Chapter 66: Ordinary

Qiong Cang picked up her phone and sent a text, then sat quietly waiting. Ten minutes later, He Jueyun walked in carrying breakfast in one hand.

Even Hong Jun began to study her with a strange look, unable to guess what she was up to.

He Jueyun set the food down, and Qiong Cang said politely to Hong Jun, “What do you like to eat? Help yourself.”

When Hong Jun didn’t move, Qiong Cang took two bags for herself and sat across the table from him, eating leisurely with He Jueyun.

The aroma of steamed buns began to drift through the air, slightly dispelling the cold, solemn atmosphere of the interrogation room.

Hong Jun sat there listlessly, looking like someone whose mind was miles away.

Qiong Cang finally spoke. “Do you know why we brought you in?”

Hong Jun nodded.

“There’s no way you don’t know Ding Tao,” Qiong Cang said. “But I understand why you did it. You just didn’t want to get into trouble. I can let it slide this once, but I hope you’ll tell me the truth from now on.”

Hong Jun’s voice was hoarse, and he sounded completely drained of energy. “Are you trying to say I killed him?”

“We’re still investigating,” Qiong Cang replied. “Personally, I don’t think you did. There are too many discrepancies, and the logic doesn’t quite fit together. But I’ll be frank with you: the current evidence points heavily to you.”

Hong Jun frowned slightly, the wrinkles on his face shifting. “Because I was the one who found Ding Tao’s body?”

“Ding Tao died of a sleeping pill overdose.”

Qiong Cang lifted a white plastic bag and tossed it onto the center of the table. Inside the knotted bag were several boxes of medication, with the hospital’s prominent logo printed on the front.

“We searched your home with a warrant. This bag contains a hospital receipt, proving you got these filled three days ago. The medications inside match the receipt perfectly, except for the diazepam. The doctor prescribed you a seven-day supply of sleeping pills, and you went to another hospital to get fifteen more tablets. With that much medication, there’s no way you’ve taken it all. So, where are the pills?”

A dark gleam flashed in Hong Jun’s eyes, and his heavy, drooping eyelids opened a fraction wider. He turned his head to stare at the security camera, his nostrils flaring slightly. Anyone could see that his attitude had undergone a drastic shift.

Qiong Cang cracked her knuckles, observing his reaction. “Did you kill him?” she asked.

Hong Jun suddenly fell silent.

Qiong Cang ran her tongue over her teeth. After a moment of thought, she added, “We also found the murderer’s footprints at the scene, which confirm they were wearing the standard-issue shoes distributed to sanitation workers. If you don’t cooperate with us, you will become our prime suspect.”

Hong Jun closed his eyes, completely shutting out her interrogation.

Qiong Cang took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair, wondering what she had said wrong.

He Jueyun tilted his head and stared at the ceiling. He had a vague feeling that he had grasped the key to this, but he couldn’t quite put it into words.

“Are you really satisfied with this?” Qiong Cang narrowed her eyes, testing him. “Hong Jun, you’ve worked hard and kept your head down for twelve years. Are you really satisfied taking the fall for Ding Tao’s murder just to protect someone else?”

The corner of Hong Jun’s mouth twitched in a faint, barely noticeable trace of self-mockery.

Qiong Cang had never met such an inscrutable man. She couldn’t help but glance at He Jueyun. The latter was standing with his arms crossed, and having apparently gotten a stiff neck, he tilted his head the other way, looking rather silly.

Qiong Cang looked back at Hong Jun. “You must have someone in mind who could get their hands on your sleeping pills. They knew you suffer from chronic insomnia, and they knew you got a half-month supply of diazepam. They knew your work route, your working hours, and even your shoe size. I’m sure you two are connected.”

Qiong Cang tapped the table rhythmically. “Is it because they killed Ding Tao for you, so you feel grateful and are willing to take the blame? But did you know they deliberately left clear footprints to frame you, and even chose a crime scene right on your work route? Their intention was never to help you. There’s no need to return good for evil.”

To Qiong Cang’s surprise, Hong Jun still didn’t react.

If she didn’t already know that Hong Jun had no family left, she would have suspected the perpetrator was a close relative, given how fiercely he was protecting them.

But did Shen Sui really have that close of a relationship with him?

Qiong Cang clicked her tongue. Since this confrontation was going nowhere, she simply pulled out a file and tossed it onto the middle of the table.

