Duan Hongwen was summoned to the police station, leaving only Wei Zhenzhu at home. This was partly to separate the two, and partly because Huo Ranyin, after hearing Wen Yangyang’s earlier description, believed that Wei Zhenzhu was a relatively sensitive person and a familiar environment would be conducive to conversation.
Upon entering, Ji Xun noticed that most of the shoes in the shoe cabinet were men’s. It wasn’t a collection of running shoes; they were mostly for daily wear. In this couple, one was a full-time housewife and the other a writer who worked from home. Based on general experience, a woman’s shoe collection usually outnumbers a man’s.
“You don’t mind if I look around, do you?” Ji Xun asked.
A flicker of something passed through Wei Zhenzhu’s eyes. She didn’t refuse, but her expression was cold. “You can.”
She wasn’t just like this with Ji Xun; even when facing the stunningly handsome Huo Ranyin, she was the same—cold, restrained, and very distant. But when it came to Wen Yangyang, it was a different treatment altogether. Wen Yangyang was proactively invited to sit on the sofa, and then served tea and fruit, with everything provided.
“…”
It was quite surprising to be disliked so openly for the first time. But considering Huo Ranyin was getting the same treatment, perhaps it wasn’t a personal failing, but the failing of being male.
Ji Xun rubbed his nose and left Wei Zhenzhu to Wen Yangyang for questioning, while he walked around.
He went to the bathroom first.
The bathroom confirmed the suspicion Ji Xun had upon entering. Wei Zhenzhu’s cosmetics consisted of only a simple, inexpensive facial cleanser. Forget makeup, she didn’t even have toner or lotion, which explained why she looked so old at only 41. In contrast, Duan Hongwen lived a much more refined life, with men’s facial cleanser, an expensive razor, skincare products, and multiple brands of hand cream.
The study was entirely Duan Hongwen’s domain. He had his own dual-screen desktop computer, a laptop, and a tablet. Since the desk was the messiest place in the entire house, Ji Xun, also a writer, knew that this kind of mess was, in a way, a stubborn refusal to let anyone move a single piece of paper. Duan Hongwen’s mess was his flamboyant way of marking his territory.
The chair was expensive, and of course, there was only one, even though the desk was large. There was a folding chair in the corner, which probably belonged to Wei Zhenzhu. The bookshelf was filled with books, but they clearly had nothing to do with Wei Zhenzhu either.
Wei Zhenzhu’s computer was a rather old laptop, placed by her bed.
The couple’s spending power seemed to perfectly reflect their respective incomes. Or rather, despite Wei Zhenzhu’s considerable effort as a full-time housewife to keep the home clean and tidy, she remained an invisible person.
And her husband wanted to hire someone to kill a woman like this…
Why?
It’s strange, isn’t it? Why would a master hire someone to kill a slave? Ji Xun pondered. Clearly, perpetually possessing a slave named ‘wife’ under the guise of marriage would be more in line with Duan Hongwen’s interests.
In the living room, under Wen Yangyang’s dual approach of gentleness and firmness, Wei Zhenzhu seemed to shrink back, saying apologetically, “I’m sorry, I didn’t tell the truth yesterday… Actually, I saw him because I was following my husband.”
Wen Yangyang’s expression turned serious. “Your husband appeared under the overpass at 11:12 AM and spoke with a man named Zhu Huan. He is not Mo Nai. After that, your husband parted ways with this person and did not go to the KTV. It’s impossible for you to have seen Mo Nai by following your husband.”
Wei Zhenzhu picked up a cup of tea and lowered her head.
Perhaps all submissive women have a similar appearance, always with their heads down, their backs hunched, their voices small, and too afraid to express their own opinions. “I saw Zhu Huan. I followed Zhu Huan the whole time, and then I saw them, him and Mo Nai…”
“So what?” Wen Yangyang’s tone grew sterner. “There’s nothing strange about your husband talking to another man under an overpass, is there?”
More silence.
Was it a silence of contemplation, or of cowardice?
Ji Xun looked at Wei Zhenzhu, thinking silently. He felt that the woman before him was shrouded in a thin fog. The slightest carelessness could lead to missing something—these omissions could be important, or they could be trivial, but missing things was always very unpleasant.
