"He doesn't know yet. We had a fight with the lawyer! If the lawyer tells him and he gets any bad ideas, we won't let it go easily," Chen Yijing's father responded fiercely in the video. "And that person is still in a coma. He might die! If he dies, the merit points are ours, saving us the hassle."
Seeing the ruthless expression in the video, Zhang Chenyan didn't feel scared; instead, he found it amusing.
"What were you thinking when you said that? Planning to kill me?" Zhang Chenyan squinted at Chen Yijing's father, then actually laughed out loud. "Congratulations, at least you worked hard for your goal."
Even the officers couldn't help but laugh at Zhang Chenyan's remark.
"We found lethal poison on him," one of the officers glanced at Chen Yijing's father. "But this guy insists he didn't intend to harm you and had no motive. Later, he even claimed he was planning to commit suicide."
The officer continued, recalling, "You said you couldn't bear the pain of losing your son, felt life was meaningless, and wanted to see the person your son cared about one last time before poisoning yourself?"
Zhang Chenyan knew these people were capable of lying, but he didn't realize they could come up with such elaborate stories.
"Sounds touching, doesn't it?" Zhang Chenyan laughed. "With your acting and writing skills, you could produce and direct your own play and win an award. Truly... improvisational? Life is a stage, and every place is a stage for you!"
Though Zhang Chenyan rarely spoke sarcastically, it didn't mean he couldn't.
"Not intending to harm me, right?" Zhang Chenyan clicked to play the video again. "That was motive one. Now, let's look at motive two."
In the video, Liu Xixi asked about some details of Chen Yijing's life.
"Go ahead and ask. We've always doted on our child and took care of him meticulously."
"Yes, we know everything about his life."
These were the exact words of Chen Yijing's parents, both wearing benevolent expressions as if they were telling the truth.
"When he got lost, I was extremely anxious and guilty. I searched day and night, losing sleep, worrying about him suffering. When he was home, we always gave him the best. The thought of his days in the shelter pains me. When he came back, we made him several seafood meals. It was expensive, but seeing him happy made it worth it."
This statement from Chen Yijing's mother portrayed her as a loving mother perfectly.
Zhang Chenyan tapped his finger on the table, looking at Chen Yijing's mother. "You said Chen Yijing liked seafood? What kind of seafood? There are many kinds, he couldn't have liked them all, right?"
Chen Yijing's mother's eyes darted around, probably recalling what Liu Xixi had said before, and quickly replied, "He loved shrimp and scallops the most!"
Zhang Chenyan nodded as if agreeing, then suddenly asked, "Did you know he was allergic to seafood?"
This time, Chen Yijing's parents were completely dumbfounded.
Zhang Chenyan had let Liu Xixi test them with this point because he had heard it directly from Chen Yijing. His parents were extravagant but never spent on Chen Yijing. He had never eaten seafood with them, so they had no idea he was allergic. Chen Yijing learned about his allergy from a charity event at the shelter, where he had a severe reaction after eating a shrimp.
"He was treated in time, so nothing serious happened," Zhang Chenyan remembered Chen Yijing complaining, "If not for the allergy, I could have had some more."
"You doted on him? Took care of him meticulously? Know everything about his life?" the officer next to Zhang Chenyan laughed. "Yet you didn't know he was allergic to seafood? And you said he liked shrimp and scallops?"
"I... actually... maybe we remembered wrong..." Chen Yijing's mother stammered, looking down.
"Wrong! Mistake! Ignorance! Not knowing!" the officer snapped. "What do you take this place for? We questioned you all night, and you think you can fool us?"
"They're used to performing, used to getting away with things," Zhang Chenyan calmly explained.
The officer slapped the table, "Confession is lenient; resistance is strict. Remember that!"
Watching Chen Yijing's parents shrink in fear, Zhang Chenyan showed no emotion, only continuing the video.
He didn't want to say much; the evidence spoke for itself.
In the video, Liu Xixi dropped the bomb before leaving: "I met the man who queued with Chen Yijing. He didn't know about the merit points, but he told me Chen Yijing said his parents wanted to kill him..."