Several photographs were tucked inside the folder.

“I know it wasn’t you. The police aren’t as incompetent as you think, and securing a conviction is a much more rigorous process than you realize.”

“This photo shows the footprint confirmed to belong to the murderer. Although the tread pattern matches the standard-issue shoes given to sanitation workers, the print itself clearly shows it was made by a brand-new pair. And you haven’t requested a new pair of shoes recently.”

Qiong Cang pointed at the image, her gaze locked onto Hong Jun.

“Everyone walks differently, which wears down shoes in unique ways and leaves distinct marks on the ground. Based on the old shoes we found at your house, you walk with a relatively straight gait. The murderer, however, walks slightly splay-footed. You couldn’t possibly have been careful enough to fake that.”

Hong Jun wavered slightly, his eyes shifting as he followed her words, seemingly trying to recall something.

Qiong Cang continued, “Furthermore, a large foot squeezed into a small shoe leaves a different print than a small foot in a large shoe. According to our experts’ preliminary analysis, the shoe itself was a size 43, but the person wearing it actually has feet larger than a size 43. We can easily call in the country’s top footprint analysis expert. He can calculate the perpetrator’s height to within two centimeters. Stalling for time here won’t change a thing.”

Hong Jun’s expression shifted once more, but this time, he looked bewildered. His mouth parted slightly and he tilted his head to the side, lost in confused thought.

Qiong Cang raised an eyebrow.

He Jueyun stared at Hong Jun, thoughtfully stroking his chin, before suddenly asking, “You didn’t actually have an affair with Shen Sui, did you?”

Hong Jun reacted slowly, asking, “What nonsense are you talking about?”

He Jueyun said, “Otherwise, why would you take the blame for her? Isn’t your silence just to protect Shen Sui?”

Hong Jun finally understood, saying angrily, “Why would I take the blame for her? Is there even a single decent person in that Ding family?”

His reaction was genuine, showing no signs of pretense. Qiong Cang’s eyes widened, and she looked at He Jueyun in pleasant surprise.

He Jueyun shrugged.

Qiong Cang’s voice grew assertive once more.

“Because Shen Sui, Ding Tao’s wife, is the most suspicious person besides you,” Qiong Cang said, emphasizing every single word. “We have already gathered some evidence that proves Shen Sui was involved. This is how we’ve reconstructed the crime: Last night, when Ding Tao returned home, Shen Sui found an excuse to get him drunk and then fed him sleeping pills. While he was unconscious, she drove him to the side of the highway, where her young accomplice dumped him in the grass. The two of them then left the scene separately. Shen Sui doesn’t have the mental fortitude for this; she’s already slipped up multiple times under our questioning. She doesn’t understand the city’s surveillance system either, so there’s no way she could have destroyed all the evidence. She is bound to get caught.”

Hong Jun’s eyes darted around aimlessly, his lips trembling as he began to mutter silently to himself.

Qiong Cang said, “You provided the sleeping pills to Shen Sui. The two of you have been in contact for a long time and conspired to plan the whole thing. You deliberately delayed your work hours just to ensure that by the time you ‘discovered’ Ding Tao, he would already be dead. Only then did you call the police.”

“I didn’t!” Hong Jun cried out.

Qiong Cang slammed her hand hard on the table. Her sharp, clear voice instantly pushed Hong Jun’s emotions to a peak. Speaking rapidly, she said, “You indeed didn’t participate in the most direct part of the crime, because you didn’t have the guts. For twelve years, you never had the guts to kill anyone. But even though Shen Sui cooperated with you, she wasn’t about to let you get off scot-free. She wanted to drag you down with her, so she found an accomplice who wore shoes similar to yours to dispose of Ding Tao and frame you. And yet, here you are, still protecting her!”

“I didn’t!” Hong Jun stood up, pressing both hands on the table. His chest heaved as he cried out agitatedly, “It wasn’t me!”

“I know it wasn’t you. So, you didn’t know Shen Sui was the murderer? It seems there was a slight misunderstanding in our communication.” Qiong Cang pushed the rest of the breakfast forward and smiled politely. “Would you like to have some breakfast now?”

