Good and Evil Chapter 19: The Case Solved

All things in this world, as long as they exist, leave traces behind. As the saying goes, a wild goose leaves its cry, a man his name. The unraveling of every complex case begins with the search for traces.

Before the results of the footprint comparison were available, a thorough investigation was conducted into the life experiences of Cheng Fei and Chen Zhiyan.

Cheng Fei’s father, Cheng De, was a notorious gangster in S City during the 1980s, frequently in and out of the police station—he visited the police more often than he returned home. In his youth, Cheng De was repeatedly detained for fighting and brawling, sometimes even sent to prison, though his sentences were always short and he was released quickly. Cheng Fei’s mother was someone Cheng De met at a dance hall; they married not long after meeting, and Cheng Fei was born the following year.

Marriage did nothing to curb Cheng De’s wild ways. He continued to spend his nights carousing, often coming home dead drunk and taking out his frustrations on Cheng Fei’s mother. Cheng Fei grew up in this turbulent environment. When he was fifteen, his father was sentenced to ten years in prison for grievously injuring someone. At that point, Cheng Fei’s mother finally lost all hope and left the family.

After his father went to prison, Cheng Fei became increasingly withdrawn. He first fell in with delinquents, then began a relationship with Chen Zhiyan. After both failed their college entrance exams, they went to work at a factory. At that time, Cheng Fei frequently got into fights and caused trouble, often ending up in police custody. But instead of reforming, he became worse—brawling and stealing. Around this time, Chen Zhiyan broke up with him and left the factory to work at Liu Changhong’s char siu restaurant.

After their breakup, Cheng Fei was arrested for robbery and sentenced to three years in prison. A little over a year into his sentence, his father Cheng De was released. Upon hearing that his son had ended up in prison for robbery, Cheng De was filled with regret. He tried to find a steady job, hoping to start a small business with Cheng Fei once his son was out. But as the saying goes, those who walk the wrong path must eventually pay the price. Not long after Cheng De’s release, a former rival stabbed him to death in broad daylight. The assailant was quickly apprehended and sentenced to death. When Cheng Fei was released and learned of his father’s fate, he did not repent; instead, he reunited with his old associates and resumed stealing.

Chen Zhiyan’s parents had opposed her relationship with Cheng Fei from the start. They scolded and beat her, but to no avail. In the end, Chen Zhiyan left for the factory behind their backs and never contacted her family again. It was only through a household registration check that Ning Yanran and her team found her parents after the case broke.

Chen Zhiyan’s parents were ordinary people—her father a factory worker, her mother a housewife. Chen Zhiyan had a brother five years her junior, currently in graduate school. When the police found them to inquire about Chen Zhiyan and told them she was a suspect in a gruesome murder and dismemberment case, they were stunned into silence. Her father kept smoking cheap cigarettes without saying a word, while her mother wept, wiping away tears as she repeatedly uttered Chen Zhiyan’s name, insisting Cheng Fei must have forced her to do it.

Now, Chen Zhiyan’s parents were at the second criminal investigation team. However, Ning Yanran did not arrange an immediate meeting; instead, they waited in an office.

After their arrival and as the investigation into Cheng Fei’s background was nearly complete, the police found the tools Chen Zhiyan had confessed to using for dismemberment in the river. These were immediately sent to the technical department for fingerprint collection and comparison.

As the results of the footprint analysis came in, so too did the fingerprint results from the murder tools.

The male footprints left at the char siu restaurant were determined to be Cheng Fei’s, matching the sneakers he wore. On the tools, both Chen Zhiyan’s and Cheng Fei’s fingerprints were found. With this evidence, the police immediately interrogated both suspects and placed handcuffs on Cheng Fei.

This time, Xu Lang did not participate in the interrogation. Ning Yanran and Li Lei questioned Chen Zhiyan; Zhao Hua and Zhang Lei handled Cheng Fei.

During his interrogation, Cheng Fei was initially uncooperative, claiming ignorance or complaining of hunger or needing the bathroom. But when Zhao Hua produced the footprint comparison, Cheng Fei relented and confessed to what had occurred that night.

After Cheng Fei was released at the end of last year, he was terrified by his time in prison and resolved to reform. But years of idleness had left him without any skills, and as an ex-convict, no company would hire him. Homeless, he wandered until he ran into Chen Zhiyan by chance. They greeted each other, and she invited him to eat at her restaurant. Their old relationship rekindled.

