Simulated Crime, This Criminal Doesn’t Seem to Be Acting

Ye Sangsang's words made the writer's wife flinch. Her raised hand curled into a fist before awkwardly withdrawing.

After a moment, she slightly tilted her head, her tone slightly sorrowful, and said, "He's dead, and from now on, I'll only have these manuscripts to keep me company. I hope you'll preserve some of them."

She finished speaking, adjusted her pajamas, and sat forlornly on the sofa in the living room outside the study, her head bowed, tears blurring her vision, looking extremely mournful.

Everything seemed normal.

Ye Sangsang remained silent, continuing her search for clues with the evidence bag in hand.

The study was spacious, approximately twenty-seven or twenty-eight square meters, likely created by combining two rooms.

On the other side was a bed, cluttered with many things, all books—various mystery novels, folk tales, and even supernatural stories.

All showed signs of having been read, but were tossed aside casually after, reflecting the writer's carefree lifestyle.

She continued searching and eventually found another identical sheet of paper filled with text in the corner.

Then came the third.

Ye Sangsang didn't examine them immediately but packed them up for review later.

At this moment, she noticed a circular mark in the space on an empty bookshelf.

She compared it and turned to the forensic scientist nearby, "Lao Wang, this."

She pointed it out.

The so-called Lao Wang the forensic scientist glanced and guessed it was likely where the murder weapon was originally placed, carefully photographing it.

Yang Hao rushed around searching many places, returning with a look of disappointment. He walked up to Ye Sangsang, "Didn't find anything matching."

"Normal, let's go to the living room and ask the family some questions," Ye Sangsang replied, unsurprised, and led the way to the living room.

The woman’s eyes were red as she saw Ye Sangsang and greeted her with forced politeness, "Hello, are you the officer in charge of my husband's case?"

Ye Sangsang sat beside her, while Yang Hao took a seat opposite to take notes.

She looked at the woman, "You can call me Wang Lan. May I have your name, please?"

"Officer Wang, you're too kind. I'm Yu Qingqing, you can call me Qingqing," she leaned weakly on the sofa armrest.

Ye Sangsang gave a slight nod, handing her a tissue, "Could you tell me the details of your report? When did you find your husband had passed away?"

Yu Qingqing took the tissue, wiped away the fresh tears, composed herself, and began, "I got up at nine this morning, washed up, and went downstairs to make breakfast. Once the breakfast was ready, I called my husband to eat."

At this point, she added, "We've been sleeping in separate rooms recently. He has a bit of a procrastination problem. The manuscript for the publishing house was delayed repeatedly, so he's been staying in the first-floor study to catch up on it."

"He needs peace and quiet, so unless absolutely necessary, I don't go to his study to nag him... If I knew this would happen, I would have rather he didn't write that novel..."

Here, Yu Qingqing couldn't hold back and burst into tears again.

Ye Sangsang handed her another tissue, "After breakfast was ready, you went to call him for breakfast and found him on the ground, so you reported it?"

"Yes, he's not very health-conscious. When he's writing, he completely ignores meal times. That's why I call him for meals three times a day. Today, as usual, I called him at half-past nine and got no response. After a while, I went again and still heard nothing, so I opened the door and found him lying on the floor..." Yu Qingqing trembled slightly, showing signs of breakdown.

Ye Sangsang asked, "Did you notice any unusual sounds at night? Or did anything go missing from the house?"

"Yes, there was roughly ten thousand yuan in cash in the study and one of my husband’s watches missing. The watch was a brand name, worth a lot of money," Yu Qingqing replied.

Ye Sangsang thought of something and asked, "Has your husband had any disputes with anyone?"

Yu Qingqing shook her head immediately, "No, my husband is kind and generous, there are no such enemies."

Ye Sangsang signaled Yang Hao to finish the notes, stood up, and looked at Yu Qingqing, "Please accept our condolences. We will catch the murderer as soon as possible."

"Thank you," Yu Qingqing said.

The forensic team carried the body away to the station. Ye Sangsang walked out of the study, strolling around the villa's garden, her gaze falling on the footprints on the wall and the condition of the lawn.

The villa wall was only a meter and a half high, which would not be hard for an average adult to climb over.

After observing thoroughly, she turned her attention to other areas, her gaze stopping on the neighboring villa.

"Let's go next door and inquire," she said.

