The Interrogation

Wei Ying continued to sleep for the next couple of hours. Jiang Yanli simply let him. She knew how exhausted he had to be, what with everything that was going on. He deserved to have as much rest as possible.

Lan Zhan eventually sent her a text message just after three o'clock, telling her that he was on his way to pick him up. She gave him a quick response before gathering Wei Ying's books and laptop and putting them in his bag. After that, she tried to wake him up, but he didn't stir once. He really must have been tired.

Wei Ying was still slumbering when there was a knock on the door several minutes later. Jiang Yanli went to open it.

"Hello, didi. Come in," she greeted when she saw Lan Zhan.

"Thank you, Shijie," he murmured. He noticed then how quiet it was as he entered the house. "Where is Wei Ying?"

She gestured to the living room. "In here. He has been sleeping since about one o'clock, or a little before then."

Lan Zhan looked rather worried. "I am noticing that he is taking more naps than usual. For as long as I have known him, he rarely did, and certainly not in as many days in a row. He had had one on Tuesday," he further explained when she looked puzzled.

"No, he hasn't. And you know how he is about sleep..."

He did quite well. They both knew that if given the choice, Wei Ying never would if he didn't have to.

"...I can't say that I blame him, though. I know how worn out he must be. Did A-Xian get enough sleep last night?"

"No. He said that he was unable to for a long time," Lan Zhan replied.

"Ohhh." She didn't blame him, having had trouble getting to sleep herself after what happened.

"How has he been since I left?"

Jiang Yanli sighed and shook her head morosely. "Not good at all. I could tell that something was upsetting Xianxian while he was studying; he was distracted all morning."

"Did he tell you what it was?"

"Yes, but not until we were in the middle of having lunch. He thinks that it's his fault that A-Cheng and A-Ning were arrested."

Lan Zhan's brow furrowed. "Still?"

"What do you mean, 'still'?"

"He blamed himself for this last night."

"Oh. Well yes, he still does. He also said that it would be his fault if he or one of us gets hurt. I told him that it wasn't, but I know that he will always think that it is, even if he is told otherwise. He broke down and cried too, Zhanzhan. I didn't know what to do. And then, after I told him - again - that it wasn't his fault..." She glanced at Wei Ying. "...he spaced out."

He laid a hand on her arm. "He spaced out? What happened when he did?" he demanded urgently.

Jiang Yanli pursed her lips. "A-Xian stopped crying all of a sudden and stared into space. Like he saw something only he could see, but I couldn't. Then he seemed as if he was having trouble breathing. I thought it was a panic attack at first, but now I believe that he may have been having a flashback," she remarked dejectedly.

"Did he do or say anything while that was happening?"

She shook her head. "No, but he looked terrified and sick to his stomach. I asked him what was wrong when I managed to catch his attention, but he wouldn't tell me anything. He didn't want me to call you either. But I knew something was the matter. I don't know why Xianxian couldn't tell me what it was. He can usually tell me or you just about anything."

Lan Zhan sighed heavily. "Mn. That is true. Wei Ying likely did not want you to be even more worried about him. You know how he is. I will ask him if he wants to talk about everything later."

"All right. Let me know what he says."

"I will. I had better wake him up now so that we can go home."

"Good luck. He wouldn't when I tried to before you came."

Humming, Lan Zhan knelt down in front of Wei Ying and shook him gently. "Baobei...baobei, wake up. I am here," he murmured.

The latter didn't move right then, but stirred when he shook him again. However, he didn't open his eyes.

"Wake up, Wei Ying," he whispered.

This time, he did, running a hand over his face. He smiled after he came into focus. "Hi Lan Zhan. Is it after three already?"

"Mn. Hello, baobei." He leaned forward to kiss Wei Ying on the lips when he reached for him. Then he embraced him. "How are you feeling?"

"Still sleepy. But I guess I'm okay otherwise," he responded, wiping his eyes.

Lan Zhan stroked his hair. "Are you sure?"

Wei Ying nodded somewhat hesitantly.

"Mmm," he grunted, deciding to let it go for the time being. "Are you ready to go home?"

"Yeah. Just let me get my things."

"Don't worry about that, A-Xian. I already did that for you. Everything is in your book bag," Jiang Yanli piped up.

And indeed, this was true.

