"Wang Jianlei, a forty-eight-year-old married man, has a wife who works as a matron in another hospital and a nineteen-year-old son who's currently studying in a university in France. He's the main surgeon in the hospital and his wife has a busy schedule as a matron, so both of them have not much free time to meet together in a week. Even though no one had any idea when Wang Jianlei started an affair with Cao Keya, Wang Jianlei maintained a good reputation in the hospital and was very skilled in his work as well. They said that he was willing to train house officers and was extremely patient in conducting lectures with medical students, too."

"We've asked the doctors and nurses about their impressions on Wang Jianlei, and they said his relationship with his wife was very stable. Despite his friendliness, he usually kept a distance from female doctors, nurses, and patients but would occasionally make jokes that weren't offensive, so he was quite popular in the hospital as well."

"Moreover, he would prepare gifts meticulously for his wife on every festival and anniversary. No one in the hospital had a clue regarding Wang Jianlei's affair with Cao Keya, and they only knew the truth when we went to the hospital for inquiry after Cao Keya's death. They didn't believe this initially because Wang Jianlei had a solid positive image and reputation in the hospital and they had never seen him closely associated with any female before this. Even though Cao Keya was an internist nurse, she worked in a different department without frequent close contact with Wang Jianlei. Nonetheless, Wang Jianlei admitted the truth in the end."

"The nurses in the same department with Cao Keya also mentioned that she had a boyfriend named Zheng Xiaogong. They were in a relationship from the start of their course until graduation from their nursing school. After that, Cao Keya started her work in the hospital while her boyfriend went into the Ministry of Health's disease control and prevention department using his family's connections. However, after further investigation, we've found out that Cao Keya actually broke up with her boyfriend four months ago."

"Even though Zheng Xiaogong started his work in the Ministry of Health using his family's connections, they actually spent quite a fortune and even borrowed money from his relatives since his family wasn't that wealthy. He also mentioned that they had less time to meet with each other after their work had started. Nurses usually worked in shifts and their working schedules aren't exactly fixed, whereas his work usually started at nine o'clock and ended at five o'clock with weekends off and no need for overtime as well. They would try to find some time for a date occasionally but after a while, Cao Keya started to get impatient with him."

"Zheng Xiaogong's starting salary was merely three thousand Yuan with an increment of five hundred Yuan afterward. Meanwhile, Cao Keya wasn't well paid either as a trainee nurse without accreditation. Thus, they had limited budgets during dates and this was exactly the reason why she started getting impatient with Zheng Xiaogong as time went by."

"Whenever Zheng Xiaogong gave Cao Keya phone calls, she would always give excuses that she was studying for examinations. Because of this, both of them hadn't met each other or communicated much since then. On Cao Keya's birthday four months ago, Zheng Xiaogong wanted to give her a surprise and waited for her in front of the hospital. However, he noticed Cao Keya exiting the hospital and checked her surroundings very carefully as if trying to find someone."

"Zheng Xiaogong started following Cao Keya out of curiosity and saw her entering a BMW on a street close to the hospital. Thus, he hailed a taxi and started tailgating them to a residential area which he knew wasn't Cao Keya's house. Cao Keya wasn't born in a rich family, and she only had a shared housing unit with her parents in T City."

"Fortunately, the management in that residential area wasn't stern and the security guard allowed the taxi to enter the area, and that was when Zheng Xiaogong noticed Cao Keya and Wang Jianlei exited the car rather intimately. Both of them even started kissing before they entered the house."

Zhao Yiyang shook his head and said, "You really can't judge a book by its cover."

"That was when Zheng Xiaogong broke up with Cao Keya. Both Zheng Xiaogong and Wang Jianlei had alibis based on the time of Cao Keya's death. These were what we've gathered until this morning, and we're planning to visit Wang Jianlei's wife, Lu Zhengmei later in the evening for further questioning. Lu Zhengmei moved out on the same day Wang Jianlei's affair with Cao Keya was exposed and was currently going through the divorce procedures. She's living separately from Wang Jianlei at the moment," said Yang Shaoqun.

Since the trio had nothing to do in the evening when it was impossible for them to investigate the case alone, they followed Zhang Shanfei to visit Lu Zhengmei together.

Lu Zhengmei stared at the quartet and wondered if four police officers were a bit too much just for a simple questioning session.

Were they suspecting Lu Zhengmei to be a potential murderer?

"Mrs. Lu, do you know anything about the relationship between your husband and the victim, Cao Keya?" asked Zhang Shanfei.

Lu Zhengmei shook her head in response. "The matron in charge of the internal medicine department informed me after your investigation at that hospital, and that was when I finally realized the truth. She used to be my colleague before she was transferred to that hospital."

