I'm Not The Drama God
Vol. 1 - Ch. 19 - Temptation

"...Officer Han Meng."

In the instant Han Meng called out, Chen Ling's eyes flashed with a hint of guilt, but quickly returned to normal. "Do you need something from me?"

"A Fusioner dared to infiltrate the enforcers' ranks... You've got quite the nerve," Han Meng slowly spoke. "So, what's your purpose?"

These words thundered in Chen Ling's ears!

He found out?!

No... impossible... Last night, I fought against the Red Paper Monster, and he never saw my face from start to finish! How could he recognize me at a glance?

"Huh?" Chen Ling's eyes were full of confusion. "Officer Han Meng... What are you talking about?"

"My point, isn't it clear to you yet?"

"...Not clear."

"Where were you last night?"

"At home sleeping."

"And before that?"

"Practicing opera with my younger brother in the wilderness."

"While your brother was practicing opera, what were you doing?"

"He's timid, so he wanted me to accompany him."

"What play were you practicing?"

"Farewell My Concubine."

"What's the last line of dialogue?"

"...Ah!"

"And the second to last line?"

"...Until I see you again!"

Han Meng's questioning was incredibly fast, leaving no time for Chen Ling to react. As he answered, cold sweat dripped down his back, and by the last three questions, he almost couldn't resist turning and running.

Chen Ling had never been exposed to the dramas of this world and didn't know which plays existed, so he could only stubbornly mention the one he was most familiar with from his past life... He could only gamble that Han Meng didn't understand drama at all!

As for the lines, that truly didn't stump Chen Ling. In his past life, there were frequent performances of Peking Opera in the theater.

He had listened to "Farewell My Concubine" no fewer than twenty times. He remembered the scene where Xiang Yu turned around and found Consort Yu committing suicide very clearly.

As it turned out, Chen Ling's gamble was correct.

After asking the last question, Han Meng stared directly at Chen Ling, as if he wanted to see through his heart... After a few seconds of silence, Han Meng slowly spoke, "Oh, I might have been mistaken."

This guy is indeed trying to deceive me!

It seems like last night's blow was too light!

Chen Ling took a deep breath. "Officer Han Meng, if there's nothing else, I'll head back first."

"Wait." Han Meng stopped Chen Ling. "Which street were you reassigned to?"

"...Ice Spring Street, Zone two."

"Don't go home first... Go straight there."

"Huh? Didn't they say we have three hours of preparation..."

"This is an order."

Han Meng's simple four words shut down all of Chen Ling's words.

Chen Ling and Han Meng faced each other in the cold wind, their cotton robes and coats billowing around them, and the world fell into a dead silence...

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Ling slowly spoke, "I understand..."

"From here to Ice Spring Street in Zone two, it will take a maximum of two hours. Two hours later, I will confirm whether you have arrived there or not... Understand?" Han Meng said.

Chen Ling gritted his teeth and said, "My legs are tired, so it might take a bit longer."

"I'll call a carriage for you."

Han Meng truly embodied the phrase "swift and decisive." He stopped a porter pulling a carriage right there on the street, the same one Chen Ling had talked to earlier, and directly instructed him to ensure Chen Ling arrived at Ice Spring Street on time, with all expenses covered.

Thus, under Han Meng's watchful gaze, Chen Ling reluctantly got into the carriage and headed straight to Zone two.

Watching Chen Ling leave, Han Meng crushed the cigarette butt under his foot and snorted coldly.

"Meng Ge, why are you targeting him?" Jiang Qin walked over, puzzled.

"Don't you replace it strange?" Han Meng calmly replied.

"On the night when the Grey Boundary intersected, Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan went to that Burial area in the rain, saying they wanted to pay respects to their son... The next day, calamity struck their home, killing two enforcers who were tracking them, but they spared the two of them... And in this process, the two brothers from the Chen family happened to be not at home, and there's no proof of their absence."

"But paying respects to their son has already been explained. Many years ago, they had a son who died young..."

"You're missing the point."

"Huh?"

"The point isn't about paying respects to their son, but about going to pay respects in the middle of the night, in the rare heavy rain of the aurora boundary... Do you think a son who died young, without much emotional attachment, is worth them doing this?"

"This..." Jiang Qin was speechless.

"The young son who died young, and the opera practice, are all Chen Ling's unilateral claims, without any evidence," Han Meng patted Jiang Qin's shoulder. "As enforcers, we need to use our own eyes to see, not just our ears to hear."

"I understand, Meng Ge."

"If you understand, then come with me to 128 Cold Frost Street."

"What for?"

"I've already sent Chen Ling away... Now, it's time to interrogate Chen Yan." Han Meng's eyes narrowed slightly.

...

Thud-thud-thud...

The rhythmic pounding of a hammer gradually drove nails into the wall.

As the wooden boards were neatly laid out on the wall, the original big hole was gradually patched up. Chen Yan wiped the sweat from his face, secured the last piece of wood in place, and then sat panting on the chair.

He turned to look at the living room, only to see the man wearing silver-rimmed glasses curiously examining the newly laid wooden boards, seemingly lost in thought.

"Why didn't anyone come to help..."

Chen Yan muttered under his breath.

In truth, Chen Yan didn't want to let this man into his home, but he had his brother's handwritten letter in his hand, proving that he was a legitimate guest.

However, why had his brother never mentioned having friends in Aurora City?

Just as Chen Yan finished his work, the man stood up slowly, walked to the tightly nailed wooden board, and asked in surprise:

"How did you do this...?"

"Repairing a house isn't difficult. My brother used to teach me how to build wooden houses... even though they were for birds." Chen Yan proudly lifted his head. "I heard that people in Aurora City are quite delicate, so I suppose they wouldn't have such good craftsmanship for house repairs, right?"

Before the man could respond, urgent knocking sounded at the door.

"Enforcers, open the door immediately!"

Upon hearing those words, Chen Yan's face instantly turned pale.

He didn't know why the enforcers suddenly came knocking on his door, but his intuition told him that their sudden visit at this time definitely spelled trouble...

Chen Yan quickly thought of a plan and said to the man, "When they come, you open the door and tell them there's no one at home."

With that said, he immediately hid in the bedroom, concealing himself.

"Enforcers..." The man frowned slightly. After hesitating for a moment, he still stepped forward and opened the door.

Behind the door stood Han Meng and Jiang Qin.

Seeing a stranger open the door, Jiang Qin was puzzled for a moment. After glancing at the door plate, he hesitantly spoke, "Strange... Did we get the wrong place?"

Han Meng's eyes slightly narrowed when he saw the man.

"Why are you here?"

"I thought it might be someone else... Turns out it's you." The man's lips curved up, he pushed his silver-rimmed glasses, and casually spoke, "I should've realized sooner. Zone three is your territory."

Seeing the two of them chatting directly, Jiang Qin leaned closer to Han Meng and asked softly, "Meng Ge, who is he?"

"The renowned doctor Chu Muyun from Aurora City."