When she heard Jiang Wenwen's sobs, Mu Yu was instantly anxious. She asked urgently, "What happened?"
"Bing got taken away by the police!"
"What?" Mu Yu's heart sank. "Is he really the."
She dared not go on. Despite her doubts, she really didn't want to believe that Yan Xiaobing was the murderer.
Jiang Wenwen was already crying on the other end of the line. "Actually, the police came to question me last night. Since this matter is serious, I didn't dare say anything. I went to school this morning to find out more. That's when I knew the police had also looked for my colleagues who were involved in the donation charity in order to learn more about the situation. One of my colleagues confirmed that he had seen Bing in Cheng Xi Park on that day. I felt so distressed, and was hoping that there was some sort of misunderstanding. I tried to call Bing, but his number couldn't be reached. When I finally got off work, I went to his workplace to look for him, only to learn that he had been taken by the police this morning. How can Bing be so foolish? Just because of one woman, he destroyed his life? Is it worth it? Moreover, if anything happens to him, how is his mother going to continue living?"
Jiang Wenwen's words had reminded Mu Yu of something. She calmed herself down, and tried to soothe Jiang Wenwen. "Don't worry about it for now. Let me find out about what's going on. Maybe there's some misunderstanding in between?"
After she finished talking, she hung up the phone in a hurry, and then dialed Rong Jian's phone. "Chief Rong, I heard that you have brought in Yan Xiaobing today?"
"Yes, thanks to the clues you provided. We found out that Yan Xiaobing had indeed lied as the timelines don't match up." Rong Jian's voice was soft yet a little hoarse. He obviously sounded very tired, but he couldn't hide his excitement.
Mu Yu could sense there was something else in his voice. An instant chill washed through her heart. "Is he really the murderer who killed Sun Meilan? Is there any conclusive evidence?"
"No solid evidence has been found yet, but he is still under strict scrutiny. But no matter how we bombarded him with questions surrounding his appearance at Cheng Xi Park that evening, he never uttered a single word. He didn't admit nor deny that he is the murderer. My teammates are now searching his house, but we haven't found anything suspicious so far."
"So we have no solid evidence to prove that he is the murderer?"
"That's right, but in my opinion, things do not seem to be that simple. After all, he harbors a deep grudge against Sun Meilan, plus there is a dark side to him. He isn't very cooperative with the police. It's obvious that he's guilty."
"A dark side to him?" Mu Yu was a little surprised. "I believed you when you said that he had become reserved and unsociable since the fire, but having a dark side to him."
"This was the clue provided by his colleagues who worked with him. They said that he is usually uncommunicative and reserved, and has a gentle temper. But when the weather changes abruptly, his emotions can easily be affected. He would often argue with others once they had a disagreement. He would even lay his hands on others. Later, when his colleagues had learned about his situation, they tried to get along with him as much as they could. But they didn't realize that he would self-harm when there wasn't anyone to fight with."
"Self-harm?"
"Yes, I've checked his arms and legs. There were indeed many injuries from pinching, and burn marks too. When I questioned him, he also admitted to self-harming. And on the night of 17th September, it was indeed raining. So, it doesn't rule out the possibility of his mood swings, which caused him to brutally murder Sun Meilan, and then transfer her body to Cheng Xi Forest. Our top priority is to find the primary crime scene. So that without any confession, we can still make Yan Xiaobing plead guilty."
Recalling that she had nightmares on the night of 17th September, this meant that it was indeed raining. Mu Yu's heart felt really heavy, like it was weighed down by a huge rock. It felt so heavy that she could barely speak.
"Is it your best friend who asked you to inquire about the situation?" Rong Jian's voice softened. "I was the one who talked to her personally last night. She was very emotional. I could see that she was very sympathetic and concerned about Yan Xiaobing. Try and comfort her. Tell her that we won't let a bad person go, but we will never wrong a good person either. If Yan Xiaobing is not the murderer, we will definitely give him justice."
"Okay." Well, what more could Mu Yu say now?
