A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

"Li Ji, Zhang Ke just told me that you'll need to come to the Jin Huan Hotel with us every day for the next couple of days. We need to start some review procedures so you can be published in the newspaper."

"Okay, no problem. I'll head over first thing tomorrow morning... By the way, Professor Qin, has the article been approved yet?"

"It can't be that fast, you only sent it this afternoon."

Qin Liyan was at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"Okay, I was too impatient. See you tomorrow then?"

"good."\

After hanging up the phone, Li Mu didn't say much since he was in a taxi.

He arrived at the dormitory half-asleep. After getting off the bus, he told Sui Kuan about it, and then said nothing more.

He hadn't drunk too much, but he was sleepy.

I took a quick shower and went straight to bed.

The next morning, the two quickly arrived at the Golden Ring Hotel.

From Li Mu's perspective... there seemed to be more people in the hotel than yesterday.

When Qin Liyan was seen again, his room was also filled with documents. Countless staff members glanced at them before burying their heads back into the piles of old papers.

Qin Liyan led the two into a conference room and pointed to a pile of documents, about fifty or sixty centimeters thick, in the corner, saying:

"This is the result of our entire day's work."

Li Mu immediately picked up his camera, took the picture, and then asked:

"Is it evidence?"

"Yes, the evidence was jointly verified by the local tax bureaus of several provinces."

"So... does that mean the matter is settled? And Liu Xiaoqing should be arrested?"

"That depends on what the Economic Crime Investigation Department says."

As Qin Liyan was speaking, the conference room door opened, and Zhang Kun walked in.

"Section Chief!"

Qin Liyan quickly greeted him.

"Um."\

Zhang Kun nodded and looked at Li Mu:

"Reporter Li, the Economic Investigation Department called. Liu Xiaoqing is planning to fly to Nanchang for a commercial performance. They want to follow up on this matter, and Captain Zhu specifically requested that you go with her."

Li Mu was stunned...

He then immediately nodded:

"Okay, then... Section Chief Zhang, is it alright if my colleague continues to follow up on our work here?"

"Can."\

"Okay. Fatty, I'm leaving you here. I'm coming over."

"OK."\

After a quick handover, Li Mu went outside and dialed Captain Zhu's number.

"Hello, Captain Zhu."

"Okay, Reporter Li, could you send me your ID card? We need to book tickets to Nanchang now."

"OK."\

So, an hour later, Li Mu arrived at the airport.

He only carried a camera with him.

"Captain Zhu."

After greeting Captain Zhu, who had changed his clothes and looked quite ordinary, Captain Zhu smiled and corrected him:

"Just call me by my full name, Zhu Lingjun, Li Ji. We're on a mission right now."

"Then I'll just call him Brother Zhu."

"Haha, okay, these are our officers..."

After introducing the other people, everyone walked into the airport together.

As they walked, Li Mu asked curiously:

"Brother Zhu, if I'm flying... should I get reimbursed by my company? Or..."

"No, it's all ours."

"...Isn't that a bit extravagant?"

Hearing Li Mu's words, Zhu Lingjun smiled slightly:

"It will all be included in her fine."

Li Mu instantly understood:

"I see."\

This trip to Nanchang was quite sudden.

But Li Mu and Zhu Lingjun talked the whole way, and according to him, Liu Xiaoqing has been temporarily placed on the immigration blacklist, and... in fact, several months ago, all her communication devices, including the phones of senior executives in the company, had already been tapped.

They not only had a complete grasp of the situation, but also knew everything about Liu Xiaoqing's plans.

That morning, Liu Xiaoqing was still making various connections and planning to go abroad. She even asked a friend in Chongqing who worked in the aviation industry if it was possible to travel abroad now, but after checking the list, the friend told her: it wasn't possible.

They even asked what happened.

In other words, she's going to run.

But...can they escape?

There's no way they can escape.

Although Zhu Lingjun and his team weren't on the same plane as the other side this time, their trackers had already quietly followed them.

Liu Xiaoqing probably didn't realize that from the beginning of the investigation, her attitude towards law enforcement was also used as a sentencing standard in the subsequent review.

In other words... she's definitely going to jail for good.

Furthermore, the other party casually analyzed Liu Xiaoqing's current mood with Li Mu.

"She's currently in the first stage, still clinging to naive illusions about this whole affair. This emotional state will last for about three to five days. During these days, she'll be like a frightened bird, living in constant fear. At this stage, we're essentially putting pressure on her. Our people will intentionally or unintentionally make her aware that she's being followed, using this pressure to push her forward little by little. We'll get her to find people, to use connections… but it's all useless. Her case was handpicked by higher-ups; now we're trying to see if we can catch a bigger tiger, or if this is just her personal behavior…"

But Li Mu felt a different emotion when Zhu Lingjun said those words…

To be fair, it's their job.

But...from a third-party perspective,

After listening to Zhu Lingjun deduce Liu Xiaoqing's current state of mind based on the facts of the crime he had uncovered, he actually detected a hint of... a strange kind of cat-and-mouse teasing in his words.