A self-mocking smile formed on Lu Zhengmei's face. "It's really funny. Everyone, from doctors to patients, knew this and even discussed this issue publicly but Wang Jianlei still kept it a secret from me. I knew he didn't have the guts to tell me in person."

"Coward!" Lu Zhengmei snickered without attempting to hide her disgust and contempt toward Wang Jianwei in front of Qi Youxuan and the rest.

"I was eventually told the truth by others instead of him, so I moved out of the house immediately afterward," replied the exasperated Lu Zhengmei with red-rimmed eyes.

"Where were you from ten o'clock at night on twenty-fifth until nine o'clock in the morning on twenty-sixth?" asked Zhang Shanfei.

Lu Zhengmei was stunned after listening to the time frame and answered, "My birthday was on the twenty-fifth, so Jian… Wang Jianlei arranged the schedule on purpose and transferred his surgical operations to other surgeons so that he could get off work on time and celebrate my birthday. He made reservations in Yi Pin Tang so the surveillance camera, receipt, and credit card record should be able to prove our alibis."

"I had no clue that he already had an affair with a nurse from the same hospital and probably did quite a lot of things that hurt my feelings. It's ironic when I recalled his kindness toward me and I even expressed my heartfelt gratitude toward him for tolerating, supporting and loving me after all these years during our dinner last night. I also posted pictures of the dinner and us on WeChat last night, and my friends even gave their blessings and that they were jealous of our stable relationships."

Fu Zhengmei smiled scornfully. "I thought I was blessed and displayed our affections publicly when in fact, I was living in his lies all along. Well, I guess they're sympathizing with me now. What a joke."

"Does that mean Wang Jianlei was with you the whole time from ten o'clock at night on twenty-fifth until nine o'clock in the morning on twenty-sixth?" asked Zhang Shanfei.

Lu Zhengmei nodded. "Yes, it was my birthday after all. He couldn't possibly leave me alone and went on a date with his lover, right? Unless, of course, he wasn't afraid that I would get suspicious."

"Do you hate Wang Jianlei?" asked Qi Youxuan all of a sudden.

Lu Zhengmei was obviously taken by surprise, and after a few moments of absent-mindedness, she answered, "Of course, how can I not? I trusted a man whom I had been living with for more than twenty years and he was close to retirement too, but he betrayed me by having an affair with a young lady. Our son is an adult now—won't he feel embarrassed at all? I hated the fact that he cheated on us with a mistress and betrayed our trust despite having a family. He could even do all those dirty things outside and return home appearing like he loved this family, and act like a well-mannered and honest doctor in the hospital."

"That nurse is more than twenty years younger than him! How could he be so disgusting? Plus, the nurse worked at the same hospital with him! Didn't he know that the fox preys farthest from his hole? I know it's inappropriate to criticize a dead person, but it takes two to make a quarrel. Wang Jianlei was at fault, but why would Cao Keya—a young lady in her twenties with a bright future ahead of her—destroy another family by being a mistress? Wang Jianlei was old enough to be her father, so it was obvious that she became a mistress just for his money. Wang Jianlei had the guts to betray us just for the sake of this indecent and immoral lady."

"Cao Keya passed away, and this issue has attracted lots of attention right now. Not just those around me but even my son's friends were aware of his father having an affair with a mistress merely five years older than him! My son is currently studying in France so it's not a big issue yet, but what will happen when he comes back during the holiday? My son has to face our neighbors and his previous classmates. Should he stop any form of communication with them just to avoid the shame? Wang Jianlei's act basically pushes us to suffer in embarrassment! Did he ever think of us when he was enjoying his happy moment with the mistress outside? Was there any guilt at all?"

Lu Zhengmei paused momentarily before smiling faintly. "Well, I guess he did, and perhaps that was the reason why he treated me so well. He felt sorry for hurting his family and thus tried his very best to become the best possible husband and father for this family. You asked me if I hate him? He destroyed our life; how could I not hate him for that?"

Qi Youxuan nodded and remained silent, but Zhang Shanfei could not help but ask, "What about Cao Keya?"

"Police officer, are you suspecting that I murdered her?" Lu Zhengmei's lips trembled in fear. Any normal human being would feel scared when considered as a suspect.

Moreover, this was a homicide case!

"No, it's just a routine." Zhang Shanfei smiled while trying to calm Lu Zhengmei down.

Lu Zhengmei answered with a stern expression, "I hate him, and I hate Cao Keya too for destroying our peaceful family. Busy work life isn't an acceptable reason for having an affair. I believe that I've done a great deal for this family. I don't know if his previous kindness was fake or not, but at least I did a lot of things for his own good."