Yu Hanjiang's question was so direct that Xiao Lou was startled and couldn't help but look up at Captain Yu.
The man's expression was serious, his gaze icy, as if Officer Yu, who had sat in the interrogation room years ago, had returned.
Shu Ping's face instantly turned deathly pale. She clenched her fist slightly at her side and said, feigning composure, "What did you say? Why would I steal Li Zhemin's insulin? Don't wrong an innocent person!"
Yu Hanjiang looked at her calmly, his indifferent gaze seeming to say: Keep making things up.
Shu Ping felt a chill run down her spine under his gaze, but she still stubbornly denied it: "The insulin didn't have Li Zhemin's name on it, I bought it from the hospital! Don't talk nonsense, why would I steal someone else's insulin? It's not like I can't afford it!"
Yu Hanjiang stared at her for a few seconds, and just as she looked away because she felt uncomfortable, Yu Hanjiang suddenly spoke.
His voice was devoid of emotion, calm and low: "You weigh less than 50kg, and your daily insulin dosage is around 20U. This trip will last ten days, yet you've brought a month's supply of insulin. Li Zhemin is also a diabetic, but no trace of insulin was found in his bag. Besides you stealing it, do you think there's any other explanation?"
Shu Ping was dumbfounded.
Clearly, she hadn't expected that this flight attendant would know how to calculate insulin dosages!
Xiao Lou couldn't help but admire Captain Yu as he presented the evidence in a clear and organized manner. Captain Yu was indeed very skilled at interrogating people, breaking down their psychological defenses step by step. The old lady was completely terrified.
Yu Hanjiang said coldly, "Confess and you'll be treated leniently. If you still don't admit it, we can take the insulin in your bag after the train arrives at the station and test it to see if there are Li Zhemin's fingerprints on it. At that time, you will be detained for theft."
Shu Ping's face turned pale and then red. After a moment of silence, she gritted her teeth and said in a low voice, "I hate that bastard Li Zhemin! Last month, I asked someone to introduce my daughter to his son. My daughter is a top student who graduated from a key university. She is beautiful and knowledgeable. I didn't mind that his son is short and ugly, but he actually complained that my daughter has a bad personality and is ill-mannered!"
Shu Ping said indignantly, "What do you mean by 'ill-mannered'? Huh? Isn't this an insult to me for not raising him well? I've disliked him for a long time. My son has a few stinking coins, and he acts like an emperor choosing concubines every day..."
As she said this, she glanced guiltily at Yu Hanjiang, her voice gradually weakening: "I stole his insulin just to teach him a lesson. I asked the doctor, and patients with type 2 diabetes won't die if they stop taking insulin, they'll just feel a bit uncomfortable. He couldn't buy insulin on the bus, so I'll let him suffer for a couple of days, and I'll secretly put it back before I get off the bus."
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou exchanged a glance.
Seeing their eyes meet, Shu Ping immediately raised his hand: "I swear, I really just wanted to teach him a lesson, I wouldn't dare kill anyone! By the way, it must have been Niu Dapeng who killed him, you should suspect Niu Dapeng!"
Yu Hanjiang said calmly, "How do you know Li Zhemin was murdered?"
Shu Ping was taken aback: "If he died of a sudden heart attack, why are you questioning me and checking all our luggage?"
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "Go on, why should we suspect Niu Dapeng?"
To clear his name, Shu Ping didn't hesitate to reveal some shocking information: "Back then, Niu Dapeng was the best-performing and most senior employee in our company's sales department. The boss had already decided to make him a manager. However, Li Zhemin somehow managed to hook up with the boss's only daughter. The two of them had sex, and the boss's daughter got pregnant. She had no choice but to accept this son-in-law."
"As a result, the boss suddenly promoted Li Zhemin to general manager, and Niu Dapeng was transferred to the logistics department. How much money can logistics make? Niu Dapeng's salary was suddenly cut in half, and he was definitely not happy about it."
