I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 56: Chapter 54: Confession, Dream

Interrogation Room

After being caught, Lu Jing was surprisingly cooperative.

She knew perfectly well that once she was in here, if she didn’t talk now, she would face longer and more repetitive interrogations later.

It was better to just confess everything now.

The outcome would be the same either way.

”Why did you kill Jiang Lingjie?” Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

Lu Jing remained completely calm.

She had wanted to fight for a slim chance of survival, but the moment she clashed with Zhuang Yanzheng, she knew she was no match for him.

Besides, he had a partner.

In that moment, she had already prepared herself for everything that would follow, ready to calmly accept any consequence.

”Didn’t you go to my house? Didn’t you find everything out already?” Lu Jing looked at Zhuang Yanzheng. ”Your job is so tedious. You already know what happened, yet you still have to ask and ask, investigate and investigate, find evidence, interrogate, wait for me to say it myself, and then there’s the trial and a whole series of other things.”

Zhuang Yanzheng said nothing.

”Look at me. I felt Jiang Lingjie was a murderer, so I killed him directly. My efficiency is much higher than yours,” Lu Jing said with a small laugh.

”Why did you kill him?” Zhuang Yanzheng ignored her remarks and repeated the question.

Lu Jing sighed and said patiently, ”I’ve been in love with Xia Yan for almost six years. I was all alone, just going to work and coming home every day. What was there to look forward to in a life like that? It wasn’t until I fell for Xia Yan that my life gained some joy and something to look forward to. Only then did the sky seem blue, the sun warm, and the world colorful.”

”But then what? That thing I looked forward to was murdered,” Lu Jing said. ”If I didn’t personally finish off that man, Jiang, I wouldn’t have been able to eat or sleep.”

”You’re too extreme,” Zhuang Yanzheng said coldly. ”The law would have punished him.”

Lu Jing smiled, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. ”So what if I’m extreme? People like us aren’t normal. We’re just trying to learn how to live like normal people.”

Zhuang Yanzheng asked, ”Where did you get the cyanide?”

Lu Jing looked at him. ”Actually, you could be asking where the bead came from.”

Zhuang Yanzheng stared at the provocative smile on her face, then, after a moment, lowered his gaze to the sealed bag on the table.

The bead was still inside.

”The same person gave them to you,” Zhuang Yanzheng stated with certainty.

”You must know who it is, right? He’s supposed to be an ’old friend’ of yours.” Lu Jing smiled. ”Before I came, he specifically told me to say hello to you.”

Zhuang Yanzheng snorted. ”Say hello? By trying to take my life?”

”But you’re still alive, aren’t you?” Lu Jing countered.

Zhuang Yanzheng nodded. ”Where is he? How does he contact you? Who else is there besides you? What industries? What positions?”

Lu Jing just looked at him.

Zhuang Yanzheng frowned.

Lu Jing said, ”You’re ’old friends.’ You should know him very well. Since I’m sitting here, he must have anticipated this. Do you really think I’d know the answers to those questions?”

”Who contacted you? How did they contact you? Where did you go after leaving the hospital yesterday afternoon?” Zhuang Yanzheng continued to press.

”An old residential complex in the suburbs.” Lu Jing readily gave the name of the complex. ”A delivery driver brought me the bead this morning. All our contact is one-way. I don’t know who he is.”

Zhuang Yanzheng looked at the officer standing to the side.

The officer left immediately.

Lu Jing added, ”There are no surveillance cameras there. You won’t find anything.”

They had to check even if there were no cameras; they might discover something.

”Who gave you the cyanide?” Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

”A long time ago, he gave it to us personally. Every one of us has some.” Lu Jing smiled. ”Are you scared? In this city, there are many people hiding deadly poison. Who knows, maybe one day, it will all break out.”

Zhuang Yanzheng ignored her words and continued, ”What did the delivery driver look like?”

”I don’t know. I didn’t see him.” Lu Jing lowered her gaze and shook her head.

”You’re lying.” Zhuang Yanzheng’s voice rose slightly.

Lu Jing looked up at him. ”You’re very sharp.”

Zhuang Yanzheng said, ”You acted on your own. That person... he won’t let you live.”

A flicker of movement crossed Lu Jing’s eyes.

”What did the delivery driver tell you this morning? To trade my life for yours?” Zhuang Yanzheng watched her. ”Since you say we’re ’old friends,’ he should know me very well. Do you really think... he didn’t know that once you provoked me, you’d end up sitting right here?”

Lu Jing didn’t speak.

”He never gave you a chance to live. He just used a different method. You were just his ’method’ of saying hello,” Zhuang Yanzheng said.

Lu Jing lowered her gaze and was silent for a moment, but her expression quickly returned to one of calm composure as she rapidly accepted it all. ”So that’s how it is. What of it?”

”What did the delivery driver look like?” Zhuang Yanzheng asked directly.

”I’ve only seen him twice, and I only saw his eyes each time,” Lu Jing said.

Zhuang Yanzheng said to the other officer, ”Get Lu Zhishen in here.”

...

Su Miaoyi had fallen asleep in the break room.

At some point, Chu Xingrou came in, found a blanket, and covered her with it.

Now warmer, Su Miaoyi slept even more soundly.

But she hadn’t been asleep for long before she started dreaming again.

She dreamed she was in the apartment at Jinrong District.

Suddenly, two men pried open the door and burst into the apartment.

She was too terrified to scream.

She tried to run but was easily caught.

The two men were very strong.

One man alone was enough to completely overpower her.

She had no chance to resist at all.

A hand clamped over her mouth.

Then she felt the man’s other hand press down on her head, and then he twisted it with force.

She thought she heard a SNAP, and then her vision went black as her head drooped down.

As everything faded to black, Su Miaoyi jolted awake.

”Sister Miaomiao? What’s wrong?”

Su Miaoyi gasped for breath, looking at Chu Xingrou in front of her, then glancing around the room.

It took a few seconds for her to realize she was in the break room.

”Sister Miaomiao, did you have a nightmare? Are you okay?” Chu Xingrou asked.

She had just come in and seen Su Miaoyi’s forehead covered in sweat, her hands clutching the blanket tightly.

Su Miaoyi took a few seconds to compose herself.

As usual, the moment she woke up, the details of the dream instantly became hazy. She couldn’t quite remember what she had dreamed about.

She only remembered that it was terrifying.

”I’m fine,” Su Miaoyi said. ”Did you need me for something?”

”It’s past one in the afternoon. Captain Zhuang sent me to ask if you want to eat something,” Chu Xingrou said.

”It’s already one o’clock.” Su Miaoyi pulled out her phone to check the time. The lock of her hair that had been cut off was sticking out stubbornly. ”How are things going in the interrogation room?”

”Lu Jing confessed everything,” Chu Xingrou said. ”Captain Zhuang and the others are busy. Since a public figure is involved, they have to prepare a public statement.”

Su Miaoyi nodded.

...