Chapter 241: An Angel Descends to Earth
Liancheng Criminal Investigation Brigade, Interrogation Room.
Chen Zhenzhu rested her chin on her hand, watching Hu Yuanchao calmly sipping his tea.
"The 20,000 yuan that Wang Jiali lost, you're the one who did it, aren't you?"
Hu Yuanchao nearly spat out his tea, looking at Chen Zhenzhu: "How did you know?"
"Is it difficult to investigate?" Shen Zhenzhu said, "Three years ago, you were the technical director of Lianfu Dairy Factory, which is now Hu's Dairy. All the winning milk bottles from that batch should have passed through your hands."
"Captain Shen is right, it was indeed me who did it."
"You're the first person I've ever seen pursue someone like this."
Hu Yuanchao put down his teacup, rubbed his back in relief, and said with ill intent, "Captain Chen must have no shortage of suitors. I think once I get out of here, I might not be attracted to Wang Jiali anymore, but instead, I might be attracted to you."
Shen Zhenzhu gave a short laugh and said, "Still putting on airs here? Are you trying to scare me or spy on me?"
Seeing that Shen Zhenzhu remained unfazed, Hu Yuanchao said seriously, "I was just looking, I didn't do anything else."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "Because Liang Guijin kept the bonus you painstakingly delivered to Wang Jiali for himself, you had the intention to kill him, right?"
Hu Yuanchao scoffed and said, "What do you mean, 'right'? Don't push me, or I'll have to find a lawyer."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "How do you explain being by Wang Jiali's side when she had the accident? What was your purpose?"
Hu Yuanchao sat up, his eyes wide, and said, "My goal is to protect her! She's my angel, my Angela. I want her to know that even if her husband is a scoundrel, I will still take good care of her!"
Shen Zhenzhu said, "Let's not talk about such vague things. What were you doing between noon and 2 pm yesterday?"
Hu Yuanchao said, "I got drunk and took a nap."
Chen Zhenzhu asked, "Did you sleep at the Wenhua Secondhand Market?"
Hu Yuanchao said impatiently, "You already know, so why are you asking me? Aren't you just doubting me? Let me tell you, if I'm going to kill someone, I'll kill Liang Guijin, not his mother. His mother has been trying to get them to divorce!"
These words gave Chen Zhenzhu a flash of inspiration, and she asked, "Okay, let's explain one by one. Do you admit to the act of peeping?"
Hu Yuanchao shook his neck and said with a sneer, "I couldn't suppress my admiration for her, so I just watched from afar. I didn't do anything indecent, so what?"
“Liang Guijin said you wanted to pursue her, but he stopped you.”
"He married a beautiful wife but is always suspicious. He doesn't say it, but he also thinks that Wang Jiali is having an affair."
Shen Zhenzhu asked abruptly, "Were you at the scene when the crime occurred?"
Hu Yuanchao said, "So what? I went with Wang Jiali. I'm a voyeur, not a murderer. I like her through the binoculars; she has a beauty that makes me look up to her. Ha, a little girl like you wouldn't understand."
"You need to pay attention to your attitude."
"Ah, okay."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "Knowing that the bonus you painstakingly gave to Wang Jiali was deposited in Liang Guijin's name, you were very angry and had sufficient motive to commit a crime. Furthermore, your desire to marry Wang Jiali constituted your criminal purpose. In addition, there are witnesses who testified that you communicated with Wang Jiali at Wenhua; were you threatening her?"
Hu Yuanchao said, "I could threaten the whole world, but I wouldn't dare threaten her. To be honest, I've had a crush on her for many years. If it weren't for Liang Guijin's interference back then, we would have gotten married long ago. But it doesn't matter, he's about to die. I just don't know if Wang Jiali will marry me."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "You also think she's having an affair?"
"You're being too cautious," Hu Yuanchao chuckled, wrinkles appearing on his high nose as he said with a pleased expression. "If there's anyone else, it's definitely me, but she's very self-disciplined and we're just good friends. She's firmly rejected any other suitors, but I'm different."
Why are they different?
"I have thick skin."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "Why would you send her money for no reason?"
Hu Yuanchao said painfully, "Damn it, Liang Guijin is so stingy with her. She doesn't even have a nice set of clothes, and she even embezzled the gold necklace I gave her. I wanted to give her some money so she could live more comfortably, but who knew Liang Guijin would take it all away again."
