The Strange Questions During Interrogation

Upon entering the police station, Yu Xing was first taken to an office where Gao Chang'an explained the conclusions of Han Xinyi's case. He then received an invitation from Gao Chang'an to assist in the investigation.

"Our team still believes that Liu Ping isn't entirely unrelated to the Throat Cutting Case; we just need a breakthrough. I think you might be able to help us get to the bottom of things. It's voluntary; if it's inconvenient for you, you can refuse directly, no problem." Gao Chang'an took out a cigarette, intending to light it, but then stopped short of lighting it. "You don't mind, do you?"

Yu Xing, with his hands in his jacket pockets, seemed to be absorbing the information well after just being bombarded with it. He nodded and said, "Do as you please."

"Thanks." Gao Chang'an lit a cigarette and took a puff, his voice tinged with weariness. "What do you think?"

After a silence of about five or six minutes, just when Gao Chang'an thought he would refuse, Yu Xing said, "I agree."

He could have joined the investigation without hesitation, which would have given him access to the most convenient sources of information and allowed him to contact people more openly and legitimately. However, if someone from another city showed too much enthusiasm for the Throat Cutting Case, they would certainly be suspected.

Yu Xing chuckled inwardly—perhaps Gao Chang'an had never truly dispelled his suspicions about him.

Having accepted Gao Chang'an's invitation, Yu Xing signed a confidentiality agreement.

His current status is roughly similar to Gao Chang'an's informant, but he's only a temporary one.

"So what do I need to do now?" Yu Xing asked.

"What do you want to do now?" Gao Chang'an didn't give him any instructions, but instead asked him with a peculiar sense of trust—or perhaps a sense of probing.

Yu Xing narrowed his eyes, showing no sign of guilt. After thinking for a moment, he made a suggestion that didn't surprise Gao Chang'an too much. "Then... let me see Liu Ping."

The interrogation room was small and cramped, square in shape, and devoid of any color decoration.

Liu Ping sat wearily on the cold chair, his hands cuffed and placed on the equally cold table.

A bright white desk lamp cast a low beam on the table, not shining directly on his face, but it brought a sense of oppression to the entire interrogation room.

Xiao Gu, dressed in uniform, sat opposite Liu Ping with another middle-aged male police officer. At this moment, Xiao Gu was no longer as relaxed as when he was taking Yu Xing's statement. Instead, he had a stern face, and despite his young age, he exuded a fearsome sense of authority.

"Can this end now?" Liu Ping's voice was a little hoarse, but he didn't touch the bottled water that had been specially prepared for him on the table, as if it were a sign that he hadn't given in yet.

"No, you haven't told the truth yet." Xiao Gu's tone was firm, her bloodshot eyes staring straight at Liu Ping.

He could tell that Liu Ping was very tired.

It wasn't physical exhaustion, but mental exhaustion.

When a person is mentally exhausted, it is difficult to continue a flawless performance. After a while, cracks will inevitably appear in Liu Ping's seemingly perfect statement.

Many criminals have used this tactic, employing linguistic traps and half-truths to mislead the police. Everything they say is true, but when put together, it points to a pre-fabricated lie.

These kinds of criminals are difficult to deal with; dealing with them is always a mentally and physically exhausting experience. But Xiao Gu thought, Liu Ping forgot one thing—

Liu Ping is not a suspect who has suspicions but lacks evidence to convict him. Without evidence, they can only detain him temporarily for two days and then release him. But Liu Ping... is burdened with conclusive evidence of attempted murder.

They have plenty of time to wear Liu Ping down until Liu Ping can no longer hide his true feelings.

The current difficulty is that the police are also getting anxious.

Captain Yu Jiaming felt pressure, and so did they. Xiao Gu was no exception. He didn't want the captain to be dismissed because of his and his teammates' lack of ability, so his gaze towards Liu Ping became even colder.

