Not only was this his first time riding in a police car, it was also his first time being taken to a police station.
His interrogation immediately began the moment he arrived at the station.
Things would be more lenient if Yang Yi was frank while it will only get tough if he resisted. This was his first time seeing an interrogation room. As he was viewing the two lines of large words on the wall, the two police officers in front of him began to talk.
“Please explain to us what has been going on.”
Yang Yi was alert again and began to speak helplessly, “I am still wondering what’s going on myself. This matter isn’t exactly related to me since I am just a TNC driver. I was hired to be a substitute driver and agreed due to a momentary lapse in judgement. There is nothing much to be said. There is a dash camera in my car and the evidence to prove my innocence is inside. Since I am out of luck, you should penalise me as you see fit.”
“Let’s not discuss the issue of the stolen car first. Good chap, you actually dared to speed at 220 KPH on the Fifth Ring. Your measure of courage is indeed large. Are you aware how serious this is? What more you, actually did it in broad daylight…”
As the police officer interrogating Yang Yi was in the midst of talking, the interrogation room’s door was knocked. A high-ranked officer then opened the door and, without entering, told the two police officers, “Both of you can leave. The testimony will remain here.”
Though both police officers in-charge of the interrogation were slightly surprised, they still left the interrogation room quickly. Afterwards, the door was opened again and this time it was a middle-aged man wearing a western-style suit.
The middle-aged man seemed to be in his fifties and his look was outright average. It was average to a point where there are no discernible features to describe him.
The middle-aged man entered the interrogation room and glanced at Yang Yi before sitting down on the interrogator’s chair. He then picked up the testimony and started reading.
When Yang Yi noticed the red light indicating that the video recorder had been turned off, he found it completely surprising and odd. He felt that the moment he had been anticipating all this time was about to happen at last.
After Yang Yi had carefully observed the middle-aged man who is a wearing western-style suit, he chuckled and softly said, “There is no need to read the testimony. Not much has been written down yet. Uncle Li, it has been a while. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
The middle-aged man whom Yang Yi had called Uncle Li raised his head in surprise. He then asked softly in return, “You recognised me?”
Yang Yi nodded and calmly said, “It was at night, eleven years ago. While it was still raining, you came over to our home with my dad. You asked me to call you Uncle Li then. My impression of you is still rather strong since we rarely received any guests at home.”
After Uncle Li put down the testimony, he nodded and said in lamentation, “That time you were still small and just a kid. Your memory is not bad since you can still remember my face.”
“A lot of people said the same thing. I have a photographic memory. This talent can be quite troublesome sometimes because there are many things I wish to forget, but can’t.”
“It’s hereditary. Your dad has a photographic memory as well. I always admired this one trait of his and at the same time envied it. It seems like you have inherited this talent of his.”
After both of them were caught in a brief moment of silence, Yang Yi finally asked, “How should I call you?”
“You can call me Li Fan. It’s fine for you to continue calling me Uncle Li too. You can also remove the Li and just call me Uncle.”
"Is Li Fan an alias?"
After a moment of silence, Li Fan continued with a nod, “There is no need to take this seriously. Just treat Li Fan as my real name.”
Yang Yi then raised his pair of handcuffed hands, “Uncle. Can you take these off? It feels odd and uncomfortable.”
“I don’t have the key. They will have to stay on you for the time being. It’s not nice to keep bothering others. Moreover, it’s inappropriate for me to be here in the first place.”
After sighing, Yang Yi spoke with a serious tone, “If we equate the motherland as my mother, than I am definitely a filial son because the country has treated me well. I have lived on very nicely since my parents passed away so many years ago. Now that you have suddenly appeared, it left me both puzzled and also realised there are many things I would like to understand.”
After pausing for a while, Yang Yi calmly asked, “Let me guess. Are you here to bail me out?”
“No. Not exactly.”
“So did you come here to talk about my parents?”
With a sigh, Li Fan forced a smile, “Don’t be so hasty in showing how smart you are. Too much publicity is not a good thing. Not good at all. However, you have guessed right. I am here to talk about your parents.”
Yang Yi nodded and continued to ask seriously, “I was still young when my dad passed away. At the time, I didn’t understand anything nor did I think too much about it. Now that I think back, I surmise he was a spy. Given your performance today, it has affirmed my belief. You are also a spy. So, did the country send my parents out?”
Li Fan shook his head, “You got it wrong this time. Your dad couldn’t be considered a spy. Strictly speaking, he was an intelligence broker. Sometimes, they act as a political broker on some matters. As the assigned officer, I can tell you they were not sent out by the country. Your dad was not connected to any country’s intelligence agencies. He was solely in the profession for money.”
Yang Yi frowned, “That’s not right. My dad had taught me since I was young to love our country. I am lost. If he was just an intelligence trader who was not connected with any particular country, isn’t what he taught me absurd?”
Li Fan said seriously, “For some people, they will never forget their nationality, regardless of their past. Your parents were, in fact, examples of this type of people.”
