Chapter 493: They Still Think It

Wang Wang Jianqiang's engagement was set for the 24th day of the second lunar month, which was April 13th, a Saturday.

The next day was Sunday, and the students and faculty of Jingda were on break.

When the public security personnel arrived at Jingda, Li Ye was naturally not in his dormitory. It took a great deal of effort to find his counselor, then Sun Sun Xianjin, and then Wen Wen Leyu.

Therefore, by the time Li Ye and his grandfather returned to Jingda at a leisurely pace, it was already past the lunch hour.

Upon arriving at the school's Security Office, Li Ye found several school security staff and teachers inside, along with two public security officers in uniform and three outsiders.

Those three outsiders were all wearing suits; two of them looked at Li Ye with unfriendly eyes, while the third appeared to be an interpreter.

Additionally, Zhang Zhang Zhiqiang, the counselor for the 1982 World Economics major, was also present.

Upon seeing Li Ye, Zhang Zhang Zhiqiang immediately spoke up first: "Student Li Ye, these two public security comrades want to understand some situations from you. You must answer truthfully, but don't be nervous; it's just a routine inquiry."

Li Ye smiled and nodded: "I understand, Teacher Zhang. Sorry to trouble you on such a Sunday."

Zhang Zhang Zhiqiang also smiled: "What kind of trouble is this? You are the most worry-free student in the class. If you didn't trouble me occasionally, I would start to wonder if I, as a counselor, still had any use."

"..."

Zhang Zhang Zhiqiang was Li Ye's counselor, but the two had basically had no interaction over the past two years because the head teacher, Mu Mu Yunning, had handled almost all of Li Ye's affairs, leaving Zhang Zhang Zhiqiang feeling as though he had no place to be of service.

However, today Zhang Zhang Zhiqiang spoke to Li Ye first and reminded him immediately that it was "just a routine inquiry," clearly doing his duty to protect his student.

"Thank you, Teacher Zhang."

"It's nothing, everyone from the school is here... Sit down!"

Zhang Zhang Zhiqiang patted Li Ye on the shoulder and pointed to a chair, signaling him to sit.

Li Ye glanced at the position of the chair, which was directly facing the two uniformed officers, and understood that the other party was deliberately trying to create pressure.

It was a pity that while such pressure might be effective on ordinary students, it had absolutely no effect on Li Ye.

However, before Li Ye could sit down, he saw the two men in suits mutter a few words in Japanese, and then the interpreter asked Li Li Zhongfa: "Old comrade, may I ask who you are?"

Li Li Zhongfa said calmly: "I am Student Li Ye's grandfather. I just happened to come over to spend Sunday with the child, so I'm here to listen in."

As soon as Li Li Zhongfa finished speaking, the interpreter said impatiently: "Then you should step out for a moment; don't interfere with our questioning."

"..."

The interpreter's tone was quite rude, which left both Li Li Zhongfa and Li Ye stunned, and even the counselor, Zhang Zhang Zhiqiang, frowned.

Li Li Zhongfa was fine; having served as a bureau chief for many years, he did not show his emotions on his face. But Li Ye was young and hot-blooded, and he wouldn't tolerate such bad habits from the other party.

"May I ask who you are?"

"Are you asking me?"

"Nonsense, if I'm not asking you, am I asking a dog?"

"..."

Li Ye's single sentence stunned everyone in the Security Office.

This young man's tone was too aggressive.

However, neither the two uniformed officers nor the school teachers immediately scolded Li Ye for being impolite.

Because in this Security Office, it wasn't the place for an interpreter to be bossing people around.

This was Jingda, a vice-ministerial level unit; what was an interpreter working for a foreign enterprise acting so arrogant for?

Li Ye also saw through this point.

Because if the other party had been an interpreter sent by the mainland authorities, they absolutely would not have been so disrespectful or disregarded Jingda.

There were several people in this room at the section chief or deputy division chief level; was it his place to speak first?

Therefore, the other party was just someone who had received a high salary at a foreign firm and had become arrogant, thinking they were superior to others. Retorting to him twice wouldn't cause any trouble.

"You are too much! I am going to report you to your teachers, I am going to..."

After the other party realized what had happened, he became extremely angry, clearly having been on the receiving end of similar snubs in his daily life.

But while the interpreter was angry, Li Ye became calm instead and said: "Don't be so agitated. I just asked who you are. By what right are you in this room? Does your presence here not interfere with the public security officers' questioning?"

"I am the interpreter for Mr. Nakamura Hiroo. Mr. Nakamura's son has gone missing, and you are a major suspect. Mr. Nakamura has the right to know the latest case details and the right to question you!"