Yang Hao nodded and followed closely behind Ye Sangsang to the neighboring house.

The doorbell rang, and shortly an elderly lady came over and opened the door, "Who are you?"

Ye Sangsang showed her badge, "Police, something happened next door, we’re here to gather information."

The elderly lady, seeing the uniforms, confirmed they were not scammers and said, "That man next door died, didn’t he? I saw the police and ambulance arrive early this morning."

"Do you have any leads? Or did you see anyone enter the neighboring villa?" Ye Sangsang asked, not responding directly.

The old lady, knowing Ye Sangsang wouldn't disclose details, was a bit disappointed but cooperated with her questions, "Didn't see anyone. I go to bed early, and we’re separated by a road, so I can't hear what's happening on the other side."

Ye Sangsang nodded, smiling, "Thank you. If you have any information, please report it to us as soon as possible; only by catching the criminal can everyone feel safe."

"Yes, yes, I understand," the old lady nodded repeatedly, promising to cooperate.

As Ye Sangsang turned to signal Yang Hao to leave, the old lady suddenly remembered something and hurried forward, grabbing their arms.

Ye Sangsang turned to see the old lady looking around, ensuring no one was watching, and then drew them to the doorway.

Once inside, she started gossiping in a low voice, "You don’t know, but that couple next door didn’t seem to have a good relationship. A couple of days ago, I saw them arguing on the second-floor balcony, quite fiercely, but my ears aren’t good, so I couldn’t hear what they were saying."

"They were arguing? But they seemed to have a very good relationship!" Ye Sangsang acted puzzled, prompting her to continue.

The old lady made a disapproving face, looking at Ye Sangsang, "You’re wrong there. They argued fiercely, and it looked like they were about to come to blows! But for some reason, the man didn’t strike and left the room."

Yang Hao, hearing this, quickly made a note of it.

The old lady seemed panicked upon seeing this, "Won’t this get out? If people find out, how will I face my neighbors?"

Ye Sangsang quickly reassured her, "No, our notes won’t be leaked. If it turns out to be not useful, we’ll regularly destroy these useless records. You can speak freely."

The old lady nodded, commenting, "Actually, the two usually had a good relationship, often taking walks together after dinner, and greeting us neighbors. Who would have thought something like this would happen."

Ye Sangsang agreed and, seeing the old woman was about to start a long chat, quickly found an excuse to leave.

The duo visited the neighboring villas but didn’t find anything unusual. When asked about the couple’s relationship, everyone said it was good, with a loving marriage.

After inquiring, they went to speak with the property management.

On the way, Yang Hao, puzzled, asked Ye Sangsang, "Sister Lan, why did you ask about their relationship? Is that important?"

Having just graduated from police academy, he had only theoretical knowledge and no practical experience. Moreover, Yu Qingqing appeared to love her husband deeply and seemed fragile, so the possibility of her being the culprit seemed low, doesn’t it?

【Yes, Yu Qingqing and her husband seemed to have a perfectly good relationship, with no apparent suspicious points.】

【Maybe she hired someone!】

【Hehe, I know Ye Sangsang will figure it out.】

The live broadcast chat was briefly discussing, the majority silently following the case's progression.

Hearing Yang Hao's question, Ye Sangsang said, "Close relationships are most prone to turning into hatred out of love. Also, you should know that in most murder cases, the person who reports the crime is the most likely suspect."

Yang Hao nodded in agreement, "Yes, in many cases, there's a high probability that the person reporting the murder is the perpetrator."

After Ye Sangsang heard him out, she continued, "Do you know that in cases between husband and wife, regardless of who dies, the spouse is always the first to be investigated?"

Yang Hao inhaled deeply. He had heard this before, but when it came to the actual situation, many details were unconsciously overlooked.

"Investigating a case, the biggest taboo is subjective speculation. It's crucial to learn to look at facts objectively. Whether Yu Qingqing is a suspect or a potential murderer must be determined based on facts, not emotions."

After Ye Sangsang finished speaking, she headed towards the property management office of the villa district.

They were now looking to access the surveillance footage from around the deceased's residence to quickly identify potential suspects.

Yang Hao understood Ye Sangsang's words and stood still for a moment before quickly catching up to her, saying, "I get it now, Sister Lan!"

