Chapter 534: Chapter 504 So What’s Next?_1
Xu Dayuan and Liu Yufei went into the director’s office. Mr. Zhao stood up, walked to the door to listen for a moment, and then tiptoed back.
"This Assistant Liu is no simple character. She knew right away that we were here for something big and understood to strike the snake at its seven inches. It’s likely Li Mubai has stirred up plenty of trouble in the group before, while she has always played the peacemaker. Otherwise, with just a hint from her just now, that Li Mubai was about to bolt, but he obediently left instead."
Mr. Yang tilted his head slightly and asked in a low voice,
"Mr. Fang? Could it be a family business, and this Mr. Fang is Mr. Fang’s son?"
Mr. Zhao, holding his phone, checked Huajin Group’s organizational structure. He easily accessed the relevant information through the police service network and said with a slightly curled lip,
"I actually found it. Fang Shengping is the only son of Mr. Fang, the chairman of Huajin Group, and is the general manager of Huajin Real Estate. Although Huajin Real Estate hasn’t developed many properties, they do have a lot of land holdings. Are they waiting for the prices to rise before developing them? They really are rich!"
Mr. Yang exclaimed softly and moved closer.
"Where is the land? Right next to our place, they’ve fenced it off but haven’t developed or constructed anything. I was saying if they build new properties there, I’d swap for a new house. The rich really do know how to play."
Zhou Ning remained silent, his mind dwelling on Assistant Liu’s words.
Where there are many people, there’s naturally competition. He wasn’t concerned with that and didn’t want to waste energy pondering such relationships, but the suggestive nature of that person’s speech was too strong, making one doubt their motives.
He walked to the window, with Mr. Yang and Mr. Zhao’s idle chatter behind him.
After a long wait, there was finally some movement at the door. Zhou Ning turned around to see Xu Dayuan with no particular expression on his face.
"I’ve explained to Mr. Fang and Mr. Fang the situation. Mr. Qu will arrange this space, and we’ll conduct a quick interrogation here. Then, as soon as we get Li Mubai’s phone, we must check his call and chat history. Recover whatever is found. Mr. Qu can restore the content, right?"
Mr. Qu nodded his head.
"I can recover it. We’ll need to keep the camera on for recording, right?"
Xu Dayuan hummed in affirmation, and Mr. Qu swiftly got to work. Mr. Wang came over to help, and Zhou Ning approached, but Xu Dayuan waved him away.
"The Maybach is just downstairs. I think if Shen Shuyi had ridden in that car, she would have cleaned throughly, but I still hope you all can inspect it. As for the villa, we have a lead—it’s at No. 24 Pingdu Road, Taidong District.
The house is street-facing, appearing to be L-shaped from the outside. There’s a garden in the middle and some open space. Of course, there is a main building inside, a stone house that’s old and unwhitewashed, because the exterior walls are covered with greenery. He said he wasn’t sure if it was ivy."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ning perked up, and Mr. Zhao was even more enthusiastic, pulling up the electronic map and finding the location. He stared at the satellite image for a long time but couldn’t make out the details when zooming in.
"Leader, why don’t we go there now and have Mr. Qu check the nearby surveillance to see if the Maybach has been there."
Xu Dayuan gestured dismissively.
"No rush. When we find the person, nothing is urgent. After all, it’s only a five-minute drive. We’ll discuss everything once I finish interrogating Li Mubai. Mr. Zhao and Mr. Yang, take some people to inspect the Maybach first!"
Mr. Zhao saluted gleefully; getting to inspect such an expensive car up close was more than just a work matter to him.
"Understood. You guys come with me. Zhu Xingxing, assist Mr. Qu and set up several law enforcement recorders."
The setup was quickly completed, and Liu Yufei led Li Mubai in.
Upon entering the room and seeing so many people, Li Mubai instinctively paused, wanting to step back, but Liu Yufei pushed him forward.
"Sit down."
Li Mubai wobbled, affecting a look of indifference.
"So many of you here to bully me, is it? Let’s see who dares to touch me."
Xu Dayuan eyed Li Mubai; this guy seemed not very bright, seeing so many police officers and remaining unflustered, but rather so resistant, was somewhat puzzling.
"Sit down, I have a few questions for you. Asking them here is already sparing you some dignity. If I cuff you and take you into the Criminal Police Brigade for questioning, even if you’re innocent, you’d still feel humiliated, right? A listed company like yours, what you fear most are negative headlines, don’t you consider that for your chairman?"
Li Mubai calmed down, thought for a moment, then sat down boldly, rolling up his sleeves.
"Ask away."
"Name, age, time of employment, place of work, ID number, and home address, recite them in turn."
"Li Mubai, 26 years old, working for five and a half years, no need to mention the place of work, right? You’re standing right here. I can’t remember my ID number, so I’ll show it to you."
Saying this, he took out his driving license, picked out his ID card from it, and as he did so, a fairy stick fell out. He didn’t seem embarrassed at all, picked it up, and put it back in his pocket.
"Unlock the phone and hand it over to our colleague."
Li Mubai was quite cooperative, unlocking the phone and passing it to Liu Yufei, who had approached him.
"On April 27th, what were you doing at the airport?"
"Dropping someone off."
"Whom did you drop off?"
Li Mubai smirked, staring at Xu Dayuan as if to challenge him. Liu Yufei lifted her leg and kicked Li Mubai’s raised leg, nearly causing him to fall, and he glared back at her.
"What’s that for?"