Chen Zhenzhu said, "Didn't I return the gold necklace to you?"
Hu Yuanchao said, "Bullshit! Liang Guijin is a liar. He said he gave it to me, but he didn't. He was just lying to Wang Jiali."
Chen Zhenzhu asked, "Has Wang Jiali told you that she doesn't want to be with him anymore?"
Hu Yuanchao said, "Of course she said it, and more than once. She talked about the gossip and troubles of her in-laws, and I wanted to laugh when I heard it. The more unhappy she was, the better, as long as she didn't make me leave her life again. You don't know, she's like poison to me, I'm addicted to her, I can't live without her! That's why I've struggled in Liancheng for so many years!"
“Liang Guijin doesn’t want a divorce,” Shen Zhenzhu said. “So you and Wang Jiali conspired to get rid of her as soon as possible?”
Hu Yuanchao said, "Okay, I'll stop beating around the bush, and you shouldn't try to fool me either. I'll tell you the truth: I didn't do the case, and it couldn't possibly be her. She's being controlled by her in-laws; she wouldn't have the time for that."
"Do you have anyone in mind?"
"...No."
......
After leaving the interrogation room, Shen Zhenzhu went to her office.
Xiao Bai followed closely behind and said, "This person also said that Liang Guijin doesn't tell the truth. I think he's glib too."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "I feel like you're hiding something."
Xiao Bai said, "The two of them have been secretly fighting for many years, and they have a kind of tacit understanding of hostility."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "Everyone is protecting Wang Jiali."
Xiao Bai said, "That's right."
Shen Zhenzhu frowned and said, "But I think their feelings for Wang Jiali may still be mixed with resentment. Liang Guijin said that he didn't want her to be possessed by another man."
Xiao Bai said, "It's a man's vanity."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "I feel there's another meaning behind it. I'll go back and study it."
As they walked toward the fourth team's office, an officer suddenly led a mother and child up to the fifth floor.
"Sister Pearl!" He turned to the side and lowered his voice when he saw Chen Zhenzhu, "The mother and son you asked us to keep an eye on have come over."
As he spoke, he stepped aside and turned to them, saying, "The Captain Chen you're looking for is here."
When Shen Zhenzhu saw the little boy and his mother, she felt relieved and quickly walked over to the little boy and squatted down.
The little boy hugged his mother's leg and said in a childish voice, "Hello, police officer sister."
Shen Zhenzhu rubbed his head and said, "Did you need something from me?"
The little boy looked up at his mother, then, remembering the tall adult outside and what his mother had said, his face turned pale: "Police officer, Hao Hao is here to... to turn himself in."
His mother pressed down on his little shoulders, which seemed ready to run away at any moment, and said encouragingly, "Where's the stuff?"
The little boy slowly pulled a golden metal bottle from his pocket, shaped like a gourd. A delicate fragrance wafted out, and Chen Zhenzhu immediately recognized it: "A perfume bottle?"
Xiao Bai whispered, "It's like the fragrance on Wang Jiali, subtle and elusive."
The little boy pouted and sniffled, saying, "I picked up this toy on the street. Hao Hao knows he was wrong. Please don't grab Hao Hao, sister."
Shen Zhenzhu asked, "How did Hao Hao find it?"
Hao Hao hugged his mother's leg and said, "It fell down with the big sign, it was shiny and pretty, so Hao Hao couldn't resist taking it. Waaah, Hao Hao knows he was wrong."
Xiao Bai stared wide-eyed at Chen Zhenzhu. Chen Zhenzhu seemed lost in thought.
"Xiaobai, get the evidence bag." After giving the order, Chen Zhenzhu rubbed Hao Hao's head and said, "Hao Hao, please learn not to pick up things and bring them home, okay? Some things are useful to adults, but some things may be harmful, which is not good for Hao Hao or Mommy."
Hao Hao's mother said nervously, "Captain Chen, the child is still young and doesn't understand. I gave him a good talking-to last night, and he knows he was wrong. Do you think this matter can be resolved peacefully?"
Hao Hao shouted, "But Mom says gold is a good thing!"
Hao Hao's mother said awkwardly, "Don't talk nonsense."