【Sangsang is getting better at this with each case.】

【That's right. Even now, some people are easily deceived by one-sided statements and immediately believe what the other party says!】

Exactly. We need to look at the objective facts! Don't have a <filter> or assume the person is innocent just because you think so. Some people are very skilled at deception.

Faced with the enthusiastic and somewhat excitable Yang Hao, Ye Sangsang ignored him, and the two proceeded to the property management office, one after the other.

After requesting to view the surveillance footage, the property management was very cooperative.

With a homeowner found dead at home, if the culprit was an outsider, the property's security would certainly be held accountable. They were very eager to solve the case quickly and suppress the incident as soon as possible.

The property manager accompanied the two to the surveillance room, where they began by reviewing footage from last night between eight or nine o'clock and this morning.

Being a villa district, even in the mid-2000s, every road was equipped with surveillance cameras.

There were four cameras around the deceased's home, and Ye Sangsang and Yang Hao each took charge of two, viewing the footage at 1.5x speed.

Although the coroner had estimated the time of death to be around six hours ago, to avoid missing any early signs of the culprit's entry, they expanded their viewing range.

Indeed, being a detective is a painstaking job. The two spent three hours straight watching the footage and finally spotted a suspicious figure lurking in the villa district at one AM.

"This person kept glancing at the deceased's house. Could he be the culprit?" Yang Hao suggested.

Ye Sangsang slid the mouse and pulled the progress bar, noticing the figure disappear between the path connecting the elderly woman's villa and the deceased's home.

She continued rewinding and found that the figure had already appeared outside the villa district by ten PM the previous night.

She stood up, pulled out a USB drive, and copied the video, then proceeded to check other surveillance footage.

If they could identify this suspect, the case would have a significant lead, and it might even be solved soon.

Yang Hao also felt the potential and smiled, "Hopefully, everything goes smoothly."

Ye Sangsang didn't respond. The two walked to their vehicle, planning to locate any surveillance cameras outside the villa district to track the suspect's movements.

She suspected that the culprit likely had a criminal record, but it was unclear if there would be useful fingerprints.

The forensic team would handle that. After Yang Hao brought back the footage, the two continued their tireless investigation, even having colleagues bring food back for them, which they ate in front of the computer.

"You know, this guy has some anti-surveillance skills. He knew to change his clothes in the restroom," Yang Hao commented with a hint of annoyance as they saw the suspicious figure enter the restroom and emerge after about an hour.

The problem was, the public restroom wasn't busy at night, so even with a change of clothes, he wasn't that hard to identify.

Ye Sangsang remained silent, continuing to watch as the suspect roamed the streets until around nine-thirty PM before heading towards the villa district.

It seemed the suspect had already scoped out the location, making him a potential thief who had targeted the residence.

Did he find the deceased home and decide to kill them on the spot?

【This case feels a bit straightforward. Not entirely sure, let's keep watching.】

【This thief is oddly humorous, like he has some intelligence but not quite enough.】

【Could this case just be another one to get practice on?】

The audience, watching the surveillance footage along with Ye Sangsang and Yang Hao, had their own thoughts and speculations.

After about four hours, Ye Sangsang and Yang Hao finished reviewing all the footage. Both stood up from their chairs, stretched their tired bodies.

They felt almost numb. Investigating a case really does take a toll on time and energy.

Ye Sangsang headed back to the office, sitting in front of the computer. They had a rough idea of where the suspect might live, and now they needed to identify him and begin the arrest.

She pondered for a moment before heading to the forensic center.

Unfortunately, she ran into Wang Lan's boyfriend, leaving her no choice but to engage in some awkward small talk.

He was the team leader of another group, with a handsome and robust appearance, showing Wang Lan had good taste.

However, both were busy. Ye Sangsang asked if he was busy, to which he replied in the affirmative. After a few stilted exchanges, they parted ways, each saying they had work to do, and went their separate ways.

After a few steps, Ye Sangsang breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, their relationship was still new, making it easy to brush off any social discomfort.

She entered the forensic center and inquired about the fingerprints found at the scene.

The forensic team confirmed that they had found some and were ready for comparison.

As Ye Sangsang had suspected, the culprit had a criminal record.

With the identity of the suspect confirmed, it was time to plan the arrest.

Everything seemed to be going incredibly smoothly, something both Ye Sangsang and the audience felt.

