A perfect crime? To me, it's full of flaws!

What you said... is mostly correct.

The moment those words were squeezed out of Shen Pingping's throat, she felt as if her entire body had been drained of its bones.

She could no longer maintain that stagnant calm.

The hard shell in his eyes shattered inch by inch, replaced by a frantic desire suppressed to the extreme.

Her hands were clenched into fists, the handcuff chains were pulled straight, and her neatly trimmed nails dug into the soft flesh of her palms, blood seeping out from between her fingers and dripping onto the cold iron table.

One-way glass outside.

Zhao Gang's fingers, which were holding the cigarette, suddenly trembled, and the ash fell onto his trouser leg.

Da Liu and the veteran investigators all straightened up at the same time, staring intently at the monitor screen.

"It's broken." The old investigator's hand, holding the thermos, trembled slightly, his cloudy eyes filled with shock. "This kid, he really managed to chisel through this rock."

Inside the interrogation room.

Qi Feng maintained his languid posture with his legs slightly apart and his back leaning against the chair.

He didn't even raise an eyebrow, just quietly stared at the woman opposite him.

Do not rush or interrupt.

He knew that once the dam breached, the floodwaters would be unstoppable.

"My husband is a good man." Shen Pingping's voice was terribly hoarse, but the moment she mentioned that man, a strange tenderness miraculously appeared in her bloodshot eyes.

"He is gentle and considerate. He knows that I have heard a lot of gossip in the village and that I am sensitive, so he doesn't force me to integrate into his circle. Knowing that I don't like him going out to socialize, he would rather lose a deal worth hundreds of thousands of yuan than stay at home and have dinner with me."

Shen Pingping's lips twitched nervously, a look that was both crying and laughing.

"But I feel guilty towards him. He loves children so much; his eyes always light up when he sees other people's kids. But I... I can't have children!"

Her voice suddenly rose, filled with intense self-loathing.

"During my fourth miscarriage, I knelt on the ground and begged him. I told him, 'Spend money to go out and find a clean woman, have a child with her, and bring him back. I swear, I will raise him as my own, and I will never mistreat him!'"

Shen Pingping suddenly raised her head, tears falling onto the back of her hand: "But he refused. He didn't even hesitate for a moment, pulled me up from the ground, and told me that it was okay if we didn't have children, and that we could just go to a nursing home when we got old. He only wanted me."

Qi Feng gently stroked the cold Coke can with his fingertips, his eyes deep.

"I thought it would be fine for us to live like this for the rest of our lives. After all, there are so many DINK (Double Income No Kids) couples nowadays, and there are also many who can have children but choose not to."

Shen Pingping spoke faster and faster, her breathing becoming labored and labored.

"But I was wrong. Going to study in the USA was the biggest regret of my life! In that remote village where I was born and raised, foreign countries were synonymous with openness and chaos!"

"At first, I had no idea about those foul words. My parents thought I could earn money and sent me living expenses every month. They trusted me and never caused me any trouble."

"But some things, as they're said and passed on, seem to become the truth! The villagers pointed and gossiped, saying I had a bad stomach because I messed up my fertility abroad. My parents believed it, and even my own younger brother, whom I spoiled since childhood and supported with scholarships to finish university, believed it!"

Shen Pingping lunged forward, and the handcuffs slammed against the barrier with a loud bang.

"But I'm not afraid! Because I still have him! My husband believes in me unconditionally, accepts me, and shields me from all the filth!"

At this point, Shen Pingping's expression suddenly froze, the gentleness in her eyes was instantly replaced by extreme resentment, and her features twisted together.

"But... two years ago, everything changed."

"A drunk driver took him away from me forever."

Tears streamed down her face like a burst dam, Shen Pingping's chest heaved violently, and her voice was as mournful as the cry of an owl.

"He's dead! He was only thirty-five!"

"And then? My dear brother got married, brought my parents with him, and moved into our house without a second thought!"

"Demons! They are all demons!"

Shen Pingping pounded the table frantically, the iron chains rattling loudly.

"They don't care about my husband's death at all! They only care about that big house! They seized his factory, and even... they even forced my parents-in-law, those two elderly people, back to their old house!"

