Chapter 95 Falling from the Building: Pushing or Throwing Away
August has arrived, and the city of Yan remains sweltering.
The sweltering heat of the dog days of summer was oppressive, and the ceiling fan above the interrogation room spun listlessly, emitting a low hum.
Wearing the detention center's uniform blue-gray prison uniform, Zhang Minghui was led into the interrogation room by the guards, his expression carrying a hint of intellectual arrogance and feigned composure.
Sitting in his chair, he adjusted his black-rimmed glasses and glanced at Zheng Yu and Jiang Ling, who were sitting behind the interrogation table, as well as the recorder Li Qiuyun. His pupils contracted slightly.
Zhang Minghui discovered that female police officers were more difficult to deal with than male police officers.
Therefore, when he saw that there were three women in charge of the interrogation today, his heart pounded and his breathing became slightly rapid.
Zheng Yu was wearing a crisp summer police uniform short-sleeved shirt, his back straight and his eyes sharp.
Jiang Ling wore an elegant white short-sleeved shirt and a dark knee-length skirt, her face calm and her eyes clear.
Their eyes met briefly, a tacit and calm exchange.
Li Qiuyun, who was in charge of taking the statements, opened the heavy interrogation record book, her pen tip touching the paper, waiting for the interrogation to begin.
Sitting in the interrogation room facing the suspect for the first time, Li Qiuyun's heart was pounding; she was a little nervous.
However, unlike the panic she felt when she first arrived at the Jinwu Road Police Station, where she was at a loss for what to do with all the trivial matters, Li Qiuyun's nervousness at this moment was more like the excitement of blood surging before a battle, and the eagerness to test the results.
Over the past two weeks, following Jiang Ling through the entire process of Zhang Minghui's child abuse case, Li Qiuyun has learned a great deal. She is no longer the newcomer who calmly and methodically questioned Wen Xiufen when she called the police in a state of panic. She has learned to empathize with Jiang Ling, understood the duties of a police officer, and realized the weight of protecting the peace of the community.
With the pen nib hovering over the paper, Li Qiuyun could clearly feel the slight sweat on her palms, but her eyes were unusually bright.
Today, she sits here, recording the entire interrogation of Zhang Minghui, and will also become a witness to Jiang Ling and Zheng Yu's joint search for the truth.
The interrogation officially began.
According to the planned interrogation, after briefly asking Zhang Minghui about his personal information, Zheng Yu went straight to the point.
Zheng Yu's voice was soft, and her attitude was casual yet polite: "Zhang Minghui, we've come here today mainly to learn about your work. We heard that you have a patented technology that's already in production and has brought great benefits to the Peony Towel Factory?"
Hearing this, Zhang Minghui felt a glimmer of hope—had the towel factory leaders realized his importance and put pressure on the police?
He leaned forward slightly, his voice a little urgent: "Yes! I'm a professional talent brought in by the towel factory, and I'm very useful to the factory's development!"
Zheng Yu picked up a photocopy of a certificate and showed it to Zhang Minghui: "This is your patent certificate, a new type of high-efficiency printing and dyeing color fixing and brightening process?"
Seeing the certificate that brought him great honor and a sense of accomplishment, Zhang Minghui raised his chin slightly and said with pride, "Yes, that's right. This is the result of my leadership of the technical department in overcoming difficulties for a year and a half. The factory has recognized this achievement."
He deliberately emphasized "leading" and "overcoming difficulties".
Jiang Ling gently placed her hands on the table, her tone gentle, but her eyes held a professional scrutiny: "Zhang Minghui, we understand the importance of this patent to your personal development. Technical backbone, associate researcher title, subsidized housing, year-end bonus, and even social status are all closely linked to achievements, right?"
Jiang Ling's words pointed out the core of Zhang Minghui's most important practical interests, and at the same time, they opened up his floodgates of conversation.
Zhang Minghui's expression relaxed somewhat, and the sense of superiority from being recognized emerged. His speech quickened: "Officer, you're right. For a technical cadre like me, without real skills, I simply can't stand firm. The dyeing and fixing agent I use in this process is all-natural, non-toxic, and odorless. It not only fixes and brightens the color, but it can also be used for dyeing towels for infants..."
Jiang Ling interrupted his endless boasting, her tone remaining calm: "The specific uses are described in great detail in the patent specification, so you don't need to go into it again. What we're more interested in is the source of the core idea behind this patent. Where did the inspiration for such a groundbreaking invention come from? Was it from reading a large amount of literature, or from a particular experimental phenomenon that gave you a sudden insight?"
