Pan Guoqing’s face twisted in frustration. He gripped a silk dress tightly and, with a sharp pull, ripped it in two.

“We can’t let him go! He killed Pingfang! How can we let him go?”

Zhao Xiangwan remained calm. “That’s the law. We rely on facts and evidence, not forced confessions.”

Pan Guoqing sat on the bed, his nostrils flaring, his lips pressed tight. He said nothing.

His carefully built mental defenses collapsed, and Zhao Xiangwan sensed his thoughts clearly.

[Everything was planned perfectly. Why isn’t Zhao Qingyun being convicted?]

[The police acted too fast. I was waiting to give them a lead if they couldn’t find him. Zhao Qingyun thought he could hide?]

[It didn’t take much effort to strangle that slut. I saw the lust in her eyes—what a whore! With me, she acted like she was being executed, fighting, scratching my neck until it bled. But she ran miles just to sleep with another man. Shameless!]

[Book a room at a hotel? I’ll let you two have fun! So what if you’re drunk? I’ll drive anyway. When Zhao Qingyun comes out, I’ll enter from the corridor, kill him, and leave the same way. No one will know. Who would suspect that I could kill someone after drinking half a catty ^[1]a Chinese measurement, approximately 250 grams. of wine?]

_

The details of Pan Guoqing’s murder unfolded bit by bit before her eyes. Zhao Xiangwan’s expression grew serious. She suddenly pointed at Pan Guoqing’s neck and asked, “What’s wrong with your neck?”

Pan Guoqing was startled and instinctively covered the wound on his neck with his left hand. “N-nothing, my neck was itchy, and I accidentally scratched it.”

“When did it happen?”

“A while ago.”

His sudden hesitation made Zhu Feipeng suspicious. He stood up, pulled Pan Guoqing’s hand away, and tugged down his collar to examine the wound.

Three bloody scratches extended from the back of his neck to his ear, about a millimeter deep, with the skin slightly torn. It looked painful.

Zhu Feipeng sneered. “You scratched yourself? That’s quite rough.”

He pressed Pan Guoqing’s shoulder with one hand, twisted his arm with the other, and forced his palm up. “You don’t have nails. How could you scratch yourself that deeply?”

Pan Guoqing’s heartbeat raced, and he yelped, “Officer, be gentle! I cut my nails because the scratches were too deep.”

He Mingyu observed carefully and frowned. “Freshly cut nails? The edges look rough, not trimmed. Do you bite your nails?”

One lie required countless others to cover it up.

Pan Guoqing’s mind spun rapidly. His face flushed as he blurted, “Officers, forgive me. Weng Pingfang scratched me when we were intimate.”

“You’re lying! There are no scratches on Zhao Qingyun, and Weng Pingfang doesn’t have that habit.”

Zhao Xiangwan’s sharp observation and Zhu Feipeng’s interrogation made Pan Guoqing panic. The previously friendly officers suddenly turned aggressive. He struggled to patch up his story, but the more he spoke, the more inconsistencies appeared.

“I-it’s just our way as husband and wife. Weng Pingfang likes it rough. Please stop asking.”

As he struggled, his cotton hat slipped off, revealing a bald head.

Shaving one’s head in such cold weather was unusual. Something was off.

At the crime scene, only Weng Pingfang and Zhao Qingyun’s hair had been found. He Mingyu’s suspicion deepened.

But these were just suspicions.

Zhao Xiangwan had achieved her goal—planting doubt in Zhu Feipeng and He Mingyu’s minds would make the investigation easier.

_

After leaving Pan Guoqing’s house, He Mingyu and Zhu Feipeng both turned to Zhao Xiangwan.

“Do you suspect Pan Guoqing?”

“Didn’t he lack time to commit the crime?”

“Yes, even if we suspect him, he didn’t have the time.”

Zhao Xiangwan didn’t answer directly. Instead, she said, “Let’s find Qian Zhenye and ask about the situation.”

Zhu Feipeng had accepted Zhao Xiangwan as the leader. The three of them asked around about Qian Zhenye’s residence and his relationship with Pan Guoqing. What they found was intriguing.

“They weren’t close before, but after Pan Guoqing returned from his business trip, they suddenly got along well.”

“Qian Zhenye is a senior at the factory, but he drinks heavily and has been disciplined multiple times. If not for his seniority, he would have been fired.”

“He got the first bungalow built in the factory. His home is in the two eastern rooms, and the truck parked outside belongs to him.”

Zhao Xiangwan asked, “The truck belongs to the factory, right? Why is it parked here?”

“According to the rules, he should return it to the company after making deliveries. But Qian Zhenye often drives it home. When we need to transport New Year’s goods, we sometimes ask for his help.”

Zhao Xiangwan looked at the truck thoughtfully. An idea flashed through her mind. She turned to Zhu Feipeng. “Let’s visit Qian Zhenye later. First, let’s check with the gate guard.”

_

At the factory gate, they found the security guard dozing off.

Hearing that the police wanted to check the vehicles from the night of January 11, he scratched his head. “The 11th? That was a while ago… Let me think.”

After a long pause, he said awkwardly, “I drank a bit that night, so my memory is fuzzy. When the headlights came on, I just opened the gate. I didn’t check whose car it was.”

Zhao Xiangwan frowned. “Drank? Who gave you the wine?”

“Pan Guoqing! He has a conscience. He brought good wine from the north. It was strong and had a great aftertaste.”

“That night, around midnight, did any car return?”

The guard suddenly slapped his thigh. “Oh! Now that you mention it! It was freezing, and I was drunk, sleeping soundly. A car horn woke me up. I was annoyed, so I opened the door. The cold wind hit me, and guess who it was? Pan Guoqing! He was drunk but still dared to drive. Crazy guy! He even told me to keep quiet, or the factory would punish him for using the truck for personal reasons. If you hadn’t asked, I wouldn’t have remembered.”

Zhu Feipeng inhaled sharply.

With this clue, they had more angles to question Qian Zhenye.

_

“The wine Pan Guoqing brought? Who cooked the dishes?”

“Xiao Pan ^[2]a polite or affectionate way to refer to Pan Guoqing. has a conscience. He still respects me as his mentor—I taught him how to drive a truck. He brought food from the restaurant across the factory and we ate together.”

“What time did he arrive?”

“Hmm… six or seven, I think. It gets dark early now, and the streetlights were already on when he arrived.”

“How much did you drink? Who got drunk first?”

“I drank about half a catty of wine. Normally, I can’t drink as much as he does, but that day, he got drunk before me. I guess he was upset with his wife, and drinking alone makes it easier to get drunk. When he started shouting that he was dizzy, I couldn’t take it anymore. I dragged him to bed, and after lying him down, I collapsed on the bed myself. The wine was good, and I slept until morning.”

“What time did you go to bed?”

“Around ten o’clock. When Xiao Pan said he was dizzy, I checked my watch and thought, ‘How is it already ten? Have we really been drinking that long?'”

“So, you told the police that you were with Pan Guoqing the entire night of the 11th, and he didn’t leave until around 8 a.m. the next morning?”

“Yes, we were together the whole time.”

“Can you guarantee that he didn’t go out during the night?”

“No! He was too drunk to walk—I had to drag him to bed. I even got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and saw him snoring and farting. How could he have gone out?”

This was Pan Guoqing’s seemingly perfect alibi.

After reviewing all the inquiry records, Zhao Xiangwan nodded and thanked Qian Zhenye. The three of them left the construction factory.