The Same Fate Awaits All Sins Chapter 34

Suspicion – 04

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"I merely probed a little about their dormitory relationships without mentioning Ouyang Xue's cause of death, but it seemed they had already concluded in their minds that Ouyang Xue had been murdered. Bai Xiaoting's grief was overly dramatic, Wang Shan was unnaturally calm, and both of them had only one objective, to clear themselves of suspicion. Then there was Liu Le, who appeared deeply troubled and said nothing at all..."

Lu Zheng shook his head and continued, "Forget it, let's look at the surveillance footage first."

The surveillance footage showed that around seven p.m., Ouyang Xue and the other three girls left the cafeteria and then parted ways as they exited the factory gates. However, the cameras covering the area around the cold storage were completely out of order. When Ouyang Xue returned, and why she appeared in the cold storage, remained mysteries.

"What about the dormitory area? Check the footage from around eleven p.m., can it verify Bai Xiaoting's account?" Lu Zheng asked.

"The dormitory cameras are functioning properly. Here, you can see Bai Xiaoting and Wang Shan leaving the dormitory around eleven p.m. and then returning together at approximately eleven-twenty. There's no footage of Liu Le going out," Chen Chen remarked as he reviewed the only valuable segment of the footage.

"Something feels off. If it were you, and a close roommate of yours hadn't returned late at night and was unreachable, what would you do?" Lu Zheng countered.

"I'd probably notify the teacher first..." Gu Yanta pondered before responding.

Chen Chen interrupted, "That would depend on whether the person had said anything beforehand. What if they'd gone to a hotel with their girlfriend? Reporting it to the teacher would basically be sabotaging them, wouldn't it?"

"Bai Xiaoting said that after dinner, Ouyang Xue told her she was just going for a casual walk and didn't say she'd stay out all night. After that, Ouyang Xue disappeared. The dormitory for the internship supervisor is just a few doors away, yet instead of informing the teacher, Bai Xiaoting called Wang Shan to go search with her. What does that suggest?" Lu Zheng remarked.

"It suggests that Bai Xiaoting knew why Ouyang Xue went out. It's likely Wang Shan and Liu Le knew too, but they didn't want the teacher to find out," Gu Yanta deliberated for a while. "So why did Ouyang Xue go out in the first place?"

"Bai Xiaoting and Wang Shan definitely won't say anything. Why not try asking Liu Le?" Chen Chen suggested. "She didn't say anything earlier, could she be holding something back?"

"Even a handsome man like Consultant Lu couldn't get a word out of her, what makes you think you can?" Gu Yanta quipped, annoyed.

"Boss, you just don't get it. In Liu Le's case, good looks don't work!" Chen Chen winked and pulled out a card from his pocket. The pale purple card bore a few silver, artfully stylised words: Left Bank of the Seine.

"This is what I picked up at the entrance just now, it fell from Liu Le. Any guesses as to where it's from?" Chen Chen asked mysteriously.

"How would I know? A café?" Gu Yanta stared at the small card, unable to figure out what Chen Chen was hinting at.

"This is a well-known lesbian bar in the city. Look at Liu Le's outfit, she's obviously a T. What use is it for Consultant Lu to try using his charm?"

Gu Yanta slapped his forehead. "No wonder! So... what's a T?"

Lu Zheng and Chen Chen: "......"

After the two explained, Gu Yanta finally understood. "Why didn't you just say so earlier? I don't know anything about lesbians. You could've just said she's a 1, and I'd have gotten it! So, are you suggesting... a honey trap? A woman? Yu Tiantian?"

Chen Chen rolled his eyes dramatically. "If Yu Tiantian went, she'd be lucky not to get thrown out!"

"Then do you think there are any other young women in the bureau besides her?" Gu Yanta asked helplessly.

Lu Zheng, who had been silent until now, suddenly looked up and said, "We can try sending Tiantian. I noticed earlier that Liu Le seemed emotionally unsettled, she's probably in need of someone to talk to. But it's clear she's not the same type of person as Wang Shan and Bai Xiaoting, and they likely don't interact much normally. In this situation, meeting a new friend would be a good option, and Liu Le will likely visit that bar soon."

"A new friend? Yu Tiantian?" Chen Chen was confused.

"Don't you think Tiantian's appearance is perfect for pretending to be a T?" Lu Zheng explained.

"Ah..." Chen Chen suddenly understood. "You're saying we should have Yu Tiantian pose as a T, go to the bar, befriend Liu Le, and then get her to talk?"

Lu Zheng nodded.

At that moment, Yu Tiantian, who was on the subway, had no idea she'd just been assigned such a challenging task. She was swaying her head to the beat of her music.

"What?" Yu Tiantian jumped as if electrocuted when she heard about her assignment. She instinctively looked down at her flat chest. "You want me, a straight woman, to pose as a T? I can't do it!"

"Ei, don't say that. Look at how suitable your appearance is, tall, long legs, broad shoulders, and strong. With a little styling, you'd absolutely mesmerise a whole group of women!" Chen Chen nodded earnestly.

"Brother Chen! How can you sell me out like this? I can't act!" Yu Tiantian protested, turning to Lu Zheng with pleading eyes. "Consultant Lu, say something! I really can't..."

