CHAPTER 69

That afternoon, Xiaoyuan was set to perform a crucial scene.

The families of the young boys whom Xu Qiang had m0lested had been investigated, but none were found to have any involvement in the case. They had motives but no opportunity, and their fingerprints were different from those found on Xu Qiang's clothing.

They kept silent about their children's experiences, fearing to speak out, believing their children were victims of an "isolated incident." Some even moved away.

Consultant Huo had indeed learned from his son that several young boys had mentioned to Meng Xiaozhou that they had been m0lested by Xu Qiang.

In the days leading up to the incident, surveillance footage from the neighborhood showed Meng Xiaozhou talking to Xu Qiang.

With two similar murd3r cases and Meng Xiaozhou being involved in both cases, she was currently the only prime suspect.

These two cases had a significant social impact, putting immense pressure on Captain Zhou, who directly summoned Meng Xiaozhou to the police station for "cooperation in the investigation."

Captain Zhou and Consultant Huo prepared to work together, hoping to extract useful information from Meng Xiaozhou.

The actor portraying Captain Zhou was also an experienced actor, looking very authoritative. He had a scar in the middle of his brow that made him appear serious when he frowned, giving off an imposing presence.

He sat down and stared at Meng Xiaozhou for a while in silence, creating an invisible pressure that bore down on her.

Beside him, a subordinate officer took notes, while Captain Zhou began the questioning.

Outside the interrogation room, Consultant Huo watched them through one-way glass.

Xiaoyuan, portraying Meng Xiaozhou, hunched her shoulders and lowered her gaze, remaining silent.

Captain Zhou took out several photographs, laying them one by one in front of her.

"Do you know Xu Qiang?"

"What's your relationship with him?"

Meng Xiaozhou tightened her shoulders and quietly replied, "I know him, but we're not close."

Captain Zhou raised the corner of his lip, "He has you added as a friend on WeChat, and you agreed to meet that night. Is that what you call being 'not close'?"

Meng Xiaozhou pressed her lips together, her shoulders trembling slightly, "...He borrowed a book that was about to be overdue, so I just reminded him when I got off work. Then he offered to treat me to dinner as a thank you... that's all."

"Did he invite you, or did you invite him?" Captain Zhou's gaze was piercing.

"He did."

Captain Zhou scoffed coldly and pulled out printed communication records. "Lies. Should I read it out loud for you?"

Meng Xiaozhou looked confused and a bit wronged, "..."

"Xu Qiang asked you," Captain Zhou pointed to the printed records, "was it at XX restaurant? You said yes and told him to go ahead, and that you would arrive shortly after."

"Before that, you even had a one-minute phone call. You invited him to dinner, you approached him first. So tell me, what exactly is your motive?"

Meng Xiaozhou weakly replied, "No, he invited me to dinner to thank me."

Captain Zhou stared at her. "What time did you finish dinner?"

Meng Xiaozhou hesitated for a moment, as if recalling, "Around nine-thirty?"

Captain Zhou pressed, "And then? Did you go back with him?"

Meng Xiaozhou immediately denied it, gripping the handles of her wheelchair tightly. "No!"

Captain Zhou countered, "According to the surveillance footage from the restaurant exit, you left together."

Meng Xiaozhou's eyes turned slightly red, trembling as she said, "The place we ate wasn't far from my home. I got back home a little after ten..."

Captain Zhou asked, "Do you have anyone to confirm that?"

Meng Xiaozhou took a deep breath. "...No."

Zhou raised an eyebrow. "Okay, let's change the question. Do you know about Xu Qiang m0lesting children? And not just one child."

Meng Xiaozhou's expression faltered slightly.

Captain Zhou continued to lay out the photographs. "These children have all been in contact with you. From our interviews, their parents said that you have a good relationship with these kids."

"I'll ask in another way: Did any of these children tell you what Xu Qiang did to them?"

Meng Xiaozhou withdrew her hands from the wheelchair handles and clasped them together, remaining silent.

"Did they?" Zhou's voice grew stern.

