Xu Yu was overwhelmed with mixed emotions.
She hadn’t expected He Chuan Zhou's guess to be right, nor had she anticipated Liu Guangyu's ability to be
so heartless. She felt that Yuan Lingyun’s life had been filled with nothing but mistakes and pain, littered
with deceit and betrayal.
When she relied on herself, injuries struck her hard.
When she trusted her elders, Tao Xianyong taught her the unpredictability of rules.
When she yearned for familial love, the closest person to her revealed the coldest aspects of humanity.
No wonder she seemed so indifferent.
She wasn't mature; she just thought nothing mattered anymore.
Watching the woman across from her, suppressing even her sadness and responding to her own tears with a cold
smile, Xu Yu suddenly recalled a discussion she once had with He Chuan Zhou.
He Chuan Zhou had said: "Fate and hope share a common trait called impermanence. Hope often appears after
enduring hardships, while fate can take it away in an instant. And murder cases frequently occur at the
intersection of these two."
Xu Yu wanted to say something, but as someone who had been fortunate in life, she felt that her words would
seem insincere, even though they were genuine.
He Chuan Zhou pulled out two tissues and walked over to Yuan Lingyun. Yuan took them, clenched them in her
hand, and stubbornly wiped her eyes with her fingertips.
The sound of labored breathing echoed off the quiet walls as the three of them each contemplated different
things, until the sudden vibration of the phone on the table broke the silence.
The abrupt noise on the hard wooden surface, amplified by the closed environment, was startling, like a clap
of thunder. Xu Yu jolted in her chair.
He Chuan Zhou looked at the screen and saw a message from Zhou Tuoxing.
Zhou Tuo Xing: Oh, I'm going to sleep now.
Zhou Tuo Xing: When will you finish work?
He Chuan Zhou turned off the screen and instructed Xu Yu to prepare a release form.
As the restraints were removed, Yuan Lingyun stood up, stretching her stiff muscles. As she passed the
doorway, He Chuan Zhou, leaning against the wall, suddenly asked, “After Liu Guangyu said those cruel things
to you, do you hate him now?”
Yuan Lingyun's eyes were still red. She turned her head and gave He Chuan Zhou a cold glance.
He Chuan Zhou, with a faint smile, said, “Our bet hasn't been resolved yet. Do you want to wait a little
longer?”
Yuan Lingyun's expression was complex. “Are you crazy?”
Unfazed, He Chuan Zhou strode ahead. “Follow me, I'll find you a place to rest.”
Xu Yu had expected Yuan Lingyun to leave without a second thought, but after a moment of hesitation, she
followed.
·
Brother Huang and his team were trying to trace Liu Guangyu's whereabouts. Despite the extensive network of
information systems in the city, finding him among millions of people was still difficult.
If he had already left City A through other means, the search area would be even larger.
Brother Huang, like Yuan Lingyun, thought the likelihood of Liu Guangyu turning himself in was low.
This was a murder case, after all. Even the most ruthless criminals usually feared the harshest penalties of
the law.
Under the dim blue light of the screens, the streets quickly emptied, and most of the neon lights went out.
The bustling city entered its quietest hours.
Occasionally, a few large trucks passed by, briefly breaking the silence.
At 2:36 AM, Shao Zhixin received a call from the duty room. He first woke up Brother Huang, who had just
fallen asleep, then hurriedly ran to the other side of the hallway to notify He Chuan Zhou.
He Chuan Zhou was leaning against the wall, lost in thought. The sudden footsteps woke up the others who had
been dozing off. Xu Yu almost fell off her chair.
Shao Zhixin stopped, struggling to catch his breath. “Captain He, the local police station just informed us
that Liu Guangyu has turned himself in! They’re short on staff, so Brother Huang is going to get him now!”
Yuan Lingyun, sitting in the corner, opened her eyes. Seeing He Chuan Zhou and the others swiftly getting
up, her mind was still in a daze. By the time she blinked, the rest area was empty.
She ran to catch up and stopped Xu Yu, who was at the back of the group, asking, “Is this some new
interrogation technique?”
“Of course not. There are strict procedures for interrogations. Liu Guangyu really turned himself in,” Xu Yu
waved her off. “There's nothing more for you to do. You can go home and rest. We’ll notify you tomorrow
after the interrogation. After all, you’re Liu Guangyu’s relative.”
Yuan Lingyun stood there dazed for a moment before sitting back down in the corner.
After a while, finding the air too stuffy, she got up and opened a window slightly.
Cold air rushed in, carrying the unique fresh scent of early spring.
About half an hour later, a police car arrived at the station.
Liu Guangyu had arrived.
Brother Huang brought him directly to the interrogation room. He Chuan Zhou, now refreshed after splashing
cold water on her face, brought two cups of hot water and walked in leisurely.
Liu Guangyu’s gaze shifted between the two officers before settling on He Chuan Zhou. Although phrased as a
question, his tone was certain, “You found Yuan Lingyun?”
He Chuan Zhou blinked and replied, “Yes, I did.”
Liu Guangyu, with his chin raised and eyes half-closed, seemed arrogant and provocative. However, at this
moment, he was merely curious. “How did you find her?”
He Chuan Zhou placed the water on Brother Huang's desk and replied, “Through two flyers in your drawer. I
was just trying my luck.”
Liu Guangyu appeared surprised, then laughed self-deprecatingly, shaking his head.
“I’m always unlucky.”
“Not entirely unlucky,” He Chuan Zhou said. “People's habits and subconscious actions leave traces.”
