Genius Club-Chapter 184 - 27 Bait

MX Company, 20th floor, Lin Xian’s office.

Lin Xian was sitting at his desk, twirling a pen, mulling over the words Chu Shanhe had said at noon.

According to the evidence currently held by the Donghai Public Security Bureau, Tang Xin was a woman with a very disordered private life, promiscuous and flirtatious, which is why she had fallen victim to a revengeful passion killing...

This case, with the evidence of dashcam footage and corroborated by chat records on Tang Xin’s phone, seemed to have no flaws in reasoning at first glance.

Unless...

[All that evidence is fake.]

If it was fake, could it also have been fabricated by Zhou Duanyun and his accomplices?

Then the subsequent question is—

[Who are Zhou Duanyun’s accomplices?]

So far, Zhou Duanyun had managed to offload all blame cleanly, and with the Tang Xin case apparently having a clear suspect, no one besides Lin Xian suspected him.

And Lin Xian’s doubts were merely based on subjective conjecture and likewise lacked evidence.

He must find a way to gather more clues.

Lin Xian tapped his fingers on the desk.

For now, his situation appeared to be relatively safe; perhaps Zhou Duanyun and his group had already marked him as one of their potential targets... but they did not yet plan to kill him, unaware of what they were waiting for.

No matter what, he needed to start taking action without delay.

The breakthrough for all of these problems lay in the forged evidence meant to smear Tang Xin:

"I need to find a way to see that evidence."

Lin Xian closed his eyes, beginning to think.

If he went directly to the police station, the police would certainly not entertain him, let alone show him these confidential materials not yet made public.

Therefore...

"Maybe I can ask Ji Lin directly."

Although he and Ji Lin had only met once, they had had a decent conversation at the Donghai Chamber of Commerce’s New Year’s Eve dinner; the other party liked Rhein Cat, and he himself was a fan of his books, so he might be able to learn something from him... At least, it seemed more hopeful than trying with the police.

Lin Xian opened up news reports and began searching for information related to Ji Lin.

Perhaps due to the upcoming Oscar awards ceremony... Ji Lin had recently been frequently making headlines in the entertainment section, with everyone keen to know if he could secure the Oscar for Best Screenplay.

After all, no native of China had yet won this prestigious Oscar.

Lin Xian browsed through a few news articles and found that Ji Lin had been frequently attending events and banquets in Donghai City, making many public appearances.

This was somewhat at odds with his "homebody" persona from previous years, making one wonder if it was the requirements of the entertainment capital behind him to build publicity.

After some inquiries, a publisher he had worked with before told Lin Xian that Ji Lin would be attending a book fair the morning after next.

Lin Xian planned to meet with Ji Lin then.

...

The day after next.

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Outside the Donghai City Library, at the book fair.

It was divided into several areas, bustling with activity.

After the events had concluded, Lin Xian followed the publisher backstage to meet Ji Lin.

"Hi, Ji Lin."

"Lin Xian?" Ji Lin turned around and saw the unexpected guest:

"I didn’t expect to see you here."

"Do you have time right now?" Lin Xian asked:

"There are some things I’d like to discuss with you alone. If you’re busy, we could schedule another time."

"No problem, this way please."

Ji Lin led Lin Xian into a reception room and gestured for him to take a seat.

Lin Xian got straight to the point.

Ji Lin nodded thoughtfully:

"I see, you’ve heard? Well, it’s not a big deal. There’s no secret that doesn’t get out eventually. The fact that I’ve been assisting the investigation at Donghai Public Security Bureau was bound to come out sooner or later, and I’m not too concerned about these matters."

"It’s good that you don’t mind," Lin Xian said:

"The thing is, Tang Xin was my high school classmate, and we also had a fairly good private relationship. I won’t hide it from you; I have heard about the investigation results of the Tang Xin case, but... in my understanding, Tang Xin was not that kind of girl, so I wanted to talk to you."

