Lin Hui's arrest went unexpectedly smoothly. When she saw the police rushing in, she barely resisted.

At 10:00 in the evening, Lin Hui was sitting in the interrogation room. Peng Sijue took an evidence bag to find Chen Shi. The bag contained a chip-like item. He asked, "What is this?"

"It was found on the cell phone of the deceased Li Xiang. It seems like it’s a listening device."

Chen Shi took it in his hand and seemed like he thought of something. Then, he said to Lin Dongxue, "Let’s go. Let's put an end to this case."

The two went into the interrogation room. Chen Shi said, "This may seem like the first time we’ve met, but actually it’s the second time we’ve met."

Lin Hui said coldly, "I've never seen you before."

"Several cards were found in the basement you rented in addition to some cash which the forensic technicians have identified. The cash was the money lost by the corrupt official."

Lin Hui's eyes widened as she looked at Chen Shi in disbelief.

"I’ll explain to you how we were able to test that it was the same batch of money. That money was hidden under a bed that had just been painted. The windows to the house were never opened for ventilation, so the money was covered in formaldehyde. Couldn’t you smell it when you used them?"

Lin Hui did not speak.

"Or you did, but didn't expect it to be a breakthrough point in the case?"

"I took the money," she admitted.

"You committed murder too, right?"

"I just took the money. What murder? I don't understand what you’re talking about!"

"Well okay. In fact, the clues we’ve uncovered are enough to piece together the entirety of the whole case. Let me talk about it a little!" Chen Shi picked up the glass of water and drank from it. "On the 10th, you asked Lu Hao to pretend to be Zhang Rui to wield a weapon with the intention of causing harm at the Luyi housing district. The intention was to be caught on camera so as to lay a foundation for what happened afterwards. Then, you asked Lu Hao to lead the people following you away while you ran away with the remaining 10 million. If the people caught up to you, you would abandon the car decisively. If no one found you, you would transfer the money over to Long'an. As a result, you found that Zhang Rui had followed you and immediately pretended to go missing. The car had the blood you planted as well as a hair of his that you found somehow. I suspect that it was from your own home. You’ve been monitoring this same-sex couple for quite some time, and from the conversation between the two of them, you heard Zhang Rui telling Li Xiang that he didn’t get the money. You thought that the fish had taken the bait, so you killed Li Xiang. When the police found out that Zhang Rui was hiding a huge sum of money, he would naturally be guilty of murdering for wealth."

Lin Hui's eyes widened.

Chen Shi continued, "But why did we continue to investigate when Zhang Rui had already been arrested? It’s because the whole thing has a major flaw. The car you saw that night was not Zhang Rui’s, but someone else’s. Their cars were the same. So, Zhang Rui doesn’t have money in his hands and his motive for killing is untenable."

“Someone else’s? Who was it...?"

Chen Shi pointed to himself. "It was me! I was going back home to visit my parents and prepared to return to Long'an. It was already getting late. You saw my car and thought I was Zhang Rui, so you abandoned your empty car and the money. Right now, the car and the money are all in the police’s possession!”

"Impossible!"

"The reality is like this. Plans will never catch up with the variables. Miss Lin, you left us with a big problem, which caused me to not be able to sleep for nights. But now, the mystery has been solved."

Lin Hui lowered her head and looked panicked.

"Why did you kill your husband?"

Lin Hui didn’t answer.

Chen Shi stood up. "Was it because of the lying, cheating, or betrayal?"

The phone suddenly rang at this time. After answering, Lin Dongxue said, "Lin Hui, we found the pen pistol used as the murder weapon in your residence. Is there anything else you’d like to explain?"

Lin Hui's eyes widened and tears gushed out from the corners of her eyes. "I was just defending myself. Those two shameless men actually planned to kill me!"

There was silence in the air for a minute. Lin Hui spoke slowly, "I hadn’t dated a single time before my marriage. I met Li Xiang through a blind date. He was funny, talkative, and tidy. He attracted me at once. We got married soon after, but after the marriage, the atmosphere in the house changed all of a sudden. He was often angry with me and fell asleep on the sofa alone without letting me touch him. I didn’t know what had happened between us. To outsiders, we were a very good pair. I could only suppress my tears.”