Cheng Fei found a job as an internet café attendant—a simple job that at least guaranteed food and shelter. Through Chen Zhiyan’s connection to Liu Changhong, she rented him an apartment, though she never brought him to her own place. Satisfied that Cheng Fei had steady work, Chen Zhiyan visited him regularly, and their relationship became intimate.

On the night of June 11th, while Cheng Fei was on the night shift, he received a call from Chen Zhiyan, urgently summoning him to the restaurant. He had no idea what had happened until he arrived and found Sun Xiaomei lying on the kitchen floor, a pool of blood around her. Chen Zhiyan sat opposite the body, hugging her knees, staring blankly.

When she saw Cheng Fei, she stumbled into his arms, sobbing. He was shocked at first, but years of street life and prison had left him resilient. He quickly calmed down and asked Chen Zhiyan what had happened.

Through tears, she recounted the incident: Sun Xiaomei had come to the restaurant to confront her because her husband, Liu Changhong, had not come home. A heated argument and physical struggle ensued, ending with Sun Xiaomei’s death.

When Zhao Hua asked if Sun Xiaomei’s death was accidental or if Chen Zhiyan had killed her, Cheng Fei shook his head. “When I arrived, the woman was already dead. I asked Chen Zhiyan, and she said Sun Xiaomei died when, during their struggle, she struck her head on the kitchen counter. I was so scared I didn’t press further.”

“Do you remember what the body looked like when you arrived?” Zhao Hua asked.

Cheng Fei nodded after a moment’s thought. “Yes. She was half sitting, half slumped against the kitchen counter, with a bloody streak on the wall behind her.”

Zhao Hua said, “Continue.”

After hearing Chen Zhiyan’s account, Cheng Fei comforted her. She asked what they should do. With his prison experience, Cheng Fei knew that if they called the police, with only Chen Zhiyan and the victim present, it would be impossible to prove the death was accidental rather than murder. So, in a desperate bid, he suggested dismembering the body.

They fetched a kitchen cleaver and hatchet and dismembered Sun Xiaomei’s body in the restaurant kitchen, throwing her head and the other remains into the braising pot. Afterward, Chen Zhiyan cleaned the scene. When she finished, Cheng Fei started to enter the kitchen to check, but realizing he might leave footprints, he immediately withdrew—a partial footprint later found by Li Lei.

Afterward, Cheng Fei told Chen Zhiyan to go home before dawn, change clothes, and take Sun Xiaomei’s clothes with her to dispose of them. He stayed at the restaurant to wait. When daylight came, Chen Zhiyan bought latex paint and repainted the kitchen and dining area. Cheng Fei, afraid of leaving more traces, painted only in the dining area. After all was done, he left for the internet café and resumed his shift.

After Cheng Fei finished, Zhao Hua asked, “Did you know Chen Zhiyan was pregnant?”

Cheng Fei nodded. “Yes, I was with her when she had the checkup.”

“Do you know about the relationship between Chen Zhiyan and Liu Changhong?”

Cheng Fei nodded again. “I knew after I ran into her following my release.”

“Does Liu Changhong know about Chen Zhiyan’s pregnancy?” Zhao Hua pressed.

Cheng Fei shook his head. “I don’t think so. Chen Zhiyan never told me she’d informed him.”

Zhao Hua asked, “Do you have anything else to add?”

Cheng Fei shook his head once more. “No.”

“If you have nothing to add, sign here,” Zhao Hua said, placing the record before Cheng Fei.

Cheng Fei stared at the statement, pen in hand, hesitating for a long time before finally signing his name. Afterward, he looked up at Zhao Hua and asked, “Officer, I didn’t kill anyone. This has nothing to do with me. Will I still be sentenced?”

Zhao Hua took the pen and the record, looking at Cheng Fei’s anxious face. “You may not have killed anyone, but upon discovering the crime, you failed to report it and instead helped Chen Zhiyan conceal and dismember the body. Of course you’ll be sentenced.”

Hearing this, the fear on Cheng Fei’s face deepened. Eventually, as if resigned to fate, he slumped in his chair, his eyes losing all light. Finally, he asked, “Officer, how many years will I get?”

Zhao Hua replied, “As for your sentence, that’s not for me to say—the law will decide.”

With that, Zhao Hua called for the officers to escort Cheng Fei out. As he was led away, Cheng Fei seemed utterly hollow. Xu Lang, who had been watching everything from outside, showed no expression as he saw Cheng Fei taken away.

