Insights Chapter 42: The Truth

Chapter 42: The Truth

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

By six o’clock in the afternoon, Qiu Xiaoxue was brought back to the Penang City Bureau, but this time, it was entirely different from before. In the morning, she had come as an informant to provide information, but now, she was brought in as a suspect and detained in the interrogation room.

Detectives went to record Qiu Xiaoxue’s personal information again, while Gu Yanchen and the others waited in the observation room. Shen Junci had finished his work as a medical examiner and came to sit in the observation room to listen.

Gu Yanchen said, “Let her be alone for a while.”

This was a questioning strategy to observe the suspect’s state. Leaving them alone in a windowless interrogation room could make them nervous, making it easier to extract the truth.

After the detective left the room, under the bright light, Qiu Xiaoxue lowered her head. The girl had a beautiful appearance, with a gentle and calm expression, except for a sickly redness on both sides of her cheeks. She didn’t seem nervous at all about the upcoming interrogation. Instead, she kept moving her lips, murmuring to herself.

Gu Yanchen noticed this and said to Bai Meng, “Amplify the sound and listen to what she’s saying.”

Bai Meng put on the headphones. “It sounds like she’s singing.”

As she spoke, Bai Meng adjusted the sound control device and played it through the speaker. The sound from the interrogation room was transmitted through the audio equipment.

Lu Ying exclaimed, “This girl is really weird. Indeed, she’s singing, but to be singing in the interrogation room without being nervous—I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

The voice was low, almost like a whisper, with some semblance of melody. But because her humming was very soft, it was hard to distinguish the song.

Bai Meng listened intently, tilting her head. “What song is this? It sounds familiar.”

Shen Junci recognized it. He lifted his chin slightly and spoke in a cold voice, “Finding Friends.”

As he said that, the others realized it too—it was a nursery rhyme familiar to everyone. The interrogation room was eerily quiet, with Qiu Xiaoxue bowing her head, humming softly. The simple melody was slightly off-key.

“Finding, finding, finding friends, finding a good friend, saluting, shaking hands, you are my good friend. Goodbye…” She repeated this line over and over again, completely immersed in it.

The scene seemed somewhat eerie.

Gu Yanchen asked Bai Meng, “Has Qiu Xiaoxue’s information been retrieved?”

Bai Meng handed over a printed document. “It has been retrieved. Her parents divorced when she was young, and she was given to her mother. Later, her mother formed a new family and let her live alone in a house very close to the school. Classmates describe her as solitary, not close to others, with average academic performance.”

Gu Yanchen said to Lu Ying, “You’ll be the lead interrogator later.”

Lu Ying felt a bit overwhelmed. “Captain Gu, you know interrogations aren’t my strong suit. I can cooperate, but being the lead interrogator might be difficult for me to extract information.”

Gu Yanchen reassured him, “You only get better with practice, and it’s okay if you don’t get answers.”

He just hoped to gain more information through Lu Ying’s conversation with Qiu Xiaoxue.

After making simple arrangements, Gu Yanchen took the files and entered the interrogation room with Lu Ying. They sat opposite Qiu Xiaoxue. Qiu Xiaoxue’s singing stopped, and the girl looked up at them, quieting the interrogation room.

Lu Ying asked, “Do you know why we’ve called you here again?”

Qiu Xiaoxue shook her head innocently. “I don’t know. I’ve told you everything I know.”

Lu Ying said, “The police now suspect you as the suspect who killed Qi Siwei’s family of three.”

Qiu Xiaoxue’s eyebrows furrowed, and she looked a bit swollen from crying earlier in the morning. “I didn’t kill Qi Siwei.”

“What did you do yesterday afternoon?”

“I went to Qi Siwei’s house and gave them a gift. Then I went home.”

“What did you have for dinner?”

“At half past five, I was hungry, so I ordered sour fish.” Qiu Xiaoxue glanced at them. “What’s wrong with that? Can’t I eat sour fish?”

Lu Ying was momentarily speechless at her retort. He continued, “After dinner, what did you do?”

“It was the same as usual, I went for a walk, then went home to sleep. I was woken up around three in the morning by the fire truck.”

Lu Ying began listing evidence. “During the autopsy of the corpses, we found medication for treating insomnia. This medication is prescription-based, and you’ve been prescribed it before. Yesterday evening at half past six, you were seen at Qi Siwei’s house, changing the takeaway order for sour fish they had ordered.”