"Oh. Thank you, Shijie. You didn't have to do that, you know."

"I do, but I wanted to anyway."

Wei Ying actually chuckled at this. Lan Zhan and Jiang Yanli couldn't help but smile. It was so good to hear him laugh. They had missed it.

He stood and neatly folded the blanket that had been covering him.

"You can leave it on that couch, Xianxian. I'll get it later," his sister remarked as he looked around for somewhere to put it.

He nodded and did just that.

After gathering his book bag and putting his coat on, Wei Ying embraced her tightly. "Thank you for having me over, A-Jie. I'll see you on Saturday," he mumbled.

Jiang Yanli rubbed his hair. "You're welcome. Are you coming back tomorrow? Neither you or Lan Zhan-didi mentioned if you were," she said.

He shrugged. "I don't know, to be honest. But once I do, I'll tell you, or Lan Zhan will."

"All right. Be careful getting home, you two. Call me if you need anything."

"We will," Lan Zhan murmured as she hugged him.

"Have you heard from A-Cheng or A-Ning at all?" Wei Ying queried next.

She shook her head. "No, but Qingqing called while you were asleep. She said that they were going to have a meeting with the dean of the college today. They must not have left there yet because she hasn't told me anything else. But they asked her to tell you that they will call you later."

"Oh. Okay," he whispered, his stomach aching with unease. He hoped that they wouldn't be expelled. It was quite possible that they would be, however, especially if the dean had seen the video. They had given Wen Chao such a brutal ass-beating that he would be amazed - but relieved and grateful - if they weren't. He felt wretched enough that they were locked up as it was.

Jiang Yanli regretted telling him this as soon as she saw the look on his face. Perhaps it would have been a better idea to have waited until everything about the meeting was known.

"It will be all right, Xianxian," she comforted as she embraced him. "You know that the dean is fair, whatever else can be said about him."

"Yeah. Maybe."

She smiled a little. "I'll let you two go now. I know you both have things to take care of."

"Okay. We'll see you on Saturday, then, if not tomorrow."

Lan Zhan nodded once.

"All right. I love you both."

"We love you too, Shijie."

They left and got in the car, waving to her after putting on their seat belts. She waved back as they drove off.

Neither of them spoke right away. Wei Ying had taken to looking out of the window while Lan Zhan concentrated on the road.

After a few minutes, the latter cleared his throat.

"Shijie told me that you had a rough day today," he announced in a low voice.

Wei Ying nodded slowly, but didn't say anything, still watching the outside world zoom past.

He pursed his lips. "Mmm. Do you want to talk about it when we get home?" he queried next.

"...No. Maybe another time. I still have to catch up with everything, and I really don't want to think about any of that while I am."

Wei Ying could tell from the silence that followed that he was not exactly happy with his response. Nevertheless, he knew that he wouldn't force him to discuss the matter with him either.

"I understand," Lan Zhan eventually said. "But when you are ready to, I am here. Or if I am not, you may call me."

"I know, sweetheart. Thank you," he murmured, reaching over to squeeze his hand.

Lan Zhan became quiet again before changing the subject. "You have to return to the hospital soon for your testing. When did you want to go?"

Wei Ying blinked. What with everything that had happened during the last two days, he had forgotten all about that.

"Um...I guess we can tomorrow, after you come home from work. I don't really feel like going today. Saturday might be better, though. There will be more time, and we can be out of there before we go to Jiang-shushu's house."

"Mn. I can take you on Saturday. That will not be any trouble."

"Okay."

As it was, when nothing is going your way to begin with, it often doesn't get better. Wei Ying's phone rang at that moment, distracting him from the conversation. He frowned when he glanced at the number. It was one that he was unfamiliar with.

He answered it warily, in case it was a spam call. "Hello?" he said.

"Good afternoon. Am I speaking to Mr. Wei Wuxian?" a deep voice inquired on the the other end.

"Yes. Who is this?" he returned.

"I am Detective Gang Yin from the police department. I would like to know if you would be able to come here today so that I can speak to you and continue the investigation. If not, I can arrange for another day that is amenable for you."

Wei Ying couldn't think of what to tell him at first. On one hand, this was the last thing that he felt like doing right then. At the same time, he knew that it would be better to get it over with.

"Hold on, please," he requested after a momentary silence.

"Certainly, sir."

