Chapter 83: Solving the Case

Chapter 83: Solving the Case

"Officer, I've already told you everything I know. I really don't know what else to say."

After several days in detention, Song Yansheng no longer looked as refined and elegant as he once did. He looked somewhat haggard, adjusting his glasses with a gesture of helplessness.

He looked at Yue Lingchuan, spreading his hands and said, "What's wrong with me that I would take the fall for someone else? I might spend the rest of my life in prison. What am I after?"

"Only you know what you're after," Yue Lingchuan said, organizing the documents beside him and looking up casually at Song Yansheng. "Song Yansheng, this is your last chance. I hope you'll take it seriously."

Song Yansheng sighed, "I'd like to take it, but I really don't know how."

He leaned back on the interrogation chair, helplessly saying, "Just tell me what you want me to admit, Officer. I really can't think of anything else I haven't said."

"Really?" Yue Lingchuan shook his head, "Song Yansheng, even now, you're still holding out."

He continued, "But then again, you've planned so much, and without seeing the evidence, you probably won't give up."

Yue Lingchuan pulled out a photo from the pile of documents in front of him and showed it to Song Yansheng, "Do you recognize this person?"

Song Yansheng's eyes flickered slightly, glanced at the photo, and his face changed, "That's my son."

He leaned forward, looking somewhat anxious, "Officer, why are you showing me a photo of my son?"

"Your son?" Yue Lingchuan smiled faintly, pulling out another photo, "Song Yansheng, are you sure this is your son?"

"Of course!"

"Your son, how come he looks just like Jiang Chengtao?"

Song Yansheng's pupils suddenly contracted, his hand on the table tightened, and his voice became hoarse, "I don't get what you're saying."

"Don't get it, or are you playing dumb?" Yue Lingchuan looked at him leisurely, "Song Yansheng, you've been working with Jiang Chengtao for so many years, don't you know that Guan Lili used to be Jiang Chengtao's girlfriend?"

Song Yansheng's Adam's apple moved slightly, and after a long silence, he spoke with difficulty, "What are you talking about?"

"You said... Lili used to be with..."

"I don't know... I honestly don't know..."

Song Yansheng's expression was momentarily blank, shaking his head in confusion and panic.

Yue Lingchuan watched his performance, put down the photo, and asked again, "You really don't know?"

Song Yansheng's face was grim, "I really don't know. If I had known, how could I..."

Yue Lingchuan interrupted him, "But I heard you were the one who arranged Jiang Chengtao's previous lovers, weren't you?"

Song Yansheng's voice stopped abruptly, his gaze flickering, lips tightly pressed.

Yue Lingchuan, in a relaxed posture, met his gaze and spoke calmly, "Song Yansheng, you don't think we're just here to chat today, do you?"

"If we didn't have solid evidence, do you think we'd be wasting our time here with you?"

Song Yansheng's hand on the table tightened again and again, and the usual gentle and appropriate smile on his face slowly faded.

Yue Lingchuan said, "Guan Lili used to be with Jiang Chengtao, and the child doesn't look anything like you—You claim you didn't know the child wasn't yours, Song Yansheng. Are you stupid, or do you think we're stupid?"

Song Yansheng's breathing paused slightly, and he blinked slowly.

Yue Lingchuan pulled out Pei Yanling's statement and slammed it on the table, tilting his chin up to look at him: "The evidence is right here. We're giving you a chance to confess voluntarily. If you insist on resisting, we can always run a paternity test. It only takes half a day, and we can wait."

He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair: "But Song Yansheng, what good will stalling for half a day do you?"

The veins on Song Yansheng's clenched fists stood out faintly, and he remained silent for a long time.

Wei Zhengyi, who was sitting nearby, couldn't help but speak up: "I don’t get it. How loyal can you be to Jiang Chengtao that you’d take the fall for something that could put you behind bars for life?"

He asked, genuinely curious, "Did he save your life?"

Song Yansheng glanced at him briefly before quickly lowering his gaze: "I don’t understand what you’re talking about."

Wei Zhengyi chuckled lightly: "If you don’t get it, then you don’t get it. Some people play dumb when they know exactly what’s going on. What more can I say?"

"Let’s get back to your son," he deliberately emphasized the words "your son," noticing Song Yansheng's face twitch before continuing, "Song Yansheng, don’t you have anything to say?"

Song Yansheng remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a heavy sigh:

"I’ll talk."

He looked up at the police officers in front of him, his voice slightly hoarse: "I admit, Yuhao isn’t my child."

"He’s... Guan Lili and my boss’s child."

Yue Lingchuan's expression remained unchanged: "And the reason?"

Song Yansheng sighed softly: "My boss... has been married for years but never had kids. Guan Lili was with him at the time and accidentally got pregnant. The boss was thrilled, but he was scared his wife would find out and make a scene. So, he discussed it with me and asked me to marry Guan Lili, so the kid could be registered under my name."

Wei Zhengyi asked: "You agreed? You’d give up your own marriage?"

Song Yansheng adjusted his glasses, speaking calmly: "I started at the company right out of college. The boss has done a lot for me and taught me a ton. Without him, I wouldn’t be where I am now."

"I don’t have a wife or girlfriend. For me, it was just a nominal marriage. It let me repay the boss, earn his trust, and set me up for promotions and raises down the line. There were many benefits for me, so why not?"

He looked up at everyone, his expression gradually calming: "I admit, the child has nothing to do with me. But they have nothing to do with this case either. Apart from living together, we have no other connection. The boss covers all their expenses. I haven’t spent a dime on them."

