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墨書 Inktalez
We drove back to the City Bureau and informed the director about the situation. The director's brows furrowed higher than Mount Everest as he hesitated, saying, "You must not arrest Hao Ren without solid evidence. You know how public opinion is these days; we must consider the people's sentiments when we act."
Gu Chen was particularly annoyed by people who couldn't separate issues clearly. He said, "It's every citizen's duty to cooperate with our investigation. What’s so special about Hao Ren? He doesn’t have extra arms or legs; why can’t we bring him in? Are you afraid those people will tear down our police station?"
The director knew we had come from Dongxing City and would eventually be reassigned, possibly to more important figures than himself in the future. Faced with Gu Chen's insistence, he didn't dare respond with a tough attitude. I understood the director's concerns and said, "Is Hao Ren still being interviewed?"
The director nodded. "Yes, I've heard about Hao Ren's deeds. They’re planning some fundraising project to help him realize his dream of opening a martial arts school. In just a short time, they’ve raised five hundred thousand. If it were in Yumu City, that would be enough to open a school. However, I think this won’t stop anytime soon; they might even reach a million."
Seeing the director's animated expression, I realized he was likely involved in the fundraising effort, perhaps feeling morally obligated. But the director wasn’t a saint; he was just an ordinary person, and most of those donating were prominent figures in Yumu City—people we would frequently encounter—unlike us who could be reassigned at any moment.
I thought for a moment and said, "In that case, let’s make it clear. Let Hao Ren have a good dream tonight; we’ll deal with it tomorrow."
The director nodded. "When there are no people around tomorrow, I’ll bring him back for you. When you open your eyes, you’ll see Hao Ren in the interrogation room. Special issues require special treatment; otherwise, it would only complicate your investigation."
I smiled but didn’t say anything.
That night as I tried to sleep, I couldn’t stop thinking about this matter. No matter how you looked at it, this incident was instigated by Zhang Bin. Subjectively or objectively, it had occurred. Perhaps in his twenty-plus years of life, Zhang Bin had never been treated as a person by anyone; after all, throughout his two decades of theft, he had always been someone everyone wanted to catch.
If that were the case, could Zhang Bin get used to it? He lived in darkness; even if he were labeled a murderer, perhaps he would eventually adapt. And what about Hao Ren? He lost his children because of Zhang Bin and stood on moral high ground to criticize him—that was also understandable.
As for the fervent crowd, if they wanted to pull Hao Ren down from that moral high ground, many wouldn’t accept it. The truth was that neither had committed murder; they merely slandered each other. If either were to serve time, it would only be for a few months.
Yet I couldn’t shake off the image of Zhang Bin’s lonely figure as he left that afternoon or his words: "Does no one believe a thief anymore?"
In such emotions, I tossed and turned until I finally fell asleep.
When I woke up the next morning, it was already ten o'clock. No one had called me, and as I got up, I saw Hao Ren walking in behind the director. Hao Ren still looked the same, but the director's attitude towards him had changed. The director led the way while Hao Ren followed behind like a leader visiting from the provincial government.
Seeing me come out, the director said, "Wu, Hao Ren is here; let’s conduct the interrogation in the conference room instead of the interrogation room—it feels different there."
Gu Chen stood nearby with a frown on his face, seemingly ready to explode at any moment.
I shook my head and replied, "Whatever works; we’re just asking some casual questions anyway. Hao Ren, just answer honestly."
Hao Ren nodded in agreement.
In the conference room.
Hao Ren looked at me, and I looked back at Hao Ren. The last time I saw Hao Ren, he was wearing a rather worn-out sweater, but now he was dressed in a high-end thin down jacket and had a new phone. At this moment, Hao Ren possessed at least a million in assets.
With that million, he could live quite comfortably in Yumu City. As for Wang An's education expenses, it seemed that Hao Ren wouldn't need to cover them anymore.
"Hao Ren," I murmured his name.
"That's me," Hao Ren nodded.
I stared at Hao Ren, suddenly feeling an inexplicable disgust: "After all the investigations, I know the whole truth now. I understand your series of tactics and what you intend to do. Fortunately for you, you've succeeded. You've always dreamed of opening a martial arts school and providing a better life for your children. You've achieved those dreams, but they are built on the lives of two deceased children."