"One day, I found him kissing a man. My world fell apart. We quarreled and broke everything in the house. He was actually very straightforward and said he was forced to do this by society and the environment. If he hadn’t, he’d have been ridiculed. Then, we fell into a state of cold war. I didn’t go home for a long period of time using work as an excuse. I would feel sick when I saw him. I was completely like a widow in those years. Every day was torture. I cried silently at night, but he was very happy in Lieyang alone. I finally summoned the courage to propose a divorce, but do you know what he said? He asked me to give him a child. The child would go to him and I could go wherever I wanted after. He said that although he was gay, he wanted to be a father. If he got married and didn’t have children, he’d get laughed at in the future… I wondered what right he had. What right did he have to torture me because of the discrimination he may face? He ruined my life. Did I owe it to him?”

"Looking at his ugly face, I really wanted to kill him, but I restrained myself countless times. I couldn't ruin my life for a scumbag. I wanted him to really pay off his debts! I even thought that I should buy a gun and kill all these gay guys who scam women into marriages. But of course, I didn’t take such an action. So, I installed an eavesdropping device in his mobile phone and collected evidence so that he wouldn’t get anything when we divorced. At that time, this shameless guy continued to show his shamelessness. He actually sold the other house without my knowledge. I went crazy after finding out. I went there and changed the locks. This was when I discovered something unexpected. There was an enormous amount of cash hidden by the bed in that house.”

"When I saw the money, I thought it was the compensation that God had given me. I accepted it without going through much mental struggles. Anyway, it was him who sold the house. The other party would only find him. Facts proved that I was too naïve. The person hiding the money was a corrupt official. After finding out that the money was lost, he went to find Li Xiang several times. Li Xiang said that the money must have been taken by me. Soon, private detectives began to appear around me to monitor my every move, which made me very scared.”

"Despite being my husband, do you know what he did at this time? He and his lover spent a spring day together, and actually planned to get rid of me to take the money. The two discussed this very seriously. What was even more intolerable was him saying ‘that bitch’, ‘that scheming bitch’, and the like. He never even mentioned my name once, as if I was the sole responsibility for his life becoming like this. Officer, if it were you, would you be able to bear it? My husband is a selfish, indifferent, and ruthless person. This has nothing to do with his sexual orientation. He’s essentially scum. From that moment on, I intended to make that scum die!”

"The reason I wanted to take the dog away that day was because the dog was raised by him, and I didn’t want him to live well. The plan I originally prepared was to throw the car away in the wild, fake being kidnapped and kill the dog with the "gun". As for the money, I planned to burn it all without even leaving ashes behind. As long as the money didn’t exist, it meant it could belong to anyone! However, there was an accident. I saw Zhang Rui chasing after me with his car and even beckoning to me. I was in a panic. When he parked the car at the gas station, I cut my own hand and dripped the blood in the car. Then, I placed one of his hairs in the car, left the keys behind, and left… Zhang Rui isn’t a good person either. He helped a married man plan to kill his own wife. Would he be a good person? I figured that he’d definitely take the money away.”

"It's exactly as I expected. Later, over the phone, Zhang Rui said that he didn't find me at all. I guessed that he hid the money. That's not money. It's a black pot[1] that could never be thrown away... Of course, I never thought that the truth would be like that. They’re very lucky. If you hadn’t figured out my plan, that pair of scumbags would have gotten their retribution!”

After listening to her story, Lin Dongxue was infected by the kind of pain that stung deep into the bone marrow. The sorrow of being the wife of a gay man could never be understood unless you were the party involved.

Chen Shi said, "Li Xiang has already received retribution. There’s not a lot that would be considered greater punishment than death.”

Lin Hui raised her tearful eyes and smiled. "When he was about to be killed, he was shocked and desperately apologized. I know what price I will pay, and every day in prison I will relive that moment of revenge."

After a long silence in the interrogation room, Chen Shi said, "Since you already have the consciousness to pay the price, then we have nothing more to say. As outsiders, we can't feel the pain you suffered. In short, Miss Lin, good luck!"

"Thank you..." Lin Hui looked directly at Chen Shi. "Will that child go to jail?"

"Who? Lu Hao?"

"Without him, I really wouldn’t have known how to live back then. I know this kid is lazy and stupid, but he listened to me and comforted me seriously. He was just helping me."

"Lu Hao shouldn’t go to jail, but of course, he can't get the money."

"I understand. After all, that wasn't our money. It’s for the best. For the best..." Lin Hui murmured with tears rolling down her eyes.

The case finally came to an end, and Chen Shi was finally relieved to go back to Long'an City.

In the follow-up investigation, the police found a diary written by Lin Hui. It was filled with helpless pain between the lines, which was really heartbreaking to read.

A part of this diary was later published in the newspaper and caused a heated discussion. When they saw the report, Long’an had already fallen into autumn. Lin Dongxue said emotionally, "Pitiful woman!"

1. Mess.