Just after being thrown into the lake, seven beautiful women blocked the door calling him "husb

The elevator door in the basement opened with a "ding".

The three people walked out one after the other.

In the empty parking lot.

Only the "tap-tap" sound of high heels hitting the ground seemed particularly jarring.

Qin Kexin walked at the front, her steps so fast it was as if she were fleeing for her life.

I couldn't wait to jump into the car.

Wen Yi followed at the very back, her head almost buried in her chest.

He huddled up in a ball, too afraid to look at the two people in front of him.

Chen Ye walked in the middle, his face calm and composed.

I only glanced at the red BMW.

Qin Kexin quickly unlocked the car and opened the door.

Once seated in the driver's seat, he didn't dare glance at Chen Ye once.

Chen Ye ignored her and opened the back door of the car.

He tilted his head slightly at Wen Yi, who was still standing there in a daze.

"Get in the car."

Wen Yi shuddered before jogging to sit down inside.

Pressing myself tightly against the car door, I wish I could disappear into the gap.

Chen Ye got into the passenger seat and closed the door.

"Send her back to school first," Chen Ye said, breaking the silence.

Qin Kexin didn't say anything, she just started the car.

The car drove out of the underground parking garage and merged into the streets late at night, without saying a word the whole way.

The car was parked at the school gate.

Wen Yi flung open the car door as if fleeing for her life and jumped out without looking back.

The car stopped downstairs at Chen Ye's building.

Inside the car, only Chen Ye and Qin Kexin remained.

Qin Kexin's hands were still on the steering wheel, her fingertips were taut and white.

"I……"

She was about to say something when Chen Ye interrupted her.

"You've had a hard day."

"Go home and rest early."

After saying that, he opened the car door and got out.

He walked towards his apartment building without looking back.

Qin Kexin watched his figure disappear into the stairwell.

He finally relaxed and slumped into his chair.

She covered her burning face, her mind a complete mess.

The out-of-control kiss and Wen Yi's terrified eyes kept flashing through her mind.

【Finished...】

It's all over...

What kind of person am I in their eyes...?

……

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Juncheng Law Firm, Public Interest Department Office.

Li Zhe and Wang Hao sat in their respective seats.

There was a mountain of files in front of him, but he couldn't read a single word.

Wen Yi also sat in the corner, holding a cup of hot water, staring blankly into space.

Everyone's nerves were stretched to the limit.

The appeal document, drafted by Qin Kexin and personally revised by Chen Ye.

It was submitted three days ago.

The petition was submitted, but it was like a stone sinking into the sea, without even a splash.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Qin Kexin and An Ran formed a "task force".

They were turned away three times in a row.

The key witness, Old Zhang.

I heard they were inquiring about the case from back then, but they wouldn't see them at all.

Chen Ye leaned back in the boss's chair, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

Each strike resonated deeply in the hearts of everyone in the office.

No movement is the most normal sound.

If getting a reply that easily were possible, it would be a miracle.

Now, it all depends on Qin Kexin.

My little darling in black stockings, don't let me down...

All the hopes for the entire case now rest on that old man whom we've never met.

He had to speak.

at all costs.

……

Qinghe County, rural area.

In front of a dilapidated red brick bungalow.

Qin Kexin hung up the phone to Chen Ye and put her phone back in her pocket.

The light drizzle dampened her hair and trench coat, bringing a chill to her hair.

She's been standing here for an hour.

This is the third day and the fourth visit.

Anran, standing beside me, had a pale face from the cold, and her lips were trembling.

"Sister Kexin...are we still going to wait? I feel like I'm freezing solid..."

An Ran's voice trembled; she was truly on the verge of collapse.

"That old man, he really doesn't seem to want to see us..."

Qin Kexin did not answer, but just stared at the tightly closed iron gate.

The first two times, they couldn't even get through the door.

Once, he was pretended not to be home; another time, he was impatiently chased away by a middle-aged woman.

They said the old man was in poor health and wouldn't see guests.

Today, they stood in the rain for an hour, but the door still didn't budge.

An Ran's confidence had been completely extinguished by the cold rain.

No refunds available.

Qin Kexin had only one thought in her mind.

Chen Ye is still waiting for my message; I can't let him down!

The thought of Chen Ye brought to mind that domineering and out-of-control kiss in the conference room that night.

A strange power welled up in her heart.

She cannot back down.

"wait."

Qin Kexin only said one word, decisively.

Just then.

"Squeak—"

The tightly closed iron gate opened a crack.

A head with gray hair and a wrinkled face peeked out from behind the door.

It was Old Zhang, the target they had been searching for for three days.

His eyes swept over the two women standing in the rain.

Finally, the image landed on Qin Kexin's stubborn face.

He let out a long sigh.

"Come in."

The room was dark and filled with the smell of firewood and damp mold.

Old Zhang, his back hunched, walked to a dark earthen stove.

He added a handful of dry firewood to the stove.

The flickering firelight illuminated his deeply lined face.

"Sit down," he said, pointing to a long bench next to him.

Qin Kexin and An Ran sat down awkwardly.

"You're looking for me because of Hao Bin's case, right?"

Old Zhang didn't turn around; he just poked at the fire in the stove with fire tongs.

"Yes, Uncle Zhang," Qin Kexin replied quickly.

"We are the lawyers representing Hao Bin's family."

"well……"

Old Zhang let out another long sigh.

"This matter... cannot be discussed."

His voice was low, revealing a deep weariness.

"Back then, a gag order was issued from above."

