He pressed the play button without saying a word.

Inside, a female voice quickly came through,

"I don’t like the background, it looks so outdated, change it..."

"Anyway, this is a view of our hometown, take a photo with Yiyi..."

"..."

Upon hearing the recording, Bai Letian’s expression faltered for a moment, then he raised his eyes to look at the people in front of him.

Bai Yi also froze slightly, but Yan Huan suddenly realized something, and his face changed.

Officer Zhou, smoking a cigarette, spoke expressionlessly,

"You took your daughter to the photo studio before, that place keeps a video archive, and I brought it back..."

He immediately turned his head to look at Bai Yi, using the pad of his fingers to push Bai Yi, 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Bai Yi, listen to me, go."

"Wait... wait... Yan Huan..."

"..."

Over there, the recording continued playing.

"By the way, what about the identity matter, how’s it going?"

"... Old Zhao is asking for a high price, so we still need to save up."

"We need to hurry, Yiyi was born in Linmen, so she is a Linmen person. For future schooling, registering her residency, how are we going to handle it? You don’t want her to grow up and find out her parents are illegal immigrants, do you?"

"Hmm, indeed..."

"... If things really don’t work out, just handle one for now. Can you help me get it done first?"

"Alright..."

"This is also for Yiyi..."

After every section, Officer Zhou pressed a button.

He seemed to have listened to these recordings many times already and had edited out the key parts,

"And about moving houses, haven’t you asked around? I think the house we saw before was pretty good..."

"But it’s too expensive, obviously they see us as immigrants and are trying to rip us off."

"If you had a status, it wouldn’t be like this now, would it?"

"..."

"Also, prices in Linmen are just like this. Higher costs mean you earn more..."

"..."

"Mainly, having Yiyi squeezed in with us, she can’t sleep at all. At night, she cries when she’s too hot, and it’s uncomfortable for her..."

"I get up to soothe her every time, don’t I?"

"Then for Yiyi’s sake, why don’t you change houses and get her a crib? And think about it, it’s not just for now. When she grows up a bit, she’ll still be squeezed in that small room with us..."

After each section, Officer Zhou pressed a section.

"For Yiyi, can’t you just..."

"Think about it, Yiyi..."

"Just consider it for Yiyi’s future..."

"Click～"

Until the last section, Officer Zhou squinted his eyes as he seemed to reach the crux of the matter.

After listening to everything, Bai Letian hesitated for a second, suddenly opened his mouth and said,

"About what you said before, how about I go check it out tonight?"

Upon hearing everything, Bai Letian seemed to relent suddenly and said this sentence.

"Really?!"

And hearing Bai Letian say so, Zuo Jiangqin’s tone, which had been full of complaints, suddenly turned bright and happy.

"That’s great, I..."

But before he could finish, a male voice, seemingly the boss of the photo studio, spoke,

"The clothes for the photos are ready, come take a look."

"Alright, Boss～ Look, you hold Yiyi..."

Zuo Jiangqin walked away happily, but no second set of footsteps sounded.

Instead, came the sound of Bai Letian coaxing the child,

"Yiyi, look who’s here? It’s Daddy..."

"pa..."

"Today we’re taking a photo..."

"Ha... mua... pa..."

"Haha... you’re so cute, Yiyi～"

"Click～"

Amid the indistinct sounds of the baby, the entire recording came to an end.

In front of him, Officer Zhou’s cigarette was finished as well.

He touched those photos that Bai Yi had looked at earlier, then looked up at Bai Letian in front of him.

"When you went to the photo studio to take photos and record videos, the owner kept a file. I went and copied the recordings back.

"Even though nothing was explicitly said, no tangible evidence... but you and I both know what the truth is."

And Bai Letian sighed, lowered his head, and remained silent.

Upon seeing this, Officer Zhou stubbed out the cigarette butt in the ashtray, then pulled out another one, ready to light it,

"Back then, she was the one who urged you to come to Linmen, right?"

"..."

"Let me guess... she said something about this place being full of opportunities?"

Hearing this sentence, Bai Letian chuckled slightly, and said,

"Officer, if someone is unwilling, they can’t be dragged into something... I came to Linmen with her voluntarily."

Upon hearing this, Officer Zhou immediately interrupted,

"Wrong, you voluntarily came for your daughter."

Bai Letian remained silent, but suddenly looked directly at Officer Zhou and asked back,

"Since you know this, Officer, there’s something I want to ask you."

"Go ahead..."

"In Linmen, if both parents go to jail, leaving the child without them, what would happen to the child?"

"..."

Officer Zhou didn’t say anything, just lit a cigarette.

Because the outcome was obvious...

An orphanage, or rather:

A welfare home.

So, he no longer tried to persuade Bai Letian to betray Zuo Jiangqin, just changed the topic,

"There is another option... return the illegal proceeds. Actively returning stolen money can potentially lessen your sentence."

"... Sorry, I’ve spent it all."

"Bang!!"

On hearing this, Officer Zhou instantly stopped lighting his cigarette and kicked the table in front of him.

"Clatter!!"

In an instant, the tape recorder and photos on the table scattered all over the floor.

And in a burst of rage, Officer Zhou seized Bai Letian’s collar and roared,

"Damn it! Do you think you’re fooling me?! Don’t think just because I don’t have evidence, I don’t know! You gave all the money to her!

"You know full well she’s using the child to blackmail you! No matter if you came alone today, or she’s stopping you from exposing her?!

"’For Yiyi, if we both go to jail, she’s finished’... Did she tell you that?!"