"That night, I was lying in the hospital the whole time. My nose hurt terribly because the bridge was broken. Honestly, I was conscious, but still very out of it. My mind was foggy, and I don't remember many things clearly,"
Xu Ruyi held her coffee, earnestly "recalling."
For any detail, don't answer too quickly. Take time to think it over, really try to remember. Answers being unclear, ambiguous—that was normal.
Answers that came too fast, too smoothly, would definitely make the police suspicious.
Xiao Zhi had reminded her of this long ago.
"Relax, Sis. Let them investigate. Every detail can withstand scrutiny. Don't be afraid,"
He was right—the police had "invited" her back to the station for questioning, meaning they were already investigating her. But clearly, they hadn't found anything useful, otherwise they wouldn't be so "polite," repeatedly explaining it was "just a chat, a casual talk."
This case had become a hot topic in the city. With the immense pressure they were under, where would they find the time for idle chit-chat?
"A call at night? I think there might have been one. This newly registered number was originally meant for setting up a self-media account. I wanted to get back into my old profession, design, and thought I'd test the waters while taking care of the baby. But somehow, the number got leaked, and I got harassing sales calls all day long,"
Xu Ruyi took a small sip of coffee, telling the truth.
She was speaking facts—Xiao Zhi had said: don't lie, no need to lie, just tell the truth as it is.
Xu Ruyi certainly remembered the real events of that night.
It was a night she would never forget, every detail etched vividly in her memory.
First, shatter the trust between Qin Guan and Qi Min.
This wasn't something she was naturally good at, but she had tried her best anyway.
While Qi Min was at the Xinhe Hotel, smugly trying to pry into Qin Guan's background and marital status, Xu Ruyi lay in her hospital bed, enduring physical pain, keeping Qin Guan tied down, and performing a tragic drama in front of him.
A drama of the lawful wife being humiliated and trampled by the mistress.
To completely overturn Qin Guan's trust in Qi Min, she had added a heavy dose of truth.
That was—her father's death.
Her father's death was undoubtedly Qin Guan's Achilles' heel.
Even without evidence, Xu Ruyi knew—her father was killed by Qin Guan!
Someone who had secretly committed evil and escaped punishment, no matter how cruel their nature, would inevitably harbor deep anxiety about it.
He must fear being discovered.
Therefore, late that night, knowing Qin Guan was eavesdropping outside the hospital room door, Xu Ruyi deliberately whispered to Auntie Feng, "Qi Min… she even mentioned my father…"
Her intention was to ensure that when Qin Guan went to see Qi Min, he wouldn't trust any gossip she might spread.
Her intention was to sow discord between the two, to protect herself, to pave the way for her own plans.
She never, ever imagined that upon hearing this, Qin Guan, later that very night, could no longer sit still.
Qin Guan made an excuse to leave the hospital, rushed home, changed clothes, avoided the cameras, and went straight to the Xinhe Hotel.
Of course, Xu Ruyi also never anticipated that Qin Guan would, that night, in the Xinhe Hotel, silently strangle Qi Min to death.
She had envisioned arguments, conflicts, the pair turning on each other, tearing each other apart. She had even considered the possibility they might unite against her, Xu Ruyi.
The one thing she hadn't foreseen was Qin Guan strangling Qi Min.
No one had.
Including Xiao Zhi.
The last call Xiao Zhi made to her that night was to tell her Qin Guan had returned to Guanlan Court. From the lights in the windows, they could see Qin Guan had come home, gone into the bathroom for a shower, then entered the master bedroom and gone to sleep.
Yes, she thought he was asleep, thought he was resting to gather his strength before confronting Qi Min later.
She had no idea that Qin Guan had ended Qi Min's life that very night.
"No matter how many times you ask me, it's the same thing, because I'm telling the truth."
Qin Guan sat on the chair. The fatigue of repetition had left his lips painfully dry.
He licked them, swallowed with difficulty, and asked Lao He for another cup of water.
