A Web of Lies and Truth

Through the iron bars, Yan Liang finally saw Zhang Chao in person.

He had seen photos and surveillance footage of Zhang Chao before, and the man had always struck him as unassuming. But now, face-to-face, he found the man to be sharp and capable—completely different from the impression he'd gotten.

Yan flipped through the case files, pondering why the photos and video footage painted such a starkly different image from the person before him.

At that moment, Zhang Chao, standing on the other side of the bars, wore glasses, and his temples had begun to show streaks of white hair. Yet, his demeanor remained calm and collected. He exuded confidence and poise, far from the helpless look he had in the interrogation videos.

"Mr. Yan, what brings you here?" Zhang Chao spoke first before Yan had a chance to respond.

"You know me?" Yan was taken aback.

"Of course," Zhang Chao smiled. "You're the star professor at the university. Although I retired from teaching a while ago, I still attend legal conferences at the school. I know you worked at the provincial police department and were a renowned criminal investigation expert. But I heard you left your government job. What brings you to this place?"

Yan was an external consultant, and normally, someone in his position wouldn't be allowed in the interrogation room.

Zhao Tiemin, who had been standing by, explained, "Mr. Yan is a special expert for our task force. Since you know him, you should have heard of his skills. No case is beyond his reach. So, no matter how much you try to cover up, Mr. Yan will find the loopholes. Hiding the truth will only make your final sentence more severe."

"Is that so?" Zhang Chao squinted his eyes, "Then I'm particularly looking forward to it. Since Mr. Yan is involved, the case will definitely be solved. I also hope the true murderer is caught soon and my name is cleared."

Yan smiled, scrutinizing him before turning to Zhao Tiemin. "Why is he allowed to wear glasses in here?"

"He's nearsighted," Zhao Tiemin explained. "Before the trial, he requested to have his glasses brought in so he could read materials. They're made of resin with a titanium alloy frame, so they pose no danger."

Yan nodded and turned back to Zhang Chao. "Nice glasses. How much did they cost?"

Zhang Chao looked confused, unsure of why Yan was asking. He answered honestly, "My wife got them for me. I don't know."

Yan pressed further, "How bad is your vision?"

"Uh…" Zhang Chao looked a bit lost.

Yan repeated the question, "How bad is your vision?"

Zhang Chao reluctantly answered, "Left eye: 250, right eye: 300."

"Moderate nearsightedness," Yan observed. "I noticed from the previous interrogation footage that you weren't wearing glasses. Did you just not bother putting them on?"

Zhao Tiemin raised an eyebrow at Yan, wondering why he was dwelling so much on the glasses. The suspect was right in front of them. Why waste time with small talk when they could go straight to the interrogation? Yet, Yan seemed quite fixated on this question.

Zhang Chao's eyes briefly narrowed with suspicion, but the look passed quickly. He slightly turned his head toward Zhao Tiemin, seemingly trying to avoid Yan's gaze.

Yan didn't let up, "Am I right?"

"Yes," Zhang Chao finally nodded. "I applied to bring my glasses in because I needed them to read the materials before the trial."

Yan smiled, "I saw the photo of you being arrested at the subway station. You weren't wearing glasses then either."

"Well… that afternoon when I was arrested while trying to flee, my glasses fell off," Zhang Chao explained.

"Fell off at quite a convenient moment, didn't they?" Yan smiled mysteriously.

Zhang Chao stressed, "When I was fleeing at the subway station, my glasses fell off. There were so many people around, I probably bumped into someone and they fell."

Yan nodded, not pressing further on the issue.

The young court reporter was puzzled, wondering why Yan kept asking about the glasses. How could something so trivial have anything to do with the case? But as he observed Zhang Chao, who had gone from confident and poised to visibly anxious, the reporter began to understand the subtle technique behind Yan's questioning—throwing in seemingly irrelevant details to unsettle the suspect, making him nervous and eventually revealing key clues.

Yan continued with another seemingly innocuous question: "I've reviewed some materials on this case, but there are still things I don't understand. I hope you don't mind me confirming some points with you again, even if they've already been asked."