"You are wrong. No matter which foreign guest it is, they have no right to directly interfere in mainland cases, nor do they have the right to interrogate a mainland citizen. On this land, only mainland agencies possess law enforcement power. Therefore, at most, you can only listen in."

"..."

While Li Ye was saying this, he had been quietly observing the expressions and reactions of the others in the Security Office.

The reason he was acting so aggressively was not because he was being foolish, nor was it just because he disliked the interpreter's tone; more importantly, it was a test.

Old Song had been taken away last night. Li Ye didn't know what Old Song had done, nor did he know if Old Song had "confessed." Therefore, he couldn't determine what the situation was today.

If Old Song hadn't just done it, but had also confessed, then these two investigators probably wouldn't be so amicable today. After all, Li Ye had a close relationship with Old Song, and being caught in the crossfire could happen in a heartbeat.

However, after he had sparred with the interpreter for half a minute, the two uniformed officers hadn't scolded him severely, and the younger one even showed a hint of a smile on his face.

【He's still smiling; could it be that this isn't a "case to be solved within a time limit"?】

In the great city of Beijing, where the rumor that "if you haven't lost a bicycle, you aren't a real Beijinger" had circulated for many years, and where even lost bicycles could be found on the same day...

So Li Ye had come today prepared to be caught and interrogated to death for clues, but looking at the situation now, why did it seem like they were just "going through the motions"?

The young officer smiled, but the other investigator was very stern and shouted coldly: "Stop arguing, everyone please remain quiet and don't interfere with our inquiry."

Li Li Zhongfa immediately found a place to sit down. The old comrade naturally understood that since they weren't kicking him out, they were already siding with him during the argument between Li Ye and the interpreter.

The interpreter, still in a fit of rage, wanted to say something else, but the uniformed officer had already pointed to a chair and said to Li Ye: "Student, please sit. We will only ask a few questions, and it will be over very soon."

Li Ye nodded and sat down.

"According to Mr. Nakamura Hiroo's report, Student Li Ye, you had repeated conflicts with Nakamura Naoto while at school, is that correct?"

"It wasn't a conflict; it was an academic debate. He believed Japan was stronger than us, and I believed we were stronger than them... There were many people present when we debated, and they can all prove that we had no conflicts whatsoever."

The investigator continued to ask without raising his head: "According to our investigation, on March 4th of this year, which was the 13th day of the first lunar month, you met Student Nakamura Naoto at the zoo's foreign language training class. What did you talk to him about at that time?"

Li Ye spoke the truth: "We didn't say anything. After graduation, Student Nakamura seemed to have become a big boss and looked down on us poor students. I vaguely remember that he was looking down his nose at people that day."

"Then why were you at the training class at that time?"

"I have a classmate who works part-time at the training class, and a fellow villager who also seems to help out there. I just happened to be passing by that day, so I went in to chat with them for a bit."

"Just happened to be passing by? Then where were you originally planning to go?"

"I had arranged to go to the zoo with two classmates to practice photography that day..."

"It's been nearly two months; why do you remember it so clearly?"

"Oh, going to the zoo with two girls... that kind of beautiful memory isn't easy to forget."

Li Ye answered the investigator's questions very calmly, but he felt a bit strange inside. Why didn't they ask in detail about his relationship with Old Song? He had clearly brought up the topic of a "fellow villager" just now.

The most dangerous suspect, yet they didn't ask? What was going on?

However, just as Li Ye was pondering this question, the investigator suddenly asked: "Student Li Ye, according to Mr. Nakamura Hiroo, your grandfather is a veteran of the War of Resistance, and you have a very strong hatred for the Japanese. Is that so?"

"..."

Li Ye was stunned for a moment, his calm expression gradually becoming deep.

"My grandfather is indeed a veteran of the War of Resistance, and I have watched many war movies since I was a child. If this can be used as evidence of suspicion, then they had better not step foot on this land, because there are simply too many people like me."

"..."

The young investigator glanced at Li Ye and lowered his head again to write something quickly, but that glance seemed to be warning Li Ye to stay calm and not say too much.

The investigator who had asked the question also paused for a moment before continuing: "Then, after March 4th, have you seen Nakamura Naoto again?"

"No, I haven't."

"Really haven't seen him?"

"Yes, I really haven't."

"..."

The subsequent questions were all devoid of substance. Throughout the entire questioning process, the interpreter kept talking to Nakamura Hiroo, while Nakamura Hiroo kept urging something, making the interpreter extremely anxious.

Ten minutes later, the two investigators closed their notebooks, and the questioning process ended just like that.

The interpreter immediately said anxiously: "Two comrades, how can you end it so hastily? This Li Ye is the last eyewitness to Young Master Nakamura..."

