Chapter 8

Goldfish Flower 5, Sharing and Possessiveness

The officer investigating the case was named Wen Xian. Upon entering the room, he assessed the situation: Huang Jing, appearing greatly shocked, accused Ou Kai of attempting to murder her. Ou Kai stood aside, smoking silently, only insisting on getting a lawyer to resolve the matter. The two security guards briefly recounted what they had witnessed before stepping aside.

After asking his questions, Wen Xian stepped out and approached Angler, "You stay here, what's going on?"

Angler glanced into the room, then slowly walked back to the living room. On the sofa lay Ou Kai's discarded suit jacket. Angler touched it and pulled out a mobile phone. Opening the contacts... he found the first name. It wasn't in Chinese or English, just a number—0.

Angler dialed the number. Soon, a man's voice came through, "Kai?"

Angler paused for a moment and then said, "I'm a police officer. Ou Kai has murdered his wife and is now at home. He says he wants to see you."

After Angler finished speaking, there was a long pause on the other end of the phone, followed by a hoarse voice saying, "Uh... I'll be right there."

Mofei looked at Angler, puzzled.

Angler asked him, "Do you know why there is only a number?"

Mofei shook his head, only to hear Angler explain in a low voice, "Because whether it's an English or Chinese name, it would always appear at the top of the contact list."

While they were talking, Ou Kai and Huang Jing emerged. Huang Jing had a slightly triumphant look on her face, while Ou Kai's was pale. Angler shook his head and sat down at the table, flipping through the newspaper on it.

Mofei, somewhat perplexed, stood behind him and noticed that Angler was reading the same newspaper that was in the gallery, featuring the news about Ou Kai's secret meeting with his homosexual lover.

Angler, leaning on the table, asked Mofei to place the three pots of goldfish flowers on the table. Since they had been outside for a long time, the frost on the goldfish was beginning to melt, making the flowers appear even more vibrant.

Angler beckoned Mofei with a finger.

Mofei leaned in closer.

Angler whispered a few words into his ear.

Mofei was slightly startled, but then nodded and ran out the door.

Wen Xian and the other officers stood by, observing the goldfish flowers on the table, then turned back to look at Ou Kai and Huang Jing sitting on opposite sides of the sofa, each keeping a distance from the other.

Angler tapped the table lightly with his slender fingers and asked Ou Kai in a low voice, "Were you happy when your son was born? Did you feel that even without love, you could still live together?"

Ou Kai was taken aback and then closed his eyes, nodding.

Angler then turned to Huang Jing and asked, "When your son died, did you feel that you were really foolish for making such an absurd decision?"

Huang Jing looked up at Angler, her eyes slightly moist with tears.

After a moment of silence, Angler asked Ou Kai, "He was a photographer... or a makeup artist?"

Ou Kai was shocked, his eyes widening as he looked at Angler.

Wen Xian, also somewhat confused, asked Angler, "What exactly is going on here?"

Angler propped his chin with one hand, eyeing O'Kay, "You learned that your wife had brought a fortune teller home, so you arranged a meeting with the fortune teller to find out what she had discussed with him... Unexpectedly, a photograph of you two was taken. As a businessman, it's normal for you to have meetings, but that photo was quite intimate, and the newspapers captioned it 'Homosexual Lovers.' Clearly, the person who provided this information to the press knew about your sexual orientation. The first person you thought of was your wife, Huang Jing. She knew about your orientation, as this was an understanding you both had before marriage. You believed she did this to make life difficult for you and your lover. Furious, you rushed home, intent on divorcing her, right?"

"Divorce?" Huang Jing was startled.

Angler, with O'Kay's phone beside him, said, "There are many law firm contacts in your phone... These firms specialize in handling divorce cases."

After listening, O'Kay nodded gently, "Now that it has come to this, I don't want to say anything more." O'Kay continued, "Let's go ahead with the divorce, consider it as my debt to you and our child."