"As for you saying I’d take the fall for the boss, that’s just not true."

He continued, "As you said, my wife isn’t mine, the child isn’t mine, and my parents died early, leaving me with no close relatives. Even if the boss has been good to me, it’s not worth throwing away the rest of my life for him. Why would I make such a huge sacrifice to take the fall for him?"

"Hey, you can’t say that," Yue Lingchuan interjected with a smile. "Who says you don’t have any family?"

Song Yansheng looked at his cheerful expression, his eyelids twitching. For some reason, he suddenly had a bad feeling.

Yue Lingchuan spoke lightly, "Isn’t your kid in Yu Wenshan’s belly right now?"

Song Yansheng's face instantly turned pale.

Yue Lingchuan smiled gently: "The kid hasn’t been born yet, but it’s better not to say such things. Otherwise, people might think you don’t want the kid to be born."

Song Yansheng opened his mouth, his mind filled with thoughts of "how is this possible" and "it can’t be." His heart pounded wildly, and he felt dazed as he listened to Yue Lingchuan's words.

Yue Lingchuan continued leisurely, "But come to think of it, Jiang Chengtao trusts you so much, almost treating you like a confidant. If he found out that the child his wife is carrying isn’t his... I wonder how he’d feel?"

Song Yansheng suddenly looked up, his eyes red. He clenched his fists tightly, forcing himself to stay calm, and spoke word by word: "I don’t understand what you’re talking about."

He took a deep breath, his jaw clenched tightly: "Madam and I... there’s nothing between us. I was just following the boss’s orders to take her for prenatal checkups. How could I possibly—"

Yue Lingchuan suddenly sighed and pulled out another document: "Then what’s this report about?"

He waved the piece of paper in his hand: "This is Jiang Chengtao's urology test results. His sperm motility is extremely low, making it nearly impossible for him to impregnate a woman."

Seeing Song Yansheng open his mouth, he didn't wait for him to speak and continued, "Of course, you could argue that low sperm motility doesn't absolutely mean he can't impregnate a woman. You could even argue that even if he is truly infertile, the child in Yu Wenshan's womb might not necessarily be yours—"

He took out a notebook he had brought back from the hotel and waved it at him: "Do you know what this is?"

Song Yansheng looked at the unfamiliar notebook, feeling somewhat confused, but more than that, he was panicked about what evidence Yue Lingchuan had uncovered.

Yue Lingchuan didn't mince words and straightforwardly said, "This is the guest list from the Senhao Hotel for the past two years."

As soon as these words were spoken, a "boom" rang in Song Yansheng's ears, yet there was also an odd sense of relief, as if the dust had finally settled.

Indeed, indeed.

Yue Lingchuan smiled as usual: "Do I need to explain what the Senhao Hotel is, or should I help you recall how many times you've checked into a room there over the past year? And who was with you?"

Song Yansheng stared at him for a long time, finally slumping back in his chair, his eyes downcast, looking completely defeated.

Yue Lingchuan asked him lightly, "Still not going to speak?"

"I can remind you that with current medical technology, it's possible to extract the fetus' DNA for paternity testing."

"Or, we don't even need to do a paternity test. We can just hand these things over to Jiang Chengtao. What do you think his reaction will be?"

"All your years of plotting, could they all be for nothing?"

Song Yansheng looked up at him, his eyes bloodshot, breathing heavily, his chest heaving.

Yue Lingchuan stayed composed, his expression as calm and relaxed as it had been at the beginning.

Song Yansheng stared at him for a long while, finally gritting his teeth and saying, "I'll confess."

"But you must promise not to tell Jiang Chengtao about this."

Hearing this, Wei Zhengyi couldn't help laughing: "Song Yansheng, have you got something wrong?"

He tapped the table, raising his voice: "Right now, we hold the upper hand, we have concrete evidence! Whether or not you confess, we can uncover everything he's done behind the scenes! You have no right to negotiate terms with us!"

He looked at him coldly: "Instead of fretting over that, you'd better confess honestly. If you cooperate with the investigation, we might show leniency."

"Get out early, and you might get to see your child sooner."

Song Yansheng glared at him, almost grinding his teeth to powder. Wei Zhengyi's expression was cold and stern, staring him down.

After what felt like an eternity, Song Yansheng finally gave in, as if all his strength had been sapped. He closed his eyes, completely exhausted:

"I'll talk..."

...

That night, Hengtai's security guard had just gotten home when he received a call from the manager, asking him to come back and open the door. Puzzled, he arrived at the company to find several police officers gathered downstairs. Once the door was opened, they quickly went up to the top floor, rummaging through an office and finding a notebook and something that looked like a pen.

Meanwhile, at the Jiang family villa.

Jiang Chengtao had just returned home when his wife told him about the police visit earlier that day. He waved it off, seemingly indifferent, leaning against his wife's belly to listen to the baby's movements. Just as he was about to say something, the sound of police sirens outside interrupted the cozy atmosphere, followed by loud knocking on the door.

He and his wife exchanged glances, then opened the door, calling out, "Who is it?" only to see a familiar face in a police uniform, holding up a badge and saying sternly:

"Jiang Chengtao, you are suspected of intentional homicide. Come with us."

Jiang Chengtao's expression shifted slightly, then he smiled, reaching out to greet him: "Officer Yue..."

With a "snap," a pair of silver handcuffs was slapped onto his wrists. Jiang Chengtao looked at him, utterly bewildered, as Yue Lingchuan gestured to the officers behind him:

"Take him away."