"And he and his family clearly have a deep hatred for the Japanese; he is a major suspect..."

"Ahem!"

Li Li Zhongfa, who had been silent, stood up coldly and said: "If we go by what you say, then there are simply too many suspects. In my company back then, there were 130 people, and only 17 survived until the end of the war..."

The interpreter was about to speak impatiently, but Li Li Zhongfa continued: "Besides, I also know that in Beijing alone, there are at least ten thousand people like me. Should I take you to those veteran cadre sanatoriums to find suspects?"

"..."

"If you can't find them in the sanatoriums, then it will be difficult, because in other places... I don't have a high enough rank to get in!"

"..."

The interpreter stopped talking. His IQ wasn't low; how could he not understand what Li Li Zhongfa meant?

People who had fought to the death with the Japanese were not all dead yet! And many of them were still in positions of power. Were you really using this to determine a suspect? Were your brains broken?

The interpreter hesitated for a moment, but still translated Li Li Zhongfa's words to Nakamura Naoto's father, Nakamura Hiroo.

Then, Nakamura Hiroo's expression became very colorful. After a long while, he suddenly walked out and bowed to Li Li Zhongfa, very politely.

"I am sorry, old gentleman. For the sake of an old man who has lost his son, please forgive our rudeness."

Li Li Zhongfa remained silent and didn't even nod; he was not polite at all.

Nakamura Hiroo had his secretary take out several business cards and handed them one by one to Li Ye and the several Jingda teachers present.

"In order not to affect our friendship, for the sake of our friendship, please be sure to find my beloved son. I beg you."

Nakamura Hiroo bowed to everyone around him, his tone very sincere, but it felt awkward to the ears of those listening.

Li Ye pinched the business card and glanced at it. It was marked with Chinese characters—Yokohama Nakamura Co., Ltd., Vice President Nakamura Hiroo.

Just a president, and a vice one at that, yet he dared to talk about friendship?

The people from Jingda were still very polite. After the questioning ended, they invited Nakamura and Li Li Zhongfa and the others to dine in the cafeteria, but both Nakamura and Li Li Zhongfa refused.

After the grandfather and grandson left the school gate, Li Ye carefully said: "Grandfather, you aren't angry, are you? I told you long ago that it was nothing major; you didn't need to come at all."

When Li Li Zhongfa had said "only 17 out of 130 survived" just now, Li Ye was truly afraid that his grandfather would lose his temper and strike Nakamura Hiroo.

"Angry? Do you think I came with you today to be insulted?"

Li Li Zhongfa smiled lightly and said: "I was afraid that you were young and didn't understand the routines within the system, so I followed along to listen to the tone."

"..."

Li Ye was stunned, not expecting his grandfather to have similar thoughts, so he asked with a smile: "Then grandfather, did you hear anything?"

"I heard a little," Li Li Zhongfa said faintly: "This isn't some major case to be supervised; it's just about the same as finding a lost bicycle."

"Those Japanese are still acting arrogant, wanting to force the public security department and Jingda to help them find their child! Who cares about them!"

"..."

"Forcing Jingda to help them find someone?"

Li Ye had also sensed just now that it wasn't a major case, but he hadn't really thought about it in the way Li Li Zhongfa had described.

Li Li Zhongfa glanced at his grandson and said triumphantly: "Xiao Ye, you are smart, but you have had too little contact with things on the surface. As long as I look at the attitude of the investigators and listen to the way and order in which they ask questions, I can guess what they are thinking."

Li Ye hurriedly played along: "Grandfather, what are they thinking?"

Li Li Zhongfa said faintly: "Whether that Nakamura Naoto is missing or not doesn't matter at all. What matters is where he went missing. His company is in Pengcheng, so who knows if he has returned to Pengcheng in these two months?"

"If it were truly confirmed that he went missing in Beijing, then the matter wouldn't be so simple. You have to see the person if they are alive, or the body if they are dead; it would be very troublesome."

"Jingda understands this, your counselor pointed it out to you as soon as he walked in the door, and the investigators understand it too."

"So! No matter how urgently those Japanese push, it's useless. It's a pity they still have old-fashioned thinking, thinking that if they just slap a label on you, you will have to anxiously help them find someone. They don't even look at what level they are at."

"It's all old tricks from forty years ago; they have the nerve to bring them out to show off? It's truly wishful thinking."

"..."

Li Ye swallowed his saliva, finally understanding why they hadn't asked him about Old Song.

He couldn't help but admire Li Li Zhongfa's seasoned experience; he still had a lot to learn in the future.

And these things would never be recorded in textbooks.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 494 =====