Chapter 28.2

This new photo showed a scene from the crime scene, taken at the police station. It depicted a ground with reeds and scattered stones, with a torn condom wrapper lying on it. Although it was torn, it was clear that it matched the condom in the previous photo. “Look again. Is this the same one?”

Zhang Cui cautiously looked again and nodded. “Yes, that’s the one.”

“I have no further questions,” Meng Xin said with a smile and returned to his seat.

Ye Nianwen and the prosecutor both looked uneasy. Ye Nianwen immediately understood Meng Xin’s strategy.

He was attempting to prove that the condom used by Fan Jiancheng was given to him by Ye Sibei, which aligned with Fan Jiancheng’s earlier testimony.

After Zhang Cui left, the judge summoned the next witness, Chen Xiaoyang, to the stand.

“Ye was always someone who didn’t talk much at work and was generally nice to everyone. She was quite conservative. I always had a good impression of her.”

“Her husband used to pick her up from work every day, but recently he stopped coming. I heard from Tao Jie that it was because she lent money to her brother to buy a house, which made her husband furious and led him to consider divorcing her.”

“On April 8th, Fan suddenly asked all of us to join him for a drinking party. At the party, Ye didn’t finish her toast, which upset Mr. Zheng. He punished her by making her drink six cups in a row. She drank too quickly, went to vomit, and rested for a bit. Later, people tried to help her by drinking in her place, but some rounds still got through. She looked like she was having fun. Fan was worried she’d had too much to drink, so he asked Zhao Chuchu to take her to rest. Ye insisted that Fan should take her and Zhao Chuchu home. After the party ended, Zhao Chuchu and Ye left together. I asked if she needed me to take her home, but she said no and thanked me, saying that Fan could take care of it. So I left with Tao Jie and two other female colleagues and took a taxi home.”

“Your honor, I have a question.” Meng Xin stood up, drawing everyone’s attention, and the judge nodded for him to proceed. Meng Xin turned to Chen Xiaoyang. “So, how many drinks did Ye Sibei have that day?”

“Around…” Chen Xiaoyang thought for a moment. “Maybe ten cups or so.”

“Did Ye Sibei often attend company drinking events?”

“Yes,” Chen Xiaoyang nodded. “She attended annual meetings and company dinners.”

“Are you familiar with her alcohol tolerance?”

“She was always cautious when drinking. I’ve never seen her drunk, so I’m not sure of her exact tolerance.”

“On previous occasions, how much alcohol did she usually drink?”

“The most I’ve seen her drink was at an annual meeting. It was around ten small 10ml cups of 53-degree Maotai.”

“How many exactly?”

“About 15 to 17, I think.”

“After drinking that much, was she still able to speak clearly and express her thoughts? Was she aware of what was happening?”

“Yes, she was definitely clear,” Chen Xiaoyang answered confidently. “Sister Ye would never let herself get to the point where she wasn’t sober. She has a strong sense of self-protection.”

“Did she specifically ask the suspect to take her home? Was that something you heard yourself or something others told you?”

“I heard it myself.”

“So, there were others besides the suspect who could have taken her home that night, correct?”

“Yes,” Chen Xiaoyang nodded. “I could have taken her home too, but she refused.”

“Alright,” Meng Xin nodded as well. “Thank you.”

After Meng Xin finished questioning, the prosecutor stood up again to ask, “When Zheng Qiang was encouraging Ye Sibei to drink that night, did the suspect try to stop him or assist him?”

“At first, President Fan did want to help,” Chen Xiaoyang recalled the situation with a hint of helplessness. “Everyone wanted to help her, but Zheng Qiang was quite insistent, and for the sake of securing a business deal, President Fan had to subtly hint at her to comply. We all did the same,” Chen Xiaoyang looked somewhat embarrassed as he lowered his head. “It’s part of the job; we all have to drink like that. So, we just urged her to drink a little more, hoping not to offend President Zheng.”

After Chen Xiaoyang spoke, Zheng Qiang was called to testify, and his account was largely consistent with Chen Xiaoyang’s.

When asked by the prosecutor why he pressured Ye Sibei to drink, he looked remorseful.

“I just thought it was about creating the right atmosphere. Wherever I go, that’s how I drink. I drink a glass, and you drink a glass—that’s mutual respect. Once everyone’s loosened up, the gathering becomes lively. If everyone’s holding back, what’s the point of the meal? That young lady was a junior employee, trying to dodge drinking, which felt like she wasn’t showing me any respect.”

Ye Nianwen listened to this and felt an intense urge to rush over and punch Zheng Qiang in the face.

He realized that Zheng Qiang’s insistence on drinking wasn’t just about the alcohol—it was about asserting dominance. He enjoyed the sense of superiority that came from forcing others to bend to his will.

And that sense of superiority was built on humiliating Ye Sibei.

After Zheng Qiang finished his testimony, Lin Feng was called. She was the police officer who first arrived at the scene and found Ye Sibei.

“At 6 a.m. on April 9th, we received a report. The caller said she was trapped in a reed field and needed a coat. I was the first to arrive and found her hiding in the reeds. She was pale, trembling uncontrollably, and unable to communicate properly. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, I immediately contacted my colleagues and requested a criminal investigation. Then I took her to the hospital for an examination. However, midway through the examination, Ye Sibei’s mother arrived at the hospital. After speaking with her daughter, they decided to leave. Since Ye Sibei hadn’t explicitly stated she was sexually assaulted, we couldn’t file a case at that time. But I did preserve the evidence, and later, she filed a second report.”

“Your Honor, I would like to question the witness.”

Meng Xin stood up again. Lin Feng remained calm as Meng Xin held her written statement. “According to your report, at the time, Ye Sibei said she needed a coat but did not directly report being raped, correct?”

“Correct.”

“You took her coat, collected biological evidence, and performed tests related to sexual assault. Why didn’t you do a blood test?”

“Because at the beginning, it wasn’t clear what had happened to her, so the initial focus was on physical injuries. It was only when she requested a sexual assault exam that I realized she had been assaulted. But before we could do a blood test, her mother took her away.”

“Did Ye Sibei have any physical injuries at the time?”

“No.”

“You said, ‘She requested a sexual assault exam, and that’s when you confirmed she had been assaulted.’” Meng Xin paused, then asked, “Was that confirmation based on the test results, or was it just your assumption at the time?”

Lin Feng hesitated for a moment, then realized what Meng Xin was trying to prove. Her expression became tense. “I assumed it at the time.”

Meng Xin pressed on, “So from the start, you had already determined it was a sexual assault case and were investigating it based on the assumption that my client was guilty, correct?”

Lin Feng was visibly rattled and quickly replied, “At the time, Ye Sibei’s condition was clearly…”

“Yes or no?” Meng Xin interrupted, fixing his gaze on her.

Lin Feng stared back at him for a long moment before speaking in a hoarse voice, “Yes. Because I couldn’t ignore my conscience. Even though Ye Sibei didn’t have visible injuries, anyone could tell what had happened to her from her condition.”

Meng Xin smiled faintly. “Alright, thank you.”

He turned to the judge. “Your Honor, I’m done with my questions.”

The judge nodded and turned to the prosecution. “Do you have any questions?”

“No, Your Honor.”

The judge looked down at the witness list and calmly announced, “The court calls the victim, Ye Sibei, to the stand.”