Chapter 463: Chapter 437 The Sour Stench of Love_1
In the technical department’s garage downstairs.
Zhou Ning stood at the rear of the car, while Mr. Zhao and the others were meticulously inspecting the vehicle. They had already found quite a few items: various cancer medications, medical records, diagnosis certificates from the provincial hospital, assorted identification documents, cellphones, a laptop, and even clothes belonging to Liu Xiangrui and Zhang Wannian.
Mr. Qu was cracking the phone passwords on one side, a task that was very simple for him. Xia Momo stood next to Zhou Ning and Liu Yongxin.
"Do people with terminal illnesses really change their way of thinking that much? I mean their values and their pursuit of life. Would they really act against the norm, disregarding their children and parents to pursue a romance with a man?"
Liu Yongxin shook his head.
"This is an exception. Perhaps from his childhood, he was forced to grow up, taking care of his parents, handling business, and making life better for his family. Once sick, he might deny everything he used to value. His children were grown up, his parents were healthy, and the business was running smoothly. Maybe he was seeking all the things he hadn’t tried before.
As for the romantic relationship between Zhang Wannian and Liu Xiangrui, using the words of you young people, it was mutual commitment. Perhaps Liu Xiangrui was blindly seeking thrills, and the autopsy revealed that he had been infected with HIV for a long time, a bit like he was self-indulgently retaliating against society.
But after meeting Zhang Wannian, he changed. The two had a sense of regret for not having met sooner and even heard that when Zhang Wannian’s cancer came back, he lost his will to live. After all, he had always been a part of society that was ostracized. As for Sun Nan, who managed the company, perhaps he distanced himself to protect Zhang Wannian."
Zhou Ning nodded, highly approving of Liu Yongxin’s assessment.
"When Mrs. Fei went to investigate in Huining, she found that Liu Xiangrui’s parents had passed away early, and he had always been out seeking adventures. All the company’s affairs were handed over to Zhang Song. Sun Nan truly cared for Liu Xiangrui, and Liu Xiangrui knew it, otherwise, he wouldn’t have given him 20% of the shares, and in the end, left the remaining 80% to him.
I just don’t understand why in the end Zhang Wannian had to involve Wang Kaitao and ask him to assist in ending his life. From the previous autopsy, I always suspected that the murderer was behind the victim, plunging the dagger from top to bottom into the left side of Zhang Wannian’s neck, deep enough to reach the vertebrae.
If he cut his own throat, one could determine from the depth and angle of the fresh wounds whether it was suicide. Comparatively, being stabbed hurts less than being slashed, so when Wang Kaitao said that Zhang Wannian asked him to help with the final blow, I believe he was telling the truth. Yet, how should we judge this?"
Liu Yongxin waved his hand.
"How to judge is the judge’s business. The Criminal Law explicitly states in Article 5 that one who assists another person in suicide is also considered to have committed intentional homicide, punishable by three to ten years of imprisonment if deemed less severe.
This case, whether considered assisted suicide, is a complicated issue. After all, everything we have is based on Wang Kaitao’s testimony, and even with a written statement from Zhang Wannian, it’s impossible to make an accurate judgment unless there’s something else, like an audio or video recording. So, let’s see if Mr. Qu finds something."
Xia Momo sighed, and Zhou Ning held her hand. Momo shook her head slightly, indicating she was all right. At this moment, Mr. Qu raised his hand.
"I’ve cracked the passwords of both phones; both individuals’ QQ accounts are logged in. I’ll search to see if there are any saved video or audio files."
With that said, Zhou Ning and the group drew closer.
The search was swift—not through the phone, but by searching the files. In a moment, they found dozens of encoded hidden video files, which perhaps even Wang Kaitao was not aware of.
Each had a recording date; these were from Liu Xiangrui’s phone.
They started with the first one, dated in August. It seemed to be the first trip together for the two men. The surrounding scenery was beautiful, and a brief discernment revealed that they were above the General Tea Garden, close to the eastern side of Zhutoushi.
The camera panned around, showing the azure sea, faint mist, and the oddly shaped rocks surrounded by lush greenery. Liu Xiangrui, holding a selfie stick, made a peace sign towards the camera, then pulled the somewhat shy Zhang Wannian next to him.
"Wannian, when we die, how about we get buried here together, so we can spend eternity watching the mountains and sea?"
Zhang Wannian paused and lightly slapped Liu Xiangrui’s head.
"What are you talking about? This is a scenic area, there’s no cemetery anywhere around, and even the native residents have been forced to leave this place."
Liu Xiangrui wasn’t annoyed at all, still smiling.
"Just tell me if you’re willing."
"Willing!"
"I can’t hear you!"
Zhang Wannian cupped his hands around his mouth, and with all his might, he yelled towards the sea:
"I am willing!"
That’s where the video ended. Mr. Zhao had come over at some point and shook his head continuously, making clucking sounds with his mouth.
"The sour smell of love is coming through. Can’t deny that these two really cared for each other. Even though this Zhang Wannian isn’t much to look at, maybe even quite ugly, the way he looks at Liu Xiangrui is so affectionate."
Zhou Ning glanced at him, not taking the bait, but he agreed with Mr. Zhao’s words. The two interacted very genuinely, and even on their first trip, one could feel the emotions in their eyes.
"Have you finished searching the car? Did you find anything special?"
Mr. Zhao nodded.
"The search is complete. We’ve lifted many fingerprints; I even used that computer over there to run some comparisons. There are fingerprints from four people in the car: Zhang Wannian, Liu Xiangrui, and Wang Kaitao had a similar amount, and we found four prints of Zhang Liangyu. We collected many swabs which have been sent for analysis."
