Recruited by NetEase.

Five o'clock in the afternoon, Fujiang Village.

Zhang Haiyan's parents lived in Fujiang Village. It was a small village, located somewhat far from Qindao City, and it could not be considered very wealthy.

Not long ago, Zhang Haiyan received a phone call from a neighbor informing her that a group of police officers had gone to her home and even taken Cao Yang away, turning her face pale with fright.

She hurriedly packed her things, preparing to leave her parents' home with her daughter.

Zhang Haiyan's father couldn't help asking, "Yan, what on earth is going on? You're leaving in such a rush."

"That's right, your mother changed the bedsheets early this morning, expecting you two to stay here for a couple of days," Zhang Haiyan's mother said.

"Something happened at the grocery store. Cao Yang can't handle it alone, so I have to hurry back."

"What could possibly be so urgent?"

"Oh, I can't explain it in just a word or two," Zhang Haiyan brushed them off.

"Cao Yang is utterly useless anyway. He can never get anything done and always leaves his wife to worry," Zhang Haiyan's father complained.

"Mom, I don't want to leave. I want to play at grandma's house, and I want to go see the little pigs with grandpa," Yueyue said, tugging at Zhang Haiyan's hand and acting spoiled.

Zhang Haiyan hesitated for a moment and said, "Be a good girl, Yueyue. Why don't you stay at grandma's house, and mommy will come pick you up tomorrow."

"No, no! I want mommy to stay with me."

"Mommy has something to attend to. I'll come back to pick you up tomorrow after I deal with it. Be a good girl." Zhang Haiyan squatted down, straightened Yueyue's clothes, and kissed her on the cheek.

"Yueyue can stay with grandma. Your mom is coming back tomorrow anyway," Zhang Haiyan's mother chimed in to persuade her.

After Zhang Haiyan made a few more promises and agreed to buy her daughter a toy online, Yueyue finally agreed to stay behind alone.

After Zhang Haiyan said goodbye to her mother and daughter, her father used his electric scooter to take her to the main road. He couldn't help asking, "Yan, what on earth happened? You're in such a fiery rush. Do you need your dad's help?"

"No, it's just business matters," Zhang Haiyan shook her head.

"If there's truly something you can't handle, tell your family. Don't carry it all by yourself."

"I know."

It was difficult to hail a cab in the village. Zhang Haiyan had originally planned to take a public bus to the nearby main road and then flag down a taxi, but she got lucky when a taxi happened to drive by, so she hailed it and got in.

Once inside the car, Zhang Haiyan waved goodbye to her father and looked back toward the direction of the village. Tears streamed down uncontrollably as she murmured,

"Yueyue, Mommy has failed you. I'm so sorry..."

"Big sister, where are you headed?" the driver asked.

"The bus station."

"Heading to the bus station at this hour? You'll probably hit heavy traffic halfway there," the driver remarked.

"It's fine. Even with the traffic, I have to go. And the faster, the better—I'll pay you extra," Zhang Haiyan said.

"Well, I'll say this in advance: taking a detour is faster and there's no traffic, but it's a longer distance. The meter is running, though," the driver reminded her.

"A little extra cost doesn't matter. Just get there as fast as you can."

"You got it!" The driver pressed down on the accelerator, speeding up significantly.

Zhang Haiyan covered her eyes, but the tears kept gushing out.

...

After the car had driven for half an hour, Zhang Haiyan began to feel that something was amiss. "Driver, why are you heading into the city? I'm supposed to go to the bus station."

"I know. At this hour, all the traffic is heading out of the city; heading into the city is actually congestion-free. Don't worry, this is my line of work—don't you think I know how to drive faster than you?" the driver laughed.

With her mind in complete turmoil, Zhang Haiyan didn't bother arguing about whether the driver was intentionally taking a detour. Besides, she hadn't figured out where to go yet, so she had no choice but to take it one step at a time.