"Later, Niu Dapeng's wife got cancer. He borrowed a lot of money to treat her, but she couldn't be cured and passed away early. He was left with a mountain of debt and raised his son alone. When his son was in middle school, he got into a fight with Li Zhemin's son and was injured in the eye. It is said that he will have permanent visual impairment in one eye. Can you believe how much he hates him!"
If all of this is true, then Niu Dapeng must truly hate Li Zhemin.
Xiao Lou quickly found Niu Dapeng's application information—the family relationship section did indeed state "spouse deceased," and he only had one son. His son currently works as a security guard in a residential community; at such a young age, this job is not considered good compared to high-paying white-collar jobs.
Shu Ping said, "You don't know, Niu Dapeng's son used to be a top student, always ranking first. But because Li Zhemin's son injured his eye, the boy's confidence was affected, his grades plummeted, and he didn't even get into a university after the college entrance exam, ending up in a vocational school. Everyone knows that Niu Dapeng hates Li Zhemin."
Yu Hanjiang asked pointedly, "Since he and Li Zhemin have such a deep grudge, why did they still join a tour group together?"
Shu Ping explained, "This trip was paid for by the company as a reward for us retired employees. No one knew in advance who would be going. Niu Dapeng's family is not well-off, but he has traveled many times over the years. He probably wanted to take advantage of this free opportunity to go out and travel."
The woman relentlessly pursued Niu Dapeng, and she genuinely had reason to suspect him of being the murderer, given the deep-seated hatred between Niu Dapeng and Li Zhemin, making his motive very clear. It could be argued that Li Zhemin had ruined his life, so his killing of Li Zhemin was hardly surprising.
But Yu Hanjiang didn't think the case was that simple; he noticed...
Shu Ping pointed out a detail in her question: "You mean, before this trip, you didn't know who would be going?"
Shu Ping said, "That's right. The tour guide only created the group the night before we left. Before that, we received emails from the company privately, saying that it was a reward for outstanding employees over the years, and that everyone could have fun for free."
Yu Hanjiang stroked his chin thoughtfully. After a moment, he said, "You go back first and call the others from room 3 over."
Shu Ping turned and took two steps, then turned back to emphasize again: "I really just wanted to teach Lao Li a lesson and make him suffer a little. My daughter isn't married yet, I can't possibly kill someone and go to jail!"
Yu Hanjiang said, "Don't worry, we will investigate thoroughly."
Shu Ping breathed a sigh of relief and turned to walk away.
After she left, Yu Hanjiang turned to Xiao Lou and asked, "Is it okay for diabetic patients to stop taking insulin for a few days?"
Xiao Lou said, "It depends on the type of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is caused by a lack of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Stopping insulin will immediately endanger life. But type 2 diabetes is usually caused by diet and lifestyle habits. Insulin is used to control the condition. Sometimes, if it is well controlled, doctors will also suggest stopping it for a period of time to observe blood sugar."
Yu Hanjiang said, "So, she stole Li Zhemin's insulin just as revenge. And the motive of murder—being rejected when introducing her daughter to him—is not strong enough."
Xiao Lou said, " Captain Yu, she just said that the tour group only confirmed the list the night before departure, and the tour guide created a group chat. But Li Zhemin's death was obviously a premeditated murder. Disposable syringes and a large amount of insulin injections must have been purchased in advance, which means that the murderer may have known that Li Zhemin would be participating in this tour group and made preparations in advance."
Yu Hanjiang shared the same thought, which is why he specifically inquired about this detail earlier. He frowned and said, "The first reason someone could know in advance that Li Zhemin would be participating in this trip is the travel agency; Xiao Qin must have already had everyone's list. The second reason is someone who is close to Li Zhemin and asks him privately if he's going on the trip, thus finding out the information in advance."
Xiao Lou said, "The tour guide has no motive. It seems we should start with acquaintances who are close to Li Zhemin."
This would actually reduce the suspicion against Niu Dapeng.
He has a deep-seated grudge against Li Zhemin, so he certainly wouldn't ask him privately, "Old Li, are you going on this trip?" He didn't know beforehand that Li Zhemin was also in the team. Perhaps, when he created the group chat that night and found Li Zhemin's name in the group, Niu Dapeng was not happy about it.