"Even if you interrogate me for another ten hours, I still won't be able to tell you anything I don't know. Besides, isn't this akin to torture?" Liu Ping let out a soft laugh from his dry throat, finally unable to bear the unbearable silence any longer, and took the initiative to speak.

"We've provided you with water and food, and plenty of sleep. We haven't even laid a finger on you, so where did this torture come from?" Xiao Gu blinked slowly. "Tell me when you met the killer in the Throat Cutting Case, and what he said. Then you won't have to endure this anymore."

"I told you I don't know!" Liu Ping's eyes were red, and he slammed his fist on the interrogation table, but the restraint on the chair prevented him from making any more violent movements.

Suddenly, the interrogation room door opened, and Xiao Gu, the middle-aged policeman, and Liu Ping all instinctively looked towards the door.

Gao Chang'an entered.

Xiao Gu stood up, let out a long sigh, and said with frustration, "Vice Captain... I still haven't gotten the answer."

"It's alright, you all go out first. Yu Xing handle the interrogation." As Gao Chang'an finished speaking, Xiao Gu, his mind still foggy, paused for a moment, thinking to himself:

Yu Xing? That name sounds familiar. Oh right, isn't he the kind citizen who saved Han Xinyi?

The next moment, he saw a tall and distinguished young man walk in behind the vice-captain.

It really was that kind-hearted citizen.

Yu Xing greeted Xiao Gu, and saw Liu Ping, who was sitting in a chair, suddenly turn pale and lean back, as if he was a little scared when he saw him.

He smiled at Liu Ping expression twisted for a moment as he felt his injuries begin to ache again.

"You guys go out and keep watch." Seeing Liu Ping's reaction, Gao Chang'an immediately urged Xiao Gu and another police officer to leave. After the interrogation room door closed, a smile appeared on his face.

"Liu Ping, you've persevered for so long, that's quite impressive."

Liu Ping said, "I don't know, I didn't insist."

He watched Yu Xing sit down opposite him and couldn't help but ask Gao Chang'an, "What's he doing here? Didn't you say he was just passing by?"

When Liu Ping was first arrested, he asked the police about Yu Xing's background. He thought he had offended plainclothes special police or something similar, but the police told him—

This is a really helpful person! You're just unlucky!

It infuriated him.

Before Gao Chang'an could answer, Yu Xing waved and greeted him with a smile, "Hi, we meet again."

"..." Liu Ping didn't dare to say anything to him, and Yu Xing's sudden arrival caught Liu Ping off guard.

After that, Yu Xing began a series of very unusual and eccentric questions, which Gao Chang'an listened to throughout, becoming more and more engrossed as he listened.

Yu Xing asked, "Do you like people who are sarcastic or eccentric?"

Liu Ping was completely bewildered. He looked at Gao Chang'an, but seeing that Gao Chang'an didn't seem inclined to speak, he could only hold his breath and reply, "I don't like it."

"So, do you like people who are cold to you and look down on you?"

"... dislike."

Yu Xing became interested and looked very puzzled. "If you don't like any of them, why did you choose to target Han Xinyi, who always greets you with a smile, when there are so many people in your company that you don't like?"

Liu Ping immediately tensed up, reverting to his usual unyielding attitude. "She smiles at everyone, and seeing that makes me want to destroy her."

"Oh~" Yu Xing drawled, her tone ambiguous, unsure whether she believed him or not. "Then let's change the subject. I heard that you specifically took the day off the day you took action, right?"

"Hmm," Liu Ping responded briefly.

"Then I find it very strange. As an office worker who needs to take time off even to commit murder, and who lives quite far from Han Xinyi's house, how did you manage to find all the surveillance footage on the road from the bookstore to Han Xinyi's house?" Yu Xing seemed to see right through him, resting her chin on her hand, her tone calm and cheerful, "The police checked the surveillance footage, and you didn't appear in any of the cameras that day; you avoided them all, which means you knew the location of the cameras perfectly."