"I've said it three times already. Even if I say it three more times, it'll be the same words,"
He sounded a little impatient, but his tone remained calm, composed—that was interrogation. Asking over and over, mixing up the questions and their order.
Suspects with poor psychological resilience usually become exhausted after a few rounds, forget the details of their lies, and eventually slip up, letting the police break them.
He couldn't afford that.
He had already told so much truth, so much. All his groundwork, all his effort, was for this final strike.
"That afternoon, Xu Ruyi broke her nose bridge at the Tianfu Hotel, then drove the car back to the residential area and crashed into the flower bed. She was covered in blood. I took her to the hospital. When she woke up, she did tell me that she had gone to the Xinhe Hotel to see Qi Min that day."
"She said a lot. She said Qi Min insulted her, mocked her, swore at her. I was furious, truly furious. Qi Min and I were lovers, yes, that relationship was immoral. But we agreed from the start: sleeping together was fine, but absolutely no destroying families."
"I also told Qi Min, I would never divorce my wife for her. And she promised me she would keep the affair secret from my wife."
"But for her to talk about my wife like that, openly trying to wreck my family—how could I tolerate that?"
"So, I went to see Qi Min,"
Qin Guan lifted his head, his gaze steady and sincere as he looked directly at Lao He.
Lao He was wearing his uniform today, the stern, glaring uniform.
The uniform silently jabbed at Qin Guan's composure. He blinked, then regained his calm—he had to admit the fact that he went to see Qi Min. It was incredibly risky.
But it was also his only chance to win.
"I lied before. Actually, I went to see her because I simply couldn't take it anymore!"
"I went to see her early the next morning. It should have been around five, not even five yet. I woke up, couldn't get the matter out of my mind, tossed and turned, and couldn't sleep anymore. So I got up and went to the Xinhe Hotel to find her. Oh, the reason I knew Qi Min's specific address? I overheard it from Xu Ruyi."
"If I had known the address earlier, I would have told you, wouldn't I? Captain He, that night you came to my place with Li Yang, asking me to prove Qi Min was still alive. If I'd had the address then, I would have given it to you. Wouldn't clearing my name earlier have been better?"
"Anyway, I went to Room 201 at the Xinhe Hotel using the address I heard from Xu Ruyi. The cameras at Guanlan Court probably didn't catch me because I deliberately avoided them. I was mainly afraid Xu Ruyi would get angry if she found out. After all, the affair has put our marriage on the brink; I didn't want more trouble."
"I got to the door of Room 201 and knocked. I heard Qi Min's voice. But I was too agitated, my tone was harsh. I questioned her right outside the door, asking why she treated Xu Ruyi like that. She probably realized I wasn't there peacefully and refused to open the door no matter what. I kicked, pounded, yelled urgently at the door. She wouldn't open it, told me to get lost."
There were marks on the door from being kicked, a small piece of wood even dented—Qin Guan had noted this detail during his last visit to the Xinhe Hotel.
"I was afraid of disturbing the neighbors next door. I pleaded with her, begged her. She finally opened the door. Once inside, her attitude changed immediately. She tried to reconcile, hugged me, even said some nonsense about knowing my background, knowing my father was strict and my mother loving when I was a kid. That just made me angrier. I pushed her away, told her we were finished, completely over. I ordered her to stop harassing my wife and wrecking my family!"
"She got furious too. She gritted her teeth and shoved me hard out the door. I stumbled back and crashed into the door opposite. My arm scraped against the door frame. That frame was really old and rough; it tore my arm,"
The scrape was real, only it had happened when he was dragging the suitcase containing Qi Min's corpse.
"If you inspect the opposite door, you might still find some of my bloodstains,"
"Anyway, she pushed me out and wouldn't let me back in. As I was leaving downstairs, she hatefully threw her clothes down at me. They didn't hit me, of course; they landed in a pile of garbage outside the back window of the hotel. You can go look for those clothes; they should still be there!"
Qi Min's clothes—Qin Guan had thrown them himself. He remembered clearly—brand new clothes with tags might have been picked up, but old clothes? They'd definitely still be there!