Simulated Crime, This Criminal Doesn't Seem to Be Acting

Chapter 42

Ye Sangsang's words made the writer's wife flinch. Her raised hand curled into a fist before awkwardly withdrawing.

After a moment, she slightly tilted her head, her tone slightly sorrowful, and said, "He's dead, and from now on, I'll only have these manuscripts to keep me company. I hope you'll preserve some of them."

She finished speaking, adjusted her pajamas, and sat forlornly on the sofa in the living room outside the study, her head bowed, tears blurring her vision, looking extremely mournful.

Everything seemed normal.

Ye Sangsang remained silent, continuing her

Zhou Ya remained calm, his tone unchanged as he answered truthfully, "There are too many people in the city, while in the countryside near my home, there are fewer people. If there's a smell, others might mistake it for something else."

Ye Sangsang lowered her eyes. "What about the murder weapon you used to kill the victim in the villa?"

Zhou Ya did not respond.

Ye Sangsang went back inside to search for the weapon but couldn't find it. She then took Zhou Ya back with her.

Outside the courtyard, many onlookers had gathered. As Ye Sangsang walked out, they stood not far away, whispering among themselves.

"What a sin, the Zhou family's kid actually killed someone."

"He's been unruly since he was young. His mom left, his dad died, and even his brother doesn't like him."

"If someone's dead, will he get the death penalty?"

The murmuring caused Zhou Ya to move his lips briefly, but eventually, he said nothing.

Ye Sangsang glanced at him and then directly escorted him to the car, driving away.

Upon returning to the bureau, a colleague handed over some documents—information about Zhou Ya's family and work relations.

Ye Sangsang looked through it. Three months ago, the suspect had indeed worked at a local construction company.

What surprised her was that he had a brother, Zhou Xue, who worked as an editor at a reputable publishing house in the area, a very respectable job. However, the brothers hadn't been in contact for a long time.

Yang Hao interjected, "I asked Zhou Ya if he had his brother's contact information, and he actually said he didn't. I checked his phone, and it's true, he doesn't have it."

"The relationship between the brothers has reached its end."

Ye Sangsang set the documents aside and looked at Yang Hao. "Did you ask him if he killed Ye Hua, and how did he react?"

"He didn't show much of a reaction. Later, when I pressed him about his home courtyard, he clearly became very panicked, muttering a bunch of things I couldn't understand. Finally, he just said, 'Everyone was me, all of them were me,' and that was it."

Yang Hao took a deep breath, spreading his hands, his face full of helplessness.

There was nothing he could do. The suspect had admitted everything, and he declared the first interrogation successful, so he quickly informed Ye Sangsang.

Ye Sangsang looked at Yang Hao with pity. "Did you ever think that some statements can't be taken at face value?"

"Huh?"

Yang Hao was confused.

Ye Sangsang sighed. "Don't rush in your investigation. Take your time questioning the suspects and reviewing the evidence."

Yang Hao didn't understand, so he could only nod toward Ye Sangsang, then went to the construction company to inquire for information.

After getting into the car, Ye Sangsang fell into thought. She felt that Zhou Ya was very suspicious. The man didn't seem like a normal person; he appeared to be ill. However, she didn't consider checking hospital records because someone who did hard labor and lived in poverty wouldn't go to the hospital for mental health issues. Or perhaps they would just attribute it to some kind of hysteria, even a case of being possessed by a ghost.

If he really was mentally ill, he might not face punishment. Ye Sangsang didn't consider this possibility, as she thought there might be other factors at play.

But these were all just her assumptions. She could only first prove her hypothesis and then use it to support the evidence.

"By the way, do we have the identity of the deceased yet? Did the construction company provide any answers? Has no one reported her missing for three months?" Ye Sangsang turned to ask Yang Hao.

Yang Hao quickly responded, "There was a missing person report, but later, they received a message saying the deceased had returned to her hometown, so no one followed up on it."

The two went to the construction company to check it out. The company was cooperative and provided a general overview.

The manager wasn't very informed, only knowing that Zhou Ya had worked there for about a month—a man who spoke little but worked a lot.

"People down below said he was quite helpful, always offering to help with work. It's hard to believe he's like this," the manager said with some disbelief.

Ye Sangsang nodded. "So, were the deceased and Zhou Ya close?"

The manager thought for a moment. "It seemed they were a bit close. The deceased had run away from home, saying her husband beat her relentlessly. You know, in places like ours, there's an ample amount of temporary couples. Even if they live together, it's not uncommon."

Then Ye Sangsang inquired about the night the deceased disappeared, whether she went out alone or with someone.

The manager recalled being asked by the police before and stated that the surveillance footage showed her going out alone, and she never returned, leading to the missing person report.

After getting the information, the two returned and went to Zhou Ya's brother's workplace.

Zhou Xue was a university graduate. Although not from a top-tier university, in their city during this time period, a degree made it easy for graduates to secure well-paying, high-benefit jobs.

The two individuals, both in plainclothes, quickly got Zhou Xue ejected from the reception area after flashing their credentials.

Zhou Xue wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, had a lean appearance, dressed in a light blue shirt, black suit pants, and leather shoes. He seemed gentle, tidy, and refreshingly clean.

The two brothers appeared quite different in aura and appearance, with only their eyes bearing some resemblance.

[“Are they really brothers? They look so dissimilar.”]

[“Gentle and scholarly, but likely deep in thought (jk).”]