“Actually…” Wei Zhenzhu spoke, her voice still thin and calm. “I know my husband wants to kill me. I saw my husband transfer money to Zhu Huan, which is why I was following Zhu Huan the whole time.”
Wen Yangyang was momentarily dumbfounded.
Even Ji Xun and Huo Ranyin, standing nearby, were deeply surprised.
They had known about Duan Hongwen’s murderous intent after interrogating Zhu Huan. At the time, they had assumed his wife was unaware of it; otherwise, it made no sense for her to remain silent in front of the police. Summoning Duan Hongwen to the station for questioning this morning was also intended to reprimand him, understand why he had the thought of killing, and extinguish that thought.
Perhaps having finally given a reason, Wei Zhenzhu re-narrated her movements from yesterday.
She said she followed her husband out at 10 AM, saw him with Zhu Huan at 11 AM, then Zhu Huan probably went for lunch around 12 PM, so she also left for a while to eat. She returned to the overpass in the afternoon and saw Zhu Huan and Mo Nai get into a car around 5:30 PM. She took a taxi and followed them, saw Zhu Huan get out midway at an ATM, and then return to the car, which finally arrived at the KTV. She didn’t recognize Mo Nai when he got in the car; it was only when he got out and hid in a small alley that she recognized him as the fugitive.
“After that, I went to buy groceries. Officer, I wasn’t lying about that.”
“Wait, you knew your husband wanted to kill you, so why didn’t you call the police—” Wen Yangyang blurted out. “I was here yesterday, and you even spoke with me alone!”
“That’s not so strange, is it?” Wei Zhenzhu lifted her head.
She smiled, every wrinkle on her sallow face etched with helplessness.
She was only forty-one this year, but she looked fifty, or sixty, as if she had long lost interest in life.
“It’s been said in books for a long time, marriage is the tomb of love. Even the most loving couples have countless moments in their lives when they want to kill each other. It’s just that some people act on it, and some don’t,” Wei Zhenzhu said. “My husband… just acted on it. But in a society ruled by law, killing isn’t that easy, so I thought… maybe he’ll be fine once his impulsive moment passes.”
It was strange.
Really strange.
Ji Xun unconsciously took two steps to the side, arriving at the balcony outside the living room, where Huo Ranyin was standing.
“Why aren’t you inside?” Ji Xun asked a redundant question. It was obvious that given Wei Zhenzhu’s aversion to men, Huo Ranyin had surely come out alone to allow her to relax as much as possible.
As expected, Huo Ranyin glanced at him, too lazy to even answer.
“Got any candy? I need something sweet to stimulate my brain cells,” Ji Xun asked again. Before Huo Ranyin could speak, he reached out his hand, stuck it into the other’s pocket, and pulled out a piece of candy.
“Ha, you actually have some.”
“…………”
Caught off guard, Huo Ranyin shot out a hand and seized Ji Xun’s wrist.
Ji Xun didn’t resist. Huo Ranyin held his hand, while he held the candy. His hand felt like a trinket hanging from Huo Ranyin’s palm, swaying limply.
“It’s just one piece of your candy, no need to be so stingy, right?”
“…Don’t touch me when I’m not prepared,” Huo Ranyin said, then after a thought, added, “Especially during work hours.”
“Captain Huo,” Ji Xun said righteously, “it is precisely because we are working together that some contact is inevitable. This instance right now is just a preliminary drill.”
At that moment, a piercing gaze was cast from the front.
Ji Xun followed the line of sight and saw Wei Zhenzhu in the living room, looking at them with disgust.
When their eyes met, the woman turned her face away again and spoke in a low voice, still soft and gentle, but the revulsion in her eyes when she had looked over was so sharp that even now, Ji Xun could still feel a prickly sensation on his skin.
He looked thoughtfully at his hand, which was being held by Huo Ranyin, and reflected on himself. “…Do we really look that sickening? To the point of making someone feel nauseous?”
Huo Ranyin let go of his hand.
Ji Xun tore open the candy wrapper, popped the candy into his mouth, and the sweet taste stimulated his brain.