Whoever says that, has to shed that skin.

An Ran panicked upon hearing this.

"Sir, this is a society governed by the rule of law! The gag order from back then may not be effective anymore!"

Besides, you're retired now. As long as what you say is true, the law will protect you!

Old Zhang ignored her and just silently watched the flames dancing in the stove.

An Ran was so anxious that she wanted to say something more, but Qin Kexin stopped her.

She knew that trying to reason with such a terrified old woman was like casting pearls before swine.

She stood up, walked to the stove, and looked at the old man's profile.

"Uncle Zhang."

"We're not here to pressure you."

"Before we came, we visited Hao Bin's parents."

"They still set up stalls in the vegetable market, selling wilted vegetables, earning only a few dozen yuan a day."

They said they weren't afraid to make a big fuss, nor were they afraid of going through the pain again.

I just want to clear my child's name; otherwise, I'll have no face to face him after he dies.

The old man's hand, which had been fiddling with the fire tongs, stopped.

Qin Kexin continued.

"We also met with Wen Guodong, the former deputy director."

Because of this case, he is now lying alone in a dark room, surviving on traditional Chinese medicine.

He said he might not live to see the truth come out, but he was determined to give it his all.

"You said there was a gag order back then."

"What kind of gag order could turn a deputy director into this?"

How could anyone allow a couple to live in injustice for over a decade?

"Uncle Zhang, we've come here today for no other reason than..."

Qin Kexin's voice trembled slightly.

"I just want to ask you one question: is Hao Bin innocent or not?"

The fire in the stove crackled and popped.

Old Zhang's hunched body began to tremble slightly.

He did not answer.

However, Qin Kexin saw it.

A tear slid down from the corner of his wrinkled eye and dripped into the ashes in the stove.

"I……"

He finally spoke, his voice terribly hoarse.

"I've been holding this in for over a decade..."

The old man suddenly turned his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Qin Kexin.

"Wang Yunjin! That damned Wang Yunjin!"

"The day he was arrested, before he was even interrogated, he was already shouting in the detention room!"

He was shouting that he wanted to see the leader! He said he wanted to make a contribution!

He said he killed more than just those few!

He also committed the rape and murder case in Qinghe County!

He said, "Since I'm going to die anyway, I might as well confess everything!"

We can't let that kid surnamed Hao take the blame for him for nothing!

"He said at the time that he had a change of heart, or that he wanted to die before he died."

"If they bite the hand that feeds them, who knows what might happen?"

boom!

These words exploded in Qin Kexin and An Ran's minds like thunder!

An Ran instinctively reached for the voice recorder in her pocket.

"Don't record!"

Old Zhang suddenly waved his hand and sternly stopped her.

"I don't trust that stuff."

He took a few deep breaths, as if he had made up his mind.

"I...I'll write something for you."

He stood up shakily and walked to a dilapidated table in the inner room.

From a locked wooden box.

I found a yellowed letter and a ballpoint pen that was almost out of ink.

He spread out the paper, breathed on the pen tip, and rubbed it vigorously.

Then, stroke by stroke, I began to write.

His hands were shaking so badly that the words he wrote were crooked and messy.

Qin Kexin and An Ran leaned closer and held their breath.

The paper read:

[This serves as proof that Wang Yunjin was in a temporary detention room on the day he was detained.]

He voluntarily confessed to me that he was the real culprit in the "Tang Qian case" and described the details of the scene.

For example, hiding the victim's sandals in a crack in a cornfield.

His statement closely matched the on-site investigation report.

After finishing writing, he took out a small red inkpad box from the drawer.

Open it and press down firmly with your thumb.

Then, he imprinted that bright red fingerprint on his name.

After doing all that, I felt completely drained and slumped into a chair.

"Take it."

"That's all I can do."

Qin Kexin carefully picked up the piece of paper that still carried the warmth of the old man's fingertips.

Fold it neatly and put it in a pocket close to your body.

"Thank you, Uncle Zhang!"

She bowed deeply to the old man.

An Ran also bowed, her eyes red-rimmed.

Just as they were about to leave.

"etc."

Old Zhang called them back again.

After hesitating for a moment, he walked back to the table and went to the bottom of the wooden box.

He pulled out an even yellower and more worn-out notebook.

He stroked the notebook cover for a long time before handing it to Qin Kexin.

"This is my duty log from back then. I've recorded what happened that day in it."

"Take it."

He shoved the notebook into Qin Kexin's hands.

"remember."

"We ordinary people don't understand any profound laws. All we want is the truth."

Qin Kexin clutched the notebook, feeling as if it weighed a ton.

She could no longer say a word of thanks.

All I could do was nod vigorously.

As I stepped out of the bungalow, the rain outside intensified.

The cold raindrops stung Qin Kexin's face.

She glanced down at the old notebook in her arms.

Suddenly, she laughed, laughing like a madwoman in the cold rain.

As I laughed, my eyes welled up with tears.

She couldn't hold back any longer and grabbed the notebook.

He ran like a madman toward the car parked not far away!

Rain mixed with tears, blurring her vision.

"Kexin! Slow down!" Anran shouted in panic from behind.

Qin Kexin couldn't hear anything anymore.

She ran to the car in one breath and jumped into the driver's seat.

He clutched the notebook that had determined the fate of countless people tightly to his chest.

He turned his head and looked out the window at An Ran, who was chasing after him.

Her face was still wet with tears, yet she radiated a beauty she had never seen before.

A smile even brighter than the blazing summer sun.