"There aren't many cameras on that road to begin with, it's not hard to remember them." Liu Ping said in a tone of incomprehension, "I'm not mentally challenged. I've already decided to kill someone, can't I even do this simple thing right?"

Yu Xing raised an eyebrow, her expression sly. "Is that so? Then how do you explain that you weren't seen in the surveillance footage from the previous month?"

Liu Ping was taken aback.

"You need to know the location of the surveillance cameras, at least you should have scouted the area, right? Before taking action, you must have personally checked it several times, but in a month, you weren't caught on camera at all. You... you didn't even go to that street." Yu Xing stared at the fleeting panic in Liu Ping's expression and laughed. "Explain yourself?"

Finally, Liu Ping gave a vague reason, and Yu Xing asked a lot of strange questions before leaving the interrogation room with Gao Chang'an.

"Well done, you seem to have more of a deterrent effect on Liu Ping than we do." Liu Ping, who had been stubbornly refusing to speak, had finally shown a weakness, and Gao Chang'an was overjoyed. He came out and patted Yu Xing's shoulder forcefully.

"The kind of person he isn't afraid of the police, but he's probably more afraid of someone like me who beat him up," Yu Xing said, Gao Chang'an. "Today's incident just made him panic a little. I'll come back tomorrow and ask him again; I should have some information then."

Gao Chang'an nodded, calming himself down. He felt his decision was correct; this Yu Xing, whatever he did, could indeed bring him good news in this case.

Yu Xing stroked her chin, a picture flashing through her mind. "Next, I want to get to know Han Xinyi again."

"Oh?"

"Did Liu Ping and Han Xinyi really have no contact at the company? It's not enough to just listen to Liu Ping's statement and the testimonies of their colleagues. Han Xinyi, as the victim, might have a unique perspective." Gao Chang'an completely agreed with his words, and if Yu Xing to ask Han Xinyi certainly wouldn't be resistant.

Gao Chang'an said, "Okay, remember to notify me immediately if you find anything."

Yu Xing planned to go find Han Xinyi, but as soon as she left the police station, she saw Han Xinyi standing by the roadside, waiting for someone.

As he looked over, Han Xinyi also looked over. Their eyes met, and Han Xinyi's eyes gradually lit up. She waved to Yu Xing and happily shouted, "I've finally waited for you!"

Yu Xing walked over, somewhat surprised. "You were waiting for me?"

"Mmm!" Han Xinyi's eyes crinkled into a sweet smile. "I was planning to go shopping at the mall today, and when I passed by here, I happened to see you go into the police station! So I browsed around the boutiques across the street, thinking I'd wait for you to come out."

Yu Xing raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised. "What are you waiting for me for?"

"I... you saved my life, and I haven't thanked you yet. I just started working and don't have much savings, so I can't buy you anything. I was just thinking, could I buy you a milk tea?" Han Xinyi blushed. "The day I had the accident, I went into a bookstore to take shelter from the rain, and the milk tea there was amazing! Could you... come with me?"

She glanced cautiously at Yu Xing's expression, then said, "Um... I heard you have a girlfriend. Will she misunderstand? It's okay, I can explain it to her if she does. I just wanted to thank you!"

Hearing this sarcastic remark, Yu Xing chuckled inwardly. He had been looking for an opportunity to ask Han Xinyi some questions anyway, so he readily agreed.

Regardless of the undercurrents and confrontations between the police and the murderer, ordinary people's lives continue, except for the added shadow of the murder in their hearts; otherwise, they are no different from before.

It was a sunny day, and the wind chimes at the bookstore entrance rang melodiously from time to time, which showed that this bookstore, located in a remote area, had many customers.

As the male clerk returned to his seat after using the restroom, the new receptionist called out to him, "Zhang Yu, could you do me a favor and take these two books to the criminal investigation section?"

The young woman at the front desk handed him two books and nodded politely.

Zhang Yu silently accepted the book and walked towards his work area.

He's been in a bad mood these past few days. There are so many things piling up in his mind that he can't figure out, which is making him very upset.