"But I can't do anything... I can't do anything at all!"

Shen Pingping stared intently at Qi Feng, her eyes bloodshot, as if she wanted to tear the man in front of her who had exposed all her secrets to shreds.

"Later I figured it out. Houses, money, factories—they're all illusions. Let them take them. The only thing I can do is leave him an heir!"

"I just wanted to leave him an heir! What did I do wrong! What did I do wrong?!"

"Those children are all mine! All mine! It's just that some of them died after birth."

"But in the end, I found our child! It was our child!"

A piercing scream echoed in the interrogation room.

Qi Feng remained silent.

He stared silently at the woman before him, who had completely descended into madness.

Do you feel sympathy?

A little.

But more than anything, I felt disgust.

Qi Feng stood up, without taking the cola from the table or glancing at Shen Pingping again, and turned to walk towards the iron gate.

My steps were heavy, and my heart felt heavy, like it was stuffed with a wad of waterlogged cotton.

"Come back!"

A terrified scream came from behind.

"Come back! You promised! You promised to let me see my 'son'! Please... please!"

Shen Pingping instantly abandoned all her cruelty and resentment, and like a dying dog, she lay on the table, pleading with Qi Feng's back.

Qi Feng's hand rested on the doorknob, and he paused.

He didn't turn around.

"You want to see him?" Qi Feng's voice was icy cold. "Then tell me everything that happened afterward, how they found the target, how they carried out the operation, how they hid the body—every single word. Don't miss a single detail."

"After that, someone will come to take your statement. As for me..."

Qi Feng pushed open the door, half of his body disappearing into the shadows of the corridor.

"I don't want to hear your self-pity or your self-deprecation. Shen Pingping, you are beyond redemption."

"Bang."

The iron gate slammed shut, shutting out the heart-wrenching cries from inside.

Qi Feng did not return to the monitoring room.

He walked straight through the corridor and out of the city bureau building.

The sunlight is a bit too bright right now.

Qi Feng walked to the stone steps outside the police station and plopped down on the ground.

He took out his cigarette case, pulled out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it with a "click".

He took a deep breath, the pungent smoke filling his lungs, which finally calmed the churning air in his chest.

He looked up at the azure sky, where a few wisps of white clouds drifted leisurely.

Is Shen Pingping guilty?

Without a doubt, their crime is unforgivable; even being torn to pieces wouldn't be enough to quell their hatred.

What did those innocent victims who died tragically, that baby struggling in the incubator, do wrong? Why should they pay the price for Shen Pingping's obsession?

But the fact that she has come to this point makes people sigh with regret.

Rumors and gossip can really kill.

The knife that cuts without drawing blood often pierces the deepest.

Sometimes, a vicious family member is worse than a stranger on the street.

Strangers may at most stand by and watch coldly, but bloodsucking relatives will use the guise of "doing it for your own good" to gnaw at your wounds and suck your marrow dry.

Qi Feng exhaled a smoke ring, his eyes slightly cold.

In this absurd tragedy, the most pitiful are the innocent victims and their families who died tragically.

Secondly, there are Shen Pingping's husband's parents.

The two elderly people first experienced the pain of losing their son, and then they were kicked out of the house by their daughter-in-law's family, watching helplessly as their son's life's work was forcibly taken over by outsiders.

In contrast, what about Shen Pingping's parents and her vampire brother?

Shen Pingping was captured, and what awaited her was a bullet of justice.

However, the enormous fortune left by her husband ended up in the hands of the very people who had driven her mad.

The law can punish Shen Pingping for murder, but it cannot directly convict those who seized the family property.

That's the most frustrating part.

Qi Feng irritably stubbed out his half-smoked cigarette on the steps and lit another one.

"What? You can't even handle this?"

A hoarse, deep voice came from behind.

Zhao Gang walked out of the building at some point and came up behind Qi Feng.

The bloodshot in his eyes hadn't faded yet, but he exuded a sense of relief, as if he had just let out a long sigh of relief.

"It's not that I can't stand it." Qi Feng didn't turn around, exhaling a puff of smoke. "It's just... I feel fucked up. It's unbearable."

