Release that Man

“I personally think none of these people are the traitor.” Albert raised the wine glass in his hand and sipped leisurely. His gray eyes scanned the six suspects in the hall. He and Ye Shuang were currently standing on the corridor that was outside the resting area on the second floor. From where they stood, they could see the entire dance hall.

Ye Shuang confirmed it again with the man. “Are you sure?”

“I am about sixty percent certain.” Albert shrugged his shoulders like he was bored, “As you know, the thing that I am good at in terms of psychology is behavioral analysis. Everyone’s personal information, including their birth, knowledge, occupation, and so on, is all subconsciously reflected in their daily movement. Similarly, what someone had done recently can also be discerned from their actions and concerns. Of course, without the support of additional proof, I can only provide analysis from my perspective, and I cannot guarantee that it will be one hundred percent perfect.”

“60 percent confidence sounds about right.” Ye Shuang thought about it. “I have also approached these people before. There is one that is working for both companies at the same time, and even though other people harbor their own goals, most of them still need to depend on the Si Hai Organization and hope that the company will become better and not worse. By the way, there is someone extra. If you have time, go and speak with Mrs. Zuo—I suspect she is committing an extra-marital affair.”

“What‽” Albert was shocked and stunned. “This doesn’t sound like it is within my job scope.”

He was a criminal psychological profiler. Fine, due to his ‘holiday’ that he was on to recruit Anthony, he had to accept personal cases. His focus on criminal investigation had now turned into business crime investigation. His status had already been pulled down to his bottom line; he would not lower himself from a criminal profiler to a private investigator who look into other people’s extra-marital affairs. That would never happen!

Albert, who had his principles, turned to look at Ye Shuang, “I need a valid reason.”

“Think of it as a repayment to your client.” Ye Shuang looked at the ‘are you kidding me?’ expression on Albert’s face, and after a pause, she smiled. “Fine, actually I’m just curious about it. Think of it as some kind of gossip. Since you have nothing better to do, going to check it out is not going to harm you, is it?”

Albert took in a deep breath. He finished the remaining wine in his glass and prepared to leave. Fine, so he was even lower than a private investigator. He was actually a paparazzo.

Ignore! End the friendship! Goodbye!

“Wait a minute! Don’t go yet!” Ye Shuang quickly pulled the man back and explained hurriedly, “Actually, it is not just for gossip. The original purpose of our case is to find the traitor in the Si Hai Organization who has been cooperating with outside forces to bring it down from inside, right‽ And now, those six candidates have temporarily escaped suspicion, haven’t they?

“However, other than these six people, there is actually one more person who can access the many files that Zuo Yuanhang keeps on him. When the Xi Hwa Organization tried to undermine the An family’s business in San Lin City, they tried to corrupt it from within, and the method that they employed was to send out someone to seduce the one of shot-callers within An family.”

Albert peeled his eyes open to ask in a serious tone, “You’re not just lying to me just to gather information to gossip about, are you?”

“I’m definitely not lying to you!” Ye Shuang nodded in quick succession. “If you don’t believe me, you can go and ask Tony. He’s currently working at An Corps right now because he is needed to clean up the mess from that thing that I mentioned.”

“Wait, I still think something is not right.” Albert was about to accept the case when he was suddenly reminded of something. He looked at Ye Shuang with caution in his eyes. “Shouldn’t we inform Mr. Zuo of this first? It is most suitable for the man himself to go keep an eye out on his lawfully-wedded wife—why am I the one being tasked to do something like this?”

“Haven’t you heard the saying that family shame should not be revealed to the public‽” Ye Shuang gave the man a side-eye. “If Zuo Yuanhang really wants to do something about it, who do you think he will turn to? It is impossible for him to do this on his own. Mr. Zuo has such a busy schedule, and he is not familiar with things like this. It is even more impossible for him to find his employees to do this. What if they really see something? It will such a loss to his family’s face if the details are leaked. Therefore, I am eighty percent sure that the case will eventually fall back on your head. Furthermore, criminal organization is still within FBI’s jurisdiction, right? The third man might be from the money-laundering organization itself, and I hear the organization is based in your country.”

