Chapter 557: Kindred Spirits

Upon hearing those words, Lin Dongxue was stunned. She turned her gaze from Chen Shi to Liu Qin, who was covering his face and crying, his voice now high-pitched like a girl’s.

Lin Dongxue suddenly recalled various details: Liu Qin mentioning twice that he had a boyfriend, saying he and Ah Zhen were like “girlfriends,” and Chen Shi’s comment about the razor. Could it be that Chen Shi had known all along?

What kind of insight was this? Lin Dongxue had thought she had improved significantly by working with Chen Shi, but now she realized just how far apart their abilities were.

Liu Qin cried for a long time. Chen Shi approached and handed her a tissue. She took it, wiped her eyes, and asked, “How did you figure it out?”

“I checked the razor you left at my place. It hadn’t been used; you just wet it with water. Also, I noticed on the surveillance footage that you went to the restroom a lot but never actually used it. You were just pretending.”

Liu Qin’s voice fully transitioned to a female tone. “I grew up in a family that favored boys over girls. My uncle, my second uncle, and my third uncle all had sons. When my mother gave birth to me after my sister, my father almost threw me into a cow pen to die. My mother begged him to let me live. He was ashamed of me and lied to everyone, saying I was a boy. I was raised as a boy, and my parents warned me never to reveal my true gender, or they would kill me!

“From elementary to high school, I lived in mockery. My classmates spread rumors that I was a freak who never used the restroom because I didn’t have a penis. I longed to play with the girls but had to keep up the act. Boys despised me, and girls avoided me. I had no friends. I became depressed and suicidal until I met Ah Zhen in college. I confided in her, and we became best friends because we both wore masks. She saved me.”

Chen Shi said, “I visited Ah Zhen’s home again. I read all your messages to her. You always comforted and encouraged her, spoke gently, and both loved Liu Yong and Li Qingzhao’s poems.”

Liu Qin nodded, tears falling on her hands, her shoulders shaking.

Seeing her cry so hard, Lin Dongxue felt moved. She remembered that when Ah Zhen died, Liu Qin suggested reading more heroic poems. Maybe those messages weren’t from her?

Lin Dongxue approached, patting Liu Qin’s shoulder, “Don’t cry, little sister.”

Liu Qin cried even harder because, in her life of gender misalignment, no one had ever called her “little sister.” She remembered her father running far to buy tampons for her first period and sternly warning her, “If anyone finds out you’re a girl, I’ll kill you!”

“We understood each other. I was her other half. She died so tragically and meaninglessly. Someone had to pay for her death!” Liu Qin raised her tear-streaked face, her eyes resolute. “The first to die was Ah Qiang, then Sun Jun, and finally, me. I have no regrets about anything I’ve done. Those who bullied her deserve to die!”

Chen Shi knew he was being manipulative, using one secret to uncover another, but finding the truth was his duty. Exposing people’s innermost secrets was part of his job, and he had no choice.

“That last message wasn’t from you, right?”

Liu Qin nodded, “Ah Qiang’s phone died, so he borrowed mine. I had no idea he would say that to Ah Zhen. Couldn’t he see she was asking for help? Of course, he did, but he was selfish and cruel. He destroyed her last hope! I’m grateful to the officer who detained me that night. If not, I would have killed Ah Qiang on the way back. I would have driven as fast as I could and crashed, killing us both, but even that wouldn’t have settled the score!”

“Your subsequent murder plan was quite clever. Even I was fooled for a while. I initially ruled you out as a suspect.”

“Thanks for the compliment!” Liu Qin sneered, “You are indeed very smart. Yesterday, when I heard about your high success rate, I got nervous. I followed you to learn about your progress. Until our meal, I thought you hadn’t suspected me at all. Clearly, I was wrong! I convinced Sun Jun to kill Ah Qiang, but he wanted a big reward. On the 25th, I took the money to him. He was happy counting it, and I hesitated. Should Sun Jun die? He had spread rumors about Ah Zhen, causing her great pain, but that was long ago. But I had to kill him. He’d crumble in front of the police and implicate me. To avoid being caught, I had to kill him! It’s ironic. I planned to sacrifice for Ah Zhen but ended up scheming to escape punishment. Maybe that’s a murderer’s mindset—to take any chance to avoid justice! After killing him, I intended to delete my chat history with Ah Zhen to cover my tracks. I remembered a key in her breaker box, but it was gone. So, I used her WiFi from the door to log into her QQ and change her status.”

Chen Shi asked, “As a novice, how did you come up with such a sophisticated crime? You nearly lowered my success rate.”

“I’ve imagined doing this many times. Ah Zhen was a fragile, kind girl constantly bullied by the world. I wanted to protect her forever.” Liu Qin smiled, “I did it. I avenged her, so she could rest in peace. I loved her—not sexually, but I loved her. We were kindred spirits, both on the fringes of society!”

“I admire you for your dedication. Since you’ve chosen this path, don’t regret it.”

“Officer Chen! I know you’re a good person. You knew I was a criminal but still treated me kindly and talked with me. I’m glad I’m a girl now. I hear men’s prisons are awful. Women’s prisons should be better, right?”

Chen Shi patted her shoulder gently, “I wish you luck.”

Liu Qin was taken away by the police. Chen Shi found Lin Dongxue still in the interrogation room, crying on the table. Her sobs filled him with melancholy…