answered her questions. "I'm eighteen this year, just got into university. As for my family," she paused, her eyes involuntarily reddening, then continued, "there's only my grandmother at home. She's seventy and hasn't been feeling well lately, rarely even leaves the house."
He Yan was somewhat taken aback, feeling more sympathy and pity for the young girl in front of her.
Seeing her expression, the girl said, "Miss He, you don't need to feel sorry for me, and I don't think there's anything to be sorry about. Although I never had a mother from a young age, my grandmother has been very good to me, and my father cherished me during his lifetime. With the two of them, I already consider myself very fortunate." She spoke with self-restraint.
"You're a good girl," He Hyan nodded, paused for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "But the most important thing for you now is to study well and take care of your grandmother, not to investigate Fu Shenxing. I believe even if your father were alive, he wouldn't want you to engage in dangerous activities."
"If my father were alive, he would only want me to be brave, self-reliant, and independent, instead of being a timid and cowardly person," Chen Heguo seemed to have run out of patience, put the notebook and the note back into her bag, stood up from her chair, and said coldly, "Miss He, if you don't want to give me an answer, I'll find it myself. I don't need you to tell me what to do or not to do."
While she showed agitation, He Yan remained calm. Even when she saw the girl turn to leave, she simply lifted her head and looked at her calmly, "Chen Heguo, what I need is a calm and rational partner, not an impulsive and unforgiving girl. If you don't even have this patience, I believe you don't need to investigate Fu Shenxing. Or before you investigate him, take care of your grandmother's life so that she can enjoy her later years in peace."
Chen Heguo stopped walking, turned around to look at her, and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Just what I said," He Yan answered, "and also, if you still want to avenge your father, sit down honestly and tell me how you came to suspect Fu Shenxing."
Chen Hego tightened the corners of his lips, tilted his head to size her up, and then returned to sit opposite He Yan, asking her, "Why should I trust you? I saw you talking with Fu Shenxing yesterday. He was being affectionate with you, and even had his hands on your shoulders."
He Yan looked at her silently for a moment, a mocking smile curling her lips, she countered, "You were in the lobby at that time yesterday, right? Did you see the video being switched on the display?"
Chen Hego had indeed seen it, but her attention was entirely on Fu Shenxing at the time, and she had not paid much attention. "That ** video?"
"**video?" He Yan repeated softly, then chuckled self-deprecatingly, before saying deliberately, "Yes, that's the one. The protagonist in it is me. A few days after your father's accident, Fu Shenxing kidnapped me, forcibly injected me with drugs, and then had me filmed under his direction."
Chen Hego stared at He Yan in disbelief.
He Yan just smiled, "Do you still think Fu Shenxing was being affectionate with me? Do you still think I can't be trusted?"
Chen Hego couldn't answer, and after a while, as if she had finally made up her mind, she said, "Teacher He, the truck that killed my father belongs to a company under the Fu family's enterprise. It seemed like a simple accident, until I found your note while sorting through my father's belongings, and my grandmother and I realized that my father's death was not that simple. He may have been murdered."
He Yan was worried about something else, and she furrowed her brow, asking, "After you found the note, did you tell anyone? If you suspected it wasn't a simple accident, did you report it, or seek help from your father's colleagues?"
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