Chapter 118: Entrapment

Chapter 118: Entrapment

The supervisor stared intently at the person before him.

Jian Ruochen’s fingers tightened around the paper bag as he met the supervisor’s gaze. The man had a greasy appearance, his small eyes glinting with a mix of vigilance and calculation.

Before anyone realized, four or five male cultivators had gathered, completely encircling the corner.

Jian Ruochen maintained a calm facade, but his heart pounded in his throat.

With so many eyes on him, it was impossible to discreetly retrieve anything from the perfectly sealed paper bag!

He couldn't put on a show.

What should he do?

In an instant, sweat beaded in Jian Ruochen’s palm.

Guan Yingjun reached out, taking the paper bag back. His eyes were devoid of warmth, fixed on the supervisor with chilling indifference. "No stranger is to handle my brother’s medication."

The supervisor persisted, "I just need to take a look. I don’t necessarily have to touch it."

The pills here were all packaged in small, transparent sealed bags, clearly labeled with dosage instructions.

"Just pour them out for me to see. It’s our policy. Please don’t make this difficult for me."

Guan Yingjun scoffed, hooked the wheelchair with his leg, pulling it closer. He then opened the paper bag and dumped its contents onto the seat.

A transparent square plastic bag and a piece of paper fell onto the chair, scattering.

The supervisor snatched up the paper.

Jian Ruochen closed his eyes slightly, his palm clammy.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the paper was thin and ordinary, not folded into a square—nothing like what he had felt earlier.

It must just be a handwritten prescription.

Sure enough, the supervisor flipped it over with a look of surprise and doubt. Why was it a normal prescription?

He then looked down at the items scattered on the wheelchair.

They were actually all pills.

There was nothing suspicious at all!

Jian Ruochen relaxed his clenched fist. A summer breeze swept by, cooling his damp palm.

Guan Yingjun shook the paper bag again, then turned its wide-open mouth toward the supervisor. "See clearly now?"

A mocking curve lifted the corner of his lips. "They’re all just ordinary medicines, aren’t they?"

Jian Ruochen glanced at the paper bag and instantly understood Guan Yingjun’s method of hiding things.

There must have been two kraft paper bags nested together, and the evidence he had felt earlier was hidden between the layers.

It was time to perform.

Jian Ruochen blinked, feigning displeasure. "It seems to me you don’t need donations at all."

The supervisor’s gaze darkened as he tried to hand back the prescription. Guan Yingjun gave him a cool glance but didn’t take it.

Instead, he bent down and collected the scattered plastic pill bags from the wheelchair back into the kraft paper bag.

Pei Nisi watched the adults in a tense standoff.

She was terrified.

No one paid her any attention, and no one took her to change her clothes. Her drenched dress continued to drip intermittently. Despite it being summer, the little girl shivered from the cold.

Jian Ruochen initially intended to turn and leave.

But this welfare organization run by the church was far too peculiar.

If they left now, the church, having gained nothing, might take out their frustration on Pei Nisi and the others, perhaps even subjecting them to interrogation without proper care.

He couldn’t let the children suffer because of them.

Jian Ruochen let out a cold laugh and muttered under his breath, "Absurd."

The cultivators who had gathered around felt their faces burn with shame.

Helplessness and regret suddenly welled up in their hearts. One even clutched the cross on his chest, silently blaming the supervisor.

Why be so aggressive?

Now they were all left in an embarrassing situation.

Jian Ruochen took a deep breath, pretending to calm himself. "It’s dangerous outside these days. It’s only right for you to be cautious, sir."

The supervisor’s mind churned with doubt and unease.

His instincts told him he couldn’t let the person before him continue speaking—the situation was taking a bad turn. "You understand—"

Jian Ruochen cut him off. "I will still make a donation."

The cultivators were startled, exchanging glances.

"I’ll donate 10 million," Jian Ruochen said, a slight curve lifting the corner of his lips.

10 million was more than enough.

Enough to stir greed in these "devout practitioners."

Embezzling, misappropriating, or corrupting donations exceeding 100,000 required returning the assets and carried a sentence of five to seven years in prison.

Exceeding 5 million meant life imprisonment.

Entrapment—he was quite familiar with it.

He couldn’t just let their intimidation go unanswered.

Guan Yingjun glanced over, a faint smile tugging at his lips. He said nothing.

Too clever.

The brim of the black bucket hat drooped low, obscuring the face beneath, yet one could easily imagine the lively glint in those eyes.

Jian Ruochen said, "Use this money to buy new blankets and clothes for the children. Put it to good use. I’ll come back to see how things are going in a while. I hope by then you’ll have…"

The place was searched.

He paused, "…improved the children's quality of life. I hope you can live up to your beliefs and conscience."

