Cause and Effect

Yi Wen did not know what they had learned that had led to him being pinned down so quickly.

It was precisely this information gap that caused him to fall for their trap, break through his psychological defenses, and confess.

After learning his identity and relationship with the victim, the Police Officer handling the case directly told him that if he pleaded guilty and accepted punishment, along with a letter of forgiveness, he would most likely receive a lighter sentence.

With that hope laid out before him, Yi Wen gave up resisting and confessed everything one by one.

"My family worked hard to raise her, and now that I've just graduated from vocational school, it's the time for me to build a family and career. But after that woman got rich, she turned her back on all her relatives! Why?

"I only asked her for money a few times, and she threw me out. She's a woman—sooner or later, she'll get married. That money should all be mine!

"But she was so heartless, so I wanted to get back at her."

With his psychological defenses breached and no longer facing the danger of a harsh sentence, Yi Wen unleashed all the resentment he had harbored toward Lin Shiqin.

Yet even in this situation, he remained cunning. He insisted that he had only wanted to get back at her and had never expected anyone to die. He claimed he had no idea the Film Crew would hoist things that high for that scene.

But clearly, his true thoughts went far beyond that. He was not part of the Film Crew, yet he had gone to great lengths to learn every relevant detail. Naturally, this had been premeditated for a long time.

The fact that traces had remained on the wire rig for an entire week and could still be detected by Wang Yi showed just how extreme his emotions had been.

Influenced by what he had seen and heard since childhood, he had always considered it perfectly natural.

After Lin Shiqin ran away from home, they had barely cared about her. Having one less person to feed even lightened their burden. Only his mother complained a few times, saying they could collect another bride price when she got married someday.

Ideally, she would marry a rich man, so they could live off her for the rest of their lives.

His father had tacitly agreed, saying that with her looks, it should be possible. It did not matter how she got by outside for now; they could go find her when it was time for her to settle down.

Having been influenced by them since childhood, Yi Wen also regarded this as only natural.

Then, just as they waited for the fruit to ripen, some neighbors suddenly told them that woman had made it big and was about to become a huge star.

Seeing the buzz online, the hype about her being a beauty seen once in five thousand years, and her roles in several television dramas and films, the entire family was overjoyed.

They did not know exactly how much money she had, but anyone who appeared on television and in movies surely could not be making little.

With that background, their family repeatedly went looking for Lin Shiqin.

But Lin Shiqin had always been strong-willed. She had only run away after suffering that kind of treatment, and after they had ignored her for so long, there was no way she would let these parasites cling to her after she had struggled so hard to get where she was.

She firmly refused them and never agreed to meet them.

Even when they threatened to expose everything, she paid them no heed.

She believed she would surely receive sympathy over such matters.

Whether they threatened lawsuits or exposure, she casually dealt with them all.

She had lacked the ability to resist before, but Lin Shiqin, who had fought and clawed her way to where she was today, was naturally no longer afraid.

She was only saddened that even her own mother treated her so differently.

But it was precisely her mother's attitude that strengthened her resolve to cut them off.

Yet she had never imagined that while she was right to make the decision to sever ties, her younger brother would become so extreme.

That day, Lin Shiqin's mother and Stepfather arrived.

Lin Shiqin's mother was a rural woman. There was some resemblance between her features and Lin Shiqin's, and it was obvious that she had once been a great beauty in her youth. But the hardships and pressures of life had filled the corners of her eyes with wrinkles.

Especially after hearing such devastating news, her face was full of sorrow.

Lin Shiqin's Stepfather, meanwhile, was a thin, dark-skinned man. At the moment, he appeared rather calm.

"Police Officer, that little... Lin Shiqin only had us as family. The killer is her younger brother, and we are in great pain as well. We have already lost our daughter. Please do not take our son away too."

Yi Wu calmly explained the situation to the Police Officers. At the same time, it was also the most effective way to reduce Yi Wen's punishment.

The prosecution would indeed take such matters into consideration.

Moreover, if the sentence was light, they as the family would certainly not appeal. But if it was harsh, they would definitely appeal.

Lin Shiqin had few social connections. Since even her closest relatives had chosen to give up on her, coupled with sentence reductions, Yi Wen truly would not receive too heavy a sentence.

Yi Wen stubbornly insisted that he had only wanted to get back at her. No one could prove what he had truly been thinking, and without sufficient evidence, the principle of acquittal in cases of doubt meant they could only convict him under the standard of "causing death through negligence."

Together with his guilty plea, acceptance of punishment, and forgiveness from the victim's family, a lighter punishment was highly likely. In the end, even a sentence of less than three years was entirely possible.

Likewise, for the case investigators, even if some veteran detectives suspected the man's true motive and wondered whether he had intended to take a life, without evidence, they did not dare act rashly.

It was enough for the case to be closed. Otherwise, if they pursued it relentlessly and ultimately managed to secure a serious conviction, who would thank them? The victim's family? On the contrary, if the case were later overturned due to insufficient evidence, they would be the ones held responsible.

As things stood, everyone was happy—except for the dead woman, who would never speak again. Everyone else could get the result they wanted.

"Sir, we would also like to ask about the girl's inheritance. The girl is gone, and our son has been locked up. We have no one to rely on. Once our son gets out, we'll still have to arrange a marriage for him. With a criminal record, that'll definitely cost a lot of money, so..."

They had only just finished signing some paperwork for release on bail when Lin's Mother began asking about the inheritance.

Although he could be released on bail, he would still have to wait for the prosecution's indictment. She also wanted to seek a suspended sentence and use the opportunity to hire a good lawyer.

They were the victim's family, and the victim could no longer speak. With the advice of a good lawyer, there would certainly still be room to maneuver!

And the inheritance was already theirs—there was no doubt about that. They simply wanted to get their hands on it as soon as possible.

Even the investigators were utterly disgusted by such behavior.

But their request was reasonable and lawful, so the investigators could only issue the relevant documentation.

Rules protected the vast majority of people. Fundamentally, sound procedures brought far more benefits than harm.

But as long as there were rules, there would be loopholes. When faced with people who exploited them in such disgusting ways, one could sometimes only feel powerless.

It was something civilization had to go through in order to move forward.

Only...

Loopholes were not something only the disgusting side could exploit!

"Will you do it yourself, or should I?"

Leaning beneath a streetlamp by the roadside, Wang Yi used their shared vision to look at those faces and could not help saying it again.

"I'll do it myself. Before, I only wanted to make their crimes public."

After saying that, Lin Shiqin turned back and gave Wang Yi a brilliant smile.

"Boss, you don't think I'd go easy on them, do you~"

Seeing that Lin Shiqin seemed much more relaxed, Wang Yi got up and headed toward the Rental Room. The servers were about to arrive.

"Watch the impact. Don't harm innocent people."

"Got it~"

The next day's news reported that a family of three had died from electrocution after their water heater leaked electricity and they failed to take the proper rescue measures.

The three deceased had expressions of terror, as if they had suffered a tremendous fright before dying.

After investigation, it was ultimately ruled an accident...

___

Today's two chapters were originally supposed to be split into four. There would have been more side details to flesh out the characters—such as their lack of peace before death, regret, struggle, and hysteria. Four chapters would have read more smoothly, but during the public release period, because of the importance of follow-up readership, I'd better wrap it up today. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll curse me out.

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