The interrogation room fell into a brief silence.
Han Bin raised his chin slightly. "What, nothing to say now?"
Yu Wei bit her lip. "Do you have any proof that I went to Anyang Apartments?"
"There's surveillance footage from the taxi. You're a smart woman — you know what that means."
Han Bin kept a close eye on her. He noticed that people often bite their lips when they're feeling anxious, uncomfortable, or nervous — and she was doing exactly that.
"I did go to Xuanfeng Internet Café, but that doesn't mean I was writing a blackmail letter," Yu Wei tried to change the subject.
Her attitude showed she was beginning to waver.
Han Bin pressed on, continuing to break down her defenses: "There's surveillance in the internet café too. We clearly saw you writing the blackmail letter, using a USB drive and an envelope. It's all on record."
"Plenty of USB drives and envelopes look the same. You can't just say it's a blackmail letter because of that," she argued.
"But the blackmail photos — you took them with your phone, didn't you? That's unique," Han Bin shot back.
Yu Wei's face changed slightly. She took a deep breath. "There are no such photos on my phone."
"What if I find them?" Han Bin said with a slight smirk.
"If you can find them, I'll confess," Yu Wei snapped, meeting his gaze defiantly.
"Your phone is already with the tech team. Even if you deleted the photos, we can recover them," Han Bin replied.
Yu Wei's body trembled slightly. Panic began to show on her face.
"Still not going to confess?"
Yu Wei stayed silent.
"Then we'll wait — wait for the tech team to recover the photos from your phone," Han Bin said, leaning back in his chair and getting comfortable.
"But by then, don't count on any leniency."
"If you don't confess now, your sentence could be much heavier. And who knows if your boyfriend will wait for you to get out?" Tian Li added with a hint of sarcasm.
"Hmph, even with a lighter sentence, he wouldn't wait for me," Yu Wei scoffed.
"Maybe not, but your mother definitely will," Tian Li said seriously.
Yu Wei's voice quivered, "Does my mom know I've been arrested?"
"She's outside right now. Do you want to see her?"
Yu Wei shook her head and covered her face with both hands. She began to sob. "I didn't think you'd actually catch me…"
"Did your father know you were blackmailing Chen Luyan with those photos?" Han Bin asked, taking advantage of the moment.
"No. He's just a perverted creep who only knows how to sneak around and take dirty pictures," she answered, disgusted.
"You're still young and have your whole life ahead of you. Why do something like this?" Tian Li sighed.
Yu Wei wiped away her tears. "Money. I needed money."
Tian Li walked over and handed her a tissue. "You're their only daughter. If you needed money, why didn't you ask your parents? Why resort to blackmail?"
"You saw my boyfriend at the café, right? Don't you think he's handsome?" Yu Wei asked, avoiding the question.
"He's decent-looking," Tian Li nodded.
"I'm just average. A lot of people say I don't deserve someone like him. What do you think?" Yu Wei pressed.
"You spent a lot of money to keep him around, didn't you?" Han Bin recalled the shopping trip they'd witnessed.
"Yeah… I racked up a lot of online debt."
"You really think buying his love with money is what you want?" Tian Li asked.
"Being with him made me happy. That was enough," Yu Wei forced a smile.
Yu Wei confessed.
And her family… fell apart.
Her mother, Yang Lin, had also arrived at the station.
In the lounge, she sobbed uncontrollably.
She'd spent her whole life being a devoted wife and mother, just wanting her husband and daughter to live a peaceful, happy life.
Now, her husband had been detained for voyeurism and fired from his job.
Her daughter had been arrested for blackmail and was facing prison time.
To her, it felt like the sky had collapsed.
Tian Li stayed with her for half an hour, comforting her before finally putting her in a taxi home.
The case was closed. The members of Second Squad finally breathed a sigh of relief.
They had seen too many stories of joy and sorrow — like this one.
Being too emotional simply didn't work for a detective. If they cried with every grieving victim, how could they solve crimes?
Now that the case was wrapped up, they could finally take a break from their nonstop workload.
Han Bin made himself a cup of coffee, leaned back in his chair, propped his legs up on the desk, and took a slow sip, savoring the moment.
"Binzi, don't you usually drink tea? What's with the coffee today?" Zeng Ping asked with a yawn.
"Just switching it up a bit. A little indulgence to stay sharp," Han Bin chuckled.
"Which do you think works better to stay awake, coffee or tea?" Zeng Ping asked, sipping from his own cup.
"Captain Zeng, you probably have the most experience with that," Li Hui joked.
"I haven't had much coffee, never got used to it."
"Doesn't matter if it's coffee or tea — if you drink too much, you build up tolerance. When I first joined the force, one cup of tea would keep me up all night. Now I can drink a whole pot and still sleep fine," Tian Li chimed in.
"She's got a point," Han Bin nodded. "I usually drink coffee when I'm just killing time. When I'm actually thirsty, tea's better — at least it won't give me heartburn."
Zhao Ming, who hadn't been a cop for long, was still affected by the emotional side of cases. He asked, "Do you think Yu Wei regrets it now?"
"Whether she regrets it or not, the crime is already committed. Regret doesn't change anything," Tian Li said plainly.
"You know what really puzzles me about this case?" Li Hui added. "Back in school, it was always the guys spending money to impress the girls. Now it's reversed — the girls are spending money, even racking up debt. That's just dumb."
"Hui-ge, that's where you're wrong," Zhao Ming grinned. "Girls these days love handsome guys. As long as the guy's good-looking, nothing else matters."
"Point to Professor Yu," Li Hui joked, dragging out his words.
"Watch it, Li Hui," Tian Li raised her fist. "Don't go stirring up trouble."
Li Hui quickly took a step back. "Hey now, let's keep things civil."
"Come on, Hui-ge, you really think she could hurt you?" Zhao Ming laughed. Tian Li was pretty petite — a few punches from her wouldn't do much.
"As your senior, let me give you a bit of advice," Li Hui said seriously. "In this team, out of everyone, the one you don't want to mess with… is 'Sister Tian.' Watch yourself."
"All right, enough clowning around," Zeng Ping waved a hand. "Let's clean up — dinner's on me tonight."
"Yeah! Long live Captain Zeng!"
"We were waiting for that!"
"Let's vote — what are we eating tonight?" The office burst into cheerful chaos.
"Hey, what's going on in here? You all forget you're on duty?" A stern voice cut through the noise.
It was Zheng Kaixuan, stone-faced, clutching his ever-present thermos.
"Captain Zheng!"
"Sir!"
Everyone straightened up and greeted him.
"What are you all so excited about?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing much — we just closed a case. Everyone's happy," Zeng Ping said casually. "What brings you here?"
A rare smile crept onto Zheng Kaixuan's serious face:
"I'm here to mooch dinner."
"Boo!"
The whole room groaned and laughed, realizing they'd been played.
(End of Chapter)