It's best not to be greedy.

If they were, then they couldn't blame the West Kowloon Regional Police Station for adding to their arrest numbers.

This money was not only bait for entrapment but also a charm to shield Penny and the others from backlash, as well as an excuse to return here.

That seemingly insane woman who might be connected to his mother hadn't been fully questioned yet.

Jian Ruochen lowered his gaze, took the pen handed to him by Guan Yingjun, and signed a check. Without looking at the supervisor, he handed it to the monastic brother who had initially greeted him.

By giving the check to the monastic brother, the supervisor's authority was challenged, and he would surely try to seize it.

The trust among these people was fragile; a little manipulation could easily stir up infighting.

Jian Ruochen said, "Monastic brother, since you’ve moved the wheelchair, I’ll leave the task of caring for the children to you."

The rain had just stopped, but the sky remained overcast and gloomy.

The air felt humid and thick.

Jian Ruochen twisted the pen cap on, turned around, and gestured to Guan Yingjun to leave.

The monastic brothers watched their retreating figures, their ears red with humiliation and embarrassment.

To think people like this exist in the world!

Even after being insulted by the supervisor, they still worried about the children’s well-being and donated money.

A full ten million dollars!

After replacing the children's living supplies, there would still be plenty left, enough for them to split among themselves.

This gentleman is truly a good person!

The supervisor is so wicked—was it just about buying some vitamins and calcium tablets? Why be so suspicious?

He must be the reincarnation of Judas!

·

Jian Ruochen and Guan Yingjun walked side by side out of the church orphanage.

After confirming that no one was following them, they quickened their pace and headed straight for the car parked by the roadside.

It wasn’t until he sat in the passenger seat that Jian Ruochen realized he was sweating heavily.

He took off his bucket hat, and the hair hidden underneath spilled out, a few strands damp and clinging to his temples. Not bothering to fix it, he asked, "Detective Guan, what did you get? They were so vigilant—they must have been hiding something important. You’re the best at covert ops, infiltrating the enemy’s camp to find evidence."

Guan Yingjun:…

He chuckled wryly, "Are you complimenting me?"

"Of course. You’re more sensitive to words and numbers, able to scan through material quickly. You’d definitely find files faster than I could." As he spoke, Jian Ruochen grew impatient and reached over to take the manila envelope. With a twist of two fingers, he easily popped it open.

He lifted the two layered envelopes apart, revealing a neatly folded piece of paper hidden in the interlayer.

Guan Yingjun watched, thinking they had great chemistry.

Without a word or even a glance, Jian Ruochen knew exactly how he would conceal things, quickly falling into sync.

They were too perfectly in tune.

Besides Jian Ruochen, no one in this lifetime could keep up with his thoughts and rhythm so swiftly.

Jian Ruochen unfolded the sheets.

They were two pages pulled from a file, with a yellowed, faded photo attached to the top right corner of the first page—a woman who bore a striking resemblance to Jian Ruochen.

He looked at the name: Keli Siduo, Guan Delin, Kang Nate.

Below were her physical examination report and medical records.

Jian Ruochen skimmed through them quickly.

Judging by her appearance and the timing of the medical records, this must be the original owner's mother.

Guan Yingjun waited until he turned to the next page before speaking, "This one is a payment record."

Jian Ruochen felt a headache coming from the dense gridlines and the tiny, ant-sized gray numbers. After hastily reading a few account titles, he held the paper higher and closer, as if trying to press it against his face.

"I've looked. They're all local Hong Kong accounts, from a Hong Kong bank, but the account names don’t seem to belong to Kang Nate. This Yucheng Shipping Co., Ltd. is a local enterprise in Hong Kong." Guan Yingjun shielded Jian Ruochen's eyes. "Stop looking. The print is too small, and the light in the car is poor. We’ll check it back at the station."

Jian Ruochen set down the paper. "After my mother came to Hong Kong, Butler Luo didn’t find me until over 20 years later. That means she didn’t use the money in the accounts associated with Kang Nate after arriving in Hong Kong."

For a high-level bank VIP like Kang Nate, if there was a need to track someone or trace money trails, even just one dollar, it could be found out where it was spent.

If Luo Binwen couldn’t find it, it meant the original owner’s mother never touched the money in those accounts.

Jian Ruochen said, "But as far as I know, Yucheng Shipping Co., Ltd. doesn’t belong to the Jiang family."

Jiang Mingshan received a death sentence, Jiang Hanyu was imprisoned.

He had long been familiar with the Jiang family’s assets.

"I’ll ask Uncle Luo." He sent a text to Luo Binwen and received a reply in less than ten minutes.

It contained a name that was unexpected yet logical.