He Chuan Zhou sat down, calmly observing Liu Guangyu. After a moment, Liu Guangyu broke the eye contact
first.
In fact, Liu Guangyu and Yuan Lingyun bore a striking resemblance, more vivid than in the photos, with the
same stubbornness in their demeanor.
Brother Huang, looking pale and disheveled, remarked about the plain water, “Where's my goji berries? You
young people may not need them, but I do!”
He Chuan Zhou shrugged.
Brother Huang didn’t make a fuss, sipping the plain water.
He Chuan Zhou picked up a pen from the table and mentioned, “Yuan Lingyun is waiting outside.”
Liu Guangyu replied, “Oh.”
He Chuan Zhou chuckled, “You two are strange. You both act indifferent towards each other, but your actions
suggest otherwise.”
The interrogation room was warm, and Liu Guangyu’s frostbitten hands began to itch. He rubbed his fingers
vigorously, feeling itchy all over, and shifted uncomfortably.
He Chuan Zhou asked, “Did you kill Tao Xianyong because of Yuan Lingyun?”
Liu Guangyu, head bowed, admitted without remorse, “I did.”
He Chuan Zhou: “How did you do it?”
Liu Guangyu unemotionally recounted the events of the murder. He described how he disguised himself as a
delivery person, tricked Tao Xianyong into opening the door using Yuan Lingyun’s name, then forced him into
the room with a knife, got his phone password, and finally attacked him from behind before cleaning up the
scene.
The details matched the forensic findings and the cleaner's testimony.
Despite his limited vocabulary, Liu Guangyu’s narrative was clear and concise, making it easy to follow
without needing further clarification.
Brother Huang exhaled deeply with relief, "His attitude towards admitting guilt is good." He thought his
hair might be safe for a while longer.
"And the motive for the murder?" Brother Huang asked. "When did you decide to kill Tao Xianyong? You hadn’t
seen Yuan Lingyun for so long; why risk helping her commit murder? When you tried to blackmail her last
time, was that also to sever ties with her?"
Liu Guangyu clenched his fingers into a tight fist, the pressure turning his red and swollen skin pale and
relieving the itch with a twisted sense of pleasure.
He raised his head and said, "No."
He spoke slowly and firmly, "I really hated her. At that time, I genuinely hated her."
"Hate?" He Chuan Zhou pondered the word, finding it deeply significant, and she couldn’t help but sigh.
Brother Huang asked, "Then why did you help her kill someone?"
Liu Guangyu sneered coldly, "Because Tao Xianyong truly deserved to die."
He tilted his head, a slight smirk on his lips, and scoffed, "A charitable entrepreneur, a grassroots
success story. As long as a person has money, they can package themselves as kind, inspirational, and great.
Behind the scenes, he did things that ruined other people's lives. He didn't deserve to live."
Brother Huang frowned, struggling to follow Liu Guangyu's logic. He leaned forward slightly, closing the
distance between them. "Then why did you hate Yuan Lingyun? Was it just because you saw her with Tao
Xianyong and thought she was vain and degenerate? Maybe we have different understandings of hate. To me,
heartbreak and anger don't equate to hate."
The muscles on Liu Guangyu's face twitched as he tried to speak but then stopped, perhaps unsure how to
describe the origin of his feelings. He raised his hand, painfully rubbing his forehead.
He Chuan Zhou asked, "I'm curious, why did you transfer exactly twenty-three thousand yuan?"
Liu Guangyu corrected her, "It was twenty-three thousand two hundred."
"Okay." He Chuan Zhou asked, "Does that number have any significance?"
Liu Guangyu's Adam's apple bobbed. He Chuan Zhou gently said, "Maybe you can start from wherever you feel
like. Anytime, any person. It's okay, we're in no rush. We can listen."
It seemed Liu Guangyu really wanted to share. He took a deep breath, covering half his face with his hands,
and began recalling from the start.
"My mom married my dad for seven years before having me. She left when I was not yet three, so I have little
memory of her from my childhood."
"My dad did nothing but drink, gamble, and beat people. I knew he was worthless, but he was my dad, so I
believed him. He cursed my mom every day, saying she ran off with another man and abandoned me. He said it
was his great mercy to raise me."
"When I was six or seven, my mom found a chance to come back and see me."
Liu Guangyu covered his eyes, his voice muffled.
"She was actually quite pretty, prettier than anyone else in the village, but she dressed plainly. Her hair
was tied back low, making her look old. When she came to see me, I was too young to understand. The kids
around me mocked her, and I felt embarrassed and threw mud at her, calling her a slut like my dad did."
"She ran away scared. The next day she came back, bought me shoes and clothes, said a few words, and then
left."
Liu Guangyu’s voice grew choked with emotion.
He paused for a long time before he could continue.
"Later, I found out there were two reasons why she left my dad."
"First, she couldn't bear my dad beating her. She thought she might die. Second, we were really poor. She
wanted to save some money for me so I could go to school and leave that place someday."
"But she was illiterate and couldn't speak Mandarin. Forget finding a job, the farthest she'd ever been was
the neighboring county. She couldn't find a quick way to make money, so she made a deal with a matchmaker in
the village to sell herself. She got married far away to avoid my dad finding her. The bride price was
twenty-five thousand. The matchmaker took a thousand, she kept eight hundred, and sent the rest back."
Liu Guangyu laughed. His eerie laughter echoed in the room, the sharp tone changing, making it hard to tell
if he was laughing or crying.