Qiu Xiaoxue leaned forward, taking the initiative. “How would I know they were going to have sour fish that night?”

“You’re familiar with Qi Siwei’s family routine…”

“How many people have that medication? Besides, how does that prove anything? I just ordered a sour fish takeaway. Is that a crime? Why are you suspecting me?”

Lu Ying said, “When you rushed over this morning, you showed your hand. Many suspects revisit the crime scene.”

Qiu Xiaoxue explained, “I couldn’t get in touch with Qi Siwei, and I heard there was a fire nearby, so I went.”

Lu Ying continued with a bold face, “Then, did you enter Qi Siwei’s house last night?”

Qiu Xiaoxue shook her head. “I don’t have their keys. How could I enter their house?”

“Perhaps you made a spare key when you were with Qi Siwei secretly.”

Qiu Xiaoxue confidently argued, “Their house has just been equipped with fingerprint locks. Where would I make a spare key? Are you going to say I can lift fingerprints next?”

Lu Ying didn’t actually know about the fingerprint lock on the door. He hadn’t noticed those details when they arrived because most of the door was burned down in the morning fire. The door was already open when they arrived, so he hadn’t paid attention to these details. Lu Ying remembered Wei Yingtian’s method of entry. “Maybe you climbed over the wall and entered. There’s a small window on the second floor of Qi Siwei’s house that’s open.”

Qiu Xiaoxue denied once again, “How could a girl like me climb to the second floor and open the window?”

Seeing such a composed and confrontational suspect, Lu Ying encountered a deadlock in the interrogation. The police lacked decisive evidence.

Gu Yanchen watched silently from the side. Lu Ying was indeed lacking in experience, and Qiu Xiaoxue was leading the interrogation. But it was also beneficial. The more Qiu Xiaoxue spoke, the more she revealed. Gu Yanchen observed her every move and even her microexpressions.

She repeatedly denied involvement in Qi Siwei’s death and genuinely appeared sad, which didn’t seem fake. Facing the police inquiry, she didn’t show any signs of guilt, instead turning the tables on Lu Ying with each question.

Gu Yanchen’s intuition told him that this case must be related to Qiu Xiaoxue, she was not innocent. Qiu Xiaoxue’s possessiveness towards Qi Siwei’s friendship was abnormal. She might have done things that were difficult for ordinary people to understand. But the police needed concrete evidence or a confession. They couldn’t simply label her as the culprit based on assumptions of sour fish.

Moreover, what happened last night? Did Qiu Xiaoxue lie? Which of Wei Yingtian’s statements are true and which are false? They knew some information but were missing some. Those missing pieces of information might be the key to solving the puzzle.

Gu Yanchen could sense that Qiu Xiaoxue was different from the other suspects; she was more calm and forthright. She didn’t resist communicating with the police. This talkative and cooperative suspect didn’t show much resistance to confessing. She hadn’t confessed yet, perhaps because Lu Ying’s questions hadn’t touched her inner thoughts.

In other words, Lu Ying’s analysis was completely wrong. Conversely, once the motive behind Qiu Xiaoxue’s actions was analyzed, she might confess. So, where is the crucial point? Qiu Xiaoxue isn’t completely insane; she must have her own logic and purpose in her actions…

Gu Yanchen thought he must put himself in Qiu Xiaoxue’s shoes and analyze the case from her perspective. At that moment, Shen Junci sat in the observation room, also watching the progress of the interrogation. Shen Junci observed Gu Yanchen’s silent contemplation and knew he was secretly observing, thinking of strategies, and deducing the truth.

Doctor Shen carefully observed and suddenly noticed some issues. He turned to Bai Meng and asked, “Do you have paper?”

“Yes,” Bai Meng hesitated, then handed him paper and a pen.

Shen Junci wrote a note, folded it several times, and handed it to Bai Meng. “Could you please give this to Gu Yanchen to look at?”

Bai Meng didn’t know what Shen Junci had written, but she took it and walked into the interrogation room, knocked on the door, entered, and handed the note to Gu Yanchen.

Gu Yanchen opened the note, recognized Shen Junci’s handwriting, and saw a single word written somewhat hastily. That one word was like a key inserted into a lock. Gu Yanchen suddenly understood everything and knew where the problem lay!

