It was really him?Everyone had been suspecting that Meng Chi was the mastermind, but they had no direct conclusive evidence against him.
They had never expected that they would obtain direct evidence with Tu Liang"s sacrifice.
For a moment, Xiang Wan couldn"t accept this sudden turn of events.
"Why is Meng Chi so careless this time?"
"Maybe because it was Xie Wanwan."
"Didn"t Meng Chi say that he treats Xie Wanwan like his real sister?"
"They have been on bad terms." Bai Muchuan"s gaze was solemn. "Maybe your guess back then was right…"
That time, Xiang Wan had a.n.a.lyzed about that before.
Meng Chi did not care about this sister of his, and that the reason why he kidnapped Xie Wanwan was simply to not arouse suspicions—
Now that they had definite evidence, Xiang Wan did not feel great about it either.
"Where are Xie Wanwan and Ye Lun now?"
Bai Muchuan replied, "In the hospital."
Xiang Wan nodded.
In actual fact, she had a lot of questions she wanted to ask.
…
At the hospital.
It was cold.
Xiang Wan crossed her arms and leaned against the wall quietly.
Bai Muchuan did not talk for a long time as well.
In the silence, about half an hour later, Tu Liang"s wife came out of the ward.
Her name was Shen Wenjing and was working as a head nurse.
She was quiet and gentle as her name suggests.
Maybe it was because of her profession, she asked nothing else from the moment she saw Tu Liang…
She was unlike many other family members who screamed and yelled for the doctors.
She knew very well that the medical staff had tried their best.
"How did he die?" she asked while standing at the entrance of the ward.
n.o.body spoke.
The atmosphere was eerily quiet.
Shen Wenjing seemed a little distraught. Nonetheless, since she was the head nurse, she had witnessed a lot of deaths. Therefore, she seemed much stronger than many people and even expressed her grat.i.tude to the detectives politely.
After that, she showed a wry smile. "I used to think if he ever had such a day, I would be the first one to arrive on the scene to save him… I never expected that he would die in another city."
"Sister-in-law, I"m so sorry!"
"I"m so sorry!"
It was as if those words had been made especially for this occasion.
There was nothing else that was more suitable and comforting than this.
Yet at the same time, there was nothing that could be more useless than this.
n.o.body in this world could really feel what she was going through except herself.
n.o.body knew how Shen Wenjing was feeling inside beneath her calm exterior.
"Oh, right!" she suddenly looked at Bai Muchuan. "Old Tu… he did not die in peace."
It startled everyone to hear that.
"I know my husband very well," said Shen Wenjing, "if he had died normally on duty, he would have accepted it without regret. However, when I looked at his expression and looked at his eyes… I feel that before he died, he must have suffered a great impact, as if… something had really appalled him!"
Really appalled!?
Xiang Wan glanced at her.
In fact, she really wanted to see how Tu Liang looked when he died.
From what Bai Muchuan said earlier, Tu Liang must have had suffered a fatal wound the moment he got shot.
When he was rushed to the hospital and when the medical staff tried to save him, he had never regained consciousness.
He did not even manage to utter a word—
In that case, the expression Shen Wenjing said could be the face he had by the time the perpetrator shot him?
Anyone would have been horrified when they saw a bullet flying towards them, right?
In their silence, they heard Shen Wenjing"s voice again.
"Aye, who would know what he was thinking about before his death? Even if so, he might not have time to think about his wife and daughter…"
When she said this, her eyes caught sight of her daughter watching her.
She was looking at her in confusion.
This startled Shen Wenjing for a moment and did not continue the topic anymore.
She looked at Bai Muchuan. "Captain Bai, I want to know… the truth why Old Tu left us."
Bai Muchuan looked at her. "I will. When the report is out, I"ll let you know immediately."
Shen Wenjing nodded. She was the wife of a detective; naturally, she would have a high amount of understanding of their work.
"Alright, I"ll be waiting."
"Sister-in-law…" Bai Muchuan whispered.
Shen Wenjing looked over.
It seemed that Bai Muchuan wanted to say something before looking at Ding Yifan.
After that, he took a small evidence bag from Ding Yifan.
"These things are Tu Liang"s personal belongings. Please take them."
Personal belongings?
Shen Wenjing took the bag.
It contained his mobile phone, wallet, cigarette packet, and a bunch of keys.
It was simple.
It represented Tu Liang"s style.
She opened the wallet.
There was a picture inside.
It was the picture of his family, all three of them. Tu Liang was holding his daughter in his arms and was laughing heartily.
She was gently leaning beside him with a sweet smile.
Shen Wenjing then took out a bank card from his wallet.
"This is not his."
Bai Muchuan was slightly startled. "It"s inside his wallet. It should be his. Sister-in-law, why don"t you check it first? There might be his savings in there…"
Shen Wenjing wanted to pa.s.s the bank card back. "From the day of our marriage, he had given me his card. He only had a credit card with him. Whenever he had to spend on anything, he would inform me about it—I know best if he had any other savings account!"
Her words exposed Bai Muchuan"s lie. He pursed his lips, and he did not say a word.
The atmosphere was slightly awkward for a while.
"Captain Bai, I know that all of you meant well and wanted to do something for us." Shen Wenjing thought the detectives must have pooled the sum of money, so the thought of this put a smile on her face. "If the organization disbursed this money, I will take them. This is because this is what Old Tu should get, but this…"
She put the bank card on Bai Muchuan"s hand.
"This is not what he should be getting. I can"t take them."
"Sister-in-law…"
"Please take it back!"