He couldn't accurately describe how he felt at that moment.

"Once you've worked on the front lines for a while and seen all the monsters and demons in this world, you'll get used to it." Zhao Gang sat down next to Qi Feng, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Some things involve a mix of law and reason. As police officers, we can only enforce the law. Many times, we have no choice in the matter."

As he spoke, Zhao Gang very naturally took the pack of cigarettes that had just been opened from Qi Feng's hand, knocked one out, and put it in his mouth.

"Yes, we have no choice in the matter." Qi Feng sighed deeply, his voice heavy with unease.

"But this time, I won't be forced to do what I want," Zhao Gang said, his words muffled as he chewed on his cigarette.

Qi Feng was taken aback and turned to look at him: "What do you mean?"

"Literal meaning."

Zhao Gang took the lighter from Qi Feng, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled thick white smoke.

"Shen Pingping's husband died in an accidental car accident without a will. According to the inheritance law, the first-order heirs are the spouse and parents. That is to say, Shen Pingping and her husband's parents all have inheritance rights."

Zhao Gang pointed his cigarette-holding finger at the air.

"Shen Pingping's family members illegally seized the portion of the family property belonging to the two elderly people. Now that Shen Pingping has been brought to justice, as a murderer, the portion of the property she inherited will be forcibly liquidated after the final trial to compensate the victim's family."

Zhao Gang sneered, revealing a set of teeth stained yellow by cigarette smoke.

"As for the portion belonging to her husband's parents... the bureau just held a short meeting. I had Da Liu send a letter of assistance directly to the local municipal bureau. Not only that, our municipal bureau has also stepped in and assigned the best legal aid lawyer to rush over overnight to help those two elderly people with their lawsuit."

Qi Feng's eyes lit up.

"So, in other words, Shen Pingping's parents and that vampire brother will end up with nothing, and even face legal trouble?"

"Yes. They illegally seized a huge amount of other people's property. How they'll be judged is up to the court. But I guarantee they'll have to return every single penny they took!"

Zhao Gang flicked his cigarette ash, his eyes sharp.

Qi Feng stared intently at the unshaven middle-aged man beside him, and the pent-up frustration in his heart instantly vanished.

"Thanks, Brother Zhao," Qi Feng said earnestly.

He knew that sending letters of assistance and dispatching lawyers were not within the scope of the criminal investigation team's duties.

Zhao Gang could have easily ignored it. But he still did it despite the pressure.

"Thank me my ass! What does it have to do with you?"

Zhao Gang glared at him, stood up, and dusted off his backside.

"I've been a criminal investigator for twenty years, and I can't stand seeing good people suffer! If I don't do this, I won't feel at peace!"

Zhao Gang looked down at Qi Feng, his tone exuding the domineering air of an old rogue.

"A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years, a petty person takes revenge from morning till night. I'm neither a gentleman nor a petty person. But if you make me unhappy, then you absolutely can't tolerate it!"

After saying that, Zhao Gang accurately flicked the cigarette butt he had finished smoking into the trash can three meters away, turned around and strode back to the office building.

His back view was extremely arrogant.

Qi Feng watched Zhao Gang's retreating figure and couldn't help but chuckle.

That old guy, he's actually pretty good at putting on an act.

With the heavy weight lifted from his heart, Qi Feng felt completely relaxed. He stood up, stretched lazily, and his bones cracked and popped.

The case is solved, the real culprit has been caught, and the evildoer has received his just deserts.

Now, it's time to go back and get some real work done.

Lin Haitang was still waiting for him; this woman had been seriously injured last night and was waiting for him to comfort her.

Qi Feng smiled smugly and strode towards his car.

He had only taken two steps when he habitually reached into his pocket, preparing to light another cigarette to perk himself up.

I touched it with my hand.

empty.

Qi Feng paused for a moment, then quickly rummaged through his pockets.

It's still empty.

He turned his head sharply towards the office building, veins throbbing on his forehead.

"Zhao Gang! You son of a bitch!"

Qi Feng's furious curses echoed through the city bureau compound.

"I only smoked three cigarettes from that pack! And you swiped them all, cigarettes and lighter?!"