Christmas Eve Seduction Scam
Yu Ban never thought her parents were actually pretty trendy, having met through the Qu Peng group.
She studied Song Wenya’s expression, noticing her mother’s panic and fear, and the way she avoided eye contact with her.
It was clear this matter was far from as simple as Song Wenya claimed.
She decisively sat down and pointed to the sofa opposite. “Dad, Mom, our family hasn’t really talked like this in a long time. Sit down and let’s have a proper talk.”
Yu Daqiang tried to persuade her to become an internet celebrity to make money, but she immediately sat beside him. “Song Song, can’t you see how much money internet celebrities make? Our family will rely on you from now on. Your mom and I aren’t capable, so having such a sensible and hardworking daughter like you is truly our blessing.”
Although Song Wenya also wanted Yu Ban to earn money to support herself, she was far more sensitive than Yu Daqiang.
She always felt Yu Ban had changed.
Now, the two of them as parents seemed unnecessary in her daughter’s eyes — the girl even dared to scold her parents.
She sat next to Yu Daqiang and kicked his foot. “Are you crazy or just stupid? Can’t you hear what your daughter is saying? She insists that we participated in wife-swapping parties and mask balls. Isn’t that just nonsense?”
Yu Daqiang sang along, nodding quickly, “That’s right, that’s nonsense! Song Song, did someone tell you this? You are our biological daughter, so don’t be silly.”
Yu Ban raised an eyebrow. “Dad, isn’t that just trying to cover up? I’m only asking if you really took part in wife-swapping or mask balls. How could you think I’m not your biological daughter? Then again, if I were your real child, why would you be so determined to send me away?”
Song Wenya hurried to explain, “That was your uncle and that scoundrel Aunt spreading lies. Your father and I care about you so much, we’d never send you away.”
Yu Ban hadn’t told them about changing her name yet, so she added, “By the way, I changed my name. Yu Ban — the ‘Ban’ from ‘praise’ — the person who named me hoped that when I grow up, I’d achieve something worthy of praise and admiration.”
As Yu Ban spoke, she felt some sadness thinking about her real parents, but no matter how hard it was, they were nowhere to be found. In front of her were only these two irresponsible parents.
Song Wenya’s eyes flashed with anger. “Who helped you pick that name? You stubborn girl, why change your name? Even if you want to change it, it should be our surname. Your dad’s surname plus mine — Yu Song — what a good name that is.”
“Then why did the records show the ‘Song’ in my name as the ‘Song’ for ‘send away’? Dad, where did you send me? Or who did you send me to?”
Yu Daqiang’s face turned very ugly. He had long suspected that Yu Ban’s biological father wasn’t himself, but after raising her, he had developed feelings. Still, if he was irresponsible toward himself, he was even more careless with his child.
Song Wenya and he were the same kind of people — as long as the child lived, that was enough.
Hearing Yu Ban stubbornly refuse to accept her own origins, the two of them said in unison:
“Picked up from the trash bin! I wanted to give you to the Cleaners.”
“Sent to the trash bin, of course. You know you don’t matter to us. Look at your attitude when talking to us — do you think we’re thieves?”
As Song Wenya spoke, she suddenly started crying. “No matter how bad I am, I never thought of giving you away. It was the person registering the name who wrote it wrong. That person must have sneaked in the back door, couldn’t even read, and didn’t understand what people were saying. Song Song, stop this nonsense. You’re definitely your father’s and my daughter, who else could you be?”
Yu Ban frowned, feigning impatience. “Fine, say whatever you want. I don’t really care. But I mean what I said — if one day you both die, out of gratitude for raising me, I’ll definitely handle your funerals.”
Yu Daqiang had thought she was joking, but now he frowned. “Song Song, are you cursing us to die? We are your parents.”
“Of course not!” Yu Ban glanced at Song Wenya. “You two obviously know what I’m talking about. Be honest…”
She almost said “Be lenient…” but stopped herself. “Be honest. The three of us are being watched right now. If you confess, you’ll survive. Understand?”
Song Wenya anxiously asked, “Who’s watching us? What’s going on? Tell us clearly.”
Seeing them both tangled up and unwilling to reveal the truth, Yu Ban lost patience. She went to her room to pack the last of her things and prepared to leave.
Song Wenya kept following her, pleading, while Yu Daqiang searched online for details about He Zilu’s death.
Almost no one knew about Yu Ban’s entanglement with Zhou Yaohui, or about her interrogation at the criminal investigation team, or the kidnapping by Zhou’s wife. That couple was completely unaware.
But seeing how determined Yu Ban was, not joking at all, Song Wenya got scared. Before Yu Ban left, she sighed and collapsed onto the sofa. “Song Song, can’t I just talk? I’m your biological mother. Can’t you be patient? You always want to leave. How can I have the heart to talk about things I find hard to admit with my own daughter?”
When Yu Ban heard the phrase “hard to admit,” and saw that her mother wouldn’t back down, she sat back down. “I’ll give you one chance.”
Yu Daqiang gave Song Wenya a look. “Are you crazy? Talking about this with our daughter?”
Song Wenya cried, “Do you think I want to say these things? Do you remember that man’s eyes? I told you back then — I felt he had killed someone. You didn’t believe me.”
