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At that moment, Li Erdan had vanished without a trace, leaving no clue as to his whereabouts. Fortunately, his file contained his address in Dragon City, which was also the current residence of Wang Guihua. Although Li Erdan might not have any feelings left for Wang Guihua, it was likely that before he fled, he would want to see his daughter, Li Weiwei.
The task force arrived at Wang Guihua's home in Dragon City and rang the doorbell. A middle-aged woman appeared before them.
Jiang He began to observe Wang Guihua. She wore a turtleneck sweater and plain trousers, with a platinum gold necklace around her neck. Her face bore light makeup, and a hint of perfume wafted from her, giving her an air of sophistication that suggested she had the qualities of a teacher.
Yuan Jun introduced himself, and Wang Guihua allowed them to enter her home.
Wang Guihua gestured for them to sit down while she retrieved a can of black tea from the coffee table, preparing to brew it for her guests.
Old Shao spoke slowly, "You're too kind. We're here because..."
Before Old Shao could finish his sentence, Wang Guihua interjected, "I know why you are here; it's about Li Erdan, isn't it?"
It seemed as though Wang Guihua was already aware of everything. As she poured hot water into a glass cup, the aroma of the black tea filled the air. She set the kettle aside and sat on a stool, looking at them as she asked, "What has Li Erdan done?"
Old Shao nodded. "Since we've opened the conversation, I'll be straightforward. Your husband is currently suspected of murder and has fled. We want to know if he has been home recently."
Upon hearing that Li Erdan was suspected of murder, Wang Guihua showed no emotion. She turned to look at a photograph on the TV cabinet.
The others followed her gaze and saw a family portrait where Li Weiwei was riding on Li Erdan's shoulders while Wang Guihua stood beside them, holding onto Li Weiwei with a serious expression as if afraid she might fall. In contrast, both Li Weiwei and Li Erdan were grinning widely, clearly enjoying themselves.
From the photo, it was evident that this was a happy family of three.
Wang Guihua's gaze returned from the photograph as she took a gentle sip from her cup of water and said, "Around midnight last night, I heard knocking at the door—urgent knocking."
"Was it Li Erdan?" Old Shao asked.
Wang Guihua nodded and looked toward the door. "Yes. At that time, my daughter and I were already asleep. Such urgent knocking must have meant someone had an emergency. When I got up and looked through the peephole, I saw it was Li Erdan. He hadn't come back in over a year; I initially didn't want to open the door."
"But you did open it in the end," Old Shao inferred from Wang Guihua's words.
"Yes." Wang Guihua sighed, a hint of loneliness flashing in her eyes. "No matter what, I had nearly twenty years of marriage with him. When I saw his panicked expression, I knew something must have happened. After thinking it over, I decided to let him in."
At that moment, Jiang He asked, "He looked very flustered?"
"Yes," Wang Guihua replied. "He hurried in and shut the door behind him, looking like he was drenched in sweat as if he had run a long distance. I asked him what was going on and why he was in such a rush, but he didn't answer. He just told me that he needed to hide for a while and would come back once things calmed down."
"He didn't say what he was hiding from?" Old Shao inquired.
Wang Guihua shook her head slowly. "I asked him several times, but he got angry and told me that women shouldn't meddle in men's affairs."
She pointed to her face. "He slapped me hard and told me to get lost. After that, he took several thousand yuan."
Everyone looked at Wang Guihua's face; her gaze did not waver. The old tradition of keeping family scandals private seemed irrelevant to her now; she appeared accustomed to this openness.
Old Shao shifted his gaze from Wang Guihua's face and asked, "What happened next?"
"He went to the bedroom to check on Li Weiwei," Wang Guihua said expressionlessly. "After all, he is also her father. I didn't stop him; he kissed Weiwei's cheek and then pulled out a small Fluffy Bear from his pocket."
Wang Guihua glanced toward a corner of the sofa.
In that corner lay a palm-sized plush bear, looking like it had been won from a claw machine.
Wang Guihua looked at the bear and said, "He placed this bear on Weiwei's pillow and then left."
"He didn't leave anything else?" Old Shao took a sip of red tea, which tasted quite good. "Not even a word?"
Wang Guihua nodded and suddenly seemed to remember something. "He did say one thing to Weiwei."
"What was it?" Old Shao asked.
"Wang Guihua replied, 'Dad bought you your favorite Teddy Bear. Even when Dad is no longer here, she will be there to grow up with you.'
