Zhou Ning took a photo of the search results and sent it to Xu Dayuan.
Xu Dayuan glanced at the MMS and continued to look at Wang Hongzhan.
"Keep talking. Since you know the child isn’t yours, who’s is he? Surely it can’t be from artificial insemination, right?"
Wang Hongzhan shook his head, laughing at himself derisively.
"I’ve been classmates with Dongi since middle school. To win her love, I could give up my self-respect, I could try to please Ho’s parents, I could travel back and forth between Shen City and Ludong, I could even cross three thousand kiloters to take care of her when she was sick. I did everything I could.
You could call a simp, but I love her, every part of her. Even though this child is not related to by blood, he still bears my surna, is registered in my household, and since I can’t have children in the future, isn’t this the best outco?
What do you want to say? Should I be angry, or should I hysterically find out who the father is? Divorce Dongi? No, that’s impossible. It took so much effort to be with Dongi. I won’t let go, even if she’s dead, she’s still Wang Hongzhan’s deceased wife."
Wang Hongzhan looked sowhat manic, but his explanation gave Zhou Ning so insight.
Wang Jiahan’s date of birth is July 2, 2009. According to the village committee director’s account, the Wang Family parents died on the 29th day of the 12th lunar month in 2009, and afterwards, they discovered that Ho Dongi was pregnant.
By that ti, Wang Hongzhan was already a year post-surgery, and he must have also been torn, just as he described. Could he give up the woman he had pursued for years?
Having a child would conceal his issue and protect him from being looked down upon. After all, a completely damaged vas deferens was the sa as having a vasectomy—function and normal life were not affected.
In the interrogation room, Xu Dayuan extinguished the cigarette in his hand and placed his elbows on the table.
"Do you know who the father of the child is?"
Wang Hongzhan shook his head, his eyes filled with confusion.
"I don’t know, and I don’t care. I’ve already prepared to buy a house in Shen City. I was planning to use the one hundred fifty thousand commission I would get after National Day to make the down paynt. I just wanted to move to Shen City and put an end to everything in Qindao.
Dongi agreed, and we picked out Water Bay 1979 together. The location, size, environnt—all great—and right beside it is Shen No.1 Primary School, which is the best for education and dical care. As for the unexpected arrival of this child, I think she couldn’t stand the loneliness at the ti.
This is my fault, but then again, isn’t it also my fortune? After my injury, I still have a child who is related by blood to Dongi. I feel lucky."
Xu Dayuan interrupted him. Wang Hongzhan was very shrewd; his argunt completely controlled the pace and could easily sway one’s judgnt.
"Last year, when did you return to Jiaotuan Village?"
"Last Spring Festival, I was back for over half a month. I flew on the seventh day of lunar January because of that project that needed following up on the eighth. The client wanted to see our presentation. The next ti I returned was the morning of August 15th. You can check my purchase records. I think you have specialized technicians for that—it’s not difficult."
As Xu Dayuan asked the question, Mr. Qu had begun looking. There were indeed many travel records for Wang Hongzhan, but in August he returned to Qindao indeed on the 15th.
Zhou Ning took another photo and sent it to Xu Dayuan, who looked at his phone and revealed a smile.
Previously, I thought that Zhang Chunbo’s excuses for Wang Hongzhan were too emotionally driven. But after actually eting the man, it’s clear he’s indeed very articulate, and his words truly have persuasive power.
Xu Dayuan arched an eyebrow, looking at Wang Hongzhan across from him. The man was also staring at Xu Dayuan, his gaze firm and unflinching. Although he appeared docile and non-aggressive, in reality, he was like a fighter.
"Do you know Wang Hongwen?"
Wang Hongzhan thought for a mont, then slightly shook his head.
"Judging by the na, if he’s from the Wang Family of Jiaotuan Village, he’s one of our ’Hong’ generation. But you know, our family had a bad social status back then. After the incident, we cut ties with our distant relatives and stopped interacting. I don’t rember such a person."
"You must have heard about Wang Chaozu, right? Your great-grandfather’s adopted son and, nominally, your grandfather’s elder brother."
Wang Hongzhan nodded, a look of confusion on his face.
"I know him. He was the first one to rush forward and break my father’s leg, but his family moved away from Jiaotuan Village long ago. Where they went, nobody knows. What does his family have to do with all of this?"
"Wang Hongwen is the youngest grandson of the Wang Chaozu family. Moreover, Wang Hongwen and Ho Dongi are colleagues, both English teachers at Hai’an Sixth Elentary School. A week before the incident, he visited Ho Dongi and Wang Jiahan, and he was also seen on the surveillance footage on the night of the incident."
Wang Hongzhan grabbed the desk, his knuckles turning pale and his arms trembling slightly.
"And then what? Is he the murderer? Wait, do you an, he is Jia Jia’s...
Xu Dayuan glanced at his watch.
"The DNA test results should co out after midnight. We still don’t know the details, but I want to ask you, before your parents died, did they entrust you with anything, like gold bars? Keys? Codes? Did they ntion any of these to you?"
Wang Hongzhan shook his head and thought hard for a mont.
"They didn’t say anything; just give a mont to think! That day of the incident, I was delayed and didn’t follow them. My parents didn’t return an hour after going to pay respects to our ancestors, so Dongi and I were worried. We quickly drove to look for them, and when we reached that small road near Shanxi Village, we saw them lying on the ground, one on each side.