Ranran, who had taken a sick day, did not return to work the next day as the strange substitute clerk had said. Instead, she submitted her resignation to the boss and never came back.

It's said that she personally came to the store to resign, and was in good health and spoke naturally at the time. Therefore, Ranran wasn't in any trouble. But why did she resign?

Zhang Yu didn't see Ranran that day because of the class schedule. After that, all his messages, whether on WeChat or other social media, disappeared without a trace, as if Ranran didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore.

That was obviously wishful thinking on his part, because he had asked other shop assistants, and none of the messages Ranran sent had been answered. He wasn't special; he was just one of his former "colleagues."

Ranran hasn't updated her WeChat Moments lately, and she hasn't even returned to the address Zhang Yu knew. She's actually moved.

She vanished into thin air.

This was one of the troubles. Another thing that forced Zhang Yu to divert his attention to the people he met every day was something else entirely.

On the day Ranran was on sick leave, the strange substitute female shop assistant inexplicably said to him, "You are very good-looking." Later, when he saw a report about the throat-slitting killer at the entrance of Ranran's old residence, the phrase "the killer only killed young men with outstanding appearances" lingered in his mind.

He was indeed very good-looking; during his university years, the number of people who pursued him could fill an entire cafeteria window.

Ever since he learned about the common characteristics of the Throat Cutting Case victims, the female shop assistant has been stuck in his mind.

Having read many crime stories, Zhang Yu often fantasized in his mind: if the nameless female shop assistant was the murderer in the Throat Cutting Case... then what she said to him back then, was it a death threat?

Similarly, if the female shop assistant is the murderer, Ranran's unusual behavior can also be explained—she could have been threatened or coerced by the murderer, or... perhaps because she was friends with the murderer, they had some kind of relationship of helping each other?

Zhang Yu did not rule out this line of thinking just because he liked Ranran. He never thought that the girl he liked was some kind of innocent little white rabbit. On the contrary, every girl with depth of thought has a certain degree of multifaceted personality.

He only prayed that Ranran wouldn't go astray, and that if she could stop in time, perhaps everything could be salvaged.

However, he also knew that all his guesses were unfounded and merely his own wild speculations.

Zhang Yu sighed, carefully put the detective in his hand back, and then stood by the bookshelf.

Just then, he caught a glimpse of a rather strange color out of the corner of his eye.

Before he could even process what it was, his scalp tingled. He turned his head in surprise and saw a few words roughly scribbled in pencil on the side of the bookshelf, in a place only he could see for the time being.

"You're next."

The childlike, naive brushstrokes gave Zhang Yu a chilling feeling. He looked around like a cat with its fur standing on end. Just then, the wind chimes swayed, and a slender figure flashed past his sight.

It was a female customer who had just walked out of the store. For some reason, Zhang Yu's gaze was fixed on her back, and his heart was pounding with nervousness—this back looked so familiar.

The female customer seemed to sense something and turned half her face around.

The black mask covered her face below the nose, but those strangely expressive eyes left a deep impression on Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu's pupils contracted, and he involuntarily took a step back.

He was certain he wasn't mistaken; it was indeed the substitute female shop assistant!

What was she doing there? She was dressed like an ordinary customer, wearing a mask, and avoiding everyone in the store who might recognize her.

Before she left, threatening words like "You're next!" were heard in his work area!

The woman seemed to smile, then looked away from him and disappeared from the shop entrance.

The next moment, Yu Xing and Han Xinyi walked in through the still-open glass door.

Han Xinyi seemed completely excited, pointing to the criminal investigation area and introducing it to Yu Xing: "This is it! The milk tea here is pretty good, and the books are nice too. I like to sit there and read detective stories... oh?"

She paused, Yu Xing followed her finger, just in time to see a male shop assistant who looked distracted and as if he had just been frightened.

Yu Xing's lips slowly curved into a smile, her eyes gleaming with interest.