Chapter 102: Story one and story two.

Breakfast was abandoned on the table like food left behind after people were told the world was ending. All the detectives rushed to the observation area. Only He Xiao Yi went inside the interrogation room to join Liwu.

She looked at him with eyes that screamed, ’you are not welcome.’

“I won’t say a word.” He promised.

Liwu turned her focus on the man sitting across from her. She had her notebook open and pen poised. The man across from her was older than she had guessed he would be. According his personal information, he was Hu Beimo, a forty three year old engineer. His hair was styled in a bowl cut and he was wearing square rimmed glasses.

“Mr. He, do you know why you are here?” Liwu began.

Hu Beimo remained oddly calm, projecting a strange confidence.

“If this is about trespassing in the hospital, I am willing to apologize and pay the fine. I just needed to check on Jinling and make sure she was okay but there was nowhere to pass.” He smiled. “She has a lot of admirers.”

Liwu shook her head. “Mr. Hu, you are here because you have been identified as the man that assaulted Miss Jinling in the square. Witnesses identified your shoes. According to detective He, Jinling screamed as soon as you went near her in the hospital room. She identified you as the man that assaulted you.”

Hu Beimo leaned forward, his voice low but firm. “You’re wrong. I don’t know why Jinling was scared but its not because of me. I did not assault her, she wanted it. She told me to do it.”

In the room and outside, everyone froze.

Liwu’s pen hovered over the page. “Explain.”

Hu Beimo pulled out his phone, sliding it across the table. “We are in love. I have messages. Pictures. Proof. We have been in an online relationship for months. This whole thing was her idea. I have never met a woman as wild as her before. At first, I was not on board with this whole public sex thing but she got angry and ended the relationship.” He laughed.

“Look at her and look at me. Where will I ever find a woman who looks like that? So, I said yes. She sent me instructions. She picked out the dress and necklace and sent me a picture of what she would be wearing. She said the square would be the stage. She even arranged the masks. When I arrived, she sent me a picture of where she was and told me to begin.”

Liwu glanced at the screen. Texts scrolled across the display–messages filled with intimate language, pictures that were racy! Instructions, encouragement, the break up which lasted all but one hour. And the pictures of Jinling at the square. They were selfies: she had taken them personally.

She stood up and looked at He Xiao Yi. “Finish up here, I need to go and see Jinling right now.”

Hu Beimo stood up. “Can I go with you? I need to see my girlfriend.”

“Sit down.” Xiao Yi commanded. His voice was soft but sharp. Beimo huffed and sat down.

Outside, Linlin fell into step with Liwu quickly. She was still in shock. “How is this possible?”

“People do crazy things all the time.” Liwu replied.

“Like you, marrying Shen Weijun and keeping it a secret from me.” Linlin commented.

Liwu hurried her steps, rushing to the car as if her heels were on fire. But her partner was equally fast and determined to get some answers. The fact that they were stuck together for the car ride provided the perfect interrogation room on wheels.

As soon as Linlin got behind the wheel, she started her questioning. “A marriage swap is the kind of thing you share with your partner. I told you about my ex boyfriend having six toes.”

Liwu laughed. She had not needed to torture that information out of Linlin. Her partner had shared that little tidbit as soon she saw that man out of closed shoes.

“So, what’s it like being married to the biggest boss in the city?” Linlin asked. “Also, why do the two brothers look alike? Are they secret twins? Is Shen Weijun as uptight as they say he is? I can’t reconcile the man people describe and the man that had been hanging around the precinct.”

“Maybe you should make a questionnaire and email it to me.” Liwu laughed.

To her surprise, her partner nodded. “Great idea because there is so much we have to talk about. Like sleeping arrangements. Who sleeps where and in what position? Ooh, the cotton candy picture….” she chuckled.

Liwu turned up the radio, “We are not talking about my bedroom affairs. Can you imagine what would happen if some hungry reporter were to hear me talking about my sex life in the midst of investigating this case?”

Like a dog with a bone, Linlin’s bit. “Aha, so you do have a sex life.”

Liwu groaned. “You are impossible.”

A car blasted past them, driving at a speed that was very much criminal. They looked at each other and laughed. Sometimes, you just had to let the criminal go because there was something more important.

And soon, they were back on track, dealing with the important work they had. At the hospital, Liwu showed her phone to Jinling. The young woman sat on the bed, trembling.

She stared at the screen, her face pale. “These are my pictures,” she whispered. “But I never sent them. That account is not even mine. I don’t know who this Hu Beimo is, I never told him anything.”

Her hands shook as she scrolled. “How did he get my pictures? I did not even take any selfies at that event. You have to believe me, someone stole my images. Someone else created this account and set me up.” Tears slipped from her eyes.

Liwu studied her carefully. Jinling’s confusion was genuine, her horror was too real to be faked. But the texts were also real, like the pictures. The contradiction gnawed at Liwu’s instincts. Two truths clashed: the suspect’s certainty and the victim’s denial.

But that was nothing in comparison to what happened next.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep