Chapter 143: Entangled in Mystery Again

I asked Huang Xiaotao, "Should we test to find out who's pregnant?"

Sun Bingxin and Wang Dali didn't know yet and looked surprised. "Who's pregnant?" they asked. I then told them about the email that the youngest member had found. Huang Xiaotao replied, "No need for that. It doesn't matter who's pregnant. The real issue is who killed them! The suspect will be here any minute. Let's wait in the interrogation room."

We went to the interrogation room. Sun Bingxin and Wang Dali stayed outside watching. Not long after, loud noises came from the corridor. We heard Cheng Yahui shouting, "You're violating my rights! I demand a lawyer!"

Cheng Yahui was brought in, handcuffed, hair disheveled, and forcibly pushed into a chair by the officers. Huang Xiaotao shone the desk lamp directly in his face and said coldly, "I knew we'd meet again."

The light blinded Cheng Yahui. Shielding his eyes with a hand, he said, "I refuse to answer any of your questions. I want a lawyer!"

Huang Xiaotao quickly replied, "We respect your rights. According to Article 96 of the Criminal Procedure Law, a suspect has the right to request a lawyer after the first questioning or once coercive measures begin. You can have a lawyer after we finish questioning."

Cheng Yahui grew agitated, shouting, "What suspect? What crime? Stop twisting facts!"

Huang Xiaotao asked, "Where were you last night between 9 and 11 pm?"

"At home!" Cheng Yahui answered.

...

...

"Really? A waitress from Mars Bar said she saw you there meeting a woman who used to be your patient during that time."

Cheng Yahui was momentarily stunned but quickly regained his composure. "I did meet her, but we only talked about health issues. What's wrong with that?"

Huang Xiaotao said, "She's dead."

Cheng Yahui's mouth dropped in shock. "You're lying! She was fine last night. How could she be dead?"

Watching his reaction, I noticed it was genuine, no signs of acting. This was strange — could he really not be the killer?

Pretending to take notes, I actually wrote down "He's telling the truth" and showed it to Huang Xiaotao. She looked a little surprised too.

Huang Xiaotao switched tactics, asking about the email. Cheng Yahui hesitated and said, "I don't know who sent it to me!"

Huang Xiaotao continued, "In the past three months, which women have you had relations with?"

Cheng Yahui stubbornly denied ever having private relationships with female patients. Huang Xiaotao slammed the table and shouted, "Cheng Yahui, at this point, you still want to deny it? Not reporting what you know is also a crime, do you understand?"

Cheng Yahui clenched his teeth, his shoulders suddenly sagging, and he said defeatedly, "I slept with five patients…"

We weren't surprised by this answer at all. He had always boasted of being a ladies' man, and as a gynecologist, he easily got hold of his patients' secrets. People's defenses usually drop when their secrets come out — they tend to open up.

After quitting his top-tier hospital job years ago, Cheng Yahui hadn't changed his ways. He always hit on attractive female patients and never lacked company. That was why he never wanted to marry — what's the point of being stuck with a plain old woman for life?

As he said this, a smug smile crept across his face. Huang Xiaotao frowned deeply, clearly disgusted by him. I was half expecting her to grab the lamp and smash it over his head.

Huang Xiaotao angrily banged the table, "Don't change the subject. Who are the five women you slept with?"

Cheng Yahui named five women: four victims plus a woman named Amy, a flower shop owner.

I asked, "Did you ever use protection with any of them?"

He shrugged, "That's no fun. It's like washing your feet with socks on. I never use condoms."

I said, "What if one of them got pregnant? Wouldn't you be ruined?"

Cheng Yahui laughed, "If they got pregnant, I'd just take them for an abortion. I'm a doctor myself. I took that med school girl to abort twice, and she still adored me. How could I kill over something so trivial? Women are just toys to me. Who takes responsibility for toys?"

Huang Xiaotao said grimly, "You wanna get beaten up?"

Cheng Yahui straightened up, "I warn you, forcing confessions is illegal."

