Free Web NovelChapter 378: Chapter 361 Can I have a cigarette?_1
Xu Dayuan laughed, his face twisting into something a bit ferocious as he tossed his hat onto the table to one side and leaned on the interrogation chair to face Lou Sanfeng.
"Why should I shut up? Did I hit a nerve?"
Your mother gave birth to your two older brothers, and before she could recover, she became pregnant with you. Her health collapsed after that, deteriorating day by day. Your father, instead of caring, was philandering, and it was no secret that there were even women coming to your door.
Do you feel humiliated? Do you feel it was unfair to your mother? After she died, your father was hardly ever home, and you became a child with no one to care for you. Furthermore, you had to face the disdain, pity, or disgust from everyone in the compound. Your inferiority complex blinded you to any kindness.
In your eyes, these people couldn’t stay far enough away from you, even thinking of you as an unlucky omen. Perhaps in your mind, their assistance and good intentions seemed like just another form of mockery. Growing up in such an environment, you deeply resented your father.
You saw all his training as a form of abuse. Of course, there were beatings, but you harbored the hatred deep in your heart. In order to escape it all, instead of aiming for college and a brighter future like the other kids from the compound, you went straight to the army.
During a chance activity to aid distressed families, you met Chen Gang. We found photos of Chen Gang and compared him to how you looked when you were seventeen or eighteen. The two of you looked almost identical, save for height, so upon seeing Chen Gang, you knew he was related to you.
Then you started investigating, which wasn’t easy, was it? Our investigation took quite some time too until we confirmed his existence and his mother’s. Finding out about his past, abandoned by his mother and then adopted, made you feel that he was very much like you—both so isolated and helpless. Periodically, you began to contact him.
Just before the Spring Festival in 2000, you overheard Chen Gang mention that his wholesale department dealt with a large amount of cash. Perhaps greed got the better of you. It was right after you had left the service, wasn’t it? You had time, a car, and the intelligence. It’s just unclear how you managed to persuade Chen Gang.
You took the child away and then had someone send the extortion letter. That military dagger was your most prized possession, wasn’t it? I wonder what you were thinking when you cut off that child’s fingers. Did you panic? Seeing the child crying, all that blood, Chen Gang backed out.
The two of you had a massive fight, even coming to blows, injuring each other’s hands, which is why there were bloodstains. You couldn’t convince Chen Gang to eliminate the witnesses, so in a fit of anger, you took the money and left. Probably you hadn’t gone far when you heard the gunshots, did you? That sound must not be unfamiliar to you, right?
Chen Gang died—he was killed by you. Did you ever feel guilty?
Afterward, you laid low. But then that year, your father’s deeds came to light, and he was forced into retirement due to illness. Everything happened so fast, and it became known among the people you knew in the compound; you were pointed out and talked about.
You switched your father’s medicine, and maybe you even watched him fall ill and die. But there’s something I don’t understand. How did the property and land on Nan Island end up registered in Yu Xiulian’s name?
Was it compensation that your father wanted to provide or an escape plan you had prepared for Chen Gang? Or perhaps you felt guilty towards Chen Gang and wanted to make it up to him with this gesture. Speak up, because you might not have another chance to explain."
Lou Sanfeng was no longer as furious as before. While your cover remains intact, you fiercely try to hide it.
But once it’s revealed, there seems to be no need to hide it any longer; instead, there’s almost a desire to show it off. Now, Lou Sanfeng’s face no longer bore his usual indifference.
He closed his eyes and didn’t speak for a long time.
Xu Dayuan wasn’t in a hurry, just standing in front of the interrogation chair, his fingers continuously flipping a cigarette pack with a rhythmic snapping sound.
Liu Yufei’s gaze constantly shifted between Xu Dayuan and Lou Sanfeng, not wanting to miss any detail. After all, Xu Dayuan’s level of interrogation was not something most people could achieve; he had an unparalleled practical experience in controlling the psychology of the suspects, even if he lacked theoretical knowledge.
After some time, Lou Sanfeng opened his eyes and held up two fingers towards Xu Dayuan. freewёbnoνel.com
"Could you give me a cigarette?"
Xu Dayuan pulled out a cigarette, tapped it against the cigarette box, and then brought it to Lou Sanfeng’s lips to light it.
After taking several fierce drags, Lou Sanfeng coughed incessantly, tears and mucus flowing, but he didn’t let go of the cigarette. He continued coughing and smoking until it burned out. Xu Dayuan then passed him a paper cup being used as an ashtray.
As the cigarette butt hit the cup, it sizzled and turned into a wisp of white smoke, like the final bit of resistance dissipating. Lou Sanfeng, looking at Xu Dayuan, said thank you.
"Yufei, pour a glass of water for Lou Sanfeng."
Liu Yufei didn’t say anything, got up, and handed Lou Sanfeng a bottle of mineral water, twisted off the cap, and gave him the bottle directly. This was the rule at the detective squad; the bottle cap was considered a dangerous item, in case someone swallowed it, that would be an interrogation incident.
This time Lou Sanfeng didn’t refuse, he took it and drank half the bottle in one gulp, then held the bottle and slowly said.