He created the group chat at night and set off the next morning. In the middle of the night, he didn't have enough time to prepare syringes and insulin.
As the two were discussing, several other elderly women from room number 3 came to the office to be questioned.
Yu Hanjiang confirmed several key points mentioned by Shu Ping, and the three of them unanimously confirmed that Niu Dapeng and Li Zhemin did indeed have a grudge; the tour group was created the night before departure, and the three of them did not know that Li Zhemin would be participating.
Yu Hanjiang then interrogated Niu Dapeng.
The old man looked more haggard than his peers, which was understandable; his wife had passed away, his son's job was unsuccessful, and the family didn't have much money. He must have had a very hard life these past few years. Li Zhemin died, but judging from his expression... the old man seemed to be in good spirits.
Yu Hanjiang asked bluntly, " Li Zhemin stole your manager position back then, and his son even injured your son's eye. Did you hate him so much that you wished he were dead?"
Niu Dapeng was somewhat surprised that the flight attendant knew so much, but the old man quickly calmed down and said viciously, "That's right, I cursed him to die a horrible death every day, and I cursed his son to be childless! Why is such a beast living a better life than me?! He's finally dead now, hahaha, serves him right!"
He was emotional and made no attempt to hide his hatred for Li Zhemin.
Yu Hanjiang interrupted him and asked in a low voice, "Did you know that Li Zhemin was also in this group before we set off?"
Niu Dapeng said with a sullen face, "I don't know. I feel disgusted every time I see his face! I didn't want to come when I saw him in the group. If I hadn't already registered and booked all the tickets, and I didn't want to waste them, I wouldn't have come!"
Xiao Lou was quickly taking notes when Yu Hanjiang asked, "What were you doing after 2 a.m. last night? Did you leave room number 1?"
Niu Dapeng said, "No, but I woke up once in the middle of the night and heard someone going to the toilet next door. I saw a light through the crack in the door, and it seemed like Liu Yuming took a lamp to the toilet. He was the only one in our group who brought a rechargeable lamp. He was gone for a long time before he came back, and there were strange noises coming from the trash can, like rats. I was half asleep at the time and didn't pay attention."
Liu Yuming himself admitted that he went to the restroom at 3 o'clock.
If Liu Yuming is the murderer, after waking up at 3 a.m., he could confirm that Li Zhemin and the other two "roommates" were sound asleep, and then secretly inject Li Zhemin with insulin to kill him. Afterward, he could use the excuse of going to the toilet to throw away the murder weapon in the trash can.
Furthermore, he and Li Zhemin had a close relationship and often played cards together. Of course, he could confirm in advance whether Li Zhemin was in the tour group and make preparations a few days ahead... But what was his motive? Why would Liu Yuming want to kill Li Zhemin?
Niu Dapeng followed up, "By the way, Liu Yuming was very fond of the old version's daughter, Ruirui, back then. He and Ruirui were senior and junior classmates. He pursued her for three years, sending her flowers every day. He was extremely devoted. Originally, the young lady was moved and agreed to be his girlfriend. But after Li Zhemin came to our company, something happened. The young lady suddenly became pregnant and got engaged to Li Zhemin in a hurry."
Yu Hanjiang said, "Is that why the boss promoted his future son-in-law to manager? To replace you?"
Niu Dapeng scoffed
He scoffed, "Using women to climb the social ladder, that's all he's capable of! The young lady has really been wasted on a pig."
From this perspective, Liu Yuming also had a motive to kill; he eliminated his rival for the woman he deeply loved, making it a crime of passion.
Yu Hanjiang asked in confusion, "If they were rivals in love, why did they become friends?"
Niu Dapeng said coldly, "Who knows? At the young lady's wedding, Liu Yuming raised his glass to toast Li Zhemin and said that as long as Ruirui was happy, Li Zhemin should treat her well. He's so damn naive! Less than a year later, a pretty girl from the company started pursuing Liu Yuming, and he agreed to get married. He seemed quite happy, but it could also be an act."