“The symbol engraved on the bottom isn’t gold; it’s probably ordinary metal,” Chen Zhenzhu said. “Haohao knows he was wrong, and that’s forgivable since he’s young. But as his guardian, you knowingly concealed the fact that he might have access to the items at the scene yesterday—”
Hao Hao's mother was so frightened that she hugged Hao Hao tightly, her expression tense: "I... I know I was wrong too."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "Go over there and write a guarantee that you won't do it again."
Hao Hao's mother was surprised and delighted to have handled the heavy pearl with such care, exclaiming, "Really?"
Shen Zhenzhu said, "You should be glad that it's not too late to take it now. Keep the perfume a secret beforehand, and don't let anyone know, including the Liang family."
"Yes, I promise I will keep it a secret." Hao Hao's mother's eyes immediately reddened, and she gratefully grasped Chen Zhenzhu's hand, shaking it as she said, "Thank you, you are a good comrade of the people. I will correct my mistakes and discipline my child properly."
After they left, Xiaobai said, "This golden gourd perfume is sold at the night market. I used it in high school. It only lasts for two or three hours. If you want to keep the scent on your body, you have to carry it with you."
Both Shen Zhenzhu and Xiaobai smelled perfume on Wang Jiali, perhaps she carried the perfume bottle with her.
This evidence proves that Wang Jiali went upstairs at the time, but Wang Jiali did not admit to it.
"Take Wang Jiali to the interrogation room and have Brother Ye and Brother Qi prepare," Shen Zhenzhu said. "She alone, along with Liang Guijin and Hu Yuanchao, are all highly suspicious."
Xiao Bai said, "But Liang Guijin almost died."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "Does being dead mean one doesn't commit crimes?"
Xiao Bai paused for a moment, then caught up with Chen Zhenzhu and said, "I'm sorry, Sister Zhenzhu, I was one-sided. Next time I will remember to speak with evidence and facts, and never with subjective opinions."
Chen Zhenzhu took Xiaobai's hand, squeezed it, and said, "It's good that you like to analyze things. Just remember that. Let's go."
"Hmm!" Seeing that Chen Zhenzhu wasn't angry, Xiaobai happily followed Chen Zhenzhu forward, chattering away as it analyzed the situation.
After finishing the case meeting in the office, Shen Zhenzhu asked Xiaobai to meet with Hu Yuanchao again, while she assisted from the side.
Entering the interrogation room, Hu Yuanchao, who hadn't rested much, looked a little tired, squinting to avoid the light: "What's wrong now?"
Xiao Bai sat in the middle and, mimicking Chen Zhenzhu, said, "Confess and you'll be treated leniently; resist and you'll be punished severely. Tell me honestly, are you and Wang Jiali accomplices? Why did you happen to be at the crime scene by such a coincidence?"
Hu Yuanchao said with a forced smile, "Why would I kill an old woman?"
Xiao Bai said, "Stop beating around the bush. We all know Liang Guijin won't live much longer. You've already achieved your goal."
Hu Yuanchao twitched his nose, suddenly shuddered, his body tensed up for a moment and then relaxed, shrugged his shoulders listlessly, and said with a dead pig not afraid of boiling water, "Liang Guijin is a bastard."
Xiao Bai said, "You can start from the beginning, I have time to talk to you slowly."
Chen Zhenzhu nodded slightly.
Hu Yuanchao knew that although Shen Zhenzhu remained silent, she held the reins of the case. Leaning back in his chair, he said, "Give me a cigarette."
Xiao Bai took out a cigarette, handed it to him, and lit it.
Hu Yuanchao took a deep breath, pursed his lips, exhaled thick smoke from his nose, and cursed, "Damn it."
Xiao Bai said, "Speak properly."
Hu Yuanchao looked around the room: the white walls, the eye-catching slogans, and the serious-looking police officers.
He took a few puffs, threw away the cigarette butt, and said, “When I was young, I was a milkman. Earning work points wasn’t easy. Once I saw a beautiful girl, wow, with dark braids and a face like a moon, she looked like a fairy descended from heaven. I had a crush on her. She went to a worker-peasant-soldier university, while I was just a milkman, not even a formal one. We were worlds apart.”
Hu Yuanchao quietly recalled those days, smiled and said, "She doesn't know that I was paying attention to her back then. If she knew, she would definitely think I'm a pervert."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "You said that Liang Guijin was interfering. What happened?"
Hu Yuanchao said with a smile, "You finally spoke up. I thought you hadn't noticed."
