Reborn in 97, I solved a cold case at the Municipal Bureau

Chapter 270 Can I Get a Reduced Sentence?

Huang Jianhui said that he initially went there with the intention of making amends.

After all, if we were the girl's parents, we would definitely call the police if we found out about this.

Both he and his wife work in public institutions. If things really escalate to this point, losing face is secondary; they'll probably be reassigned to less desirable positions within their organizations.

But after meeting Tang Xue, he was suddenly attracted by the youthful aura emanating from her.

That night, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

A wicked thought popped into his head. He felt that since Tang Xue was so young and could do such things for his son, she must be a promiscuous woman at heart. Rather than letting someone else benefit from her, he might as well take her himself.

So he used his own money to buy a Walkman because he noticed that Tang Xue's room was covered with posters of Hong Kong and Taiwanese singers that night.

What happened next was basically the same as what Tang Xue had told her, only the subject of the account was different.

Huang Jianhui said that after learning about Tang Xue's family situation and emotional deficiencies, he knew he couldn't be forceful, as that would scare her away, so he was very patient.

Until that night, Tang Xue took the initiative to reach out and hug him, and her long-suppressed desires poured out like a flood.

When he discovered the bloodstain, he was surprised, because in his mind, Tang Xue could never be a virgin. After all, someone so young who could do those things with his son must have already slept with other men.

The result was beyond his expectations, and he immediately felt that he had struck gold.

In the days that followed, the two kept their affair a secret from everyone.

Huang Jianhui confessed to the police that he knew he was guilty of a heinous crime, but he couldn't resist Tang Xue's young body and youthful exuberance.

He indulged his desires without restraint while simultaneously worrying about being discovered one day, causing him great anxiety.

Until he returned from a business trip, Tang Xue told him that something was wrong with her stomach. When he saw Tang Xue's protruding belly, he was completely dumbfounded.

That night, things happened suddenly, and he didn't have a condom with him.

He wore it every time after that.

He clung to a sliver of hope, thinking that it was only once, and it couldn't possibly be such a coincidence.

As it turned out, things didn't go as planned; it was just such a coincidence.

Moreover, if he hadn't gone to another city, he could have discovered the abortion earlier and had an abortion sooner; by the time he found out, it was too late.

At seven months, only induced labor is possible. In a regular hospital, induced labor requires the signature of a guardian. Involuntary labor outside of a regular hospital carries huge risks, and it would be even more serious if someone dies.

He went into hiding for a while because he was terrified of being discovered, because once it was discovered, everything he had would be gone.

But he still went to find Tang Xue to comfort her, because he was afraid that Tang Xue would betray him in a moment of panic.

He needed to keep Tang Xue calm and find a way to get her to give birth to the child, and then he would figure out how to get rid of it.

During that period, he was extremely tense and irritable, living in constant fear.

People at work noticed something was wrong with him, so he would make excuses about family matters; when facing his wife, he would lie and say it was work-related.

Until the evening of March 1st, he received a call from Tang Xue.

Upon learning that Tang Xue was home alone, he immediately drove to Donghai Community. Previously, whenever he came to Donghai Community, he would carefully park his car in a secluded spot near the community to avoid being discovered.

When he arrived, Tang Xue had already given birth to the child, who was lying on the bedroom floor, still connected to the placenta via the umbilical cord.

He felt a chill run down his spine, but when he noticed that the tiny child, who was probably malnourished, remained motionless, he felt a surge of secret joy.

He asked Tang Xue why the child wasn't reacting at all.

Tang Xue cried and said she didn't know because she was too scared to look.

So he comforted Tang Xue, telling her that it was a stillbirth and the child had died at birth.

Then, after settling her in, I went to deal with the baby and placenta myself.

He hesitated, carrying the plastic bag containing the placenta and the baby, before finally picking up a kitchen knife and going into the bathroom.

Up to this point, the situation has been basically as Tang Xue explained.

Then, something happened that Tang Xue was unaware of.

Huang Jianhui said that although he had a knife at the time, he had never done such a thing before and was very scared.

He took the child out of the plastic bag, placed him on the toilet floor, and held the knife, hesitating to strike.

Just as he was hesitating, he suddenly noticed that the child's chest seemed to be rising and falling slightly.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yi and Qiao Jiali couldn't help but tense up, because Huang Jianhui's testimony was crucial.

If he denies that the child was still alive at the time, it means that the police will have to go through a lot more effort to get Huang Jianhui to talk.

But this seemingly respectable man was clearly terrified, perhaps because he was considered a cultured and knowledgeable person outside, and knew that trying to cover up the truth with excuses was futile. After all, the police hadn't found the body, but the murderer didn't have an omniscient perspective and was unaware of this situation.

