The detectives came out of the interrogation room.

Outside was the outer interrogation room with some chairs and a table.

There was also a one-way mirror where they could clearly see the person inside the interrogation room.

Everyone sat down.

One of the detectives offered a cigarette. Bai Muchuan accepted it and took a puff.

He narrowed his eyes a little as he looked at the calm Meng Chi from a one-way mirror.

Captain Zhang sat beside him and heaved a sigh. “About that voice recording, I consulted my contacts at Prosecution. They thought that since modern technology has the capacity to synthesize voices, they could only use it as supporting evidence and not a piece of hard evidence… If we don’t have more evidence proving Meng Chi’s relation to this case, we won’t be able to get approval for his arrest…”

Tu Liang asked, “What about Xiang Wan’s statement?”

Captain Zhang shook his head. “Very difficult! She did not see his face and could only base on the gaze of the person she saw and what she felt… All those people who died at Wen Xin Nunnery are Cui Ming’s subordinates, and Cui Ming himself also died at the foot of the mountain. His dressing and characteristic totally matched what Xiang Wan had seen. Therefore, it was tough to prove that they were not the same person.”

“Isn’t there an appraisal report? The one about Cui Ming’s time of death…”

“The time of death is still in dispute because it was a particularly snowy day when he died!”

“… D*mmit!”

Captain Zhang puffed a sigh. “An arrest requires solid and sufficient evidence. It’s strict, but we can’t help it.”

“…”

Everyone did not know what to say.

Inside the interrogation room, Meng Chi sat quietly.

The ones outside looked at him quietly.

Even though everyone thought he was the murderer, there was nothing they could do.

“Are we really going to release him?”

“If he leaves here, won’t he have a chance to destroy more evidence?”

“Captain Bai…”

Everyone looked at Bai Muchuan.

He pondered for a moment and stood up suddenly.

“Let’s hear from Yu Ning and Ye Lun!”

It was hard to get a breakthrough from Meng Chi.

This man had a strong mental state of mind and anti-interrogation ability.

Most important of all, he did not leave any trace on the scene.

…

As they moved from that interrogation room to another, Bai Muchuan made a phone call to Cheng Zheng.

For the past few days, everyone was operating in high capacity toward their work.

At this moment, Cheng Zheng and Mei Xin were at the Forensics Department within the same building as them.

Bai Muchuan asked, “Have you gotten a conclusion?”

Cheng Zheng replied, “Not yet…”

“How much longer?”

“At least another two to three hours…”

“So you need two hours or three hours?”

“… Very urgent?”

*Huff! *Bai Muchuan exhaled a puff of air.

“I’ll give you another hour.”

“…”

Cheng Zheng paused for a while. “Where are you?”

“Mm?” Bai Muchuan asked, “Why?”

Cheng Zheng responded, “I’ll let Mei Xin bring the report to you once it’s ready!”

“… D*rn!” Bai Muchuan looked at the wall of the interrogation room. “Is behaving mischievously fun for you?” He then gritted his teeth.

Cheng Zheng scoffed. “Not all conclusions are out!”

“All right, hurry up!”

Cheng Zheng was conducting an appraisal of those test tubes retrieved from Lima’s home, as well as fingerprints, shoe prints, and other physical evidence collected in Lima’s house.

Lima did not have the habit of bringing just anyone back to her home.

Hence, they had gotten only three fingerprints.

They belonged to Lima, Abdul… and Cui Ming, respectively.

From this result, it could prove that Cui Ming had been to Lima’s house.

At the same time, the autopsy report of Lima’s corpse was out.

They had proven that there were no drugs or any poisonous substances in her system prior to her death.

Nonetheless, Cheng Zheng had also made a note that this result did not mean that she had taken no hallucinogenic drugs prior to their findings; it might simply because her body had digested and discharged the drug.

In addition, they confirmed the matter inside the sealed test tubes to be the seminal fluid of various men.

After performing a DNA analysis, they did not find Ye Lun, Yu Ning, nor Meng Chi’s seminal fluid.

Likewise, Cui Ming’s seminal fluid was not found as well.

The ones who had matched to their database were Abdul and the Assistant Director of “The Grey List” film crew.

There was currently no answer in their database as to which other men were being “collected”. Further investigation was required.

“This woman’s private life is a mess!”

“… It’s unbelievable that there would be a woman who had such a hobby!”

Collection of men’s seminal fluids, from the men’s point of view, was a shock.

Everyone looked at each other with a slightly weirded out expression.

“Then what about those that we haven’t found? Where could those be? Did Lima do it… with Yu Ning and Meng Chi?”

“… Even if they did, I don’t think they will admit to that.”

“Oh yeah, from the way Captain Bai asked Meng Chi, did he suspect that Meng Chi and Yu Ning… is in that kind of relationship?”