I was in shock then. I rushed to lift them to take to the hospital, but Dongi stopped and told not to move them. She thought their postures were strange, completely rigid, and if we moved them at that mont, instead of saving them, we would be accelerating their death. She told to call for help imdiately."
I ran to the side to call for an ambulance and traffic police at 120 and 122. Dongi stayed with my parents the whole ti. I went to the intersection to wait for the ambulance. Ten minutes later, when the vehicle arrived, Dongi shook her head at , clearly indicating that they were beyond help.
"That’s the situation. When I saw them, my father was already unconscious, and my mother just kept muttering the sa sentence over and over ’Check on your dad, check on your dad,’ and she didn’t say anything else."
Xu Dayuan narrowed his eyes, staring at Wang Hongzhan.
"Let confirm with you again, do you know whether your family, when building the house, created a hidden layer in one of the walls, concealing a safe, and that the gold bars your family received as compensation were all stored inside? You didn’t know anything about it and have never heard your parents ntion it?"
Wang Hongzhan shook his head, his face showing confusion and surprise, which eventually turned into disbelief.
"I started boarding at a high school in the city, and in college, because tuition was expensive, I worked sumr jobs, and even had to save up for train tickets, so I was really strapped for cash. To be able to visit Dongi, I only ate two als a day..."
By the end, Wang Hongzhan’s voice lowered, and he finally leaned over the table.
Mr. Qu moved closer to Zhou Ning, gossip written all over his face.
"Director Zhou, from what you’re saying, Wang’s mother might have given the password and keys to Ho Dongi before she died, only Wang Hongzhan didn’t know."
Zhou Ning nodded.
"I can’t rule out that possibility, but now there’s no evidence from the deceased, and it’s impossible to know who Wang’s mother actually gave the password and keys to. Let’s wait for the examination results. I’m also at a loss for judgnt now."
Mr. Qu sighed deeply after glancing at the interview room.
"This guy is really foolish, why is he so persistent? They say girls are lovesick, but I think he’s even worse."
Zhou Ning didn’t respond.
Wang Hongzhan wasn’t lovesick. It was true that he had feelings for Ho Dongi, but he wanted to possess her even more. As for the matter of the child, as he said, maybe for him, that was the best outco since he couldn’t have children anymore.
But could his words be trusted?
Parents on their deathbed, upon seeing their son, would surely confide in him about their final affairs.
Telling a daughter-in-law about where the gold bars were hidden, exactly how much wealth they had, and giving detailed information about the password and keys seed dubious to Zhou Ning.
According to what Wang Hongzhan had said so far, although he has not shown any resentnt or dissatisfaction towards Ho Dongi, all the evidence he pointed out indirectly indicated that Ho Dongi knew the location of the safe, as well as the password and keys.
Adding the fact of being cuckolded beforehand, and the child not being Wang Hongzhan’s, all suspicions were directed towards Wang Jiahan’s biological father, or soone who had an affair with Ho Dongi.
As for the murder of the child, these were just internal conflicts over wealth. The killer was the second person aware of the secret, wanting to take all the gold for themselves, which is why they resorted to murder.
Zhou Ning’s brows were tightly furrowed. Initially, he believed that once the DNA comparison results ca out, they could determine the nature of the case, but now he felt that wasn’t right.
Wang Hongzhan was too certain. Although he appeared vulnerable and openly displayed his flaws, he still controlled the pace, at tis leaving Xu Dayuan unable to change the situation. It seed that they needed to find the gold bars, not just a part, but all of them, to uncover the truth.
After pondering for a mont, Zhou Ning looked at Mr. Qu, who blinked back when Zhou Ning’s gaze landed on him.
"What’s up, Director Zhou?"
"Check the details of Wang Hongzhan’s car in Shen City, the access records on the highway, can you get that?"
Mr. Qu did a quick search.
"Wang Hongzhan has a 2010 Prado in Shen City. But Director Zhou, we can only retrieve one month’s records for highway entries and exits."
Zhou Ning pressed his lips together, looking towards the interview room.
Wang Hongzhan had gotten up from the table and wiped his face, not raising his head.
"I’m sorry, I lost control of my emotions. My parents’ death was so sudden, I always felt it was done deliberately. But there were no surveillance caras on that stretch of road, and the nearest household didn’t hear anything. I went door to door in Shanxi Village, but there were no eyewitnesses.
However, according to the traffic police, no brake marks were found on the ground, aning the vehicle had headed straight for my parents without slowing down, and from the right side of the road directly to the opposite side."
Xu Dayuan handed Wang Hongzhan a cigarette, and as they both smoked, Xu Dayuan asked:
"When you had doubts about the accident, did you get an autopsy done?"
Wang Hongzhan nodded.
"Yes, I had the forensic doctor from the city bureau conduct the autopsy. Not only that, we also retrieved surveillance footage from the surrounding roads at the ti. However, we didn’t capture the damaged vehicle passing through, because there was very little surveillance in the village then, and if it used the dirt road next to the fields, we wouldn’t be able to track it."
At this point, Wang Hongzhan laughed.
"Do you know how I felt when I heard Dongi was pregnant just after my parents were buried and I returned to the old house?"
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