"This idea came from Consultant Lu himself," Chen Chen adjusted his glasses.

"......"

After a makeover by Teacher Tony, Yu Tiantian transformed into a dashing T. With her neat short hair and casual outfit, she might have been a bit sturdier than most, but she exuded a certain charm and flair.

Around nine p.m., Yu Tiantian arrived at the Left Bank of the Seine bar, ready to encounter Liu Le. With soft music and dim purple lighting, the bar exuded an ambience fitting for a gathering place of lesbians, complete with a touch of charm and romantic flair. The bartenders were uniformly dashing T-types or gorgeous P-types, and the dance floor buzzed with beautiful women weaving through, creating a scene that was almost overwhelming.

Yu Tiantian ordered a cocktail and sat alone in a corner, feeling uncomfortable.

"Handsome sister, let me buy you a drink." A stylish woman with medium-length hair approached, placing a glass of champagne in front of her. She made her intentions abundantly clear. "How about being friends?"

Startled, Yu Tiantian quickly waved her hands. "No... no... I'm waiting for someone."

The beautiful woman pouted. "Turns out you're waiting for your girlfriend? My bad then." With that, she turned and left. It was the first time Yu Tiantian had been hit on by a woman, not that it had ever happened with a man either, so her heart raced with a mixture of excitement and nerves.

Around ten p.m., the target, Liu Le, appeared. She looked visibly upset, ordered a few bottles of beer, and sat not far from Yu Tiantian. With her hands stuffed into her pockets, she stared at the swaying lights on the dance floor in a daze.

"Dude, you alone?" Yu Tiantian bravely approached.

"Mhmm..." Liu Le glared at the unexpected intruder, her tone indifferent.

"What's up? Broken-hearted?" Yu Tiantian thickened her skin and plopped down next to her. "Ai, same here. I'm in a bad mood, a beauty just hit on me, and I didn't even care, I just wanted to find someone who could commiserate."

"No..." Liu Le replied gloomily. "How can I be heartbroken if I wasn't in a relationship?"

"Well, you do look pretty down... Did the girl you like reject you?"

"I wish I'd been rejected. The girl I like... she died." Liu Le choked.

Yu Tiantian hadn't expected her to open her heart so quickly to a stranger. Clearly, Liu Le had been bottling everything up for far too long. Some people are just like that, they hide their true feelings from family and friends but can unburden themselves without reservation to strangers.

"Ah... sorry, I didn't mean to bring up something painful." Yu Tiantian feigned indifference, steering the conversation away. "Come on, let's not talk about it. Let's drink."

But Liu Le suddenly became emotional. She slumped over the table, burying her head in her arms, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed.

Yu Tiantian didn't know what to do and remained silent. Meanwhile, she hurriedly sent a message asking for help: "Liu Le said she liked Ouyang Xue and now she's crying, how do I respond? Urgent, waiting online."

"Find common ground and make her feel understood," Lu Zheng replied in the group chat.

"Don't be upset, mate. Life and death are up to fate. A good friend of mine passed away in a car accident before... You've got to move on, these things are beyond anyone's control." Yu Tiantian patted Liu Le on the shoulder.

Liu Le wiped her face and said, "It's not like that, there's a difference between natural disasters and human evil. She was murdered! It happened just yesterday!"

"You mean the smiling girl from the news today who froze to death?" Yu Tiantian feigned surprise. "Wasn't it an accident? Didn't she wander into the cold storage by mistake and freeze to death?"

Liu Le shook her head, tears streaking her face.

"Then why didn't you go to the police?"

"I don't trust the police, and I don't have any evidence..."

"In that case... to be honest." Yu Tiantian pulled a prepared business card from her pocket. It was left at the station by a reporter from Yuchuan Online. "You know about Yuchuan Online, right? It specialises in reporting our local news."

Liu Le took the card and nodded blankly.

"I'm a reporter for them. If there's something you can't talk about publicly, you can tell me, I can help you report it anonymously. You know the power of public opinion. Once there's enough pressure, this case will definitely be taken seriously." Yu Tiantian spoke with conviction, and Liu Le's eyes suddenly lit up.

"It's too noisy here, it's inconvenient to talk, why don't we go somewhere quieter?" Yu Tiantian tentatively asked Liu Le.

Liu Le nodded and stood up, motioning for Yu Tiantian to follow her.

The two walked down the street of bars to the very end, arriving at an antique teahouse. Though it was nearing midnight, the teahouse remained open with no sign of closing. Liu Le led Yu Tiantian to the innermost private booth. Perhaps she was a regular, as the server brought over a pot of Longjing tea and a plate of sunflower seeds without even asking.

"I know this place well. After hitting the bars, I often come here for tea." Liu Le poured a cup for Yu Tiantian and explained.

Yu Tiantian nodded in acknowledgement. "What do you want to tell me?"

Liu Le took a deep breath before speaking slowly. "The girl I mentioned earlier, her name was Ouyang Xue. She was my roommate and the girl I've liked for three years. This morning, she was found frozen to death in the cold storage at her internship factory. The officers who came to handle the case asked our dorm some questions about the circumstances, but everything the other two in our dorm said was a lie!"

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: January 6, 2025 by Angel

Edited: February 18, 2025 by Angel