"Where do you need me to start from?"
"You can start wherever you like, from your childhood if you want, or from when you met Chen Gang, or from when you met Fang Yue. Any point in time is fine!"
Lou Sanfeng nodded and began to recount his story.
"I don’t have much memory of my father before I was seven years old. When I was five, my mom passed away. She was always in poor health, and what I remember most from her was her complaining—complaining about my father’s philandering, complaining about the early deaths of my two brothers, complaining that her health was ruined because of my birth.
If I had to say when the happiest time of my childhood was, it was the two years after she died when I was sent to my maternal grandfather’s house. My grandfather loved calligraphy, and I grew up in its environment, learning to write with him. Although I was scolded, I knew he treated me well.
When I started school at seven, my grandfather passed away unexpectedly. I found that anyone close to me never ended well. I was sent back to the large courtyard, which was a foreign environment to me.
The other children either gave me nicknames or bullied me. Once, in desperation, I fought with them, and just as my father returned.
He whipped me with a belt until I broke two ribs, and I lay there for two months. His disdain was not hidden. He would beat me up every time he could find the slightest excuse. I knew he despised me because of my mother, but it wasn’t something I could choose, I couldn’t even escape.
It was then that I discovered another ’me’ inside my mind, an ’I’ that was irritable and constantly cursed me, even calling me worthless, asking why I wouldn’t fight back. If I hated him so much, then I should kill him. The ’me’ inside my head terrified me at the time.
After I returned to school from my medical leave, the only person who cared about me was Fang Yue. She was so beautiful, liked by both boys and girls. But I knew we were from different worlds.
They went to school happily every day, either thinking of ways to play or study, while I spent every day figuring out how not to get beaten or to do something that would avoid going home at the same time as my father to lessen encounters.
For six years, I silently watched Fang Yue. Even when I was rude to her, she would just smile. That smile imprinted itself on my heart. Yet, the ’me’ inside wanted to destroy her face so she wouldn’t be able to show it to anyone. I was shocked by this thought, so I didn’t choose the same middle school as Fang Yue.
Later, I joined the military. Not to become someone like my father, but just to escape from his control and torture. During those years, I actually enjoyed life, appreciated by my commanders and even learned to drive. The ’me’ inside didn’t cause trouble. One time, while outside visiting an assistance household, I met Chen Gang.
Just like you said, I knew right away this kid looked just like me. Our leaders even joked, saying wasn’t this your long-lost brother? Seeing Chen Gang’s panicked expression and hearing about his situation, I then offered to take on his support personally.
Afterward, I began to investigate, and things didn’t go smoothly. There was very little information on Chen Gang, and I couldn’t go out often. It wasn’t until the eve of my retirement that I was able to confirm his identity. However, during that time, the ’me’ inside nearly hurt someone. I started to realize I couldn’t control him all the time.
As for Chen Gang’s mother, I remembered that it wasn’t just because of the fight that I got my ribs broken. That woman had gone to my father. She wanted to rise in status through her son, to become my father’s wife. But he outright refused. He was cold and merciless, a man who wouldn’t acknowledge you once he’d pulled up his pants.
After retiring, I went to see Chen Gang and found him much changed. He was no longer the timid boy, now with smiles on his face, even telling me he was very busy, especially around New Year’s, so he might not have time to keep in touch.
Suddenly, I felt rejected, as if he had his own life and didn’t need my protection anymore. This unsettled me, but I still visited him before Chinese New Year. He talked non-stop, boasting how kind his boss was to him, how his salary was so much more than others.
In an instant, the ’me’ inside took over. ’I’ asked him how much money he had. He was stunned and then said that it was almost tens of thousands each day, recently collecting large sums for goods sold, and at times, a few hundred thousand. Plus, the money wasn’t always deposited every day since going to the bank took time.
’I’ asked him, if he stored it for a few days, wouldn’t it be nearly a million? But you only earn less than three thousand. Do you still think that’s a lot? He didn’t know how to argue back. ’I’ told him I could get him several hundred thousand at once, so he wouldn’t have to live in that dilapidated house that was about to collapse. He asked me how. ’I’ smiled.
Greed can destroy anyone; he was no exception. I told him to carry his boss’s young son out without anyone noticing, to do it tomorrow, and I would tell him what to do next. The next day, I waited for him in the back street, and he really brought the child out.
The day before, ’I’ had already scouted the area. There was a Pear Orchard behind their village, and during winter, only a deaf and mute old man patrolled it. I took them first to Chen Gang’s house, where Chen Gang grabbed some things. He was regretting it, and when ’I’ smashed a porcelain basin in his house, he was so scared he didn’t dare talk back.
’I’ didn’t care whether he wanted to take anything. Carrying the child, I got into the car, and he hurriedly followed. I took them to an abandoned room in the Pear Orchard, took the child, and cut off one of his fingers. Chen Gang, like a madman, came at me to stop me. We got into a struggle, and both of us ended up with cuts."
At this point, Lou Sanfeng stopped, and Xu Dayuan was confused. Why did he stop talking?
