Cause and effect

Using the food delivery app, they tracked down Wu Zekai’s address. Han Bin and his team immediately rushed to Nanzhou to carry out the arrest.

Wu Zekai was successfully escorted back to Qindao City for interrogation.

Qindao District Police Station, interrogation room.

Han Bin led the questioning, while Li Hui handled the records.

The two had traveled a thousand miles to apprehend the suspect, and upon returning, didn’t even pause to rest before beginning the interrogation. Their bodies were tired, but their spirits were high.

Wu Zekai was cunning; after all the trouble he’d caused, finally bringing him in brought a sense of relief to both officers.

Han Bin switched on the camera and began the standard questioning:

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

“Wei Qilin, male, eighteen, from Shimen…”

Han Bin picked up a bag from the interrogation table containing an ID card. “This card is so crudely made, I could tell it was fake at a glance. What’s the point?”

“Officer, maybe next time you can recommend a better place for making IDs,” Wu Zekai replied with a smirk.

“You’d better focus and cooperate with our investigation. Whether there’ll be a next time is uncertain,” Han Bin said.

“Officer, don’t try to scare me. I just hooked up with someone, what’s the big deal?” Wu Zekai feigned nonchalance.

“I’m not your father; your private life isn’t my concern. We brought you here to investigate a case.” Han Bin stood up, holding a photo of He Yan, and walked over.

“Do you know this person?”

“Yes, she’s my girl,” Wu Zekai replied.

“When was the last time you saw her?”

“I can’t remember.”

“Wu Zekai, you’re a smart man. If we managed to arrest you, it means we have solid evidence. Is there any point in playing games?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Wu Zekai shrugged.

Han Bin didn’t bother to circle around any longer. “Was it you who kidnapped and killed He Yan?”

“He Yan is dead? After we parted, she went home.”

“We’ve found He Yan’s body, packed in a suitcase identical to the one you used in the hotel,” Han Bin stated.

“No need to bluff; I won’t fall for it,” Wu Zekai scoffed.

Han Bin took several photos from the table and placed them before Wu Zekai. “Don’t cling to false hope. We’ve found He Yan’s body and have enough evidence to prosecute you.”

Seeing the photos of He Yan’s corpse, Wu Zekai’s expression turned grim.

“Are you ready to talk now?” Han Bin asked.

“Heh, what’s the point? If I talk, will you let me go?”

“Don’t invite trouble for yourself, understand?”

Wu Zekai glared at Han Bin for a long while before asking, “How did you catch me?”

“Tell us how you committed the crime, and I’ll tell you how we found you.”

“Fine, if I’m going to die, I want to understand why.” Wu Zekai took a deep breath and hesitated for a moment. “I don’t know what to say.”

“I’ll ask, you answer.”

“Name, gender, age, place of origin…”

“Wu Zekai, male, twenty-one…”

“Did you kill He Yan?”

“Yes.”

“How long have you known He Yan?”

“A little over a month.”

“How did you meet?”

“This is a long story,” Wu Zekai replied.

“That’s fine. I have plenty of time now.”

“A little over a month ago, I was playing on Bubble and added a lot of women. She responded to me, and we started chatting.”

“When did you decide to kill He Yan?”

“I never planned to kill her,” Wu Zekai shook his head. “I had two online friends in Qindao, one was He Yan, the other was Cui Xiaofang. I got along well with both, so I thought I’d come down, have some fun, and make some money.”

“So you kidnapped He Yan?” Li Hui interjected.

“That’s a misunderstanding. He Yan had no money at all. Why would I risk kidnapping her?” Wu Zekai let out a bitter laugh. “I intended to get money from Cui Xiaofang.”

“How would you get money?”

“Cui Xiaofang’s husband drives trucks, so their family’s pretty well off. But her husband is always busy and often away from home, and their child studies out of town. She’s lonely and feels unloved.”

“You took advantage of her vulnerability,” Li Hui snorted.

“People need affection, especially women her age.”

“How did you plan to get money from Cui Xiaofang?”

“We were close online, but hadn’t met in person yet. I thought I’d meet her in Qindao, sleep with her, and she’d become more dependent on me. Then I could ask to borrow money,” Wu Zekai explained.

“Did you get any money?”

“Cui Xiaofang booked a room for me. I invited her to the hotel, and she agreed at first, but later said she was busy and wouldn’t come. The more you coax a woman, the less she’ll agree. I figured I’d ignore her for a couple days, and she’d come to me on her own.”

“What does this have to do with He Yan?”

“While I was waiting for Cui Xiaofang, I was already aroused. Since she didn’t show, I reached out to He Yan.”

“How did you hook up with He Yan?” Li Hui asked.

“Officer, I didn’t expect you to be so curious,” Wu Zekai joked.

“Cut the nonsense. This is a case inquiry,” Li Hui snapped.

“He Yan’s different from Cui Xiaofang. She needs money, not love.” Wu Zekai smiled and continued, “She thinks her husband is useless, making only four or five thousand a month. Their family of four gets by on that, barely scraping by. Recently, her husband brought home even less, so they’ve been arguing a lot.”

“Hah, you’re almost like a confidante,” Li Hui mocked.

“You’re wrong. I didn’t chat much with He Yan, just sent her a red packet every few days, claimed I’d made a big deal and earned a lot. She admired people like that,” Wu Zekai said, his tone tinged with sarcasm.

“How did the conflict between you two start?” Han Bin asked.

“After we finished, it was nearly noon. I was hungry and wanted to order food. She was playing with her phone. We were chatting and things were going well; I even thought we’d go another round after lunch.”

Li Hui knocked on the table. “Get to the point.”

“He Yan had an old iPhone, I had the latest model. She insisted I give her a new phone. I refused, so she demanded to use mine. No way I’d trade—my phone was part of my image.” Wu Zekai sneered. “The bitch started fighting me, even tried to hit me with the phone. In a fit of rage, I strangled her.”

“All that for a phone?” Han Bin asked.

“Officer, have you ever used an iPhone? Do you know how much the latest model costs? I came to Qindao to make money; losing an iPhone would have been a huge loss.”

“Do you think you’ve profited now?” Han Bin pressed.

“I… damn it…” Wu Zekai’s eyes reddened, his voice choking. “I should have just gone after Cui Xiaofang.”