It was still the same questioning room.The light in the center of the room somehow felt cold.
Yu Bo looked much better than when Xiang Wan saw him in the afternoon.
It looked like he did get some rest.
He was sitting on the sofa and there wasn"t much change in his posture, but there was something else… a black cat in his arms.
A black cat!
Xiang Wan remembered the black cat she saw at Brother Steel"s villa.
Cheng Zheng had even helped treat its wounds before.
She did not think she would see the cat again…
It might be an ordinary black cat to others, but to Yu Bo, it certainly was not ordinary.
Yu Bo was looking into the cat"s eyes; his gaze was so gentle as if he was looking at his own kid.
When he heard Xiang Wan and Quan Shaoteng"s voices, he looked up at her and then lowered his head, continuing to pat the cat"s back. He was mumbling softly to the cat as he ignored them.
Xiang Wan sat opposite to him.
She knew he was saying something, but she was unable to make out what it was.
"Cough!" Xiang Wan perked herself up. "I heard you"re looking for me, so what"s up?"
Yu Bo did not lift his head. His mouth moved but there was no sound.
Xiang Wan asked with a smile, "Is this cat yours?"
Yu Bo held the cat"s head lovingly. "Yes."
Xiang Wan observed his reaction.
It was quite clear that the bond between him and the cat was very deep…
"Is he your playmate?"
Yu Bo paused slightly and glanced at her for a second before responding with an "Mm".
He did not ignore her anymore?
Xiang Wan felt relieved. "He looks really adorable."
Yu Bo seemed to be very interested in this topic. He looked at Xiang Wan; his eyes were gleaming bright and s.h.i.+ning clearly. "You also noticed it?"
Xiang Wan nodded her head without hesitation. "Mind if I pat it?"
There was some rejection in Yu Bo"s eyes, but in Xiang Wan"s gentle gaze, it seemed like he couldn"t bear to reject her request. He felt that she seemed to like cats as well, so he gave his silent consent.
When Xiang Wan was patting the cat, however, his eyes stared at her hand, not batting an eyelid.
"Wow, his fur is so soft!"
"Hehehe!"
"He"s quite thin! Is it because he didn"t eat well recently?"
"Mm!" Yu Bo"s expression seemed a little down. "I haven"t seen him for a long time. They just brought him to me today."
Xiang Wan glanced at Quan Shaoteng upon hearing that.
Quan Shaoteng shrugged, his hands open. "Your Little Bai wants us to bring the cat over."
Of course, Xiang Wan knew very well why Bai Muchuan got his men to bring the cat over to Yu Bo.
Xiang Wan looked at Yu Bo with a smile. "You like him a lot."
"Mm," agreed Yu Bo.
"He"s my friend."
Friend.
A man who had a mind simpler and purer than a child, the cat seemed to be his only friend.
"What is his name?"
"Blackie…"
Blackie, Snowy…
Xiang Wan smiled and felt like laughing.
She actually talked to Yu Bo about cats.
It was fortunate that she had experience with taking care of cats due to Fang Yuanyuan"s pet—Bao Jie. Hence, she regaled him with a delightful account of her experience in handling cats.
Moreover, some of the care methods were new to Yu Bo.
He listened attentively with great interest.
The topic the two were conversing had nothing to do with the case.
Quan Shaoteng yawned as he looked on. He looked at the ceiling and tried to control the urge of wanting to cuss…
Finally, he picked up his phone and started to vent inside the chat group.
"As if it"s not bad enough to stay back as the security guard, now I even have to listen to two abnormal people talking about cats in the middle of the night…
"Isn"t this world too cruel for good-looking people like me?"
Two messages were sent consecutively.
n.o.body in the chat group responded to him.
Quan Shaoteng puffed a sigh.
"See? When such a good-looking person like me talks, the whole world becomes silent!"
"…"
A few seconds later, Fang Yuanyuan suddenly appeared in the chat.
"Since you"re so capable, how about pitting our weight against each other?"
Quan Shaoteng sent a picture that says: "No, thanks. I shall take my leave!"