"Alright, I'll call you if there's any progress in the case. I'll go to work now."
"Oh, okay." Mu Yu quietly hung up on the phone, and slumped weakly against a bench by the roadside.
She understood what Rong Jian meant. There was a high possibility that Yan Xiaobing was the real murderer of Sun Meilan. Even if she didn't want to believe it, she had to.
Her phone rang. It was Jiang Wenwen.
She hesitated for a moment, and answered the call.
"Yu, what's up?"
Jiang Wenwen's eagerness made her very upset. She sighed before she tried to answer meekly, "There is no solid evidence to prove that he is the murderer for now. But the situation really isn't looking good."
There was a pause on the other end of the line. Then, there came Jiang Wenwen's cries. "Bing is really so stupid. No matter how hard his life is, he shouldn't have killed someone! He ruined his own life for murdering someone! It's not even worth it to be paying his life for someone like Sun Meilan! Why didn't he think of his mother, who was seriously ill?"
"Hey, Wenwen, don't cry. Don't cry. The police haven't found any solid evidence, have they?" Mu Yu felt her words weren't convincing at all.
"When they finally found the evidence, Bing would have no hope left, isn't that right? Bing is so pitiful! He really is too pitiful."
"Wenwen, don't cry. You can't blame others on this. It's just that he doesn't know how to protect himself with legal means. Who doesn't have at least someone in their life that they hate or resent? If anyone could just kill anyone, isn't it just messed up?"
"But these people who harm others just for their own benefits should be damned! No one asked them to do things without putting others into consideration!"
Hearing her best friend gritting her teeth, Mu Yu suddenly found Jiang Wenwen acting a little strange. She couldn't help but worry. "Wenwen, are you okay?"
Yan Xiaobing was just an ordinary neighbor of her best friend's. She couldn't understand why her best friend was overreacting as such.
Jiang Wenwen gasped and sighed deeply, then she said, "Yu, do you know the reason why during the fire in Bing's house five years ago, even when they had called the police in time, his wife and unborn child still died in the fire?"
Was there a hidden agenda behind this?
Mu Yu asked anxiously, "Why is that?"
"Because the people in our area did not park our cars properly, it caused the firefighters' passage to be blocked, and the fire truck was unable to enter. The fire officers could only enter our neighbourhood on foot, and when they finally reached the seventh floor, Bing's house was locked from the inside. As soon as they broke the door open and rushed in, his wife had already suffocated to death. Then, Bing's father, who arrived later, suffered from a severe stroke because of this and passed away. Bing's family was destroyed within moments, all because of the haphazardly parked cars. And that included my family's car. We are all the main culprits that caused the destruction of Bing's family! Although we all tried to help Bing after that, what was there for us to make up for? We can't escape the condemnation of our conscience for the rest of our lives!" Jiang Wenwen broke into tears again.
Mu Yu didn't expect the incident to have such a backstory. She finally understood why her best friend cared so much about Bing's encounter. She remembered Rong Jian told her that Yan Xiaobing often self-harmed, and she sympathized with Yan Xiaobing even more. However, she was helpless as there was nothing she could do, and could only comfort her best friend again. "No matter what, nobody wanted this kind of thing to happen. It's useless to talk about regrets now. We should."
"The most hateful one is Sun Meilan's family!" Jiang Wenwen suddenly said, filled with hatred. "At that time, Gan Wulin was working in passenger transportation, so he parked his big passenger car improperly in the neighbourhood. When the neighbors saw that the fire truck was unable to enter, all of them quickly moved their cars away. Only Gan Wulin didn't do so. He wasn't cooperative and he claimed that he couldn't find his car key. After the tragedy, Sun Meilan didn't even show a trace of sympathy. Not only did she spread rumors that Bing's family was destined to be dead because of Bing, she even went around to persuade the neighbors not to help him, saying that those who help him will have bad luck. Tell me, why didn't such a vicious woman get her karma? I'm not surprised that Bing wanted to slice her tongue off and cut it into pieces. Even when I bumped into her when I returned home from work, I had the urge to crash my electric car into her."