Jiang Ling's questioning tone was very calm, as if it were a technical discussion.
Zhang Minghui paused for a moment, his gaze behind his glasses shifting slightly: "Of course, it's a combination of experience and practice. In the chemical industry, just reading books is useless; the key is to get hands-on, explore, and constantly try and fail. I spend every day in the lab, running back and forth between workshops, and my hair has turned quite a bit gray from all that work."
He tried to steer the conversation toward the "hardship" of the job.
"Understood." Jiang Ling nodded, opened the file, took out a bound document, and said in a normal tone, "We have reviewed your experimental data and would like you to describe in detail your experimental design approach to address the issue of insufficient dye stability during patent application."
This question directly points to an inherent flaw in the patented technology, and the ease on Zhang Minghui's face instantly froze. His upright posture tensed imperceptibly, his fingers tightening slightly as he adjusted his glasses, and he fell into a long silence.
The only sounds in the interrogation room were the whirring of the fan and his slightly rapid breathing.
Jiang Ling was not in a hurry and waited patiently.
After a long pause, Zhang Minghui coughed twice, his voice dry: "The experimental design approach is to discover, analyze, and solve problems step by step."
Jiang Ling decided to ask more specific and clear questions: "As far as I know, most environmentally friendly textile printing and dyeing fixing agents currently use cationic fixing agents. Why did you abandon commonly used fixing agents such as urea derivatives and hexadecylpyridine quaternary ammonium chloride, and instead use 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropylammonium chloride to quaternize the fixing agent DA, successfully preparing a quaternary ammonium salt-type formaldehyde-free fixing agent?"
Zhang Minghui was clearly starting to panic.
He never expected Jiang Ling to ask such a professional question.
"Although cationic fixing agents can improve color fastness, their effect on the fabric's resistance to washing, perspiration, and sunlight is not significant. So... I tried a new method, which involved repeated experiments combined with experience."
He slowed his speech and his eyes became somewhat unfocused: "Data verification at the critical point is key, but overall the desired effect has been achieved."
He tried to gloss over the issue with vague terminology and "effect theory," his previous eloquence vanished, leaving only a hesitant stutter.
In preparation for today's interrogation, Jiang Ling and her team consulted with chemical research experts and did a lot of research.
She wasn't fooled by Zhang Minghui's evasive answer. Her attitude remained calm, but her eyes flashed with a sharp light: "When tackling technical problems, the thought process must be clear and the principles must withstand scrutiny. Could you elaborate on which documents you consulted and whose experience you drew upon?"
An unprecedented sense of fear swept over him. Zhang Minghui's cheek muscles twitched, and his throat moved, but no sound came out.
Zheng Yu gave Zhang Minghui no chance to catch his breath.
She stood up abruptly and walked to the table diagonally in front of Zhang Minghui, her body creating an invisible angle of pressure.
"Can't explain it?" Zheng Yu's voice suddenly rose, losing its gentle tone from the usual work-related discussion, every word sharp and barbed. "Is this your 'real skill,' Technician Zhang? Is this the source of your confidence in 'leading the technical department to overcome difficulties'? Someone who can't even explain the core issue of their own patent? A researcher who can't even list references?"
A barrage of questions, each higher than the last, pierced Zhang Minghui's heart like needles. He abruptly looked up, veins throbbing on his forehead, his voice sharp with anger and shame at being exposed: "What do you know? Do you understand chemical engineering? Technical details are incredibly complex! I..."
"I don't need to understand chemical engineering!"
Zheng Yu interrupted sharply, leaning forward almost to Zhang Minghui's face, her gaze piercing. "But I understand that every invention and creation has theoretical support and logic. I understand the purity and confidence that a true technical backbone with groundbreaking achievements should have!"
She tapped the table in front of him heavily with her finger. "Your explanation is weak, illogical, and incoherent. You're like a thief who wears a stolen, fancy coat and tries to show off that he made it himself! Too bad, a thief is a thief, and there's no point in you trying to argue."
"Nonsense!" Zhang Minghui's face flushed red, and he stood up abruptly, his chest heaving. "This is slander! This is a frame-up! I'm going to find a lawyer!"
Jiang Ling did not get up, but slowly turned her gaze to Zhang Minghui, who had stood up in a fit of rage. Compared to Zheng Yu's domineering and cold demeanor, Jiang Ling's attitude was more calm and resolute: "Lawyer? Zhang Minghui, what you need most right now is not a lawyer, but honesty."