Wei Ying covered the phone before explaining the situation to Lan Zhan. The latter's expression became serious as he listened. When he was finished, he turned to him.

"You don't have to do this today if that is not what you want, baobao. The detective gave you that option," he pointed out. He could see how nervous he looked, and how exhausted he still was.

Wei Ying exhaled deeply. "I know. But the longer I wait, the more I'll probably put it off. And I just want all of this to be over."

"Mmm. So do I," Lan Zhan agreed with a sigh of his own. "If you want, we will have an early dinner before I take you there. We can be there before five thirty. He or someone else there will more than likely want to speak to me too. And if they do not at the moment, I can still be with you unless he wants to speak to you alone. But only if you are up to it."

He nodded. "That's fine. I'll let him know, then." He put the phone back to his ear. "Hello, Detective Gang? Are you still there?"

"Yes, sir," he replied.

"I can be there by five thirty, if that's all right."

"Very well. I will be expecting you. But please let me know if you change your mind and want to reschedule."

"I will. Thank you."

"You are welcome."

And Detective Gang hung up.

When Wei Ying and Lan Zhan arrived at home a minute or two afterwards, they had their tea before the latter began to cook dinner. The former spent that time preparing for his meeting with the detective, gathering everything that he would need for it. Lan Zhan helped whenever he could take a break from cooking and made sure that he didn't forget anything.

Wei Ying informed his family about the meeting when he was done. Uncle Jiang asked him to tell him how it went later, and to let him know if there was anything that he could do. Jiang Yanli was anxious about it, but was also encouraging.

"Don't be scared either, Xianxian. I know you must be, but the detective is there to give you the help you need. Just focus on telling him everything he needs to know and do what you have to do," she added.

"Okay, Jiejie," he murmured.

"Good. And please be careful when you go. Check your surroundings before and after you leave the police department."

"Don't worry. I will."

He sent a text message to Jiang Cheng, in case he was busy or still at the college. He didn't receive an answer, but that was not unexpected. He knew he would talk to him when he could.

Wei Ying joined Lan Zhan in the kitchen after that, and it was not long before they were having dinner. The former wondered if it was good idea to eat anything as they started on their meal. Just the idea of having to talk about Wen Chao made him nauseated. He knew that he would only feel worse when he actually was.

And indeed, his stomach was in knots by the time they were getting ready to leave. His anxiety had increased tenfold.

Lan Zhan noticed this and placed a hand on his back. "Wei Ying, are you sure that you want to do this today? You know that you don't have to. Detective Gang will understand if you change your mind," he stated.

"I'm not sure at all," was his truthful reply. "But as I said earlier, I don't want to put it off. Nothing will get any better if I wait. Everything would just be delayed, and W-...that bastard won't get the rest of what is coming to him fast enough if it does."

With a nod, Lan Zhan drew him in for a kiss. "Mn. That is true, and I'm so proud of you, baobei. No matter what happens, I will make sure that you will be all right."

Wei Ying smiled a little as he brushed his hair away from his face. He knew that he would.

"Let's go. Detective Gang will be expecting us soon."

"Yeah."

Neither of them spoke as they made their way across town. Wei Ying spent a majority of the ride wondering how the interrogation would go. He hoped that he wouldn't burst into tears in front of Detective Gang. He felt that he had done enough crying already.

Of course, he remembered that he hadn't when he was at the hospital, but this time could be completely different.

All too soon, Lan Zhan was parking in front of the police headquarters. They didn't get out of the car right away, wanting to be sure that it was safe to first.

Much to their relief, nothing seemed to be out of place. Even so, they kept an watchful eye on their surroundings until they were inside.

The police department was bustling as they walked over to the front desk. Officers were going to and fro, speaking on their phones or to one another. There were other people there as well, for reasons of their own. Some were standing while rest were sitting on benches.

"Yes? How may I help you?" the officer behind the desk inquired with curt politeness.

"I am Wei Wuxian. I am here to speak to Detective Gang Yin," Wei Ying responded.

The officer inclined his head and asked him and Lan Zhan to sign a visitor's log. He also requested to see their identification cards. Once everything was taken care of, he picked up a phone.

"You may go and have a seat. I will call him, and he should be down soon," he remarked.