The final piece of the puzzle was finally in place. The truth was unexpectedly… He refolded the note, set it aside, and then stood up. With his arms crossed, Gu Yanchen didn’t seem to be interrogating but rather chatting with a friend. “Qiu Xiaoxue, I know you and Qi Siwei are best friends. Being born into a broken family, you never received your parents’ care since childhood. You cherish the friendship between you two immensely. You even envy Qi Siwei’s happy family.”

Qiu Xiaoxue didn’t refute, just listened quietly.

“You maintained this friendship until the end of the college entrance examination when Qi Siwei applied to a school in another city and would soon go to college. Upon hearing this news, you were extremely saddened. You felt like you were being left behind, and the thought of her possibly making more friends made you gradually feel distant, which you couldn’t accept.”

Qiu Xiaoxue frowned as she listened, becoming silent with her fingers intertwining.

“Since the incident this morning, the police have been working tirelessly to solve the case. Based on some circumstances, we made assumptions, but these assumptions were wrong, leading to a deviation in the direction of the investigation. We initially thought you killed Qi Siwei out of anger because she was leaving…” At this point, Qiu Xiaoxue opened her mouth to refute, but Gu Yanchen interrupted her and continued, “But now I understand. You wouldn’t harm Qi Siwei because she’s your best friend. Even if it meant hurting yourself, you wouldn’t harm her with your own hands.”

Qiu Xiaoxue lowered her head without saying anything further.

Gu Yanchen circled the interrogation table, saying, “Initially, I was a bit puzzled why Wei Yingtian would lie. He could have corrected that you were in the building at that time, thus exonerating himself… But in his testimony, he vaguely mentioned seeing a shadow. Then I realized, he was protecting you.”

The police overlooked a detail… Even the class monitor, who wasn’t too concerned with gossip, knew that Qi Siwei’s uncle had some gambling debt issues, bothering Qiu Xiaoxue. As Qi Siwei’s best friend, how could Qiu Xiaoxue not know this? Perhaps she had already seen him when Wei Yingtian attempted to abduct Qi Siwei.

Qiu Xiaoxue’s eyes looked at him.

Gu Yanchen knew his deduction was correct again and continued, “Wei Yingtian owed a huge gambling debt, penniless, his phone was disconnected, his bank card frozen, and even in the countryside, people would come to collect debts. How could he survive during this time? The answer is simple: you, who lived alone, took him in. And you had your own motives and considerations for doing so. You believed you were helping Qi Siwei, even taking out your own money to help Wei Yingtian repay his debts, just so he wouldn’t bother your best friend. You did all of this quietly, not expecting Qi Siwei to know or repay you.”

Qiu Xiaoxue nodded, “I wanted Qi Siwei to do well in the college entrance examination.”

“But later, after the college entrance examination, you found Qi Siwei being distant towards you. Friendship is easily lost, and you found you couldn’t keep Qi Siwei as a friend. You, longing for warmth, did something that ordinary people find hard to understand. You had a relationship with Wei Yingtian, who was over a decade older than you.”

Tears shimmered in Qiu Xiaoxue’s eyes, “Why do you think I did that?”

Gu Yanchen said, “On the surface, you were helpless and hoping for someone to comfort you. But in reality, you were still doing it for Qi Siwei. I even think you might have considered marrying that man.”

Qiu Xiaoxue’s voice finally sounded less calm, “Yes, I don’t love that man. I did it for Qi Siwei.”

Gu Yanchen solemnly revealed the truth, “The reason you did that was because once you became Qi Siwei’s relative, she wouldn’t be able to escape from you for the rest of her life.”

Upon hearing this, tears streamed down Qiu Xiaoxue’s cheeks. 

“I don’t know why you two entered that house, but this should have been a conspiracy between you and Wei Yingtian. You ordered sour fish, laced with sleeping pills. Wei Yingtian entered through the window and opened the door for you. Early this morning, both of you were in that room.”

The police initially failed to uncover the truth because both of them were hiding something. They had two broken threads until Shen Junci gave him that hint, and the threads were finally connected. This was indeed a conspiracy case.

At this point, Gu Yanchen pressed his hands down on the interrogation table, “So what exactly happened then?”

As the conversation reached this point, Qiu Xiaoxue chose not to lie or deny. She admitted directly, “Yes, I had known Wei Yingtian for a long time, and it was me who switched the takeout ordered by Qi Siwei and put sleeping pills in it. Then I went home. At two in the morning, Wei Yingtian and I went to their house together.”

