Chapter 170: Wheels in Motion

2022-05-20

I knew what was on everyone’s mind right now, so I said, “Is Hao Ren still being interviewed?”

“Yeah, ever since everyone heard about what he did, there’s talk of starting some fundraising project. They want to help Hao Ren make his dream of opening a martial arts school come true. Apparently, in just a short time, they’ve already raised half a million. That’d be more than enough to open a school in Yumu City. But I doubt they’ll stop anytime soon—they might even hit a million.”

I figured he must have joined in on the donations, too.

After thinking for a moment I said, “If that’s the case, let’s wait until tomorrow. Let Hao Ren have a good dream tonight. We’ll deal with it in the morning.”

“Tomorrow, when things quiet down, I’ll bring him back for you. When you all wake up, Hao Ren will be right there in the interrogation room—sound good? Special problems need special solutions, right? Otherwise it’s just making your investigation harder.”

I just smiled and didn’t reply.

I couldn’t stop thinking about it as I tried to sleep that night. No matter what, this whole mess started because of Zhang Bin. One way or another, it happened. Maybe in his twenties, Zhang Bin never had anyone truly treat him like a person. For as long as I can remember he’s always been treated like an outcast.

Maybe that’s just the world Zhang Bin knows. He lives in the shadows. Hao Ren, on the other hand, lost his own children because of Zhang Bin. It’s only natural for him to stand on the moral high ground and judge Zhang Bin, isn’t it?

But as for those diehard supporters—if anyone tried to drag Hao Ren off that moral high ground, a lot of people just wouldn’t accept it. The simple truth is, neither of them killed anyone. They just tore each other down.

Still, I couldn’t help recalling that lonely figure of Zhang Bin as he left that afternoon, or the words he’d said: “So, a thief’s words don’t count for anything?”

With thoughts like that swirling through my head, somehow I managed to fall asleep.

When I woke up the next morning it was already ten. No one bothered to wake me, and just as I was getting up, Hao Ren walked in. He looked just like always, but people treated him differently now. Little Wu followed right behind him.

As soon as he saw me come out, Little Wu said, “Hey, Hao Ren’s here. Let’s do the interview in the conference room. The interrogation room always feels a little… off, don’t you think?”

Gu Chen stood by, frowning, looking like he might snap any second.

I shook my head and answered, “Either way is fine. We’re just going to ask some questions. Hao Ren, just answer honestly.”

Hao Ren nodded.

In the conference room.

Hao Ren watched me, and I watched him. The last time I saw him he wore an old, worn-out sweater. Now he was sitting there in a fancy, lightweight down jacket, phone upgraded, too. Hao Ren’s net worth had hit at least a million.

A fortune like that could let anyone live pretty well in Yumu City. And he wouldn’t need to worry about Wang An’s tuition anymore, either.

“Hao Ren,” I murmured, repeating his name.

“That’s me,” he replied with a nod.

I looked at Hao Ren. Suddenly a wave of disgust rolled through me. “I’ve learned the truth. Every trick you’ve pulled, every plan, I’ve figured it out. Lucky for you, you succeeded. You’ve wanted your own martial arts school for ages, and you’ve been dreaming of a better life for your kids. You got it all—just built it on the backs of two dead children.”

Hao Ren met my gaze, calm as ever. “Is it wrong to chase your dreams? Is it wrong to want a better life for your kids?”

I nodded, resting my arm on the table and my chin in my hand. “Sure, it’s not wrong. But if your happiness depends on two dead children, can you really live with that?”

Hao Ren gave a bitter laugh. “Does it matter how happiness is built? Happiness is happiness. My son Du Zigui and my daughter Fang Xiaoqi are gone; they’ll never have that happiness. But I still have another daughter and another son. I have to make sure they get it.”

“No matter how I achieve that happiness!” Hao Ren’s brow furrowed. “It’s all happiness. If you’ve never spent a freezing night homeless, if you’ve never gone to bed starving—then I get why you’d say this.”

I smiled. “Who says I haven’t? But that doesn’t mean I’d do what you did to get what I want.”

Gu Chen lightly tapped the table and said, “Can you two stop going in circles? Just say what you want to say.”

I glanced at Hao Ren and spoke slowly. “Let’s get into everything you did. When you sent Wang An to Ms. Zhao, you were already planning to use her to help you. You knew what Wang An’s personality was like—once he found out, he’d go out of his mind for revenge.”

I shrugged. “So you left Wang An with Ms. Zhao, hoping she would see what was happening. But what you didn’t expect was for Wang An to accidently kill Guo Feng. Not that it was a bad thing for you—Ms. Zhao then confessed everything you’d wanted her to.”

“The things I wanted her to say?” Hao Ren asked. “That’s right, those were my true thoughts.”

I snorted. “But you knew what was really going on. You knew exactly what Ms. Zhao was basing her words on. You burned your own house, and you orchestrated the whole Zhao Xiaoli act.”

Hao Ren said nothing.

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I pressed on. “Zhang Bin only played one part in all this—at the dinner table. After that, you definitely met Du Zigui.”

Hao Ren’s body gave a slight tremble.

I said, “Du Zigui told you the truth. Maybe he blamed Zhang Bin, maybe he blamed himself, but either way, it really happened. As a father, what happened devastated you, but you didn’t know how to talk about it. Fang Xiaoqi never spoke much, and you were afraid that asking suddenly would hurt her.”

“Fang Xiaoqi stayed quiet, and you thought, maybe things could just move on. But you couldn’t let it go. You wanted Zhang Bin to pay. At the same time, you knew most of it was Du Zigui’s fault, so you couldn’t call the police.”

Hao Ren stayed silent.

“So you planned a whole series of moves to drag Zhang Bin further down. You went missing—Fang Xiaoqi thought you’d learned the truth and was crushed, so she chose to end her life on New Year’s Eve. But it was too late to turn back. Once Fang Xiaoqi had taken her own life, if you stopped then, everything would have been for nothing.”

“In the end, Du Zigui showed you a good way out.” I said softly. “Fang Xiaoqi died. Du Zigui didn’t want to live either. That was his last bit of dignity. He left you a detailed plan—including posting online in Dongxing City, hiring people to hype it up online. And looking at it now, it worked.”

“Yeah. It worked,” Hao Ren said, his face finally relaxing.

I ran my fingers through my hair. “The truth is, Du Zigui never went to see Zhang Bin. After recording his video, he ended his own life. He purposefully left marks around his neck to make everyone think it was murder—not really for us, but for the people watching. But he actually drowned himself. He even cut grooves into the ice so his body wouldn’t drift too far and disappear. It was a painful way to go, but he did it to atone.”

“And the evidence,” I said, nodding at Gu Chen.

Gu Chen pulled out a file. “Here are the detailed steps Du Zigui sent you. Got anything to say?”

Hao Ren just spread his hands. “Nothing to say. You’ve said it all. You know, it’s like being in a car speeding down the highway—none of us can get off. Once those wheels start turning, there’s no stopping them.”