His brain cells began to jump, as if a group of fleas were holding a jumping competition in his mind. But the competition had no conclusion for the time being, until he saw a little girl run out of a room.
The little girl was only five years old, holding a picture book in her hands.
She ran quickly, her feet thumping on the floor, but she didn’t make a single sound.
She threw herself into Wei Zhenzhu’s arms, holding the picture book up high, as if asking her mother to solve some puzzle.
Wei Zhenzhu wrapped one arm around her daughter and smiled apologetically at Wen Yangyang. “This is my daughter, Changchang. She has a hearing impairment and can’t speak yet.”
“Your daughter is so cute,” Wen Yangyang praised.
“So getting married is still a good thing,” Wei Zhenzhu said suddenly. “Get married while you’re young. A capable woman like Officer Wen will surely find a good husband, and then your life will be settled. A woman’s youth doesn’t come twice. Although work is good, if you miss this chance, you won’t get another…”
“…???” Wen Yangyang looked completely bewildered.
While chatting with Wen Yangyang, Wei Zhenzhu didn’t notice the little girl.
Children who cannot speak are always at a disadvantage, unable to announce their presence through sound.
At first, Changchang’s eyes darted between Wei Zhenzhu and Wen Yangyang. Soon, she got bored and started counting on her fingers, then opening and closing her mouth.
She opened and closed her mouth, making no sound, just opening and closing, opening and closing.
Ji Xun stared intently at that mouth.
After the questioning with Wei Zhenzhu ended and the three returned to the police car, Wen Yangyang was still immersed in shock. She asked, uncomprehending, “Teacher Ji, she said her husband wants to kill her, so why is she still advising me to get married?”
“Not only does her husband want to kill her, he also regularly abuses her.”
“Ah—?!”
Ji Xun sighed. “Probably because their daughter has a hearing impairment, Duan Hongwen and Wei Zhenzhu’s arguments are unscrupulously displayed in front of her, and their daughter is unconsciously repeating their lip movements. Just now, with her back to you, she was saying, ‘Stop hitting me, please, husband, stop hitting me.'”
Wen Yangyang’s shock intensified. “…Is that why she seems a bit androphobic?”
“Hard to say.”
The more Wen Yangyang thought about it, the more her anger burned. “No, I’m going right now to ask if she has any remaining injuries. We can take her to the hospital for an examination so that garbage man can be brought to justice!”
Huo Ranyin rationally stopped her. “If she needed help, she would have hinted at it just now.”
Ji Xun was more realistic. “Do you think there will definitely be injuries? And even if there are, can they definitely be attributed to Duan Hongwen? It’s harder to file a case for domestic violence than for r*pe, because the vast majority of people in this situation choose silence and forbearance. That way, at least on the surface, they still look presentable and avoid being gossiped about by others. It seems that although they suffer pain, they get to keep their dignity—and this also makes it impossible to preserve evidence, immediately putting them at a disadvantage in legal terms, making us police look useless in determining domestic violence cases. This ironic and absurd phenomenon exists entirely because of society’s harsh moral and mental criticism and control of women. Compared to this, Zhu Huan’s recording at least gives us a reason to criticize and educate him.”
Wen Yangyang was so angry she started to hiccup.
She began to indiscriminately lash out with sentiments like “all men in the world are idiots”—
Huo Ranyin and Ji Xun wisely remained silent, pretending they didn’t exist, letting the furious young woman vent her anger all at once.
Finally, her police instincts calmed her down. Wen Yangyang said apologetically, “I’m sorry, Captain, Teacher Ji, I was too angry and lost my composure just now. But I still feel like Wei Zhenzhu’s testimony is a bit strange.”
Ji Xun wagged his finger. “It seems you’re very sensitive to time-based testimony.”
Huo Ranyin, unlike him, didn’t speak in riddles but said directly, “Wei Zhenzhu said she saw Zhu Huan get in the car to go to the KTV at 5:30. The autopsy report states that Xiao Man died between 5:00 and 5:30. If what Zhu Huan said is true, that he slept until you showed up after having s*x with Xiao Man, then he should have been at the KTV from 5:00 to 7:00.”
“—In other words, Zhu Huan lied, and there is something suspicious about Xiao Man’s death.”
