171 Bliss is Bliss

 

Hao Ren widened his eyes and looked around with mock innocence. He said in an exaggerated voice, “That’s right, you hit the nail on the head, but so what? I admit it, and then what? What are you going to do now?” Taking in the man and how carefree he was, I suddenly realized I had not met this Hao Ren before. The Hao Ren I knew was shy, the kind who would have his face turn red from attention, not this man who would toy with the police openly.

“Say that again?” Gu Chen gasped as if he couldn’t believe Hao Ren would confess just like that.

Hao Ren pouted. “I said, your speculation is all correct, I did everything. I burnt down my house but it was my house. It’s not unlawful to burn down my own house, is it?” I frowned. And Hao Ren continued, “It was me who rented Zhao Xiaoli’s house and we both acted up the kidnapping. Du Zigui died from suicide. When I knew these things, he was already dead. Tell me, should I not honor my dead son’s will? I might be uncultured but this is the plan my son traded with his life, so why shouldn’t I do it?” Hao Ren suddenly laughed. “So now that you know the truth, what are you going to do?”

A bad feeling rose within me. Hao Ren continued, “You’re with the police. Can you remove the bullet from the chest once it has been fired?” I finally understood what Hao Ren was up to. Then he laughed harder until tears came out from his eyes.

Gu Chen said, “In that case, we can detain you for obstruction of justice.”

“Sure.” Hao Ren stopped laughing and extended his arms, signaling us to cuff him. Gu Chen was never one to hesitate so he did. The station chief clearly did not expect things to turn out like this. He wasn’t expecting this Hao Ren to not be as saintly as he believed. The chief was silent before he said, “Well, erm… This, we…” In the end, even he didn’t know what to say.

Guan Zhenglin asked, “So what do we do now?” I scratched my head. The feeling of rush from solving a case didn’t come. We had exposed Hao Ren’s conspiracy but the result was the same. Zhang Bin was still not the killer and neither was Hao Ren. He would only be detained for a month. Nothing big changed regarding the case. If a person had used suicide to frame another person, would the later even had the chance to prove his innocence? From the start, Du Zigui never minded if we figured out the truth. From the moment he decided on his plan, we already lost. We were all silent. Gu Chen didn’t seem to grasp the consequence of the truth but the truth itself. He said, “Well, we got the killer and the culprit. The victims killed themselves, what’s so complicated about that?”

I shook my head. “Things are not that simple. If you don’t believe me, we’ll only need to wait.” Hao Ren laughed happily, not worried at all.

The moment Hao Ren was sent into detention, the chief’s phone started to ring. All of them were to demand the parole of Hao Ren. Hao Ren’s crimes weren’t heavy. In fact, if he insisted that he was only joking, we had to let him go. After someone paid for his parole, Hao Ren could leave the detention centre. It was why Hao Ren was so ready to admit to everything. He wasn’t the killer, not even the conspirator. In terms of law, Hao Ren’s crime was extremely light.

In less than 1 hour, the reporters surrounded the police station. The chief sighed, “Yesterday, Hao Ren was selected as the 10 best citizens of Elm Town and today he was detained. This is such a dramatic twist and the reporters love nothing more than drama. Which one of you is going to face them?” Naturally it fell on me. We stood at the station door and accepted the interview.

“We hear that Hao Ren has been detained, what is the reason?”

“Zhang Bin is released but Hao Ren is captured, is there a conspiracy we don’t know?”

“The internet says that the police are in Zhang Bin’s pocket, what do you have to say about that?”

The microphones poked at me. I saw only black rounded objects. The questions flooded my mind. I took a deep breath and signaled for everyone to quiet down before I said, “I know all of you have many questions regarding the things that happened.” I sighed before I continued, “I know everyone must be surprised as to why Zhang Bin was released and Hao Ren was captured. The reason is simple, Zhang Bin didn’t kill anyone. Fang Xiao Qi and Du Zigui killed themselves, Zhang Bin never did anything. I know you might not be able to believe it but we have the evidence to prove that.”

Someone asked, “Really? Is it the same evidence that the police can’t use to prove Zhang Bin’s guilt?” Then everyone laughed like it was the funniest joke. I frowned. I couldn’t see the humor in it. People only wanted to see the version of the truth that they liked, even though the investigation had objectively proved them wrong. Sometimes life was that unbelievable. For example, Du Zigui could kill himself and ensure his body wouldn’t float underwater. Could a normal human being do that?

I said sincerely, “We can show you the evidence that the result of our investigation is correct. Fang Xiao Qi and Du Zigui did both commit suicide. And we have no direct proof to show that it was Zhang Bin who forced Du Zigui to take the drugs. Furthermore, Du Zigui was already a grown man, he had to take responsibility for his actions.”

Then I had Gu Chen show the reporters the printed document, it was the plan Du Zigui sent to his father. However, the reporters were clearly uninterested in it.

Soon Hao Ren came out from the station, someone had paid his parole. He didn’t leave from the side door but openly came out from the front door. The reporters immediately got revived. They buzzed around Hao Ren like flies over a carrion. “Hao Ren, the police said this is all your conspiracy, what do you have to say about that?”

Hao Ren turned down his smile and said, “I do not wish to comment further on this. My statements will never change, that’s all. If there’s anything else, please ask my lawyer.”

This was completely different from what Hao Ren told us inside the police station. His words had double meaning depending on the audience. For us, he meant that everything he said in the station was true; for the reporters, it meant that everything he said during the press conference was true.

Gu Chen heard the ambiguity in his statement and so he strode towards Hao Ren. “That is not what you said inside the station. Does your conscience not hurt saying such things? We’ll clarify this now. I’ll just ask you this, do you confess to the fact that Zhang Bin is innocent and he didn’t commit any murder or arson?”

The crowd was silent. This question was the focus of all the reporters, because they couldn’t wait to see how Hao Ren would respond.

Hao Ren answered slowly, “If you have any further questions, ask my lawyer. According to the law, I can leave now, right?” Then he smiled and walked away.

Gu Chen grabbed Hao Ren by his shoulders and demanded, “If you have the guts, admit that you have nothing to do with everything.” Gu Chen’s action caused the cameras to flash. I could already foresee the headlines tomorrow. I suddenly understood why Hao Ren was so ready to admit everything. It was for us to arrest him so that he could play up the pity victim role before the reporters. This was another one of his shows.

I pulled Gu Chen back. “We’ve all been fooled by this allegedly virtuous Hao Ren.” Hao Ren looked at me wordlessly and then left.

As Hao Ren departed, the station quieted down again.

Guan Zhenglin said, “So that’s all?”

It took a long time for me to answer. “That’s all. Hao Ren is the real master manipulator of the human heart. Compared to him, Zhang Bin is nothing. Zhang Bin was right after all. Remember what he told us when he was detained by us the first time? He said he had seen too many people like Hao Ren. Being a Good Samaritan was merely a stepping stone for them to achieve something greater. The kindness is not pure, it’s a front to reach their goal.”

“What goal?” Gu Chen looked down the distance and asked.

I answered, “Hao Ren always wanted to open a dojo. Is it not possible that when he first captured the 3 thieves, he knew this would be the ending? He now has both money and fame.”

Guan Zhenglin frowned. “Really? He can sink so low to achieve his dream? Does that not taint it?”

I was silent and then repeated what Hao Ren told us in the station. “Bliss is bliss, no matter the sacrifice.”