Free Web NovelChapter 461: Chapter 435 Together in Life and Death_1
As soon as these words came out, Xu Dayuan was clearly stunned for a moment, and Liu Yufei also walked from the window to the side of the clerk to look at the comparison box of the system software on the notebook, which surprisingly showed that Wang Kaitao was not lying.
Mr. Qu in the next room was already holding his notebook, rushing in front of Zhou Ning to show him.
"Director Zhou, is my software broken, or is it that Wang Kaitao has such strong control that he can deceive the software? How can it be determined that he isn’t telling a lie?"
Zhou Ning’s brows drew tightly together, and after thinking for a moment, he sighed deeply. freewebnøvel.com
"Liu Xiangrui starved to death, and the blow to his head was postmortem as well. However, the puncture and slash wounds on Zhang Wannian’s neck, although we can determine the direction and angle of the stab, the body was severely decayed, and we couldn’t see the state of the wound at that time. Let’s first listen to what Wang Kaitao has to say!"
For a moment, the entire observation room fell silent.
In the interrogation room, Xu Dayuan was pinching a cigarette, constantly tapping on the cigarette case. After a long wait, Xu Dayuan finally raised his eyes.
"Oh? Then start from the beginning. Tell me how you two met, so I can also know the process."
The reaction from Xu Dayuan caught Wang Kaitao by surprise. Leaning back, he moved forward, neither denying nor rejecting, which was enough to excite him.
"I met Zhang Wannian at the hospital. I was there for a regular check-up with a patient, and he was sitting alone on a bench, holding a diagnosis letter just like you, with a cigarette between his fingers. A nurse kept yelling at him, saying that smoking wasn’t allowed here.
That look of confusion and helplessness, I knew right away that this person had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. He had just received the results and didn’t know who to tell or how to accept the news.
After sending my patient to the car, I came back and sat next to him, saying a few words to the nurse. Then, I glanced at the diagnosis letter. Actually, his condition wasn’t too bad, stage IIb liver cancer, two tumors with a combined largest diameter of >10cm, located in a semi-liver.
With timely surgery, a thorough lymph node sweep, good chemotherapy cooperation, and a certain adjustment to his mindset, it wouldn’t be a problem to maintain three to five years of life. The key issue was whether he had the money or not.
I told him everything I could think of. Zhang Wannian looked at me in surprise, his gaze one of absolute reliance. It was like the look of a drowning person grabbing the corner of a rescuer’s clothes, feeling hope reignited in their life. And then, he became my patient.
His salary was seventeen thousand a month. During the initial phase when he was hospitalized for surgery and chemotherapy, he had twenty-four-hour care, and I was paid an extra forty thousand a month on top of that. After he was discharged and stayed at The Third Seaside Bathing Beach for convalescence, I went over three times a week to take him out, and sometimes we went out for three days in a row.
As his health improved a bit, I took him climbing mountains. In August, I brought him to an outdoor equipment store where we ran into Liu Xiangrui. The two of them hit it off right from the start. Interestingly, instead of exchanging phone numbers like young folks, they exchanged QQ numbers to keep in touch.
To be honest, I am not against homosexuality. After all, I’ve seen similar films since my teens. When I went to Sapporo, I tried it out as well. Though it wasn’t really to my liking, trying it that one time still felt thrilling.
But I really disliked Liu Xiangrui. As thin as a stick, a single bump felt like it could break his bones, and he was always flirting around. When I took Zhang Wannian to visit his store, that guy actually groped me. It was truly disgusting. I admit I’m not a good person, but he was even more disgusting.
I chose to quit my job when I was eleven simply to avoid having to see him again. But when I left, I overheard Liu Xiangrui confessing to Zhang Wannian that he was dying of AIDS and had deliberately approached him. I was terrified when I heard that. After leaving, I got a prophylactic treatment, and although there was no sexual contact, I was still worried.
Until one day last November, Zhang Wannian called me on a landline from a restaurant he frequented, saying he felt unwell again and asked me to come over to see if he needed to make a hospital appointment for a re-examination, as cancer patients fear relapse the most."
At this point, Wang Kaitao tugged at his collar, probably because the dampness was too uncomfortable, but his gaze did not waver.
Xu Dayuan was quite accommodative, chiming in for him.
"Can’t remember the exact date? Never mind, just continue as you remember. Then what happened?"
"I can’t remember the exact day. It was probably around the middle of November. I was extremely busy every day, shuttling between several patients in the city, and I didn’t pay much attention at the time.
In fact, I had read Zhang Wannian’s post-surgery medical records. His surgery went well, but being diagnosed as stage IIb meant a very high risk of metastasis or recurrence even after removal – this was clear to everyone, and the doctors didn’t hide it from him, so he was very afraid.
I rushed over, and it was already after one o’clock. He raged at me and then clung to my hand crying, saying he didn’t want to die. I said we should go for a check-up, and this time at a different hospital. When I told him this, he asked me to go to the provincial city with him.
I couldn’t get away, so I contacted Zhang Liangyu. Three or four days later, Zhang Liangyu came back and told me that a lung metastasis was confirmed, with unclear boundaries and surgery was not very meaningful; it was like receiving a death sentence. The doctor suggested chemotherapy, but he refused.
Zhang Wannian did not contact me, and I let the matter go. After all, he was not short of money and could seek treatment abroad just as well. I was just a nurse living on my own, accustomed to witnessing partings of life and death. After all, the number of patients I’ve seen off with my own hands amounted to fifteen or sixteen.
