Chapter 379: Chapter 362: Would Anyone Believe Me if I Told Them?_1
"And then?"
Lou Sanfeng didn’t explain; he just drank the remaining half bottle of water.
This time Liu Yufei didn’t need to say anything, she went over and gave him another bottle, still unscrewing the cap for him. It seemed this kind of explanation made his throat dry. Actually, it made sense, he had been sitting and thinking all night without any rest, and at this moment, he was truly thirsty.
"I was exhausted from the beating. ’I’ gave him a vicious threat. The moment the child was taken out, he could never go back to the way things were. Chen Gang was just standing there dumbstruck as he watched me write a letter. Then, he left with the severed finger. ’I’ gave a kid ten bucks to deliver the letter, and then ’I’ changed into an old man’s clothes and kept watch in the central park."
It wasn’t long before the police started to arrive one by one. Having been in the military for many years, their gaze was different from ordinary people’s. ’I’ could tell at a glance. Then the boss came with a schoolbag, looking around nervously. I hid in the bushes and called him, telling him to throw the schoolbag in the trash can.
He opened the trash bin door, stuffed the schoolbag inside, and ’I’, squatting on the other side, simply opened the trash bin and took it. He couldn’t see anything from the other side. ’I’ switched the schoolbag for a red and blue woven bag and strolled away right under the noses of the police. They were still tightening the encirclement.
When I drove back to Pear Orchard, the sky had completely darkened. ’I’ looked for a long time but didn’t find Chen Gang. ’I’ thought that son of a bitch had run away with the kid. ’I’ felt a chill on my back then and thought about leaving, but I found his note on the bed. He said he went to get baby formula and had hidden the child."
"I knew he was afraid I would kill the child. If he got caught while out, I feared everything would be over. I searched Pear Orchard for hours, excluding the old man’s house, I looked through all the rooms, but I couldn’t find the child.
He came back in the early hours of the morning, holding the child. He ignored ’me,’ fed the child, and then ’I’ snatched the child away. He told me that once I got the money, I could leave, and he would take the child back. He wouldn’t speak of my involvement, no matter what. To him, I’d always be his brother."
"I knew he was telling the truth, but ’I’ didn’t want things to end this way. This wasn’t the outcome I wanted. We fought again.
’I’ wanted to kill the child. He panicked, pushed me away, and the triangular military spike ended up on the table. I guess that’s where you say you found the blood traces.
’I’, out of spite, packed those things in a travel bag and took them with me. ’I’ told him to leave the child and come with me. Someone would come looking later. He shook his head, holding the child, and didn’t move. I climbed over the wall and left. Even after getting into the car, I didn’t drive away right away."
But at that time, I noticed many people and vehicles approaching Pear Orchard, and ’I’ knew the police were catching up. Before I could react, I heard two gunshots, and many officers rushed over.
At that moment, my mind went blank, the ’me’ inside disappeared without a trace as if it had never existed. I panicked, and my mind was in chaos. I didn’t know if Chen Gang was injured or dead.
’I’ turned the car around and drove near Hanxingou Village. The police made a fuss for a long time, not bringing anyone out. ’I’ smoked one cigarette after another, until an hour later, Chen Gang was carried out on a stretcher. He wasn’t covered with a cloth, but his hand was dangling."
"I knew he was dead, and I knew it was because of me. It— killing him. I didn’t cry; I couldn’t describe how I felt. Should I explain to people that the one orchestrating the kidnapping these past two days and who killed Chen Gang wasn’t the real me? I was just a bystander, unable to control my body or object, just restrained within."
"Would anyone believe it if I said it? Such a thought is too crazy. I know no one would believe it. I don’t even remember how I left. During the New Year, I thought it over for a long time and eventually talked to my father.
"I threatened him to use Yu Xiulian’s name to buy a plot of land. If he didn’t do as I said, I would report him and expose all those women’s information. I wanted to do something for Chen Gang this way."
After all, my father wasn’t short of money. Then the land was purchased, and I bought a coffin, buried it in the garage with wooden boards over it, and put the money inside."
After that, I found out I was sick. Actually, I would sweat profusely whenever I was nervous, especially when that ’me’ inside controlled the body. I’d sweat from every part of my body. Occasionally, that ’me’ would emerge, and I didn’t know what to do.
Later, I simply took sick leave and holed up in the house on Nan Island and didn’t come out. I moved all my treasured possessions there—oh, and the triangular military spike. That belonged to my grandfather. The missing corner broke off while he was fighting hand-to-hand with a Sapporo soldier."
Xu Dayuan knocked on the table, interrupting Lou Sanfeng’s recollections.
"We’ve got the story about Chen Gang. Now tell us, why did you go after Fang Yue’s family? Why choose her?"
Lou Sanfeng pursed his lips and sighed deeply.
Then he laughed, that low, head-bowed smile twitching at the corner of his mouth, his eyes wolfish as he stared at Xu Dayuan.
Zhou Ning could feel it, his change; the look in his eyes was totally different. Could it be, as Lou Sanfeng had said, this was his inner self?
As Zhou Ning worried, Liu Yongxin noticed his movement and nudged Zhou Ning’s shoulder.
"Relax, Xu Dayuan is not that weak. He has his own approach. Right now, even if this personality won’t confess, we’ve got enough to transfer him. Besides, letting this personality come out means he probably wants to say something. Once he’s out the door, no one will listen to a secondary personality’s story."