After his release, Cheng Fei had resolved to turn over a new leaf. He took a job at the internet café—low-paying, but at least stable. Had he called the police upon discovering Sun Xiaomei’s body, he would have had nothing to do with the case. Instead, he chose to help Chen Zhiyan destroy evidence and evade the law, tying himself to a crime that had nothing to do with him. Who knows if, now that he’s back in prison, Cheng Fei understands the lesson.

After Cheng Fei was taken away, Xu Lang stepped outside the room where Chen Zhiyan was being interrogated, watching through the glass.

At first, Chen Zhiyan tried to shield Cheng Fei, attempting to take all the blame herself. But confronted with irrefutable evidence, she confessed everything. Her account matched Cheng Fei’s, differing only in minor details, none of which changed the fact that she had committed murder and dismemberment.

At the end of the interrogation, after signing her statement, Chen Zhiyan looked at Ning Yanran and asked, “Officer Ning, I’ve told you everything truthfully. Will the court sentence me to death?”

Ning Yanran hesitated, not wanting to answer. But seeing Chen Zhiyan touch her belly, she finally replied, “Under ordinary circumstances, you would be sentenced to death or given a suspended death sentence.”

Chen Zhiyan’s eyes dimmed at these words. She lowered her head, tears falling silently onto her lap.

Ning Yanran continued, “But since you’re pregnant, according to our country’s laws, a pregnant woman cannot be sentenced to death.”

“Really? Officer Ning?” Chen Zhiyan’s voice was filled with hope, her face lighting up with surprise.

Ning Yanran nodded. “Behave well in prison and strive for a reduced sentence. Only then will you have a chance to see your child.”

“Yes.” Chen Zhiyan nodded vigorously, then stood and gave Ning Yanran a deep, emotional bow. “Thank you.”

Ning Yanran said nothing more. Soon, Chen Zhiyan was taken away by the police.

Afterward, as she was led out, she saw Xu Lang standing outside. He looked back at her. Chen Zhiyan gave him a slight nod. “I’m sorry, Officer Xu.”

Xu Lang shook his head, saying nothing, his expression unreadable.

After Chen Zhiyan was taken away, Li Lei and Ning Yanran left the interrogation room, statements and documents in hand. Upon seeing Xu Lang, they both exhaled deeply. Smiling, Ning Yanran said, “I didn’t expect we’d solve the case so quickly.”

Xu Lang glanced at her, said nothing, and turned to leave the station.

Ning Yanran was puzzled by his reaction. She turned to Li Lei. “What’s wrong with him? Shouldn’t he be happy the case is solved?”

Li Lei watched Xu Lang’s departing figure. He knew something of Xu Lang’s background and understood his mood. Xu Lang always found the breakthrough in a case, noticing what others missed, but once the case was closed, he left alone, rarely joining any celebration. He also had a habit: after every case he handled, regardless of the criminal’s cruelty, he would visit the convicted in prison after sentencing for a private conversation—something only Lu Ye had authorized.

Li Lei sighed. “Don’t mind him, Captain Ning. Xu always acts this way after solving a case.”

“He always does?” Ning Yanran asked, watching Xu Lang’s figure disappear.

Li Lei nodded. “Ever since he joined the second squad and solved his first case.”

“What an odd man,” Ning Yanran remarked.

“He doesn’t have it easy,” Li Lei replied, looking at the file in his hands.

Curious, Ning Yanran asked, “Do you know something?”

Li Lei quickly shook his head. “I don’t know anything.” With that, he hurried off, leaving Ning Yanran even more intrigued.

With confessions from Chen Zhiyan and Cheng Fei, Xu Lang knew that this brutal case had been solved. Who could have imagined that Sun Xiaomei, who’d made char siu rice her whole life, would be braised into char siu after death? Or that the manager would kill the owner’s wife? Who was truly responsible for all of this? Was it Chen Zhiyan? In terms of the crime, she was certainly guilty. But behind the truth, was Liu Changhong, the owner, blameless? If he hadn’t cheated on his wife with Chen Zhiyan, would this tragedy have occurred? Was Sun Xiaomei entirely without fault? If she’d cared more for her husband, or discovered the affair sooner, perhaps none of this would have happened. And Cheng Fei, who after deciding to reform, made the wrong choice once again—if he had called the police after discovering the body, rather than helping Chen Zhiyan cover up the crime, he wouldn’t be back in prison. Who could truly be blamed?

A moment’s impulse led to tragedy: seven-year-old Liu Xiaoru lost her mother forever, and Chen Zhiyan destroyed her own future. She would now spend her days behind cold iron bars, and as for the child in her womb—what fate awaited them after birth?