Chapter 251: Everyone Has Their Own Agenda (Part 2)
When Cheng Yongxin saw Panpan again at the teahouse, she was sitting dejectedly in a small private room, mechanically stirring the small spoon in her coffee cup.
Although Cheng Yongxin was not involved in the Lin Xiaoya case, she had obtained all the public information about the case through Panpan’s channels, including the results of Panpan’s private investigation.
She knew that the investigation was not going smoothly. What disappointed her most was that Mu Min, Salina, and Su Wan, the three female transmigrators working in the “police department,” had all rejected Panpan’s investigation request and refused to reveal any inside information. She had originally thought that the three female transmigrators, who had a common language in defending women’s rights and curbing the abuse of power by male transmigrators, would strongly support Panpan’s investigation. She had not expected them to all obediently become slaves to “discipline.” Even Salina, an American woman, was so submissive!
According to her original plan, Lin Xiaoya must have been killed by a certain transmigrator. Su Wan had also vaguely revealed at the party that Lin Xiaoya had not committed suicide, and the Senate, in order to maintain the fig leaf of the sanctity of the transmigrators, would definitely tamper with the case: it was possible to change it to an accident, suicide, or murder by another naturalized citizen.
With these three female transmigrators as “deep throats” providing internal information and evidence, and with Panpan, a media person who controlled the largest newspaper in Lingao, she would have a good trump card as soon as the falsified official case report came out.
It was impossible to rely on this trump card to reform the current system. Even she, Cheng Yongxin, could not do that. But at least it could crack open this airtight iron curtain. In particular, it could win greater press freedom for the Lingao Times for Panpan. Panpan would also trust her more. Having the media was equivalent to having the right to speak: not only could it influence the broad masses of ordinary transmigrators, but more importantly, it could influence the broad masses of naturalized citizens and natives.
However, Panpan’s investigation yielded nothing, and the uncooperative attitude of the three female transmigrators was also difficult for her to understand. Cheng Yongxin realized that things were not as simple as she had expected.
“What’s wrong, Panpan baby,” Cheng Yongxin still had a relaxed expression. “You look unsatisfied?” “Don’t joke, Cheng Cheng baby.” Panpan took a sip of coffee and took out a piece of paper. “Look.”
Cheng Yongxin took it and read it over: “Is this the case announcement?”
Panpan nodded: “I just got it yesterday afternoon. The official report from the police headquarters.”
“Panpan, tell me, do you believe this report?”
“Not even a ghost would believe it!” Panpan said angrily. “This is obviously tampered with!”
“I agree with you.” Cheng Yongxin thought: this is the same as my estimate. “Obviously they are trying to hide something.”
“I’ve already started investigating, and the results are really disappointing. I haven’t found anything!”
“Panpan baby, you won’t get any results by investigating like this.”
“No, I got permission from the Arbitration Tribunal this morning to review the case file. Let’s just say: the evidence is conclusive.”
“Bah! Forged!”
“I went to interview all the witnesses again, and I also got permission to interview the suspect. There was no discrepancy with the testimony in the case file.”
“Bah, they must have been coached beforehand. What’s so strange about that?”
Panpan nodded heavily and said, “But when I went to interview Mu Min, Salina, and Su Wan, what they said was exactly the same as the testimony! Mu Min also told me that she completed the investigation of this case independently, without any external coercion. The case is completely true.”
“Bah, they were forced!”
“No, I can still tell if someone is being forced to lie or not,” Panpan said dejectedly. “They were telling the truth. Especially Mu, her attitude was very firm and affirmative. She was definitely not forced to say these things.”
Both of them fell silent. After a long time, Cheng Yongxin murmured, “How could this be?”
“Maybe there’s nothing fishy about this case after all. We’re overthinking it…”
Cheng Yongxin pondered for a moment and said, “Can you let me study your investigation materials?”
“Are they useful?” Panpan said, taking out a notebook from her shoulder bag and handing it to her. “It doesn’t matter to me, but I’m afraid there’s not much in it…”
“It’s okay. I just want to know the whole case and see if there are any other news angles that can be explored,” Cheng Yongxin said with a smile. “Panpan baby, in the ‘new society,’ your news sense has become dull.”
“Can you find a new angle?” Panpan looked at her in surprise.
“Definitely. How about this, Panpan baby, you hold off on the report and let me go back and study it.” “OK, it’s up to you!”
Cheng Yongxin returned to her residence and instructed Sun Shangxiang, “Make coffee, use the best Golden South Sea, and make it strong!”
Sun Shangxiang was wearing an apron. Seeing the Chief’s appearance, she knew she was going to be busy again. She quickly asked, “You haven’t had dinner yet, have you? Do you want me to make a sandwich?”
“Do it. I want cheese and lettuce, no ham.”