There was a sense of nostalgia in his eyes, and his smile faded, replaced by a touch of tragic solemnity: "I heard that her father back home was sick and needed medical expenses, so I lied to my mother and said that I needed a bride price to get married. My mother gave me two hundred yuan, and I borrowed another hundred from someone. But I didn't dare give it to her. I knew that her school was going to 'learn from workers and farmers,' and that year it was her turn to go to the factory to learn, so I asked someone to transfer the money to her. In order not to put pressure on her, I said that it was okay if she didn't agree."
Thinking of this, a look of hatred flashed in his eyes.
Shen Zhenzhu asked, "The person you asked was Liang Guijin?"
Hu Yuanchao said, "It was him! The next day he told me that Wang Jiali had rejected my advances, saying she needed the money urgently for her father's medical treatment and would pay me back later. Damn it, I believed his lies. I was so stupid. How could I have imagined that Liang Guijin had given Wang Jiali the money he pretended to have raised himself? I was his 'wedding dress'! When I found out they were getting married, I was blinded by rage. I went to their house that night and saw Wang Jiali coming out of the house. She was already his woman. If I kept bothering her, how could she face anyone? She's a decent and honest girl. I didn't want to make things difficult for her, nor did I want to let Liang Guijin off the hook. So, when I learned they were going to discuss divorce, I ignored Wang Jiali's pleas and killed him!"
After he finished speaking, he sneered and said, "It's a pity I didn't get to see his brains splatter."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "Do you need to wait until now to kill him?"
Xiao Bai said, "Yeah, all these years, what were you doing all this time?"
“Because I couldn’t bear to let the woman I loved become a widow. In those days, how could she have a good life?” Hu Yuanchao said with great pain. “Because she entered the Liang family without spending a penny, the Liang family thought she was cheap and easy to bully, and she never had a peaceful day.”
Shen Zhenzhu said, "That's not the main reason; you're still hiding something."
Hu Yuanchao suddenly looked up, clenched his fists, and said urgently, "Yes, I did hide it!"
Shen Zhenzhu squinted at him, analyzing his words in her mind, one by one.
Hu Yuanchao sneered, "Because I never expected Liang Guijin to be such a beast! It's one thing that he tricked me out of the bride price, and another that he colluded with the old lady to swindle the 20,000 yuan bonus into his own name. But in 1992, he modified the circuit of the railway signal lights, making the signalman turn on the green light and open the gate instead of turning on the red light to close the gate, which should have been done by the signalman. I saw Wang Jiali about to cross over there, and I was terrified. I quickly shouted. Wang Jiali stopped when she heard my voice and escaped a disaster."
Chen Zhenzhu sat up straight and said seriously, "This matter is of utmost importance. Don't lie to me."
Hu Yuanchao said through gritted teeth, "I swear on Wang Jiali!"
Xiao Bai whispered, "Why did he kill Wang Jiali?"
Hu Yuanchao said, "He didn't kill Wang Jiali. He foolishly thought that Wang Jiali was born lucky! After getting married, she won small prizes one after another, and later won a big prize from the dairy factory. She was even hit by a truck once but survived unharmed and even received a sum of money for emotional distress! Liang Guijin believed that she was blessed with good luck and could survive without dying or getting hurt! He was greedy and wanted to profit from it, so he repeatedly did things to harm Wang Jiali!"
Chen Zhenzhu asked, "What about the fishing boat accident?"
"It's him!" Hu Yuanchao's blood pressure spiked, his curly hair practically standing on end. He gripped the handrail tightly, leaning forward. "Don't underestimate Liang Guijin. His father is a workshop foreman. He's been interested in machines since he was a kid, and repairing small appliances is a piece of cake for him now. I only found out by following Wang Jiali. Last year, she made plans to take a boat to Bayu Island to shuck oysters to earn money, so I arrived at the port early to try and buy her a ticket. I saw Liang Guijin get off the fishing boat that had the accident, chatting and laughing with the people. Then the fishing boat's engine broke down and it collided with Wang Jiali's passenger boat. I risked my life to pull Wang Jiali out of the sea; I almost died."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "I remember there was a missing person in the fishing boat accident. Could it be you?"
Overwhelmed with grief, Hu Yuanchao said with a bitter smile, "Who else could it be but me?"
Chen Zhenzhu: "......"
Xiao Bai: "...Your love is quite deep."
The clerk, who had been silently taking notes, stopped writing and looked up at the miserable Hu Yuanchao.
