Chapter 5 The Road Ahead

Yang Yi stood up and walked to the table.

What was called a contact list was, in fact, just a folded piece of paper. Without hesitation, Yang Yi reached out his hand.

However, Li Fan's hand, which had been set aside, suddenly flipped back, covering the thin folded note once again.

"Once you take this, you can never come back, not ever. I haven't taken much care of you over the years, but I've always been watching over you. So, I sincerely hope you won't take this path. The world is vast, wonderful. You have countless better options to choose from."

Li Fan appeared somewhat sentimental as he earnestly issued his final piece of advice to Yang Yi.

"Uncle Li, I understand, but this is my choice."

Li Fan sighed deeply and turned his face away, once again moving his hand aside.

"Thank you, Uncle Li. Not for giving me the list, but for trying to stop me from taking it, and for all the care over the years."

After expressing his genuine gratitude to Li Fan, Yang Yi finally picked up the note.

Li Fan didn't look at Yang Yi and calmly said, "Where do you want to go?"

"The United Kingdom, perhaps. After all, I've spent many years there."

"Do you want to see your aunt? I think you don't have much attachment to the uncle you've only met once, but your aunt took care of you for six years. Maybe you'd want to see her."

Yang Yi's eyes widened. "Is that possible?"

"It's not very convenient, but possible."

After a moment of hesitation, Yang Yi shook his head and said softly, "Let's not. Feelings fade over time, and though I do miss her, it would be best for her to forget about me. So I don't think it's a good idea to see her before leaving."

Li Fan sighed and said, "You're not old, yet you talk like you've seen it all. Well, if you don't want to see her, so be it. I will handle the procedures for you to go to the United Kingdom. What identity do you want?"

"Uh, can I have several identities?"

Li Fan gave Yang Yi a look and said softly, "No! Sending you away is meant to eliminate the risk. Preparing multiple identities for you would be bending the rules, so I can't do that."

Yang Yi chuckled and said, "You make it sound so serious."

Li Fan said very calmly, "People like us must strictly adhere to our boundaries. If we cross lines over trivial matters, we'll have no boundaries to speak of when truly tested."

Yang Yi smiled and said, "Alright, I understand. Then, my driver's license..."

Li Fan finally turned to look at Yang Yi and spoke gravely, "There are laws for countries, rules for families. I came to see you, not to bail you out. If you've done something wrong and got caught, you should accept your punishment honestly. Once you leave, the cost of a mistake could likely be your life. I hope you remember that."

Yang Yi exhaled and said with a helpless expression, "I know. Alright, it's not like I'll need the driver's license anymore. If it gets suspended, so be it."

Li Fan spoke gravely, "The good news is that it won't be on record, because from the moment you leave, Huaxia will have no record of you, as if you never existed. So you'd better create a new identity for yourself before you leave, one that makes sense."

"Understood. Can I go now, Uncle Li?"

Li Fan glanced at his watch and said sternly, "Don't be in such a hurry to go. Let's just chat about anything."

Yang Yi unfolded the note and smiled. "You must have looked at this already. Any advice for me?"

As he spoke, Yang Yi had finished reading what was referred to as the contact list, for it had only five names and five phone numbers on it.

Li Fan spoke gravely, "I'm not familiar with those people, I haven't investigated them, nor have I contacted them. These people are likely friends of your father, at least trustworthy individuals. I have no reason to investigate or contact them, so the choice is yours to make."

Yang Yi put away the note and smiled, "I've seen it. Now there's truly no turning back. I didn't feel it before, but after looking at this, I suddenly feel a bit nervous."

Li Fan clasped his hands together and said softly, "Once you're out there, be careful with everything. And no matter if you're acting as a spy or something else, being low-profile is always beneficial. Arrogant people often die quickly."

"I'll remember that, I'll try to keep a low profile."

The two talked for a long time, at least an hour, until someone knocked on the door of the interrogation room.

"Come in."

Another ordinary face appeared, and then a young man whispered to Li Fan, "It's been cleared up."

"Go on, it's alright."

"Gong Yu is a mid-level manager of a listed company, and his wife is the daughter of a company director. Xiao Ran is an American studying in the United Kingdom, a student at Trinity College. Gong Yu met Xiao Ran once in the United Kingdom, and then they kept chatting online, establishing a romantic relationship. During this time, Gong Yu was already engaged to his now-wife. They have just gotten married a few days ago..."

Li Fan raised his hand and said, "Focus on Xiao Ran."

