Fang Zhenyue smiled at Liu Jiaming as if unaffected by Zhang Dafu, and steered the conversation back to his story, continuing in an even tone:
“After killing his father, this friend settled down at home comfortably.”
“He forced his indifferent mother, who failed to protect her own son, to go out and work to support herself, which was also a form of revenge. Not working and living off his parents was another form of revenge. He justified all his escapism, telling himself: You’re not weak or a loser; you’re just taking revenge on your mother, on this family.”
“At first, his mother was strong and could do many jobs to earn enough money for this useless son to eat, drink, and even hire prostitutes. But decades later, as she aged and could do less, her earnings dwindled, and it became hard to sustain both of their expenses.”
“One day, a prostitute who came over complained about the low pay and argued with this friend. She must have seen right through his incompetence, calling him an impotent, premature old wreck—”
“Sir, aren’t you supposed to be gathering evidence instead of telling stories here? Are you too idle? Is the taxpayers’ money meant for you to engage in such pointless activities? Crafting such pathetic, boring stories… what? Feeling lonely?”
Zhang Dafu interrupted Fang Zhenyue again. He slammed his hands on the table, narrowing his eyes at Fang Zhenyue, his voice cold:
“Or has the case hit a dead end? Can’t find the murderer? Instead of wasting time here with me, why not go catch the killer? Otherwise, letting the real criminal roam free, watch out, someone might harm your mothers, wives—”
“Hey! Watch your words!” Liu Jiaming couldn’t stay seated. He stretched his arm out, pointing at Zhang Dafu’s nose, shouting:
“What are you so arrogant about? The police have caught you red-handed, ready to send you to face the firing squad.”
“What red-handed evidence, sir? Accusations require proof. That girl is my mom’s catch, and she beats her daily; what can I do about it? As a son, I can’t just go to the police station and report my own mother, can I? Even if I’m guilty, charge me with covering up, I’ll accept it.”
“You mention the dismemberment case, sir, my mom’s the psycho. She was severely beaten by my dad when she was young, and he spent her earnings on other women. It’s normal for her to vent her psychological issues on other women.”
“You mention semen on the corpse? That dead old hag stole my condoms and smeared them on the corpse pieces to frame me. I can’t help it; I also have that dead old man’s blood on me.”
“But I really am innocent, sir, that girl you rescued, I didn’t touch her. Send her to the hospital, go check, the evidence is as solid as a mountain.”
“Officers can’t just accuse people baselessly.”
“I’ve had such parents, it’s already a tragedy. My whole life ruined by that dead old hag and the drunkard. I don’t want this life anymore, hiding at home day and night, scared to meet anyone else. I begged that old woman to let those women go, but she threatened me, said she would kill me too.”
“Even her own son isn’t spared, can you say she has any humanity?”
Liu Jiaming was so angry that his chest heaved, and his red, tired eyes from consecutive night shifts looked like they could shoot venom.
If it weren’t for the ‘police’ uniform restraining him, he really couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t lose it and beat Zhang Dafu to death.
Fang Zhenyue pressed his lips together, his expression gradually darkening.
“Sir, you can take me to court, it’s okay. When the time comes, don’t I also have a right to speak? I can start from my birth, definitely more genuine and heartfelt than you, enough to draw tears, believe it or not? At the right time, I can also cry. We are all human, the jury are humans too, they have families and emotions. Guess if they will find me pitiable?”
Zhang Dafu said this, then suddenly burst into laughter.
Liu Jiaming abruptly stood up, under Zhang’s gaze, he froze for a long while, but eventually, clenching his fists, sat down again.
Zhang Dafu’s expression grew even more smug, turning to look at Fang Zhenyue, his murky eyes showing a disgustingly sinister look like a poisonous toad:
“Sir, in your story, are there many more details to come?”
“Like how your friend, once he tasted the sweetness of murder, could never quit, and even when women were brought in and undressed before him, he couldn’t behave humanely, insisting on brutally mistreating those who seemed proud and pure until he killed them, only then could he get excited, only then could he feel the joy and greatness of being a man?”
“Did he feel the supreme power of controlling life and death?”
“A story, if the listener can guess the ending, really loses its appeal.”
“I also know, later this friend happily stepped out of the police station, those useless officers, despite their loud voices, couldn’t do anything to him. From then on, he became more cautious and more formidable, all women terrified of him, never daring to disrespect him again.”
Zhang Dafu, as if afraid of being interrupted, suddenly sped up:
“Including the police officers’ wives, mothers, and sisters, they too had to kneel and beg him—”
Fang Zhenyue suddenly stood up, his body hitting the table so hard that it moved forward and bumped into Zhang Dafu’s chest, cutting him off mid-sentence with a loud thud.