Beizhai Village wasn't far from Qindao, but because she ran a grocery store, Zhang Haiyan rarely had the chance to come into the city. She knew she probably wouldn't have another opportunity to return in the future, so she decided to take this chance to look around one last time.

Suddenly, Zhang Haiyan shivered. She spotted a police station ahead. The mere thought that the car was going to drive right past the entrance sent a chill through her bones.

"Faster, faster..."

Zhang Haiyan chanted silently in her mind, wanting the car to drive past quickly while simultaneously telling herself that the most dangerous place is the safest place.

Moments later, Zhang Haiyan was dumbfounded. The car drove straight into the courtyard of the police station.

She stood frozen in place, feeling as though she were watching a movie. A female police officer walked over, slapped handcuffs on her wrists, and led her inside the police station. During this time, someone said something to her, but her ears seemed to have malfunctioned—she couldn't take anything in, and her mind went completely blank.

...

Half an hour later, Yuhua Branch Interrogation Room.

Zhang Haiyan sat in the interrogation chair, with Han Bin in charge of the primary questioning and Tian Li taking notes.

At the exact same time Zhang Haiyan was apprehended and brought to the police station, Cao Yang's suspicion was cleared.

The two witnesses provided by Cao Yang were named Zhao Xuxin and Wang Zishan.

The police had already verified that around 8:00 on August 30th, the three of them had indeed left Qindao and stayed together the entire time. Cao Yang only returned to Beizhai Village after September 10th.

At around 10:00 a.m. on August 30th, Li Tao went to the bank to withdraw money, and around 11:00, he gave the money to Sun Shaoqiang. In the afternoon, someone saw him come to Beizhai Village and even bought a pair of pig kidneys, saying he was going to stir-fry them to go with his drinks.

When Cao Yang left Qindao, Li Tao was still alive and well. By the time Cao Yang returned to Qindao City, Li Tao had been dead for about ten days, essentially ruling out Cao Yang's suspicion.

The body was discovered at Cao Yang's home. Previously, Cao Yang was the prime suspect because he had a motive; however, in terms of opportunity, Zhang Haiyan had stayed consistently at home and had a close relationship with Li Tao, giving her far more opportunities to administer poison.

Zhang Haiyan was somewhat spaced out.

Han Bin knocked on the table and asked, "Name, gender, age, ethnicity..."

Zhang Haiyan slowly raised her head and glanced at Han Bin. "Don't you already know all of that? Why ask?"

"That was for taking a statement before; this is an interrogation. They are two different matters," Han Bin said.

"To me, they're the same. You people just love going through formalities."

Han Bin put down his pen and demanded, "What kind of attitude is that?"

"So what if this is my attitude?" Zhang Haiyan challenged defiantly.

"Don't be ungrateful. Interrogating according to the rules is meant to protect your rights. If I remove this recording device right now, try talking back to me again," Han Bin scolded.

"Remove it then. Who's afraid of whom?"

"Even if you don't confess, we have enough evidence to convict you. If you are convicted purely on zero confessions, you will definitely be sentenced to death," Han Bin said coldly.

"Hmph," Zhang Haiyan snorted, maintaining her devil-may-care demeanor.

"Think of your daughter. Do you still want to see her? Do you want to watch her grow up, go to school, get married, and have children?" Han Bin asked.

Zhang Haiyan remained silent.

"While you were in the taxi, you kept saying you were sorry to your daughter. If you really die, you won't even have the chance to say 'I'm sorry' to her in person."

"Would saying it matter? Would she understand? Would she forgive me?" Zhang Haiyan retorted.

"Whether she forgives you or not is her business. At the very least, you still have the chance to see her."

Zhang Haiyan hesitated for a long time. "How many years?"

"As long as you take the opportunity to perform meritorious service, your sentence will be appropriately commuted," Han Bin said.

Tears streamed down Zhang Haiyan's cheeks as she began to sob softly.

After a long while, Zhang Haiyan wiped away her tears and spoke up, "I killed Li Tao."