However, on November 25th, as I was leaving a patient’s house, I saw Zhang Wannian at an intersection. I had previously taken care of this patient, and Zhang Wannian had been there with me once, so he probably remembered.
He stopped me, offering me a sum of money to do him a favor. He said he didn’t want to be treated anymore, that he had children and enough property in his life. If he passed away, his ex-wife could take care of his parents, but there was one person he couldn’t let go of. As soon as I heard it, I knew he was talking about Liu Xiangrui.
I asked him if he wanted to give Liu Xiangrui some money or if he wanted me to take care of him. He said neither. He wanted to take Liu Xiangrui with him, and as soon as these words left his mouth, he scared me. I said I was only a nurse, not someone who undertakes old-age care and sees people off; he was thinking too much.
He handed me a card directly, saying that it contained a million yuan. He assured me not to worry, explaining that it wasn’t transferred from his own account—it was managed by an agency. It was an anonymous debit card. He said I didn’t need to do much, just lend him a hand. He was too physically weak to handle it himself, and Liu Xiangrui had agreed as well.
I was skeptical about this last statement. In our understanding, not to mention two men, but even between men and women with good relationships, there are few who could be so devoted as to die for each other, especially since they had only known each other for three or four months.
Looking at the card, I was truly tempted. That was a million yuan! I couldn’t resist and took the card, asking him what I needed to do for him. I made it clear beforehand that I would not get involved in illegal activities and demanded a contract or written agreement from him, fearing that things might get murky later on.
Zhang Wannian actually agreed, and immediately handed me a document in the car. It was lengthy and bore both his and Liu Xiangrui’s signatures. He said if I wanted to get it notarized, he would accompany me. However, when we made a call about it, they said the contents of the document did not comply with legal regulations and would not be notarized."
This statement piqued Xu Dayuan’s interest.
"What was written in the document?"
Wang Kaitao lifted his hand to his pocket then slightly shook his head.
"The document is kept in the bank; after all, I can’t carry it around with me. But I do have photos of it on my phone, which probably got waterlogged when I went diving."
Xu Dayuan walked over and patted down Wang Kaitao’s clothes, pulling the phone out of the right side pocket of his jacket. When he pulled it out, the phone was still dripping water. Liu Yufei immediately came over and took the phone, using a bag to catch the drips.
"I’ll take it to Mr. Qu to see if he can do anything about it."
Wang Kaitao snorted, full of resentment towards Liu Yufei. Hearing the noise, Liu Yufei stopped in her tracks.
"What are you snorting at me for?"
"If you hadn’t chased me, would I have jumped in the water? If I hadn’t jumped, would the phone have gone black?"
Liu Yufei stuttered for a moment at the accusation, and then bent slightly, staring at Wang Kaitao.
"You sure talk a lot of nonsense. Did I make you jump in the water? Just confess honestly and stop being so sarcastic here."
Liu Yufei left the room, taking the phone to Mr. Qu. He looked at it with a bitter expression.
"Liu Da, this isn’t a case of just blowing on it to fix it because it’s been sprayed with water—it’s been soaked. It needs professional cleaning before we can dry it out and handle the content. This isn’t my area of expertise."
Just as Liu Yufei was about to glare in anger, Zhao Xinli covered Mr. Qu’s mouth.
"Mrs. Fei, you go ahead, I’ll find someone to sort it out. But it will take time, it’s not something that can be fixed right away. At the earliest, it will take a day, so don’t rush us!"
Liu Yufei nodded and then left. Mr. Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, pushing Mr. Qu away and giving him a look.
"Are you smart or just plain dumb? When people are being questioned, they go all out. You should have just agreed with her. I’m going to make a trip to the tech department; they’ve tried to recover a phone before. Let’s not stand around doing nothing—Mr. Zou, Mr. Pang, come with me. I’ll take you to familiarize yourselves with the operations."
With that, Mr. Zhao left with the phone. Inside the interrogation room, Wang Kaitao leaned back in his chair. Xu Dayuan gestured to him with a lift of his chin.
"Don’t just answer as I ask—tell me about the document if you remember it. If not, let’s skip it. Then what did Zhang Wannian say to you? What did he want you to do?"
"Zhang Wannian asked me to send messages on QQ. He mentioned something—I didn’t understand what it meant, but Liu Xiangrui replied promptly. I asked Zhang Wannian what it meant, but he just shook his head.
He told me that I would understand it all by tomorrow, then had me take him to a clandestine clinic. You know, the kind where you can get all sorts of drugs that many hospitals can’t provide. Not all of them are approved for sale in the country. One of the medicines was chlorpromazine, a prescription drug.
That evening, I made arrangements for my patients since I would be away for a few days. I needed to find a nurse to cover for me. Early the next morning, I was waiting at The Third Seaside Bathing Beach. It wasn’t long before I saw Liu Xiangrui, who smiled at me as if the person who flirted with me before wasn’t him.
We didn’t speak until Zhang Wannian arrived. We drove back to the third villa at the seaside therapy center. Zhang Wannian asked for some food and put the chlorpromazine on the table, asking Liu Xiangrui if he was ready. Liu Xiangrui laughed, grabbed the bottle of medicine, and took it before saying that he was willing to live and die together."
Live and die together?
Xu Dayuan narrowed his eyes. This testimony was increasingly veering away from their investigation.
He didn’t know if these were fabrications from Wang Kaitao or excuses to deflect blame. Looking at Liu Yufei, she shook her head slightly, which meant the software analysis showed that Wang Kaitao was not lying.
So, what was the truth?