'Is that all?' Old Shao asked. 'He didn't say anything else to you?'
Wang Guihua shook her head and said, 'He only told me to take good care of Weiwei. He didn't stay at home for more than ten minutes before he left again.'
Everyone's minds began to form a picture.
Last night, Zhang De inadvertently let slip about the police coming to the crematorium. Li Erdan, who was in the group chat, caught wind of it. He knew that the police would soon investigate him, and rather than wait for his fate, he decided to flee. So he packed his things overnight, leaving behind a mess, and came to Wang Guihua.
Li Erdan was in a hurry; to leave Dragon City as quickly as possible, he borrowed several thousand yuan from his ex-wife for escape funds and then vanished without a trace. However, during his flight, Li Erdan realized he might never return, so he bought a plush Teddy Bear for his daughter on the way as a final gift.
'Did he mention where he was going?' Old Shao asked again.
Wang Guihua shook her head. 'He didn’t say a word about what was happening or where he intended to go.'
Guan Deng handed his phone to Old Shao, showing a message that read: 'Through online tracking, we found that Li Erdan did not purchase any train tickets, plane tickets, or long-distance bus tickets. It seems he knew that using his ID could lead to capture.'
Old Shao nodded and turned to Wang Guihua. After pondering for a moment, he gently asked, 'If I may ask, three years ago when you divorced Li Erdan after over a decade of marriage, why did you choose that moment? What was the reason?'
Wang Guihua looked at Old Shao and replied, 'Does this have anything to do with the case?'
Old Shao shook his head. 'It doesn't directly relate to the case, but understanding Li Erdan's life can help us deduce his mental state and determine if he is indeed the murderer.'
Wang Guihua remained silent for a moment before finally saying, 'Alright, if that's the case, I can answer. Although I was married to Li Erdan for over ten years, the time we actually spent together during those years was about the same as in recent years.'
'Li Erdan used to drive trucks?' Old Shao asked.
Wang Guihua confirmed, 'That's right. He drove trucks when he was younger until around thirty-five or thirty-six when he could no longer handle it due to health reasons. Because he drove trucks, he was almost always on the highway throughout the year and had very little time at home.'"
Wang Guihua suddenly chuckled and said, "People say distance creates beauty, and that saying is not wrong. When my parents arranged this marriage for me, I was actually against it. What era is this? Marriage should be a matter of choice, not something arranged by parents."
"That's true," Xu Yiman nodded.
Wang Guihua looked at Xu Yiman and slowly continued, "But often, freedom is not something we get to enjoy. Even though I went to high school and was considered the most educated person in the village at that time, what good is education if I still can't escape the shackles of fate?"
"I remember my brother was only in his teens when our parents started looking for a wife for him and planning to build a house. But what could we do without money?" Wang Guihua recalled twenty years ago. "Without money, the only option was to sell off our daughters. That was how things were in the countryside back then, and even now, many rural areas are still like that."
Wang Guihua became somewhat agitated. "Due to policies, if the first child is a girl, then a second child can be born. Many people think about having a daughter first and then a son. When both children grow up, they can marry off the daughter and use the bride price to help their son find a wife."
"Essentially, I am not a person; I am merely an object traded for cash," Wang Guihua said with a look of despondency. "I had no choice but to marry Li Erdan. Since we didn't see each other often, every time he came back, we got along fairly well, and he treated me kindly."
"I originally planned to live my life this way without any complaints. I didn't expect him to be cultured or able to communicate with me; as long as he treated me well and was good to my parents, that would be enough." Wang Guihua sighed, as if her heart had already died. "But everything changed a few years ago. The longer we spent together, the less we could communicate."
Wang Guihua seemed agitated, wanting to express all her grievances from these years. "I love reading classics; I enjoy Maupassant and Beckett, but he doesn't understand any of that. He prefers watching mindless war dramas and silly videos. I like a refined lifestyle and dislike too much interference from relatives, yet he always brings home his odd relatives."
"In my view, men and women are equal, but he believes women should just have children, cook, and do laundry," Wang Guihua said. "Before we lived together, it was manageable. But later on, every time he came home, there was simply no common language between us; we were fundamentally incompatible."
"He has a strong male chauvinist attitude and often resorts to violence," Wang Guihua added. "I actually wanted to divorce him long ago, but out of respect for my parents' wishes, I held back. After my parents passed away a few years ago, I could no longer endure it and decided to file for divorce."
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