Dai Shiya took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. She knew that this was not the time to despair, and she had to cheer up and look for every possible opportunity to save herself. She walked to the corner of the room, picked up the landline and called the police, asking them to re-examine the authenticity of the evidence.
"Why are my fingerprints on the murder weapon? Why are there signs of editing in the surveillance video? These doubts have not been reasonably explained!" Dai Shiya's voice was full of anxiety and pleading.
However, the police's response was as cold as a machine: "Ms. Dai, we understand your feelings, but the evidence is conclusive and there is no need to reinvestigate. If you have new evidence, please contact us in time."
A cold "beep" sound came from the phone, and Dai Shiya put down the receiver helplessly, the last glimmer of hope in her heart shattered. She fell to the cold floor, despair drowning her like a tide.
At the same time, Wei Qing followed the instructions of the strange phone call and came to a remote cafe. She looked around and saw that there were few customers in the store. A man in a black windbreaker was sitting in the corner, seemingly waiting for her.
Wei Qing took a deep breath, trying to suppress her inner tension, and walked to the man and sat down. "You called me and said you had clues about Shi Ya?"
The man nodded slightly, took out a brown paper bag from his arms, and gently placed it on the table. "Here are the things you need, but remember, don't tell anyone I was here."
Wei Qing took the paper bag and opened it impatiently. Inside were some photos and documents that seemed to be related to the key evidence in Dai Shiya's case. A glimmer of hope ignited in Wei Qing's heart, but she did not let down her guard. She keenly felt that there seemed to be a pair of eyes watching her secretly.
Wei Qing calmly put away the photos and documents, walked out of the cafe quickly, and disappeared into the crowd. However, she did not notice that not far behind her, a sneaky figure was following closely, with a cold smile on his face.
In the evening, the old house of the Dai family was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere. The family decided to take Dai Shiya to the family ancestral hall for interrogation. In the ancient ancestral hall, incense was lingering and the atmosphere was solemn. Dai Xue stood in the middle of the ancestral hall, tearfully accusing Dai Shiya of her "crimes", while Dai Shiya stood aside with a pale face and said nothing.
"Grandpa, elders, Shi Ya...she really did something unforgivable!" Dai Xue cried so hard that I felt sorry for her. "I saw her with my own eyes..."
Before she finished her words, the door of the ancestral hall was suddenly pushed open, and an old voice sounded majestically: "Shut up!" The door of the ancestral hall was pushed open, and the old man of the Dai family walked in slowly with the help of the servants, leaning on a dragon-headed cane. His face was gloomy, and his whole body exuded an aura of majesty without anger. The crying and shouting in the ancestral hall stopped abruptly, and everyone held their breath and lowered their heads waiting for the old man's reprimand.
Old Master Dai sat down on the armchair, his sharp eyes swept through everyone, and finally fell on Dai Shiya, his voice was low and majestic: "Shiya, tell me, what exactly is going on?"
Dai Shiya took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. She knew that in this family, the old man's words were the authority. If she couldn't convince him of her innocence, she would be punished even more cruelly. "Grandpa, I have never done anything to harm the interests of the family, let alone kill anyone. I was wronged!"
"Unjust?" Dai Xue sneered, her tone was sharp and sarcastic, "There are witnesses and evidence, and you still want to quibble? Who do you think you are? Do you think you can cover up the truth with one hand?"
"Evidence? What evidence? How did my fingerprints appear on the murder weapon? Why were there traces of editing in the surveillance video? These doubts have not been reasonably explained!" Dai Shiya argued, but without any evidence, her words seemed pale and powerless.
The atmosphere in the ancestral hall became more solemn. The elders of the family whispered to each other, looking at Dai Shiya with suspicion and disappointment. They would rather believe the well-behaved and sensible Dai Xue than the maverick Dai Shiya.
"Enough!" Old Master Dai roared, interrupting everyone's discussion, "The matter is very clear, Shiya, do you have anything else to say?"
"Grandpa, I didn't..."
"No need to say more!" Old Master Dai waved his hand tiredly, "You disappoint me so much. The honor of the family cannot be tarnished!" He paused, and said in a stern and resolute tone, "From today on, you are no longer a member of the Dai family. I will announce to the public that you have been expelled from the family. From now on, you have nothing to do with the Dai family anymore!"
Dai Shiya stumbled back as if struck by lightning, looking at the old man who once loved her in disbelief, and asked in a trembling voice: "Grandpa, are you really going to expel me from the family for a trumped-up charge?"
"You brought this upon yourself!" Old Master Dai closed his eyes and stopped looking at her, as if he would feel disgusted if he looked at her any longer.
Dai Shiya closed her eyes in despair, crystal tears sliding down her pale cheeks. She knew that she had reached her dead end.
At this moment, Lawyer Chen, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke. He pushed his gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, raised a meaningful smile at the corner of his mouth, and said slowly: "Wait, I have one more thing to tell you. I found out..."