"Lu Jingchen." Jian Ruochen lowered his gaze, pondering for a moment before suddenly understanding. "No wonder."

The traffic light ahead turned red.

Guan Yingjun gripped the steering wheel, his index finger unconsciously tapping the leather surface. "So that’s it."

With this account name that paid for Jian Ruochen’s mother’s medical expenses, all the unsolved mysteries seemed to fall into place.

The two exchanged a glance, simultaneously recalling the analysis they had done in the study of the police apartment some time ago.

Lu Jingchen had conflicting interests with the mother.

Back then, the Lu family, the British Hong Kong authorities, and Kang Nate formed a three-way standoff, with the Lu family appearing prosperous on the surface.

In reality, economic lifelines and industrial development projects were tightly controlled by Kang Nate.

Lu Jingchen had wanted to compete with Kang Nate but lacked the resources.

At that moment, Olivier Kang Nate Keith showed up.

As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Lu Jingchen had conflicting interests with the protagonist's mother and wanted to seize economic control of Hong Kong.

Oliver Keith also had conflicting interests with the protagonist's mother and wanted to claim Kang Nate's inheritance rights.

Driven by their interests, these two men teamed up.

So it makes sense that 20 years later, Lu Rong and Oliver Keith collaborated again.

Jian Ruochen turned his head with no expression to look out the window.

After all, their common enemy had now become him.

The red light turned green.

The traffic slowly moved forward.

The wheels pressed into puddles on the road, making a damp, sticky, splashing friction sound.

Jian Ruochen propped his head up and sighed, "What a pity. These are all just our speculations. Although they’re likely the truth, they can’t be used as courtroom evidence."

And the key witness, Lu Jingchen, had already been angered to death by Lu Qian’s death.

Ultimately, he was the one who had angered him to death.

Jian Ruochen: ...

"Sigh, too early."

Why didn’t that old man hold on a few more months, long enough for me to interrogate him before he died?

Sigh!

He sighed twice in a row, then zoned out.

Such an outstanding person, an entrepreneur, a mother, a woman in her prime—actually killed just like that.

Guan Yingjun shot a sideways glance.

The young man’s eyebrows were downturned, his forehead furrowed, and his eyes slightly red. Jian Ruochen had never known his mother since birth, living a life of schemes. When he learned the truth years later, all he could see was a cold medical record.

Twenty years had passed—no evidence, no case was ever filed, and beyond the statute of limitations. Even if everyone knew the truth, no one could prosecute.

Jian Ruochen was clever and prone to blaming himself; he might be upset for several days.

Guan Yingjun turned the car to pull over in front of a store. "Wait five minutes."

Jian Ruochen absentmindedly replied, "Okay," still regretting having angered Lu Jingchen to death too early, his gaze faraway.

Luckily, Lu Rong had strong mental fortitude.

He hadn’t been angered to death over the Kowloon Walled City land dispute.

He could still be interrogated.

In less than five minutes,

Guan Yingjun returned, with a hint of dampness on him.

He closed the car door and placed a bouquet of white hydrangeas with gold accents into Jian Ruochen’s arms.

The hydrangeas bloomed in clusters, three or four bunches forming a vibrant, beautiful mass.

Jian Ruochen was stunned for a moment. "Why did you get me flowers?"

It's so sudden—there's gotta be a reason, right?

"To cheer you up." Guan Yingjun wasn’t in a hurry to drive, his tone almost no different from usual.

He paused, with a sigh. "Don’t frown and sigh."

It makes my heart ache.

Jian Ruochen was speechless, his lips parting slightly.

Detective Guan was so smooth—he knew Jian Ruochen was out of his depth in romance!

Guan Yingjun said, "We can’t prosecute what happened 20 years ago, but Preludin and Oliver Keith are clearly involved. The school doctor is also a lead worth investigating thoroughly."

"Right. He’s killed others too, and that string of aliases can also be investigated." Jian Ruochen stared at the flowers.

He didn’t really need cheering up, but seeing the flowers made his heavy heart feel a leap of joy.

Jian Ruochen held the full cluster of hydrangeas and turned to look at the man in the driver’s seat.

Those eyes were piercingly deep, his brows slightly drawn, concealing a trace of worry but more a surging, overwhelming wave of tenderness that wrapped around him tightly.

Jian Ruochen thought he might lean in for a kiss—after all, Guan Yingjun was passionate and liked to kiss.

But after three minutes of staring at each other, Jian Ruochen’s eyes started to strain, and Guan Yingjun remained in his proper, all-business, ready-to-go posture.

...There’s no one around, what's he holding back for?

It was a chance to take control.

Jian Ruochen tilted his chin up. "Get closer."

He announced boldly, "I’m going to kiss you."