The Other Shore 6. Conspiracy is easy to see

  Ding! Astonished, the orange-red digits "11" stared back at me. My conditioned reflex was to dodge, but before I could move, the door swung open and a group of uniformed men rushed out, "Don't move!"

  It's been a long time since I've seen such a big fuss!

  Several batons, two police guns, a group of policemen surrounded us. The crowd exclaimed: "Xia Zhu? How is it you?" I saw Xu Jianglun's square face through the crowd, his astonished eyes, this time he couldn't even force out a bitter smile.

  As I sat in the police car being taken to the station, I was still thinking about one thing: how did I end up like this? The whole night could be summed up with the four words "ghostly possession", everything started from that suspected "nightmare" dream, and afterwards I was as if possessed by an evil spirit, step by step jumping into this deep pit.

  And another person who was treated equally and sat next to me, had a completely opposite mood. Casting a sidelong glance, I saw Gao Cheng closing his eyes, nodding off to sleep, completely ignoring the two serious-looking detectives sitting on either side of him.

  Xu Jianglun glanced at me several times from the rearview mirror, his eyes filled with suspicion. I could only pray that knowing a police officer friend like him would bring some perks when we got to the other side.

  When the car stopped, Gao Cheng's head hit the back of the front seat, and then he looked at me with a resentful face. The implication in his eyes was that I hadn't reminded him or held him back. Returning a favor, I gave him a disdainful look.

  As I stepped into the police station, I was separated from Kojou immediately.

  Xu Jianglun led me into a windowless room, where there was only a long table and two chairs, nothing else, giving people a sense of oppression and suffocation. I understood in my heart that this was the interrogation room, thanks to Gao Cheng's generosity, I "had the good fortune" to experience it, and might have to spend several hours here.

  Just as I sat down in the chair according to Xu Jianglun's instructions, the door was pushed open from outside. The cold-faced detective who walked in also knew me, his name was Zhang Ji, and we had met briefly during the day, which left a deep impression on me. He quickly glanced at me and then said to Xu Jianglun: "I'll take over the interrogation here, you can leave first."

  "But..."

  Zhang Ji gave Xu Jianglun a stern look that shut him up, and when he left the door, his eyes only had a helpless love for me, my heart sank.

  Zhang Ji sat across from me, holding a notebook and pen in his hand, with his head down writing something on the paper. Suddenly he asked in a low voice: "Name?" I was stunned for two seconds before reacting that he was asking me, and hastily replied: "Xia Zhu."

  "How old?"

  “24。”

  After a simple record, Zhang Ji finally raised his head and looked at me with a cold gaze. It made me even more timid, and after being stared at for a while, I heard him ask in a low voice: "Where were you from November 20th to 21st?"

  I was taken aback, thinking he would ask about the time I was caught with Gao Cheng at the Wu's house. But instead, he suddenly asked about a few days ago? It's currently the 23rd, early in the morning, and the Wu father-daughter duo fell from the building just yesterday morning. He's asking about the two days before Mr. Wu died. After thinking for a moment, I replied truthfully: "I was at the gallery during the day, my employees can vouch for me."

  "What about tonight?"

  "After six o'clock I'm always at home."

  "Are there any witnesses?"

  I fell silent for a moment, "Officer Zhang, I live alone."

  "That's it?"

  I could only nod. But just as I nodded, Zhang Ji suddenly slammed his hand on the table, giving me a big fright, and then I heard him sternly ask: "Why did you want to go to the scene tonight? Have you known Gao Cheng for a long time? Who is the murderer who killed Wu Yan's father and daughter, you or Gao Cheng? Or are you two conspiring together?"

  I stared at him in horror, the questions getting sharper and sharper until they finally pointed directly at me and Gao Cheng as the murderers. Instinctively I shook my head: "No, I'm not." And subconsciously added another sentence: "We didn't collude."

  But then Zhang Ji got up from his chair, put his hands on the table and leaned in close to me, "Xia Zhu, what I meant by 'collusion' wasn't referring to the Wu Yan father-daughter falling case, but rather...the Donggang Villa massacre case."