Film and Television: My Cheat Code is AI

[Thanks to: Old Marshal, Lord Di, where are you? It's Yuanfang here! Thank you both for your monthly votes, I'm very grateful.]

Please, everyone, read to the last page! Following along is really important; it seems we didn't make it into the third round of recommendations.

that's all.

Back at the station, Zhang Yang was reporting on the progress of Hu Yaoliang's case in Lao Zheng's office when the door was pushed open and Yang Zhen strode in, clutching a fax in his hand, his expression not very good.

Old Zheng took the fax, glanced at it, and looked up at Yang Zhen, saying, "Why don't you and Ding Jian go to the Sui brothers' hometown in Jilin and check things out?"

Zhang Yang leaned back in his chair and shook his head: "Old Zheng, the Sui brothers have killed sixteen people in eight provinces. These kinds of people won't run back to their hometown. They know their hometown is the first place the police are watching."

Just then, Ding Jian pushed the door open and came in, holding up a piece of paper. His tone was filled with excitement: "Old Zheng, Li Yuansheng just confessed that this guy named Mao Dayong is the only contact person for the Sui brothers in this city."

Old Zheng took the paper, glanced at it, frowned and then relaxed: "Isn't this the name from the car theft case that Ji Jie investigated before?" He slammed the paper on the table. "Ding Jian, quickly have Bao Le come back and investigate. If it's the same person, then investigate both cases together, with Yang Zhen in charge."

"Okay, I'll go right now." Ding Jian turned around and went out the door.

Yang Zhen followed him out, and the office fell silent. Old Zheng turned his gaze back to Zhang Yang, picked up his teacup, and took a sip: "In your case, you suspect that the two brothers were jealous, and the older brother killed the younger one?"

Zhang Yang nodded and pushed the materials he was organizing forward: "That's right. When I was at Du Yi's house, I noticed that she had several pieces of underwear hanging on her balcony, which were the same set I found in Hu Yaoliang's room. Also, the parents' favoritism is too obvious. The older brother, Hu Yaoming, teaches at a middle school and has a respectable job. His parents bought him a house on his own. The younger brother, Hu Yaoliang, drives a truck and gives most of his earnings to his family. He has less than three thousand yuan in savings. We checked his bank statements, and the money he brought back was immediately given to Hu Yaoming by his parents."

Old Zheng put down his teacup and tapped his fingers twice on the table: "Then let's investigate according to your plan. Just tell me what you need."

"I want to go to Hu Yaoming's house again to ask about the situation."

"I think it's a good idea."

Zhang Yang, Ji Jie, and Tian Rui visited Hu Yaoming's house again. The atmosphere inside was even more oppressive than last time. Hu Yaoming sat in the corner of the sofa, flanked by his parents on either side, like two bodyguards.

Ji Jie cut to the chase: "Hu Yaoming, did you go out last night?"

Hu Yaoming's lips moved, but before he could speak, his mother spoke first, her tone urgent and harsh: "Yaoming stayed home all night and didn't go anywhere."

Ji Jie ignored her, her eyes fixed on Hu Yaoming: "Yaoming, what have you been doing at home all night?"

Hu Yaoming lowered his eyes, his voice dry: "Watch TV, read books."

His father, standing nearby, added sullenly, "They even fixed my computer."

As if reminded by those words, Hu Yaoming suddenly looked up and spoke faster: "Oh right, I also called my girlfriend."

Tian Rui immediately pressed, "What time did you make the call?"

"From 9:15 to 10:30."

"Having been fighting all along?"

"right."

Zhang Yang closed the notebook in his hand and said unhurriedly, "Your story doesn't match up with your girlfriend Du Yi's. Du Yi said she was taking a shower during that time."

"Impossible." Hu Yaoming's tone suddenly hardened, and he straightened his neck. "She must have misremembered."

Ji Jie leaned forward slightly, her voice low but clear: "Yaoming, can we be frank? We've checked, and there were no phone records from either your family or Du Yi's family on the night your brother had the accident."

Hu Yaoming's mother's eyes were already brimming with tears. She looked at Ji Jie, her voice trembling, "Officer, Yaoming has been home all night. Please believe me, okay?"

Zhang Yang stood up, walked to the opposite side of Hu Yaoming, looked down at him, then turned to look at his mother. His tone was soft, but his words carried weight: "Auntie, you have two sons. It seems you prefer Hu Yaoming."

He took the evidence bag out of his bag and placed it on the coffee table. The black lace panties stood out conspicuously in the transparent plastic bag. "Hu Yaoming, you like Du Yi, Du Yi likes you, and Hu Yaoliang also likes Du Yi. The relationship between the three of you is complicated enough. This was found in Hu Yaoliang's room. Did you put it there, or did Du Yi go in, take it off, and throw it there?"

Hu Yaoming stared at the evidence bag, his Adam's apple bobbing violently.

Zhang Yang didn't give him a chance to breathe: "We've checked your family's phone records. Are you going to lie again?"

Hu Yaoming's father then spoke, his voice low and carrying a tone that was hard to define as either pleading or commanding: "Please believe us."

His mother was still rambling on, "He cooks for me, and he does my laundry..."