As Qiu Xiaoxue spoke, it was as if she didn’t think what she had done was unreasonable.

“The reason I did this was very simple. I wanted to have a clear conversation with Qi Siwei. I originally planned to tell her when I delivered the gift in the afternoon to surprise her. But at that time, she just took the gift coldly and told me not to come over next time. Earlier today, Wei Yingtian also called his sister. His sister immediately hung up and refused to talk to him. He had wanted to break in and steal money for a long time, and I had been stopping him. When he suggested it again last night, I didn’t stop him. I had only one request: I wanted him to take me…”

At this point, Qiu Xiaoxue choked up a bit, “We desperately wanted to get into that house. But no one welcomed us. In the early hours of the morning, we used some means and finally got what we wanted. I entered Qi Siwei’s room. At the beginning, I didn’t do anything. I just stood at the head of the bed and looked at her…”

Qiu Xiaoxue’s gaze was intense, as if Qi Siwei was lying right in front of her. There was a hint of morbidity in the girl’s eyes, and a smile appeared on her face. Appearing suddenly in a friend’s house in the middle of the night, standing in the room, staring at someone sleeping, such behavior was truly abnormal.

Hearing this, Bai Meng, who was responsible for recording in the observation room, felt goosebumps all over her body. Meanwhile, Shen Junci continued to watch Qiu Xiaoxue in the interrogation room expressionlessly.

“Afterward, I woke her up. I told her that I was with her uncle. But instead of blessing me, she called me crazy and a pervert, saying that I was her nightmare and would haunt her for the rest of her life. She got excited, opened the drawer, and took out an awl. She stabbed me in the stomach. At that time, Wei Yingtian snatched the awl away to save me. In the struggle, he accidentally stabbed Qi Siwei. At first, I wanted to save her, but she was too badly injured. Qi Siwei just looked at me… and died in my arms.”

As she spoke, tears streamed down Qiu Xiaoxue’s face again. Then she cried and laughed, “Later, I realized that if the friendship I had hoped for couldn’t last, maybe it was a good thing that she died. Her life would forever freeze at that moment, and we would be friends forever. Then I set fire to a piece of paper, ignited the curtains, left, and Wei Yingtian, to conceal the fact that I entered the house, left through the upstairs window.”

Lu Ying found the truth difficult to accept even at this point. He couldn’t help but ask, “Even if you accidentally killed Qi Siwei, why did you kill her parents?”

Qiu Xiaoxue said, “They only had one daughter. If her parents woke up and found their daughter dead, how sad would they be? It’s better to send them together so they would have each other. Also, Wei Yingtian was afraid of being exposed. So, I started the fire.”

After hearing these cruel words, Lu Ying tightened the pen in his hand, unsure of how to respond for a moment. He remained silent for a moment before asking again, “Why did you do this?”

Qiu Xiaoxue lowered her head and said, “You don’t know what kind of family I was born into. My parents divorced when I was three. I hardly have any memories of my father… Then when I was seven, my mother found me a stepfather, but when I was eight, they had their own child, and I became redundant. They were rich and thought money could make up for everything. But I never felt the warmth of family; they only brought me pain. When I entered high school, my mother talked to me and hoped I could live independently. I realized that I had been abandoned by them.”

At this point, the girl hugged her shoulders and curled up her body, “I was all alone, watching other children play together, but my personality made it impossible for me to befriend them. I was afraid of being hurt, afraid that people would treat me like garbage and throw me away again. I even woke up from nightmares. The only person who reached out to me was Qi Siwei.

“When I asked her if we could be friends, she agreed. I didn’t like physical contact with others, but with her, I held someone’s hand for the first time, realizing what it felt like to be close to someone. When I hugged her, I could feel the softness of her body, hear her heartbeat. She would listen to my heart, smile at me, comfort me when I was sad, wipe away my tears, and stroke my hair. I swore more than once that I would be friends with her for the rest of my life.”

On the surface, they appeared to be just like any other pair of girls, chatting and laughing together. But deep down, their relationship was twisted, gradually turning into a curse.

Qiu Xiaoxue couldn’t imagine life without Qi Siwei. Then her eyes dimmed, as if her heart was breaking apart, “She was going to college, and we would never see each other again! She didn’t listen to me and chose the major I picked for her. Instead, she applied to a school out of town. We have to part ways… Just thinking about it makes it hard for me to breathe. I’ve started having nightmares every day.”

