False evidence

Chapter 460 Painted Skin (10)

Because it was a night bus, there weren't many passengers. Besides me, Yan Fengwei, Cao Xinyun, and the driver, there were only four of us.

One was a ponytail girl working at a small restaurant, another was a middle-aged man wearing black-rimmed glasses, and the third was an old woman with gray hair.

The driver was a bald man, and from my angle, I couldn't see his face.

I hadn't forgotten my purpose this time. I looked out the window, took out my phone, and sent WeChat messages to Erpang, Zhao Qi, and Liang Yuan.

To make it easier to stay in touch, a few of us temporarily created a WeChat group.

I said: I'm already in the car, just out of the city, on the national highway.

The first to reply was Zhao Qi: Understood.

I get so angry just looking at him; this guy is a complete fraud.

After leaving the office, Liang Yuan went to find Li Meizhi immediately. Sure enough, Li Meizhi had disappeared.

Zhao Qi definitely knows more about this matter, but he just won't tell us. And now he's acting like it's none of his business.

A little while later, Erpang said in the group chat: I accidentally fell asleep just now. I took the bus this morning, and I've already been on it for more than ten stops.

I said: Don't fall asleep again, keep an eye on what's happening in the car.

Erpang replied: I've been keeping an eye out. There was a woman there just as I got on the bus.

I asked: Did you take any photos?
This was something we agreed upon beforehand: if there were any women in the car, we would take photos first.

This was also Zhao Qi's suggestion. He said that the other party definitely couldn't openly bring Li Meizhi into the car, and would most likely disguise her in a different way.

No wonder Zhao Qi is unreliable. What era is this? It's not a movie, why would he need to disguise himself?
Although I was somewhat skeptical, it was a matter of great importance, so I still agreed to do it this way.

Erpang sent a photo and added: "She shouldn't be Li Meizhi wearing makeup."

I rolled my eyes: Fatty, did you forget to recharge your IQ?

That was a little girl, about eight or nine years old, being led around by an adult.

Erpang replied: I know I'm slow-witted, so I don't care about anything else, I'll just take a picture of any woman. It's a bit of a hassle, but I'm sure there won't be any mistakes. Oh dear, what if a woman came up to me while I was asleep?
She quickly added, "It's nothing, it's nothing. I thought I slept for a long time, but I only dozed off for five minutes. Another group of people just came up, all men, they seem to be migrant workers from a construction site who just finished their night shift. By the way, do you think the kidnappers might disguise Li Meizhi as a man?"
I said: Just keep an eye on it.

Actually, I feel quite ashamed right now. Erpang isn't stupid; he's just honest and simple, and he's always stayed in his hometown, living a simple life.

Even if, as he himself says, he is slow-witted, God never fails to reward those who are diligent.

On the other hand, knowing full well the importance of the matter, I still drank. If I hadn't contacted them, I would have completely forgotten about taking the photos.

Liang Yuan hadn't replied yet. I knew he was driving, so I didn't bother him. I reminded Erpang to be careful, then turned on my camera and took two pictures of the ponytail diagonally in front of me.

The old woman sitting in front is very thin and small; she definitely can't be Li Meizhi.

Because Erpang had taught me by example, I still pointed my phone camera at the back of her head.

To my surprise, the old woman suddenly turned her head around the moment I pressed the shutter button.

"Holy crap!"

I was so scared I almost threw my phone away.

The old woman must have sensed something, because she turned around to look behind her.

However, she didn't simply turn her face; instead, her shoulders didn't move, but her head suddenly turned 180 degrees to the back!

"What's going on? What's going on?" Yan Fengwei woke up with a start.

I had already put down my phone and was panting as I stared at the old woman.

The old woman gave me a strange look, glanced at my side, and then turned her head away. Yan Fengwei rubbed his face vigorously and asked me what had happened.
I shook my head and said it was nothing.

Thinking about the horrifying scene I just saw on the screen, my heart is still pounding.

I asked Yan Fengwei to switch seats with me. I moved to the outside, sat for a while, and then got up and walked forward.

I walked straight up to the driver and asked, "Sir, this is my first time going to Sanhe, how much longer until we get there?"

The driver glanced at me and said, "It'll probably take another hour or so."

I also got a good look at him. Although he was bald, he looked to be in his late forties or early fifties.

Seeing that his teeth were yellowed when he spoke, I took out a cigarette and offered him one.

These privately contracted minibuses are not very legitimate, especially night buses.

The driver took the cigarette, put it in his mouth, and reached for a lighter to light it.

At that moment, I turned around and looked at the old woman.

Hey! What's going on?!

I guess the elderly person was worried about getting cold on the bus at night, so they wore a coat over their clothes. The old-fashioned coat had its shoulders sticking out...

Although it's inappropriate, I still have to describe it—the old lady was even thinner and smaller than she appeared from behind. She turned her head from side to side, her coat bunched up, like a turtle turning its head. As her neck turned, the coat remained as still as a hard shell.

She turned her head to look back, and it really looked like she didn't have a cervical spine.

"Hey bro, judging from your accent, you're not a local, are you? And you're definitely not from Sanhe either. What are you doing going to Sanhe in the middle of the night?" the driver asked, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

I casually said, "Oh, I'm going with my brother to collect a debt. We can't catch that deadbeat during the day."

The driver glanced at me, his eyes full of surprise: "Lai Changbin, the deadbeat?"

"what?"

I was taken aback by his question.

The driver glanced in the rearview mirror and chuckled, "That bald guy isn't your brother, is he?"

"What do you mean?" I was really confused by him.

The driver flicked his cigarette ash out the window, then put the cigarette back in his mouth and mumbled:

"There's only one family in Sanhe with the surname Lai, it's Lai Changbin's family. They're the richest family in Sanhe Village, would they owe you any money?"

Oh, it turns out the two of them misunderstood each other!
I quickly explained that "laolai" doesn't refer to someone surnamed Lai, but rather to a term that has been circulating online in recent years, specifically referring to someone who owes money and refuses to pay it back.

The driver doesn't look that old, but he doesn't know how to use the internet or read the news.
"Online? What online?" the driver asked curiously, glancing back through the rearview mirror.

Seeing the wariness in his eyes, I finally understood what he was thinking.

Yan Fengwei had a fierce appearance and a shaved head; Cao Xinyun, who was with us, hadn't said a word since getting on the bus and didn't seem like a good guy either.

According to the driver, this Lai Changbin is a wealthy man in Sanhe County. I reckon he probably thought the three of us were up to no good, going to Lai's house in the middle of the night with ulterior motives. That's why he was making jokes and playing dumb.

I was too lazy to say anything more, but then I heard the driver suddenly exclaim "Huh?" and bring his almost-finished cigarette to his eyes to take a look:
"What brand is this? I've never seen it before?"

I thought to myself, "You're really overdoing it. Are there still smokers in the South who don't know the Liqun brand?"
"It's actually quite good to smoke."

The driver put the cigarette butt back in his mouth, picked up his own cigarette pack, shook out one, and offered it to me, saying, "Here, have one of mine."

When I saw his cigarette pack clearly, I was stunned again.

(End of this chapter)