Chapter 461: Brotherly Conflict

Song Yuqiang, looking dejected, said, “Wasn’t that night my brother’s birthday? I’ve been studying out of town, and this year was his 30th birthday. I bought his favorite chocolate cake to celebrate… That night, I rang the doorbell, but no one answered. The door was slightly open, so I went around to look through the window. I was so shocked that I dropped the cake. He… he was lying on the floor, covered in blood… I banged on the window and called his phone, but got no response… I was terrified and ran back home.”

Chen Shi asked, “Why didn’t you call the police?”

“I… I was scared out of my mind. My brain went blank.”

“You didn’t even tell your parents?”

“How could I tell them something like that? The next morning, they were still talking excitedly about Yuwen’s girlfriend. I couldn’t even taste my breakfast. I didn’t know how they would react to the news.”

“Song Yuqiang, do you want me to expose you? You’d better come clean now, or we can talk somewhere else. Seeing a dead body and not reporting it—what kind of person does that? A murderer!”

Song Yuqiang broke into a sweat. “I didn’t kill him. You checked—he was shot. Where would a college student like me get a gun?”

“Then why didn’t you report it?”

“How many times do I have to say it? I was scared.”

“Isn’t there another reason? We’ve already investigated. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be here.”

“You… you investigated…” Song Yuqiang looked terrified, gripping his pants tightly. “I wasn’t trying to poison him; I just wanted to mess with him. I put a laxative in the cake. You can buy it at any pharmacy.”

He was likely telling the truth. If it had been poison, the scavenger and his son wouldn’t have been so lucky.

“You went to your brother’s place late at night with a tampered cake, found him dead, and were too scared to call the police. Surveillance caught you, and now a scavenger who ate the cake is in the hospital.”

“What? That unlucky?” Song Yuqiang was shocked. “Is he alright? I’ll cover the medical expenses.”

“That’s best. So why did you want to get back at your brother?”

“…”

“If I’m not mistaken, you two fought a few days ago. I noticed the scabs on your knuckles.”

Song Yuqiang instinctively hid his fingers. “Alright, since he’s gone, I’ll tell you so you don’t suspect me anymore. My brother wasn’t very considerate; he stole my girlfriend.”

“Du Juan was your girlfriend?”

“Yeah, it was a year ago. I met her at a club. Things were going well until she said she had a toothache. I recommended her to a great dentist—my brother. I didn’t know they got together. I kept texting her, but she grew colder. I thought she found someone else, and I was heartbroken for a month.”

“Then, last week at a family dinner, my mom talked about setting my brother up with someone. He said he already had a girlfriend. As my mom kept asking, he revealed more. The timeline matched when Du Juan had her toothache. My brother noticed my reaction and later admitted it. He said Du Juan was his girlfriend now. I lost it and beat him up, called him an animal for stealing his brother’s girlfriend.”

“The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I ranted about Du Juan online. My brother kept apologizing via text. On his birthday, I pretended to accept his apology, bought a cake, and added a laxative to it. I just wanted him to suffer for a few days. Who knew… Sigh.”

Song Yuqiang’s story sounded sincere, and Chen Shi felt it was the truth. Besides, Song Yuqiang didn’t fit the profile of the killer. Chen Shi asked, “Alright, we won’t pursue this further. One more thing: did your brother have any secrets?”

“Secrets?”

“Did he ever harm any women?”

Song Yuqiang was puzzled. “I don’t think so. He would’ve told me. He was always open with me. Of course, he wasn’t one to turn down advances, but I’ve never heard of him cheating or getting anyone pregnant. Are you thinking this was a crime of passion? The killer had a gun. They must be someone significant. My brother was just a dentist; how could he offend such people?”

“Alright, stop speculating. We’re investigating. When’s the funeral?”

“Soon.”

“Give me your contact info. I’d like to pay my respects.”

“Sure. I didn’t expect the police to be so kind. Thank you.”

After exchanging contact details and obtaining a fingerprint sample, Chen Shi asked, “By the way, who is your cousin Wan Jun?”

“Her? She’s our cousin. We played together a lot as kids. Then she went to boarding school and later got into a university in Australia. She’s studying abroad now.”

“Seems like she’s well off.”

“Not really. Her family’s pretty poor. Her parents lost their jobs and have borrowed a lot from us. My family’s well-off, so many relatives try to cozy up to us. My parents are generous and often lend money to poorer relatives.”

“Your parents sound like good people.”

“Yeah, they are. My dad is the eldest and often helps his siblings.”

“Do you have a photo of Wan Jun?”

“Why are you interested in her?” Song Yuqiang chuckled and showed Chen Shi her WeChat and Weibo profiles. They had many pictures taken abroad, and her posts were mostly in English.

Chen Shi noted her WeChat and Weibo IDs, then left the neighborhood with Lin Dongxue. “This kid was lucky. When he rang the doorbell, the killer was probably still inside. He narrowly avoided being killed to silence him.”

“You seem quite interested in that girl studying abroad. She’s the least likely suspect.”

“A name that keeps coming up catches my attention.”

“Now that we’ve ruled out Song Yuqiang, none of the people seen entering or leaving the neighborhood that night are suspects. The killer wasn’t caught on camera!”

“Not on camera but deleted the footage. How did she manage to get into the security room without being seen?” Chen Shi pondered, refusing to believe the killer was an invisible ghost. There had to be an explanation.

“Let’s go back!” he said.