The next part showed Chen Yijing's parents nervously pressing Liu Xixi for details.
Liu Xixi replied that the evidence was with Zhang Chenyan.
As they desperately sought more information, Liu Xixi deflected, "I don't know what the evidence is... I didn't ask too much because I didn't believe him. But he assured me he had it and would reveal it at the right time. I thought it was odd, so I mentioned it to you."
After the video ended, Zhang Chenyan faced Chen Yijing's parents. "That's your second motive—to kill me out of fear I'd expose your crimes. You once considered killing your own son."
The officers were also hearing this for the first time. They had long known these two were infamous, but harming their own son?
Chen Yijing's father finally reacted.
"Trap! It's all a trap!" he roared. "You're making it all up! You don't have any evidence! You and that woman set us up, tricking us into admitting..."
Zhang Chenyan interrupted, "You mean, we conspired to provoke you into trying to kill me?"
Chen Yijing's father's eyes darted around, gritting his teeth but unable to respond.
"Admitting you intended to kill me?" Zhang Chenyan smiled. "Didn't you say the poison was for your own suicide? Out of fatherly love?"
"But if this is a setup, then you must be at fault too!" Chen Yijing's mother suddenly exclaimed.
"What's your basis for calling this a setup?" Zhang Chenyan calmly asked.
"Because you don't have evidence and deliberately lured us into attacking!" she argued.
Zhang Chenyan nodded, "Makes sense. But let's follow the logic. If you didn't harm Chen Yijing, why would you be so anxious to kill me?"
"This..." The two looked at each other, unable to answer.
"Moreover, how do you know I don't have evidence?" Zhang Chenyan leaned forward. "Your setup theory hinges on my lack of evidence. What if I do have it?"
Even the officers were stunned.
Zhang Chenyan presented a previously unreleased video, reconstructed from surveillance footage.
It featured Zhang Chenyan and Chen Yijing. The teenager's face was vivid, but his words were chilling.
"Maybe there's a spiritual connection between blood relatives."
"I feel they're going to kill me, and soon! My sense with my parents is always spot-on."
These were Chen Yijing's words.
"He just felt it... he had no evidence, just a misunderstanding between a child and his parents," Chen Yijing's mother muttered.
"Yes, all kids misunderstand their parents. It proves nothing," his father echoed.
As they scrambled to explain, Zhang Chenyan interrupted, "But I've found the evidence. Or rather, Chen Yijing collected it himself."
"What evidence?" his father asked, visibly nervous.
Zhang Chenyan didn't directly answer. "You went through his belongings but found nothing, right?"
They stayed silent, not denying but not confirming either.
"You couldn't find it because he left it in the digital world," Zhang Chenyan said calmly.
Actually, 0810 found the evidence after Zhang Chenyan contacted her on the way. Chen Yijing had used a hotel pod to log into the digital world, where he stored a recording of his parents poisoning him.
The video clearly showed the covert recording, capturing their dialogue and actions.
"I don't plan to report them, but if I just die, it's too unclear. So I'm escaping, maybe I'll find another chance."
Watching the video, Zhang Chenyan's eyes welled up.
The boy still had hope for the future, despite the darkness he had seen.
"Do you know what his safe's password was?" Zhang Chenyan asked.
They had no idea.
"His safe's password was the date he was returned to his family from the shelter," Zhang Chenyan choked up. "I guessed many—his birthday, the day he signed up for the trial... But he set it to that, the day he went home, a day he told even a stranger like me twice."
After a long pause, an officer asked, "Do you have anything to say now?"
There was no response.
Zhang Chenyan knew such people were rotten to the core. They would accept punishment but never admit wrongdoing, believing only in their own importance.
"If you hadn't brought him into this world, maybe he would have been happier," Zhang Chenyan sighed.
Seeing no point in continuing, he turned to leave.
Unexpectedly, Chen Yijing's father called out to him.
"Uh... Chen Yijing..."
"You still care about him? Dare to mention his name?" Zhang Chenyan turned back.
Awkwardly, his father asked, "I just want to know why he left the merits to you. Did you force him into something?"