They contacted the local police station near the suspect's area, spending time confirming his current residence before Ye Sangsang led a team of police officers to his doorstep.

The suspect's neighborhood was complex, and he was somewhat vigilant. Seeing them downstairs, he immediately tried to flee.

However, he couldn't outrun the three or four police officers, and with the current societal situation not being entirely secure, many people were still kind-hearted, offering directions without directly interfering.

After pinning him down and placing handcuffs on him, Ye Sangsang remarked, "Quite the runner, aren't you?"

【Yeah, almost like a 3,000-meter race.】

【Do thieves have that much stamina? He doesn't even seem tired.】

【He looks a bit intimidating. Guess he's the murderer, huh?】

As the audience watched the chase unfold through the camera, with the sounds of running and pursuit, they couldn't help but comment after Ye Sangsang made the arrest.

For many viewers, this case was relatively ordinary, lacking the intense drama one might expect.

Yang Hao's lively demeanor added some light-heartedness to the investigation, making it more enjoyable for the audience.

Contrary to expectations, the number of viewers actually increased, possibly due to Ye Sangsang's calm and professional presence.

Ye Sangsang was unaware of this, thanking the police officers and bringing the suspect back to the criminal investigation unit along with Yang Hao.

To help Yang Hao's development, Ye Sangsang handed over the interrogation to him, with an experienced retired detective from the team assisting.

She went to collect the evidence: three sheets of manuscript paper.

Or rather, three letters that, when combined, formed a complete message.

Not out of intuition, but out of curiosity about the case's name, she decided to take a break for her mind by looking at them.

As the case's lead investigator, obtaining these items was straightforward. Ye Sangsang received them and was about to take a look when Yang Hao sprinted into the evidence room.

"Sister Lan, he's confessed! He says he's the one who killed her," Yang Hao said excitedly, his eyes shining with pride.

Ye Sangsang paused, set the letters aside, and rose to head to the interrogation room with Yang Hao.

Upon pushing the door open, they heard the suspect say, "I did it. I also killed someone else and buried them in my yard."

Ye Sangsang paused, thinking, was this confession too easy?

The suspect appeared to be around thirty-five or thirty-six, with narrow eyes, a slightly stocky build, dark-yellow skin, and thick calluses on his hands—a man who likely worked hard labor and had faced many life struggles.

After observing him, Ye Sangsang regained her composure and fully opened the door to enter.

She didn't take a seat but instead crossed her arms and leaned against the table, half-sitting on it.

She looked at the suspect, then at Yang Hao, and said, "So, he's confessed to killing two people."

"Yes," Yang Hao explained, "At first, he denied killing anyone. I didn't push him further, just focused on where he had hidden the stolen items. I noticed he was being evasive, which felt off, so I kept pressing him. Flustered, he eventually confessed."

Ye Sangsang nodded, her gaze focused on the man. "So you had already scoped out the area and targeted Ye Hua's villa, hence breaking in to steal?"

The suspect remained silent, nodding without speaking to answer her.

Ye Sangsang continued, "What did you use to kill her, at what time did you commit the crime, and what property did you take?"

The suspect continued to remain silent, clearly not intending to answer Ye Sangsang's questions.

Ye Sangsang thought for a moment, then looked at Yang Hao. "Since that's the case, let's go to his home first and see if there's a body. We should also check for any stolen goods."

"Alright," Yang Hao agreed.

With the forensic doctor in tow, they set off in a large group, driving for over half an hour to reach the suspect's hometown.

The vast plain stretched endlessly, with green wheat bending under the wind, creating ripples that were incredibly soothing and beautiful.

If they weren't there to dig up a corpse, and if the corpse didn't carry an unbearable stench, this scene might have been quite therapeutic.

Instead, theRank smell of decay hung in the air, permeating a radius of forty to fifty meters, making the entire scene quite the opposite of soothing.@@novelbin@@

“Ugh…” Yang Hao leaned against a tree by the roadside outside the courtyard, vomiting uncontrollably.

After vomiting, he mustered the strength to return to the courtyard, only to be met with an even more intense stench. He endured it as much as he could, but eventually had to retreat outside to throw up again.

This happened several times, as he had truly underestimated just how foul the smell was.

His lunch that day was essentially wasted, and he couldn't even think about eating dinner.

