Shi Ting glanced at the recorder beside him. The recorder gave him a slight nod.

“Miss Zhang, thank you for your cooperation. We will ask your boyfriend to come in and give a statement as well.”

Zhang Li grew anxious. “Officer, my boyfriend doesn’t know about the relationship between me and Fan Wenzhi. Please, don’t tell him. My boyfriend is a very honest man, but he’s also inflexible — if he finds out, our relationship will be finished.”

“Miss Zhang, are you certain your boyfriend doesn’t know?” Shi Ting looked at her anxious face. “Your usual spending is clearly disproportionate to your income. Any reasonable person would grow suspicious. You say your boyfriend doesn’t know about you and Fan Wenzhi, but that’s only what you believe. Some things are like time bombs — rather than waiting for an unknown explosion, it may be better to find a way to stop the clock. There may still be a chance to salvage things.”

Zhang Li stared blankly at Shi Ting. Then, suddenly, her composure crumbled and she slumped into her chair.

She had sworn confidently that her boyfriend didn’t know about her and Fan Wenzhi — but that had only been self-deception. Her boyfriend was honest, but he wasn’t foolish. It was impossible that he had noticed nothing.

Zhang Li thought of the way her boyfriend often looked at her with a distant, contemplative expression, and she shuddered involuntarily. Perhaps the officer before her was right. Rather than waiting for her boyfriend to reach his breaking point and confront her, it might be better to admit her mistakes proactively — there might still be a chance at his forgiveness.

She deeply regretted her relationship with Fan Wenzhi, because she truly loved her boyfriend and had no desire to lose him.

“Thank you. Thank you,” Zhang Li said with heartfelt sincerity. “I will have my boyfriend cooperate with your investigation. If I think of any useful leads, I will notify you right away.”

The recorder beside her quickly handed over a card. “This is our unit’s phone number. Someone answers twenty-four hours a day. If you think of anything, just call.”

Zhang Li took it and nodded.

After Zhang Li left, Old Fan came rushing in.

“Chief Shi.” Old Fan wiped the sweat from his forehead. “About the garbage recycling station — I sent a few people over. There’s a development on Lin Yuqin’s end.”

Shi Ting picked up a bottle of mineral water from the desk and handed it to Old Fan. “Have a drink first, then tell me.”

Old Fan twisted off the cap and gulped down several large mouthfuls, then wiped the moisture from his lips. “This Fan Wenzhi didn’t only have Zhang Li as his mistress. He also maintained improper relationships with several of his female students. I’ve checked all of them — each had an alibi for the day of the incident. Two were out of town, and one was in her dormitory that night, with roommates who can vouch for her.”

A nearby officer couldn’t help but scoff. “This Fan Wenzhi is truly a refined scoundrel. On the surface he looked like a man of learning, and whenever he gave lectures he put on the air of a gentleman. But it turns out he was all glitter with rotten core — his private life is an absolute mess.”

“Not only was Fan Wenzhi’s private life a mess, but Lin Yuqin also maintained a long-term affair with one of the executives at their company. According to our investigation, the relationship lasted at least five years. And… and Lin Yuqin even bore this executive a son.”

Shi Ting was startled. “Where is the child now?”

“Lin Yuqin was afraid this relationship would become public knowledge, so she placed the child with a friend of hers and arranged for a nanny to care for him. The child’s father pays her one hundred thousand yuan per month in living expenses.”

“One hundred thousand?” The young officer swallowed hard.

“We’ve already tracked down this friend of Lin Yuqin’s. According to her, Lin Yuqin loved her son very much and visited nearly every other day. The child lacked for nothing in terms of food or daily necessities. But two months ago, the child’s father abruptly stopped providing support.”

“Have you brought them in?”

“Yes.” Old Fan tugged at the corner of his mouth. “With quite the flair — came with a lawyer, and insisted we question him in his car. He refused to come inside.”

“Unbelievable — what an attitude.” The young officer muttered in irritation. “I can’t stand people like that.”

Old Fan asked, “Chief Shi, what do we do?”

Shi Ting said, “I’ll make a phone call.”

Not long after, Chen Siquan, sitting in his car, glanced at his watch and asked impatiently, “Are those useless officers coming or not? If they don’t show up, I’m leaving.”

His lawyer said quickly, “We have no obligation to answer their questions. If they want to ask anything, they’ll have to come out here.”

“My time is not something they can afford to waste. Do they even know how much I make per minute?”

“Officers are all poor — they’ve never seen real money.”

Mid-conversation, a crowd of people suddenly surged around the car, each one holding a phone, snapping photos through the windows.

“Mr. Chen, word has it that you’ve maintained an improper relationship with General Manager Lin of your company for an extended period, and that she even bore you a son. Is this true?”

“SD Company strictly prohibits romantic relationships between employees, especially improper ones — violators are to be dismissed without exception. Mr. Chen, is this a deliberate act of defiance?”

“Once this comes to light, the social repercussions will be extremely serious. Doesn’t Mr. Chen have anything to say?”