Cheng Yongxin sat at the table and began to study the announcement and Panpan’s investigation notes. From the information Panpan had collected, there were indeed no suspicious points in the case, and the chain of evidence was interlocked. Unless the entire investigation had been tampered with from the beginning. But Panpan had said that Mu Min was not lying.
Cheng Yongxin still agreed with Panpan’s view: as a journalist, she had a considerable ability to observe people. In addition, whether it was Mu Min, Salina, or Su Wan, in their several contacts, they had all expressed concern about the current moral standards of the transmigrators and the institutional defects of the Senate. It could be said that they had a common language and were “sympathizers” of her, Cheng Yongxin’s, cause, if not allies. Even if they were really threatened and could not tell the truth, they would not be so stubborn as to not give Panpan any hints.
In that case, was the case really as the announcement said?
Since Lin Xiaoya was not killed by a transmigrator, the Senate had no need to tamper with the case. The script she had originally written was completely useless. Even if she could play some small tricks in reporting techniques, it would not have a big effect.
Her eyes roamed the desktop. On the table was a pile of crudely printed and bound pamphlets: these were the work of the Arbitration Tribunal and the Law Society over the past two years, which she had specially borrowed from the Great Library for this case: various legal articles, some of which had been approved by the Standing Committee of the Senate.
Suddenly, Cheng Yongxin’s expression froze, and her eyes fell on the cover of a thin pamphlet: The Common Program.
Yang Xinwu had been lazing around at the Farm Café every day these days. After Yang Jihong was arrested, he was too lazy to go home. There was no one to cook at home, and the transmigrator canteen had been disbanded because the number of diners was getting smaller and smaller. Transmigrator Yang would have breakfast at the welfare cooperative in the residential area when he went out in the morning, have lunch at the school cafeteria, and then go to the teahouse for dinner after work. Then he would play cards with people at the teahouse to kill time. Sometimes he would simply prepare for his lessons in a small private room and go home to sleep after ten o’clock.
He was in a very gloomy mood. When Yang Jihong was by his side, he never felt that she was that important: Yang Jihong was one of the first batch of maids that Zhang Xin had brought from Guangdong. Transmigrator Yang had drawn a C-grade at that time. When he chose a maid, he was very disappointed with her face and height at first glance. Fortunately, after seeing her chest, his adrenaline began to secrete and immediately changed his thinking. That pair of magnificent breasts, which were extremely rare in southern China in the first half of the 17th century, made him make up his mind. As for her appearance, anyway, Lingao had power restrictions at night, and when the lights were turned off, only hearing and touch were left. He would make do with it for now, and buy a new one when he had a better maid later.
Yang Jihong was not sexy or beautiful, and Yang Xinwu had no common language with her. However, for the past two years, she had served him comfortably in his daily life. She was also extremely obedient and considerate to him. Over time, feelings grew. The idea of treating the life secretary as just a meat toilet and a nanny, and replacing her when a new one came along, gradually faded.
After Yang Jihong was arrested, he was left with only an empty home. Yang Xinwu painfully discovered that his home had suddenly lost its “soul.” When he returned home, there was no longer a woman to welcome him, take off his shoes and put on slippers for him, prepare hot water in the bathroom, and have hot meals on the table. At night, there was no warm and soft body next to him. He especially missed that pair of D-cups that could comfort his mind and body at any time…
That night, after he finished his dinner and was reminiscing about his past sexual encounters with Yang Jihong while preparing for his lessons in a small private room, the door of the private room was knocked gently a few times. Then the door opened, and a waitress came in:
“Chief, a female chief wants to see you.”
“A female chief?” Yang Xinwu thought it couldn’t be Du Wen. Before he could agree or not, a figure had already flashed in, shaking her straight, long hair like a curtain, and said with a smile, “No need to announce, I’ll introduce myself.” She then said to the waitress in an unquestionable tone, “You can go out.”
“Let me introduce myself. My name is Cheng Yongxin, and I work at the Great Library.” The visitor closed the door and said, “May I sit down? I have a few words to say to you.”
“Of course,” Yang Xinwu was caught off guard and could only express his welcome. “A pleasure to meet you. I am—”
“Yang Xinwu, a teacher at Fangcaodi. I know.” Cheng Yongxin smiled and touched the pearl necklace on her neck—she had carefully groomed herself today, wearing a simple gray short-sleeved top with a V-neck and a dark green plaid knee-length skirt. The moment she entered the teahouse, she had already attracted many eyes.
A radiant woman would be more persuasive when facing a man. She had deliberately groomed herself to achieve this purpose.
As expected, her “stunning” dress, which was “rare” in Lingao, had a considerable effect. She noticed that Transmigrator Yang’s eyes were momentarily confused.