Born with Luck

Since Liu Bei's escape, the police have never ceased their pursuit of him. From criminal investigators and special police to local police stations, even traffic police and the numerous auxiliary officers under various departments have all been mobilized. The good news is that some leads suggest he is still hiding in Three Rivers Estuary. The bad news is that his counter-surveillance awareness is strong, and the police remain uncertain about his exact hiding place.

Song Xing, who failed to press the elevator button during the first attempt to capture Liu Bei, became the laughingstock of the unit. Naturally, these past few days, he has been single-mindedly focused on redeeming himself by working on the front lines of the arrest operation.

Today, Wang Ruijun accompanied Director Zhang to meet Lu Yibo.

Both dressed in plain clothes, they drove to the Maple Forest Late Hotel. After getting out of the car, Wang Ruijun briefed Zhang Yi'ang: "The intel I gathered all says Lu Yibo is a decent and honest man. He’s an old classmate of Zhou Rong’s, but unlike Lang Bowen—who is Zhou Rong’s business partner—Lu Yibo is more like Zhou Rong’s henchman. The Maple Forest Late Hotel is nominally under Lu Yibo’s name, but informants say the real owner is Zhou Rong. By the way, last time when you asked Zhou Qi to use the Hydrotherapy Club to lure Mayor Luo, she didn’t listen to us. The club’s legitimate business is still running, but the backroom operations suddenly shut down yesterday afternoon. Rumor has it they won’t reopen anytime soon."

"She dared to shut down the club!" Zhang Yi'ang stopped in his tracks, his face flushing with anger.

"Exactly. I suspect Zhou Qi found out about Luo Ziyue’s identity. She doesn’t dare offend either side, so she closed shop."

"Well, she sure didn’t hesitate to offend me!"

The two entered the hotel, and Wang Ruijun went straight to the front desk: "We’re here to see Lu Yibo."

"One moment, please." The young receptionist responded politely but, sensing their authoritative demeanor, didn’t dare make a decision on her own. She immediately called the lobby manager over and whispered a few words to her.

The lobby manager, a professional woman in her thirties, smiled and asked, "Do you gentlemen have an appointment with Mr. Lu?"

"No." Wang Ruijun puffed out his chest, adopting a "so what" expression, and flashed his badge in front of her. "Just tell Lu Yibo that Wang Ruijun from the Three Rivers Estuary Criminal Police Brigade is here to ask him a few questions."

Hearing they were police, the lobby manager didn’t dare delay. She hurried behind the front desk, picked up the phone, and spoke in hushed tones for a long time. After hanging up, she wore an apologetic expression. "Gentlemen, I’m terribly sorry, but Mr. Lu isn’t in the office right now. May I ask... what this is regarding?"

Zhang Yi'ang glanced at the ceiling and smirked coldly. "Cut the nonsense. Lu Yibo is upstairs. Ask him again—does he want us to go up now, or would he prefer to talk at our headquarters?"

The manager swallowed hard and quickly made another call. This time, the call was brief. After hanging up, she promptly escorted the two to the elevator and led them to Lu Yibo’s office door.

Lu Yibo personally opened the door, greeting them with a wide smile and promptly arranging tea and water for them.

Once the three were seated, Lu Yibo studied them for a few seconds. A seasoned businessman, he had met countless people and could roughly guess their identities without introductions.

He looked at Wang Ruijun and deliberately feigned familiarity: "You must be Brother Jun?"

Wang Ruijun cringed at the nickname "Brother Jun" and coughed heavily, straightening his face. "I’m Wang Ruijun, Captain of the Criminal Police Brigade!"

"And you must be Director Zhang?" he fawned, turning to Zhang Yi'ang."You seem to know me quite well—Zhou Rong told you, didn't he?" Zhang Yi'ang said bluntly. "The lobby manager just said you weren't in the hotel, Mr. Lu. What, did you teleport back? Have you mastered the art of cloning?"

"My sincerest apologies, truly!" Lu Yibo clasped his hands repeatedly, his face instantly twisting into a pained expression as he trotted out a convenient excuse. "I'm embarrassed to say, but I've got gastroenteritis today—just had a bout of diarrhea. I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of you, so I asked the manager downstairs to say I wasn’t here."

Zhang Yi'ang curled his lip but didn’t demand proof of his stomach ailment. Instead, he feigned casualness and remarked, "Why’s the Hydrotherapy Club downstairs closed?"

"It’s not closed. It’s operating as usual."

Zhang Yi'ang glanced at Wang Ruijun, who asked sternly, "We’re talking about the other business inside the club!"

"What other business?" Lu Yibo spread his hands, the picture of innocence.

Wang Ruijun glared. "Should I bring Zhou Qi in for questioning?"

"Ah—" Lu Yibo faltered. Lying outright to cops of their rank wasn’t wise, so he backtracked. "Sir, I swear on my conscience, I only recently found out some employees at the Hydrotherapy Club were engaging in... uncivilized, even illegal activities. As the hotel manager, I have to consider its reputation. Once I learned about it, I ordered them to stop all illegal operations immediately! As for past violations, we’ll fully cooperate with any fines or penalties."