Hu Yuanchao said nonchalantly, "In March of this year, I was caught spying on Wang Jiali. She found me and told me to stop and to be a decent person. I didn't listen to her. I was consumed by hatred, and I wanted to kill Liang Guijin! I've told you everything I know. That's all the cause and effect. Ask me anything you want!"
Chen Zhenzhu asked, "What did you miss when you were sawing through the iron frame?"
Hu Yuanchao thought for a moment, his eyes darting around: "...a hacksaw, a...a second-hand hacksaw, a bit old, with rust, bought casually at Wenhua."
Shen Zhenzhu nodded: "No problem."
Hu Yuanchao was taken aback: "I killed someone, and you only ask one question?"
Shen Zhenzhu said, "That's enough."
Hu Yuanchao said, "Why didn't you ask where the hacksaw is?!"
Shen Zhenzhu stood up and said uninterestedly, "You threw it into the sea or somewhere else that can't be found. Isn't that right?"
Hu Yuanchao stammered, "...Yes, but so what? I did it. I wanted to kill the mother-in-law who bullied Wang Jiali too, is that...is that okay?"
"This is a big problem." Xiaobai packed up her things and followed Shen Zhenzhu out of the interrogation room.
Just as they were about to leave, Hu Yuanchao suddenly said, "I remember now, it was a bottle of perfume!"
Chen Zhenzhu turned around: "What kind?"
Hu Yuanchao's eyes flickered quickly, and he said, "It should be, it should be the most popular curve, Chanel or something else, I just grabbed it and forgot where I dropped it!"
Chen Zhenzhu tilted her head and asked, "Haven't you considered finding someone else all these years? Why are you still eyeing someone else's wife?"
Hu Yuanchao was still trying to figure out if he had guessed correctly when he heard this and sneered, "Because I have no morals."
He felt that Shen Zhenzhu was not easily fooled, and said dryly, "Could you have a male comrade interrogate me instead?"
Chen Zhenzhu laughed and said, "Wearing tinted glasses?"
Hu Yuanchao pretended to be relaxed and said, "No, it's just that I'm a womanizer. When I see a beautiful woman, I'm easily distracted and don't even remember what I said."
Xiao Bai said coldly, "If you don't remember, we'll help you remember. How can you say something like that with such conviction?"
Hu Yuanchao forced a smile and said, "Sisters, please don't hold it against me. I have low moral character and am not developed in any aspect, including morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor."
"Shameless." Shen Zhenzhu and Xiaobai rolled their eyes and left.
......
Evening, the red brick houses by the railway.
The air smelled of earth, and the dampness was palpable. The area near the red brick houses was flooded, and police cars were parked across the street.
Chen Zhenzhu and Xiaobai went around to the inside. The old residential area's sewer pipes were overburdened and were gushing out foul-smelling sewage. The stench of the sewers permeated most of the staff quarters.
"Be careful, the mud is slippery." Chen Zhenzhu and Xiaobai helped each other.
A bus speeding past the entrance of the residential area splashed water, and passersby cursed at it.
"I didn't expect the people here to have such fiery tempers." Xiao Bai squatted down in front of the red brick building, rolled up his trousers, and stood up to say, "Don't even mention Wang Jiali's obsession with cleanliness, I think this place is unclean."
When they arrived at Wang Jiali's building, there weren't many people gathered there today. Seeing Chen Zhenzhu and Xiaobai appear, both dressed in police uniforms, they whispered amongst themselves.
Second floor.
Liang Congjun never went to the hospital again. She was at home venting her anger on her daughter, hysterically yelling, "Don't run away! Sit here and do your homework! Do it!!"
The operative who was waiting at the door opened it, and Chen Zhenzhu put on shoe covers and went inside.
"It's so clean, and everything is so neatly arranged." Xiaobai followed behind, looking around. "She probably really has the obsessive-compulsive disorder you mentioned."
Standing at the door of Wang Jiali's bedroom, Chen Zhenzhu pointed to the dressing table and said, "Look."
Xiao Bai looked over and immediately noticed that one of the items neatly arranged on the dressing table was missing; someone had taken it.
“When I came here last time, I saw ‘that thing’ next to their wedding photo, followed by silver earrings, a bracelet, and artificial flowers. Based on this, I can confirm that it belongs to Wang Jiali. Hu Yuanchao couldn’t answer ‘that thing’, so he might be taking the blame.”
