"Xi Mengyao, take a look at this again."

After Lu Chuan finished, the female officer next to him picked up another piece of paper from the interrogation table and placed it in front of Xi Mengyao again.

"Four years ago, you had surgery at the Second People’s Hospital, do you remember?"

Xi Mengyao’s face turned pale once more.

But shortly after, she composed herself again.

"Officer Lu, I don’t know why you’ve arrested me or why you’re saying I killed my roommate back then, but what do these things from my past have to do with the case?"

"Yes, I didn’t take precautions with my boyfriend at the time, yes, I got pregnant but we didn’t keep the child, but how does that relate to the case?"

"Boyfriend?"

"Xi Mengyao, are you sure you had a boyfriend during school, are you sure the child was with this so-called boyfriend of yours?"

Lu Chuan had already investigated and found out Xi Mengyao didn’t have any romantic relationships during school.

So the "boyfriend" that Xi Mengyao mentioned was sheer nonsense.

"I..."

Xi Mengyao was at a loss for words, then she forced herself to appear calm: "Officer Lu, who my boyfriend was is my secret, I don’t need to tell you, nor did I need to tell my classmates back then, so as to who he is... I think I have the right not to say."

"Xi Mengyao, I sympathize with what you’ve gone through, but that can’t be a reason for you to commit murder."

Lu Chuan tapped the table, where a cell phone was placed.

It was this very phone that gave the truth undeniable evidence.

"Do you recognize this phone?"

Xi Mengyao’s face was no longer just pale.

It was as white as paper.

"Xi Mengyao, you know Qin Dejun’s habits and hobbies better than I do."

"We found this phone at Qin Dejun’s house."

"You know better than I do what’s inside."

"So now, I hope you’ll cooperate and confess voluntarily."

"If you confess before I play the video on this phone, it will be seen as a lenient confession."

At this moment, beads of sweat as big as beans were soaking Xi Mengyao’s hair, her eyes filled with fear.

She knew better than anyone what’s in this phone.

And she’s wanted to destroy it not just for a day or two, but every single moment.

But... no way.

She couldn’t fight against Qin Dejun.

Couldn’t fight against that so-called stepfather, who was actually a demon!

Ah!

Lu Chuan did not stop Xi Mengyao as she vented her emotions.

From watching the video, Lu Chuan knew what kind of tragic childhood and adolescence this girl had.

Qin Dejun...

Was a beast!

After a while, Xi Mengyao finally calmed down.

Smoothing her hair in front of her forehead, Xi Mengyao looked at Lu Chuan.

"Officer Lu, can I have a cigarette?"

Lu Chuan nodded.

He noticed she smoked the first time he met her.

He even knew the brand she smoked.

Just outside the precinct earlier at the store, he had bought that brand specifically for her.

He had been prepared.

He gestured for the female officer to hand the cigarette to Xi Mengyao, turned on the recording equipment, and started the interrogation.

Even the female officer, having seen the video, felt sympathy for Xi Mengyao, even though she knew the other was a murderer.

She lit the cigarette and handed it to her mouth.

"Thank you."

Xi Mengyao took a skilled drag.

"You knew I smoke?"

She knew her preferred cigarette brand was quite unique, not many people smoked it.

So, it must have been bought especially for her.

"I smelled it on you when we met this morning."

"Your nose is very sharp, even my colleagues don’t know I smoke."

Sss...

After finishing half of the cigarette, Xi Mengyao’s gaze seemed a bit distant.

"Do you believe in fate?"

Lu Chuan wanted to say he believed in fate because he had been reborn, if not fate, what else?

But he didn’t respond because he knew Xi Mengyao wasn’t looking for an answer.

Sure enough, Xi Mengyao continued to murmur to herself after a pause.

"I seem to have been unlucky since childhood."

Whether Lu Chuan believed in fate or not, Xi Mengyao indeed had a hard life.

When she was young, her family was well-off, her parents loved each other, and they had decent financial means; compared to other kids, her pockets were always full of candies.

"Before ten... were the happiest years of my life."

Unfortunately, at ten, many things were already fuzzy to her.

The happy memories of childhood were just fragmented pieces left behind.

"For some reason, everything seemed joyful during that time, nothing was upsetting."

The turning point came the year her father got into an accident.

Her father was a truck driver, originally earning by driving for others, and later he saved enough to buy his own truck on loan.

But unexpectedly, three days after purchasing the truck, he had an accident.

As the truck had just been bought, the insurance hadn’t been processed yet, so after the accident, the insurance company didn’t pay out.

The truck was totaled, and her father was dead, leaving all debts to her and her mother.

"But what’s my mom supposed to do with hundreds of thousands in loans?" 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Helpless, the mother and daughter left the town, left the countryside that was filled with Xi Mengyao’s childhood joy.

"Later we moved to the city, where my mom met him through an introduction."

"Met that... beast!"

In Xi Mengyao’s eyes, Qin Dejun was a nightmare, a beast!

"When I was fourteen, that beast... took advantage while my mom wasn’t around... and then..."

"Who is he?!"

Xi Mengyao suddenly became somewhat hysterical.

Her eyes bloodshot, her voice loud and hoarse.

"Even if he’s not my biological father, he’s still my stepfather!"

"But at that time, I was young, I didn’t understand anything, I didn’t dare to tell my mom."

"Because I was afraid he would beat my mom..."

Sob sob sob...

"I thought this was how I’d spend the rest of my life, and then when I was sixteen, heaven seemed to play a joke on me again."

"My mom got into a car accident."

"The only ones left at home were that beast and me..."

"Do you know how I got through those years?"

"He even recorded videos, I couldn’t do anything..."

Sob sob sob...

Video...

Lu Chuan sighed.

Three years ago, in the 116 case, Lu Chuan could only speculate about Xi Mengyao’s involvement.

But that was purely a guess.

There was no solid evidence.

However, after arresting Qin Dejun and discovering a phone in a safe in his bedside cabinet, the truth was finally revealed.

Indeed, it was only Qin Dejun who murdered Xi Mengyao’s five roommates.

But, he wasn’t alone.

On the night of the incident, it was all a scheme set by Xi Mengyao.

"What I don’t understand is why you set up a plan to let your stepfather... let Qin Dejun harm your dormitory roommates?"

"Why?!"