Chapter 159: From Cocky to Cornered

2022-05-20

Zhang Bin pretended to play dead on the floor, hoping to muddy the waters and stir up conflict among us. But in this soundproof office, no matter how loud he acted, his voice couldn’t reach beyond these walls. Realizing that clowning around and faking death weren’t getting him anywhere, Zhang Bin awkwardly picked himself up and sat on the sofa.

The reason he dared to mess around in front of us proved he didn’t think we’d really take him in—at worst, he probably expected another ten-day or two-week stint like last time.

But was Zhang Bin just reckless and shameless, not caring about anything, or was this exactly what I suspected?

“Come with us,” I said, fixing my gaze on Zhang Bin.

At last, his playful expression faded. He seemed to suddenly realize this wasn’t a joke. Gripping the sofa so hard the veins bulged on his hand, he demanded, “What’s going on? What crime did I commit? Why are you arresting me? I didn’t do anything, it was all voluntary!”

We hadn’t even questioned him yet, but Zhang Bin was already confessing to details we didn’t know. His outburst was actually quite helpful to us. At that moment, I was determined to bring him in for questioning—though I let none of that show on my face.

Most of the time, when we observe someone, they’re watching us too. In an interrogation, you can never let them read your mind. No matter if you get good or bad news, your poker face has to stay on point.

We had to act like we knew everything—a godlike presence—so the pressure would crack him.

Gu Chen clamped a hand on Zhang Bin’s shoulder and said, “Let’s go.”

In the interrogation room.

Zhang Bin sat there, sullen but not the least bit nervous. He’d warmed that seat many times before, and this time, for any of the cases he’d touched, there was more than enough to nail him.

“Let’s hear it,” I said to him. “You know why we’ve brought you in.”

“I know,” Zhang Bin shot back. “But I’m not the one who did it. What’s the point of arresting me? Go catch the real culprit.”

I frowned, silently noting his indifference. He had no clue how little we actually knew, assuming we were already in on everything. His cryptic words didn’t even tell me which case he meant.

Why did Zhang Bin claim it wasn’t him? The “he” mentioned in Fang Xiaoqi’s suicide note—we’d guessed wasn’t Zhang Bin. But did that mean he wasn’t the one who attacked Zhao Xiaoli either? We had solid evidence and testimony. Unless Zhang Bin thought Zhao Xiaoli was still in that house?

Gu Chen and Guan Zengbin stayed quiet, waiting for my next move.

Since I wasn’t sure what Zhang Bin meant, I could only ask, “Just how deep does your grudge with Hao Ren run, to push you to this? You haven’t calmed down at all since getting out, have you?”

Zhang Bin shot me a nasty glare. “Nobody cared, but he has to butt in. I know his type—talks about justice and heroics, but he just wants the spotlight. Look at those videos online, look at the newspapers—they’ve made me out to be some kind of monster.”

He was furious, forgetting that he wasn’t exactly a model citizen himself.

As Zhang Bin vented his grievances, Guan Zengbin had already pulled up online news from over a month ago in Yumu City. He handed me the phone, and right there in the headline: ‘Internet Café Security Guard Braves Thief, Aims to Promote Martial Arts.’

Scrolling through the photos, I saw Hao Ren’s face—clearly taken right at Xianyuan Internet Café. A lot of people had recorded the incident, and the comments were filled with nothing but praise for Hao Ren and scorn for Zhang Bin.

Seeing us browsing stories about him, Zhang Bin snapped, “Now everyone in Yumu City recognizes me. When we first got out, people pointed at us on the street—we hid for ages before daring to show our faces again.”

“Hiding?” Gu Chen scoffed at Zhang Bin’s complaints. “You’re no stranger to being locked up. The moment you went to Xianyuan Internet Café, Hao Ren could have stayed on the job, but you had to stir things up.”

Grinding his teeth, Zhang Bin admitted, “Fine, I did it. But how was he any better? Even when the victim didn’t report it, he couldn’t mind his own business.”

Gu Chen shrugged. “There’s no talking sense into people like you. Did you ever ask the boss for Hao Ren’s address? Was chasing him out of town not enough—did you really want to wreck his entire family?”

“I wasn’t satisfied,” Zhang Bin said. “He got all the praise, we got all the blame.”

“So you barged into his house and threatened his two kids?” I pressed, watching Zhang Bin grow more agitated.

Gu Chen followed up, “Didn’t work out, did it? Got stabbed twice by a kid.”

Hearing that, Zhang Bin blushed. Back at the hospital, the attending doctor had told us Zhang Bin claimed a madman attacked him. Truth was, he was too embarrassed to admit he’d been knifed by a second-grader.

Zhang Bin spat, “That brat was trouble the moment I laid eyes on him—if I could just get my hands on him…”

Gu Chen slammed a hand on the table. “What more do you want? You torched Hao Ren’s house and still show no remorse?”

“I set Hao Ren’s house on fire?” Zhang Bin frowned, looking at us in disbelief. “When did I do that? I never burned his house down.”

Gu Chen let out a cold snort, still glaring at Zhang Bin. “Cut the crap. The owner of Xianyuan Internet Café said you threatened to burn down Hao Ren’s home.”

Zhang Bin yelled, “That’s slander! None of it’s true! I never did it!”

With a thunderous smack on the table, Gu Chen barked, “Act tough burning houses but cower now? If you didn’t do it, did Hao Ren torched his own home? Just because Wang An slashed your arm, you held a grudge. When the family was out, you and a couple others burned their house to the ground. Have you been back? It’s all ashes now. In the middle of New Year’s, where’s their family supposed to live?”

Gu Chen was clearly furious. “And what about Zhao Xiaoli? She’s an eighteen-year-old girl—how could you do that to her?”

“Zhao Xiaoli?” Zhang Bin stared at the enraged Gu Chen and protested, “What about her? I’ve been looking for her and she’s nowhere to be found.”

That was the last straw for Gu Chen. He rushed over, grabbing Zhang Bin by the collar, each word icy cold. “You better come clean and tell us how you kidnapped Zhao Xiaoli and what you did to her—or you know what’s coming.”

Cuffed and pinned back, Zhang Bin desperately tried to shrink away but Gu Chen’s grip was like iron. He couldn’t move an inch.

Gone was his former swagger—now panic contorted his face, veins bulging as he stammered, “I get it, I get it! Something’s gone down and you need a scapegoat, right? I know how this works! You all pick on me because I’m an easy mark! You want to pin this on me!”

He started screaming at the top of his lungs, “Help! Help! I’m not the killer!”