Fang Yuanyuan responded, "Where"s my Wanwan?"
Quan Shaoteng sent an "evil smile" emoticon. "Of course… she"s beside me…"
The first ellipsis seemed very meaningful.
The later ellipsis suggested something more.
"What!?" Fang Yuanyuan started to create a fuss.
"Who can tell me what is happening? It"s midnight. Why. Is. She. Beside. You?"
Quan Shaoteng messaged back. "What. Do. You. Think? Hurhur!"
After that, he did not reply anymore.
He felt gratified!
Wait till Little Bai sees this, he will be so peeved, right? He thought, sn.i.g.g.e.ring inside his head.
While Quan Shaoteng was thinking about that, he heard a sentence.
"Is Blackie a little anorexic that he didn"t like to eat much?"
Yu Bo replied reluctantly, "I don"t know either. Can cats suffer from anorexia too?"
"They do! They"re like humans; not only will they suffer from anorexia, they might even suffer from depression. That"s why you can be friends with him."
Yu Bo gave it a thought. Looking at the cat"s face, he was full of heartache.
"Why are you sad?"
"Maybe Blackie saw something but was unable to tell anyone…" Xiang Wan smiled. "Cats and dogs are sensitive animals. Some of them might be smarter than humans. When they saw something but unable to say it, and n.o.body can help them relay their feelings… that can be quite a torture. When it becomes serious, they might get depressed, won"t eat much, become thinner, and might even die…"
Yu Bo paused for a moment.
"Is that so?"
"Meow!"
The black cat mewled.
Yu Bo stared at the cat; his pupils seemed to have contracted slightly.
Xiang Wan observed his expression. "Your mom used to prepare food for him right?" she asked slowly.
Yu Bo swallowed. "Sometimes I prepare food for him too."
That could mean that most of the time, it was his mom who was taking care of the cat.
It was usually the case for most families, so Xiang Wan managed to get it right.
Xiang Wan nodded, her eyebrows scrunched together. "Do you think he"s missing your mom?"
Yu Bo looked at her; an agonized expression appeared on his face.
"Mom"s dead." Yu Bo lowered his head and hugged the cat tightly.
Xiang Wan whispered. "How did your mom die?"
Yu Bo was silent.
"Could Blackie have seen it?" Xiang Wan squinted her eyes. "That could be why he feels depressed right now."
Woooo… Yu Bo"s shoulders were suddenly quivering.
He was crying. "Mom… Wooo… Mom…"
"You can tell me!" Xiang Wan got up to sit beside him and held his shoulders. "Let it out, help Blackie say what he"s feeling…"
Yu Bo gasped while sobbing.
"It"s me… I killed Mom."
What?! Xiang Wan felt as though her ears suffered a tremor.
In this case, the video Meng Chi provided where the granny told of what she knew might be factual. It was evident that there was a problem with the death of Yu Bo"s mother.
Xiang Wan had thought of numerous possibilities about this, but there was never once that she thought Yu Bo could be the murderer.
"Why?" she asked unhurriedly.
There was a little sadness.
Yu Bo looked up; his eyes were red from crying.
"Mom didn"t allow me to go to Xi City."
"So you killed her?"
"Mm," responded Yu Bo.
"If she"s dead, she wouldn"t be able to stop me."
Such an answer…
Xiang Wan was dazed for a moment; her brain was as though it had suffered a shock.
Looking at Yu Bo"s innocent, naive expression that had suggested his simple-mindedness, she did not know what to say to him although there was so much she wanted to tell him.
A person like him… actually killed his own mom?
Back in the day, she was telling Bai Muchuan of how innocent and pure he was, like a piece of paper…
Xiang Wan gulped. She found it difficult to look at Yu Bo under the dim light in the room.
"Are you… sure?"
Yu Bo did not talk but lowered his head.
His fingers were slim and he stroked the cat with them.
His hands were thin, long, and slender…
Besides that, his complexion was dark; his hands did seem like a woman"s hands.
All of a sudden, a s.h.i.+ver ran down her spine, and she felt gooseb.u.mps all over—
…