FBI was part of United States’ legal department; their responsibility was to investigate the unlawful behavior that might bring a threat to the country’s safety. Anti-terrorism, drugs, organized crime, and foreign spies as well as white collar crimes were their main focus. The unit had the right to investigate more than two hundred types of federal crimes, and due to its large jurisdiction, it could also be considered the largest special unit in the US.

Honestly, the fact that Albert could be convinced to help this time had many things to do with the Xi Hwa Organization. It was because there was such a huge target that Albert could be convinced in the end. Otherwise, with just the internal company issue at Zuo Yuanhang’s Si Hai Organization, it would require a lot more persuasion and convincing to move someone of Albert’s caliber.

Albert thought about it and asked, “You plan to use me to kick this organization out of your own country?”

“He he! We’re just using each other, right‽” Ye Shuang smiled and admitted it openly. “After all, you could not have just left the organization there unattended. In the end, you will have to look into them. Plus, you are taking advantage of us to get close to Tony. So, if we really calculate the whole situation, I am just using you to accomplish one goal, and you are using two to complete two, so in conclusion, we’re technically still the losing party.”

“If you put it that way, sure. I don’t mind being used by a pretty woman.” Albert scratched his chin and leaned closer. “I hear the specialty at your country is bribery?”

There was bad intention dancing in his eyes.

“Where have you gotten such information from?” Ye Shuang chuckled and then used her single finger to push the man’s face back. She added with a giggle, “We’re still trying to follow the international trend. What we have here is still nothing compared to the money that is spent on lobbying in your country.”

Albert shrugged, but internally, he was shocked by the force in that single finger. If not for the fact that he had experienced it in person, he would have thought it was a big elephant that had pushed him back. He pouted with regret and then sighed. “Fine, it looks like we’re going to have to continue this happy cooperation awhile.”

After the ball that night, there were not any special activities the next day. The guests were free to find something to do on the cruise. They could play cards, watch movies, play golf, swim… Any kind of entertainment that one could think of, the cruise most likely had it. Combined that with the good-looking men and pretty girls that walked around the deck, the cruise was filled with a jovial atmosphere.

It was a rare opportunity to be invited to an event like this, so naturally, Ye Shuang would not waste all of her energy on a single investigation. Furthermore, they already had Albert to focus on that. Before Han Chu came to inform her that she had some things to do, Ye Shuang tried her best to wander around the cruise and make use of this opportunity to get to know people, expanding her social circle.

The right time, right place, and doing the right thing—if Ye Shuang wanted to, she could get close to anyone very quickly. To achieve a trusting relationship was naturally more difficult, but exchanging phone numbers was something doable.

After lunch, the cruise would stop at one of the smaller islands. The guests were allowed to go for leisure walks on the island or snorkeling. There were many such islands near Chaohai—some were military bases, and others had been bought by rich moguls.

Ye Shuang got bored after snorkeling for a while. As pretty as the sea was, it could get boring. Han Chu went to ask for a fishing pole. Albert was not with him, probably having gone to ‘work’. Lu Shaoyue had no interest in leaving the cruise. That morning, he had dropped by to invite Ye Shuang to theatre, and in the afternoon, he was dragged away from others to go play snooker. Ye Shuang took that time to go look for Han Chu.

“Albert said that you suspect Mrs. Zuo is the real traitor?” Han Chu saw Ye Shuang, who was running his way, and he turned his head back to the sea.

“An initial suspicion.” Ye Shuang leaned against the banister. “There are only so many ways the Xi Hwa Organization might go about these things. Since this is the method that they used to deal with An Zixuan, it is not impossible that they might repeat the same method here. Zuo Yuanhang is a very powerful planner, so finding an opening in him is impossible. The next best thing will be to go after the people close to him. His little brother has already been targeted, so it won’t be surprising if we find that his wife has been targeted as well, right?”