Hao Ren looked at me calmly: "There's nothing wrong with pursuing your dreams, right? Wanting to give your children a better life is not wrong either."
I nodded seriously, resting my arms on the table and supporting my chin with my hand: "True, but do you really think you can live with yourself knowing that this happiness is built on the deaths of two children?"
Hao Ren scoffed: "No matter what happiness is built upon, happiness is happiness. My son Du Ziguo and my daughter Fang Qi can no longer enjoy that happiness, but I still have another daughter and son. I must ensure they find happiness."
"It doesn't matter how that happiness is obtained!" Hao Ren frowned: "It's still happiness. If you haven't been homeless on a cold winter night or gone hungry every day, then I can understand your words."
I smiled lightly: "Oh, I've been through that too, but I wouldn't achieve what I want through such means."
Gu Chen gently tapped the table and said: "Can you two stop going in circles? Just say what you mean."
I glanced at Hao Ren and slowly said: "What you've done is clear. When you sent Wang An to Teacher Zhao's house, you were already planning to use Teacher Zhao to help you later. You understood Wang An's character; once he learned the truth, he would seek revenge."
I shrugged: "So you left Wang An at Teacher Zhao's house hoping that Teacher Zhao would keep an eye on things. But what you didn't anticipate was that Wang An would accidentally kill Guo Feng. However, for you, this incident wasn't necessarily bad; instead, Teacher Zhao inadvertently revealed your true thoughts because of it."
"My true thoughts?" Hao Ren asked. "That indeed was my true thought."
I snorted coldly: "But you know very well how things unfolded. You should be clear about the foundation of Teacher Zhao's words. You were the one who burned down your own house; you orchestrated the whole kidnapping of Zhao Li as well. By doing this, you're merely trying to increase your moral leverage."
Hao Ren fell silent.
I continued: "Zhang Bin played only a minor role in this incident—just that one time at the dinner table. The drugs were consumed by Du Ziguo himself; it was his own actions that led to it. Later on, you must have seen Du Ziguo, and by then, he had already raped Fang Qi."
Hao Ren's body trembled slightly.
I said, "Du Ziguo revealed the truth to you. Perhaps he thinks it's Zhang Bin's fault, or maybe he believes it's his own fault, but the incident truly happened. As a father, you are devastated by such an event, yet you find it impossible to speak. Fang Qi has never been one to talk much; you're afraid that a sudden question might hurt her."
"Fang Qi, no, you also believe this matter should just pass slowly." I continued, "But you feel it cannot end like this; you want Zhang Bin to receive the punishment he deserves. Yet you also know that most of the blame lies with Du Ziguo, so you cannot call the police."
Hao Ren remained silent.
"So you devised a series of plans to cast more dirt on Zhang Bin." I locked my gaze onto Hao Ren's eyes. "You went missing, and Fang Qi mistakenly thought you were affected by this incident and chose to commit suicide on New Year's Eve. But now, there is no turning back; Fang Qi has committed suicide. If you stop now, everything will have been in vain."
"In the end, it was still Du Ziguo who provided you with a good method." I said slowly. "Fang Qi is dead, and Du Ziguo no longer wants to live either. This is the last shred of dignity Du Ziguo left in this world, isn't it? He left you a detailed plan, including instructions to post in Dongxing City and hire online trolls for publicity. It seems to have worked quite well."
"Yes, very successful." Hao Ren's brow suddenly relaxed.
I tugged at my hair. "In fact, Du Ziguo never went to find Zhang Bin at all; after recording the video, he committed suicide. He deliberately created the marks on his neck to make us believe—no, just to make the crowd think it was homicide. In reality, he stripped off his clothes and jumped into the water. He carved grooves into the ice surface just to prevent himself from drifting too far away and being discovered. It was a painful way to die, but he was willing to do it to atone for his sins."
"And the evidence," I glanced at Gu Chen.
Gu Chen took out a document and said, "Here are Du Ziguo's detailed action steps for you. What do you think?"
Hao Ren spread his hands and replied, "I don't have anything good to say; all of this is just the truth of the matter. But do you understand? It's like a speeding car; we are all caught up in its wheels and cannot stop."
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