Trafford’s Trading Club

“Ladies and gentlemen, the train to YN Dali is going to depart from platform No. 13. Please ensure you have your ticket and all your personal belongings, and please also…”

In the waiting hall, Zhao Ru lifted her suitcase and stood up from the chair.

She prepared to walk toward platform 13 after observing her surroundings for a short while. However, she soon stopped and headed in the opposite direction.

The reason being she saw the man she met a few hours ago, Ma Houde, and his team mingling in the crowd.

Zhao Ru could easily distinguish the policemen from ordinary people when she looked into their eyes. Their eyes were very different.

Zhao Ru, with an expressionless face, walked towards the female bathroom at an unhurried pace. The more flustered she was, the more likely she will attract the attention of those policemen.

When she came out of the washroom, she found that the police had left.

She glanced at the train ticket in her hand and threw it into the nearby garbage can. She did not intend to board the train.

However, when she turned back, the police man with a beer belly appeared in front of her face.

“Hi, Miss. Zhao. Where are you going? It seemed that you didn’t mention it this morning.”

“Sir, I think this is my personal business. It’s none of your concern,” Zhao Ru said firmly. Nevertheless, she found that she was surrounded by policemen when glancing about slightly.

She still seemed calm and said, “Officer Ma, I’m wondering why you came here. Is there anything you require from me?”

“Nothing, but we would like to invite you to have a chat. Something needs your confirmation.”

“Sir, I’m afraid that I can’t help as I’m running to catch a train.” Zhao Ru shook her head and continued, “You people have no right to force me to go back with you even if you are the police.”

Ma Houde shrugged. He had abundant experience in dealing with these excuses. After taking a mouthful of cola, he said seriously, “We suspect you of hiding some dangerous items in your suitcase. May we have a look?”

“Sir, there is no evidence. So you can’t do that.” Zhao Ru frowned.

Ma Houde added, “We need to check your suitcase to prove your innocence. Take it easy, I will ask a female officer to check. Is that ok?”

“Miss. Zhao, Please cooperate with us in investigating.” A policewoman showed her identification to Zhao Ru. Then she said, “The female bathroom is over there, I think we can start.”

Zhao Ru found with a quick glance that there were a few other policemen besides Ma Houde and this policewoman.

She nodded with a smile, “Fine, but you’d better hurry up.”

When Zhao Ru turned to the female bathroom, the policewoman caught up to her. Nevertheless, suddenly, Zhao Ru turned back while holding a spray in her hand.

Spraying it into the policewoman’s face, she pushed the woman into Ma Houde and attempted to flee.

Unexpectedly, after a few steps, she suddenly staggered, then fell to the ground,

It turned out that her leg had been hit by something… A can of cola!

Seeing Zhao Ru falling down, the policemen rushed forward and to hold her down. Ma Houde carried the female police officer who was injured and came over. “How about my shooting skills? I learned it from my best friend… Miss Zhao, you assaulted the police without any reason, please come back with us for further interrogation!”

Zhao Ru struggled twice but found that she could not get rid of them. Therefore, she remained silent with her eyes closed.

She didn’t say anything as her arms were grasped by the policemen. They left the railway station in a very quiet atmosphere.

The passengers came and left in a hurry. People would soon forget that there had been a scene of arrest… It was a common occurrence at the railway station.

People got used to it. Who wanted to take a second look?

However, two figures stopped in the crowd, a man and a woman… They were not travelers, but people with a long lifespan.

The woman crouched down and picked up a small necklace from the ground. She handed it to the man after a brief look.

This necklace was pulled down when the police officer struggled with Zhao Ru.

“Master,” she said, “It is the pendant of this necklace that caused Mr. Ma’s spirit to have abnormalities.”

“Well, this seems a little familiar. Have I seen it before?”

“Do you remember the black diamond in Liu Ang’s house? This pendant contains much lesser energy but the two should be from the same source.”

Liu Ang. Liu Zixing.

He nodded his head shortly. he remembered the house, as well as the story of three generations.

Luo Qiu put the pendant back in the hands of the maid and said, “Interesting. Go ask Zhao Ru where the pendant came from.”

