Xu Nuo originally wanted to slip into the observation room to appreciate Fang Si Ting’s interrogation prowess, but then he was dragged straight to the interrogation table.
When Fang Si Ting finally let go of his hand, he saw a shy expression appear on that delicately powdered face, and his own expression cracked slightly.
He was getting more and more unrestrained, showing zero regard for the eyes of those around him.
Fang Si Ting rubbed his temples with a headache. “Sit properly, or get out.”
“Oh.” Xu Nuo finally settled down.
Less than three seconds later, he scooted his chair a bit closer to his idol, his hands nervously clasped between his legs.
He sneaked a glance, then blissfully pursed his lips in a smile.
What a silly fool.
Wang Guozhi looked baffled at first, then suddenly realized. “You Vice Squad Officers are so open-minded.”
The disdain and mockery in the other man’s eyes felt like knives carving up a person piece by piece, as if he had committed some grave sin—stripped naked and tossed onto the street for the most vicious finger-pointing and gossip.
“You, out first. Someone else come in.” Fang Si Ting ordered.
Xu Nuo looked up blankly and aggrievedly, then silently scooted his chair a little farther away.
“Out.”
Xu Nuo didn’t budge.
His fingers gripped the edges of the chair cushion tightly on both sides, stubbornly refusing to leave.
Fang Si Ting ignored him and curled his fingers, knocking his knuckles on the table to snap Wang Guozhi back to attention—his tone laced with clear impatience.
“Name.”
After Wang Guozhi answered a few questions, he finally began to tense up.
“What’s the deal with the insurance policy?” That very morning, they had received word that Wang Guozhi had sneaked out of the hotel and slipped back home.
They had figured he would hide or destroy some evidence, but instead, he had grabbed a document and stormed the insurance company.
“My wife and I both bought personal accident insurance. That’s normal—everyone does it. Spouses naming each other as beneficiaries? Totally standard.”
“But you’re a compulsive gambler. Lately, you’ve embezzled company funds, pocketed migrant workers’ wages, got fired and sued, can’t pay up, and you’re staring down prison time. If that policy pays out, it’s your lifeline.” Xu Nuo said. “We suspect you took out the policy on purpose, then murdered your wife to cash it in.”
“Which of your damn eyes saw that? Don’t you slander me!” Wang Guozhi slammed the table and shot to his feet, lunging to grab Xu Nuo’s collar.
A hand intercepted his faster in midair.
Xu Nuo yelped in fright and clutched his folder like a shield, his upper body shrinking back into the chair.
His eyelashes fluttered as he peeked out, revealing Fang Si Ting’s hand—veins bulging on the back, knuckles white—gripping the intruding arm tight.
He looked up in shock at him.
Fang Si Ting flung the arm aside. Wang Guozhi hit the floor hard, clutching it and howling.
“You’re law enforcement! Openly assaulting me? I’ll report you!”
He leisurely pulled a handkerchief from his suit jacket pocket and meticulously wiped the hand that had made contact.
“Mr. Wang, this room has full surveillance. Report away. You tried to assault an officer first and disrespected law enforcement personnel. That was justified self-defense. If needed, I can send you to the hospital for an injury report.”
Wang Guozhi quit his tantrum and scrambled to his feet.
“Looks like Mr. Wang’s all healed up.”
He glared daggers at the two of them, then jabbed a finger at the clearly softer target—Xu Nuo. “You slandered me first!”
“We’re simply drawing reasonable conclusions from the evidence at hand. Your fear and rage, Mr. Wang, only make you look more suspicious.” Fang Si Ting pulled a sheet from the folder.
“You had every motive to kill Li Cuicai. And you already had a plan.”
“I-I-I…” The instant Wang Guozhi saw the paper, his face drained white. “How’d you find it? I threw that thing away…”
He clamped his mouth shut—any more and he’d confess.
“Clearly you recognize it. Handwriting matches yours—we compared.”
Scribbled on the crumpled sheet were step-by-step instructions for killing Li Cuicai, with “insurance” and “5 million” repeated dozens of times.
“I wrote it as a joke.” Wang Guozhi trembled. “Did it drunk. Don’t take it seriously. Look at the handwriting—nothing like my normal stuff. Everyone rages when they’re hammered.”
“But no one acts on it.”
Fang Si Ting shooed Xu Nuo aside and stepped out from behind the table. The man scooted his butt back in terror, shaking like a leaf.
“I didn’t kill anyone! Hear me out,” Wang Guozhi choked out. “I-I’m a good man. Best kind. Never killed so much as a chicken my whole life. No way I’d murder.”
“Apologize.”
“What?”
“You tried to intimidate Officer Xu. Apologize.”
Wang Guozhi gaped in disbelief. After a long pause, he muttered, “Sorry.”
“Anything else?” Fang Si Ting asked Xu Nuo at his side.
Xu Nuo dazedly shook his head.
Wang Guozhi looked on the verge of tears. “Believe me—it wasn’t me. I didn’t write it. I wasn’t even home that night. No time for a crime.”
“You were gone to the toilet for a good long while.” Fang Si Ting said. “We checked with your buddy Lao Chen. Around 2 a.m., you stepped out for half an hour—plenty of time to zip home and back on the electric bike.”
“If that’s it, my son was gone even longer. Why not suspect him?” Wang Guozhi threw Wang Xiaojun under the bus. “He’s got way more motive for murder.”
