"What are you talking about? I... I don’t understand."

Li Xiaofei stammered.

If his brain were an engine, it was redlining as he frantically tried to fabricate a lie.

But Chen Chao gave him no such opportunity. Right after Li Xiaofei admitted he and Guan Hong were a couple, Chen Chao immediately pivoted back to the events of the 13th.

"You don’t understand, huh?"

Chen Chao sneered. "At 6:30 on the morning of the 14th, someone saw you coming down from Dingshan, carrying a shovel. What were you up to?"

’They saw me?’

Li Xiaofei was startled. His eyes darted around, probably trying to remember who he might have run into that morning.

Just a few seconds later, his eyes shot wide open. He must have remembered.

At that exact moment, Chen Chao slammed the table and barked, "I’m asking you a question. What were you doing on the mountain?"

"I... I was digging something up." Li Xiaofei’s mind was in complete chaos.

Chen Chao snorted. "Digging something up? A body, you mean!"

Li Xiaofei flinched again.

Chen Chao continued, "Li Xiaofei, you’re something else. When I arrested you last year, I thought you were just some small-time punk. I never expected you to be this vicious, to actually kill someone."

"And not just one kill, but two."

Those words nearly scared the soul out of Li Xiaofei. He trembled and said, "You know everything... No, I mean, what are you talking about? I don’t know."

"Playing dumb?"

Chen Chao scoffed. "Li Xiaofei, honestly, I look down on you. I remember when I arrested you before, you confessed pretty quickly, didn’t you? Ranting about how a man stands by his actions, that you were the one who did the stabbing, that it had nothing to do with your friend."

"And what happens now? You kill a young girl, then take the gold necklace you gave her and return it for cash. You’ve got some real nerve."

Shen Xin silently took notes.

The investigation into Li Xiaofei had only yielded one solid lead: a gold necklace.

On May 15th, a police report concerning Li Xiaofei was filed at the city’s Xingning Police Station.

At 10:18 that morning, the local precinct received a report from a gold jewelry store about a customer causing a disturbance.

Officers arrived on the scene to handle the situation.

The incident began because on May 2nd, Li Xiaofei had purchased a gold necklace worth 2,800 yuan from that store.

The salesperson who had assisted him recalled the event and confirmed that Guan Hong had been with him.

In other words, after the two had a fight at the end of April, Li Xiaofei used a gold necklace to win Guan Hong back.

But then, on the 15th, Li Xiaofei returned to the store with that very necklace, demanding a full refund.

The store refused. He caused a huge scene, forcing the store to call the police.

The end result of the mediation was that the store, wanting to keep the peace, accepted the return and took back the necklace.

Of course, the necklace was long gone by now, having been sent back to the manufacturer and melted down.

But a reasonable assumption could be made.

After killing Guan Hong, Li Xiaofei must have searched her body, taking her phone and other identifying items, including the necklace.

Then, for whatever reason, he decided to return the necklace for a refund.

"Don’t even try to deny it. We have the dispatch record. You raised such a stink, screaming that you were going to smash up the store. The salespeople there have a very clear memory of you."

"They even remember you bringing Guan Hong with you to buy it. So let me get this straight: one minute you’re giving someone a gift, the next you’re killing them, and then you want to take the gift back for cash, huh? Are you really that cheap?"

Chen Chao’s face was a mask of contempt as he goaded Li Xiaofei.

A cold sweat broke out on Li Xiaofei’s brow, and he trembled like a leaf. This string of irrefutable facts had turned his mind to mush, making it impossible for him to calm down and invent a lie.

And this was exactly the effect Chen Chao was aiming for.

But it wasn’t enough. He had to keep pushing Li Xiaofei’s buttons.

"Li Xiaofei, being as cheap as you are, it’s no wonder Guan Hong looked down on you and never let you have your way."

As for the motive, the investigation into Guan Hong’s social circle had turned up a few things.

A "friend" of hers—or rather, a "bestie"—revealed that Guan Hong had mentioned Li Xiaofei to her.

She didn’t mention him by name, but based on the timeline, it had to have been Li Xiaofei she was talking about. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Do you know what Guan Hong said about you behind your back? That you weren’t generous enough with your money, that you were stingy whenever she asked you to buy her something. You wouldn’t even splurge on a handbag for her."

During their fight at the end of April, Guan Hong had complained to her "bestie" that she’d had her eye on a bag that cost over two thousand yuan, but Li Xiaofei had tried to weasel his way out of buying it.

"Li Xiaofei, if I were Guan Hong, I wouldn’t give you the time of day either. A guy like you, trying to pick up girls? You think you’ve got what it takes?"

Chen Chao’s taunt pierced Li Xiaofei’s pathetic pride.

He clenched his fists, straining against his handcuffs, and roared with bloodshot eyes, "Who are you talking about? Say that again if you dare!"