"I never informed the press!" Huang Jing stood up abruptly, pointing at O'Kay, "It was clearly you who concocted these goldfish flowers to scare me, trying to make me lose my mind!"

Ou Kai frowned, looking at Huang Jing, "You're the one who created this mess, aren’t you? You've always been schizophrenic."

With Huang Jing furious, Angler waved his hand lightly towards the couple and commented with interest, "You two as a couple are really quite fascinating…"

Both of them were taken aback, turning to Angler with slight dissatisfaction.

Angler, however, appeared unconcerned, scrutinizing them intently before his gaze settled on O'Kay. "You are clearly homosexual, yet you married and had a child, thus preserving your reputation and ensuring an heir... You even considered returning to your wife for the sake of your son. But after your son's death, you became disillusioned, realizing that a conventional life was a grave mistake for you, leading you to stop returning home."

O'Kay furrowed his brows deeply, staring at Angler, "Have you been investigating me? How do you know all this?"

Even Huang Jing was surprised; Angler had just mentioned that O'Kay had once considered living with her, but she had never sensed such intentions from him.

At that moment, Mo Fei also entered, and Angler glanced at him; Mo Fei nodded in acknowledgment.

Angler smiled and turned to see O'Kay still looking at him skeptically. He shrugged and said, "It's not hard to figure out." He slowly surveyed the room and added calmly, "This room feels imbalanced. The walls, tiles, curtains are all in cold hues, and the structure follows a common designer style... indicating an emotionally detached initial decoration. But looking at these sofas, the plush carpet, the warm colors, and their costly nature... the second redecoration was done with much more sentiment, likely purchased before your son's death, as nothing here seems recent."

O'Kay stood frozen, then after a long pause, asked, "What about the photographer and the makeup artist?"

Angler smiled slightly, "Your attire is very appropriate... but it's not Huang Jing's style." Pointing at Huang Jing in her pajamas, he continued, "Her pajamas show her aesthetic sense is far less refined than that person's. The person in question pays attention to details, is patient, while you are extremely irritable, so it's unlikely you chose your own outfits." Angler stroked his chin, "Someone with artistic taste, fashionable, with access to the press... and most importantly, capable of taking such suggestive photos." He said this while picking up the magazine.

"What are you saying?" O'Kay exclaimed in surprise.

Huang Jing was also stunned, listening as Angler continued to address her, "You've been planning today's actions for quite some time, haven't you?"

Huang Jing stared at Angler.

"You have your own thoughts about the sudden appearance of the goldfish flowers, such as the sound of a child's footsteps... all of it deceptive." Angler pointed to a small bottle in a nearby trash bin, "You must be taking tranquillizers every night to sleep. No matter what you hear at night, when you wake up, you tell yourself it was all a dream."

Huang Jing's face paled.

"When you first married him, it was probably for the money O'Kay promised you. After your son was born, your thoughts began to change. But then your son suddenly died from gas poisoning, and you started to resent. When O'Kay stopped coming home, and the goldfish flowers appeared, you, living in extreme repression and confusion, believed that O'Kay had orchestrated the gas poisoning... to kill you and your child, making it easier for him to be with his homosexual lover. Initially, you wanted to go to the police and blow up the situation, but O'Kay cut off your contact with the outside world, so you found me... because you had thought of a very good plan."

"A plan?" Wen Xian was puzzled.

"Seeing the newspaper, you knew O'Kay would suspect you. You were very clear that O'Kay might come to confront you after finishing his business today, so you chose the right time to invite us over. If I had closed the door when leaving, or come a bit later, or not at all... but actually, none of that matters." Angler waggled a finger lightly, "Because you would have jumped yourself."

"Jumped herself?" The two security guards looked at Angler, not understanding.

"As long as O'Kay arrived home, and then after you loudly called for help, you would jump off the building. He would become a suspect. Add to that the goldfish flowers, the news of O'Kay's homosexuality... Most crucially, the goldfish flowers would bear the best evidence framing him as the murderer."

