Dongfang Garden Residential Complex
Unit 3-502
The homeowner, Yu Hefeng, is a 50-year-old middle manager at a company.
Both he and his wife have decent incomes, with only one daughter to care for, so they don't feel much financial pressure.
With extra money on hand, they even invested in an apartment property.
After dinner, Yu Hefeng sat on the sofa, picking his teeth with a toothpick while watching TV.
His daughter had gone back to her room, and his wife was cleaning up in the kitchen.
Life was comfortable and peaceful for Yu Hefeng—maybe too peaceful. It felt a bit boring at times.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Knock knock.
"Who is it?"
"Gas inspection," came a woman's voice from outside.
"Yu Wei, go open the door."
"Why don't you go?" a voice grumbled from the bedroom.
"Because I'm your dad, haha."
"You and your lame old jokes. So cringe," said a girl of about twenty as she reluctantly came out of the bedroom to open the door.
As soon as the door opened, Yu Wei was startled. "Who are you?"
"Police."
Tian Li was the first to enter, followed by Li Hui, Han Bin, Zeng Ping, Zhao Ming, and others.
"Why are you in my house?" Yu Hefeng stood up, the toothpick dropping from his mouth.
"We're from the Criminal Investigation Division," said Zeng Ping, flashing his badge. "Are you Yu Hefeng?"
"Yes, that's me. What's going on?"
"We suspect you're involved in a blackmail case. Please come with us to assist in the investigation."
"You must have the wrong person—I would never blackmail anyone!" Yu protested.
"This is a summons warrant," Zeng Ping replied calmly.
"I'm innocent!"
"If you really are innocent, then you should cooperate. That's the fastest way to clear your name," Han Bin added.
"Cuff him."
"Everyone else—search the house. Go through his personal belongings, especially his computer and phone. Leave nothing unchecked."
"You can't just search our house like that!" Yu Wei shouted.
Han Bin took out a search warrant from his pocket. "Please cooperate."
"You've got it all wrong—my husband would never do something like blackmail!" Yu's wife, Yang Lin, stood protectively in front of him.
Zeng Ping stepped forward sternly:
"Yu Hefeng, you know exactly what you did in that apartment. Should I spell it out in front of your wife?"
Yu's expression changed immediately.
"Don't… I'll cooperate," he muttered, lowering his head, unable to meet the eyes of his wife and daughter.
"What did you do, Hefeng?" Yang Lin demanded, noticing something was clearly wrong from her husband's demeanor.
"Captain Zeng, we found a laptop in the study," Han Bin reported.
"Whose is it?"
"Mine," Yu said, voice trembling slightly.
"And your phone?" Zeng Ping asked.
"On the sofa."
Han Bin collected both the laptop and phone.
Li Hui and the others didn't find anything else suspicious.
At the station, Yu Hefeng was taken in for interrogation.
Zeng Ping led the questioning, with Zhao Ming taking notes.
Han Bin, Tian Li, and Li Hui observed from the monitoring room.
"Name, gender, age, place of origin…"
"Yu Hefeng, male, 50…"
Zeng Ping went straight to the point.
"Do you know why we brought you in?"
"I… I don't know."
"Let me be clear—we have enough evidence against you. Don't try to play games. Refusing to cooperate will only make things worse."
Yu hesitated, testing the waters:
"Which incident are you referring to?"
Zeng Ping sneered. "From the way you're talking, sounds like there's more than one. Fine, let's go through them one by one—I've got time."
"No, no! Just one! I only did one thing!" Yu quickly corrected himself.
"I installed a surveillance camera in the apartment I rent out."
"Where?"
"In the bathroom."
"You're not young anymore. You have a decent job. What were you thinking?" Zeng Ping demanded.
"I just got carried away for a thrill. I didn't mean to hurt anyone."
"You filmed a young woman without her consent, then used the footage to blackmail her for money. If that's not harming someone, what is?"
"Blackmail?" Yu looked genuinely surprised. "No, I didn't! I only installed the camera. I sometimes watched the videos, but I never blackmailed anyone."
"Oh really? Still trying to be slick, huh?" Zeng Ping snorted.
"I swear I'm telling the truth. I'm not short on money. Why would I blackmail someone?"
"Didn't you just say you did it for the thrill?" Zhao Ming pointed out.
"I really didn't! I'm innocent!"
Zeng Ping held up some photos. "Have you seen this envelope before?"
"No."
"This USB drive?"
"No."
Zeng Ping gave a cold laugh and bluffed:
"Still lying? We matched the fingerprint on this envelope to the fingerprint on your rental agreement. It's identical. Who else could it be?"
Yu stared at the evidence, confused.
"That's impossible. I've never seen that envelope before!"
"Let me say it one more time. We already have plenty of evidence. This is your chance to come clean and possibly get a lighter sentence. Understand?"
"Sir, I admit I installed the camera, but I swear I never blackmailed anyone! I never did that. What more do you want me to say?"
"Did you show the hidden footage to anyone else?"
"No."
"Did anyone else use your computer?"
"No."
The interrogation lasted over two hours, but no matter what Zeng Ping said, Yu Hefeng only admitted to secretly recording—not to blackmail.
After the session, Zeng Ping and Zhao Ming left the room and regrouped with Han Bin, Tian Li, and Li Hui.
"Damn it, two hours of questioning. I'm parched," Zeng Ping muttered, chugging water.
"That guy's stubborn. Even with you personally interrogating, he only admitted to half the crime," Li Hui commented.
Zeng Ping slammed the cup down.
"No matter what I said, he just wouldn't admit to the blackmail."
"I think he knows the law," Tian Li said. "He realizes voyeurism is a lighter offense, but blackmail is more serious. He's gambling that he can weasel out of the harsher charge."
"Any updates from forensics?"
"The tech team checked the laptop. It has spyware installed and footage of Chen Luyan—clear evidence of illegal surveillance," Han Bin reported.
Zeng Ping narrowed his eyes. "Binzi, you usually speak cautiously. Sounds like you're implying something."
"I watched the whole interrogation just now. Honestly, Yu Hefeng didn't seem like he was lying."
"But you just said the evidence confirms he did the spying," Li Hui said.
"Exactly. All the current evidence proves he's guilty of voyeurism. But nothing directly proves he's the one who did the blackmailing. If we're being precise—this might be two separate cases."
"You have proof?" Zeng Ping asked.
Han Bin shook his head. "Just a gut feeling."
(End of Chapter)