…

…

Through the mirror of the interrogation room, Ma Houde had been staring at Zhao Ru for a long time along with the other policemen.

Under normal circumstance, criminals will behave anxiously.

It could be observed from their tiny actions that they were on thorns, no matter how they pretended to cover it up, yet this woman didn’t have that behavior.

From the beginning, she was sitting with eyes closed. Just like a waxen statue. So it was hard for the police to get details from her behavior.

“Let me have a try.” Ma Houde took a deep breath and entered the other room near the mirror.

“Miss. Zhao, do you know what we found in your suitcase?” Ma Houde broke the silence.

Nonetheless, Zhao Ru did not seem to hear anything. She kept her eyes closed without blinking.

Ma Houde spoke louder, “We found a lot of photographs on your laptop… You know what I mean, right?”

There was still no response from Zhao Ru.

Ma Houde sneered and continued, “In addition, there were more pictures in your cell phone. Those pictures were all for these dead students recently. Zhao Ru, I think you need to give a proper explanation how you took pictures even before police arrived at the crime scene.”

“What are you trying to say?” Zhao Ru opened her eyes slowly.

Ma Houde thumped the table wildly and said angrily. “Tell me, how did you make the students kill themselves? Did you threaten them with these pictures?!”

“Do you have any evidence?”

“Evidence?” Ma Houde shouted, “The pictures in your laptop involved both the dead and the other students. Why did you keep a candid snapshot of them? Furthermore, why did you go to the crime scene? We have checked the surveillance video near your apartment. It was extremely abnormal that you just went out on these evenings when the students committed suicide.”

Zhao Ru smiled and began to say, “Well, you guys really made great progress. Your speed really shocked me.”

She sighed and then said, “I admit that I did have contact with the students and I did threaten them. I just wanted to ask for some money. As for the reason why they killed themselves, I don’t know about that. Let’s put it this way, they were afraid that what they did would be found by others. On the other side, they couldn’t bear the pressure… Their tolerance was too low.”

“How dare you say it was not you who compelled them to death?” Ma Houde asked with anger, “But why did you go to their house before they died?”

“That was our time of the deal.”

“A mere coincidence?”

“I shot these photos to blackmail them for money. Since I didn’t get any money from the first person, so I would definitely look for the next. I can only say that I was unlucky as those that I picked died every time I contacted them. Officer, your side has confirmed that they jumped from the building themselves. You can accuse me of blackmail but not murder.”

The key point was that the police couldn’t find compelling evidence to prove that Zhao Ru made these students die. Even they knew she was not innocent.

If the truth was like what she said, that these students killed themselves because they were afraid of their pictures being exposed… In short, the court always requires conclusive evidence!

“Five people died because of you! Don’t you have any regrets about that? Are you cold-blooded?”

“Officer.” Zhao Ru said, “Why five lives? Did you get something wrong?”

“Chen Youli! Zhou Mingxuan! Qiao Rongrong! Li Hao! Gu Jiajie!” Ma Houde thumped the table and shouted, “These five students are dead because of your threats!”

“Officer, I admit that I blackmailed the first four people. But I am not relevant to their death. In addition, I didn’t threaten the last one you mentioned.”

“Ridiculous? Isn’t Gu Jiajie a student of the cram school?”

Zhao Ru sneered and said, “Have you found any information about this student after checking my belongings? Besides, since I have admitted to extortion, I won’t conceal anything. I really know nothing about the last deceased.”

“You…” Ma Houde took a deep breath and added, ” Keep sitting here, We will definitely manage to get you to confess your crime.”

…

“Sir, I checked again and found that there was no info about Gu Jiajie after comparing the evidence obtained from Xu Zhao’ house. It was suggested that Gu Jiajie didn’t participate in the so-called ‘business deals’. There were no photos about Gu Jiajie on Zhao Ru’s mobile phone. And…”

Ma Houde was stunned, “And what?”

“The surveillance showed that Zhao Ru didn’t go out of her home on the night when Gu Jiajie died.”

Ma Houde frowned, “This… Perhaps Gu Jiajie really killed himself?”