“You’re not wrong, but it is still better to communicate stuff like this first. If something is really suspicious with Mrs. Zuo, do you plan to just approach Mr. Zuo with the information? Have you considered the man’s reaction?” Han Chu looked at the fishing pole that was not moving at all. He picked up a biscuit that he had beside it and shoved it into his mouth. “Personal issues aside, even if this was just a normal case, when there is a change to the plan, the client has the right to know firsthand, and then it’ll be the client’s decision whether to pursue it or not.”

“Zuo Yuanhang is not someone who uses his emotions to deal with things.” Ye Shuang shook her head. “It’ll lead to the same result if you ask him. For the man, Mrs. Zuo is no different from those six people; she is also a partner, but their area of cooperation is different, that’s all.”

“You’re right.” Han Chu first nodded to agree with Ye Shuang before he shook his head. “However, no matter what, this is his case, and you have the responsibility to inform him before you make any decisions. This is the process and the responsibility everyone should have. For example, everyone would agree that a criminal should be punished, but you still don’t have the right to deliver the punishment yourself. We still have to follow the process of the law. Acting beyond one’s authority is often missed out by the proprietor—to put it clearly, this is a form of self-preservation. You have to make him demand action so that if anything bad happens in the future, you will be able to avoid the potential responsibility.”

Ye Shuang thought about it. “You have a point. I guess I shall go make a call when I return.”

“I’ve already helped you inform the man. Zuo Yuanhang has approved of the investigation.” Han Chu glanced at Ye Shuang. “But you have to remember these things on your own next time.”

Ye Shuang was touched. Brother Han was so thoughtful like Doreamon ¹ .

…

Han Chu fished for a while, but there was no bite. He sat with much ease, but Ye Shuang was getting bored. She was about to find an excuse to escape when two familiar kids ran over, making a ruckus.

Ye Shuang quickly went over to capture them. She grabbed one with each hand. “You two again? Didn’t your father tell you not to run on the deck?”

“There are rails on the deck!” The boy puffed up his cheeks and countered. He was not afraid of Ye Shuang. Dangling in the air, he waved his two legs. “Father said that we can do what we want.”

With a frown, Han Chu put down the pole and walked over to Ye Shuang. “Your father really said that?”

To allow kids of such a young age to run around the deck, even if it was for training, that was too much.

“Father did say that!” the girl concurred.

Han Chu was silent for a while. He looked around and said, “Xiao Shuang, put them down first.”

Ye Shuang put them down. The two kids were polite and greeted them before running away to have fun. Han Chu guessed, “Mr. Zuo has probably informed the people around. With people watching over them, it should be fine.”

Ye Shuang had actually discovered that earlier than Han Chu. There were footsteps running after the children on the deck. It was probably someone assigned by Zuo Yuanhang to watch over the kids.

Ye Shuang sat back down on the chair and sighed. “Looks like Zuo Yuanhang has completely given up on his wife. Whether the result comes back to suggest she is having an extra-marital affair or is the traitor, since she has been exposed to allow the children to run rampant so many times, Zuo Yuanhang will limit her power, and divorce is not impossible.”

“That’s another family’s business,” Han Chu said as he grabbed another cookie.

…

Albert finally returned during dinner. When he arrived at the dining hall, he was like a hungry ghost. He grabbed a piece of cake… from Han Chu’s hands. He finished it in three bites and sat down. “That woman does look like she is cheating on her husband. It’s quite unbelievable. Her lover, in terms of looks, family background, and wealth, cannot rival Mr. Zuo… Fine, perhaps such is love, but I really don’t understand why she would think of giving up her children.”

“Take it slow.” Ye Shuang first handed another piece of cake to the dark-faced Han Chu before pushing the seafood pasta that she had not touched to Albert. “You’re talking about the man with a crew cut and a mole above his left brow, right?”

Albert was shocked. “How did you know? Have you approached him already?”

“No, I saw him at the party last night.” Ye Shuang did not say that she had seen him from afar. “So, what did you find out?”

Albert shoved a large mouthful of pasta into his mouth and gulped down a glass of water before saying, “They’re probably going to run away together.”