They thanked him and sat on an unoccupied bench, in case they had to wait a bit longer than they thought. However, only a short time had passed when two uniformed men entered the room. One of them was burly with a rigid expression. The other was muscular and looked quite solemn.

"Mr. Wei Wuxian?" the burly officer announced. It was Detective Gang; Wei Ying recognized his voice.

He and Lan Zhan stood up. "Here I am," the former declared.

Detective Gang held out his hand to shake theirs. "Good evening. How are you?" he greeted before introducing himself, mostly for Lan Zhan's benefit. "And this is my partner, Detective Ding Zhou," he added, gesturing to him.

"Hello," Wei Ying said as they shook his hand too.

Detective Ding nodded. "Good evening."

After Lan Zhan also introduced himself, Detective Gang waved his hand. "Please, come with us. We have a lot that we need to talk about."

"Can my fiancé join us? Or should he wait out here?" Wei Ying queried.

They thought over his questions for a moment before Detective Gang nodded.

"Yes, that would be fine. We will allow him to sit with you for emotional support. However," he went on sternly as he turned to Lan Zhan, "you must not interrupt us while we speak to him, or we will be forced to end the interrogation. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," he replied.

They were then led to an office a few floors up. Once they were all sitting, the detectives read Wei Ying his rights and discussed other important information with him. The questioning started after that.

"What can you tell us about the experience?" Detective Ding asked.

"And take your time, There is no rush. Begin at the beginning," Detective Gang added in a firm, but reassuring voice.

Wei Ying was still extremely nervous, but he composed himself as much as he able to and did as he requested. Lan Zhan massaged his arm gently.

As Doctor Tang and Nurse Li had, the detectives listened to him closely. They took notes, and only spoke when asking something or commenting on what he said.

"Could you tell us more about what Wen Chao was wearing that night? Did his clothes have any designs on them?" Detective Gang inquired.

Wei Ying bit his lip as he tried to remember. "His red hoodie had black diamond patterns on it. His boots were also black, and his jeans were blue, but I don't think they had anything on them," he responded.

"I see. Did he have anything with him?"

"A brown bottle of liquor. I think it said Yanghe Daqu, but I'm not sure. He still had it with him after he...assaulted me."

They nodded pensively.

"Please continue," Detective Ding said.

Wei Ying proceeded to describe what he had been wearing after that. He recounted the conversation and the fight that he had with Wen Chao too. He gave them the name of the street when they wanted to know specifically where it did. He told them about the stores that were on that block as well.

"Was anyone nearby while this was going on? Anyone that you know of?" Detective Ding queried.

"There were some people around, but they were gone by the time Wen Chao started to talk to me. It had started to rain, and they were in a hurry to get to where they were going."

A lump rose in Wei Ying's throat as he explained what happened after he was pulled into the alleyway twice before being assaulted. He told them what the knife looked like, how much it had hurt as Wen Chao raped him, and how terrified he had been.

"I was afraid that he would actually kill me," he continued in a thick voice. He had only just managed to hold back his tears. "If he wasn't holding that knife to my throat, I would have kept trying to fight him. I felt so ashamed and weak for...for letting my fear get the best of me. For letting him take advantage of my fear."

Detective Gang pursed his lips. "I understand. But you have no reason to feel ashamed, Mr. Wei. You are not weak. You were just trying to survive."

Next to him, Lan Zhan bobbed his head in agreement.

"Do you know how long the assault lasted?"

"No...but it seemed to go on forever," Wei Ying mumbled. Then he told them what Wen Chao said to him afterwards, about the threat, and being spat on before he was pushed to the ground. "I didn't get up for a while, in case he came back. But when he didn't, I picked up my book bag and umbrella and went home."

"The same book bag and umbrella that were given to the police who questioned you that night?"

"Yes."

"And do you know what happened to the condom he had?"

He shook his head. "No. I don't know what he did with it."

After that, he finished telling them the rest of the story, ending with his exam and interrogation at the hospital. The detectives wrote down everything before addressing Lan Zhan.

"Mr. Wei said that you opened the door for him when he arrived home. Can you describe what he looked like when you saw him?" Detective Gang asked.

Lan Zhan nodded a second time. "Mn. The first thing I noticed was that he was shaking, and that his hair and clothes were wet. So were his backpack and umbrella. Both of his knees were bleeding. His neck had a cut on it. And he had bruises on his forehead and wrists," he explained.

