The Same Fate Awaits All Sins Chapter 55

Mind Control – 11

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"Heh, I didn't take you for a filial son... But have you ever thought about the fathers of the people you killed?" With a sharp snap, Lu Zheng shut his notebook and fixed a piercing gaze on Zheng Yandong. "So what you're saying is that this escape was also planned by Li Qing? You've already moved your father back to your hometown, what did Li Qing use to threaten you this time?"

"Th...this time it wasn't Li Qing," Zheng Yandong stammered, a hint of guilt in his voice. "But I suspect it's related to Li Qing!"

"Oh?"

"After I was put on the wanted list, I had nowhere to go," Zheng Yandong continued. "Our hometown is tiny, everyone knows me. I had no other place to go, so I hid in a vegetable cellar at a childhood friend's house. Just before I was caught, my phone rang, the one with a number no one else knew..."

According to Zheng Yandong's statement, an unknown number had contacted him, instructing him on an escape plan and route. He was told to follow the instructions exactly, and if he failed and got caught, he must not mention Li Qing. Otherwise, his father's life would be at stake.

Again, the same tactics! Zheng Yandong had had enough of being threatened. Once the police assured him that his father was safe and had arranged for twenty-four-hour close protection, Zheng Yandong's last hesitation vanished, and he confessed everything.

"I know I've committed a crime..." Zheng Yandong lowered his head, his voice choked with emotion. "Even if I was coerced, I still did those things. I can't escape responsibility. Please take care of my father, and catch those criminals as soon as possible, don't let them hurt him again. That way, I can have some peace of mind in prison."

Lu Zheng nodded silently.

Regardless of how much truth there was in Zheng Yandong's words, there was at least a new lead, that is, Li Qing. Zheng Yandong had only admitted to being coerced by Li Qing into committing the case at the beginning of the year, but what about the three recent cases? If Li Qing had done it all to get a kidney transplant for his youngest son, why had three people been murdered in succession? If Zheng Yandong hadn't been involved, then who had carried out those complex steps?

If it hadn't been for Cheng Yu's mistake, which had accidentally exposed the cause of death for these three victims, how much longer would it have taken for this case to come to light? If these three victims had died on the spot, like the previous victim, how much longer would the truth have remained buried? How many more people would have been used and killed? And how many more filthy, sordid deals were lurking beneath it all? Lu Zheng didn't dare imagine.

Lu Zheng stood up and walked out of the interrogation room. As soon as he stepped outside, he was met with Gu Yanta's heavy expression.

"Do you think Zheng Yandong's words are credible?" Gu Yanta asked.

"Hard to say right now. There aren't any major contradictions in his statement, he admitted his crimes while also justifying his motives," Lu Zheng analysed. "The priority now is to catch Li Qing. Since we have a new lead, we need to follow the trail and see where it takes us."

"Mhmm." Gu Yanta nodded. Noticing the faint exhaustion on Lu Zheng's face, he said with some heartache, "You didn't rest well in my office last night, did you? Look at those dark circles, why don't you go to the break room and get some sleep?"

Lu Zheng shook his head. "I'm fine, I can't sleep well in unfamiliar places, I might as well make good use of the time and keep working."

"Eh? But I've seen you in the car... ah... and... you slept soundly at my place!" Gu Yanta sounded puzzled. Lu Zheng had always claimed to have trouble sleeping, but Gu Yanta had never truly witnessed it. Every time he saw him in the passenger seat, he was fast asleep.

Lu Zheng himself couldn't quite understand it either. Maybe this was what people called a sense of security. Whenever he was by Gu Yanta's side, Lu Zheng always felt an inexplicable trust. This feeling allowed Lu Zheng to sleep peacefully, the connections between people were truly a marvellous thing! Thinking of this, Lu Zheng chuckled to himself. It seemed he had really fallen into Gu Yanta's hands. This man's integrity and kindness, his warmth and masculinity, were like sunlight shining into the softest corners of Lu Zheng's heart.

Back when he lived alone, Lu Zheng had never longed for love. He had always been reserved by nature, unaccustomed to the noise and chaos of the world around him. To him, love was something illusory, people changed, feelings changed, and everything in this world was bound to change.

He had once thought that if he never met the right person, he would be perfectly content spending his life alone in peace. But after being with Gu Yanta, he finally understood the beauty of sharing his life with someone, when you're tired, there's someone to comfort you, when you're ill, there's someone to take care of you, when you're sad, there's someone to console you, and when you're angry, there's someone who will try to make you laugh in every way possible.

Now that Lu Zheng had grown used to this two-person world, he truly understood the fear of losing it. He was afraid that one day he would wake up and everything would be gone, that everything in front of him was just a beautiful dream, that Gu Yanta had never been part of his world, and that he was destined to walk this earth alone.

Gu Yanta, unaware of Lu Zheng's inner turmoil, was still mumbling to himself about what to have for lunch.

Suddenly, Gu Yanta felt someone hug him from behind. Lu Zheng's soft hair brushed against his neck, making Gu Yanta smile. "What's wrong? Lu Xiaozheng?"

"You're not allowed to leave my world, not for the rest of your life!"

Gu Yanta's eyes curved into two crescent moons as he turned around and ruffled Lu Zheng's hair. "You fool! I love you so much, how could I ever leave you?"

"Mhmm..." Lu Zheng, like a child who had just received a reassuring promise, finally felt at ease. "What were you saying we should eat just now?"

"Ah..." Gu Yanta was caught off guard by the abrupt change of topic. "What do you want to eat?"

"I want to eat something you cook, though the taste... isn't exactly great..." Lu Zheng smirked mischievously.

"Lu Xiaozheng, now that's just taking things too far!" Gu Yanta was both amused and exasperated. "Back when I was a bachelor, I only had to feed myself and had no reason to cook properly. Do you know how hard it's been for me to get back into it, just to stop you from eating the junk food outside?"

"It hasn't been easy," Lu Zheng replied absentmindedly, "but it's definitely worth it."

"Huh?"

"With such amateur cooking skills, you still get to have a beautiful man like me by your side for life, isn't that a great deal?" Even Lu Zheng couldn't help but laugh at his own words. I never thought that after spending so much time with Gu Yanta, I would pick up his shamelessness too, truly a case of being influenced by bad company ah!

"......" Gu Yanta was speechless for a long moment before suddenly bursting into laughter. "Hahaha! Lu Xiaozheng, you've truly mastered my ways! When we get home, I'll cook for you! I'll cook as many meals as you want!"

‿︵‿︵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: February 8, 2025 by Angel

Edited: February 25, 2025 by Angel