Interrogation Room 101

Yuhua Branch, Interrogation Room.

Xiang Hongbo sat in the interrogation chair.

Han Bin took the lead as the main interrogator, while Li Hui recorded.

“Name, gender, age, place of origin…”

“Officer Han, you forgot—we’ve already gone through this before,” Xiang Hongbo replied.

Han Bin gestured to the camera beside him. “Each procedure has its own rules. The previous time was a written statement, now it's an interrogation. Understand?”

“I don’t understand. I haven’t broken any law—why are you arresting me?” Xiang Hongbo retorted.

“He Shuirui’s death was a homicide. We’ve opened a case,” Han Bin said solemnly.

“Even if it was murder, it has nothing to do with me,” Xiang Hongbo tried to shrug, but his wrists were shackled.

“Luo Xinghua has confessed. The three of you conspired to kill He Shuirui,” Han Bin declared.

“He’s lying! What does it have to do with me? He Shuirui was obviously killed by him,” Xiang Hongbo argued back.

His words slipped out swiftly, and regret crossed his face.

“How do you know Luo Xinghua killed her?” Han Bin pressed.

“I guessed.”

“Any evidence?”

Xiang Hongbo’s gaze flickered. “No.”

“You don’t, but I do.” Han Bin stood, took out a photo, and placed it on the interrogation chair.

Xiang Hongbo glanced at it, his expression darkening. It was a picture of the three of them in a café.

“Do you know how this photo came to be?” Han Bin asked.

Xiang Hongbo lowered his head in silence.

“Luo Xinghua hired someone to take it. He’s been wary of you and Tang Yu for a long time. To seek leniency, he’s confessed everything—including the extortion you and Tang Yu committed against him.”

“I never extorted him,” Xiang Hongbo protested.

“We have witness statements, photos, surveillance footage, and both your accounts and Tang Yu’s show deposits of two hundred and fifty thousand each—the exact amount Luo Xinghua reported as the extorted sum,” Han Bin said.

Li Hui chimed in, “Xiang Hongbo, extortion is a serious offense. Two hundred fifty thousand is enough for several years behind bars.”

“That wasn’t extortion. He gave us the money willingly,” Xiang Hongbo argued.

“He’s not a fool. Why would he give you money for nothing? Without a reasonable explanation, we’ll proceed as an extortion case,” Han Bin replied.

“It was hush money,” Xiang Hongbo evaded.

“Hush money for what?”

“He killed He Shuirui.”

---

“Who killed He Shuirui?” Han Bin pressed.

“Luo Xinghua killed her.”

“How?”

“Luo Xinghua was pursuing He Shuirui. He rented a yacht and invited her out to sea. They argued on the yacht, and Luo Xinghua pushed He Shuirui into the water,” Xiang Hongbo explained.

“How do you know?”

“Her phone.”

“Be specific.”

“Before she died, He Shuirui called Tang Yu. I was nearby and heard everything. Afterwards, Luo Xinghua begged us not to tell. He’s my close friend, so I agreed. The money—he gave it to us himself,” Xiang Hongbo clarified.

“You’re sure Luo Xinghua killed He Shuirui?” Han Bin asked.

“We recorded the phone call. If you don’t believe me, you can check,” Xiang Hongbo said.

“Where’s the phone?”

“It was stolen.”

“Describe the case in detail.”

…

Half an hour later, Han Bin and Li Hui left the interrogation room.

“Bin, do you believe the hush money story?” Li Hui asked.

“It’s too soon to say. We’ll have to wait for Luo Xinghua’s confession to determine whether it was hush money or extortion,” Han Bin replied.

“That’s true. If Luo Xinghua doesn’t testify, we’ll have to base the case on the statements of the other two,” Li Hui said.

“If Luo Xinghua accuses them of extortion, he’ll be admitting to the murder of He Shuirui. Getting him to confess won’t be easy,” Han Bin sighed.

Although they’d obtained the recording of Luo Xinghua killing He Shuirui, audio evidence had its limitations. Even with bite marks as corroboration, whether the court would fully accept it was uncertain.

If the prosecutor deemed the facts unclear or the evidence insufficient, they might send the case back to the police for further investigation, complicating matters.

Witness testimony was crucial, as it could corroborate the recording and complete the chain of evidence. Thus, Tang Yu and Xiang Hongbo’s statements were especially important.

As long as the two were willing to testify against Luo Xinghua, the recording would become much more credible.

“Let’s go see how Captain Zeng’s interrogation is going,” Han Bin suggested.

Not far away, there was another interrogation room. The two headed to the observation room beside it.

The observation room had a transparent window, allowing a view into the interrogation space. Zheng Kaixuan stood with arms crossed, watching through the glass.

On the other side of the glass, Zeng Ping and Tian Li sat behind the interrogation table, while Tang Yu sat in the chair.

“Captain Zheng,” the two greeted.

“Done. Did you get a confession?” Zheng Kaixuan asked bluntly.

---

“Got it.”

“Good job.” Zheng Kaixuan grinned, pounding his fist on Han Bin and Li Hui’s shoulders.

“Where’s Zhao Ming?”

“I sent him to the coast to check on the yacht,” Zheng Kaixuan replied.

Han Bin looked toward the interrogation room. “How’s Captain Zeng’s interrogation going?”

“As you suspected, this woman is skilled at deception—not easy to deal with,” Zheng Kaixuan snorted. “She’s stubborn, refuses to confess.”

“She’s even more troublesome than Xiang Hongbo,” Li Hui muttered.

“If Xiang Hongbo testifies against Luo Xinghua, he won’t bear much responsibility. But this woman is different—she fabricated evidence, which constitutes a crime and must be prosecuted,” Han Bin said.

“Since your interrogation broke through, go in and help Captain Zeng instead of watching from here,” Zheng Kaixuan urged.

“I’ll go,” Han Bin volunteered.

…

Inside the interrogation room.

Tang Yu looked aggrieved. With her natural beauty, she appeared delicate and pitiable.

Zeng Ping’s face was stern, clearly not easy to get along with. His voice was cold: “We wouldn’t have arrested you if we didn’t have ample evidence. If we lay it all out, it’ll be too late to confess.”

“I really don’t know what to say,” Tang Yu choked.

“Bang!”

Tian Li slammed the table, scolding, “Stop pretending. We’ve found your phone. You know better than us what’s on those recordings.”

“What recordings? I’m not sure. Could they be edited or fabricated?” Tang Yu replied.

The phone was hers. If she refused to acknowledge the recording, the judge would be unlikely to accept it as evidence.

“Tang Yu, is this really necessary?” Tian Li asked.

“Officer Tian, I really don’t understand what you mean,” Tang Yu pouted, looking as though she was about to cry again.

“Hmph, you’re quite the actor,” Tian Li sneered.

“Knock, knock.”

A knock sounded outside the interrogation room. Han Bin entered.

“Aren’t you interrogating Xiang Hongbo? Why are you here?” Zeng Ping asked, puzzled.

Han Bin glanced at Tang Yu, smiled, and said,

“Xiang Hongbo confessed.”