Ding Zhuangzhuang was brought to the interrogation room once again.
He hung his head, eyes fixed on the floor, hands tightly clasped together.
He knew the police must have obtained evidence of his crimes; otherwise, they wouldn't have called him in for another interrogation.
Before Fang Rui and Zhang could speak, Ding Zhuangzhuang asked, "Did you find that refrigerator?"
"Yes, we did. And we found the listening device hidden inside it."
Ding Zhuangzhuang smiled wryly, mocking himself, "Ah, my luck has always been terrible."
"Crime always leaves evidence behind. You thought you planned a perfect murder, but there are always flaws in the execution."
Ding Zhuangzhuang looked at Fang Rui and Zhang, asking softly, "Does every crime get punished? Then why didn't that couple face any consequences for abandoning me? They didn't just abandon me - it was winter, and they threw me, just an infant, into freezing lake water. I nearly died."
Fang Rui and Zhang fell silent. In those days, many children were abandoned or killed for various reasons, and those parents were never punished.
Ding Zhuangzhuang kept his head down, his voice muffled, "Crimes that go undiscovered never get punished. Those people don't even suffer from guilty consciences."
Fang Rui asked, "Did you frame Chen Yuankun for murder as revenge against the Chen family?"
"Of course not. My revenge against the Chen family was sabotaging the ladder, causing that couple's downfall."
Zhang exclaimed, "You damaged that ladder?"
"Four days ago, I deliberately told that woman the ladder was broken and offered to fix it. I broke the rung near the top. The warehouse wasn't very full then, but when they restocked to a certain level, they would need to climb to that height, and then fall from the ladder. Whether it was either of them who fell, my goal would be achieved."
Fang Rui asked, "Which rung of the ladder did you break?"
Instead of answering that question, Ding Zhuangzhuang continued explaining his motives for murder: "I killed Wang Yonghua because he called me bottom-feeding trash. I worked so hard to survive - what right did he have to humiliate me? What right did that parasite, who rose through family connections and generational privilege, have to insult me?
Two weeks ago, he discovered I was taking kickbacks behind his back and demanded I hand over all the money within a week. That pushed me over the edge. Why? Hadn't I helped him make enough money already? I couldn't accept it, so I killed him. Sun Xiaoning was just collateral damage."
Fang Rui noticed Ding Zhuangzhuang avoiding his question and realized he must be covering for Chen's mother. But why would he protect her when he hated her so much?
Fang Rui challenged him: "You said before that Chen Yuankun had evidence of his corruption. Couldn't you have used that to threaten him instead? And didn't he say before his death that he saw you as his successor? Would he really pressure you over such a small amount of money?"
There were many contradictions in Ding Zhuangzhuang's story.
"I had already handed over that evidence to Wang Yonghua as a gesture of loyalty. He was a company executive - it would have been effortless for him to destroy me and blacklist me from the entire industry. I had no choice but to kill him since he was in my way."
"Why did you frame Chen Yuankun?"
"A murder case needs a culprit, doesn't it? I thought if I provided you with a suspect, you would stop investigating. I underestimated the capabilities of the Jiangzhou City police."
Zhang asked puzzledly, "You always called Chen Yuankun 'brother.' How could you bear to poison him with fake alcohol?"
"My brother was indeed good to me - he was the kindest person in my life. But he was the one who first suggested switching identities with me, letting me experience his life. He was tired of his oppressive corporate life and wanted to trade places; then when he couldn't adapt to life among the lower class, he wanted to switch back. Why?
He enjoyed twenty-plus years of a blessed life, so why would he only let me enjoy it for half a year? I could have done even better, become someone more outstanding than him!
Initially, I only planned to use fake alcohol to make my brother mentally impaired. That's how I damaged my adoptive parents' son - no one ever found out. Then Wang Yonghua started pressuring me. That's when I came up with a brilliant plan: I would kill Wang Yonghua, frame my brother, and make them both disappear. Then I could openly continue being Chen Yuankun."
Zhang exclaimed in shock, "You also harmed your adoptive parents' child?"
"You've investigated me, so you should know I used to be called Ding Wei, but that wasn't my name - it belonged to my adoptive parents' real son. Their three-year-old son was kidnapped, and they bought me from human traffickers to replace him.
Until I was twelve, I thought I was their biological son, and those were the happiest years of my life. Then their son was found by the police. That's when my life's nightmare began.
When their biological son returned, my adoptive parents' attitude toward me changed immediately. They took back my name, Ding Wei, and renamed me Ding Zhuangzhuang, but didn't register me in the household registry.
Though they still kept me, they often allowed their biological son to abuse me. One day, they killed my little black dog that I had raised for many years - after their real Ding Wei returned, that dog was my only companion. They even tricked me into eating its meat. Since then, I haven't been able to eat any meat.
I couldn't bear this abuse, so I ran away. Before leaving, I tricked that child into drinking high-concentration methanol, which left him mentally impaired. Anyone who hurt me would never get away with it."
Ding Zhuangzhuang recounted these past events expressionlessly, as if telling someone else's story.
"Please describe how you committed the murders."
"I had installed a listening device in Sun Xiaoning's car long ago. I wanted to record evidence of her infidelity to ruin her reputation - she had deceived my brother's feelings, and I wanted to restore his honor. Later, I discovered Wang Yonghua frequently got into this car, which gave me many unexpected discoveries.
On the day of the incident, I learned they were going to the mall that evening and then meet in the underground parking lot. I knew my chance had come. After following them to the parking lot, I put on a raincoat and shoe covers, then killed Wang Yonghua with an oil-stained wrench. Then I took Wang Yonghua's tie and went to another car to strangle Sun Xiaoning.
Everything went smoothly, but I forgot about the listening device in the car, and I left evidence while taunting Wang Yonghua. I wanted to remove the listening device, but it was installed inside the refrigerator, and I couldn't get it out quickly. I could only take the refrigerator with me. The refrigerator was too large and conspicuous to carry, so I found a car that looked like it had been parked for a long time, used a master key to open the trunk, and put the refrigerator inside.
As for my brother's situation, I first tricked him by saying I wanted to teach Wang Yonghua a lesson but needed his help to create an alibi. He agreed - he felt guilty towards me, so he always fulfilled all my requests. While my brother was asleep, I scratched him to get his DNA. After the murders, I tricked him into drinking fake alcohol, then planted some luxury items taken from the crime scene in his room to frame him for the murders."
Ding Zhuangzhuang described the crime process in detail, largely matching the police's theories.
However, Fang Rui found it unusual - Ding Zhuangzhuang wasn't the type to be compliant and submissive, so why was he confessing in such detail?
