Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

"He can leave right now. I'll go process the paperwork for him this instant." Officer Wang said to Yan, "Since the matter is cleared up, there's no need for your friend to stay at the station. But before the case is concluded, you'd best not leave Macau—otherwise we may have to call you back."

"No problem there. We can stay a few more days." Yang Yuting nodded. He understood that although Zhang Bin was no longer a murder suspect, he was still closely tied to the case—at the very least, he would have to appear to give testimony.

Liu Minggui left with Officer Wang. As he went, he said a quiet "thank you" to Yang Yanzhou, probably because Yang Ce had agreed to let him turn himself in.

Before long, Zhang Bin arrived at Yang Ce's office, accompanied by Officer Wang.

"The investigation is more or less complete. Zhang Bin, you're free to go," Officer Wang said politely to Zhang Bin.

"Officer Wang, thank you." Getting out was an immense relief to Zhang Bin. It was his first time inside a police station, and he had been terribly nervous, terrified all along that he'd be wrongly accused of murder.

"Don't thank me—thank Yang Ce." Officer Wang patted Zhang Bin on the shoulder and said, "If Yang Ce hadn't run around for you, found the suspect, and talked him into turning himself in, you'd likely have been stuck in here a good long while."

"What?" Zhang Bin was stunned. He had not expected that his quick release was down to Yang Ce.

"That's right—you've got a good brother there," Officer Wang said with a chuckle. "All right, you two talk. I've got business to attend to. You can leave directly in a little while."

"Boss!" After Officer Wang left, Zhang Bin looked at Yang Ce with great emotion, his lips working, not knowing what to say. In the end he said, "Boss, thank you."

"Thank me for what?" Yang Ce felt a flush of shame. Zhang Bin had, in fact, taken the fall for Yang Ce—but he could not say any of that to Zhang Bin, so he could only offer comfort: "With the two of us, is there any need to say thanks?"

"That's true enough." Zhang Bin broke into a grin. "I thought I'd be stuck in there for ten days or half a month—never expected to get out this fast."

"Let's go, hurry back to the hotel—Wang Mei is still worrying about you," Yang Hengye said.

Wang Mei could hardly believe her eyes when Zhang Bin appeared before her so suddenly. But after learning that Yang Ce had lent a hand, her joy was outweighed by gratitude; for Zhang Bin to have a "boss" like this was nothing short of the greatest fortune.

In truth, only Yang Duoji knew that Zhang Bin had been caught up in this entirely undeserved.

As for Liu Minggui, he had mostly told the truth, omitting only the matter of his boss ordering him to make trouble for Yang Cenbin. He merely said the boss had told him to give a push to the man who had clashed with Rokuno Masao; as to why it was Zhang Bin, that he did not know. Rokuno Masao was dead in any case—if the truth was to be found, one would have to go looking for the boss behind the scenes.

Officer Wang understood well enough that the odds of finding the man behind the scenes were not good. Macau had gangs large and small; many a gang leader who wanted a man dead simply sent his underlings to do it, and when trouble came, the underling took the fall—the boss was not implicated in the slightest.

Officer Wang had assigned more men to the investigation, but hope was slim. With Liu Minggui's testimony, everything became easy to explain. The direction and force of the knife had struck the forensic examiner as very strange at first, but now it made sense: Rokuno Masao had driven the knife into his own body.

And as for Liu Minggui—since Rokuno Masao's death was ruled a suicide, Liu Minggui had not laid a hand on anyone; he had only framed Zhang Bin, and even that not openly, but by way of hints.

Such a charge was always vague and hard to pin down, and Liu Minggui had turned himself in with an excellent attitude of confession; he likely would not receive a severe sentence.

But none of this was Yang Ce's concern. At this moment Yang Ce, Zhang Bin, and Wang Mei were sitting in a restaurant near the hotel, celebrating.

Liu Jihao had croaked, so Zhang Bin and Wang Mei no longer needed to hide away in the hotel. Getting out for some fresh air would ease the gloom of the past days.

Though he laughed and talked with Zhang Bin, a knot remained in Yang Juehuan's heart. Who on earth wanted to frame him? The Ouyang family had been wiped out by his own hand—it could not be them. Then who else?

Yang Ce thought for a long while and could not recall any deep hatred between himself and anyone. Yet by the look of things, this person seemed to bear him an irreconcilable grudge.

"Boss, let me toast you," Zhang Bin said, raising his glass to Yang Yanzhou.

"All right." Yang Ce pulled his thoughts back and raised his glass of red wine to Zhang Bin.

The three of them were at a French restaurant; the red wine was complimentary. None of them were heavy drinkers, and all of them, one might say, came from humble roots, so they were not particular about the quality of the wine. To Yang Ce's mind, whether a drink was good depended mainly on whom you drank it with and under what circumstances. With good brothers, even a two-yuan bottle of local beer went down splendidly.

"Miss Wang Mei, what a coincidence!" The three were chatting and laughing when they heard a fourth voice.

Wang Mei turned her head, muttering inwardly, though her face wore a professional smile: "Mr. Zhu, hello."

Zhang Bin and Yan also looked toward the voice, and saw a man in his thirties, dressed with great refinement but not much refined in looks, walking toward them with a smile all over his face.

"Ha, Zhang Bin, this guy can't be your love rival, can he?" Yang Ce teased under his breath.

"Who knows." Zhang Bin had probably been thinking the same, but since he did not know the man, and to spare Wang Mei's feelings, he said nothing.

"You don't mind if I sit here?" Mr. Zhu pointed shamelessly at the empty seat beside Yang Ce, and without waiting for Wang Mei's reply, plopped himself down.

"And these two are—?" Once seated, Mr. Zhu, as though he were the host, looked at Zhang Bin and Yan and asked Wang Mei.

"Oh, Mr. Zhu, let me introduce you. This is my boyfriend, Zhang Bin, and this is my friend, Yang Ce," Wang Mei said with a smile, introducing Zhang Bin and Yan one by one.

"A pleasure, a pleasure!" Mr. Zhu, quite taking the host's part, extended his hand to Zhang Bin.

Zhang Bin had no idea what this fellow was up to; for the sake of appearances, he had to shake hands with him perfunctorily. Then it was Yang Ce's turn, and he too shook hands with Mr. Zhu.

Zhang Bin and Yan were both puzzled—why did this fellow not seem like a suitor of Wang Mei's?

Mr. Zhu handed out two business cards, one each to Yang Ce and Zhang Bin. Yang Ce glanced at the information on his: Donghai Youhua Computer New Technology Development Co., Ltd., Zhu Youhua.

No way—a fellow townsman? Yang Ce studied this Zhu Youhua suspiciously, guessing at his relationship with Wang Mei. Zhang Bin was equally puzzled, wondering what on earth Zhu Youhua had come for. From his behavior just now, he seemed to harbor no hostility toward Zhang Bin, and his attitude toward Wang Mei was quite normal—there was probably nothing improper between them.

"Where's Lele? How come she's not with you?" Zhu Youhua's next words made it clear to both Yang Ce and Zhang Bin that this fellow had come for Huang Yan.

Yang Cenbin was exasperated—why were all these fellows after his women? Couldn't one be found for Zhang Bin, just for fun? But Yang Ce quickly let it go; whose fault was it that his women were all so beautiful, so exceptional? "Lele's at home resting, I think," Wang Mei said, frowning slightly at Zhu Youhua's inquiry about Huang Yan.