"Look at me!" Jiang Ling's voice carried a magical power, forcing Zhang Minghui's gaze to meet hers: "You know better than any of us whose patent you're so proud of really belongs to. You've gained honor, praise, and profit from this patent, but... a lie can never become the truth!"
Fake!
These words precisely pierced the most hidden, most insecure, and most intolerable corner of Zhang Minghui's heart.
He seemed to have all his strength drained away in an instant; his body swayed, and he slumped back onto the cold wooden bench. All color drained from his face, leaving only ashen pallor and a chilling sense of having been completely seen through.
He dared not meet Jiang Ling's gaze again, his eyes fixed on his clenched fist, his knuckles white. Behind his glasses, his eyes had lost all their light, leaving only bottomless fear and emptiness.
The interrogation room fell into a suffocating silence.
Only the rustling sound of Li Qiuyun writing rapidly in the notebook was particularly clear.
Zheng Yu and Jiang Ling exchanged a glance; the time had come.
Zheng Yu walked back behind the interrogation table, but instead of sitting down, she calmly and deliberately pulled three documents from the case file. Her movements were steady and powerful, carrying an invisible sense of judgment. She gently pushed the first document across the table, sliding it in front of Zhang Minghui.
“Zhang Minghui, look up and take a look at this. This is your wife An Xiaohui’s graduation thesis, titled ‘Synthesis and Fixation Mechanism of Polycationic Fixing Agents’.”
Zhang Minghui's pupils suddenly contracted, and his breathing stopped instantly.
Before he could react, a second document arrived, placed next to the first one.
"These are An Xiaohui's experimental notes from when she was an associate researcher in the technical department of Jiangcheng Hongxing Towel Factory. She was conducting research on the synthesis and application of quaternary ammonium salt cationic formaldehyde-free color-fixing agents."
Zheng Yu pointed her finger sharply at a key paragraph marked in red on a certain page of the notebook: "Did you see that clearly? The questions we just asked you are all recorded in An Xiaohui's experimental notebook. Its sophistication and depth of argumentation far surpass your patent specification, and it predates the time you applied for the patent!"
"No, no, this, this is just a reference." Zhang Minghui's lips trembled, his voice barely audible, his body shaking uncontrollably, cold sweat soaking his back.
Zheng Yu raised her hand and slammed it heavily on the table: "Reference? You referenced her core ideas word for word and claimed them as your own? Zhang Minghui, this is not reference, it's plagiarism!"
Jiang Ling's eyes gleamed, as if she could see right through Zhang Minghui's despicable soul: "Zhang Minghui, how does it feel to have stole fame and fortune through such scheming? Do you want to hear what the leaders who brought you in have to say about you?"
Before Zhang Minghui could respond, Zheng Yu had already pressed the play button on the recorder.
The tape recorder played the speeches of the factory leaders during Jiang Ling's interview at the Peony Towel Factory.
Section Chief Chen of the Technical Department said, "The patent is good, but it also has a big problem—the dye is not stable. This problem is like a lame leg; it has never been smooth from the beginning until now."
Deputy Factory Director Jiao said, "The samples produced were of inconsistent quality. The vibrant colors started to fade and change color after only a few days... Zhang Minghui and his team spent three months working on technical breakthroughs. They spent money, wasted countless materials, and the results? Minimal!"
Workshop foreman Qian: "He's good at getting projects and resources and building connections. But when it comes to really settling down and tackling tough problems, doing basic chemical research that requires extreme rigor, repeated trial and error, and even a bit of genius-like flashes of inspiration? He's not so good... He lacks a sense of steadiness."
Upon hearing the factory leaders' evaluation of him for the first time, Zhang Minghui's face gradually turned pale.
He felt like a monkey in a cage, being watched and teased by tourists.
All the unbearable humiliations of the past rushed into his mind in an instant.
When Zhang Minghui married An Xiaohui, his colleagues and friends laughed and said, "Wow, Zhang Minghui is really something, marrying the smartest technician in our factory. From now on, he'll probably lose his chauvinistic power, haha!"
—An Xiaohui's salary, education, and rank were all higher than his, and no matter how hard Zhang Minghui tried, he could not catch up. His superiors even talked to him: "You should pay more attention to your family and support An Xiaohui's research."
On what grounds? Why?
Zhang Minghui finally escaped the mountains, passed the entrance exam for a technical school, and became a technician in a state-owned factory. His fellow villagers were all proud of him. How come after they got married, An Xiaohui's brilliance completely overshadowed him, making him feel inferior to her in every way?
