Jiang Zhengkai dropped Jiao off at her home before he drove back to the hospital. After resting for a few days, Sui Zhongyi had mostly recovered. At this point, he could get out of bed to do some light exercise though he could feel his death coming. He had always known that the government would not let him die so easily as they needed him to set an example. He would be used to warn the public that drug dealing was illegal, and that the only result of doing so was the death penalty!
"You are recovering well!" Jiang Zhengkai greeted Sui Zhongyi casually before he sat down in a chair beside his bed. "Has the date of public trial been determined yet?"
"Not yet! But it will be soon." Sui Zhongyi returned to the bed and sat down. "I must thank the government for spending so much money to heal me."
"Yes! You should thank the government," Jiang Zhengkai replied with a smile. At this moment, he noticed that there were still bowls and chopsticks on the bedside table. "Dinner came late tonight?"
"No! I’ve started eating later," Sui Zhongyi replied. "Officer Jiang, you haven’t visited me recently. My big day is coming, so I don’t have an appet.i.te!"
"Oh? Is that so?" Jiang Zhengkai glanced at the two policemen guarding the room. "I guess that I am more handsome than them."
"Come on! Officer Jiang, I doubt that you came here just to chit-chat with me, right?" Sui Zhongyi sat on the bed and stared at Jiang Zhengkai. "Officer Jiang, I can tell that you’ve made some progress on the case. Otherwise you would not be here."
"Yeah? You’re right." Jiang Zhengkai took the key Jiao had given him out from his pocket and handed it to Sui Zhongyi. "Do you recognize this? ”
"Ah! Yes." Sui Zhongyi took the key and sighed after carefully a.n.a.lyzing it for a while. "Officer Jiang, you really didn"t disappoint me. You found it."
"Yes!" Jiang Zhengkai affirmed as he nodded. "Do you want to tell me on your own, or should I help you remember? I believe you know what this key opens, right?”
"Yes! Officer Jiang, you know as well, right?" Sui Zhongyi looked up at Jiang Zhengkai.
Jiang Zhengkai just smiled. He did not want to answer Sui Zhongyi. He was hoping that Sui Zhongyi could continue talking. Maybe Sui Zhongyi will reveal new information or verify old theories. However, since Jiang Zhengkai didn’t respond, Sui Zhongyi lowered his head again and continued examining the key. Then he raised his head and returned the key to Jiang Zhengkai.
"What? You don"t want to tell me?" Jiang Zhengkai was surprised by Sui Zhongyi’s reaction.
"I have nothing to say!" Sui Zhongyi calmly looked at Jiang Zhengkai. "I think that you already know what I know. So why do you need me to tell you anything?
"Really?" Jiang Zhengkai felt a little funny. This guy really thought in a strange way. He thinks that since the police already knows his crimes, he does not have to confess. Well, you can do whatever you want! Jiang Zhengkai sighed and looked at Sui Zhongyi with a wry smile. "However, there are still many things that I want a clear explanation about!"
"Yeah?" Sui Zhongyi fixed an interested look upon Jiang Zhengkai. It was obvious that he was reluctant to continue the conversation. His mind must be struggling fiercely. Finally, Sui Zhongyi stopped staring and closed his eyes. He leaned his head back against the wall, and slowly began to speak. "Sui Dequan, Sui Zhongli, Zhao Renchu, and me. The four of us are brothers."
Jiang Zhengkai was shocked. He already knew that Sui Dequan and Zhao Renchu were siblings, but he was unaware that Sui Zhongyi and Sui Zhongli were also brothers of Sui Dequan and Zhao Renchu. Since Sui Zhongyi had closed his eyes, he could not see Jiang Zhengkai’s stunned expression.
"My uncle and aunt had no successors. When my brother Sui Dequan was very young, they pa.s.sed him on to my uncle. But back then, my family was really poor. The moment my younger brother Sui Zhongzhi was born, they also gave him away. He ended up becoming Zhao Renchu." Sui Zhongyi laid there with his eyes still closed and slowly explained, "So, there are a total of four of us; our eldest brother lived with my uncle, our youngest brother lived with a family surnamed Zhao, and two of us lived with our parents."
"When we were slightly older, my eldest brother, Sui Dequan, was the first to leave our hometown to make a living for himself. He chose to go into drugs to provide for the family." Sui Zhongyi paused for a moment before he continued, "Eventually, his business grew bigger and bigger, and my uncle and aunt pa.s.sed away. Before they died, he allowed my brother Sui Dequan to reunite with his biological family. But, my father warned him to be conscientious of his actions. We acknowledged each other’s existence privately, but to outsiders, we were unrelated. My brother would always be my uncle"s son."
"After that, we stayed at home, bored, while my eldest brother sent money back every month. Finally, Zhongli and I came here and began following Sui Dequan." Sui Zhongyi finally opened his eyes. "Alas! Maybe the four of us should’ve died on this path. Initially, Zhao Renchu did not know that he was our brother. One particular year, my eldest brother came home and brought Renchu from his hometown because he thought that Renchu was kind and reliable. I knew that Renchu was our brother the moment I saw him. So that was that. In the end, all four of us ended up in this business."
"I see." Jiang Zhengkai nodded, but didn"t know what to say. It"s not wrong for people to pursue something higher in order to live a better life. It"s just that this group of brothers chose the wrong path and the wrong profession. Jiang Zhengkai looked down at the key in his hand. He spun it around for a bit before looking up at Sui Zhongyi and asking, "What is it for?"
"To open a door!" Sui Zhongyi smirked. "It’s an ordinary key, and is of little value to you! It"s used to open the door of our house back in our hometown."
"Really?" Jiang Zhengkai looked at Sui Zhongyi coldly. "That’s it?"
"Yes! What else do you think it’s for?" Sui Zhongyi answered just as coldly. "There will always be things humans cherish and remember forever. Just because we are drug dealers doesn’t mean we are heartless."
"Humph! Don’t you cherish money the most?" Jiang Zhengkai then shook the key in his hand again. "I believe that you asked Zhao Renchu to contact Xiu not only to establish the previous channel, but more importantly, to find this. Correct?"
"Officer Jiang, you can think whatever you want! But don"t judge others as narrow-mindedly as some people do." Sui Zhongyi"s face changed to an expression of disdain. He glanced at Jiang Zhengkai and then continued. "Officer Jiang, I know that you are a good man! You work hard and love your work. You treat your colleagues and even the criminals you catch well. But are you really a better person than me?" Sui Zhongyi smiled at Jiang Zhengkai. "You can ask yourself, what have you done with the money you’ve earned? You just feed yourself, and at most your wife and children. But what about me? What have I done? One third of all the drug money I made was donated to a charity. Can you possibly compare with me? You say that I did it for money? Yes! Your money, in the eyes of the government and the people, is innocent! My money is considered evil by everyone else! But what does your money go to? And what does mine? Can you say with a clear heart that my money was evil when it was spent? Compared to those who make money from corruption or bribery, whose money is more evil or pure? Who contributed more to society in the end?”
Jiang Zhengkai looked at Sui Zhongyi, stunned. He didn"t know how to answer. Finally, he returned the key to his pocket and stood up in silence. He knew the purpose of the key in his hand, but at this moment, he did not know what its fate would be.
Just as Jiang Zhengkai had turned around and was about to leave the room, the two guard policemen cried out in surprise. Jiang Zhengkai instantly turned around. Sui Zhongyi had stabbed a chopstick into his own eye socket...