"I answer the same questions every day, so I'm used to it," Zhang Chao replied, his tone bored.

"Looks like you've memorized your lines," Yan teased. "So you've never slipped up."

"I've only confessed the truth. If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do. Maybe the police officers should just turn my confession into a tongue twister. If I mess it up, you'll know I'm lying."

Zhao Tiemin exchanged a glance with Yan, rolling his eyes. If a regular suspect behaved like this, he would've lost patience long ago. But because this case was high-profile and there were accusations of police misconduct, they had to play it by the book.

Yan smiled, unfazed by Zhang Chao's snark. He enjoyed a challenge. If the suspect were just a big, dumb thug, the case would be boring. He continued with his question: "If you didn't kill that person, why did you confess?"

Clearly, Zhang Chao had answered this many times before, and his response was automatic: "I felt a strange pressure at the police station, and my mind was clouded. I just confessed."

"Clouded for months, until the trial, when you suddenly came to your senses?" Yan pressed.

Zhang Chao shook his head. "Later, I regretted it. But the case had already blown up. The police had already made the public announcement. If I suddenly recanted in the detention center, I was afraid of severe repercussions. I saw the news about the Xiaoshan uncle and nephew case, and I became fearful. I thought the only way to protect myself was to wait until the trial to suddenly retract my confession, hoping it would draw attention and protect me in the detention center."

Yan smiled at Zhao Tiemin, as if to say, "The case from ten years ago gave him the perfect excuse."

Yan slightly grinned, then added, "But if Jiang Yang didn't kill him, why was there so much of your skin tissue under his nails? Can you explain that?"

"We fought the day before Jiang Yang died, and I had a lot of scratches on my neck. That skin tissue must have been left from that fight," Zhang Chao pointed to his neck, showing where he had been scratched.

"Is that so?" Yan smiled, "I've seen the police report. It does match up with your story, the fight happened the day before Jiang Yang died. But I just want to confirm, after that fight, did you have any other altercations with him until the day he was found dead?"

Zhang Chao narrowed his eyes, seemingly trying to figure out the point of the question. After a moment, he shook his head. "No."

Yan shook his head. "Looks like Jiang Yang wasn't a very clean person."

The others were confused.

Yan explained, "Unless Jiang Yang spent the whole day without washing his hands, it's impossible for there to be so much of your skin tissue under his nails. Even if he washed his hands poorly, there would only be a small trace of your DNA, and certainly not so much tissue in the front of his nails."

Zhao Tiemin's eyes lit up, and a smile spread across his face.

Zhang Chao's lips twitched, but after a long pause, he stubbornly insisted, "What I said is the truth."

Zhao Tiemin coldly asked, "You still won't confess? You fought with him the day before, but why would there still be so much of your skin tissue in his nails?"

Zhang Chao answered, "No one knows if he washed his hands that day. Maybe right after our fight, he was controlled by someone and never got the chance to wash his hands before he was killed."

Zhao Tiemin snorted. "That's just a bunch of excuses!"

But Yan nodded. "That makes sense. Statistically, we can't rule out the possibility that Jiang Yang didn't wash his hands, or that he was controlled immediately after the fight and didn't have the chance to clean up."

Zhang Chao stared at Yan, unsure why he seemed to be offering him an excuse.

Zhao Tiemin was about to snap, but Yan pressed on: "You don't have to answer right now. I believe the truth will come to light. But if you could give me some hints, we could solve this case faster. Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Zhao Tiemin thought to himself, "This guy hasn't given any useful information all this time. What could he possibly have to say now?"

To his surprise, Zhang Chao squinted his eyes, then asked in a serious tone, "Why are you involved in this case?"

"Does that matter?" Yan smiled with interest, "I suggest you trust me. I will uncover the truth."

Zhang Chao remained silent, his gaze fixed on Yan for a long time.

After a long silence, he finally spoke again, "I didn't kill him. But I suggest you start by looking into Jiang Yang. When I entered that house, the door lock was intact. This means the killer was someone Jiang Yang knew. You might find a clue from his belongings or communication records."