Meng Xiaozhou trembled slightly, her eyelashes quivering, but she remained silent.

Consultant Huo scratched his chin and clicked his tongue.

The officer beside him, feeling sympathetic, said, "...Could we be mistaken? Look how terrified she is..."

"She's very smart and cautious. She won't answer questions that are not in her favor."

The officer still looked incredulous. "It... really doesn't seem like she could have committed the crime..."

"Speak! Did they say anything or not!" Captain Zhou slammed the table. Seeing Meng Xiaozhou still silent, he opened the case file and pulled out several photographs. "This is Yang Yi, and this is Xu Qiang. Both were castrated and bled to death, and both are connected to you. Do you have any explanation?"

The case had not been solved yet, and this information from the scene was confidential, only seen by police personnel. At this moment, Meng Xiaozhou's reaction was crucial.

Consultant Huo narrowed his eyes, focusing intently.

Meng Xiaozhou's face instantly turned pale, seeming shocked. After a brief pause, she covered her mouth, tears welling up.

Captain Zhou continued to press her based on her reaction. "Admit it, wasn't it you? You killed both of them, didn't you?"

"No." Meng Xiaozhou shook her head, tears rolling down with her movement.

"Still denying it? You had a grudge against Yang Yi, and for so many years, you didn't actively approach any men. Why did you willingly approach Xu Qiang? And why did you agree to go eat with him?"

"What's your explanation? Did you kill them yourself, or did someone help you?"

"I didn't, I didn't..."

Captain Zhou kept pressing closer, and Meng Xiaozhou continuously cried out and denied, "I didn't kill anyone!"

The officer taking notes and the officers standing next to Consultant Huo wore serious expressions. They all knew this was a tactic to extract a confession.

Coercion, inducement, employing psychological warfare.

These were sensitive methods, but they had reached a critical stage, and the time given by higher-ups for the criminal investigation team to solve the case was getting shorter.

"Then tell me what happened. What did you say to Xu Qiang? Why did you go eat with him? What time did you last see him?"

Meng Xiaozhou sobbed as she spoke, "I knew about Xu Qiang... One time he wanted to talk to XX and said he would take him out to play... I stopped him."

"Later, he told me not to meddle in his business and invited me to dinner... I didn't dare to refuse..."

At this point, Meng Xiaozhou choked out her words, covering her face in the end.

"Oh. So that's how it is." The officer beside Consultant Huo sighed.

Consultant Huo let out a breath, shook his head, and lamented, "There really are no flaws."

Captain Zhou scrutinized her, "So you knew all along. Why didn't you report it? Why didn't you expose him?"

Upon hearing this, Consultant Huo's expression changed, "Ah..."

This line served as the turning point of the entire scene.

Xiaoyuan slowly put down her hands, and the air around her seemed to freeze, pressing down a thick, heavy atmosphere.

The camera zoomed in, closer and closer, until it captured her features in extreme close-up. As her delicate hands retreated, a tear-streaked face appeared.

Xiang Xiaoyuan's face was already small, and she had lost a few pounds for the role of Meng Xiaozhou. Her cheeks were slightly sunken, making her eyes appear larger. With almost no makeup, faint dark circles under her eyes, her skin looked so thin it seemed fragile.

Her gaze was also fixed, her dark pupils motionless, with tears continuously welling up at the corners of her eyes.

It was like a painting fixed to a wall, the inner frame flowing with a persistent, heartbreaking sadness—an unceasing sorrow.

The power emanating from her was undeniably strong yet quiet.

The actor playing Captain Zhou felt an invisible, fierce force suddenly grip his heart, and he gasped for air.

Xiaoyuan suddenly turned her face slightly, her gaze shifting from scattered to focused. Her lips moved almost inaudibly, "Why would I report him for those parents?"

"Why would I do such a thing?"

She enunciated each word, "Haven't I learned my lesson yet?"

More tears rolled down from her eyes, her eyes deep as an abyss. At that moment, she appeared somewhat neurotic, exuding an unsettling aura that was different from the norm.