For some reason, Li Mu felt a sense of contradiction.

Before the incident, she was a true top star in China, enjoying immense prestige wherever she went.

But now...

In Captain Zhu's words, she was merely bait to be used as bait.

Life and death, to catch or not to catch, are all just a matter of a single thought...

For some reason, he thought of the girlfriend that the frowning guy had mentioned...

Did she feel the same way "back then"?

While I was pondering this, the plane took off and soared into the sky, heading straight for Nanchang.

……\

Li Mu had never been to Nanchang before; this was his first time.

But I didn't find the heat of Nanchang in April anything; on the contrary, I felt quite comfortable with it.

Yeah, it's nowhere near as good as Guangzhou.

Upon arriving in Nanchang, as a reporter accompanying the team, his only task was to stay obediently by Zhu Lingjun's side.

Get on the bus, get off the bus, check into the hotel, contact the on-site tracking personnel, report the situation...

There were even wiretapping recordings...

Li Mu has truly broadened his horizons.

So that's how covertly the government can arrest people.

According to Zhu Lingjun, they were only from the Economic Crime Investigation Department; if it were the National Security Bureau, they would be even more discreet.

Li Mu remained silent.

But the sense of awe in my heart was very real.

It grew increasingly intense.

Then… Zhu Lingjun suddenly waved to Li Mu through the room window and laughed:

"Li Ji, look."

Li Mu walked to the window and looked out, and saw a Mercedes-Benz drive into the hotel.

"Liu Xiaoqing has arrived."

"..."\

Li Mu remained silent after Zhu Lingjun spoke.

They arrived even earlier than the other party...

But that's not all.

A while later, someone brought over a piece of equipment.

Li Mu didn't recognize it, but after the device was connected to the TV, images from various angles of the room appeared.

"This is... Liu Xiaoqing's room?"

"Um."\

"Real-time monitoring?"

"right."\

Zhu Lingjun's words were concise and to the point; Li Mu even noticed that the nine-square screen displayed images of the bathroom. (Note 1)

Soon after, someone pushed open the door and walked in, as seen on the monitor.

It was Liu Xiaoqing and her boyfriend, Afeng, from the recording studio.

"Li Ji, would you like some?"

Seeing the earphones Zhu Lingjun handed him, Li Mu quickly took them and sat down on the edge of the bed.

As soon as he put on his headphones, he heard Liu Xiaoqing's voice:

"...Our company's accounts have been frozen, and we have absolutely no idea why. Could you please help me inquire...? Thank you so much."

After hanging up the phone, Zhu Lingjun immediately instructed the person next to him:

"Find out who they called."

"yes."\

Then, Liu Xiaoqing's voice came through the earphones:

"Ah Feng, ask Director Qi again if there's any news."

"good."\

Ah Feng also picked up the phone... but no one answered.

"No one answered."

"..."\

Liu Xiaoqing fell silent and slumped onto the bed, somewhat dejectedly…

After checking the time, Ah Feng reminded him:

"You need to take a shower and put on makeup quickly."

"...Okay. Contact the others as well."

"Um."\

So Liu Xiaoqing went into the bathroom.

Li Mu subconsciously looked at Zhu Lingjun...

Keep in mind, Liu Xiaoqing was born in 50... and is fifty-two now.

If this were to involve taking a bath... the body of a 52-year-old woman...

Zhu Lingjun seemed to have guessed what Li Mu was thinking and said:

"You won't be able to see anything after a while because of the rising fog."

"..."\

Li Mu glanced at the others, who all seemed quite used to it.

That makes sense when you think about it.

This is surveillance.

privacy?\

What privacy do criminals need?

And so, after showering and putting on makeup, around 4 PM, the commercial performance organizers started contacting Liu Xiaoqing.

Li Mu heard every single conversation that took place in the room.

It's a pity we couldn't take photos... This can only be described as Li Mu experiencing their tracking process; it certainly won't be published in the newspapers.

Then, as night fell, Liu Xiaoqing left the room.

At the same time, the others followed suit.

On the bus, Li Mu heard the details of the commercial performance: Liu Xiaoqing was the main guest, and Li Xiang was the host.

It's that host from Hunan TV...

The location was inside a company building; the stage was a temporary structure set up in a semi-open factory area.

To be honest, it's very basic.

But according to Zhu Lingjun, Liu Xiaoqing's asking price for this gig was 500,000 yuan. Li Xiang's was 50,000 yuan...

"Li Ji."

"Um?"\

"Do you think she'll file her taxes normally for this commercial performance?"

"..."\

Li Mu remained silent.

He didn't know.

(Note 1: monitoring)

Don't think the allegations of being controlled are exaggerated; she said it herself in her autobiography. Furthermore, she was a vocal critic at the time, and what I wrote was actually relatively conservative. Those interested can read her autobiography, "Life Is Not Afraid to Start Over."