Xiao Lou was getting a headache listening to this; these older folks' romantic histories were truly colorful. As a single guy, he couldn't understand the idea of "becoming friends with a rival who stole your boyfriend." Playing cards together until the early hours—were they genuinely carefree, or were they just putting on an act?
Yu Hanjiang then interrogated Liu Yuming.
Liu Yuming said, "That was a long time ago. Ruirui and I were college classmates. She was my first love. I was really deeply in love with her back then. But since she likes Li Zhemin and has decided to get married, I can only respect her opinion. Should I go and crash the wedding?"
The old man sighed softly and fell into his memories: "After the breakup, I was depressed for a long time. That's when I met my wife. She was beautiful, gentle, and took great care of me, making soup for me every day. I realized that it felt better to be pursued than to go to great lengths to pursue someone, so I married my wife. We were very happy after we got married, and we have a son."
Yu Hanjiang asked, "When you went to the bathroom at 3 a.m. last night, did you touch the trash can?"
Liu Yuming waved his hand: "No!"
Yu Hanjiang said, "Someone heard strange noises coming from the trash can when you went to the toilet."
Liu Yuming's expression changed slightly, and after a moment, she blushed and said weakly, "I... I put my watch on the table while I was eating yesterday, and it accidentally got rolled up with a napkin and I threw it away as trash. When I remembered it in the middle of the night, I secretly went to rummage through the trash. Cough cough, it's pretty embarrassing. People will think I'm a pervert if I rummage through the trash in the middle of the night."
Yu Hanjiang asked, "You lost your watch, how can you be sure it was three o'clock?"
Liu Yuming said, "I looked at the LCD screen on the top of the carriage, and it showed 3:00 at the time."
Yu Hanjiang stared sharply at him, making Liu Yuming feel uncomfortable. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he said, "That's right! If you suspect the murderer, I think Old Zheng is the most likely!"
Yu Hanjiang raised an eyebrow in surprise: "Oh? Why do you say that?"
Liu Yuming leaned closer mysteriously and said, " Zheng Weiguo is addicted to gambling. He sold his house, divorced his wife, and his son doesn't even acknowledge him... I accidentally saw an IOU in Lao Li's pocket before. Zheng Weiguo actually borrowed 8 million gold coins from Lao Li to pay off his gambling debts! Very few people know about this. Maybe Zheng Weiguo just couldn't pay back the money, which is why he decided to kill him."
Gambling debts? This is another crucial clue.
Zheng Weiguo might have a different explanation, so Yu Hanjiang immediately told him to go back and call Zheng Weiguo over.
The bald old man looked somewhat dejected, his eyes lifeless, and he said listlessly, "What do you want from me? I have no grudge against Old Li, you shouldn't be suspecting me, right?"
Yu Hanjiang asked casually, "Did you borrow 8 million from Li Zhemin and not pay it back?"
Zheng Weiguo: "…!!"
Once again taken aback by Yu Hanjiang's directness, Zheng Weiguo was dumbfounded, clearly unable to believe that the other party actually knew about this.
Yu Hanjiang followed up with, " Li Zhemin originally had an IOU for 8 million yuan that you borrowed from him, but it was gone when we searched him just now—did you take it?"
Zheng Weiguo was so shocked his eyes almost popped out. He stammered, "W-what IOU? I don't know anything about it!"
Yu Hanjiang said calmly, "Someone saw it, you don't need to deny it."
Zheng Weiguo: "..."
He thought it was a secret, but Yu Hanjiang exposed it to his face, and the old man's expression was priceless.
Yu Hanjiang said calmly, "You're addicted to gambling, you've lost all your family fortune, and your wife and son don't want you anymore. To pay off your gambling debts, you borrowed 8 million from Li Zhemin, whom you have a good relationship with. You definitely can't pay back such a large sum of money, right? So, as long as Li Zhemin dies and the IOU is torn up, you won't have to pay back the money, right?"
Zheng Weiguo: "..."
The old man looked completely bewildered, clearly terrified by Yu Hanjiang.
