Chapter 826: The Boomerang

The day after Secretary Guo’s incident, mainland investigators arrived in Tokyo.

Without caring that Li Ye, Liu Muhan, and others had just returned from Mitsubishi, they locked everyone in their rooms overnight and interrogated each person individually.

This strict no-communication interrogation method left everyone feeling extremely tense and deeply uncomfortable.

The investigators’ cold, icy gazes made everyone feel as if they were all suspected murderers.

And since the interrogations were conducted one by one, no one knew their place in line—everyone’s heart remained suspended, exhausted and frantic.

Moreover, each person was questioned for a long time during this all-night session; those waiting at the back were desperate to get it over with so they could return and sleep properly.

Li Ye was placed very far back, and by the time dawn began to break outside, he still hadn’t been called.

Only after Lu Zhizhang finished his interrogation did Li Ye hear his name called.

“Comrade Li Ye, it’s your turn.”

“Understood.”

Li Ye left his room and, accompanied by the investigators, headed to Room 501, temporarily converted into an interview room.

Since this wasn’t mainland China, there was no capacity to assign each person a separate isolation room—everyone shared rooms in pairs—so the first interrogation was critical and had to be closely monitored to prevent any information exchange.

But Lu Zhizhang’s silence didn’t mean Li Ye couldn’t gather information—after all, his ability to read expressions was top-tier.

As Li Ye passed Lu Zhizhang in the hallway, their eyes met, and Li Ye received the message: “Everything’s fine.”

Yet the young officer assigned to watch Li Ye immediately stepped in front of him—clearly experienced.

Li Ye calmly followed him into Room 501 and saw the three investigators leading the interrogation.

Two men and one woman, all around thirty to forty years old; the two men sat on either side of the bed, the woman sat at the desk, and a single chair was placed directly in the center of their line of sight—classic three-judge tribunal setup.

The three investigators immediately turned their attention to Li Ye, and the middle-aged man with glasses immediately smiled.

“You must be Comrade Li Ye? Quite young, indeed. Sit down, sit down, don’t be nervous—we’re not conducting any illegal interrogation, just gathering some basic information.”

，

“Of course, of course—ask whatever you need, I’ll fully cooperate... By the way, may I ask your names, esteemed leaders?”

Li Ye politely exchanged pleasantries while sizing up the three men.

Even when calling customer service, you ask for an employee ID—you can file a complaint if you’re upset! You can’t let someone grill you for half an hour without even knowing who you’re talking to.

“Haha, I’m Liu—you can call me Old Liu. This is Old Sun, and that’s Sister Zhang... Sit down, sit down, sit down...”

The glasses-wearing man briefly introduced the three surnames—he seemed very amiable.

But Li Ye was certain: Old Liu was a formidable figure.

Ever since Li Ye entered, his gaze had been locked on Li Ye’s face—no matter how cheerfully he invited him to sit, Li Ye felt an intensely penetrating scrutiny.

It was an indescribable feeling, but Li Ye had experienced it several times before with Teacher Ke.

For instance, when Wen Leyu first sat next to Li Ye in class, Teacher Ke had studied him from the podium.

And after Li Ye’s first trip to Beijing, when Wen Leyu dragged him around all day on her bicycle, Teacher Ke had scrutinized him again.

But after Li Ye became engaged to Wen Leyu, that feeling vanished—he believed Teacher Ke had come to see him as a “half-son.”

After inviting Li Ye to sit, Old Liu took off his glasses, wiped them, and yawned, looking utterly exhausted.

“Ah, we’ve been working all night—let’s just speed this up, ask a few quick questions. Otherwise, with my age, I won’t make it.”

Old Liu put his glasses back on and said to Li Ye: “So, Comrade Li Ye, we’ve spoken to several of the earlier investigators, and all of them said Secretary Guo had a close relationship with you—he met with you privately multiple times. Now, please explain: why did Secretary Guo jump to his death?”

2

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Li Ye stared at Old Liu, thinking inwardly: “This guy is truly ruthless and professional.”

Just moments ago, Old Liu said they’d ask casually—now he was already dumping a bucket of shit on Li Ye’s head. Had Li Ye not heard countless rumors about “tea talks,” he might have already shouted back.

This kind of interrogation aims to unsettle the subject, force them into mistakes—once they’re angered, they’re easily led by the nose.

【Wrong—I should get angry too, or it’ll look unnatural.】

Li Ye stared wide-eyed to buy himself a moment to think.

Less than a second later, he leapt to his feet and shouted: “Old Liu, what the hell are you saying? What does Secretary Guo’s death have to do with me? Why are you asking me this?”

“Hey, I never said his death had anything to do with you! Why are you so eager to defend yourself?”

“Sit down, sit down—take your time!”

Old Liu smiled warmly, soothing the furious Li Ye like a kind old man.

Li Ye, still fuming, said: “Secretary Guo did meet with me twice alone—but he only asked me questions about finance, stocks, and futures. I just explained things to him.”