Chen Chao kept prodding him. "What, am I wrong? Let me guess. You tricked that young woman up the mountain, thinking that since you were out in the middle of nowhere with no one around, you could make Guan Hong submit to you, right?"

"That’s about all you’re good for. You could have at least gotten a hotel room, for crying out loud. Weren’t you afraid of snakes out in the wild? Wasn’t the ground cold? No wonder she turned you down."

Li Xiaofei’s body tensed violently, his handcuffs rattling and clanking.

He was like a frenzied beast, the veins on his neck bulging and his eyes terrifyingly red.

"Seriously, I’ve seen too many cases like this. If you had any real guts, you’d date a girl properly, win her over with your charm!"

"But you don’t have any, do you? She looked down on you, so all you know is how to use force. Your heart turned vicious, and you killed that poor girl, didn’t you!"

"Honestly, pathetic!"

Chen Chao’s face was a mask of disgust.

’That acting, that look in his eyes... I almost want to give him a thumbs-up. Even I’m getting riled up just watching,’ Shen Xin thought.

Li Xiaofei was like a balloon being pumped full of air. In that moment, he reached his limit and burst.

"Shut your mouth!"

He screamed, roaring, "It wasn’t like you said! She was the one who asked me to go up the mountain! You think she’s some kind of saint? Fucking playing innocent with me. She’s just a bitch, a cheap slut! I’ve seen plenty of her kind!"

"If you’re going to blame someone, blame that guy for being a nosy bastard! And Guan Hong, she had it coming, too! If she hadn’t run back, I wouldn’t have killed her."

Under the table, Chen Chao silently clenched his fist.

’Got him!’

Shen Xin quickly typed out the words, his own emotions in turmoil. He really wanted to give Chen Chao a thumbs-up.

’This interrogation... incredible.’

Chen Chao said, "So you admit you killed Guan Hong and Zhu Guishen?"

"That’s right, I killed them! I’m the fucking man! I did it, so I’ll own up to it! What about it? It was me!" Li Xiaofei’s eyes were wide, as if he wanted to eat someone.

Chen Chao nodded, his composure restored. "Then tell me about it. What happened that night?"

Li Xiaofei stuck his neck out. "What else could have happened? She’s just a slut. She was the one who asked me out, said she wanted to see the view from the mountain. At fucking night, no less."

"And what happened? We get up the mountain and she starts playing innocent with me again. Shit, I was so sick of it by then. Some piece of used goods who’s been passed around god knows how many times—what’s she pretending for?"

"Calling me cheap... I’d rather spend my fucking money on a prostitute than on her."

"Then we ran into that psycho. Started lecturing me. Who the hell did he think he was? He was just asking to die, so I obliged him."

Chen Chao held up a hand, interrupting Li Xiaofei. "Be more specific."

Li Xiaofei grunted. "That slut was on the hillside, playing pure with me, and then that guy saw us. He ran over like a maniac and started lecturing us."

"Going on about how young we were, how we should be better... Seriously, you tell me, was that guy nuts or what? Fucking trying to teach us about self-respect and self-love. What a joke."

He let out a contemptuous snort.

Shen Xin’s brow furrowed.

’So it was obvious now. Zhu Guishen had been on the mountain, accidentally saw Li Xiaofei and Guan Hong, and assumed Li Xiaofei was about to force himself on her. That’s why he stepped in to stop it.’

’He was that kind of person.’

’That was how he’d met Yang Huixia. She had been knocked over by a motorcycle, and he had acted heroically, stopping the rider and then taking her to a clinic to get bandaged up.’

’In the end, that kindness had led to this.’

"And then?" Chen Chao pressed.

Li Xiaofei said, "Guan Hong got scared of trouble and left first. I was about to go after her, but this jackass blocked my way and wouldn’t let me leave. Tell me that’s not being nosy."

"So I started arguing with him. I was already pissed off, and then he tried to get physical with me. Anyway, I got angry and stabbed him with my knife."

Chen Chao asked in a cold voice, "How many times did you stab him?"

"Can’t remember."

Li Xiaofei had a nonchalant look on his face.

Chen Chao said, "And Guan Hong?"

The mere mention of Guan Hong’s name set Li Xiaofei off again. "That guy tried to run. I caught up and stabbed him again, and he rolled down the hillside. Then I turned around and saw Guan Hong."

"Tell me, isn’t she a stupid bitch? She just had to run back. What was I supposed to do? I told her not to say anything, to just pretend she didn’t see it. We were on a mountain, it was late at night, and no one was around."

"She wouldn’t agree. Said I’d gotten her into trouble, that when the police found out, she’d be arrested too. Then she said she was going to call the cops. I had no choice. I had to strangle her."

He recounted the process coldly, then turned and spat on the floor, cursing, "Cheap slut! She had it coming!"

Seeing that, even Shen Xin wanted to rush over and punch him twice.