Ye Sangsang, wearing a mask, sighed and told him to take the suspect outside while she picked up some tools to help dig up the flowerbed.

First, they used a shovel to remove the soil, then carefully pried open the cement below at the position described by the suspect, and finally dug out the corpse.

Perhaps influenced by movies and TV shows, or maybe because cement is seen as sturdy and airtight, many murderers prefer to seal their victims in cement after killing them.

Some others like to bury the body underground.

This suspect, Zhou Ya, had innovated by directly sealing the body under the flowerbed with cement.

However, cement cannot completely seal off the corpse, which still decomposes and emits a foul odor. Moreover, because cement inhibits the proliferation of bacteria, it can prolong the time the smell is released.

Had they expected to be found sooner or later due to the distinctive smell in his hometown, which led him to confess voluntarily?

Ye Sangsang didn't have time to think too much and, along with her colleagues, completely dug out the partially exposed corpse.

Seeing the body being lifted out, everyone present felt uncomfortable.

The body was highly decomposed, with black-red, greenish flesh enveloping the white bones, an eyeball lying beside it, long hair covering most of the face, and clothes that had turned black, only vaguely recognizable as a dress.

The almost tangible stench made even experienced forensic doctors feel challenged by the smell and the sight.

She had learned some relevant knowledge and judged that the deceased had been dead for at least three or four months under such circumstances.

At that moment, the stolen money and items previously taken were brought out and packed up.

The corpse was wrapped in a body bag and taken away by the forensic doctor.

Yang Hao had also brought the suspect inside by now. Ye Sangsang asked, "At this point, you should just say it, it will save everyone time."

"I accidentally killed her, and I didn't want to go to jail, so I brought her back and hid her under the flowerbed," the suspect, Zhou Ya, said with a touch of innocence.

Yang Hao was furious. Accidentally? The person is dead, yet he claims it was an accident!

Just as he was about to speak, Ye Sangsang stopped him and asked, "Who was the deceased, when did she die, and are there any other victims?"

Zhou Ya shook his head. "She was a colleague of mine at the construction site. She came from another place to work here. Three months ago, I went out to eat with her, drank some alcohol, and she wouldn't sleep with me, so I got emotional and strangled her…"

As he said this, his eyes showed a hint of confusion.

【How terrifying, so this is an attempt of assault that ended in murder, right?】

【The tone is so indifferent, yet he claims it was accidental.】

【Obviously, there's no such thing as innocent. Death penalty, please!】

After Yang Hao finished listening, he became even angrier and turned back to curse, "You're sick!" He then looked at Ye Sangsang.

"After killing her, you just brought the body home to dispose of it? Why didn't you handle it in the city?" Ye Sangsang asked.

Zhou Ya remained calm, his tone unchanged as he answered truthfully, "There are too many people in the city, while in the countryside near my home, there are fewer people. If there's a smell, others might mistake it for something else."

Ye Sangsang lowered her eyes. "What about the murder weapon you used to kill the victim in the villa?"

Zhou Ya did not respond.

Ye Sangsang went back inside to search for the weapon but couldn't find it. She then took Zhou Ya back with her.

Outside the courtyard, many onlookers had gathered. As Ye Sangsang walked out, they stood not far away, whispering among themselves.

"What a sin, the Zhou family's kid actually killed someone."

"He's been unruly since he was young. His mom left, his dad died, and even his brother doesn't like him."

"If someone's dead, will he get the death penalty?"

The murmuring caused Zhou Ya to move his lips briefly, but eventually, he said nothing.

Ye Sangsang glanced at him and then directly escorted him to the car, driving away.

Upon returning to the bureau, a colleague handed over some documents—information about Zhou Ya's family and work relations.

Ye Sangsang looked through it. Three months ago, the suspect had indeed worked at a local construction company.

What surprised her was that he had a brother, Zhou Xue, who worked as an editor at a reputable publishing house in the area, a very respectable job. However, the brothers hadn't been in contact for a long time.

Yang Hao interjected, "I asked Zhou Ya if he had his brother's contact information, and he actually said he didn't. I checked his phone, and it's true, he doesn't have it."

"The relationship between the brothers has reached its end."

Ye Sangsang set the documents aside and looked at Yang Hao. "Did you ask him if he killed Ye Hua, and how did he react?"

