Her clenched fingers turned white at the knuckles: "Now I understand that it wasn't tolerance, it was something he had planned all along."

"He needs my anger as a 'plagiarist,' he needs me to take all the blame! It's terrifying...it's all so terrifying..."

Suddenly, as if struck by another bolt of lightning, Su Jianxue abruptly raised her head: "Zhai Chen! Those award-winning works by Zhai Chen over the years... Now that I think back, the core ideas and expressions of several of them were actually Zhong Manqing's work!"

"But at that time... I was filled with guilt for causing Zhong Manqing's death."

"I dare not, and have no right to, question anything; even if I did, who would believe me?"

She looked at Xia Zhining, her eyes broken yet still holding a last shred of sharpness: "But now it seems, could it be that Zhai Chen... he and Professor Zhou are actually in cahoots?"

This new lead gave the police a boost.

Xia Zhining stared at Su Jianxue: "Are you sure?"

“I’m sure.” Su Jianxue’s voice was hoarse but exceptionally clear. “Because she’s my rival, I’ve studied her more than I have myself.”

"Her habits, the unique vitality in her writing... I can recognize her at a glance."

A brief silence fell over the interrogation room.

Su Jianxue was left only with sorrow: "If it weren't for Zhou Chongshan... Zhong Manqing and I might have fought from the campus to the art exhibition, and then from newcomers to so-called masters, fighting for a lifetime..."

"That was supposed to be our battlefield, our destiny."

She finally gave a bleak smile: "But now, everything is gone."

Meanwhile, another team of police officers visited several classes of students who had worked with Zhou Chongshan.

After difficult negotiations, several graduates finally agreed to testify anonymously.

They alleged that Zhou Chongshan had long forced students to ghostwrite for him with extremely low pay, and threatened them with "affecting their graduation" or "being blacklisted in the industry" to force them to remain silent.

With the evidence conclusive, the arrest operation was immediately launched.

When the police knocked on Zhou Chongshan's door and showed him the arrest warrant, it attracted a crowd of neighbors and passersby.

What's even more suspicious is that, in addition to the necessary evidence, the police also carefully removed the ornamental fish he had kept in his living room for many years.

Inside the interrogation room.

When Zhou Chongshan was interrogated by the police, his face showed no panic, only a deep, almost indifferent calm.

It wasn't until Ji Shuyun clearly explained the complete chain of evidence and the crime deduction from the police that Zhou Chongshan's calm indifference finally shattered.

He was first taken aback, then his brows furrowed, and his eyes revealed deep confusion and a hint of barely perceptible frustration.

"...How exactly did you dig it out?"

Zhou Chongshan's voice was hoarse, but he couldn't help but ask the question.

Ji Shuyun met his gaze, her tone calm yet each word carrying immense weight: "If you don't want others to know, then don't do it in the first place."

No matter how meticulously you plan or how strictly you guard, you will still leave traces—some traces are even 'left' by yourself.

He paused briefly, and the air in the interrogation room seemed to freeze.

"Now, let me recount what happened four years ago."

Zhou Chongshan remained silent for a long time, his shoulders slumping almost imperceptibly.

When he spoke again, his tone had returned to calm.