“Cough, cough, cough!” Zhang Dafu curled up in pain, coughing violently, his face turning bright red, unable to speak any further.
“Sorry, I got up too hastily,” Fang Zhenyue said before turning and leaving the interrogation room.
Turning into the corridor, he stood in front of a window, staring at the clouds on the horizon for a long while, calming his emotions.
He silently cursed Zhang Dafu from head to toe before finally looking up and exhaling sharply.
Being a detective could easily lead to heart disease and high blood pressure. It seemed that even if he didn’t encounter trouble while catching criminals, he might just be angered to death.
Zhang Dafu’s cunning and restraint exceeded his expectations. Initially, he wanted to expose all of Zhang’s scars, provoking him to confess his crimes to prove his strength.
Unexpectedly, it turned out to be Zhang who nearly pushed him to lose control.
Fang Zhenyue stepped outside the police station for some air, which finally helped him to completely calm down.
Back at the station, he sent Liu Jiaming and Uncle Jiu to the hospital to continue persuading the surviving victim, Wu Shanrong, to testify and identify the suspect in court.
He himself, along with Gary and Sanfu, went to the criminal’s house to continue their investigation.
No matter if it takes a week, a month, or a year, he was determined to bring Zhang Dafu to justice.
…
…
In the evening, Yi Jiayi was hungry. She put down her book and rushed from home to Yi’s shop for a meal, only to find Officer You and Team A there enjoying a pig’s trotter meal.
While helping to serve, she learned that the dismemberment case’s surviving girl, although deemed capable of testifying in court by a psychologist, still refused to do so.
It was said that when Sir Fang and his team visited the survivor, she kept her head down and remained silent throughout, not answering any questions.
What could be done about this?
As the food was served, Yi Jiayi ate without tasting anything.
Seeing the tacit understanding between Ding Baoshu and Sun Xin working together in the shop, she suddenly remembered a concept about victim resonance she had read about recently.
After dinner, she asked Officer You about his schedule and decisively requested a ride with Ding Baoshu to the hospital en route.
Officer You just smiled and remained silent during the drive after hearing Jiayi’s idea.
Young people who read seriously often have novel theories and ideas. Could a victim, who wouldn’t speak even after repeated persuasions by a police officer, suddenly recover just by meeting another child who had suffered in a different case?
Though he found the idea far-fetched, having worked on several cases with Yi Jiayi and experienced the benefits of her ‘wild ideas,’ You Zhaohua held his tongue, simply listening quietly as Yi Jiayi explained to Ding Baoshu about the dismemberment case on Ferry Street and how they rescued the girl.
Ding Baoshu occasionally sighed, the stubborn, reticent boy showing a strong sense of empathy through such stories.
When they arrived at the hospital, You Zhaohua did not accompany them inside, but drove off, showing his skepticism about the situation.
…
Yi Jiayi presented her ID and, guided by the nurse, led Ding Baoshu to the outside of the hospital room.
Liu Jiaming and Uncle Jiu, known as the most kind-hearted detectives in their team aside from her, the young policewoman, were standing guard at the door. After a failed attempt at communication last time, they were waiting for Wu Shanrong to wake up to start the second round of questioning.
After chatting with Uncle Jiu and Liu Jiaming for a while, they finally agreed to let Ding Baoshu in after Wu Shanrong regained consciousness.
But even with permission given, Liu Jiaming was still uneasy. He frequently got up to secretly peek through the small window on the door, only to see Ding Baoshu placing a cup of milk tea Yi’s Iced Delight on the small cabinet beside the hospital bed and then just sitting there quietly, not speaking or doing anything.
“Is this really okay? Isn’t this just a waste of time?” Liu Jiaming paced back and forth outside the door, scratching his head.
Lin Wangjiu might complain, but the old man had a calm about him; he sat there reading the newspaper, legs crossed, with a carefree attitude as if he wouldn’t mind even if Yi Jiayi brought a fortune teller into the room.
“Just sit for a bit, Brother Jiaming,” Yi Jiayi tried to soothe him, but Liu Jiaming just sighed.
He was worried that during the trial, if Zhang Dafu somehow garnered sympathy from a juror, there might be an unexpected outcome. A guilty verdict turning into an innocent one was impossible, but a lighter sentence…
Given Hong Kong’s judicial system, it wasn’t entirely out of the question.
Everyone couldn’t tolerate such scum getting even the slightest leniency, nor could they accept him evading punishment. The testimony of Wu Shanrong, a truly pitiable victim, was crucial!
Standing with his arms crossed outside the hospital room, Liu Jiaming sighed deeply, and occasionally ground his teeth in anger when he thought of Zhang Dafu’s despicable actions.