"So you were the one who told Zhou Qi to shut it down." Zhang Yi'ang nodded sharply. "That’s the same line every backer of these operations gives. Back when I was with the provincial bureau, every single one we arrested said the same thing—still ended up convicted. But don’t worry, this kind of offense usually only gets you a few years. Rarely more than ten."

"I—" Trapped under their scrutiny and blatant intimidation, Lu Yibo could only force a dry laugh.

"Let’s table that for now. Wouldn’t want people saying all we cops do is bust brothels while letting the bosses sit right in front of us. Mr. Lu, we dropped by unannounced today to ask you a few questions. Don’t be nervous—but you will tell me the truth."

Lu Yibo swallowed hard under Zhang Yi'ang’s glare. Despite years in the business world, facing the head of criminal investigation left him frozen under the pressure. He nodded.

"Is this hotel yours?"

"Y-yes, it’s mine. You can check the business license—90% of the shares are under my name, the other 10% split among a few companies."

"What I’m asking is whether those 90% are truly yours or if you’re holding them for someone else."

"They’re... of course they’re mine. No one else."

"Good. That means if anything happens, you’re the only one liable."

Lu Yibo hesitated for a few seconds before tentatively asking, "I’m not sure I follow. What... what might happen?"

"Oh, plenty of possibilities. Fire hazards, safety risks—public venues like yours are always one accident away from disaster. If it’s serious enough, the responsible party gets prison time." Zhang Yi'ang said it lightly, as if discussing the weather.

Lu Yibo exhaled in relief and quickly thumped his chest. "Safety is our top priority—the government’s teachings are always remembered!""By the way, the lobby manager just told us you weren’t in the hotel, but we were certain you were upstairs. Do you know why?"

"Wh... why?"

"We’ve been monitoring your every move. Where you went last night, what time you arrived at the hotel this morning—we know it all."

Lu Yibo was startled and asked nervously, "Wh... why are you monitoring me?"

"Because of Ye Jian’s case," Zhang Yi'ang stated bluntly while carefully observing his microexpressions.

"Ye Jian’s case has nothing to do with me," Lu Yibo blurted out.

"Then who does it involve?" Zhang Yi'ang pressed urgently.

"I..." Lu Yibo swallowed hard. "I don’t know."

"You do. You know everything!"

"I... I really don’t," Lu Yibo protested. "Sir, Ye Jian was my old classmate. I’m devastated by his death, but his case truly has nothing to do with me."

"Let me ask you, when did Ye Jian die?"

"It... it was the night we had dinner together, I heard."

"What were you doing when he died?"

"I... I was probably still at the dinner."

"Hahahaha," Zhang Yi'ang suddenly let out a chilling laugh and pointed at him. "See? One question, and you’ve already slipped up."

He turned to Wang Ruijun, who was utterly confused—what had Lu Yibo slipped up about? But seeing his superior’s gaze, he quickly chimed in, "You’ve slipped up, haven’t you? Better confess now!"

"I..." Lu Yibo stammered. "Sir, I don’t understand what you mean."

Zhang Yi'ang had only meant to bluff him and naturally couldn’t specify what he’d slipped up about. Since he couldn’t explain, he wouldn’t! He pulled out his phone and opened a photo—the Hydrotherapy Club VIP card found after Ye Jian’s death—and asked, "Take a look. What’s this?"

"It’s a VIP card for the club downstairs."

"What’s it used for?"

"Discounts on spending."

"I’m asking—discounts, or free access?"

Lu Yibo turned pale. "I heard it’s free, sir. But that’s their business. It has nothing to do with me."

"Look at the card number. Whose card is this?"

"I... I don’t know."

"It’s Ye Jian’s card." Zhang Yi'ang snorted before suddenly raising his voice sharply. "Let me ask you—why is Ye Jian’s card in my phone?"

Lu Yibo froze, turning the question over in his head. Why his card is in your phone—why are you asking me?

But Zhang Yi'ang insisted, "Answer me!"

"I... I don’t know why his card is in your phone."

"Because we found this card at the crime scene where Ye Jian was murdered," Zhang Yi'ang revealed, then pressed further. "Who gave this card to Ye Jian?"

"Uh... I think... maybe Zhou Qi gave it to him."

"Zhou Qi said she didn’t."

"Then... then I don’t know."

Zhang Yi'ang stared at him for a moment before smiling and saying slowly, "But before Ye Jian was killed, he used his last bit of strength to write three words on the ground—a person’s name. The first and last characters were scribbled and hard to make out, but the middle one was unmistakable. It was the number 'one.'"

Wang Ruijun, who had been listening intently, was stunned by this sudden twist.Lu Yibo had no idea that the number "one" Ye Jian wrote before his death referred to Zhang Yi'ang. Hearing this, his expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly said, "The... the card was given by me. But I have nothing to do with Ye Jian's murder. Even if he wrote my name, he definitely didn't mean it that way."