·

In the observation room, He Chuanzhou, who had been watching quietly, suddenly spoke up. “Qiong Cang, right? I think her judgment of other people’s emotions is incredibly accurate every single time. It was the same when she was questioning Shen Sui. She knows exactly how to lower someone’s guard, how to apply pressure without them realizing it, and how to feed them half-truths to confuse them. When you look her in the eye, you get the illusion that she’s looking right through you. She… is very talented.”

Xie Qimeng said, “She has never studied psychology.”

He Chuanzhou replied, “Which is why I said it’s talent.”

Xie Qimeng fell silent for a long time before asking, “If someone can easily read others’ thoughts but lacks sufficient empathy… isn’t that terrifying?”

Fang Qi’s mouth twitched, and he rolled his eyes.

He Chuanzhou asked, “If you were facing a similar situation, how would you handle it?”

Xie Qimeng’s tense nerves were jolted. He opened his mouth and felt a slight sting, only then realizing he hadn’t had any water for a long time; his lips were dry and peeling. “I would handle the case based on the evidence,” he said.

He Chuanzhou said, “What if the evidence pointed to Hong Jun, and Hong Jun himself didn’t deny it? Meanwhile, there is immense public pressure to solve the case, your superiors are ordering you to wrap it up quickly, and you still have a lingering doubt in your mind. Would you submit that evidence to initiate a public prosecution?”

Xie Qimeng’s voice didn’t sound very firm, even to his own ears, but he said, “No.”

Sitting nearby, Fang Qi let out a couple of dry chuckles and chimed in, “That’s only because you already know subjectively that Hong Jun isn’t the murderer. The evidence at the scene is too crude, and the attempt to frame him is too obvious. If the culprit had made the scene look a bit more realistic and arranged the evidence more meticulously, so that you believed it seventy to eighty percent, you actually would have submitted it, even if there was a tiny loophole.”

Feeling provoked, Xie Qimeng said with a hint of anger, “If the evidence is real and points to him, then of course I would choose to believe the evidence over my own subjective feelings. Besides, my job is to investigate the case and gather evidence. The final judicial ruling is up to the people’s court.”

Fang Qi continued to needle him, “The court is psychologically inclined to believe that the evidence provided by the investigative organs is authentic. You should be the one ensuring the reliability of your evidence sources first, rather than shifting the responsibility to the court.”

Xie Qimeng said, “You’re just twisting my words. I said the premise was, ‘if the evidence is real.'”

“How is that twisting your words? Is your premise that you never make mistakes in your work? The premise was clearly ‘you still have doubts in your mind.’ Since you have doubts, it means something doesn’t add up. What you should do is repeatedly verify the authenticity of the evidence and the soundness of your logical deduction, not just go ahead and initiate a public prosecution.” Fang Qi smirked, raising his eyebrows. “Isn’t that right, Captain He?”

Xie Qimeng was fuming. He sneered, “Sir, why are you targeting me?”

“You’ve rejected so many of my reports, why shouldn’t I target you?” Fang Qi replied bluntly. “Isn’t your opinion of Qiong Cang just baseless prejudice? Didn’t you say you only believe in evidence? Where is your evidence? Your own stupidity?”

Xie Qimeng struggled to control his tone. “You have your standards, and I have mine! Can you stop launching personal attacks just because things don’t go the way you expect?”

“What exactly are your standards? Why should your standards interfere with those of another professional field? I’m the psychologist here!” Fang Qi refused to yield an inch. “Qiong Cang has her own talent; she just got lucky in the genetic lottery. It doesn’t mean anything beyond that. If you find it terrifying, that’s your problem. When she shows emotion, you call her extreme and start guarding against her next move. When she remains neutral, you call her cold, unfeeling, and lacking in empathy, suspecting she harbors some unpredictable malice. What do you want from her? Do you want her to be a normal person, or do you just refuse to believe she is one? Your preconceived bias has already compromised the objectivity of your judgment. Why don’t you ask your Captain He if she’s afraid?”

“I…” Xie Qimeng was at a loss for words, nervously glancing at He Chuanzhou out of the corner of his eye.

He Chuanzhou’s expression remained unchanged. She pointed at the screen and said, “Just watch the story. If you want to settle who’s right, go outside and discuss it. There are too many people watching the show here.”

The technicians from Sanyao immediately lowered their heads, pretending to type out a few lines of code. The psychological evaluators, who had been watching with great interest, also regretfully averted their eyes and began gesturing toward their own clients’ performances.

Fang Qi ran a hand through his smooth hair and haughtily sat back in his seat.