Yu Hanjiang stared at him and said, "Tell me, did you kill Li Zhemin? You yourself have diabetes and know that an overdose of insulin can be life-threatening, so you bought syringes and insulin injections in advance. Last night, while Liu Yuming was in the bathroom, you took advantage of the fact that everyone else was asleep and quietly injected Li Zhemin with 300U of insulin, then climbed into bed and pretended to be asleep, right?"
Zheng Weiguo suddenly snapped out of his daze, finally realizing what was happening. He shook his head vigorously, like a rattle drum, and hurriedly denied, "No, no, no, I didn't kill him! I did steal Li Zhemin's IOU, but that happened this morning... I woke up at 6:30 this morning, and the others were still asleep. When I got out of bed to go to the bathroom, I accidentally touched Old Li's body, and it was as cold as ice."
He took a deep breath and said with a terrified expression, "I checked his breathing and found he was dead! I was horrified. I wanted to call for help, but then I suddenly thought, since Old Li is dead and the other two are sound asleep, if I steal the IOU now, no one will know I borrowed money from him."
..."
At this point, Zheng Weiguo broke down in tears, sobbing uncontrollably. His voice choked with sobs as he said, "I didn't want to, but gambling is really addictive. At first, I only lost 100,000 yuan, but then I got deeper and deeper into it, and I even sold my house to gamble... The debts piled up, and they were all high-interest loans! I couldn't not pay them back, or they'd chop off my fingers..."
Yu Hanjiang frowned: "What was your reason for borrowing 8 million from Lao Li?"
Zheng Weiguo lowered his head and said, "I told him that my son was getting married and I needed to prepare a wedding house for him. Old Li is very generous with money. We've known each other for so many years, and he didn't suspect anything at all. He just lent it to me directly..."
Yu Hanjiang asked, "When did you borrow it?"
The old man gently reached out and wiped away his tears, saying, "I borrowed it five years ago. At the time, Lao Li didn't know I was gambling, nor did he know my wife had divorced me..." Faced with Yu Hanjiang's sharp gaze, he immediately lowered his head in repentance: "I was wrong, I truly know I was wrong! I shouldn't have gambled, I shouldn't have lied to Lao Li to borrow money, but... I didn't kill anyone, I swear, I only secretly tore up the IOU, I didn't kill anyone!"
He paused, then said, "It must have been Niu Dapeng. He has a grudge against Lao Li. Lao Li took his job, and Lao Li's son even injured his son's eye. The person who hates Lao Li the most is Niu Dapeng!"
Yu Hanjiang looked at Xiao Lou, who was taking notes attentively, and Xiao Lou also looked up at the same time.
Their eyes met, and both looked on with a hint of surprise.
These suspects implicated each other, thus revealing a large number of clues related to Li Zhemin.
Shu Ping introduced her daughter to Li Zhemin, but Li rejected her and even scolded her daughter for being ill-mannered. Harboring resentment, Shu Ping stole Li Zhemin's insulin to teach Li a lesson.
Niu Dapeng could have become a manager based on his own abilities, but Li Zhemin rose to power by marrying the boss's daughter, taking his managerial position. Li Zhemin's son even injured his son, and he made no attempt to hide his hatred for Li Zhemin.
Liu Yuming's beloved first love was stolen away by Li Zhemin.
Zheng Weiguo is a gambling addict and owes Li Zhemin 8 million yuan that he cannot repay.
Shu Ping identified Niu Dapeng; Niu Dapeng identified Liu Yuming; Liu Yuming identified Zheng Weiguo; Zheng Weiguo then identified Niu Dapeng.
Currently, Shu Ping's motive for murder seems insufficient, and if she were truly murdering someone, there would be no need for her to go to the trouble of stealing insulin. The other three individuals all have sufficient motives. Niu Dapeng's suspicion is reduced because he was unaware that Li Zhemin had joined the tour group beforehand. Zheng Weiguo and Liu Yuming, both outwardly appearing to be friends with Li Zhemin, could easily have known that Li was also on the trip and had planned ahead.
Who is the murderer?
Are there any loopholes in what they said?
Yu Hanjiang picked up the key points that Xiao Lou had neatly organized in his handwriting, frowned, and fell into deep thought.