The next day, the investigation had made new progress. The surveillance footage at the housing district showed that a few days before the incident, Director Wei had visited Geng Zhangle twice, picking times when Geng Qing wasn’t at home.

400,000 yuan had been recently transferred out of Director Wei’s bank account. The police suspected that the deceased was blackmailing Director Wei. Thus, Director Wei had a motive for murder and could be summoned for questioning.

In the interrogation room, Director Wei was very calm. Chen Shi picked up a printed document. "This is a whistle-blowing letter written about you that we found in Geng Zhangle's mailbox. It can be seen that your relationship is not actually as close as what everyone believes.”

"Who was the letter addressed to?"

"The upper management of the company."

Director Wei heaved a sigh of relief. "That's good, you won't use this incident as a pretext to check these accusations, right? These are all groundless and unfounded. Everyone can see how I treat Old Geng. He’s just too greedy."

"What exactly was the relationship between you two?"

"Like I said that day, we were good brothers when we were young."

"I'm afraid it's not as simple as that, right?"

Director Wei bit his lip before saying, "I owe him."

"What do you owe?"

"Old Geng was in jail for ten years. You probably know that. In fact, it was not him who should have been in jail, but me! We had been drinking together and went for a drive afterwards, who knew I would hit someone? I was so scared. Yes, I was the one who was driving. Before the police arrived, Old Geng smacked his chest and said that he would shoulder the blame for me. He said that I was about to be promoted to workshop director and had just gotten married with a bright future ahead of me whereas he just had a crappy life. He asked me to take good care of him after he got out of prison. He pleaded guilty and went to jail. When I visited him, he joked that he regretted it a little. I promised him that after he’s released from prison, I would support him for the rest of my life... After that, I kept my promise. I gave him a leisurely job that everyone envied. No matter what trouble he caused in the factory, I’d turn a blind eye to it. His daughter needed tuition fees for school, I lent him the money too. It still hasn’t been repaid yet. It can be said that any debts I’ve owed have been repaid."

Sure enough, the past of the two people involved more than just friendship. Chen Shi asked, "How did conflict arise between you two afterwards?"

"Perhaps he was mentally unbalanced. During the ten years in prison, he developed some psychological issues. During a meal once, he said that he had bumped into someone from prison. After he was released, he lived an ostentatious lifestyle, driving a luxury car and living in a villa. He married a pretty, young girl who was twenty years younger than him. Although he had said these words while he was tipsy, I could hear what he meant. He felt that I hadn’t repaid him enough and that I should give him more money. I understood then that Geng Zhangle was a villain. Owing this villain meant that I could never repay my debts within my lifetime. Later, he became blunter and asked for money directly. The more I gave, the more he wanted. I’m not a saint. I got angry. I asked him how much he wanted and to give me a figure so that he wouldn’t bother me in the future. I couldn’t give the amount he wanted, so he threatened to report me. Who was this person? If I didn’t help him, he wouldn’t have gotten a job or house after he came out from prison. If you took 10,000 steps back, even if I was the one who went to jail back then, what promise could a person like him have had? He would have been hacked to death while fighting long ago!"

"So, you hired a killer to get rid of him?" Chen Shi asked tentatively.

"No, no, no!" Director Wei said in a panic. "I’m a law-abiding citizen, how could I do this kind of thing?"

"Then how do you explain the 400,000 you spent recently? We checked it and the payee was your wife’s younger brother. He doesn’t hold a proper job and has been in the detention center several times because of fights. Why would you give him money?"

"This is my own family’s business and has nothing to do with this case!"

Factory Director Wei refused to explain the matter, so Chen Shi changed the question. "I'm curious. Geng Zhangle has such a tense relationship with you, so why would you let his daughter and your son go on a blind date?"

"Because my son was previously in love with his daughter."

"That was not the reason, right? His daughter has a boyfriend right now, and their relationship is very close. Why did he need to break up his daughter’s relationship with her boyfriend? Is your son so outstanding that he doesn't even mind about being in-laws with you?"

Director Wei took out his mobile phone and showed Chen Shi his son's photo. His son was also working in the factory at the time. From an objective point of view, he was inferior to Wang Mengqi in every aspect.

"I don't know what this guy was doing. He was like that. Whenever he came up with an idea, he’d do it. Maybe he was planning to repair his relationship with me?" Director Wei said.

"Did he dote on his daughter?"

"Old Geng was a bastard, but he treated his daughter well. He had never beaten or scolded his daughter since she was a child. He bought everything that she wanted. Once, he came to me late at night in order to borrow money, saying that his daughter was about to celebrate her 20th birthday but he had drank all his salary away... I heard that he was planning to send his daughter to study abroad as well."

"When did this happen?"

"Recently."

"Hasn’t Geng Qing already started working?"

"She has always wanted to study abroad. When she was offered an opportunity to go on exchange, Old Geng fell ill, so she gave up the opportunity and stayed behind to take care of him."

"Does it require a lot of money?"

"That I don't know..."

Factory Director Wei was temporarily detained. He protested against this, saying that he wanted a lawyer. The police told him that he would only be detained for 24 hours, which happened to be legal.

During that period, the police brought his brother-in-law in for questioning. The brother-in-law initially said that Director Wei had lent him the 400,000 yuan to buy a house, but the youngster wasn’t exactly a tough guy. He was like a mouse seeing a cat when he faced the police. He soon confessed.

The truth was startling!

In the afternoon, Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue interrogated Director Wei for the second time. Chen Shi said straightforwardly, "You should confess the purpose of the 400,000 yuan directly. The chair you’re sitting on right now had another person sitting in it just then. He’s already confessed.”

"Who? Hua Chao? (Brother-in-law's name)"[1]

"Are you going to talk or wait for us to verify it ourselves? The nature of the two will be different."

Factory Director Wei was sweating profusely and his legs were trembling. He asked, "How exactly did Old Geng die?"

"We’re the ones asking the questions right now."

Factory Director Wei clutched his pants with a complicated expression. Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue waited quietly for him to speak. Five minutes later, he raised his head and said, "How many years would you get for hiring a murderer?"

"It’s the same crime as murder."

"No, no, this wasn’t hiring a murderer. Hua Chao said himself that he’d help me get it done. I just gave him a sum of money. These are two separate matters and can’t be counted as the same thing!"

"The moment someone promised to kill for you and you gave the other party money, this was already hiring a killer to commit murder."

Factory Director Wei was so nervous that he nearly went crazy. He covered his face and cried, "I drank too much that day. Hua Chao heard me say that a villain was blackmailing me and told me that he would sort it out for me. I told him to be careful and not let people find out. He said it would be impossible for the police to see through it. Who knew that you would have found out so quickly? It’s true that the heavens are watching what people do!”

1. This was the format that the author chose to use.