Mingming, he was also an ambitious and idealistic young man;
Clearly, he was a man who craved honor;
Clearly, this world is male-dominated!
What good is it for An Xiaohui, a woman, to be well-educated and knowledgeable in her field? She should just be his appendage and help him succeed!
Zhang Minghui's breathing became more and more rapid, and his chest heaved violently.
Jiang Ling continued, “Stolen respect cannot last. The heavier the laurel wreath you wear, the heavier the fear and inferiority in your heart! When you discover that the patent you hastily applied for has inherent flaws, and you have no way to solve the problem, don’t you hate your own incompetence countless times? You stole An Xiaohui’s half-finished research results, but you have to admit that you can never be as good as her!”
"No!" Zhang Minghui roared.
Jiang Ling's words struck at his deepest fears, and he wished he could jump up and cover Jiang Ling's mouth.
Jiang Ling was satisfied with Zhang Minghui's reaction and continued to put psychological pressure on him: "Isn't it painful to admit that your wife is better than you? Even if you steal her achievements, even if you get the patent, even if you are recruited as a talent, even if you change jobs, can't you still feel An Xiaohui's overwhelming strength?"
"Are you afraid? Are you afraid of being exposed? Are you afraid of revealing your incompetence? An Xiaohui's existence is the greatest threat and disgrace to you!" Jiang Ling's gaze was piercing, like a sharp arrow, piercing through Zhang Minghui's last pretense.
Zhang Minghui suddenly let out a suppressed sob, clutching his head with both hands, curling up into a ball, his shoulders shaking violently. The respect he had gained through plagiarism was utterly, cruelly, and mercilessly shattered in that moment!
But the destruction was not over.
Plagiarism is only the first offense.
What Zheng Yu and Jiang Ling really wanted to focus on was Zhang Minghui's murder charge.
Zheng Yu slammed a stack of photos heavily onto the table.
That was a high-definition photo magnified several times.
The first picture is of An Xiaohui's pale hand, with several strands of dark gray cotton fibers embedded in her fingernails.
"On the day An Xiaohui died, the cotton yarn fibers under her fingernails were repeatedly identified and compared by the technical department. Their color, material, and twist were exactly the same as those of Zhang Minghui, the technical department head of Hongxing Towel Factory."
Zheng Yu's words immediately put Zhang Minghui on guard. He blushed and stammered in his defense: "I told the police that we had an argument the night before Xiao Hui jumped off the building. Women, when they get angry, they hit people. Her fingernails scratched my clothes and the back of my hand, so they must have left some fibers and skin flakes."
Zheng Yu sneered sarcastically: "You're quite well-prepared. It seems you've rehearsed this line in your mind countless times, haven't you? I'll only ask you one question..."
Zheng Yu deliberately stopped here to control the pace of the interrogation.
Zhang Minghui's heart jumped, and his body stiffened.
Zheng Yu observed Zhang Minghui's reaction, and just as he exhaled, she suddenly asked, "Have you forgotten? An Xiaohui had a habit of changing clothes when she got home, and she also asked you to do the same. The neighbors told me that the night before Xiaohui fell to her death, the night you said the argument happened, you were wearing a brown loungewear set."
Zhang Minghui's heart skipped a beat.
He felt like a goose being choked, and the hands choking him belonged to Zheng Yu.
Even the Jiangcheng police didn't conduct such a detailed investigation, so why is Zheng Yu so persistent?
Zheng Yu showed a second photo, which was an enlarged view of a specific location on the inside of the low wall on the rooftop of the family building. It showed two scratches, one deeper than the other: "Do you see these two vertical scratches on the inside of the low wall at the scene of the fall? These were caused by the legs repeatedly rubbing against the wall."
The third photo is a magnified view of the scratches on the upper edge of the low wall.
"These are scratches caused by the lower back pressing hard against the wall."
The fourth picture is of An Xiaohui after her fall, with blood splattered everywhere.
In the photo, An Xiaohui landed face down with her head severely deformed, facing the wall of the family building.
She landed on the back of her head, suffering a comminuted skull fracture and brain tissue spilling out, forming a thick, radiating pool of blood where it touched the concrete floor.
Her left eye was completely covered in blood, while her right eye was wide open, staring straight ahead toward the entrance of Unit 5 of the family building.
When Zhang Ming met An Xiaohui's wide-open eyes, he was terrified. He leaned back, glanced at her, and then abruptly turned his head away, refusing to look again.
Zheng Yu wouldn't let him dodge. She picked up the photo, held it up to Zhang Minghui's face, and said sternly, "Look carefully! This is your wife, An Xiaohui."
