Liu Yuning was taken aback by my sudden outburst, but she quickly composed herself.
"Don't spout nonsense. I was obviously at home sleeping last night! Where else would I go? Officers!" Di Leyin replied with an air of utter normalcy, as if no one else was in the room.
"Do you think the surveillance cameras are just for show? They caught you at Fuhai Pier, and you were with your friend. What were you two sneaking around doing there?" I snapped.
Di Leyin initially tried to deny it, but when Liu Yuning showed him the tablet, he waved his hand. "I forgot. I sometimes go out for late-night snacks. I really didn't realize you were talking about that!"
"Late-night snacks? What are you rambling about?"
"Don't you know? Fuhai Pier has tons of late-night food stalls. The flavors are great, especially the scallops and oysters there. You two should try them sometime. I guarantee you'll be hooked."
I slammed my hand on the table, feigning anger. "Stop wasting my time! Fatty confessed everything. He said you took someone away from there, someone named Fan Jianyi. Fatty said you two were very close! Did you take him to some ancient ruins, then ditch him and kill him!"
"Uh, you believe everything Fatty says?" Di Leyin scoffed, pointing to his head. "That guy has issues, didn't you know that?"
"I know, but even with his condition, he knows what he did. Don't think you can pretend nothing happened just because the later part wasn't caught on camera. We found a hair on the victim! After comparison, we found it was yours!"
As soon as Di Leyin arrived, a police officer had already taken his water cup to compare DNA.
Hearing this, Di Leyin's brow furrowed, and he seemed a little nervous. The hair was actually a bluff on my part, but seeing his flustered reaction told me he was highly suspicious.
"Explain why your hair was found on Fan Jianyi!" I pressed him with an aggressive tone.
"I don't know!"
Di Leyin answered with those four words.
I let out a cold chuckle. "You don't know? Didn't you come into contact with the victim? Then you dismembered him. You should know what the murder weapon was?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. I never went to the tea garden!"
"Ha, if you didn't go, how would you know about the tea garden?" I retorted, catching him in a slip of the tongue.
Di Leyin tried to backtrack but it was too late. Realizing he had said too much, he fell silent, lowering his head.
Liu Yuning impatiently slammed the table. "Don't think you can escape legal justice by staying silent. The physical evidence we have is enough for the court to convict you, and in the most severe way. I know there are people behind you, and the murder wasn't planned by you alone, was it? Can you tell us? What's the deal with Song Ci?"
When Song Ci was mentioned, Di Leyin's fingers trembled. Liu Yuning didn't notice, but I didn't miss his subtle movement. My eyes, while not possessing the supernatural abilities of forensic investigators in novels, were honed by my natural keen eyesight and extensive training. While I couldn't see through things, I could certainly pick up on subtle expressions and movements.
I suddenly stood up and walked over to Di Leyin. He hadn't expected me to do that and looked at me with some tension.
"What are your fingers doing?" I probed.
Sensing his thumb trembling involuntarily, Di Leyin tried to cover it with his other hand, but his handcuffs restricted his movement. He looked helplessly at his own thumb and remained silent.
"What benefits did that person give you? Why are you protecting him and doing his bidding? I actually know who this person is. He's a novelist!"
At the mention of writing novels, Di Leyin's legs started to tremble. I felt a surge of excitement inside. It seemed I was right.
"Confess. This is your only chance to tell the truth. If you turn him in, the judge will consider your situation during sentencing. Otherwise, all the charges will be pinned on you. Are you really willing to take the fall for someone else?" I said in a more conciliatory tone. Years of interrogation experience had taught me that this was not the time to pressure Di Leyin; I needed to guide him gently.
As expected, Di Leyin slowly raised his head. "Can I really?"
"Of course. It depends on your attitude now." I wasn't lying to Di Leyin. He shouldn't have to bear all the blame just to protect that person. It was too unfair to him.
"Please tell us the reason for doing this, and the person's name. If you're uncomfortable, you can write it down."
"No, I'll just say it. You probably already know the person's name. He's that suspense writer, Yi Chengwen. The reason I did this is because I couldn't control myself!"
"Couldn't control yourself? What do you mean?" Liu Yuning was also curious, but I had already returned to my seat.
Di Leyin closed his eyes and tilted his head, as if contemplating how to explain the matter in detail. After about two minutes, Di Leyin spoke in a very low voice. "Actually, I'm gay!"
"Ah!" Liu Yuning and I were both startled, but our curiosity quickly overshadowed our surprise.
I urged Di Leyin to continue. He seemed embarrassed, saying that during his time with Yi Chengwen, the man had told him he was losing inspiration for his writing and wanted to find some excitement outside. So, he proposed his plan: finding real-life cases to write about, rather than just fabricating stories.
"So Di Leyin asked him what to do, and Yi Chengwen suggested a bold method. Di Leyin was terrified, but he was still very dependent on Yi Chengwen."
"'I need you to help me kill someone. Then I'll install a camera on you to film the entire process. I can then write it all down!'"
"'But I'll be sentenced to death!'"
"'Don't worry. I've thought of various ways to clear your name. Just do as I say. Once I become famous and rich, we'll run away together.'"
"Hearing 'run away together,' I was incredibly excited and agreed without thinking. But now, looking back, I realize I was completely deceived by that scoundrel!"