Manipulate My Heart [操纵我心] [GL]

Chapter 12

When the two of them arrived at Chen Guanzong's house in Z City, they were both stunned at the extravagance of it all. Putting aside the fact that even the trees were decorated in golden leaves, the garden was larger than anything they could've imagined. They had to park their car at the entrance and then hitchhike their way toward the centre of his home.

"I'm sorry, I don't know if I'll be the most hospitable," the young and beautiful Mrs. Chen said as she greeted them. There were refreshments on the coffee table in the living room. "I hope you understand."

"No worries, Mrs. Chen. We just wanted to ask you a few questions about your husband. Please don't worry," Zhou Bohan said. Shao Xinyan had been supposed to speak first, but since she wasn't able to pull out her badge when they'd entered, she felt like she should say less.

"Ah, I know about that. I just don't know what you two would like to know..." Mrs. Chen hesitated. Her expression turned sad. "The man I loved died so suddenly. He never communicated things to me clearly. I just don't understand. He was so good at swimming. How could he have drowned...?"

Zhuo Bohan and Shao Xinyan shot each other a look, each of them knowing what was on the other's mind. They were now positive that Chen Guanzong's drowning had been no accident.

"We wanted to know if Mr. Chen told you anything about a business conference he had recently attended. Did he tell you what the conference was about?"

"A business conference?" Mrs. Chen furrowed her eyebrows, perplexed. "I don't think I heard him mention anything about a conference."

"It was a medical one, sponsored by the Medical Sciences Foundation and the Huaqiang Financial Group.

"Oh, I remember now." Mrs. Chen must've thought of something. Her eyes lit up. "He mentioned it to me before. He said that all the people who attended were just a bunch of cultureless idiots who just got rich quick.

"He was furious when he went that day. He said that everyone there only cared about his money. They didn't consider the risks at all."

"Risks? What risks?"

"I don't know. He didn't go into detail."

"Did he ever mention what project they wanted him to invest in?" Zhou Bohan stroked his chin.

"Yes, but I'm sorry... I have a terrible memory. I was just a dance teacher before I married him. I'm not as educated as he is." Mrs. Chen nervously played with her skirt, looking a little awkward.

"No worries, take your time. Let us know when you think of something."

"Hmm... I think it involved disabled people. The project was called... let me think, it was... oh dear..." Mrs. Chen deflated as she tried to remember. "I really can't recall. It was a medical name."

"Disabled people? Ones who've experienced physical trauma?" Shao Xinyan's initial reaction led her to believe that it could involve disabled people who had lost their limbs in accidents. She couldn't hold her tongue any longer, and the question just came out.

"No, it was about humans in vegetative states. I just can't remember the medical term they used—" Mrs. Chen absently played with the thin hair around her ears, and then said, "These patients can't move their bodies at all. They can only move their eyes. The investment project hoped to turn theory into reality, to allow all these people to get back to normalcy."

"That seems like a wonderful project..." Zhou Bohan looked deep in thought. He caught Shao Xinyan's eye and whispered, "If this is true, then it seems inconsistent with what we've investigated so far. Were we mistaken?"

Shao Xinyan motioned with her hand for him to stop talking. She turned to Mrs. Chen. "Did you attend that conference?"

"No, I went out for a walk with my friends that day."