"I killed him."

All sounds in the room fell silent. Hu Yaoming didn't look at anyone when he said this; his eyes were fixed on the evidence bag on the coffee table, as if someone had squeezed the last bit of strength out of his throat.

Zhang Yang asked, "Who did you kill?"

Hu Yaoming's voice began to tremble, and his shoulders shook as well: "My younger brother, Yaoliang."

His mother let out a hoarse cry, slid off the sofa, and knelt on the floor, her hands grabbing at her son's trouser legs haphazardly, unsure whether to pull them up or down. His father sat in his chair, his back slumped, his eyes staring at the ceiling, his mouth open, but no sound came out.

Zhang Yang took the handcuffs from his waist, walked up to Hu Yaoming, and moved very quietly; the clinking of the metal was particularly clear in the quiet room. He put the handcuffs on Hu Yaoming and said, "Let's go."

Tian Rui had already gone outside and contacted the police station by phone, asking them to send two policewomen to provide backup. After hanging up, she dialed another number and asked someone to go to Du Yi's house and bring the person back to the station.

The interrogation and on-site review have concluded.

The office lights were glaringly bright. Ji Jie sat in her chair, twirling a pen in her hand, her brow furrowed. She flipped through the transcript twice and suddenly said, "Something's not right with this case. There's more to it than meets the eye."

Tian Rui poured herself a glass of water and was about to drink it when she heard this and turned her head: "The scene restoration is all fine, what other problems could there be?"

Zhang Yang leaned against the table, scanning Hu Yaoming's interrogation record line by line. Ji Jie stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and pointed to the line about the motive: "Hu Yaoming confessed that he asked his brother for money, but his brother refused, and they argued, which is why he hit him. He said he needed money to go abroad, so why didn't he ask his parents?"

Zhang Yang looked up from the interrogation record and said, "Sister Ji, I can answer this question for you. His parents don't have much money left. Over the years, the old couple's savings, plus the wages Hu Yaoliang returned, have basically all gone to support Hu Yaoming. Hu Yaoming knows that his parents can't squeeze any more money out of him, so he went to his brother."

Ji Jie nodded, then pointed to another part of the statement: "He also mentioned something else. He said he didn't know which trash can he threw the knife in. Note that he said 'knife,' not 'knife handle.' The murder weapon we found in a trash can near the scene was a knife with a broken handle, the blade separated from the handle. If he was just the perpetrator, he should have known the knife was broken and wouldn't have said 'knife.'"

Zhang Yang closed the note, his thoughts now clear after Ji Jie pointed it out: "Maybe he didn't even know the knife was broken, but if he didn't know it was broken, then it means he didn't bring the knife with him. When he got it, the knife was still intact. He didn't care whether the knife was broken or not, and he didn't pay attention when he threw it away. We need to find out who brought this knife."

Ji Jie put her pen on the table: "Go back and continue interrogating Hu Yaoming."

The white light from the fluorescent lamp in the interrogation room shone on Hu Yaoming. He was wearing handcuffs and sitting on an iron chair. He looked much thinner than during the last interrogation, and the dark circles under his eyes made his face appear even paler.

Zhang Yang and Ji Jie sat down opposite him. Zhang Yang spread out the statement, held the pen, and looked up at him: "Hu Yaoming, I have a question for you. Did you bring that knife, or did your brother bring it?"

Hu Yaoming lowered his head, remained silent for a few seconds, and then said something that stunned Zhang Yang and Ji Jie at the same time: "It was...it was Du Yi who brought the knife."

Zhang Yang's pen paused on the paper. He looked up at Ji Jie, and the two exchanged a glance. Suppressing the surprise in his voice, Zhang Yang continued, "Are you going abroad alone, or are you taking Du Yi with you?"

Hu Yaoming's voice grew softer and softer, as if every word he spoke was consuming his last bit of strength: "Du Yi asked me to borrow money from my brother. She wanted to go abroad with me, but the money my parents gave me was only enough for one person, so she came up with this idea."

After the interrogation, Ji Jie sat at her desk organizing the case materials when Zhang Yang walked over and sat down next to her.

"Sister Ji, I never expected Du Yi to be so kind-hearted on the surface but so ruthless on the inside."

Ji Jie smiled, a hint of helplessness in her smile: "You haven't seen enough. Du Yi's cunning is extraordinary. We continued interrogating her, and she confessed everything. Over the years, the money Hu Yaoming's parents subsidized him was basically all spent on Du Yi. She also confessed to having an affair with Hu Yaoliang, not for love, but for the secret savings Hu Yaoliang had accumulated." Ji Jie flipped through Du Yi's statement. "Hu Yaoliang has secretly saved about 120,000 yuan over the years without his family's knowledge, and that's what Du Yi was after."

Zhang Yang raised an eyebrow when he heard the number. Driving a long-distance truck was indeed hard work, but the money he saved was substantial, it's just that he never spent any of it on himself before he died.

"If Hu Yaoliang had lived alone, he wouldn't have ended up like this."

Ji Jie finished organizing the materials and stapled them shut with a click: "Let's close the case. Report it to the procuratorate and approve the arrest."