Chapter Twenty-Nine: Maneuvering

After dropping that remark, no matter how relentlessly An Changpu and Qin Ruonan pressed him, Yao Chang refused to say another word. As he put it himself, "Don't try to trick me—I know what's in my best interest."

But Qin Ruonan was unwilling to give up. She was convinced that Yao Chang must have committed other serious crimes besides the one involving Lu Min. The fact that he clammed up for the sake of self-preservation only confirmed her suspicion: if the police dug up any of his other misdeeds, even setting Lu Min aside, Yao Chang wouldn’t be able to walk out of the police station unscathed. Given the kind of man he was, who could guarantee that his claim of having nothing to do with Lu Min was not just another lie?

She pressed him persistently, refusing to let up. She was determined to force an answer from Yao Chang, demanding he provide an alibi to prove his innocence in Lu Min’s death. Qin Ruonan’s irritation at Yao Chang’s attitude blinded her to An Changpu’s repeated, subtle gestures to let the matter rest.

At first, Yao Chang sidestepped the real issue with evasive arguments. But as Qin Ruonan’s questioning grew more aggressive, his resistance mounted. In the end, he challenged An Changpu and his colleagues directly: “I said I didn’t lay a finger on Lu Min, and that’s the truth! If you want to prove I’m involved, find the evidence yourselves! If you can, I’ll admit your skill. But if you can’t, stop making baseless accusations! And I won’t hold you to the police roughing me up earlier. Just let me go, and quickly! Otherwise, you know how those reporters outside love stories about police brutality. I still have bruises on my face—once I’m out, who knows if my memory might get fuzzy about how I got them!”

This barely concealed threat made Qin Ruonan furious; if not for An Changpu’s efforts to restrain her, she might have exploded on the spot. Yao Chang, seeing her anger, wore a look of smug satisfaction.

An Changpu instructed Qin Ruonan to remain in the interrogation room with Yao Chang while he stepped outside to find Mo Dou. He spoke quietly to him, and Mo Dou agreed at once, calling over Tian Mi, who happened to be free. The two hurried out of the Major Crimes Unit.

Only after arranging all this did An Changpu return to the interrogation room. By now, Yao Chang seemed to sense he’d found their weak point. He looked supremely confident, his chin raised, glancing sidelong at the two officers.

“You know better than I do—without evidence, you can’t hold me longer than twenty-four hours. After that, I’m free to go home!” He chuckled twice as he spoke.

Qin Ruonan’s face was grim, but An Changpu’s demeanor was just the opposite. He seemed utterly unfazed by Yao Chang’s words, neither troubled by the lack of evidence nor worried about the threat of accusations of police brutality. Nonchalantly, after listening to Yao Chang, he nodded, “You’re right. But the twenty-four hours aren’t up yet, so you’ll have to put up with staying here for a while.”

His conciliatory attitude earned a disapproving glare from Qin Ruonan, but he ignored it and continued, “Since you’ll be here a bit longer, why don’t we talk some more about Lu Min?”

“I’ve said it already—whether Lu Min is dead or alive has nothing to do with me!” The mention of Lu Min made Yao Chang tense up, watching An Changpu warily.

An Changpu waved a hand dismissively. “I’m not saying you were involved. I just want to understand a bit more about Lu Min. That’s not a problem, is it? After all, you two had a financial connection—you must know something about him.”

This shift in tone, easing the suspicion directed at Yao Chang, seemed to please him.

“You see? Now you’re talking sense, young man! Police and citizens should get along. There’s no need for all that hostility. I don’t mind, I’m a rough guy, but you officers in uniform have your careers to think about!” Yao Chang was clearly pleased.

“That’s right,” An Changpu agreed. “So, as his creditor, tell us how you got involved with Lu Min.”

“He asked me for a loan, and I lent him the money. It’s that simple!” Encouraged by An Changpu’s relaxed manner, Yao Chang was less guarded about discussing Lu Min. “To be honest, I never liked dealing with him. He was always putting on airs, and even before he transitioned, he was constantly showing off, flirting with everyone. Just looking at him made my skin crawl.”

“So, Lu Min borrowed a hundred thousand from you in one go?”

“He came to me twice. The first time, he borrowed a few thousand and paid it back before the deadline. The second time, he couldn’t repay.”

“How did he come to you?” An Changpu, though not deeply familiar with loan sharks, had heard enough in his line of work to know people like Yao Chang didn’t lend money to strangers without a connection.

“It was his son-in-law who introduced him to me.”

Both An Changpu and Qin Ruonan were taken aback by this answer. Qin Ruonan pressed incredulously, “You mean Lu Ji?”

“Yes, that’s him,” Yao Chang replied indifferently, clearly unwilling to speak much to Qin Ruonan.

An Changpu, seeing that it was indeed the person they suspected, pursued the matter. “And how did you meet Lu Ji?”

“How else? He borrowed money from me through someone else’s introduction. That’s how we met!” At the mention of Lu Ji, Yao Chang’s tone was tinged with disdain. “I’d never seen a son-in-law bring his father-in-law to borrow money before—especially for a gender reassignment surgery!”

“Do you know why Lu Ji needed to borrow money?” An Changpu asked.

As long as the questioning didn’t touch on Yao Chang’s whereabouts during the time of Lu Min’s murder, he seemed relaxed. He laughed, “What else? Gambling, of course!”

An Changpu continued to chat with Yao Chang, idly picking at trivial details while glancing at his watch from time to time. The more An Changpu checked the time, the more cheerful Yao Chang became. Eventually, as silence fell, Yao Chang even began to whistle.

Qin Ruonan, infuriated by Yao Chang’s arrogance, could do nothing but gesture to An Changpu to step outside. He rose calmly and followed her out of the interrogation room.

“What are you doing? Are you just giving in? Look at how cocky he is!” Out of Yao Chang’s earshot, Qin Ruonan kept her voice low but her tone was sharp. “He threatens to go to the media and you get scared? I was the one who hit him, and I’m not afraid. Why should you be? We didn’t torture him—there’s nothing to worry about! If he really is involved in Lu Min’s death and you let him go today, it’ll be hard to track him down once we have enough evidence. Can’t you stop being so soft?!”

An Changpu, half amused and half exasperated, pointed at himself. “Me, soft?”

He was about to defend himself when Mo Dou and Tian Mi hurried back in.

“How did it go?” An Changpu immediately abandoned justifying himself, his attention shifting to them.

Mo Dou nodded and gestured to Tian Mi. “I’ll go take care of him. If you want details, ask Tian Mi. But, brother, I have to say—you played a brilliant move. Risky, but brilliant!”

With that, he pushed open the door to the interrogation room. Shortly after, Yao Chang’s furious shouts could be heard from outside. Wary, An Changpu went in after him. Qin Ruonan tried to follow, but Tian Mi stopped her.

“You should rest,” Tian Mi said, pointing to Qin Ruonan’s waist.

Qin Ruonan shook her head without hesitation and followed them in. As she entered, Yao Chang was struggling violently, held down on the table by Mo Dou and An Changpu. His eyes blazed with hostility as he spat, “You think you can play dirty with me?”

“Yao Chang, you’re suspected of intentional assault. The evidence is clear. Acting tough won’t do you any good now,” Mo Dou barked, hauling Yao Chang up and escorting him out to be handed over to another team.

Watching Yao Chang taken into custody, Qin Ruonan finally breathed a little easier. When she looked back at An Changpu, her eyes held a hint of surprise.