072 Little Kai

Qinling Community, at Cui Xiaofen’s home.

“Big sis, you didn’t even let me know before you came. I would have made you something to eat.”

“No need, I already ate before coming.” Cui Xiaofang forced a smile.

“Is brother-in-law out driving his cab again?” Cui Xiaofen asked.

“Yes, it’s just me again. The house feels so empty at night, it scares me a little, so I came over to keep you company.”

“Come on, let’s chat for a bit, it’ll be nice. It’s so boring to stay home alone anyway. I’ve got plenty of space for you to stay too, it’s no trouble at all,” Cui Xiaofen said.

“I hope I’m not disturbing your time alone with your husband.”

“Oh, listen to you. We’re an old married couple, what ‘time alone’ is there?”

Bzzz... Cui Xiaofang’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen and stood up. “I’ll just use the bathroom.”

“I’ll go cut up some fruit,” Cui Xiaofen said, heading to the kitchen.

Cui Xiaofang hurried into the bathroom, unlocked her phone, and sent a message on Bubblechat.

“Sis Fang, you were in such a hurry for me to reply—are you missing me?”

“Xiao Kai? Where are you?” Cui Xiaofang typed.

“I’m at the hotel,” Xiao Kai replied, sending a mischievous grin. “On a king-size bed.”

“Don’t mess around. I have something serious to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“Did you use the bank account I gave you to do something illegal?”

“No.”

“Really.”

“I told you before, didn’t I? I was a guarantor for someone, but that guy skipped out, and my own account was frozen. That’s why I borrowed your card,” Xiao Kai explained.

“That bank card belongs to my husband. The police came today and took him away,” Cui Xiaofang said.

“Oh? Maybe your husband did something illegal. Didn’t you ask?”

“I did, but the police wouldn’t say.”

“Then it must be your husband who’s in trouble.”

“That can’t be...” Cui Xiaofang frowned. Her husband Liu Jingxiang was an honest man who’d never done anything wrong in all these years.

“All I did was ask you for a bank account, and the card is still with you. Has anyone transferred money to you?”

“No.”

“Then what’s the problem? It’s got nothing to do with me,” Xiao Kai said.

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Alright, I’m busy. We’ll talk another time.” With that, Xiao Kai went offline.

Cui Xiaofang sighed, still feeling uneasy. Maybe Jingxiang really did do something wrong and got arrested for it. If that were true, why would I need to hide?

“Big sis, what’s taking you so long? Are you alright?” Cui Xiaofen knocked on the door.

“I’m fine, just a second.” Cui Xiaofang flushed, washed her face, forced a relaxed expression, and came out.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door.

“Who is it?” Cui Xiaofen called.

“It’s downstairs. Your bathroom is leaking.”

“Big sis, is our bathroom leaking?”

“It shouldn’t be,” Cui Xiaofang answered, but she wasn’t sure—she’d been too busy on Bubblechat to notice anything else.

“One moment.” With a clear conscience, Cui Xiaofen had no fear and, worried that she might have caused a flood downstairs, went straight to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, two men walked straight in. “Police.”

“What are you doing in my home?” Cui Xiaofen exclaimed in surprise.

Han Bin ignored her and walked right up to Cui Xiaofang. “Cui Xiaofang, you’re pretty quick on your feet.”

“Officers, why are you here?” Cui Xiaofang trembled, recognizing Han Bin.

“Why did you run? That’s why we’re here. Are you coming with us, or do we have to take you?” Han Bin produced a pair of handcuffs.

“Big sis, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know either.” Cui Xiaofang shook her head. “Officers, why are you arresting me? Does this have something to do with my husband?”

Han Bin took out a piece of paper with a bank card number written on it. “Are you using your husband’s bank card?”

Cui Xiaofang’s face turned pale. “I... I don’t know anything, I just...”

Zhao Ming snorted. “Let’s go. You might not know now, but you’ll find out at the station.”

...

Ten o’clock that night.

Qindao Branch, interrogation room.

Outside the interrogation room, Cui Xiaofang managed a brief glance at her husband—no words were exchanged before she was led inside.

Han Bin led the questioning, Tian Li took notes, and a camera sat on the table.

“Name, gender, age, place of origin...”

“My name is Cui Xiaofang, female, forty-four years old...”

“Cui Xiaofang, do you know why you’re here?”

“No.”

“You don’t know, or you don’t want to say?” Han Bin pressed.

“Officer, I really don’t know why you’re arresting me,” Cui Xiaofang said, biting her lip.

Han Bin picked up a transparent evidence bag containing an iPhone. “Is this your phone?”

“Yes.”

Han Bin unlocked it, opened Bubblechat, and scanned the messages. “Who is Xiao Kai?”

Cui Xiaofang shuddered, her voice trembling. “He’s... a friend of mine.”

“You gave him Liu Jingxiang’s bank card number?”

“Yes.”

“Where is he now?”

“I don’t know.”

“What’s his real name?”

Cui Xiaofang shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“What’s his phone number?”

“I really don’t know. We only talked on Bubblechat.”

“What does he look like?”

“He’s in his twenties, quite handsome, kind of looks like that Korean star Kim Min-yong.”

“Funny, that’s the one detail you remember so clearly,” Han Bin scoffed. “Do you have a photo of him?”

Cui Xiaofang thought for a moment. “I think I took a screenshot of him during a video chat once.”

Han Bin took her iPhone, browsed the photo gallery, and had her identify the pictures one by one. Soon he found a shirtless photo of a young man.

“That’s Xiao Kai?”

Cui Xiaofang nodded.

“So, apart from his Bubblechat account, you know nothing else about him?” Han Bin pressed.

“Yes.”

“Cui Xiaofang, I am formally notifying you that you are suspected of involvement in a kidnapping case. I hope you will tell the truth and cooperate with our investigation,” Han Bin said sternly.

“Kidnapping? That’s impossible!” Cui Xiaofang panicked, her voice rising. “I haven’t done anything. How could I be involved in a kidnapping?”

“This bank account was provided by the kidnapper for ransom payments. If you can’t give a satisfactory explanation, we will treat you as a suspect.”

“Officer, you have to believe me. I’m innocent. I only let Xiao Kai use the account. I had no idea about any kidnapping,” Cui Xiaofang cried.

“If you weren’t involved, why did you give your husband’s bank account to a man you barely know?”

“Xiao Kai had a friend who needed help with a business deal. He asked Xiao Kai to be a guarantor, and Xiao Kai couldn’t refuse. The friend’s business failed, he ran off, and Xiao Kai, as guarantor, had his account frozen,” Cui Xiaofang choked back tears and continued, “So when Xiao Kai did business again, he didn’t dare use his own account, and asked me for help. I thought there was no money in the card and I wouldn’t lose anything, so I gave him the account number.”

Han Bin considered this. “So Xiao Kai had some money he wanted to deposit into this account?”

“Yes.”

“How were you supposed to get the money to him?”

“He said when the money arrived, I should withdraw it, and give it to him when we meet.”

“Where would you meet?”

“At a hotel.”

“Which hotel?” Han Bin checked Bubblechat, but the earlier messages had been deleted.

“I... I don’t know which hotel,” Cui Xiaofang replied stiffly.

Han Bin sensed she was lying. He handed the phone to Tian Li beside him. “Go ask Liu Jingxiang if there are any hotels near their home.”