Mu Yu was shocked. "Wenwen! Being impulsive doesn't solve the problem!"
"She's already dead. What use is there if I'm being impulsive?"
"No, I mean you can't be impulsive when you encounter such things in the future. No one can guarantee that one won't be dealing with such people again in the future."
Jiang Wenwen sobbed for a while. When she spoke again, her voice had sounded much calmer. "Don't worry, I was just being mad. Tell your colleague later to treat Bing kindly no matter what, okay?"
"Yes, I will."
"Okay, I'll hang up now."
Jiang Wenwen hung up the phone without another word.
Mu Yu's heart felt extremely heavy. She had called Rong Jian to explain briefly on her best friend's recent addition to the details of the accident. After she hung up, she held the phone tightly in her palm, and stared blankly at the resort entrance that wasn't so far away from her.
People were coming in and out of the entrance in groups, talking and laughing on their way. Thinking of Yan Xiaobing who was about to lose his freedom, she felt even worse.
"Yu, why didn't you tell me that you went out? I was looking all over for you."
When she raised her head, she saw Xin Yihan running toward her. Mu Yu quickly wiped away the tears on her face.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Xin Yihan rushed over and grabbed her shoulders nervously as he asked anxiously.
"No, it's nothing."
"You're still saying that it's nothing? Your eyes are red and teary! What the hell happened?"
In order to not worry him, Mu Yu hurriedly told him the truth. "I'm fine. Wenwen called me and cried just now, telling me that something had happened to her friend. Her friend is very pitiful. I couldn't hold back my feelings so I cried with her."
Afraid that he didn't believe in her, she purposely took her phone out, and showed him her caller records.
"Is that so?"
"When have I ever lied to you?" Mu Yu tried to place a smile on her face.
But Xin Yihan didn't smile and told her with a straight face, "Silly girl, if something really happened, you must tell me. Don't carry the burden by yourself, get it?"
Mu Yu's heart was warmed, and she nodded solemnly.
"Remember, I'm always your."
"Strongest support. I'll always remember it."
"It's good that you remember, silly girl." Xin Yihan patted her head with adoration.
Mu Yu loved these gestures and the tone of his voice very much. For a moment, it felt like she was back to the days where there wasn't Yin Xiaotian. She couldn't help but seem to be in a trance as her gaze toward him turned dreamy.
"Your sister-in-law and the others are still waiting for us inside. Do you want to go inside and soak again?"
"Oh, okay."
The sound of 'sister-in-law' pulled Mu Yu back into reality. She quickly lowered her eyes and straightened up while she kept scolding herself. However, because she had been sitting for a very long time, her legs turned numb, and she almost fell. Luckily, Xin Yihan caught her just in time.
"You silly girl, still so clumsy as ever."
"It's just an accident." Mu Yu stuck her tongue out embarrassingly. "Let's go."
"Yu."
Qin Jinhuan? Sh*t!
Mu Yu immediately stepped aside in order to keep a distance from Xin Yihan.
"Hello, Mr. Qin." Xin Yihan didn't seem to notice Mu Yu's little movement as he greeted Qin Jinhuan politely.
Qin Jinhuan nodded at Xin Yihan with a smile. Then, he turned his gaze at Mu Yu and glanced at her bag. His tone was still gentle. "Do you want to go to the hot spring?"
Mu Yu's response was quick. She immediately answered him, "Yes, I've been waiting for you to come back."
"Where's my swimming trunks?"
"In the room." Mu Yu turned to look at Xin Yihan and explained, "Yihan, I have to accompany him to get his swimming trunks. We'll meet you later."
When she saw Xin Yihan nod, she smiled and went to hold Qin Jinhuan's arm. Then, she walked to the resort while leaning at him lovingly. But in her heart, she felt very guilty, and was afraid that he might misunderstand her.
As it turned out, her worries weren't uncalled for. Because as soon as they entered their room of the resort, he flung her arm away. His eyes were now gloomy as he looked at her coldly.