[“Please, let’s not let our personal judgments take over. Let’s focus on facts first!”]

Ye Sangsang and Yang Hao were led to a meeting room by Zhou Xue. With a resigned tone, Zhou Xue said, “You’re here about Zhou Ya, right? I truly have nothing to say. I know nothing.”

Ye Sangsang raised an eyebrow and placed her phone on the table. “We haven’t even said anything yet.”

“Zhou Ya has made several petty thefts before, all of which I had to deal with. Eventually, I blocked his number. I didn’t expect him to come straight here.” His expression revealed a mix of displeasure and impatience. “What crime has he committed this time, or has he injured someone? Let me be clear, I’m broke—no money for compensation.”

Ye Sangsang knew that she wouldn’t get anything out of him here, so she said, “He killed someone. If you find it troubling, you might not have to worry about him anymore.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xue froze, his face swiftly turning complex.

Ye Sangsang tilted her chin toward Yang Hao, signaling it was time to leave.

Yang Hao got the message and stood up.

At that moment, Zhou Xue suddenly stood up, his expression urgent. “Isn’t this a mistake? He may be bad, but he wouldn’t kill anyone!”

Ye Sangsang, already on her feet, turned to look at him. “He confessed; he forcibly assaulted someone and strangled her to death.”

But Zhou Xue rapidly shook his head. “No, that’s not possible. He’s impotent. He wouldn’t do such a thing.”

Ye Sangsang’s gaze locked onto Zhou Xue, a flicker of surprise quickly passing through her eyes.

She looked at him and said, “Not necessarily. Maybe it was precisely because of his condition that he acted out.”

“He’s a good person…”

“A good person who steals and cheats?”

“He just has some bad habits. He truly wouldn’t harm anyone! He’s actually very timid. Normally, he wouldn’t even dare to kill a chicken. How could someone who won’t kill a chicken possibly kill someone?” Zhou Xue quickly retorted to Ye Sangsang.

Ye Sangsang looked at him. “Seems like you know your brother quite well. Why don’t you come to the police station? We can talk in detail.”

Zhou Xue lowered his head and skillfully went to the editor-in-chief’s office to request leave.

Watching Zhou Xue leave the meeting room to take leave, Yang Hao curiously asked, “Sangsang, it seems Zhou Ya has a good reputation? Both the manager and Zhou Xue seem to speak highly of him.”

“We’ll discuss it back at the station,” Ye Sangsang replied.

After returning home briefly, Zhou Xue followed them to the police station.

It was evident that even though the brothers didn’t keep in touch, there was still some affection between them, at least enough that one wouldn’t be unmoved by the other’s predicament.

Ye Sangsang inquired about Zhou Ya’s situation in detail, and this time, Zhou Xue didn’t show any impatience.

Or perhaps the previous impatience had been his way of coping with dealing with Zhou Ya’s petty crimes. Deep down, he was the kind of person who would complain endlessly but eventually would grudgingly handle the situation.

Able to complain loudly but act kindly at heart.

After Ye Sangsang finished questioning Zhou Xue, he produced medical records from various hospitals over the years.

He had gone home in the middle to retrieve them, amounting to four separate hospital diagnoses.

All the records confirmed Zhou Ya’s condition—he was completely incapable of achieving an erection.

“My brother truly wouldn’t kill anyone,” he reiterated. “He has a peculiar temper sometimes, is antisocial, and difficult to get along with, but he rarely resorts to violence, and occasionally helps others.” He added, “Although he steals and cheats, it’s more like a habit.”

[“Seems like he’s not a murderer.”]

[“But hiding the body is an undeniable fact! Plus, he confessed to the murder himself.”]

[“This case is feeling complicated. Wasn’t it almost wrapped up?”]

The viewers in the live stream, seeing the solid evidence in Ye Sangsang’s hands, felt that the Zhou Ya in the interrogation room and the Zhou Ya Zhou Xue and the manager described were almost two different people.

Ye Sangsang collected the medical reports, had Zhou Ya wait in the questioning room, and returned to the interrogation room.

Zhou Ya was still seated in the interrogation chair when she tried asking, “Do you know who I am?”

“You’re a police officer, right?” Zhou Ya replied, a little puzzled.

Ye Sangsang decided to change the approach and asked, “When you killed Ye Hua, did you strangle him with your left or right hand?”

Yang Hao, standing beside her, immediately wanted to correct her; Ye Hua had been bludgeoned to death.

Ye Sangsang shot Yang Hao a glance.

Yang Hao immediately fell silent.

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Ya responded, “Both hands.”

Yang Hao’s mouth slightly opened in surprise; it seemed Zhou Ya hadn’t been the one to commit the murder.

Ye Sangsang continued asking several other questions.

Such as what time he killed the pursuer, how long he strangled the victim, and what tools he used to bring the body back to his hometown.

And so on.

Zhou Ya answered somewhat smoothly, occasionally stumbling, but his responses still suggested he had indeed buried the victim.

After a while, Ye Sangsang turned and left.

Yang Hao followed her and asked, “Sangsang, what’s the purpose of these questions? Besides, if it wasn’t Zhou Ya who killed Ye Hua, then who did?”

Ye Sangsang looked back and said, “Contact someone to arrange a psychiatric evaluation for him.”

“What?” Yang Hao was caught off guard by this development.

Ye Sangsang explained, “He probably has a type of perceptual disorder or schizophrenia, causing hallucinations. The one who killed might not be him; he’s just a scapegoat.”