Lawyer Chen adjusted his glasses, and a gleam of light flashed under the lenses. "I found that Miss Dai Shiya had gone to the bank the day before the incident and withdrew a large amount of cash. The whereabouts of this cash is still unknown. We cannot rule out the possibility that it was used to hire a killer." He deliberately lowered his voice, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear clearly.
There was an uproar in the courtroom. The audience who had sympathized with Dai Shiya began to point fingers at her. Dai Shiya swayed and her face turned even paler. She wanted to explain that the money was used to subsidize the tuition of a poor student, but no one gave her a chance to speak. Lawyer Chen's aggressive momentum completely extinguished her last glimmer of hope.
Wei Qing, who was sitting in the audience, clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms. The stinging pain could not alleviate her anger and powerlessness at the moment. She watched Dai Shiya being taken away by the bailiffs, and her frail figure disappeared at the end of the courtroom, like a butterfly drifting in the wind and rain, which could be swallowed up by the ruthless storm at any time.
The days in the detention center were dark and long. Dai Shiya curled up in a cold corner, feeling that her hope and fighting spirit were being swallowed up by the darkness bit by bit. Was she just going to accept her fate? No, she was not willing to accept it!
"Shi Ya, cheer up, I believe in you!" Wei Qing's voice came through the iron bars, with the same firmness and warmth as always.
Dai Shiya raised her head and saw Wei Qing's haggard face, but her eyes were still as bright as before, like stars in the dark night, guiding her. Yes, there was still Wei Qing, and there were still friends who believed in her. She couldn't just give up like this!
Dai Shiya wiped away the tears from her eyes and began to recall all the details before and after the crime, trying to find clues that she had overlooked. Surveillance video, fingerprints, murder weapon... Wait, murder weapon! Dai Shiya suddenly remembered that in addition to her fingerprints, there seemed to be another person's fingerprints on the murder weapon, but the fingerprints were very blurry and the police did not find out whose it was.
"Wei Qing, please help me check..." Dai Shiya lowered her voice and told Wei Qing who was looking out the window about her findings.
Wei Qing took notes carefully, with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. She rushed between the police station and the Dai family's old house, looking for any evidence that could prove Dai Shiya's innocence. Finally, she found that Dai Xue seemed to have a secret base in an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city, which was heavily guarded.
"Shiya, I found some clues..." Wei Qing's voice was very low on the other end of the phone, but she could not hide her excitement, "But..."
"But what?"
"But that place..." Wei Qing paused, her tone becoming serious, "It's not that easy to get in."
"What's wrong with that place?" Dai Shiya's heartbeat suddenly quickened. She could feel the hesitation and solemnity in Wei Qing's tone, as if a huge rock was pressing on her chest, making it difficult for her to breathe.
"It's an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city. I accidentally discovered that Dai Xue often goes in and out of there, and..." Wei Qing paused and lowered her voice, "I saw a lot of bodyguards there, and the security was tight. It didn't look like an ordinary place."
Dai Shiya was silent. Wei Qing's discovery undoubtedly ignited a glimmer of hope for her, but it also brought greater challenges. If that was really Dai Xue's secret base, then it was very likely that key evidence to frame her was hidden there. However, how to break through the tight defense and enter the heavily guarded factory became a huge problem.
"Are we just going to give up like this?" Dai Shiya clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white. She was unwilling to accept this and she couldn't believe that she would be framed like this.
"Of course not!" Wei Qing said firmly. Even through the phone, Dai Shiya could see the blazing fire in her eyes. "Shiya, don't worry, I will definitely find a way!"
In the next few days, Wei Qing spent almost all her time investigating the abandoned factory. She disguised herself and used the alias "Lin Xiao" to approach the factory as a cleaner, trying to find out the internal situation.
However, the factory's recruitment conditions were extremely strict, requiring not only proof of identity but also a background check. Wei Qing's several attempts ended in failure.
"It seems we have to find another way." Wei Qing stood in front of the snack stand opposite the factory, eating steaming wontons while observing the movements in the factory.
The factory gate was closed tightly. Two bodyguards in black suits were patrolling back and forth at the door, scanning the surroundings vigilantly. No movement would escape their eyes.
Just when Wei Qing was at a loss, a black car slowly drove up and stopped at the factory gate. Wei Qing's heart tightened, and she subconsciously lowered her head to avoid the sharp gaze projected from the car.
The car door opened and a woman in a red dress walked out, her high heels making crisp sounds as they stepped on the ground.
"It's Dai Xue!" Wei Qing recognized the woman at a glance. She had on delicate makeup and a sneer on her lips. Her eyes were full of calculation and complacency, completely different from her usual weak and innocent appearance.
"It seems like this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity..." Wei Qing took a deep breath, and a bold plan gradually formed in her mind. She finished the wontons in the bowl in one gulp, stood up to pay, turned around and disappeared into the crowd.
The next morning, a courier truck slowly drove towards the heavily guarded factory...