He said, "After I realized the child seemed to still be breathing, I went over to check on him. But as soon as I got close, the child suddenly burst into tears, which terrified me, so I raised the knife in my hand... and then..."

Zhou Yi asked, "What did you do?"

"I...I swear I didn't mean to. My mind went blank. I was afraid someone would hear him crying, so...I..."

Zhou Yi demanded loudly, "Speak! What did you do to that child?"

"I...I just slashed a few times with the knife, I swear...I really didn't mean to...I forgot I was holding a knife...I...I just wanted to...I..." Huang Jianhui tried to explain incoherently.

But no matter how he explains, it's all meaningless now.

The case in Donghai Community has now come to a complete end, with the truth fully revealed.

The interrogation is ongoing, with the aim of perfecting the entire investigation process. Huang Jianhui has explained the subsequent events.

This includes Tang Xue asking him if he heard the child crying, and how he forgot there was a placenta in the bag after disposing of the body, only remembering it the next day.

In the days that followed, he lived in constant fear of being discovered, walking on thin ice, each day feeling like an eternity. He even contemplated suicide by hanging, unable to imagine how terrifying it would be to become a prisoner.

When Tang Xue told him that Yao Fenfang was going to take the blame for her, he was overjoyed. In order to keep Tang Xue on his side, he promised her a vague future.

But just to be on the safe side, he still told Tang Xue to try not to meet with her anymore, so as to avoid arousing suspicion.

A while ago, when he heard that the police were making a big show of retrieving a body from the septic tank in the Donghai residential area, he was so frightened that he couldn't eat or sleep.

During that period, everyone looked like a policeman coming to arrest him; he was in a state of extreme paranoia and fear.

But there was no further news. Then he heard that the body parts that had been retrieved belonged to a missing middle-aged woman who had been dismembered. After making inquiries and confirming this, he gradually relaxed.

Until yesterday, when Zhou Yi called him and asked him to take his son to the municipal bureau for a blood test, his heart immediately tightened again.

Yesterday, after he hung up the phone, he immediately dropped everything and rushed to the school to pick up Huang Chen and ask him what the police had told him.

Upon learning that it was for Tang Xue, that long-lost sense of fear instantly returned.

Huang Jianhui cried as he said he was being tortured to the point of madness, but he had to pretend that nothing was wrong. Now that he had told everyone, he suddenly felt a sense of relief.

"Officers, does this count as me actively and proactively confessing to the case? I... can I get a reduced sentence? In my case, how long is the usual sentence?" Huang Jianhui asked impatiently.

Zhou Yi took the transcript and asked him to check and sign it.

He added, "Huang Jianhui, whether or not your sentence can be reduced is not up to us; you have to ask the court. However, you are now guilty of intentional homicide and desecration of a corpse. In addition, you are a public official. Do you really think the law will give you a lenient sentence? With multiple crimes, what kind of outcome do you think you will get?"

Huang Jianhui, who had just finished signing the document with trembling hands, looked up at Zhou Yi in despair, his face pale and tearful, and said, "But I've already confessed..."

"If only you had known this would happen, you wouldn't have done it in the first place." Zhou Yi paused, then said, "But let me warn you first, we will verify everything you say in this statement. Don't think that just because you say it, we will believe you."

Huang Jianhui's face immediately turned even uglier. He slumped in the detention chair like a piece of melted plastic, emitting a pungent stench.

Zhou Yi immediately understood; it seemed he was still hiding something.

After all, during the interrogation, he portrayed himself as a middle-aged man who had gone astray.

But Zhou Yi didn't intend to continue the interrogation. Anyway, there was Shi Tao and the others. He was waiting for the search results.

It wasn't until the afternoon that the two groups of people from the second team gradually returned.

Shi Tao and He Bin each brought back important information.

First, Shi Tao led his men to search Huang Jianhui's house.

When Shi Tao led the search, Gu Changhai was in charge of questioning Gu Hong.

According to Gu Hong, Huang Jianhui was a repeat offender who had a history of unclear and ambiguous relationships with women.

While they were dating, he was still entangled with his ex-girlfriend.

While she was pregnant, she discovered that he was dating a colleague from work alone.

Later, there were even incidents where, upon returning from a business trip, a strange woman's sexy underwear fell out of his dirty clothes in his suitcase.

But he always made excuses to justify himself, and Gu Hong, having never caught him in the act, kept quiet.

Gu Hong tearfully recounted how miserable she was, but she didn't elicit any sympathy from anyone.

She was completely stunned when Gu Changhai asked her a question in return.

Gu Changhai asked, "You know he's this kind of person, so why don't you divorce him?"

(End of this chapter)