Bu Wei was like the white algae swaying at the bottom of the river. After a while, she finally stepped into the ward, closed the door behind her, walked to the bed, and sat upright.
This angle made her and Jiang Stops look at each other at the same level, face to face — as if a curse had been silently lifted in the dark, and finally broke free from the bottom-up angle.
She asked, "What do you want me to say?"
"Although it happened the night before yesterday, I don't think the police had time to tell you." Jiang Stops paused and said, "Wang Xingye is dead."
Bu Wei's face was blank, like a whiteboard that hadn't had time to think about what emotions to fill in. After a few seconds, she slowly showed surprise, surprise, and a trace of fear, "… Wh … What?"
"He fell from a residential building in Gongzhou, and his body was found the next morning. The police have tentatively determined that he committed suicide to escape punishment."
Jiang Stops leaned his upper body deeply on the back of the armchair. His posture was natural and calm, which was the opposite of the girl's stiff and somewhat deliberately upright sitting posture. After a long time, Bu Wei seemed to have reluctantly digested the bad news. She trembled and said in a hoarse voice, "… It's too sudden, I didn't expect …"
"Really?"
Bu Wei's voice paused, and she looked at Jiang Stops. The latter repeated in her line of sight, "You really didn't expect?"
"… I don't understand what you mean."
"I thought you had already expected Wang Xingye's death, when you said the sentence 'the kidnapper is my uncle' in front of Yan Ji." Jiang Stops said slowly, "… Or even earlier, when you heard Yan Ji privately discussing that the probability of Shen Xiaoqi waking up was actually very high, so you decided to take the lead and throw out Wang Xingye to divert attention …"
"I don't understand what you're talking about." Bu Wei's somewhat sharp voice interrupted Jiang Stops, "It was the kidnapper who forced me to push Shen Xiaoqi down. What's wrong with me telling the truth?"
"Nothing's wrong."
"…"
"But Wang Xingye, the only person who could prove it, is dead." A smile appeared in Jiang Stops's eyes, although there was no friendliness or intimacy in that smile. "In other words, no one can prove whether you were coerced to kill, actively cooperated, or were an accomplice, or even … from the very beginning, you actively requested to kill Shen Xiaoqi."
Bu Wei's expression was a little strange, like a fierce glare and a weak innocence. The two opposite expressions were mixed and intertwined, so much so that when she spoke, her voice was a little distorted. "Officer, I'm just a poor student. How have I offended you?"
"Don't overthink it. It's just a logical deduction from a criminal investigation's perspective." Jiang Stops was much calmer. "By the way, maybe they forgot to tell you that you are not the first victim. We found a notebook, or to be exact, a file, in one of Wang Xingye's hideouts. It recorded the names of the first two girls, Teng Wenyan and Li Yuxin. Have you heard of these two names?"
Bu Wei shook her head warily. "… I don't know."
"I think you probably don't know either. Teng Wenyan was found by Wang Xingye in Lingzhou City five years ago. Two years ago, in mid-July, she and another teenager named Li Yuxin were kidnapped and killed together. Li Yuxin was found by Wang Xingye in Jiangyang County four years ago. In mid-July last year, she and another classmate named He Liang were kidnapped, and then He Liang was killed. Li Yuxin suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Speaking of which, there is a pattern to follow. You all encountered this kind of thing three years after being adopted. It feels like three years is like the shelf life of some kind of novelty that wears off. Once the shelf life is over, you have no value. "
Jiang Stops seemed to find it very interesting as he looked at Bu Wei and smiled.
But Bu Wei's white and tender face suddenly became very ugly when she learned that there were two other girls. As Jiang Stops said the last few words, she even faintly turned blue.
"Oh, right. Teng Wenyan is a girl who washes hair in Lingzhou City, and Li Yuxin is a county girl who goes out with her drug-addicted biological mother to 'socialize'. " The smile in Jiang Stops' eyes became more and more profound. "So you see, there is nothing to be sad about. At least you are not so … how should I put it, unique."
At the same time, in the speeding Phaeton.
"Once the shelf life is over, you have no value … At least you are not so unique."
Jiang Stops' voice was broadcasted through the car's Bluetooth. Han Xiaomei frowned in confusion and secretly looked at Yan Ji a few times. She couldn't help but ask, "Captain, Captain Yan?"
Yan Ji turned on the headlights and changed lanes. His eyes were fixed on the front of the car, and he nodded for her to speak.
"That … Why did Consultant Lu say that Teng Wenyan and Li Yuxin were adopted for three years? That wasn't written in the notebook you found in Wang Xingye's house. "
Yan Ji said, "To break down the psychological defense of the other party."
"Ah?"
"Bu Wei's calmness in the face of danger comes from a certain confidence deep in her heart. Although we don't know where it comes from, it must be related to a certain characteristic of her. Your Consultant Lu deliberately distorted the description of the first two victims, blurring and unifying Bu Wei's various unique characteristics in an all-round way. This is a method that targets her psychological defense and takes drastic measures. "
Han Xiaomei, who didn't fully understand, forced herself to remember these words in her mind and pondered over it repeatedly.
Indeed, Bu Wei had a kind of dexterity, gentleness, and pitifulness that didn't match her age. This kind of unique temperament was rare in many experienced adult women.
However, these unique characteristics suddenly became particularly fragile and difficult to maintain when she faced Jiang Stops. It was as if an invincible weapon had met its natural nemesis.
"Uncle Wang is usually out of town. I don't know what he is doing." Bu Wei lowered her gaze and stared at the slender white hand on her thigh. "I don't know what you want to say. Are you going to arrest me? Can I hire a lawyer? "
"No one wants to arrest you. I said I just want you to cooperate and answer questions." Jiang Stops was still sitting in a very comfortable position. His left hand was pressed on the picture album on his thigh, and his right hand was in his trouser pocket. He suddenly changed the topic. "Do you know why the mastermind planned three kidnappings in three consecutive years?"
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