Bai Muchuan said nothing more.
"If I take it, Old Tu will be unhappy." Shen Wenjing"s voice was hoa.r.s.e, and she spoke with difficulty, "All his life, he lived with integrity. I can"t discredit him the moment he dies… Otherwise, when I die, I will be so ashamed to see him."
As she spoke slowly, a deep seethed pain showed in her mannerisms.
Nonetheless, she still kept her spirits up and said calmly to them, "I will handle the arrangements of Old Tu"s funeral. I know that the detectives are busy!"
She had said this word "busy" plainly.
However, it sounded as though those words packed so much sorrow.
The word "busy" was the best word to describe Tu Liang"s short life.
Busy!
Busy, always.
He was busy until the day he died.
They were unsure who started it, but another round of sobbing started outside the ward.
Salimu cried so hard like a kid.
Tang Yuanchu was also there. The bandages that were still on his hands had turned wet as tears streamed down through the hands he used to cover his face.
Everyone was sobbing in silence.
When men cry after extreme depression, it was more impactful and desperate than when women cry.
Outside the window, it started to snow again.
Along the corridor, the cold winds blew…
Bai Muchuan did not cry, but his eyes were already red; his mouth moved several times, and he was trying his best to hold it in.
Xiang Wan held his hand tightly. "Don"t blame yourself. Don"t—be so hard on yourself."
Bai Muchuan"s voice was slightly hoa.r.s.e. "If only… it was me instead."
Xiang Wan whispered, "If it was you, who"s going to solve the case? If it was you, what will happen to me?"
Bai Muchuan closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.
"I will not let him down!"
…
Xie Wanwan woke up earlier than Ye Lun.
When they received the news, Bai Muchuan immediately rushed over to her ward.
The ambulance had sent them all to the same hospital.
Tu Liang was on the fifth floor while Xie Wanwan and Ye Lun were on the seventh floor.
Since they were all in the same hospital, Xiang Wan followed along as well.
Bai Muchuan did not object to that.
Maybe because he had just lost Tu Liang, his mentality was a little unstable and tense. The moment he noticed that Xiang Wan left his sight, he couldn"t help but feel nervous.
While they went up to the seventh floor, he held Xiang Wan"s hand tightly, not wanting to loosen his grip…
Xiang Wan was the same as well.
Only when one lost something would they learn to cherish those that remained.
One should learn to cherish everyone around them.
She was afraid, too.
She held Bai Muchuan"s hand tightly.
Four of them went upstairs together.
Besides Bai Muchuan and Xiang Wan, there was also Tang Yuanchu and Ding Yifan.
Everyone was quiet, and the atmosphere was especially gloomy.
Xie Wanwan was still on a drip. She laid limp on the hospital bed and was puzzled to see the four of them but asked nothing.
Bai Muchuan asked the doctor, "How"s her condition?"
The doctor replied, "The drug inside her body had cleared up. Her condition is stable so far."
Bai Muchuan pried further, "Would it be okay for us to question her in her current condition?"
The doctor nodded. "Sure, but don"t take too long!"
…
The doctor left them alone.
The liquid in the infusion tube was flowing quietly.
Xie Wanwan probably understood something and seemed to be in low spirits.
However, when she learned what had happened while the drug had knocked her out, she couldn"t believe it.
"How can this be? How is that even possible?"
Before she lost consciousness, she was inside her car and was on the way back to the hotel.
By the time she regained consciousness, she was already in the hospital.
They also told her that the one who drugged her and was preparing to end her life was…
Meng Chi.
Tu Liang sacrificed his life because of this.
Xie Wanwan shook her head in disbelief. She couldn"t accept it.
"Why did Meng Chi want to drug and kill me?"
Bai Muchuan replied, "This is what we wanted to know from you."
Looking at his cold face, she could find nothing familiar from his expression. Xie Wanwan narrowed her eyes slightly. She was bewildered and her mind went blank.
"I don"t know! I really don"t know!"
Bai Muchuan sat on the chair slowly. "Why did Ye Lun ask you out for a drink?"
Xie Wanwan gulped. "He said he had something important to tell me regarding Meng Chi…"
Then she paused for a while and looked at Bai Muchuan. "Prior to that, because of the evidence the police had, I doubted Meng Chi as well and even asked him about it. He denied that he had anything to do with it!"
Bai Muchuan sneered. "You"re actually hoping that he will admit it?"
His vision was too cold. Xie Wanwan was a little scared to face it.
She avoided looking at him; she gasped and heard Bai Muchuan"s next question.
"How is your relation with Ye Lun?"
Xie Wanwan answered, "Just so-so."
"Be more specific." Bai Muchuan totally sounded impersonal.
"How specific?" Xie Wanwan found herself at a loss of words.
"How do you get along with him? Besides going for a drink together in private, do you have any other contact with him? For instance, physical contact?"
Xie Wanwan"s eyes went big and wide as she inhaled a breath.
She almost couldn"t believe her ears that Bai Muchuan would ask that kind of question.
She stared at him—
Without batting an eyelid.
A while later, she let out a puff of breath.
Well, this was just a question that a detective would raise.
She shook her head. "Nope. We are like acquaintances. Prior to this, we"ve never met each other privately. If there was a gathering, there would be many other people around."
Bai Muchuan asked, "So what did he talk to you about this private meetup?"
Xie Wanwan gulped. "He told me that Meng Chi could jolly well be the murderer of the 121 case."
This took everyone aback.
Was that the reason why Meng Chi wanted to kill them?