Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1177: Chapter 18: We Are That Line, That Human Wall

Heavy.

This was a very intuitive feeling Gao Wen had at this moment… The mysterious pressure coming out of nowhere made it difficult for him to maintain his usual calm—so much so that he even mistakenly opened a different courseware.

For students who often attended Gao Wen’s classes, it was quite unbelievable that Gao Wen would make mistakes while teaching—considering that Teacher Gao arrived exactly as the bell rang for this class, many students were guessing whether something had happened to Gao Wen.

But Gao Wen quickly regained his state for teaching, gradually returning to his usual level, and the classroom atmosphere started to become lively bit by bit.

Only occasionally did Gao Wen’s honest gaze unconsciously or purposely glance toward the last seat near the window—finally, the class was over.

This was one of the rare occasions since becoming a teacher that Gao Wen felt a class was so lengthy.

As the bell rang, Gao Wen determinedly tried to approach the male student who had attended his class for the third time out of curiosity—when Luo Qiu first appeared and suddenly left after asking him a question, Gao Wen searched for Luo Qiu’s information in the teaching office.

He couldn’t find any information on Luo Qiu—or rather, the University of Political Science and Law simply didn’t have this student.

Afterward, he appeared a second time, and today… a third time.

Each appearance was silent, merely watching in class, never asking questions… always with a gaze of concentration.

Gao Wen took a deep breath, walked down from the podium, and stepped onto the classroom steps, heading toward the position by the rear right window.

He was still there, hadn’t left… Gao Wen thought to himself.

“Teacher Gao, I still don’t quite understand the case you mentioned just now.”

Suddenly, when passing a seat, a girl stood up with a sweet smile and naturally blocked Gao Wen’s way… Gao Wen’s view was helplessly obstructed by the girl.

However, long-standing decorum stopped him from shoving people aside, “Miss, I’ll explain your question later.”

Just a few seconds passed.

As Gao Wen’s gaze bypassed the girl and turned back to that last position, he again lost sight of Luo Qiu. He quickly looked toward the back door of the classroom and still couldn’t see the outline of the other… in just a few seconds, it was impossible for him to disappear like this.

Even if he ran, such a significant movement couldn’t have happened without a trace.

“Teacher, what are you looking at?” one student curiously asked, following Gao Wen’s glance.

Gao Wen opened his mouth, “Just now… the male student sitting in that position…”

“Teacher, did you see wrongly? There’s no one there.”

No one?

The same answer as before?

It seemed only he could see… Gao Wen took a deep breath and then rubbed his eyebrows, “Maybe… I didn’t sleep well last night, and my eyes momentarily blurred.”

Could it be that he really saw an illusion?

Gao Wen suddenly fell silent, yet he had a strong feeling… next time he taught, he would still see… those eyes, seemingly always by his side.

“I suddenly remembered I have something to do.” Gao Wen quickly said at this moment: “If you have anything unclear, would you leave a message in my email? I’ll find time to answer your question later.”

“Teacher Gao?”

Gao Wen said nothing, hurriedly left the classroom… Such an unusual reaction from Lecturer Gao Wen must mean something happened in his life, the students quietly discussed.

…

Going in was the restroom used by instructors, professors, etc… Teachers move around a lot during classes, and the restroom was empty at the moment.

Gao Wen washed his face at the sink. He raised his head, water trickling down his face, his hair sticking together in front segmented his brows… suddenly, Gao Wen turned his body around.

It seemed he could constantly feel that peculiar gaze.

But there was nothing behind him—before turning, the mirror showed nothing—he just sensed something beyond his imagination.

Gao Wen exhaled and leaned against the sink, lowering his head, “Luo Qi… I’ve seen your child.”

Silence… not knowing how long it lasted.

Suddenly, someone entered the restroom and greeted warmly.

“Gao… Teacher Gao?”

Gao Wen turned his head and saw an elderly man nearing sixty, clad formally in a suit but looking indescribably weary, “Ouyang… professor?”

Speaking of Professor Ouyang, he had significant ties with a scandal a few months ago in the school—this renowned professor was revealed one day to have relationships with multiple female students and even manipulated graduation thesis reviews, coercing and enticing several students into degrading acts.

Naturally, the college couldn’t tolerate such occurrences—the matter couldn’t be covered up, and the college soon suspended Professor Ouyang from duty.

