Chapter 160: Confessions

2022-05-20

His screams were so hoarse it was like he was about to cough up his lungs.

But as I looked at Zhang Bin, something didn’t sit right. The way he’d acted before and now felt completely off. With Zhao Xiaoli still here, maybe if we brought in Wang An and Zhao Xiaoli for some cross-questioning, the whole case would finally make sense.

With that thought, I turned to Gu Chen. “Gu Chen, let him go for now. I’ve got a lot more to ask him.”

Right then, Zhang Bin started stammering, “You… you just want me dead, don’t you? Did someone pay you guys off? I can pay too! I don’t want to die…”

Zhang Bin was clearly panicked, rambling nonsense that sounded like something out of a bizarre novel. But the fear in his eyes was real, not something he could fake. Was there really some hidden truth none of us knew? Was Zhang Bin actually innocent? Yet from all the evidence and testimonies, everything pointed right back to him.

If Zhang Bin had truly applied the medicine every four days, then where were the others? Where was Du Zigui? Where was Hao Ren? And what about Zheng Shuai and Cheng Yimin?

I spoke to Gu Chen, who was making his way back. “Bring in Wang An and Zhao Xiaoli, one by one. We’ll confront them face to face.”

Gu Chen nodded and left the interrogation room.

I looked at the still-panicked Zhang Bin. “You’ve got more secrets than you’re letting on. What happened to Du Zigui?”

Every time I spoke, Zhang Bin fidgeted with his nose.

“I hope that soon,” I said, locking eyes with Zhang Bin and speaking slowly, “you’ll be able to explain yourself.”

Just then, Wang An came in first. The moment he saw Zhang Bin, he charged at him like a wild animal spotting prey. Gu Chen hadn’t expected him to move so fast—before anyone could react, Wang An’s fist slammed straight into Zhang Bin’s face with a heavy thud.

Zhang Bin was cuffed and couldn’t dodge, so he took the hit full force.

As Wang An pulled back for another swing, Gu Chen quickly scooped him up, saying, “Let’s get to the bottom of things first.”

Wang An stared daggers at Zhang Bin, his voice muffled but resolute. “There’s nothing to ask. He did it. The only thing I regret is letting him live that day. If it weren’t for that, my sister Fang Xiaoqi wouldn’t have killed herself. It was all him!”

Zhang Bin was stunned for a moment, then looked shaken. “Fang Xiaoqi… killed herself?”

Wang An gritted his teeth. “You still won’t admit it? That day in the courtyard, did you or did you not say you wouldn’t stop until you’d ruined my family? Did you or did you not say you’d go after my sister Fang Xiaoqi? If you have even a shred of courage left as a man, then tell the truth right here!”

For someone his age, Wang An was more mature than most. Tears streamed freely down his cheeks. “When I was little, none of my siblings had jobs. Dad struggled to keep us afloat. My sister Fang Xiaoqi picked up bottles just to scrape together some money. I still remember, back then, she wouldn’t even buy herself a bag of spicy chips, but every time she came to my school, she’d bring me snacks.”

“You have no idea how rough things got. If it wasn’t for my sister…” Wang An’s body shook as he held back his sobs. “If it wasn’t for her, I would’ve given up a long time ago. But with her around, I didn’t care when kids made fun of me. I didn’t care about having no new clothes or going hungry.”

“And it’s all because of you.” Wang An let out all his anger and grief.

We could all picture it clearly from Wang An’s words—a fragile yet determined girl. Maybe she wasn’t good with words, maybe she was shy, but she was unquestionably resilient. For someone so tough to choose suicide on New Year’s Eve… she must’ve been crushed by despair.

And Wang An, more than anyone, understood that kind of despair.

Facing a nine-year-old, Zhang Bin couldn’t utter a word.

Growing up has never been about age in this world.

“Say it!” Wang An roared.

Zhang Bin jerked in shock, then finally said, “I did say something like that, but I wasn’t the one who actually did it—it was your big brother, not me!”

When Zhang Bin said that, I realized things might not be so different from what I imagined. Faced with Wang An’s questioning, even as a little kid, Zhang Bin spilled the truth. Still, there were some details that didn’t quite line up with my deductions.

Three people had left with a month and a half to go before New Year’s. But after a month without any “business,” they were totally broke. It was easy to blame Hao Ren—if not for him, they could’ve scraped together a few hundred yuan and got through the holiday. It wouldn’t have been much, but at least it would’ve been something.

But with Hao Ren’s arrival, all hopes for a decent New Year were dashed.

So Zhang Bin wanted revenge.

And his way of getting back was simple: make sure Hao Ren had a miserable New Year too. The three of them kicked Hao Ren out of Xianyuan Internet Café. But no matter what they did, Hao Ren didn’t even react, let alone get angry. That drove Zhang Bin crazy. As he looked into Hao Ren, he found out Hao Ren had adopted four kids.

The oldest, Du Zigui, was working at an auto repair shop, so Zhang Bin tracked him down.

After Du Zigui’s shift, Zhang Bin and his gang ambushed him on his way home, giving him a savage beating. Still not satisfied, they dragged Du Zigui back to Zhang Bin’s place and locked him up. The plan was to call Hao Ren and lure him over.

They crashed in a shabby motel for only thirty yuan a night.

The next day, the three of them left, leaving Du Zigui alone at the house.

Du Zigui ended up becoming Zhang Bin’s third lackey, tagging along with him to get his wounds treated a few times.

But then Du Zigui seemed to get attached to Zhang Bin.

Zhang Bin just wanted Hao Ren to see what had become of his boy, to watch him break down in tears. He wasn’t doing charity—he was just keeping Du Zigui around. But Du Zigui had nowhere else to turn and stuck to Zhang Bin like glue. After a while, Zhang Bin got annoyed.

One night at a drinking table, Zhang Bin finally had enough of Du Zigui’s nonstop chatter, so he snapped, “I’m not your dad! If you’re that desperate, don’t you have a little sister—Fang Xiaoqi? I’ve heard she’s kind of cute.”

Everyone at the table burst out laughing except Du Zigui, who just went silent.

But two days later, Du Zigui came looking for them.

The moment he spoke, the laughter died in Zhang Bin and his friends.

Staring at this young man, Zhang Bin suddenly felt chills run down his spine.

From then on, the three of them never dared go back to their cheap rental room and stayed on the run, always keeping their distance from Du Zigui.

We were furious, but Zhang Bin insisted, “This has nothing to do with me! It was just a joke, something I said drunk at the table. If I said I was gonna kill a hundred people, would he really do it?”

So it really was someone close to Fang Xiaoqi—a person she knew all too well. If it was Du Zigui, then everything made perfect sense. A month later, unable to bear her inner torment, Fang Xiaoqi chose to end her life on New Year’s Eve.

Just like a firework blooming beneath the bridge.