"What did he mean then?"

"I don't know."

"You just said you only recently learned about the Hydrotherapy Club's business, so how did you give this card to Ye Jian?"

"I—" Lu Yibo's mouth hung open, utterly unable to explain.

Zhang Yi'ang stared at him for a long moment before suddenly laughing. He said slowly, "Using the latest high-tech big data, we conducted a detailed analysis of your daily communications with Ye Jian and reached a conclusion."

Wang Ruijun frowned slightly, thinking to himself—since when did their small town of Three Rivers Estuary have access to such high-tech big data?

"We discovered that in the month before Ye Jian's death, your phone calls with him increased significantly compared to before."

Wang Ruijun understood now—apparently, checking call records counted as high-tech.

"We were just catching up as friends," Lu Yibo defended. "Really! I... I was feeling down at the time and talked to him to relieve my boredom."

"I've never heard that Ye Jian had the ability to give psychological massages," Zhang Yi'ang said with a laugh, glancing at Wang Ruijun, who firmly shook his head—he'd never heard of it either.

"Every word I said is true, sir. I wouldn't dare lie to you!"

Zhang Yi'ang's expression suddenly turned cold. "Say that again!"

"I... I told the truth."

Zhang Yi'ang stared into his eyes for several seconds. Lu Yibo couldn't meet his gaze and turned his head away. Zhang Yi'ang pursed his lips and finally motioned for Wang Ruijun to leave with him.

"Chief, are we really leaving just like that?"

"What else?"

"Looking at Lu Yibo's reaction, I think—"

"Lu Yibo definitely isn't telling the truth, right?"

"Exactly! Shouldn't we keep questioning him?"

Zhang Yi'ang stopped walking and sighed. "We won't get anything out of him today."

"Why not?"

"Didn't you notice? He was nervous at first, but then he stopped being nervous and stuck firmly to his statement. That means he's already made up his mind—unless we have solid evidence, he won't change his story. Let's go back for now. Call Song Xing over—I have another plan."

They returned to the station, and soon Song Xing arrived at the office. He immediately said, "Chief, Ruijun told me about Lu Yibo. He definitely knows something. Why didn't we bring him in for questioning?"

"Bring him in for questioning?" Zhang Yi'ang smiled faintly. "On what grounds?"

"Prostitution bust! Isn't that Hydrotherapy Club owned by Lu Yibo?"

"The prostitution operation inside the club has already been shut down. No prostitution, no bust."

"Then... then we could get a few inmates from the detention center to claim they solicited prostitutes at the Maple Forest Late Hotel before. Use that as grounds to arrest Lu Yibo."

Zhang Yi'ang said quietly, "If the false testimony gets exposed, will you take responsibility?"

"I—" Song Xing quickly backtracked. "I was joking, of course we can't do anything illegal. Chief, I have an idea. Even though the prostitution operation in the club is closed, the club itself is still open. Places like the Hydrotherapy Club definitely offer oil massages and handjobs—manual stimulation is still a gray area in prostitution laws! Let's arrest Lu Yibo on the grounds that the Hydrotherapy Club provides handjobs!"Zhang Yi'ang shook his head and countered, "Let me ask you this—if you watch porn at home and think it's good, then share the link with a friend, why don't you arrest yourself for distributing obscene materials?"

"I've never shared anything like that!"

"You—!" Zhang Yi'ang swallowed hard. Song Xing's response was flawless, leaving him no choice but to sigh in resignation. "Anyway, Lu Yibo is still the owner of a five-star hotel, and he has Zhou Rong's group backing him. If we rashly arrest him on these grounds, it’ll be hard to handle the fallout. Even if we bring him in for questioning and he still refuses to talk, what then? We’d have to release him the next day with no choice but to send him back unharmed! Without solid evidence, Lu Yibo won’t talk. What we need to do now is find something concrete to force him to speak."

"So what do we do?" Song Xing was increasingly realizing that the director's wisdom far surpassed his own. It was better to just follow the director's lead and act accordingly.

"It's simple. Assign two detectives to visit Zhou Rong and question him directly about Ye Jian's case, asking him to provide leads."

"What kind of leads could he possibly give? He’d never admit any involvement in Ye Jian’s death."

"How can you be so dense?" Zhang Yi'ang sighed. "Of course I know Zhou Rong won’t admit anything. My target is Lu Yibo. Have the detectives tell Zhou Rong that it was Lu Yibo who said Zhou Rong and Ye Jian were as close as brothers—that Zhou Rong must know something. Make it clear Lu Yibo sent them to ask."

Song Xing suddenly understood. "Divide and conquer strategy!"

"Also, hasn’t Li Qian been idle lately? Have her check surveillance footage daily and keep close tabs on Zhou Rong, Lu Yibo, and the others’ movements."

"Got it!"