Huang Xiaotao replied, "You got me wrong. I just don't like you."

He snorted, "Miss Officer, I know you have issues with me since I laid all my cards on the table. If we met under other circumstances, I'm sure you'd be crazy about me."

Suddenly, Huang Xiaotao stood up and knocked over her chair. Cheng Yahui raised his hands to shield his face, "Hey, what are you doing?"

I stopped Huang Xiaotao. "Don't lose your temper. Police can't hit people."

Cheng Yahui chimed in, "Exactly, this guy here is reasonable."

I sneered, "I'm not a cop. Let me handle this."

Huang Xiaotao handed me a baton. "Hit him on the knuckles. I guarantee he'll never forget it."

Before I could act, Cheng Yahui screamed like a pig being slaughtered, yelling for the police. I raised the baton with fierce eyes and said, "When you killed them, did you ever think they had parents too?"

Cheng Yahui burst into tears, "I didn't kill anyone! I haven't even killed a chicken!"

I shouted, "You're lying! Model Xiao Wen's body tested positive for your semen, and you're still denying it."

He said, "No way. Yesterday I called her to meet with two others. She got angry. I didn't touch her at all."

I asked, "Two others? Who?"

"Amy!"

Turns out, yesterday morning Cheng Yahui was at a hotel with the flower shop owner. The model had booked a room to call him over, but he shamelessly invited her to join, and she refused.

So he has a perfect alibi and couldn't be the murderer.

My earlier question was a trap. Sitting back down, I asked, "Then why did you say Nurse Qu Tingting could confirm you were at the hospital yesterday morning?"

Cheng Yahui looked miserable, "I couldn't possibly admit to such an embarrassing thing, right? Nurse Qu listens to everything I say. She'd vouch for me."

Huang Xiaotao asked, "So Qu Tingting is one of your lovers too?"

Cheng Yahui laughed, "Are you insulting me? I don't touch women like her. I'm not some loser who can't get any woman."

Suddenly there was a bang on the door. Wang Dali shouted from outside, "Don't stop me! I'm gonna beat him so bad he won't recognize his own mother!"

From everything so far, Cheng Yahui wasn't the killer. What looked like a clear case had suddenly stalled. Huang Xiaotao and I exchanged glances, and she said, "Alright, you're free to go."

Cheng Yahui leaned back in the chair, smirking, "What do you take me for? You call me here when you want and send me away when you please? I want compensation for mental distress and lost wages!"

Huang Xiaotao said, "Hey, don't be shameless. Get out!"

Cheng Yahui wasn't intimidated. "Is that how a cop should behave? Who's your superior? I'm reporting you!"

I said, "I told you I'm not a cop."

He looked me up and down. "Then who are you?"

"Just a student," I replied.

Cheng Yahui laughed out loud. "So you're here for an internship?"

I said coldly, "If you know what's good for you, you'll get lost. I know some people on the streets. One word from me and you'll never get a hotel room again."

His face changed immediately. He stood up, "Take off my handcuffs! I'm leaving!"

When he left the interrogation room, everyone outside glared at him. Seeing Sun Bingxin, he smiled, "Hey little sister, you here too? Lunch together at noon?"

Sun Bingxin slapped him suddenly. Cheng Yahui covered his face, yelling, "I'm suing you!"

Sun Bingxin looked at her palm with mock surprise, "Wow, such a big mosquito. Didn't even bite you, right?"

Wang Dali looked up and exaggerated, "Whoa, there really is a mosquito!"

Everyone played along. Cheng Yahui was left speechless and slunk away. As soon as he left, Sun Bingxin clutched her stomach laughing, "Serves him right!"

But Sun Bingxin's slap caused trouble. A panicked officer rushed over, saying, "That doctor who just left collapsed downstairs!"

Everyone turned to look at Sun Bingxin, who opened her mouth in shock, "I didn't slap that hard, did I?"

Huang Xiaotao cursed, "Great, now we're getting blamed. Let's go check!"