Dropping his hand, Li Fan continued seriously, “There is no need to be suspicious, and don’t even consider probing. I can tell you my relationship with your parents. It was a friendship built on transaction. Yes, I bought intelligence from your parents. However, the price was extremely low. In fact it was so low that you could consider it a free gift. This had happened twice.”
“What type of intelligence?”
“Not only should you not ask, I will never tell you.”
“Fine. Which division do you belong to?”
“I have already said. Do not ask questions which should not be asked.”
With a sigh, Yang Yi asked, “In that case, your presence here is meaningless since you can’t even satisfy my curiosity. Fine, I will ask questions you are allowed to answer instead. Are you the one who sent someone to bring me back from England? Also, are you the one who arranged someone to take care of me all this years?”
Li Fan nodded and spoke solemnly, “Indeed. I am ashamed that I was unable to take care of you directly. I had only instructed some people to take care of your necessities only. Though your dad was not connected to our country in anyway, the treatment you received was well deserved by virtue of the two pieces of intelligence given by your dad which was almost cost-free. Moreover, most of your personal assets were part of the inheritance left by your parents.”
Yang Yi nodded. “So, that’s why there was this unknown uncle who brought me back to the country after my parents had passed away. After which, he disappeared. My mom left me real estate in the capital and there was this mysterious auntie who took care of me until I could take care of myself. She then abruptly disappeared as well. I had also studied at the best elementary school, secondary school, and university. After graduation, suddenly there was an extra 2.2 million dollars in my account. Although I can comprehend what had happened but not the reason. Nonetheless, I have finally obtained a clear answer. Can I ask you a question? How much did you pay for my dad’s intelligence?”
“Two million pounds. Each intelligence was a million pounds.”
“Isn’t that expensive? Yet you said it was almost free.”
“The intelligence is priceless. If he truly intended to sell it, it could definitely have exceeded a hundred million pounds. You just don’t understand the value of the intelligence.”
Yang Yi smiled, “If you put it that way, my dad had a very profitable profession. Shouldn’t I be very wealthy then? After all, my dad should have left me a lot of money. Wouldn’t I be considered a second generation born nouveau riche?
Li Fan shook his head and said softly, “After you dad passed away, all his wealth had been diverted away by someone. I only managed to find two hundred thousand pound in your home which I believe your dad kept for emergency use. Besides the cash, I didn’t take anything else. Moreover, the other things couldn’t be taken.”
Yang Yi smiled bitterly, “Pity, I though there was still a large sum of money coming in…”
Li Fan sighed, “You had actually used up the money which had suddenly appeared in your account to buy a luxury car. In less than six months, you actually squandered 2.2 million dollars.”
Yang Yi dejectedly said, “I thought the inexplicable sum of money would continue to appear in my account. Who would have thought that that was the last inheritance my parents had left for me. If I had known that earlier, I wouldn’t have spent it so freely.”
Li Fan gave another sigh and said helplessly, “I would have thought you couldn’t wait to find out how your parents died. It seems like you are not interested in finding out the cause of your parents’ deaths.”
“Even in my dreams, I would like to discover the cause of my parents’ deaths and why. I am sure you will definitely tell me. That’s why I’d rather seize the opportunity to ask you the thing you might not tell me. I might have the opportunity to ask in the future. For instance, the sudden disappearance of the uncle and aunt. Frankly speaking, your style of working is very annoying. Not only disappearing, but disappearing forever.”
Li Fan helplessly said, “It can’t be helped. It was the professional protocol. Anyhow, I will answer all your questions if I can.”
Yang Yi moved his hand and unhappily said, “You should first take these off. Please don’t say you don’t have the key. I don’t believe you can’t even unlock a pair handcuffs. That would be an injustice to your status as a spy.”
Li Fan smiled bitterly and tore a piece of paper from the testimony log. He then rolled up the paper and easily unlocked the handcuffs.
“Done. You should ask and say whatever you want.”
After stroking his wrists, Yang Yi sat up straight and seriously asked, “Can you tell me why my parents are dead?”
Solemnly, Li Fan said, “At that time, England was my responsibility. One day, your dad called and told me he had a piece of intelligence of utmost importance. He would need to meet me in person to discuss it. So, I rushed over to the appointed place, but he never showed up, even after waiting for a long time. When I finally found him, he was already dead.”
“Then, the car accident was not the true cause of death.”
“Definitely not. The scene of the car accident was fabricated. His true cause of death was poisoning. At the very same moment, your mom died from a heart attack at home. The true cause of death was also poisoning. Although everything seems to be in order, your whole house had actually been carefully searched. In fact, everything had been flipped over. You only escaped death because you were still in school. Perhaps those people let you live since you are not deemed a threat to them. After all, you were only eleven at that time. It can be a coincidence for two people to die at the same time. Be that as it may, two separate deaths in two different locations at the same time in a household of three were just too conspicuous.
Yang Yi was slightly puzzled, “Just now, didn’t you mention two hundred thousand pounds was found in my house? Now, you say my house had been thoroughly searched. This sounds a bit odd.”
Li Fan calmly replied, “That’s because they did not murder your parents for the money. What they were searching was more important. For instance, the things written in this journal.”