"Yes, Xiao Ran really likes Gong Yu, so she decided to come to Huaxia quietly to give Gong Yu a surprise. But after she arrived in the capital, she asked where Gong Yu was. He told her he would be going to the United States for a meeting, and even shared his flight number, but in reality, he was going on his honeymoon with his new wife. Unfortunately, he told the truth, and Xiao Ran drove her friend's car to find him. However, she didn't tell her friend she had taken the car, so her friend reported it stolen."

Li Fan was somewhat surprised, frowning as he asked, "Is that all?"

"Yes, the three were interrogated separately, and the consistency of their testimonies, along with their chat logs and the car owner's statement, all match up. I believe there are no issues."

Li Fan tapped his fingers on the desk with a look of dissatisfaction, "The youth of today, really, are about to get married and still fooling around online."

Yang Yi laughed, "Getting married doesn't interfere with that."

"From our investigation, it seems Gong Yu might be having some financial troubles, suspected of embezzlement on the job. Furthermore, Xiao Ran comes from a very well-off family, so Gong Yu has been pursuing her very aggressively, and marrying Gong Yu's wife would be the better choice..."

Li Fan waved his hand impatiently, "Alright, if there's no problem, then it's not our concern. No need to go on."

"Yes, sir."

Yang Yi laughed, "So that means there's no issue? If there's nothing wrong, can I go now? I need to find a buyer for my car as soon as possible, but most importantly, can I sell my house?"

Li Fan shook his head, "If you hadn't taken that thing, the house would be yours for life, but now, well, the house will definitely have to be taken back. However, the car is your own, so you can sell that freely."

Yang Yi gave a bitter smile, "Now I really regret it, a house inside the Third Ring Road, gone just like that."

Li Fan stood up expressionlessly and said sternly, "Regret is too late now. Let's go."

"Wait, that's it? You're just going to let that Gong Yu go? Won't you hand him over to the police for investigation?"

Li Fan shook his head, "That's not within our jurisdiction."

Yang Yi quickly said, "Wait, wait, let's make a deal. I can't stand people like Gong Yu; he deserves to be punished. Can you let Xiao Ran go, as a favor to me? Can you do that for me?"

Li Fan smiled wryly, "Do you have any favors to call upon?"

"Not now, but who's to say about the future, right, Uncle Li?"

Li Fan sighed softly, then spoke in a low voice, "Xiao Ran wasn't really involved much to begin with; you don't need to worry about her. As for Gong Yu, if he's committed a crime, he'll face the appropriate punishment."

"Thank you, Uncle Li."

Li Fan patted Yang Yi on the shoulder and whispered, "One last thing I want to say, no matter where you end up in the future, no matter what you end up doing, never forget that you're a Huaxia person."

Yang Yi's expression turned serious. He dropped his joking demeanor and said solemnly, "Don't worry, I will never forget that I'm a Huaxia person."

Li Fan patted Yang Yi's shoulder heavily again, then nodded at the young man beside him and silently opened the door and walked out.

"Come with me."

After leading Yang Yi out of the interrogation room and all the way to the police station's entrance, the young man brought by Li Fan politely said to Yang Yi, "You're clear now, and Xiao Ran will be released soon. You can wait for her here, or you can leave. I have to go back and take care of some things. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, thanks a lot, bro."

Watching the young man walk back into the police station, Yang Yi was truly undecided about whether or not he should wait for Xiao Ran to come out. But then thinking of Xiao Ran's long legs, he figured that it wouldn't hurt to wait a bit.

Soon enough, just about ten minutes, Xiao Ran and a slightly chubby young man came out together.

Xiao Ran looked upset, while the chubby young man beside her looked even more so.

"Sis, I was relying on this car to pick up girls, and now, great, you've gone and crashed it."

"Just get it fixed."

"Damn, are you paying?"

"What about the insurance?"

"Insurance was too expensive, so I only got the mandatory one."

"You... I'll pay for the repairs, now shut up!"

"It's not about the money. I have a date tomorrow, what am I supposed to drive now? Plus, if your mom finds out you crashed my car, and she tells my mom, I..."

The two kept talking as they walked over. When they finally saw Yang Yi, Xiao Ran's face showed surprise, "I was just asking about you inside. The police said you were already out, how did you get out so fast?"

Yang Yi smiled, "I was hardly involved, so just a few words cleared it up."

The chubby young man curiously said, "No way, bro, with you speeding that recklessly, you should be detained for at least ten days to half a month, right? Do you have connections or something? I mean, your connections must be really solid to have gotten you out with today's incident probably hitting the news."

Yang Yi's connections were indeed solid, but since he had been banished from the country and could never return, Li Fan couldn't very well just watch him be detained for half a month before leaving.