All the actors present and the audience outside fell silent.

Xiaoyuan's entire presence was pressing down, her tears and words felt like they were building up, ready to explode. In the silence that enveloped the room, she paused for a breath, then suddenly cried out, "Let me go back, I want to go home, you have no evidence that I killed anyone, let me go back..."

......

"Cut, that's a wrap!" Huo Bijun shouted as he stepped out of the frame.

Xiaoyuan raised her hand to cover her face.

He took a deep breath, stared at Xiaoyuan for a moment, and then turned to check the monitor.

The other actors got up, also understanding that Xiaoyuan's emotions were difficult to process at the moment. They exchanged a few amazed glances and then left.

Xiaoyuan took a deep breath, her brows furrowed, her lips pale, and her complexion looked poor. The makeup artist and stylist came over to attend to her.

He Chenying stood not far away, watching her with a hint of concern on her face.

......

"The lights are good."

"The camera is ready."

"The sound is fine."

"Alright, everyone, are we all sure there are no issues? I'm going to call action now." Huo Bijun walked into the frame and continued to act.

Captain Zhou and Consultant Huo played contrasting roles—one as the tough interrogator and the other as the softer approach. Now it was Huo Bijun's turn to take the stage. He walked over, sat down, and said, "Okay, calm down a bit. Those annoying people have left, it's just me now."

He also sent out the officer who had been sitting next to Captain Zhou.

"Let's talk."

"How did you do on the last exam?"

"..." Xiaoyuan didn't respond, her head hanging down, looking unwilling to continue the conversation.

"I looked at your medical records, and there are a few things I don't quite understand. Can you tell me?" Huo Bijun spoke in a calm tone, with a hint of a smile.

Xiaoyuan glanced up at him, her expression blank.

Consultant Huo flipped through the documents in his hands. "It says here that your surgery was successful, right? But..."

"What's the condition of your leg now? Are you still going for rehabilitation?"

"No." Meng Xiaozhou squeezed out the words from her throat.

"Do you have any sensation in your legs?" Huo Bijun's smile faded slightly, his eyes glinting with intensity. His tone softened, almost as if he were coaxing a child.

The officers standing in the observation room fixed their gazes intently on the girl's face, waiting for her answer.

Xiaoyuan stared at him with a strange expression, the muscles in her face twitching slightly, caught between laughter and tears. She blinked and said, "Yes."

......

All the police officers were stunned.

Huo Bijun was also taken aback. "You can walk?"

The officers exchanged glances, their eyes a mix of disbelief and a hint of excitement.

Just moments ago, they thought they had hit a dead end, but now Meng Xiaozhou had willingly placed a clue in their hands.

Xiaoyuan remained silent and then pushed her wheelchair back slightly.

The camera shifted to a close-up shot.

The young girl was very frail, wearing a white top, her long legs wrapped in jeans, curled up in her wheelchair as if she had no vitality.

She said, "If my legs were to bump into something, get hurt, or burn, I would feel pain, but I can't walk."

Huo Bijun and the others naturally didn't believe her and gently asked, "Have you ever tried?"

It was almost like saying, "Why not walk a few steps in front of us?"

The girl remained still.

Huo Bijun didn't give up.

The two locked eyes, displaying a confrontational stance.

Tear stains were still visible on Xiaoyuan's face, her eyes red, a sense of distress evident, making her look even more pitiful.

She slowly said, "If I could walk, why would I rely on a wheelchair to live?"

She held onto the armrests. "I've been in a wheelchair since before Yang Yi was released from prison."

With the footage of her accidental fall and testimonies from neighbors and friends, it was clear that she truly couldn't walk.

If she were pretending, could one really maintain it for two years? What would be the point?

Huo Bijun didn't press the issue further and instead asked, "Yang Yi is dead. How do you feel about it?"

"There are two opposing views online: one says he got what he deserved, while the other argues that he has already served his time and atoned for his sins, that his punishment should not have been death. What do you think?"

Xiaoyuan turned her face away, seemingly staring blankly at the air.

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