“Professor, how have you been recently?” Gao Wen greeted casually.

Professor Ouyang forced a bitter smile, stepped in, and sighed, “Xiao Gao, you’re the only one who still calls me professor upon seeing me. Everyone else avoids me. I regret it so much…”

It was evident that the old professor was truly full of remorse, with his life’s reputation ruined… Gao Wen thought he didn’t have much comfort to offer, “Professor, are you here today for?”

“The school hopes for my voluntary resignation.” Professor Ouyang’s expression turned bitter, “It’s to leave me with a bit of dignity. I’m here today to handle the procedures.”

“Do you have any plans, professor?”

“I haven’t thought much about it, perhaps I’ll return to my hometown for a while.” Professor Ouyang’s face still bore unmistakable shame. Looking at Gao Wen, he earnestly said, “Xiao Gao, if you get the chance in the future, and don’t mind associating with someone as pathetic as me, let’s keep in touch.”

“Of course.” Gao Wen smiled slightly, “Regardless, professor, when you were a forensic doctor with the agency, your professional skills were truly commendable. I certainly haven’t forgotten how many cases you helped us solve.”

Professor Ouyang suddenly gave a bitter smile, “I may not be as good as you think, becoming muddled in old age, and even when I worked I made foolish mistakes… thinking now, I really let down my past work.”

“Professor?” Gao Wen furrowed his brows.

Professor Ouyang shook his head, “I won’t say much more… Xiao Gao, don’t make mistakes, some errors leave no room for turning back.”

“Okay, professor.” Gao Wen nodded, smiling slightly.

This is not some young rookie fresh out of society, and Professor Ouyang knows that he cannot really teach Gao Wen anything. He simply talks about his own deep pain, treating it as a way to express himself.

Professor Ouyang just came in to wash his hands. After chatting briefly with Gao Wen, he left with a bit of desolation.

When Gao Wen came out of the restroom again, he returned to his composed, elegant self, resembling the charming Lecturer Gao Wen of the University of Political Science and Law.

…

…

Zhao Le’s home is rented in an old residential area.

Most buildings like this are over twenty years old, standing six or seven floors high, without elevators — Zhao Le’s home is on the sixth floor.

He ran all the way up the stairs, and by the time he reached the door, he was already sweating profusely.

Zhao Le hurriedly took out his keys, opened the door, and entered the house — at this moment, there were two men sitting in the living room. Zhao Le’s eyes froze instantly.

“Xiao Le, you’re back.” At this moment, a woman in her forties quickly walked to Zhao Le’s side. “These two are Officer Lin and Officer Wang. They’re here to ask some questions… However, your sister might not be in a very good mood.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Le’s face grew anxious. After a quick glance at the police officers sitting on the old sofa, he hurriedly lowered his head and walked quickly into the bedroom inside.

The middle-aged woman was helpless at this point and could only say, “Officers, please don’t blame him. Xiao Le is usually very polite, but when it comes to his sister, he becomes very tense… I have already explained about Xiaoqin’s matter, you see…”

“It’s okay, we understand.” The officer with the surname Lin… Lin Feng looked at the woman with some helplessness.

This woman wasn’t part of the family; she was just a neighbor. Seeing the pitiful situation of Zhang Xiaoqin in the house, she would take some time to help care for her.

“Well… if there’s nothing else, I’ll head home first. My family will be back soon, and I need to go cook dinner.”

Noticing that the woman intended to leave and avoid getting involved, Lin Feng quickly waved his hand, allowing the neighbor to leave… Afterward, Lin Feng sighed.

“Officer Lin, I never expected that this Zhou Xiaoqin once attempted suicide.” The partner beside him frowned, “Just mentioning Wang Liang’s matter earlier made Zhang Xiaoqin very agitated. I think it’ll be difficult to get any information out soon.”

“Let’s see. Now that Zhao Le, Zhang Xiaoqin’s brother, is back, perhaps we can get some information from him.” Lin Feng thought for a moment and said.

The officer with the surname Wang was curious then, “Speaking of which, it’s strange that the siblings don’t share the same last name.”

“Nothing strange about it,” Lin Feng replied casually. “As that neighbor woman mentioned earlier, their parents divorced when they were young, and each child took one parent’s surname. Later, Zhao Le came here from the county to study and stayed with Zhang Xiaoqin.”

Saying this, Lin Feng stood up and walked to the bedroom door, peering inside… The bedroom door wasn’t completely closed.

