Chapter Sixty-One: Secret Interrogation (Part One)

The portrait profile provided by Kuang Suo revealed that the girl using the alias Mi Fu (or perhaps a stolen ID) was none other than Xiaoxue, the same girl who had attempted to drown herself at Black Dragon Pool.

Chen Tianyu knew full well that this girl clung to life solely for the sake of revenge. Could it be that Hu Wenyi was her target? Yet, this contradicted the information Liu Zichen had previously relayed: Xiaoxue had described her target as a young talent agent, someone of relatively low social standing, whose age was a far cry from Hu Wenyi’s.

However, Chen had suspected at the time that Xiaoxue wasn't being entirely truthful. After all, while Liu Zichen had saved her life by chance, it wasn't enough to earn her absolute devotion, and it was perfectly natural for her to withhold the truth. Moreover, Xiaoxue had vanished without a trace, leaving not a single word of farewell.

Chen had not asked Liu Zichen to stop her, because he knew that hatred cannot be extinguished by mere obstruction. Furthermore, there were many ways to exact revenge that didn't necessarily involve the extreme act of murder. Few people harboring resentment actually have the nerve to kill; the country’s death penalty was a powerful deterrent, and no one would lightly choose mutual destruction. Everyone weighs their options.

This was exactly why Chen felt moved; Xiaoxue was a pitiful girl. If she had truly killed Hu Wenyi, she would inevitably face the full weight of the law. Compared to a degenerate like Hu, losing her own life would be a tragic waste. But then again, could a frail girl like Xiaoxue really kill a burly man like Hu Wenyi without a sound? There were still many mysteries to unravel.

Chen urgently contacted Guan Shaoxing, shared the clues he had gathered, and advised him to apprehend Xiaoxue immediately. She could not be allowed to stay out of sight; she was likely the suspect closest to the truth.

Guan Shaoxing did not hesitate. He immediately applied for an arrest warrant from the prosecutor's office and dispatched several police units, ordering a swift, decisive operation to capture the major suspect. He had never met Xiaoxue and could not have imagined how fragile she appeared, leaving Chen to offer only a wry smile at Guan’s heavy-handed deployment.

Due to the accurate information and clear leads, Xiaoxue was apprehended that very day.

***

Both Chen Tianyu and Liu Zichen knew Xiaoxue, so they opted to recuse themselves, though the police leadership granted them special permission to observe the interrogation from the monitoring room.

Liu Zichen had never been a police officer and felt nothing but pity for Xiaoxue. Before the interrogation began, she took the initiative to speak with the officers, hoping they wouldn’t be too hard on the girl. The interrogator, an experienced female officer, considered her request and gave her verbal agreement.

Inside the interrogation room:

"Name?"

"Uh, He... He Xiaoxue."

"Your real name," the female officer insisted, frowning.

Xiaoxue’s hands trembled, and it took a long moment before she whispered, "My real name... is also He Xiaoxue."

The officer looked up at her. "Then why is the name on your ID card Mi Fu?"

"Officer... I lost my ID a long time ago. This one belongs to a friend who lent it to me." Xiaoxue looked haggard, her frame so pathologically thin that even the weight of the handcuffs seemed to make it difficult for her to keep her arms raised.

The officer asked sharply, "Where is your friend now, and why would she lend you such an important document?"

Xiaoxue had clearly never been in a police station before. Beads of sweat broke out on her forehead, and she kept her head down, refusing to speak.

The experienced officer glanced at her, wondering if this woman was truly capable of murder. It was only a fleeting thought; she had seen many criminals who looked pitiful in custody. She looked at the clerk taking notes, who merely shrugged in resignation.

"Don't be afraid. We are just conducting a routine inquiry. You must not try to hide anything; it won't do you any good. If you are willing to tell the truth, I believe you will be able to leave soon," the officer said, her voice softening. Using a mix of firmness and comfort was a specialty of hers.

Sure enough, some color returned to Xiaoxue’s face. She asked timidly, "Officer, I... I have a question. Um... what exactly... am I accused of?"

The two officers exchanged a look of disbelief. The female officer replied, "You should know what you've done better than we do."

"I... I really don't know," Xiaoxue murmured.

The officer didn't buy it; most criminals played dumb. "Since you don't know, then please just answer our questions truthfully."

Xiaoxue nodded blankly. "Okay." Then, she fell silent again.

The officer had to ask once more, "Where is the friend who lent you the ID? Do you have her contact information?"

"Huh? ...Oh." Xiaoxue seemed to have just remembered the question. "Ac-actually, I found this ID on the street..."

The officer was clearly annoyed. She said coldly, "This kind of attitude counts as non-cooperation. Please consider the consequences carefully."

Xiaoxue’s body shuddered. She quickly changed her story. "It... it was stolen." Her voice was as thin as a mosquito’s hum.

"Where did you steal it?" the officer pressed.

"In the... dormitory." Xiaoxue blushed. "I had a friend who had several ID cards, s-so I stole one."

The officer turned to the clerk. "Xiao Zhang, pour her a glass of water."

The clerk nodded, poured a glass from the nearby dispenser, and handed it to Xiaoxue. She took a sip and finally calmed down a little. The clerk smiled. "Don't be nervous. It's nothing major."

Xiaoxue looked at him and nodded gratefully, her rigid posture relaxing significantly.

The officer decided to change tactics; the hard approach was going nowhere. She went straight to the point. "I won't ask about the ID anymore. Can you tell me what you do for a living?"

"Unemployed," Xiaoxue paused, then explained, "I’ve looked for work, but I haven't found anything suitable yet."

"What is your educational background?"

"Undergraduate degree, though not from a prestigious university." Her answers were much more fluent when discussing this.

"And your major?"

"Fashion design. I also learned a bit of makeup during my junior year; my classmates said it would come in handy."

"Did you participate in any school clubs?" The officer intended to keep chatting to ease her tension.

Xiaoxue nodded. "Yes, I was in the student council, and I also joined dance and art clubs."

"By the way, I see you're only twenty-four. When did you graduate?"

"I started school early. I’ve actually been graduated for two or three years. It’s not easy to find a job in my field; it’s either a garment factory or a large company... I don't have any connections, and I applied to large companies a few times but never succeeded."

The officer nodded. "It is hard to find work these days. By the way, given your appearance, have you considered working as a model before pursuing your original profession?" Although Xiaoxue was thin, she was nearly one hundred and seventy centimeters tall, had a pretty face, and decent proportions, so the officer asked casually.

"I tried, but I couldn't keep at it," Xiaoxue said, looking embarrassed.

"Modeling is indeed very hard work. It's not as glamorous as it looks."

"Yes, sometimes you have to stand for hours. I injured my ankle when I was a child. Wearing ten-centimeter heels made my feet swell up. One time, I fell in public, and the old injury flared up again..."

Sensing the time was right, the officer shifted gears. "So, when you went to the Dynasty Pictures building a few days ago, you were looking for work, too?"

"Huh? No... no, oh, yes." Caught off guard, Xiaoxue seemed to grow tense again.

The officer glanced at her, noting that this time, Xiaoxue was not trembling.