Der umwerfende Premierminister

Kapitel 23

Is he your boyfriend?

"No, she's a girl too, a little younger than me."

"Oh, do you still remember Liu Yun?"

"Sigh, I remember her, how could I forget her?" Xu Feifei sighed.

"Then what about that day..."

“Because it was really inconvenient that day…” Xu Feifei’s face showed a dazed expression, “I didn’t want to say her name there.”

"Why?" Li Hong asked, puzzled. "Where were you then?"

"Oh dear, it's not convenient to talk about it now, please don't ask me anymore," Xu Feifei said in a coquettish voice.

"I'm going crazy!" Zheng Zhihao suddenly shouted in Li Hong's head, startling her.

"Hehe, sorry, then tell me about Liu Yun." Although Li Hong shared the same feelings as Zheng Zhihao, she ignored him and continued to speak to Xu Feifei.

"What do you want to know? I only shared an apartment with her for two or three years."

“I want to know where her belongings are,” Li Hong asked directly.

“You…yes, yes, you’re a police officer, of course you know Liu Yun is dead.” Xu Feifei laughed, then spoke much more lightly, as if she had unloaded a huge psychological burden. “Her things are all with me, packed in a big bag.”

"Have you given any of these items to anyone else?" Li Hong asked again.

“No, what is she carrying? I didn’t open that bag.” Xu Feifei exclaimed in surprise, “I’m still waiting for her family to come and claim it.”

“That’s right.” Li Hong became serious. “We found Liu Yun’s remains at someone’s place; it was a finger bone.”

Li Hong noticed that Xu Feifei's expression had become serious, quite different from her previous cute demeanor; she seemed to have matured considerably. Xu Feifei lowered her head, began fidgeting with her clothes, and remained silent for a long time.

"What's wrong?" Li Hong leaned down to look at Xu Feifei's face and asked softly, "Do you know about the finger bone incident?"

“I know…” Xu Feifei said softly after a long silence, “But didn’t she tell you why she has finger bones?”

“No.” Li Hong sat up straight and said in a low voice, “She’s dead.”

2.16 Conversation (Part 2)

The tissue floated down like a butterfly, landing at Xu Feifei's feet. The outside of the tissue was spotless, but the inside was blackened from wiping the stone bench. Perhaps Li Hong's words had frightened her; she couldn't even hold onto a thin piece of paper.

"You mean... he's dead?" Xu Feifei asked cautiously, staring at the used tissue at her feet.

“Yes. She’s dead,” Li Hong said.

"What's her name?" Xu Feifei asked again. This time, she seemed to have come to her senses, and her tone became urgent.

“Zou Shunqing,” Li Hong said, “you know her, don’t you?”

"How did she die? Was she sick? Or..."

"An accident".

“Another accident…” Xu Feifei’s body trembled.

"Again? Besides Zou Shunqing, someone else around you died in an accident, right?" Li Hong asked hurriedly.

"..." Xu Feifei didn't answer. She just stared blankly at the scraps of paper at her feet, lost in thought.

“I hope you can tell me everything you know, about the finger bone, about the accident, about Liu Yun,” Li Hong said seriously.

"How could this happen..." Xu Feifei was clearly still lost in her thoughts, muttering to herself in a daze.

"Xu Feifei!" Li Hong stood up and raised her voice, "I'm asking you!"

"Ah!" Xu Feifei was startled awake and looked up at Li Hong.

"I hope you can tell me everything you know, about the finger bone, about the accident, about Liu Yun."

"Okay, I'll tell you everything." Xu Feifei agreed, slowly lowered her head, and then whispered, "Qingqing is dead... How come it's another accident?"

Seeing that Xu Feifei was about to start talking to herself again, Li Hong became anxious. She put her hands on Xu Feifei's shoulders and shook her, saying, "What are you daydreaming about! Do you know the danger you are in? Do you know why you fell into the water? Do you know that I almost drowned when I saved you? And you're still daydreaming!"

Xu Feifei stared wide-eyed at Li Hong's face.

"I'm sorry." Li Hong lowered her hand, squatted down in front of Xu Feifei, and said sincerely, "Now, tell me, besides Zou Shunqing, is there anyone else around you who died in an accident?"

Xu Feifei nodded vigorously, then added, "But not someone close to me, just a very good friend."

"What was your name? When did you die? What accident happened?" Li Hong asked as she took out her notebook.

“Her name is Tao Jing. She was hit by a car last October,” Xu Feifei replied. She watched as Li Hong opened her notebook and nervously took notes, and couldn't help but ask, “Are you investigating an accident? You're saying I'm in danger? That I might have an accident like them?”

"Hmm!" Li Hong mumbled, pen cap still in her mouth.

"You said you almost drowned together when you saved me, right?"

“Yes!” Li Hong sat down again, her expression grave. “You are now in danger. Before I tell you the specific reasons, answer a few questions for me.”

"Okay, go ahead and ask." Xu Feifei started tugging at her clothes again.

"Hmm. Besides Tao Jing, do you know who else died in an accident?" Li Hong asked.

"No, those are the only two I know of right now," Xu Feifei said, her eyes reddening.

"Don't cry yet. Let me ask you, do both of these people have Liu Yun's finger bones?"

Yes, they all have them.

"Do you have it now?" Li Hong asked again.

“I don’t have any. I used to have four, but I didn’t have any after I gave them to them,” Xu Feifei said.

"What?! There are four?!" Li Hong was shocked.

“Yes, there were four,” Xu Feifei said slowly. “Among Liu Yun’s belongings were four finger bones. There were five of us, including myself, who were very good friends with Liu Yun. One night after we received her belongings—it must have been the year before last or the year before that—I had a dream. In the dream, Liu Yun told me that I could give her finger bones to my friends as a keepsake. I still remember the dream clearly. So I gave the finger bones to them and didn’t keep any for myself.”

"Think carefully, the year before last was 2005, and the year before that was 2004. Which year is it?" Li Hong asked.

"That happened in 2005. Less than a month after I received the belongings, I had that dream."

“Okay. Now tell me the names of the remaining two people, the two people who still have finger bones.” Li Hong didn’t even look up as she wrote.

“One is named Zhao Doudou, and the other is named Wang Xiaoxin. Xiao is the Xiao with the bamboo radical.” Xu Feifei said while looking at Li Hong’s notes, and even gestured the writing of Xiao in her palm.

"So that means, including you, there are five people: Xu Feifei, Zou Shunqing, Tao Jing, Zhao Doudou, Wang Xiaoxin, and Liu Yun, who are very close friends. All of them are women?" Li Hong was a little surprised.

"Ah, yes, they're all girls." Xu Feifei smiled a little shyly.

"So now, how long has it been since you last contacted Zhao Doudou and Wang Xiaoxin?" Li Hong suddenly had a bad feeling and asked.

“It’s been a long time!” Xu Feifei tilted her head and started thinking, “It’s been almost two or three years.”

"I understand. Just like Zou Shunqing, if they encounter an accident, you won't know, right?"

"Why are you saying that?!" Xu Feifei's eyes widened again. "They're in danger because of the finger bones?!"

"I'll tell you later." Li Hong circled Zhao Doudou and Wang Xiaoxin's names with her pen, then asked, "Where do they live? How did you two meet?"

“I don’t know where they live, I only know that they are both white-collar workers. We met at the ‘Temptation’ bar,” Xu Feifei said cautiously, glancing at Li Hong’s expression as she spoke.

"I see." Li Hong frowned, thinking that finding these two people would be another troublesome matter.

"Have you ever been to the 'Temptation' bar?" Xu Feifei suddenly asked.

"No," Li Hong said absentmindedly. "I couldn't find it. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing," Xu Feifei quickly said. "I was just asking."

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Li Hong stared intently at Xu Feifei and asked in a deep voice, "That bar, does it still exist?"

Xu Feifei seemed to be frightened by Li Hong's gaze and nodded slightly.

"You've been working there all this time?"

Xu Feifei nodded again.

When did you leave there?

Xu Feifei rolled her eyes, thought for a moment, and said, "Less than half a year ago."

"Where have you moved to now? Can you take me there?"

Xu Feifei hesitated, then shook her head: "No, I promised my boyfriend I wouldn't go there anymore."

"Why?" Li Hong asked, somewhat surprised. "What does this have to do with your boyfriend? I just want you to lead the way."

"That won't do either, I won't go." Xu Feifei seemed a little afraid of angering Li Hong, and said softly, "I hope you won't go either."

"Huh? What's going on?" Li Hong became increasingly curious as Xu Feifei spoke. "A bar wants customers to come, right? Why don't you want me to go?"

"You...you really don't know?" Xu Feifei asked, her eyebrows furrowed in disbelief.

"What do you know?" Li Hong began to get anxious. "Just tell me, is it a casino? A brothel?"

Xu Feifei shook her head, noticing Li Hong's slight anxiety, then leaned close to her ear and whispered, "That's a gay bar..."

2.17 Conversation (continued)

Even if a bolt from the blue struck Li Hong, it wouldn't have shocked her as much as it did now. Her right hand throbbed with pain the moment she heard those words, almost causing her to drop her pen. She stood there, stunned, her mind seemingly unable to process what she was seeing.

"Hello, Officer Li?" Xu Feifei was startled by Li Hong's expression, and she gently shook Li Hong.

"Ah, it's nothing, it's nothing." Li Hong came back to her senses. She smiled at Xu Feifei, "I never would have thought of this."

“I thought you knew,” Xu Feifei said. “This bar was as famous as Dongdan Park back in the day, and you’re a police officer, how could you not know?”

“Of course I don’t know,” Li Hong said. “I told you I’m just a forensic doctor, and I know nothing about this kind of thing.”

"So, are you still planning to go there?"

“Of course, I still have to go once.” Li Hong paused, thought for a moment, and then looked at Xu Feifei, “So, you also…”

Xu Feifei quickly waved her hand, "I don't play with them anymore!"

"And what about the rest of them?"

"They should all be living normal lives now. After Liu Yun died, they didn't go to bars much anymore."

"Then... what about Liu Yun?" Li Hong asked softly.

“She’s in the industry…” Xu Feifei said, tugging hard at her clothes.

"So that's how it is..." Li Hong raised her head thoughtfully. Good heavens, so there was this hidden detail. Who would have thought Liu Yun was "in the industry" back then? In that case, her rejection of Zheng Zhihao was inevitable. Alright, Zheng Zhihao doesn't need to hold a grudge about this anymore.

“Okay, that’s all I need to know right now.” Li Hong stopped thinking about anything else and turned to Xu Feifei, saying, “Now, I’m going to tell you about the danger you’re facing.”