Zhang Minghui was terrified out of his wits by this set of photos.
Two years after An Xiaohui died, the police came, but because they initially assumed it was suicide, they did not conduct a thorough investigation and never studied the cause of the scratches on the low wall.
His head was buzzing, and he had only one thought: No, he couldn't let Zheng Yu continue talking. He didn't kill anyone. He didn't kill anyone!
Zhang Minghui screamed, trembling with fear, his voice weak and erratic: "It wasn't me, I didn't kill her! Yes, I stole Xiaohui's patent, she confronted me, and after get off work she lured me to the rooftop. We argued, but... but she really did jump."
Zheng Yu stared intently into Zhang Minghui's eyes, returning to the confirmation of the first charge: "Did you plagiarize the patent?"
Zhang Minghui nodded hurriedly: "Yes, yes, yes, I plagiarized Xiaohui's work. The main inventor of this patent is An Xiaohui, I was just an assistant."
Jiang Ling tapped her finger lightly on the table, reminding Li Qiuyun: "Record it, Zhang Minghui admits to plagiarism."
Li Qiuyun's hands moved at an undiminished speed, her heart filled with joy.
—Great! At least we've won the first stage so far. Zheng Yu and Jiang Ling are truly amazing!
Zheng Yu looked at Jiang Ling.
When it comes to professional matters, Jiang Ling is still the best choice. Zheng Yu finds those technical terms a bit difficult to understand, lacking the calm and confident demeanor that Jiang Ling possesses.
"Suicide?" Jiang Ling leaned forward. "Tell me, how did An Xiaohui jump?"
Zhang Minghui stood up and tried to demonstrate An Xiaohui's jumping posture: "We had a fight. At that time, she was under a lot of work pressure and had some mental problems. She forced me to quit my job to take care of the family and threatened to jump off the building. I, I wanted to grab her, but it was too late. She braced her left hand on the wall and jumped like that."
Jiang Ling coldly watched his performance: "When jumping down the stairs on your own, your body's center of gravity leans forward, and the point of impact is usually your heels, buttocks, or forehead. However, An Xiaohui's head hit the ground first, indicating that the deceased's body was in a backward posture or was subjected to a huge push from behind when she fell."
Leaning back?
Remembering the photo of the scratches Zheng Yu had shown him earlier, Zhang Minghui immediately changed his story: "Oh, no, no, I misremembered. She was leaning against the wall, then she leaned back and... just like that, she jumped."
Jiang Ling adjusted her posture to make herself more comfortable.
She knew that today's interrogation would be a tough battle. It would require not only mental effort but also physical stamina.
Jiang Ling's lips curled slightly, her eyes filled with mockery: "Really? You're not mistaken this time, are you?"
Zhang Minghui nodded vigorously: "Yes, yes, that's it."
Jiang Ling: "Not going to change it?"
Zhang Minghui was drawn into Jiang Ling's rhythm: "No change, no change."
Jiang Ling picked up a report, opened it, and placed it in front of Zhang Minghui: "Have you seen this report? The head of the body is 3.2 meters from the vertical projection line of the south wall of the family building, and the height of the fall point is about 15 meters. For a person who voluntarily jumps from the top floor, the landing point is usually within the range of 1.5 to 2.5 meters from the vertical projection of the wall base. Do you know what this means?"
Zhang Minghui looked up blankly, passively staring at the red text on the report.
Jiang Ling said, "A distance of 3.2 meters is clearly beyond this range, requiring the deceased to have a considerable initial horizontal velocity. This is consistent with the mechanical characteristics of being 'forcefully pushed or thrown'."
Zhang Minghui seemed to understand, yet also seemed not to comprehend.
His mind was a jumbled mess, making it impossible for him to think clearly.
What are the police doing? Why are they reopening the case of An Xiaohui's fall to her death? Wasn't it already ruled a suicide?
To promote or launch with great force...
Zhang Minghui suddenly realized what was happening, shuddered, and his face turned deathly pale: "No, no, no! That's not how it is!"
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The patent name and chemical research principle are fabricated by me and are based on the following literature. Please do not take them seriously.
[1] Zhao Suqin et al. Research progress on environmentally friendly fabric dyeing and fixing agents. June 2022
[2] Xu Licong, Zhou Xiangdong, Wu Minghua. Current Status and Trends of Dyeing and Printing Fixing Agents. Textile Guide, 2023
[3] Weng Jianlong. Research status of environmentally friendly color-fixing agents. Tianjin Textile Science and Technology, 2011(2).
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