Chapter 7

 The room was quiet, with only Yan Ge and Song Yi engaging in a question-and-answer session.

Zhen Yi had initially thought that a polygraph examiner would apply pressure on the subject through their voice and body language, but Yan Ge did not. He maintained a steady tone, with a deep and even voice; his posture was clean, without any fidgeting.

He didn't look at the polygraph but kept his gaze on Song Yi:

"Your name is Song Yi?"

"Yes."

"On the early morning of April 28th, you were at the ecstasy club?"

"Yes."

"You are not from HK City originally?"

"No."

"You went to ecstasy because a friend invited you?"

"No." There was a slight hesitation.

"You went to ecstasy by chance, just randomly?"

"...No."

"You went to the club alone?"

"Yes."

"You are an actress?"

"Yes."

"Was it your first time at ecstasy?" (This question hadn't been mentioned by the previous police inquiry; now Si Gui was taking notes.)

"Yes." There was hesitation.

"Will you answer my questions honestly?"

"Yes."

"On that day at ecstasy, did you drink alcohol?"

"Yes."

"You had white wine?"

"No." The answer was quick.

"You had red wine?"

"No." The speed slowed down.

"You had beer?"

"No."

"You had cocktails?"

"Yes." There was hesitation.

"Are you worried that I will ask other questions?"

"No." She raised her head, widening her eyes.

"You only had one drink?"

"No." The answer was quick.

"You only had two drinks?"

"..."

"Do you find the polygraph fascinating?"

"Yes."

"You only had two drinks?"

"...Yes." There was a long hesitation.

"Did two cocktails make you so drunk that you lost consciousness?"

"...I..." She didn't answer.

Zhen Yi touched her brow bone with a frown.

Even though she knew nothing about polygraph tests, she could sense that if this continued, any hidden details (possibly even ones Zhen Yi hadn't considered) would be exposed.

She had overlooked her lack of knowledge about polygraphs.

Now she was certain that Yan Ge came prepared. He wasn't just a researcher in need of physiological data; as soon as he arrived, he subtly took control of the situation. It was very likely that the polygraph test wasn't suggested by the police or Si Gui, but by him.

Earlier, Si Gui had mentioned that the police simulated the surveillance footage to imply Song Yi's suspicion and force her to take the polygraph test. But upon careful consideration, that didn't make sense. Based on this alone, Song Yi couldn't be classified as a suspect.

They fell into a trap.

The questioning continued.

"You are well aware that if you lie, the polygraph will show a reaction, right?"

"Yes." Song Yi looked uneasy, seeking help by glancing at Zhen Yi. However, Zhen Yi couldn't come up with a solution immediately.

"When you turned the corner in the corridor, did you see a shadow?"

"Yes." She answered quickly.

"Are you nearsighted?"

"No." Another quick response.

"On that day, were you wearing sneakers?"

"No." Quick response.

"Were you wearing high heels?"

"Yes."

"Do you think the figure was that of a child?"

"No."

"Do you think the figure was that of a young person?"

"Yes."

Zhen Yi took a breath; she wanted to use her eyes to remind Song Yi that Yan Ge had switched the concepts. However, Song Yi's replies were too quick, and the question passed. Zhen Yi hadn't expected that her usual courtroom tactics would actually make her client fall into a trap.

"Did you find the person suspicious at that time?"

"No."

"After the incident, did you find the person suspicious?"

"Yes."

"Do you actually have an impression of that person?"

"..." She froze.

Zhen Yi lowered her head. The logical and progressive analysis made it challenging to lie.

"Were you wearing stylish flat shoes that day?"

"No."

"Are you a model?"

"Yes."

"Do you actually have an impression of that person?"

"..."

"Did you see clearly?"

"..."

"Were you drunk?"

"..."

Song Yi closed her eyes and bit her lip. Even if she didn't answer, she knew that her lie had been exposed.

Si Gui lowered her head to take notes, but Zhen Yi had a flash of thought and immediately stopped her, "Officer Si said that the polygraph is just repeating the questions asked to Miss Song in the interrogation room. If Miss Song is a suspect, present the evidence!"

She stared at Song Yi.

The latter understood. She wasn't a suspect, but the police wanted to determine from her polygraph test. She became more agitated, "You're deceiving me! I won't take the test. If you suspect me, just arrest me!" She then forcefully pulled off the devices and wires from her body.

Zhen Yi: "..."

She went overboard... For the sake of avoiding unnecessary trouble, they had to continue. They couldn't be too confrontational with the police...

The polygraph test was interrupted.

Yan Ge looked over, his gaze light behind the thin glasses, "Did you say that?"

Si Gui was both nervous and embarrassed, like a student who had made a mistake, "I'm sorry, Teacher Yan, I, I might have misspoken."

But Zhen Yi knew it was a set phrase; it wasn't a slip of the tongue.

In fact, at this moment, she wasn't sure if protesting would work. If the police forced them, they couldn't resist. However, she believed that Yan Ge's pride would not allow that.

Yan Ge lowered his eyelids, deep in thought.

At the moment, only the four people in the room knew about the polygraph.

In the end, he said to Song Yi, "You didn't answer those two questions just now; I won't record them." He looked at Si Gui, who immediately nodded in compliance.

"I won't ask any follow-up questions related to those two. Is that acceptable?"

Song Yi understood that she had no choice, but at least she managed to gain some advantage. She relaxed a bit, "Okay, thank you."

"You are Song Yi?"

"Yes."