Yu Daqiang frowned. “So what? Can he come and kill us now?”
“You put him in jail. Of course, he hates you.”
Yu Ban suddenly perked up. Her parents had put someone in jail — whose gaze seemed murderous? That man was very likely the mysterious mentor.
In truth, Yu Ban had only been bluffing her parents today. Since they kept calling her back to be an internet celebrity, she thought, why not gain something from it? Now she was fully alert.
“Who is that man? How do you know him? Are you still in contact?”
Song Wenya sighed deeply. “Song Song, your father and I were wild when we were young. We thought it was fashionable and fun, and we did some rebellious things. But it wasn’t wife-swapping games — it was parties, mask balls. Everyone wore masks, only revealing their lips, and inside, they chose partners. It wasn’t just your father and me; there were married couples and singles. Once inside, people picked new partners. If you picked your own spouse, it meant you were a match made in heaven.”
Yu Ban was speechless. “No matter how you spin it, that’s wife-swapping parties. So you were really into that back then?”
Yu Daqiang didn’t like Song Wenya telling Yu Ban these things. He sharply said, “We thought it was just fun, wanted to dance. We never intended to swap partners. But your mom’s mask fell off, and she picked up someone else’s mask. I lost track of her for a while.”
“That’s just an excuse. Stop trying to save face and get to the point. How did you meet that man? How did the conflict start? And how did you put him in jail? Tell me everything so we don’t end up dead.”
Song Wenya glared at Yu Daqiang. “It was your fault. Let him tell it.”
Yu Daqiang scoffed. “What’s there to say? He tried to kill you. If I hadn’t arrived in time, you might have been strangled to death. Of course, I had to call the police. We went to have fun, not to die.”
“I said I was fine, and told you he was dangerous. We couldn’t provoke him. But you insisted on calling the police — just asking for a Christmas Eve Seduction Scam. So crazy. How did I ever fall for you? Ever since I was with you, I’ve had no good days.”
“Song Wenya, what nonsense are you talking? You loved me to death back then, even said I saved you from your stepmother. Now you’re turning your back on me?”
Seeing the two about to fight, Yu Ban quickly said, “Enough. Now’s not the time to dig up the past. I want to know exactly what happened. What’s that man’s name? Where is he from? Does he have a job or family? Start with these.”
Yu Daqiang snorted. “We just joined a group online and signed up for a mask ball. Why so many questions? You’re going to investigate parties?”
“You called the police, right? What happened after?”
“There was follow-up. I called to ask, and the police said the man was caught and sentenced. They even asked me to go to the police station to explain what kind of party it was. I didn’t dare. Even though times were more open then, a group of people messing around late at night — the police would definitely misunderstand.”
Yu Ban nearly laughed. “So you attended a mask ball that allowed partner swapping. Someone tried a Christmas Eve Seduction Scam on us. My mom was nearly strangled. So you called the police, and only found out by phone that he was arrested. From start to finish, you two didn’t know his name.”
Song Wenya blushed deeply, clearly embarrassed to say this in front of her daughter. “Song Song, your father and I had no money then. He couldn’t do manual work, and we were foolish…”
Yu Daqiang scoffed. “It’s because you were too beautiful, you hooked someone so fast. I should’ve stayed with you all along.”
Song Wenya leaned on Yu Daqiang’s shoulder, crying. “You didn’t even feel sorry for me after what happened!”
Yu Daqiang comforted her. “Alright, alright, it’s my fault. How could I not feel sorry for you?”
Yu Ban felt a bit embarrassed. No wonder they’d stuck together all these years — it was true love. She’d never noticed before.
“Enough, stop being mushy. Where did you call the police? Do you remember the name of the officer who took the report?”
Yu Daqiang soothed Song Wenya while replying, “What mushy? Song Song, your mom and I have a good relationship. You’re definitely my biological daughter, so stop making things up. Got it?”
Yu Ban was now thoroughly exasperated. She’d rather the original owner’s biological father be Yu Daqiang than to be the child of a murderer.
“Dad, stop talking nonsense. Who took the police report? Who told you he was sentenced?”
Yu Daqiang said, “At East City District. I called 110. Two officers came, one named Chen, quite tall. I don’t remember the other.”
“Do you remember the exact date?”
“Christmas Eve, 2004! We loved celebrating Western holidays back then. I even remember a few men dressed as Santa Claus.”
Yu Ban immediately sent this information to Gu Zhiye.
Gu Zhiye was currently in a meeting with Lu Jijang, trying to list out several cases for detailed analysis. Upon receiving her message, he immediately added it to the case board.
Jijiang frowned. “What does this mean? Could this mysterious man be the one who did the Christmas Eve Seduction Scam on young Yu’s mother? But the East City Police Station’s officers were negligent, let him go, and even threatened young Yu’s father not to pursue it?”
“Exactly. That’s what young Yu meant. I’ll check into it. We’ve been analyzing why young Yu became a target; maybe this is the breakthrough.”
Gu Zhiye and Liu Jingjia went to Zhao East City Police Station. The 2004 police records were still on paper and took a long time to find.
There was indeed a report about a suspected D0 incident on Christmas Eve that year. The police record read: “Misunderstanding, successfully resolved through mediation.”