"Sit tight, seriously answer my questions. As I just told you, we are from the Qindao City Criminal Police Brigade investigating a criminal case. If you fail to clarify issues or lie to us, the consequences will be very serious. Don’t be nonchalant. Answer the questions seriously without drivel."
Li Mubai was visibly upset but stopped glaring at Liu Yufei, apparently realizing the gravity of the situation.
"I was picking up our chairman and Mr. Peng who had business to attend to in the Malay Country. I collected them from the airport on the morning of May 1st."
"What time was the flight that left Qindao?"
"The flight was at 12:40. I arrived at the airport around 11:10 because they wanted to enter early to have a meal. I have call records; you can look at my phone. I mean on WeChat. After the chairman went in, he sent me a message to get the car serviced."
"Going to the Malay Country, why were you seen at the domestic arrivals gate at 12:24?"
As he spoke, Xu Dayuan gestured, and Liu Yufei had already found a screenshot from the surveillance video.
Li Mubai glanced at it, then fell silent.
"Don’t want to talk?"
Li Mubai shook his head.
"I had an appointment with a girl, a flight attendant. She’s from Chuanyu Province. I met her on a flight before—she’s a twin. I had planned this a long time ago, to take her out while the chairman was abroad."
None seemed to expect Li Mubai to mention the flight attendant so casually, and Zhou Ning also turned to look at Li Mubai.
"A few days’ trip, was it arranged?"
Li Mubai nodded, pointing to his phone.
"On that rarely used phone, there’s a WeChat account. When I plan to take girls out, I usually use that account for contact, as well as that number. But after we agreed to meet, we had a meal, and she left abruptly, I don’t even know what happened."
"What’s the girl’s name?"
"Shen Caijun!"
After speaking, Li Mubai looked somewhat puzzled, not understanding why Xu Dayuan would ask such a question.
"Continue, how can you be sure she’s Shen Caijun? Did she tell you herself, or did you see some ID? And why would she leave in the middle of the meal? I understand her luggage was still in your trunk. Could she have opened it on her own and left without finishing the meal?"
Li Mubai spread his hands, with a touch of anger.
"I really don’t understand either. We got along great before. I met the sisters during the National Day holiday and talked online for half a year before we arranged to meet. Initially, I wanted to sleep with her, but after getting to know her more, I started to like Shen Caijun better.
She’s not only beautiful but also has a great personality. She’s nothing like the local girls in Qindao—she would never shout at you, always gentle. I was upfront with her about my situation: I seem impressive, driving a luxury car and frequenting high-end places, but I’m just a driver.
She didn’t see it as a problem and kept comforting me, suggesting I become more responsible. Being trusted and close to the chairman, I should learn something useful—can’t stay a driver forever, right? I think she’s right, and I am currently learning about investment.
The chairman even praised me for having a good eye and invested with me in a project in the Malay Country. Although my investment is small, the returns will be good, and I keep myself updated."
This statement completely contradicted what Mr. Liu had previously conveyed. Zhou Ning’s face filled with doubt as he glanced at the notebook computer in front of Liu Yufei. There was no reaction from the software, meaning Li Mubai wasn’t lying and the situation was getting more complicated.
Could it be that Mr. Liu lied?
Why?
Xu Dayuan’s attitude softened a lot. He raised his hand to stop Li Mubai and corrected him:
"You’re going off topic. Carefully recount everything that happened at the airport after you met Shen Caijun—the more detail, the better. We’ll be the ones to judge."
Li Mubai paused and put away his flippant demeanor, looking at Xu Dayuan with some concern.
"Why do you keep asking about Shen Caijun? Could it be... Could it be that she’s had an accident?"
Xu Dayuan didn’t reply, just looked up at him.
"Answer the questions. Once you’ve confirmed everything you’ve said, I’ll answer your question."
Li Mubai tugged at his collar, picked up another phone, opened WeChat, and handed it over to Xu Dayuan, then said:
"This is the WeChat account we used to chat. Honestly, I was a jerk before, no different from my boorish friends—have met plenty of beautiful women and have been with quite a few.
Most of them were interested because I drove a Maybach, and I enjoyed that feeling. Spending some money didn’t bother me—after all, they were the ones throwing themselves at me. Their intentions were so transparent, I had no reason to be polite. But after meeting Shen Caijun, I changed. I cleaned up that WeChat account, only kept her.
On the morning of April 27th, Shen Caijun messaged me, asking if I was prepared. She said she was heading to the airport. I replied asking if she was ready, saying I was poor. She sent me a shy emoji and after that said she would be out around 12:20.
I dropped off the chairman and Mr. Peng according to schedule then drove around, knowing how small Qindao Airport’s parking lot is. When the time was right, I headed to the curb near the domestic arrivals gate, surrounded by buses.
But just after I stopped, I saw her come out. I hugged her, helped with her luggage, loaded up the car, and we quickly left. I was so nervous at that moment, my hand sweating as I held hers. She took some photos, but I didn’t dare be in them. I don’t know whether she posted them on Moments or told someone.
I took her to eat first. I don’t remember much of our conversation. Whenever she looked up at me, I felt nervous. She said she had kept something from me and wasn’t sure whether to come clean. At that point, I was extremely anxious, thinking she might have a boyfriend, the kind ready to marry, and that meeting me left her dissatisfied."
Zhou Ning had an epiphany, guessing that at the time, Shen Shuyi was likely setting the stage to level with Li Mubai, having used Shen Caijun’s identity to interact with him all along.
Seeing Li Mubai pause, Xu Dayuan waved at him.
"Don’t stop; keep talking!"