Zhen Yi quickly noticed that in the second round, Yan Ge repeated all the previous questions except for the last two. However, this time, he adjusted the order of unrelated and related questions.

In the third round, just like before, there were no unusual physiological changes in the skin conductance, respiration, blood pressure, and pulse charts. Despite this, Zhen Yi was not at ease. She could guess that Yan Ge used logic to extract some information and then confirmed it by rearranging the questions. At the same time, he was carefully planning the next round of questions.

Zhen Yi was puzzled. If he didn't ask about her sobriety or whether she saw the suspect clearly, what else could he ask?

Soon, Yan Ge surprised her with his new line of questioning.

The third round began.

"Do you know the victim?"

"Yes." Quick response.

"Are you familiar with the victim?"

"Yes."

"Do you like to go online?"

"Yes."

"Before the victim's death, did you testify against him in court?"

"Yes."

"On that night, did you see him at the club?"

"Yes." Slow response.

"Did you see him at the bar?"

"No." Quick response.

"Did you see him on the dance floor?"

"Yes." Slow response.

"Was he tall?"

"No."

"Did you dance face-to-face with him?"

"Yes." Slow response.

"Have you seen negative news about him online?"

"Yes." Quick response.

"In the courtroom, have you seen him in person?"

"Yes."

"Do you usually remember people you've seen in person?"

"No."

"Even if you don't know Lin Ziyi, you've seen his pictures online?"

"Yes." Slow response.

"So, regardless of whether you remember him or not, when you saw him on the dance floor, you knew he was Lin Ziyi?"

"…Yes."

"After his death, did you follow the online information about him?"

"…Yes." Very slowly.

"Did you comment on it?"

"No." Very quickly.

"Did you light a candle for him?"

"…No."

"Did you lay flowers for him?"

"…Yes." Frowning, slowly.

"Considering his past actions, do you think he deserved to die?"

"…Yes."

The polygraph showed no anomalies; she was telling the truth.

Zhen Yi also disliked Lin Ziyi, and she felt indifferent towards his death. However, now that she heard Song Yi's clear answers, she felt a moral burden.

"Even though he died a gruesome death, you don't feel any sympathy?"

"Yes."

Zhen Yi contemplated; was Yan Ge exploring the reasons why Song Yi was unwilling to testify and trying to identify a suspect?

"He died, and you don't feel anything?"

"…Yes." She answered slowly, clenching her fist. On the screen, the skin conductance chart showed a significant spike. Song Yi couldn't see the screen, but she noticed something from Zhen Yi's surprised expression.

"He died, and you feel sad?"

"No."

"He died, and you feel happy?"

"No." The skin conductance curve rose significantly.

"Do you hate him?"

"No." Shaking her head, her breathing and pulse curves rise.

"Do you believe Lin Ziyi actually gang-raped Tang Shang with his friends?"

"Yes." Quick response, normal chart.

"Has he ever harmed you?"

"No." Quick response, normal chart.

"Did you kill him?"

"No."

"In fact, you are grateful to the person who killed him, and you would be willing to help the killer if you could?"

"No." Gritting her teeth, skin conductance abnormal.

Zhen Yi stared at the rapidly changing screen, highly concentrated.

Yan Ge calmly looked straight into Song Yi's eyes for a few seconds and quickly formulated the final test question:

"Do you think the killer should be punished?"

"Yes." Sitting upright, abnormal breathing line.

"If it were you, would you let the killer go?"

"No." Furious gaze, abnormal skin conductance.

"Did you know he would die before the victim was killed?"

"No!" She glared angrily at Yan Ge, all curves rising.

"Do you actually know the killer?"

The nature directly changed from not cooperating with the testimony to concealing and covering up?

Zhen Yi was stunned.

Song Yi's face turned pale, lips tightly sealed, and she didn't answer, but the chart lines surged one by one. Suddenly, she didn't care anymore and started to remove the breath sensors from her chest and abdomen.

The atmosphere was tense.

In the deathly silent room, the only sound was the snapping of fasteners.

"Final question," Yan Ge seemed to ignore her resistance and said calmly.

"Have you ever been raped or gang-raped?"

"Bastard!" Song Yi screamed, her face blood-red as she jumped up from the chair, the blood pressure cuff and sensors fell off, but the electrodes on her fingertips were still there, and the chart on the instrument was wildly fluctuating.

Zhen Yi remained very calm, staring at the furious and contorted face of Song Yi: In this case, she was not just a witness!

Not knowing the victim doesn't mean she didn't have a motive to kill. No, there's a motive called societal revenge.

Now, she was really a suspect!

Seeing that Zhen Yi didn't speak, Song Yi's eyeballs seemed like they were about to pop out as she roared, "Zhen Yi, you jerk! You're my lawyer, and you let this jerk attack me and defame me? Aren't you supposed to be great? It's all fake, all lies! It's because you are useless that Tang Shang died. And now, you want to kill me too! You want to be a famous lawyer, but where's your ability?"

Seeing her losing control, Si Gui pressed her back into the chair.

The lie detector's paper printed with a "drip" sound.

Zhen Yi remained calm, but her gaze was cold.

She was very angry; if she wasn't here, she wanted to curse at Song Yi: I am a jerk, he's a jerk, and you're not a good person either!

Song Yi, I've told you, don't hide anything from me. I am your lawyer, and we're on the same boat! Even if you did kill someone, I'll defend you and stake my morals for you!

I only have one request for you: don't hide anything! But you can't even do that one thing!

T/N: This was a really long chapter.