"Evidence?"

Wen Xian looked at Angler, puzzled.

Angler pointed to a spot on one of the goldfish flower pots, "There's a frozen hair there. Judging by its length, it's O'Kay's... And it's because of this that Huang Jing deduced the goldfish flowers were left by him."

O'Kay's face turned even paler, while Huang Jing sneered, "He killed my son. I want him to rot in jail!"

"What are you talking about?!" O'Kay objected.

"No wonder you had such a strange expression back then." Mo Fei also looked at O'Kay and said, "You didn't argue because you were afraid the situation would escalate. Anyway, lawyers could handle it. You wanted to protect your lover!"

"Actually, when you saved Huang Jing, you hesitated for a moment, didn't you?" Angler looked at O'Kay. "In that instant, you thought her death wouldn't be such a bad thing. That's why you were so awkward when someone burst in, and then, realizing Huang Jing had set you up, you were afraid of escalating the situation."

O'Kay looked down in silence, while Huang Jing coldly glanced at him, "He didn't really want to save me just now. It seemed like he even wanted to push me further."

"Who knows if this lunatic was behind the gas leak incident..." O'Kay's words were cut off as he saw Angler looking at him with a hint of sympathy, who then said in a somber tone, "Don't you know who the killer is? The only person who could have orchestrated all this."

"I..." O'Kay opened his mouth but couldn't find the words.

Wen Xian looked at Angler, "The killer?"

Angler nodded, "The person who orchestrated the gas leak years ago, killing their son, sending these pots of goldfish flowers, and even trying to stage today's incident to frame O'Kay for 'killing' Huang Jing."

"Who?" Everyone asked in unison.

At that moment, the doorbell rang.

Angler nodded towards the door to Wen Xian, "The person who's just arrived is the killer."

Wen Xian hurried to open the door, only to find a good-looking young man in his twenties standing outside... The young man was startled upon seeing Wen Xian, and then upon seeing Huang Jing alive and well in the room, his face turned pale. He tried to flee but was quickly grabbed by Wen Xian and handcuffed.

O'Kay's face turned pale too. Angler looked up at the young man and nodded, "It's him."

"Why are you arresting me?" the young man struggled, "I haven't done anything, the police need evidence to arrest someone."

Wen Xian turned to look at Angler, as if asking, "Where's the evidence?"

Angler thought and smiled, then turned to Mo Fei, "Please share what you've just inquired about."

Mo Fei nodded and said, "I've just asked the parking lot security. He mentioned that Mr. Ou has returned several times this month, always around two or three in the morning."

Ou Kai's eyes widened in disbelief, shaking his head, "I didn't..."

Angler said calmly, "This is one of the reasons I suspected he was a makeup artist. As your lover, he has many ways to ensure you sleep soundly through the night. Then he styles your hair, puts on a pair of sunglasses, wears your clothes, and drives your car back. Do you think the security guard would suspect anything if he returned to the parking lot in the middle of the night? And this hair frozen in the goldfish flower... What he wants is for Huang Jing to die and for you to spend a lifetime in prison." He then looked at Wen Xian, "As for the evidence, you should have no problem now, right?"

"I see!" Wen Xian nodded and ordered his subordinates, "Go to the parking lot to retrieve the surveillance footage, and from the elevator as well."

"Yes," the subordinate officers quickly ran off.

"Hahaha..." Hearing this, Huang Jing burst into laughter while sitting on the sofa. Ou Kai, handcuffed, gazed at his lover in bewilderment, "Why would you do this? I loved you so much..."

The person shook his head silently, only giving Ou Kai a cold sneer.

Angler stood up and waved at Mo Fei, "Let's go home, I'm hungry."

Mo Fei quickly followed Angler out. As they entered the elevator, Mo Fei asked in confusion, "Why did all this happen?"

Angler thought for a moment, pressed the button for the first floor, and said indifferently, "Never foolishly believe that love can be shared or that a person can be possessed exclusively."