"He didn't show much of a reaction. Later, when I pressed him about his home courtyard, he clearly became very panicked, muttering a bunch of things I couldn't understand. Finally, he just said, 'Everyone was me, all of them were me,' and that was it."

Yang Hao took a deep breath, spreading his hands, his face full of helplessness.

There was nothing he could do. The suspect had admitted everything, and he declared the first interrogation successful, so he quickly informed Ye Sangsang.

Ye Sangsang looked at Yang Hao with pity. "Did you ever think that some statements can't be taken at face value?"

"Huh?"

Yang Hao was confused.

Ye Sangsang sighed. "Don't rush in your investigation. Take your time questioning the suspects and reviewing the evidence."

Yang Hao didn't understand, so he could only nod toward Ye Sangsang, then went to the construction company to inquire for information.

After getting into the car, Ye Sangsang fell into thought. She felt that Zhou Ya was very suspicious. The man didn't seem like a normal person; he appeared to be ill. However, she didn't consider checking hospital records because someone who did hard labor and lived in poverty wouldn't go to the hospital for mental health issues. Or perhaps they would just attribute it to some kind of hysteria, even a case of being possessed by a ghost.

If he really was mentally ill, he might not face punishment. Ye Sangsang didn't consider this possibility, as she thought there might be other factors at play.

But these were all just her assumptions. She could only first prove her hypothesis and then use it to support the evidence.

"By the way, do we have the identity of the deceased yet? Did the construction company provide any answers? Has no one reported her missing for three months?" Ye Sangsang turned to ask Yang Hao.

Yang Hao quickly responded, "There was a missing person report, but later, they received a message saying the deceased had returned to her hometown, so no one followed up on it."

The two went to the construction company to check it out. The company was cooperative and provided a general overview.

The manager wasn't very informed, only knowing that Zhou Ya had worked there for about a month—a man who spoke little but worked a lot.

"People down below said he was quite helpful, always offering to help with work. It's hard to believe he's like this," the manager said with some disbelief.

Ye Sangsang nodded. "So, were the deceased and Zhou Ya close?"

The manager thought for a moment. "It seemed they were a bit close. The deceased had run away from home, saying her husband beat her relentlessly. You know, in places like ours, there's an ample amount of temporary couples. Even if they live together, it's not uncommon."

Then Ye Sangsang inquired about the night the deceased disappeared, whether she went out alone or with someone.

The manager recalled being asked by the police before and stated that the surveillance footage showed her going out alone, and she never returned, leading to the missing person report.

After getting the information, the two returned and went to Zhou Ya's brother's workplace.

Zhou Xue was a university graduate. Although not from a top-tier university, in their city during this time period, a degree made it easy for graduates to secure well-paying, high-benefit jobs.

The two individuals, both in plainclothes, quickly got Zhou Xue ejected from the reception area after flashing their credentials.

Zhou Xue wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, had a lean appearance, dressed in a light blue shirt, black suit pants, and leather shoes. He seemed gentle, tidy, and refreshingly clean.

The two brothers appeared quite different in aura and appearance, with only their eyes bearing some resemblance.

[“Are they really brothers? They look so dissimilar.”]

[“Gentle and scholarly, but likely deep in thought (jk).”]

[“Please, let’s not let our personal judgments take over. Let’s focus on facts first!”]

Ye Sangsang and Yang Hao were led to a meeting room by Zhou Xue. With a resigned tone, Zhou Xue said, “You’re here about Zhou Ya, right? I truly have nothing to say. I know nothing.”

Ye Sangsang raised an eyebrow and placed her phone on the table. “We haven’t even said anything yet.”

“Zhou Ya has made several petty thefts before, all of which I had to deal with. Eventually, I blocked his number. I didn’t expect him to come straight here.” His expression revealed a mix of displeasure and impatience. “What crime has he committed this time, or has he injured someone? Let me be clear, I’m broke—no money for compensation.”

Ye Sangsang knew that she wouldn’t get anything out of him here, so she said, “He killed someone. If you find it troubling, you might not have to worry about him anymore.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xue froze, his face swiftly turning complex.

Ye Sangsang tilted her chin toward Yang Hao, signaling it was time to leave.

Yang Hao got the message and stood up.

At that moment, Zhou Xue suddenly stood up, his expression urgent. “Isn’t this a mistake? He may be bad, but he wouldn’t kill anyone!”