Indeed, Xu Dayuan crossed his arms and looked Lou Sanfeng up and down.
"Oh, can’t hold it in anymore, need to come out for some fresh air? Or is it that you want to assume a new identity to disclose what happened to Fang Yue? It seems it was you who harbored crooked thoughts about Fang Yue. Now that you’re out, let’s hear it. After all, once we’re in court, the judge won’t have the patience to ask which Lou Sanfeng you are, right?"
Lou Sanfeng lifted his wrist, glancing at the handcuffs on his hands.
"Yes, you know me well. Since we’re talking about Fang Yue, let me do the talking. He was a loser, always feeling sick. In the year 2000, his old man was forcibly retired due to illness, and everyone knows why. I switched his medicine, not for poison, just vitamins.
I watched as his heart disease kicked in, then I closed the door and left. Of course, I kindly sealed the windows tight. When I returned the next day, he was already stiff. You must have seen it a lot, right? When someone’s been dead for a while, their whole body stiffens. When he was carried out, he was still in a crawling position, hahaha.
At the funeral, I saw Fang Yue again. She came with our platoon leader, having heard the news from someone, especially to attend the funeral. Honestly, I was very surprised and pleased. But what surprised me even more was that she had become an actress.
When I wanted to get closer to her, she had already gone to Jing City. Through various channels, I collected her posters and photos, though there weren’t many available, as she wasn’t famous enough. Not until the spring of 2004, when my platoon leader got married, did I find out that Fang Yue had married and had a daughter, and the husband was a restaurant owner.
Do you know about that kind of psychological gap?
If she needed money, I had it. After my grandparents passed away, all the property and money were left to me. I thought it was meaningless, but she actually found a restaurant owner. That man’s father was a head chef at Qindao Restaurant across from the compound. Isn’t that laughable?
After the wedding, I stalked Fang Yue and learned her home address. Then I spent half a month following them. On April 14, when they drove past Chao County Road, I charged at them head-on.
I had placed a tree branch ahead of time. They couldn’t avoid it in time, and their car hit the tree branch. Mr. Zhu came out to argue with me. I immediately apologized. That’s when Fang Yue realized it was me and came down with the child in her arms.
I told them their car was undrivable and suggested that they wait for a tow truck. It would be better to wait at my house, as being photographed on the street would be worse; it could cost me my job, and they might draw a crowd. I had already hired a tow truck company to come. Seeing that I was so polite and willing to discuss compensation, Mr. Zhu awkwardly agreed. I took them to the house on Nan Island and gave each of them a bottle of water, which I had previously drugged and resealed. They didn’t suspect and drank it.
They quickly became groggy, and I hauled the three of them up to the attic. Of course, Fang Yue surprised me by breaking free and trying to escape through the north gate. However, drugged as she was, she collapsed from exhaustion at the gate. I dragged her back in as she desperately clung to the door.
With a strike to her neck, she finally passed out. I locked them up with three chains. To be extra cautious, I once again injected them with an anesthetic. Then I chopped off their fingers and hired someone to deliver the pieces to Mr. Zhu. I didn’t expect him to call the police immediately.
Heh, do you know? I was watching from across the street. Everything was going according to my plan. Seeing him so anxious was profoundly satisfying. Then I returned to Nan Island, and in front of Mr. Zhu, I raped Fang Yue and killed all three of them. The child, after I pierced his body, was thrown onto a metal frame and died from the fall.
The transaction the next day unfolded just as you guessed. I had someone deliver the ears. Mr. Zhu went insane, shook off the police, and came straight to Xiaofengtai. He tossed down the money bag, and I hooked it up from below with a claw, took it, and walked off. Then I rode the motorboat to Yangkou.
I found a deserted beach, burned the motorboat, switched to my car, and returned to Nan Island with the bag of money. However, I didn’t expect this affair to get written about. At first, I thought of incinerating all the bodies, but seeing how the police were investigating, I changed my mind. Four or five days later, in the middle of the night, I dumped the bodies by the seashore.
As for that car, I gave the guy fifty thousand yuan. The car had long been thrown into the sea. I don’t know exactly where. I’ve said everything."
Xu Dayuan nodded.
"The following statement doesn’t need to be recorded. When Fang Qing came to borrow money from you, why didn’t you refuse? Was it you who agreed to lend to him, or was it ’that pathetic Lou Sanfeng’ who agreed?"
Lou Sanfeng’s eyes showed disdain as he shook his head slightly.
"Of course it was him. He thought I was cruel, but everything was beyond redemption. So, when Fang Qing asked to borrow money, he lent it. Anyway, I’m rich, and if it made Mr. Zhu suffer more, why wouldn’t I be happy? So, I didn’t object.
But after that, he actually went to see a psychologist, hoping to get rid of me. For the next few years, he constantly took medication, all kinds of treatments. I laid low. If it weren’t for you provoking him, it would have been hard for me to reappear."
Xu Dayuan waved his hand and looked towards the two clerks beside Liu Yufei; the case was too big, and he feared one person might miss something. The two served as backups for each other. Seeing Xu Dayuan’s glance, they quickly clicked to print, and Liu Yufei brought the transcript before Lou Sanfeng.
"If there’s nothing to add, sign it!"
Lou Sanfeng took the pen, gazing straight at Liu Yufei. Liu Yufei’s face turned cold, and she raised an eyebrow.
"What, do you think there’s a problem with the transcript? No worries, you can look it over. If there’s anything wrong, we can change it."