"Any other injuries?"

"His hips had bruises on them too, but I did not find this out after he told me about the assault."

"I see. Was he crying?"

"Not at that moment. But he looked numb...as if he were in shock. I knew something was wrong, but he was too afraid to tell me what happened at first. I thought that he had been beat up or mugged until he did."

"That is understandable."

They questioned him some more to see if their stories corroborated with each other's. When they had all of the information that they needed, they started to gather up their notes.

"Well, everything that you told us is pretty consistent with the evidence and your first interrogation so far. And before we wrap this up, I have one more question. Is what happened yesterday between Jiang Wanyin, Wen Qionglin, and Wen Chao related to this case?"

It was quiet for a moment before Wei Ying gave a careful nod.

"How so? Did you them about the incident?"

"Only my brother and our family, but I didn't tell Wen Qionglin. My brother must have done that."

Detective Ding leaned forward. "Did you ask either of them to beat him up for you? I advise you answer this question truthfully. We can easily draw up your phone records and find out."

Wei Ying shook his head once more. "No. I didn't ask them to, but...but they did tell me that they would look for him. They were furious when they found out about what he did to me."

Detective Gang scowled. "Did you tell them not to? Try to make them decide against it?"

"No. I wanted to, but I had a feeling that they wouldn't have listened to me if I had. I hoped that they would change their minds since I never asked them to do that. But they didn't and got arrested."

"I see. Lan Wangji, were you aware that they had planned to fight Wen Chao? Did you say anything to you?"

He said no as well. "But Wei Ying is right when he said that his brother was upset. I was there when he told him and their family what happened. Wen Qionglin was also when I confirmed that everything was true. He asked if it was during school yesterday."

"In person?"

"Yes."

The detectives appeared to be satisfied with their responses, for they did not press the subject any further. They could tell that neither of them were lying.

"That is all for now, then. We will contact you both if we need to speak to you again, or if we have any more questions. Before you leave, do you have any for us?" Detective Ding queried.

Wei Ying nodded. "Is there any way that I can file for a restraining order against Wen Chao, just in case something happens?"

"Of course, Mr. Wei. That will not be a problem. We can take care of that for you right now."

For his safety, Lan Zhan asked if he could too, and they agreed. There were other things to do and more paperwork to sign in addition to that, so they were there for a good deal longer. Wei Ying was relieved when he finally handed them the last document. His brain felt as if it had been wrung out.

"Thank you for coming," Detective Gang said as he and his partner led them back to the front entrance. "As we told you before, we will contact you again soon. You are also free to call me or Detective Ding if you need anything else. We will be doing everything we can to bring you justice, Mr. Wei."

He hoped so. It was clear that they took their job seriously, but a part of him wondered if they truly wished to help him. What if they were secretly judging or laughing at him? He dreaded the idea of it.

The detectives shook his and Lan Zhan's hands after they were in front of the door and bid them good-bye. Just as they were about to leave, however, a familiar voice called out to them.

"Wei Wuxian! Lan Wangji!"

They turned to see Nie Mingjue approaching them. A look of concern filled his expression.

"I knew that I would be seeing you two here at some point," he stated. He said hello to Lan Zhan, then gave Wei Ying a one-armed embrace. "Did you just finish talking to someone?"

"Yeah," the latter sighed. "They'll follow up with us soon."

"Good. How are you feeling?"

"Tired as hell. I'm ready to go back home."

Nie Mingjue harrumphed. "You and me both. Interrogations can be so damn exhausting. Come on. I'll go outside with you and Lan Wangji. I was on my way out for lunch when I saw you."

"Oh. Working late?"

"Unfortunately."

He joined them in scoping the area around the police department before escorting them to their car.

"Thanks, Da-ge. Tell A-Sang that I'll talk to him soon," Wei Ying said as he got in.

"Don't mention it. Let me know how everything is going from time to time. And don't forget that you can ask me for anything if you need it."

"I won't."

Nie Mingjue nodded to Lan Zhan. "Make sure he stays safe, Wangji. Say hello to Er-ge for me."

The latter inclined his head in return. "Mn."

They said good-bye to him and sped away. Wei Ying watched in the rearview mirror as Nie Mingjue saw them off before heading down the street in the opposite direction.