Ye Sangsang, already on her feet, turned to look at him. “He confessed; he forcibly assaulted someone and strangled her to death.”

But Zhou Xue rapidly shook his head. “No, that’s not possible. He’s impotent. He wouldn’t do such a thing.”

Ye Sangsang’s gaze locked onto Zhou Xue, a flicker of surprise quickly passing through her eyes.

She looked at him and said, “Not necessarily. Maybe it was precisely because of his condition that he acted out.”

“He’s a good person…”

“A good person who steals and cheats?”

“He just has some bad habits. He truly wouldn’t harm anyone! He’s actually very timid. Normally, he wouldn’t even dare to kill a chicken. How could someone who won’t kill a chicken possibly kill someone?” Zhou Xue quickly retorted to Ye Sangsang.

Ye Sangsang looked at him. “Seems like you know your brother quite well. Why don’t you come to the police station? We can talk in detail.”

Zhou Xue lowered his head and skillfully went to the editor-in-chief’s office to request leave.

Watching Zhou Xue leave the meeting room to take leave, Yang Hao curiously asked, “Sangsang, it seems Zhou Ya has a good reputation? Both the manager and Zhou Xue seem to speak highly of him.”

“We’ll discuss it back at the station,” Ye Sangsang replied.

After returning home briefly, Zhou Xue followed them to the police station.

It was evident that even though the brothers didn’t keep in touch, there was still some affection between them, at least enough that one wouldn’t be unmoved by the other’s predicament.

Ye Sangsang inquired about Zhou Ya’s situation in detail, and this time, Zhou Xue didn’t show any impatience.

Or perhaps the previous impatience had been his way of coping with dealing with Zhou Ya’s petty crimes. Deep down, he was the kind of person who would complain endlessly but eventually would grudgingly handle the situation.

Able to complain loudly but act kindly at heart.

After Ye Sangsang finished questioning Zhou Xue, he produced medical records from various hospitals over the years.

He had gone home in the middle to retrieve them, amounting to four separate hospital diagnoses.

All the records confirmed Zhou Ya’s condition—he was completely incapable of achieving an erection.

“My brother truly wouldn’t kill anyone,” he reiterated. “He has a peculiar temper sometimes, is antisocial, and difficult to get along with, but he rarely resorts to violence, and occasionally helps others.” He added, “Although he steals and cheats, it’s more like a habit.”

[“Seems like he’s not a murderer.”]

[“But hiding the body is an undeniable fact! Plus, he confessed to the murder himself.”]

[“This case is feeling complicated. Wasn’t it almost wrapped up?”]

The viewers in the live stream, seeing the solid evidence in Ye Sangsang’s hands, felt that the Zhou Ya in the interrogation room and the Zhou Ya Zhou Xue and the manager described were almost two different people.

Ye Sangsang collected the medical reports, had Zhou Ya wait in the questioning room, and returned to the interrogation room.

Zhou Ya was still seated in the interrogation chair when she tried asking, “Do you know who I am?”

“You’re a police officer, right?” Zhou Ya replied, a little puzzled.

Ye Sangsang decided to change the approach and asked, “When you killed Ye Hua, did you strangle him with your left or right hand?”

Yang Hao, standing beside her, immediately wanted to correct her; Ye Hua had been bludgeoned to death.

Ye Sangsang shot Yang Hao a glance.

Yang Hao immediately fell silent.

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Ya responded, “Both hands.”

Yang Hao’s mouth slightly opened in surprise; it seemed Zhou Ya hadn’t been the one to commit the murder.

Ye Sangsang continued asking several other questions.

Such as what time he killed the pursuer, how long he strangled the victim, and what tools he used to bring the body back to his hometown.

And so on.

Zhou Ya answered somewhat smoothly, occasionally stumbling, but his responses still suggested he had indeed buried the victim.

After a while, Ye Sangsang turned and left.

Yang Hao followed her and asked, “Sangsang, what’s the purpose of these questions? Besides, if it wasn’t Zhou Ya who killed Ye Hua, then who did?”

Ye Sangsang looked back and said, “Contact someone to arrange a psychiatric evaluation for him.”

“What?” Yang Hao was caught off guard by this development.

Ye Sangsang explained, “He probably has a type of perceptual disorder or schizophrenia, causing hallucinations. The one who killed might not be him; he’s just a scapegoat.”