Mr. Su's Love Investigation Report
Chapter 219

Chapter 219: Chapter 219

Hao Ren picked up the phone, greeted with a "hello," and then fell silent, listening for several minutes before hanging up.

Tissue’s phone rang again. Just as she was about to hang up, Hao Ren shook his head, took the call for her, and did the same—kept silent, letting the person on the other end spew all sorts of obscene language until finally hanging up.

"Recorded, saved." Hao Ren handed her back the phone.

She nodded silently, then subconsciously started scrolling through online comments, but Hao Ren turned off her monitor, "Don’t look, it’s worthless."

He wouldn’t let her look, but he himself started browsing on his phone. Sure enough, his and Tissue’s information, from phone numbers to home addresses to ID numbers, were all exposed. A wave of people attacked their ID photos, first targeting their looks—ugly, B-face, sleazy, harsh—then jumping from looks to personal character, declaring him as looking like a rapist and Tissue as looking like a mistress, someone who’s been with too many men.

Hao Ren scoffed and tossed his phone back onto the desk, dismissing the repetitive tricks.

In the afternoon, Chief Zhou’s personal account and Chenjiang Daily’s official comment section and direct messages were overwhelmed, demanding severe punishment for Hao Ren and Tissue. The operations team couldn’t handle it and asked Chief Zhou if they should issue a statement first.

Chief Zhou firmly denied it: No need!

Still in the afternoon, Hao Ren and Tissue contacted Liu Hong’s parental home and in-laws, all of whom refused to speak with them again.

At dusk, more explosive news broke: Liu Hong had recanted her statement. She still admitted to the murder but denied that the victim had abused her; instead, she said she had long harbored grievances against the victim due to emotional discord, and impulsively killed him following a verbal altercation. Her previous domestic abuse claim was meant for a lighter sentence.

Watching all this unfold, Hao Ren just sneered. He would bet, if this wasn’t someone manipulating from behind the scenes, he’d give up his press card and never work in this field again! But clearly, this person was no ordinary individual; could even change Liu Hong’s statement in custody?

He lit a cigarette, broodingly smoked as his phone continuously refreshed with popular comments, slowly clarifying his thoughts.

At dusk, he and Tissue left work together. Just as they stepped out of the newspaper building, a group of people suddenly appeared out of nowhere and doused them with a red, steaming substance.

An acrid, rancid smell instantly spread, nauseating to the point of vomiting.

Hao Ren quickly stood in front of Tissue, but the group scattered, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

The two looked at each other, both seeing streaks of leftover oily mess on themselves, obviously, the stuff those people had thrown was waste from a restaurant’s grease bucket.

Passersby hurried by, covering their noses.

They exchanged a bitter smile and said in unison, "Did you see who it was?"

They both shook their heads simultaneously.

What was there to see? Everyone was wearing masks, their arrival unexpected, and their departure swift, as if the dirt they left behind had been brought by a sudden gust of wind.

"All these damn people!" Hao Ren shook his clothes, his face flushed with anger.

Compared to Hao Ren, Tissue was much calmer; after all, this wasn’t her first rodeo. But she hadn’t anticipated, thinking she had grown up, that such childish antics were part of her past, never imagining the adult world could also be such a farce.

"Let’s go back to the office and tidy up," she said, heading into the newspaper building first.

How could they clean up?

They discarded their jackets. For the trousers, they washed only the dirty spots, but even so, most of the trousers were wet. The sweater underneath had caught a bit of filth, which they wiped off with a wet wipe.

Still reeking of sourness, he was at least presentable.

Hao Ren and she stepped out almost simultaneously, shared a look, and bitterly smiled, knowing there was no other choice but to return this way.

Hao Ren had insisted on escorting her, but she wouldn’t let him, especially when the deep autumn chill settled in during the evenings, and both were only dressed in a single layer of clothing. She had no reason to let Hao Ren freeze for her sake. Instead, she only smiled and said to him, "You stink worse than I do! I wouldn’t want the cab driver to disdain our soaking wet pants, nor do I want to be crammed among people who are trying to pinpoint the source of the stench. Alone, my smell isn’t that strong. Add you to the equation, and we’d better be prepared to have our faces dragged on the ground the whole way back!"

Hao Ren sniffed himself, somewhat embarrassed.

"Alright, it’s fine now. Once we get on the subway, it’ll be so crowded nobody will notice anything." she said, smiling nonchalantly.

Hao Ren sighed, "I admire you, still managing to smile in this situation."

"What else can I do, cry? Would that help?" she chuckled, waving goodbye to Hao Ren.

They took separate subways headed in different directions.

During the rush hour, the subway was packed tight.

She stood sandwiched among the crowd, occasionally someone would brush against her drenched pants and then shoot her weird looks. Unable to explain, she simply didn’t bother and awkwardly smiled in response.

As the subway passed a station, nobody got off, but about ten more people squeezed in. Amidst a flurry of shoving and complaints, the crowded car perfectly engulfed these new passengers and the doors struggled to close before moving on.

Tu Hengsha was squeezed like sandwich filling and could barely breathe. She pushed her arm forward in front of her to carve out a little breathing space, but someone behind her pressed right up against her.

At first, she paid it no mind, but after a while, something felt off; it felt like a hand moving on her buttocks.

She turned and saw a man wearing a mask, a young man whose hat barely hid his bleached blonde hair. When she looked at him, he stared back with a chilling gaze.

She didn’t know if it was intentional or accidental, but she expressed her outrage through her eyes and shifted uncomfortably to show her disgust.

The man paused for a moment, but within a minute, his hand landed on her waist.

She looked down at the hand creeping over her waistline, slowly exploring. She became sure of his intentions. She had encountered a subway hooligan!

Suddenly, that hand dove right into her sweater...

Infuriated, she yanked his hand out, shouting, "Jerk! Get your hands off me!"

Her yelling caught the attention of those around her, and his hand swiftly slipped away.

"Everyone be careful! He’s a subway hooligan!" she pointed at the man and accused.

The man glared fiercely, "Young lady! Speak responsibly! Just because it’s crowded and you get accidentally touched, does that make me a hooligan? I could sue you for defamation!"

Shameless! Tu Hengsha wasn’t about to take this lying down, "Accidentally touched? Your hand was inside my clothes! Was that an accident?"

The man smirked, "Oh really? Inside your clothes? Where did I touch you?"

Fu Hengsha slapped him across the face, yelling, "Hooligan!"

"I’m the hooligan?" he touched his face, sneering, "Now you’ve touched me, am I suppose to call you a hooligan? Just with your looks, I’d take offense if you touched me! You were the one acting desperate rubbing against me, and you’re calling me the hooligan? Look at your pants, and you have the audacity to accuse others of being hooligans? Getting on the subway dressed like that in cold weather, isn’t that deliberately provocative? Either you’re desperately seeking men, or just finished messing around, too riled up to even dress yourself properly before running out?"