“She led me to heaven, but how could she just leave me here and let me return to that lonely hell? So, I’m willing to do anything to keep her! I want to be by her side forever! For this, I’m even willing to sacrifice my body, even my life!” At that moment, she felt like she was on a boat called Friendship, feeling it sinking, feeling the change in Qi Siwei’ attitude towards her, she had to do something…

Stopping there, Qiu Xiaoxue paused, her brows furrowed, looking down at the interrogation table, she took a deep breath. “So I did what I did…” She lowered her right hand, gently touching her abdomen, her expression incredibly tender. “In this life, no matter what happens, she can’t shake me off. I’m her aunt, carrying the bloodline of her family within me.”

She truly didn’t like that man at all, she even found him disgusting, but she saw all of this as a sacrifice. A sacrifice for the friendship she was about to lose. Finally achieving her wish, she decided to tell Qi Siwei the good news in person.

In the afternoon, Qi Siwei accepted the things she bought, but didn’t let her finish speaking. What she wanted to tell her was the biggest, most surprising “gift.” Failing to achieve her goal, she, still unwilling to give up, returned home with Wei Yingtian to devise a plan.

At two in the morning today, they broke into Qi Siwei’ room, and that’s when she told her. It was the truth that enraged Qi Siwei. Her former best friend slept with her uncle to avoid leaving her, and now she was pregnant. At that moment, Qi Siwei, groggy and confused, faced these unexpected visitors in her home and heard this shocking news. She realized that she might never escape this demon for the rest of her life.

The long-suffering Qi Siwei collapsed in an instant. She grabbed an awl and stabbed Qiu Xiaoxue…

The murder finally happened. Now, Qiu Xiaoxue confessed to all her crimes without reservation because she believed the police in front of her understood why she did what she did. She even hoped that these policemen could witness their unwavering friendship until death.

Hearing this, everyone fell silent for a moment.

Qiu Xiaoxue repeatedly claimed that Qi Siwei was her best friend, yet she followed her, entered her home, and drugged her. Qi Siwei died because of her, and she ultimately burned Qi Siwei’s parents…

In the observation room, Bai Meng sighed, “What kind of friend is this? When you encounter such a person, you must stay away, run away quickly.”

Shen Junci replied, “Perhaps when Qi Siwei realized this, it was already too late…”

The girl in front of them was sick and selfish, but she could disguise it. Her madness hid beneath her fragile exterior, distorting right and wrong. On the surface, she seemed vulnerable, but in reality, Qi Siwei was the canary trapped in a cage by her. Qi Siwei did struggle, she tried to cut off ties with Qiu Xiaoxue, tried to distance herself, but in the end, things still came to this. She couldn’t escape this terrifying woman even in death.

After Qiu Xiaoxue finished confessing all her crimes and they were verified, she signed the documents. Shortly after her confession, Wei Yingtian also admitted to his crimes. Everything happened just as Qiu Xiaoxue said.

In one day, the case of arson and murder was closed.

Gu Yanchen came out of the interrogation room and called Shen Junci to go home together. As they sat in the car, Shen Junci seemed a bit tired and didn’t speak. Outside the car window, the cityscape changed as day turned into night.

Gu Yanchen said, “Doctor Shen, thank you. Without your help, this case wouldn’t have been solved so quickly.”

Shen Junci nodded and replied, “It’s what I should do.”

Listening to the interrogation at night, Shen Junci remembered Qiu Xiaoxue’s gait, physique, and the shape of her pelvis. Drawing on years of forensic investigation experience, he concluded: although it wasn’t long, Qiu Xiaoxue might already be pregnant, so he wrote a note to Gu Yanchen and handed it in.

It was this message that prompted Gu Yanchen to make the final deduction.

Shen Junci continued to gaze out the window, lost in thought.

Gu Yanchen sensed his despondency and asked, “Thinking about something?”

Shen Junci nodded, “I’m thinking… about the distance, boundaries, and emotions between people.”

“In this world, there are many strange things, strange emotions,” Gu Yanchen said. “I believe emotions shouldn’t be forced. People’s feelings should be mutual. Mutual love, friendship, and family love can all be beautiful.”

Shen Junci agreed, “Yes… twisted, one-sided feelings can turn into flames of murder, burning everything to ashes.”