The anxiety of waiting without knowing the outcome was agonizing. Numerous times Liu Jiaming tried to pull Ding Baoshu out, but each time Yi Jiayi pushed him back into his seat, urging him to be patient a little longer.
As half an hour was about to pass, Liu Jiaming could no longer be held back, like the lid of a boiling pot of soup.
Just as he stood up, ready to knock on the door, the hospital room door suddenly opened.
The petite Ding Baoshu looked up at the anxious and puzzled Liu Jiaming, and with a nod to the person on the bed, he whispered to Liu Jiaming as the door slowly closed behind him:
“Sister Shanrong says she’s willing to testify in court that Zhang Dafu kidnapped and abused her, and she also knows where the other victims are buried by Zhang Dafu.”
Liu Jiaming’s eyes widened in disbelief, staring at the young boy who was only as tall as his waist.
The dumping site confessed by Zhang Dafu’s mother was just one of the several instances she helped dispose of bodies, not all of them. She also mentioned that her son had buried bodies on his own at night, but she didn’t care about any of it, so she neither followed to see nor asked.
If Zhang Dafu told Wu Shanrong about all the burial sites and was willing to identify them and testify, then they need not fear even if Zhang Dafu denied everything!
Liu Jiaming opened his mouth, unable to find words to express his astonishment and excitement, and then turned to look at Yi Jiayi.
Yi Jiayi watched the slim silhouette of Ding Baoshu heading to the restroom, and smilingly said to Liu Jiaming:
“Though he is young, he is quite the seasoned survival expert.”
“When everyone else gave up on Ding Baolin, Baoshu insisted on reporting to the police every week. If the case wasn’t solved, he might just keep on reporting indefinitely.”
“After the case was closed, he became convinced that the Yi’s restaurant was the ‘promising eatery’ his brother had described. He started working there every day after school, quietly doing any job he could find, voluntarily wiping tables, moving stools, serving tea, and pouring water, until my brother decided to keep him.”
“Now that his brother’s case has been solved, he has secured a stable and reliable source of income for himself and his grandmother. With the money earned at Yi’s, combined with the savings from his scavenging, Baoshu might just be able to finish his schooling entirely on his own.”
“He understands the importance of doing everything he can to survive in this world. Despite being skinny, small, and unimpressive, he possesses a vitality that cannot be ignored; he knows how important it is to master his own destiny,” Yi Jiayi spoke, pausing to catch her breath. Liu Jiaming didn’t interrupt, earnestly waiting for her to continue.
“Victims like Wu Shanrong, in their future healing and growth, might find that avoiding and forgetting isn’t what’s important. Perhaps confronting is the right remedy—taking initiative, fighting on the court with the law as a powerful weapon, fiercely defeating that nightmare. When she realizes that person isn’t so frightening, even trivial and weak. When she understands that with the support of the law and the police, living in this city isn’t really that dangerous. When she grasps that disasters won’t suddenly strike again…”
“Maybe then she can truly overcome her fears and stand up again.”
Liu Jiaming discovered for the first time that Little Eleven had such good eloquence.
Her head was filled with so many sound and impressive thoughts.
Looking into Little Eleven’s eyes, he unconsciously gained a bit more respect for her, shedding some of the condescension of being ‘Brother Jiaming’.
Especially, thinking of the detestable Zhang Dafu, knowing his own inevitable defeat and despair, Liu Jiaming almost wished he could rush over and hug Little Eleven, spinning her around in circles…
“So, if anyone could convince Wu Shanrong, it could only be Ding Baoshu, who has fought against fate and has now started a new life after overcoming the grief of losing loved ones?” Liu Jiaming was completely convinced by Yi Jiayi, feeling assured that Little Eleven brought Ding Baoshu today with a well-thought-out plan, confident of success!
It was as if she had a set of theories that were infallibly profound.
“Not really, I just think, Baoshu moved me before, and these past few days, he quickly took down Sun Xin. A boy who talks little, stubborn, and has reached such a level must have something unique about him. Maybe, perhaps, it could work for Wu Shanrong too.” Yi Jiayi chuckled; she wasn’t that incredible.
Before Ding Baoshu opened the door, she was just as unsure as Liu Jiaming.
It was just that her heart held a bit more hope, a bit more naïveté and optimism from nowhere.
“Let’s go, let’s go inside.” Lin Wangjiu carried a cup of tea, steeped with red dates, goji berries, and some health foods Yi Jiayi couldn’t recognize, softening his sharp demeanor into something more elder-like as he knocked and entered the hospital room.
Liu Jiaming nodded at Yi Jiayi, asking her to thank Ding Baoshu, and then he too entered the hospital room.