Chapter 529: What a Blunder

Lü Hao sat up straight, his brow furrowed, glancing repeatedly at Lin Dongxue, as if hoping she would save him.

Chen Shi confirmed that the camera was working, then asked, “Let’s cut to the chase. What did you dispose of tonight?”

Lü Hao dejectedly replied, “Didn’t you see it? You cops never rest, rummaging through trash cans in the middle of the night. How did you know it was me who threw it away?”

“Tell me, what was it!” Chen Shi’s tone grew harsher.

“A wig and women’s clothes…”

“What were they for? Don’t tell me you have some fetish!”

“Yes, yes, you saw right through me. I do have that fetish. I look delicate and fair-skinned, and I look better in women’s clothes than women do. In college, I was famous for cross-dressing. So, I often dress up at home just for fun.” Lü Hao kept winking at Lin Dongxue, hoping she would believe his nonsense.

Chen Shi snorted, “Which classmates know? We’ll call and verify.”

“That’s not necessary… It’s not something I’m proud of…”

“Trying to waste our time, huh? Let’s see who can last longer.”

“I’m telling the truth!” Lü Hao stubbornly resisted.

Lin Dongxue whispered, “This guy isn’t honest. Should we leave him alone for a bit?”

“No need. He’s actually easy to deal with!” Chen Shi raised his voice, “Lü Hao, we went to your workplace this afternoon. You’ve been working in Lieyang for several years, and your salary has improved. If you don’t come clean, we’ll throw you in a holding cell to reflect overnight. Your record will be tarnished. Think about which salon would hire you after that!”

Lü Hao broke into a cold sweat, rubbing his hands incessantly but still stayed silent.

A person who’s not afraid of losing his job must have something else giving him courage. To make him talk, they had to crush his last hope. Chen Shi said, “Stop fantasizing. That 10 million is now in the police’s safe!”

“What!?” Lü Hao was shocked, then slumped in his chair. “She really was killed?”

“I said she disappeared.”

This reaction was genuine, indicating that Lü Hao didn’t know about what happened last night. Therefore, the person Chen Shi saw wasn’t him.

Actually, the DNA identification report from Peng Sijue had already been sent to him in the afternoon. Although it couldn’t confirm the identity, it showed the blood belonged to a woman with AB blood type.

Chen Shi continued his hypothesis, “Did Lin Hui agree to split the money with you? You knew the money was ill-gotten but couldn’t resist the temptation. The wig in the bag you threw away matched Lin Hui’s hairstyle. She had you dress up like her to throw off pursuers, didn’t she?”

With each word, Lü Hao seemed to lose a bit of his spine, slumping in his chair. He said, “I thought she was using me at first.”

“Go on.”

“Actually, my relationship with Lin Hui was a bit like freeloading. I make about 4,000 yuan a month, which isn’t enough. She earns over 10,000 yuan, and her year-end bonus is in the hundreds of thousands. To me, she was like a little rich woman. I did my best to make her happy when we were together. She often gave me money. Of course, it wasn’t like I was just using her. I genuinely cared for her, though I’m not sure how she felt about me… Some time ago, she asked if I wanted to get rich. I said, of course. Then she told me something unbelievable: she said she got 10 million but was being hunted and needed my help. At first, I thought it was a joke. How could such a dramatic thing happen in real life? But then she brought 10 million when we met.”

“Which day?”

“September 8th.”

“Where?”

“At my friend’s place. She had the key.” Lü Hao bit his finger. “I was stunned seeing the money. I’d never seen so much money in my life. I asked her where it came from, but she wouldn’t say. We were so happy, rolling in the money…”

“Stick to the important parts!” Lin Dongxue interrupted.

“We planned how to hide the money. Initially, we thought of hiding it at my friend’s place, then getting some cards to store it bit by bit. We would never worry about money again…” Lü Hao smiled expectantly, then returned to reality. “On the morning of the 9th, Lin Hui said someone was following her. These people were very skilled and could find her wherever she went. She was scared. I came up with a plan. We would split up, one to distract the bad guys, the other to hide the money. So, I bought the wig, clothes, bags, and some joss paper. We put the real money on top of the joss paper to make it look real, marked the bag with real money.

“That afternoon, the pursuers seemed to be near the neighborhood. She left with one bag first, then I left with another. I had prepared twenty cards under different names in advance. The disguise was to avoid ATM cameras. But when I went to deposit the money, I found out I had the fake money! My heart sank. Was Lin Hui using me? I called her, but she didn’t answer. I couldn’t figure it out. The plan was mine. If she wanted to trick me, there was no need to involve me from the start. Besides, she wasn’t that kind of person!

“I had no choice but to wait at the agreed location, but she never showed up. I was devastated. I held out hope until today, but when you police showed up, I knew it was bad. So I hurried to dispose of those things, but you still found out… Sigh!”

Chen Shi asked, “What was the mark?”

“A small dot made with a marker.”

“The bag with the mark had the real money?”

“Yes.”

“Were you in a hurry when you left?”

“Very. Lin Hui said the pursuers had guns. She grabbed one bag and left quickly.”

Chen Shi pondered, then retrieved the bag he found at Lü Hao’s place and showed it to him. “Is this the mark?”

“Ah!” Lü Hao clutched his head in frustration. “I’m such an idiot. The mark is correct, but I packed the wrong bag!”

Chen Shi seemed to understand. Lin Hui discarded the bag of real money without hesitation because she thought it was fake!

What a blunder.