Xiao Bai whispered, "Seeing is believing. They never tell the truth."
Having made a special trip, Wang Jiali returned to the Criminal Investigation Brigade, where she was already prepared for the interrogation.
Sitting in the interrogation room, Wang Jiali's face was somber and sorrowful. She stared at Chen Zhenzhu, her eyes seemingly speaking volumes. Her loose hair testified to the turmoil in her heart.
"Tell me everything you know," Shen Zhenzhu said. "Right now, you're the prime suspect."
Wang Jiali said softly, "I really didn't hurt anyone. I... I don't know anything."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "But you know how to lie!"
Wang Jiali gasped softly, turning her head away as if she was about to burst into tears. She weakly offered a feeble defense: "I...I didn't."
"What's going on with Hu Yuanchao? Do I need to interrogate you question by question?"
Wang Jiali looked up in astonishment and said in shock, "He and I are completely innocent!"
"This isn't the time to ask you that question." Seeing that she was scared, Chen Zhenzhu softened her tone slightly and said, "You met Hu Yuanchao at the Wenhua Secondhand Market, why don't you admit it?"
Wang Jiali said, feeling wronged, "...I...I..."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "He was locked up in the next room."
Wang Jiali gasped, closed her eyes, and tried to calm her anxiety. When she opened her eyes again, her lips trembled as she said, "I did meet with him, but I kept telling him to stop stalking me. I refused him many times."
Shen Zhenzhu asked, "What did he say?"
Recalling the situation, Wang Jiali said stiffly, rubbing her index finger, "It was raining, and he was under a tree without an umbrella. I was in a hurry to go to our appointment. He pulled me back, saying there was a problem. I said there wouldn't be a problem, that I was the one who wanted to make the appointment. I was very disgusted with him, yet also very grateful to him for saving me twice... I'm not some so-called 'lucky angel,' I'm just a foolish and pathetic woman."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "After you finished talking, you walked to the back of the building. Didn't you go upstairs?"
Wang Jiali said, "I didn't go."
"Then what did you do? Why were you late?"
“I saw an old lady slip and fall, so I carried her home.”
Shen Zhenzhu asked, "Where did Hu Yuanchao go? Did he go upstairs?"
Wang Jiali said, "I made him angry and he ran away."
Shen Zhenzhu closed her eyes briefly: "..."
Xiao Bai looked at her and said, "Do you think I'd believe such childish nonsense? Isn't the plan to use this as an excuse to go upstairs, cut the last piece of metal, and crush them to death?"
"No—" Wang Jiali burst into tears: "Why don't you believe me? I won't kill my mother-in-law. As long as she doesn't target me, I still want to live a good life, sob sob."
Xiao Bai was stunned. He had only made a bluff, so why was he crying?
Chen Zhenzhu patted Xiaobai on the back, and Xiaobai went over to hand Wang Jiali a tissue. Wang Jiali choked up and said, "Thank you."
Xiao Bai sighed.
Wang Jiali cried silently, tears streaming down her face, forcing the interrogation to be suspended.
About ten minutes later, Chen Zhenzhu brought dinner to the interrogation room.
Wang Jiali was still crying, and she cried beautifully, which was very endearing.
Shen Zhenzhu opened the lunchbox and handed her the chopsticks.
Wang Jiali was quite polite and said, "Thank you."
Xiao Bai, holding a lunchbox beside him, couldn't eat: "Thank you, but could you please cooperate?"
Wang Jiali looked up with a wronged expression, her eyes brimming with tears: "I'm cooperating."
Xiao Bai stretched out his hand: "Eat, eat your fill first before we chat."
"Mmm." Wang Jiali obediently shoveled a mouthful of rice into her mouth, eating a few bites with tears in her eyes.
They're so sensible it breaks my heart.
Xiao Bai clutched her chest and squatted outside the interrogation room. Chen Zhenzhu came out and teased her, "Is that all? What if you're a good actress?"
Xiao Bai said, "Sister Pearl, don't worry. Chairman Mao said we should see through appearances to the essence. Besides, I'm not a man, so I can't be fooled."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "Like you, I also started to feel that Wang Jiali was a bit wronged. There are no contradictions in her micro-expressions, words, and actions."
Xiao Bai slapped her thigh: "As expected of my Pearl Sister, I must learn from your insight."
"Stop bragging." Shen Zhenzhu smiled.