Chen Siquan panicked at the sight of them. “Where did these people come from? How did they find out about this?”

“Looks like reporters,” the lawyer said, scrambling to reassure him. “These reporters blow everything out of proportion and love to talk nonsense. Mr. Chen, we’d better avoid them.”

“Avoid them? Avoid them where? The car is completely surrounded.”

Chen Siquan was furious.

The lawyer glanced at the precinct entrance and, steeling himself, said, “The only option is to go inside. No matter how bold reporters are, they wouldn’t dare enter a police station.”

Old Fan sat in a chair smoking, patiently waiting.

Earlier he had asked Shi Ting how to deal with the problem of Chen Siquan. Shi Ting had only said he’d make a phone call. Twenty minutes had now passed since that call…

“Chief Fan, Chen Siquan is here.”

Old Fan squinted toward the entrance and saw Chen Siquan shuffling in through the precinct’s front door, disheveled and flustered, sheltered by his lawyer.

“Well, I’ll be damned. How on earth did Chief Shi manage that?”

Chen Siquan hadn’t wanted to come in, but he had no choice. It was the only way to escape those “reporters.” As for the so-called reporters — they were simply friends Shi Ting had called in as a favor. They were students from a communications university located only one kilometer away.

After sitting down, Chen Siquan immediately assumed a haughty posture. No matter what Old Fan asked, he refused to say a single word. His lawyer kept interjecting that his client had every right to decline to answer.

Watching Chen Siquan and his lawyer’s arrogant behavior, Old Fan badly wanted to smack that smug, oily face with a shoe.

But with the other party refusing to cooperate, there was nothing he could do. He had encountered this type before — people who were terrified of getting into trouble and used the law as a shield to do as they pleased, knowing nothing could touch them.

“Mr. Chen, you may decline to cooperate with our investigation into Lin Yuqin. But you still have your own issues to deal with.” When Shi Ting’s voice rang out, Chen Siquan turned to look at him — and when he saw who was standing behind Shi Ting, his expression immediately changed.

It was a woman in her thirties, holding the hand of a small boy who appeared to be three or four years old. The boy was fair and chubby-cheeked, his big, innocent eyes wandering around the room curiously.

“Mr. Chen, this woman is a close friend of the deceased Lin Yuqin. She has come to file a report, alleging that you are suspected of withholding child support and that you have previously struck Lin Yuqin.”

“She — she’s talking nonsense!” Chen Siquan shouted furiously. “When did I ever hit Lin Yuqin? If anything, that woman was like a shrew — she’d start cursing at you over the slightest disagreement. The only reason I ever shoved her was because I couldn’t stand her anymore. Do you suspect I killed her? Ha — I’d have been delighted if she dropped dead sooner, but what good would killing her do me?”

“There’s certainly a benefit,” Shi Ting said, picking up on the opening immediately. “You wanted to break up with Lin Yuqin, but she refused. She used your relationship as leverage against you. To keep your job, to be free of Lin Yuqin’s harassment, and to avoid any further responsibility for the child, you killed her to resolve it all in one stroke.”

“I object.” The lawyer quickly spoke up loudly. “This is pure conjecture on your part, with absolutely no factual basis.”

Shi Ting looked at Chen Siquan with cool indifference. “Right now, this conversation is an inquiry. If your status is upgraded to that of a suspect, we have the authority to apply for an arrest warrant and conduct a formal interrogation. You can continue to refuse to cooperate — but the next result would be that everyone at SD will know their Mr. Chen was taken in by the police for questioning.”

“Are you threatening my client?”

“I’m simply stating a fact.” Shi Ting turned to Old Fan. “Old Fan — Chen Siquan has clear motive. Apply for an arrest warrant.”

“Yes, Chief Shi.”

Seeing Old Fan stand to leave, Chen Siquan immediately called out, “Fine, fine, fine! I’ll talk — ask me whatever you want. I will cooperate fully with the police.”

Old Fan blinked at Shi Ting, admiration plain in his eyes.

Shi Ting had identified Chen Siquan’s weakness with precision, and had thus forced his cooperation with apparent ease.

“Mr. Chen, this is just a simple conversation — there’s no need to bring a lawyer in with such fanfare.” Shi Ting glanced at the lawyer. “Please have this gentleman wait in one of the adjoining rooms for tea.”

The lawyer didn’t want to leave, but Chen Siquan shook his head at him. “Go on.”

After the lawyer left, Shi Ting handed Chen Siquan a cup of water. “Mr. Chen, as long as you cooperate fully with our investigation, no one can pin an unwarranted charge on you. You’ve known Lin Yuqin for years. She has now died unjustly in her own home. Regardless of whatever grievances you had with her, the dead deserve respect — those grudges are no longer worth speaking of.”

Chen Siquan nodded. After everything that had just happened, how could he not understand? His vulnerabilities had been locked in a death grip — besides cooperating, he had no other path.

The officer standing before him looked young, but was anything but easy to deal with.

—