"Of course, don’t feel pressured. I understand there are things you need to keep confidential. Anyway, if possible, I’d like to clear things up a bit. After all, it’s a matter of Tang Xin’s reputation. Although she has passed away, her parents and family are still here, and it’s only right to leave a clean legacy for her in this world."

Ji Lin chuckled softly, looking down:

"Lin Xian, you really are a kind person... I understand what you mean, simply put... you don’t believe the evidence about Tang Xin found by the police. You think someone maliciously forged evidence to slander Tang Xin."

Lin Xian nodded:

"That’s roughly what I mean."

"I totally understand how you feel, Lin Xian," Ji Lin shifted his sitting posture, looking at Lin Xian and said:

"Because I am just like you, actually coming to Donghai City for the same reason."

"What reason?" Lin Xian asked.

"[To avenge a friend.]" Ji Lin replied.

Friend?

Lin Xian remembered Ji Lin bowing at Professor Xu Yun’s memorial service:

"Professor Xu Yun was your friend? Your ages seem... was it a friendship that transcended the difference in ages?"

"No."

Ji Lin shook his head:

"Xu Yun was my sister’s husband."

"That makes him your brother-in-law," Lin Xian said directly.

Really...

Brother-in-law is brother-in-law, why make it sound so complicated.

"Brother-in-law..."

Ji Lin looked at the ceiling, crossing his arms:

"In theory, yes, but actually, I have never called him brother-in-law, nor have I ever considered him a relative. I’ve always treated him as a friend."

"Why?"

"Because I was adopted; my sister and I don’t have any blood relation."

"Okay."

Lin Xian sorted out Ji Lin’s family relationship in his mind; it was indeed quite complex:

"So, your purpose for coming to Donghai is to find the murderer who killed Xu Yun?"

"Exactly," Ji Lin nodded:

"Although there’s no direct relation between Xu Yun and me, because of my sister, Xu Yun would often give me books as a kid, tell me science stories, and I consider our relationship pretty good."

"I didn’t have many friends when I was young, apart from my sister, Xu Yun was probably the first friend in my life... It’s just a pity that he’s dead now, and the murderer hasn’t been caught yet, so I came to Donghai City and haven’t left, with the goal... to find out who killed Xu Yun and avenge him."

So that’s how it is...

Lin Xian had always been unclear about the relationship between Ji Lin and Xu Yun, nor could he understand why the usually reclusive Ji Lin suddenly joined the Donghai Public Security Bureau to assist with cases.

Now it all made sense; there was such a relationship between him and Xu Yun.

"That’s why I said, I understand your feelings, Lin Xian."

Ji Lin turned his head, looking into Lin Xian’s eyes:

"As Tang Xin’s classmate, it’s indeed hard for you to accept that she had such negative records and died from a crime of passion. The Donghai City police have also considered this, which is why they have temporarily not made this damaging information about Tang Xin’s reputation public."

"But... facts are facts, and evidence is evidence. Given that the murderer who killed Tang Xin has been identified, it is only a matter of time before all the truth will be published in the police reports."

"If you don’t trust our investigation results, I could let you look at those unreleased materials. You can judge for yourself."

"Really?"

Lin Xian was surprised.

He had just planned to ask Ji Lin about the situation and never expected that he would get to see the police’s confidential information...

Is this even allowed?

"In principle, it’s not," Ji Lin smiled:

"But I can make an exception for you."

After pausing, Ji Lin continued:

"To be honest, Lin Xian, even if you didn’t come to me today, I was going to seek you out sooner or later."

"Why?"

"Because there are many aspects of Professor Xu Yun’s case that are closely related to you. Of course, I’m not saying you are the murderer, but there are some things that are indeed hard to explain. I always feel... that there seems to be some unusual secret between you and Professor Xu Yun."

Ji Lin raised his head, looking at Lin Xian:

"Can you tell me... "

"[Why are all the royalties from the chemical substance that Xu Yun developed under your name?]"