I only explained to him some basic issues regarding stocks and futures.

After Li Ye finished, Old Liu asked calmly: “Then why did he ask you these questions?”

1

Li Ye replied matter-of-factly: “Because I studied economics! They didn’t understand anything—if they asked me, wasn’t it natural for me to explain?”

Old Liu narrowed his eyes and smiled: “So you’re an expert in this field, then?”

Li Ye glanced at him, certain he was being set up, but replied coolly: “Expert? No. But I’m certainly more knowledgeable than the average person.”

Old Liu chuckled casually: “So Secretary Han trusted you completely—he believed stocks and futures could make money, even multiply profits several times in a single day...”

Li Ye froze for two seconds, then replied coldly: “What do you mean by that? I never said anything about making several times profit in one day—that was Guo Jianqi’s claim. And how does this relate to Secretary Guo’s death?”

The ever-harmonious Old Liu instantly lost his smile—as if a gentle ox had shed its disguise, revealing its dark-and-yellow striped hide.

Old Liu snapped: “Answer the question. Don’t dodge or evade us.”

Li Ye wasn’t dodging—he was considering whether they were trying to pin on him the charge of “inducing Secretary Han to trade stocks.”

Now that Secretary Han was dead, Guo Jianqi would surely shift blame onto Secretary Guo—but why did Secretary Guo trade futures?

Because Li Ye had supposedly influenced him! The evidence chain would then be perfectly closed.

【No wonder those interrogated in later generations always ended up ruined—these people are ruthless, cunning, and utterly merciless.】

Li Ye didn’t blame Old Liu—he was a professional at this. No matter how cleverly he played, Li Ye shouldn’t be surprised.

Li Ye snorted and said: “Secretary Han and Old Guo didn’t trust me at all. Every time they questioned me, they did exactly what you did—only allowed me to answer their questions, never explaining why they cared about stocks and futures.”

“So instead of interrogating me, you’d better ask Old Guo himself—they shared a room, and whenever they met Japanese contacts, they were inseparable...”

So instead of asking me here, you’d better ask Old Gu himself—they share a room, and they’re inseparable whenever meeting their Japanese friends.

Old Liu stared at Li Ye, listened carefully, then asked: “When Secretary Guo accompanied Old Guo to meet Japanese contacts, why didn’t you stop them? Didn’t you receive strict orders about collective discipline before leaving the country?”

“Hah~”

Li Ye laughed bitterly: “Rank crushes everything. If Old Guo insisted on meeting friends, who could stop him? I saw Liu Muhan try to intervene, but Old Guo used me as an example: ‘Li Ye goes out alone—why can’t I?’ So Liu Muhan could only record their details...”

Old Liu cut him off: “Enough. Just answer whether you tried to stop them—no need to elaborate further.”

7

But Sister Zhang suddenly spoke up: “Comrade Liu, since we’re conducting an interrogation, shouldn’t we let Comrade Li Ye finish his full statement? We can’t let him speak only half of it.”

Li Ye immediately realized: Sister Zhang was on Liu Muhan’s side.

Among the three investigators, one clearly represented foreign trade, another Old Guo’s unit—

Naturally, they’d be pulling against each other, trying to shift blame.

Old Liu glanced at Sister Zhang, then continued questioning Li Ye—but he kept circling the same few questions.

According to Li Ye’s deduction, they were trying to determine whether Secretary Han’s death was linked to the Japanese stock market crash.

Why not just ask me directly? You went around the bush, waiting until Old Liu finished questioning him and was about to let Li Ye leave—when Li Ye suddenly said, “I have something I don’t know if you’re interested in: last Thursday, Secretary Guo came to me to borrow a phone...”

，

As Old Liu prepared to end the interrogation and let Li Ye go, Li Ye suddenly said: “I have something else you might find interesting. Last Thursday, Secretary Guo borrowed my phone...”

Old Liu looked at Li Ye and nodded: “We’re already aware of that. You were in Professor Zhao’s room at the time, correct?”

Li Ye nodded: “Yes. Professor Zhao and Xiao Zheng know about it. Professor Zhao said it was late at night—they were probably making a personal call. If you can confirm who they called, you might uncover more clues.”

Old Liu wiped his glasses again and asked: “Can you confirm who they called?”

Li Ye read his expression—he knew they’d already questioned Guo Jianqi and Professor Zhao. He didn’t know how Guo Jianqi had answered, but he could guess: the man wouldn’t tell the truth.

“I can’t confirm—but my laptop has a Japanese phone number, so the call logs should be traceable...”

Secretary Guo never imagined that the boomerang he set in motion by borrowing Li Ye’s phone for Gu Jianqi would come flying back so quickly.

Secretary Guo never imagined that the phone he borrowed from Li Ye for Guo Jianqi would come back as a boomerang so quickly.

“Hm?”

[87] Old Liu lifted his head, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.