That night, Chen Zhenzhu and Xiaobai stayed up all night, while Wang Jiali cried for most of the night.
The next day, Shen Zhenzhu came out of the interrogation room with swollen eyelids.
"I'm going to drown." Chen Zhenzhu slumped on the sofa with disheveled hair, rubbing her eyes: "Who can bear to see a beauty shed tears?"
"The old lady doesn't even know where she lives... and she still expects us to feed the stray dogs. Is she an angel descended from heaven or an actress?"
Xiao Bai rubbed her face, then patted her cheeks, annoyed by the crying: "So annoying...why is my heart clenching!"
"Who's interested?" Lu Ye came over early in the morning, carrying a full breakfast to the coffee table: "Let's talk while we eat."
Xiao Bai retorted angrily, "Who's moved? I said my heart is pounding! Can you please stop refining it? It's easy for people to misunderstand."
Wu Zhongguo also came in from outside, holding a document from above. He looked pale and said, "There's a meeting this morning, so I can't go. I heard Wang Jiali is a prime suspect, is that true?"
"Still under investigation." Shen Zhenzhu pondered the case while eating, when she suddenly heard cries of innocence coming from downstairs. The sounds rose and fell, creating quite a spectacle.
A moment later, the landline rang.
The security guard at the gatehouse said, "Sister Pearl, an elderly lady is pleading her innocence on behalf of the suspect, saying that Wang Moumou was taking her home when the incident occurred. Not only did she come, but her whole family and neighbors also came to testify!"
Chen Zhenzhu didn't have time to eat breakfast before running downstairs.
An old woman with a gap in her teeth led a group of old men and women, along with their relatives, to surround Chen Zhenzhu.
The old woman with the gap in her teeth's daughter said, "I heard you arrested the kind person? You can't arrest her, she saved my mother. My mother had a high fever after she got home, and when she woke up and heard that she had been arrested, she quickly called us over."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "Don't rush, tell me slowly."
The old lady with the gap in her teeth looked to be over eighty years old. Apart from her bad teeth, she was in good health. She was wearing a blue cotton suit and looked like a retired women's director.
She said anxiously and unclearly, "Release the kind person! She is not an enemy of the revolutionary class, but our good comrade-in-arms!"
A group of people around her chimed in, "We all live in the library compound south of Wenhua. The old lady got lost in the heavy rain, and a lot of people were mobilized to look for her. Oh dear, they were so anxious that they were about to call the police when Comrade Wang was carried back from a great distance."
Xiao Bai was stunned. He hadn't lied after all?
"She was exhausted and didn't want us to thank her. She hurriedly said she had an appointment. We didn't want to ask her to stay for dinner, so we had to let her go."
"The old lady said that many people passed by but no one helped her, only a kind person saved her. These past two days we've been trying to find that kind person to thank her, but after searching around, we heard that she's become a murderer. How is that possible!"
"She's so kind-hearted, not afraid that the old lady would try to extort money from her, and she even braved the rain to bring it back. If it weren't for her, my grandma wouldn't be alive!"
The old lady's granddaughter, who is in her thirties, held the old lady's hand and said gratefully, "What a happy family we are, with four generations living together. My grandma was about to celebrate her ninetieth birthday, and it almost turned into a funeral."
"Understood, I understand how you all feel. We'd like to ask you a few questions separately." Shen Zhenzhu instructed Xiaobai and the other operators to separate them for questioning. After more than half an hour, they checked their testimonies and found that the details were basically consistent.
Shen Zhenzhu told Xiaobai, "Wang Jiali has a solid alibi."
Xiao Bai said with relief, "She's really kind-hearted; she's a living Lei Feng."
The old woman with the gap-toothed tooth couldn't get a word in edgewise. She looked at Chen Zhenzhu with longing, shook off her granddaughter's hand, grabbed Chen Zhenzhu and turned her over and over, saying, "She's a good girl. Whoever marries her will be laughing in their sleep. She won't kill anyone."
Shen Zhenzhu murmured, "Yes, anyone who marries her would be laughing in their sleep... Such a wonderful woman, 'If I die and another man has her, I'll go crazy...'"
In front of the crowd, Xiaobai lowered her voice and pulled Chen Zhenzhu aside: "Sister Zhenzhu, what are you saying?"
-----------------------
Author's note: See you tomorrow, there's a red envelope coming!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com