Inside the room, a woman sitting in a wheelchair was pale-faced, covering her ears, visibly agitated, while Zhao Le gently spoke to her beside her.

When Zhao Le noticed it, he walked over with a stern face and directly closed the bedroom door.

Helpless, Lin Feng could only return to the sofa and sit down.

Over an hour later, Zhao Le finally came out of the bedroom with a sullen face… Upon seeing this, Lin Feng immediately took out his credentials, “Zhao Le, we apologize for disturbing you. However, we are here to investigate and mean no harm. Please understand… We also apologize for scaring your sister.”

Zhao Le frowned. “You… what are you doing at my house?”

“It’s like this; we want to investigate some matters regarding Wang Liang through your sister… But when your sister heard Wang Liang’s name, she became very agitated. You see…” Lin Feng explained.

Zhao Le sneered, “That animal caused my sister to be like this; how can she not be agitated!”

Lin Feng could only say, “Zhao Le, we are sorry about your sister… However, the investigation still needs to continue. I hope you can cooperate with us so that we don’t disturb your sister.”

“I know nothing about that beast, and neither does my sister! Leave, and don’t bother us again!” Zhao Le said sternly. “My sister has just calmed down, and I don’t want her to have a relapse… Please understand!”

“Wang Liang is dead.” Lin Feng suddenly said.

Zhao Le was taken aback, “Dead… dead?”

Lin Feng nodded, “You must have heard about the dismemberment case the day before yesterday, right? We’ve confirmed that the deceased is Wang Liang… but we know very little about his matters, so we’re hoping you can provide some clues.”

“Serves him right! Scum like that deserves to die!” Zhao Le laughed coldly. “Such scum isn’t taken by you guys, but Heaven took him. Indeed, what goes around comes around! Serves him right!”

Lin Feng frowned, “Zhao Le, we know you are a political science student… I think such comments are a bit inappropriate for you, aren’t they?”

“The law is rotten to the core!” Zhao Le snorted, “This scum harmed so many people. But you guys? Saying there’s insufficient evidence, not even filing a case, letting him enjoy his freedom outside! Now that he’s dead, you want to find his killer?”

“The law is the law.” Lin Feng frowned, “Zhao Le, I hope you can calm down and I hope these are just words spoken in anger… Otherwise, it would be disrespectful to your studies.”

“The law is the law, but it should also be the lowest line of morality!” Zhao Le exclaimed with excitement. “If even this bottom line isn’t upheld, what kind of law is it? You are not welcome here — leave! Get out!!”

As Zhao Le spoke, he directly opened the door, staring at them like an angry lion.

The officer with the surname Wang frowned, also feeling somewhat angry… or rather, having a fiery temper, “Zhao Le, I hope you fulfill a citizen’s responsibility by cooperating with us!”

“What! Are you going to enforce the law with violence? Go ahead! Show me what your law is!” Zhao Le said hatefully. “I study law too, you can try it!”

“You…” Officer Wang instantly widened his eyes.

Lin Feng, however, stretched out his hand at this moment, holding back his colleague’s temper, while putting on a smile, speaking gently, “It seems we came at a bad time today… How about this, I’ll leave a contact number. If you think of anything, feel free to contact me anytime.”

Lin Feng quickly wrote down his phone number, pulled his colleague to leave, and stopped at the door, saying seriously, “The law should indeed be the lowest line of morality, but this bottom line is not a dam, but a human wall… and we are the human wall that guards this line… Regarding your sister’s situation, I’m sorry for disturbing you.”

Lin Feng casually closed the door, not looking at Zhao Le’s expression any further.

He had experienced similar situations many times over the years, naturally understanding the bitterness of some victims’ families, who had nowhere to release their grievances.

Downstairs, Officer Wang also felt he was indeed too agitated, “Officer Lin, my hot temper is a bit… But with Zhao Le’s lack of cooperation, it’s hard for us to work.”

“What else can we do? Can we take him back?” Lin Feng shook his head, “We are police, not hooligans. Now, we can only see if Zhao Le changes his mind.”

As he spoke, a figure suddenly rushed out from the staircase… It was Zhao Le, “Wait a minute.”

The two of them turned around.

Zhao Le frowned, gritting his teeth, “I’ll cooperate with you… but find another place, not my home.”

Lin Feng smiled, feeling quite relieved.