“Wang Xiaojun left fifteen minutes ahead of you.” Fang Si Ting said. “But when you and Lao Chen went to call him, he answered.”
Lao Chen’s place was right by the public toilets. To save on power and water, he always sent guests to the outdoor ones. Over time, they might as well have been his private stalls.
The men’s room had four pits. Wang Xiaojun and Wang Guozhi took two. Lao Chen followed. He called out—they heard Wang Xiaojun respond, but nothing from Wang Guozhi.
“I-I-I was busy taking a shit, didn’t hear!” Wang Guozhi mopped sweat from his face with his sleeve. “Had the runs. Explosive diarrhea.”
Fang Si Ting stared him down.
After a beat, he rose, opened the door, and nodded to the Vice Squad Officers outside. Take him away for now.
“Expert Xu, check surveillance from Lao Chen’s place to the Wang Family along the route. See if the Wang Family electric bike shows up.”
“Midnight vehicles? What’s the point?” Not the crime window.
“Killing’s one trip. Cleanup and staging’s the other.” Fang Si Ting mused, then halted mid-stride.
The timid patter of footsteps behind him stopped too.
He turned to the man trailing him.
Xu Nuo’s face was blank, but he sniffed, and aggrieved tears welled slowly in his eyes.
Fang Si Ting’s lips twitched stiffly.
He glanced around—the hallway was packed with gawkers. He yanked Xu Nuo into his office.
Door barely shut, Xu Nuo released his hand.
“I thought after last night… You find me disgusting too. Don’t like me.” The words poured out, more aggrieved by the second, tears streaming unchecked.
“I don’t.” When had he ever?
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep my distance from now on. Promise I won’t crowd you.” His voice came out hoarse and strained, pitiful in its restraint.
“Fine if they hate me. But you too?”
“I’ve always known—my personality rubs people wrong. They all laugh, call me a sissy.”
“Don’t cry.” Fang Si Ting offered his handkerchief, then remembered he’d just wiped his hand with it. He started to pocket it again, but an orchid-fingered hand snatched it midway.
Xu Nuo sniffed it delicately at nose and lips, too attached to soil it with tears. He tucked it carefully into his pocket—exactly as Fang Si Ting had folded it—then pitifully dabbed at his eye corners.
A facial tissue appeared before him.
Xu Nuo glanced up, peeking sidelong. His damp face glowed radiantly, those eyes so bright they dazzled. Specially arched brows furrowed shyly at him—coquettish, accusatory.
He hesitated, twisted coyly, then snatched the tissue and dabbed his tears with downcast eyes.
“Today was my bad. Spoke without thinking. Caused trouble.” His voice was thick and nasal, tugging at the heart.
“You’ve been out on assignments—no interrogation experience.” Fang Si Ting paused. “He picks on the soft ones anyway.”
“You really think Wang Guozhi cleaned the scene?”
“Not sure. Evidence will tell.” Fang Si Ting said. “Long road ahead. Head out for now—study up with the team.”
“Mm.” Xu Nuo patted his cry-stiffened cheeks, powdered up with his compact till he looked perfect again, then sauntered out with a smile.
Moments later, Peng Xiaoxiao arrived with dinner—and the team’s gossip reconnaissance mission.
Fang Si Ting clocked her smirking face and braced for it.
“You two. Spill.”
“Nothing to spill.” Fang Si Ting buried himself in paperwork, cool as ice.
“Nothing? He leaves your office eyes red from crying?”
“Privacy.”
Peng Xiaoxiao tsked. “You aren’t seriously transferring him as your partner, are you?”
“Depends.”
“At this rate?” She grinned wickedly. “Just a matter of time.”
“Busy yourself elsewhere. No speculating.” Fang Si Ting’s frown deepened, his stern mouth icing over.
Peng Xiaoxiao blinked in surprise. Had she misread him?
She did three seconds of mock self-criticism—like a kid before the principal—then doubled down.
Stubborn as hell.
His flat affect killed the vibe. She patted her skirt and stood. “Xu An dug up something. Let’s check it.”
In Xu An’s office, he was buzzing. “Knew what bugged me. Sister Xiaoxiao mentioned left-handed—I flashed on this guy from a recent case. Not lefty, but fits.”
His tablet displayed Wu Hao’s gaunt mug.
“Li Cuicai claimed no connection—just good Samaritans to the hospital. Left-handed talk? Too neat. So I pulled her deleted WeChat logs. Boom—history.”
Xu An’s rig was a monster screen ringed by five or six minis. One keyboard smack, and RGB lights blasted from keys across desk, floor, walls—like a rave in a nightclub every time he typed.
“Logs prove it: years back, Li Cuicai and Wu Hao dated on the sly. She married Wang Guozhi, cut ties. He struck it rich subcontracting sites—flush for a bit.”
“Damn, blanked on him.” Tang Shen said. “I even took his hospital statement.”
“Her wounds: shallow left, deep right, edges ragged. We pegged lefty amateur. But right-handers with a bum right hand? Forced lefty attack.” Xu An explained.
“Nice one, shortstack. You nailed him.” Tang Shen said.
“Psh, early days.” Xu An flushed at the praise.
“Round up the team—let’s see.” Fang Si Ting said.
Look close, and distraction flickered in his eyes.