A few detectives were discussing these softly amongst themselves.

Finally, they decided to ask Bai Muchuan about it.

He was smoking quietly and seemed to be contemplating something.

When he heard their question. He glanced at the man inside the interrogation room. “You can go ahead to ask him!”

“… If only he would open his mouth. Both Meng Chi and Yu Ning are tight-lipped. Ye Lun, on the other hand, speaks without reservations!”

“Mm!” Bai Muchuan snuffed out the cigarette. “Let’s go!”

Everyone looked at him. “Mm?”

Bai Muchuan looked back at their pressing gazes. “Interrogate Yu Ning!”

…

Both Meng Chi and Yu Ning were brought into the Criminal Investigation Unit at the same time.

Bai Muchuan chose him to be the second person he would interrogate at night.

*Thud! *The door of the interrogation room closed shut.

Yu Ning seemed to be unaffected and sat on his chair in silence.

“Are you tired?” Bai Muchuan looked at his weary look.

“Captain Bai…” Yu Ning lifted his head, showing an awkward but polite smile. “Yes, it’s quite tiring. When can I leave this place?”

“Once you’ve finished telling us what we want to know, you may leave.” Bai Muchuan was very friendly.

Before Yu Ning could react, he suddenly fired a question.

“What is your relationship to Meng Chi?”

Such a casual question startled Yu Ning.

“He’s my boss.”

“There are rumors of you on the internet having an ambiguous relationship with him!”

“Captain Bai actually believed in rumors from the internet?” Yu Ning laughed.

His teeth were in a neat row, white and clean. He also looked tidy and upright.

There were a lot of reasons that he was chosen as the first male lead in “The Grey List”.

Yu Ning was someone who gave people a good, positive vibe. He was the complete opposite of Ye Lun.

If he were to change into the police uniform, he would certainly look more like a policeman than the real policemen who had been staying up all night with exhausted expressions as if they were about to collapse—

“Of course not,” replied Bai Muchuan swiftly, “but I believe in the evidence I investigated.”

Yu Ning seemed slightly confounded.

He just looked at him without saying a word.

It felt as though he was waiting for Bai Muchuan to continue.

“Yu Ning,” a smile appeared on Bai Muchuan’s face. “I’ve done a background check on you. Frankly, it’s difficult for you to reach where you are today. I also know that you treasure what you have today, as well as your reputation. If you’re not involved in this murder case, I won’t get to the bottom of your personal life…”

The smile on his face slowly dissipated as he looked at Yu Ning’s slightly perturbed expression.

“Who was with you on the 16th of this month?”

Yu Ning seemed a little puzzled with this question.

“Captain Bai, I don’t get what you’re trying to say. I’m with CEO Meng that day. I’ve already said these right from the beginning.”

Bai Muchuan let out a meaningful chuckle. “You both went swimming, badminton, fishing… then sleep, right?”

Yu Ning showed a frown for a second. “Yes.”

“Never out of your sight?”

“… Never out of my sight.”

“You two have good relations with each other.” Bai Muchuan nodded. “So what’s your relationship with Lima?”

“Mm?” Yu Ning’s hand moved a little. “We’re colleagues.”

“Nothing else?”

“… Nothing else.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes!”

Bai Muchuan let out a sigh slowly. “Do you know that Lima’s dead?”

Yu Ning’s body suddenly went stiff. “… Dead?”

His expression indicated that he couldn’t believe it.

Bai Muchuan nodded at Tu Liang to let Yu Ning have a look at the set of evidence relating to Lima’s death.

“She also went crazy before she died!”

As Bai Muchuan said so, he stared at him.

Yu Ning could not conceal his agitated state. “Why… did she go crazy?”

Of course, Bai Muchuan would say nothing to that.

He would not be led around the nose. Instead, he would be the one doing that.

“Yu Ning, where did you last see Lima?”

“Nanmu…” Although Yu Ning answered, his expression was not looking well.

“When was that?” Bai Muchuan asked.

“… About a few days ago. I forgot the exact time, but I met her in the film set.”

“Was she sane at that point?”

Yu Ning lifted his head to look at Bai Muchuan and quickly looked down.

“… I feel that she was sane then.”

Bai Muchuan responded quickly, “Did she talk to you or tell you anything?”

Yu Ning shook his head several times. He did not utter a word.

Some detectives exchanged glances with each other.

There was a feeling of excitement that seeped slowly into their hearts.

Yu Ning showed some reaction to Lima’s death.

Even though he had wanted to conceal it, that ashen face of his could not be hidden.

Bai Muchuan’s eyebrows furrowed together in thought—

Could it be that Xiang Wan got it right after all? Yu Ning really has feelings for Lima?

“Yu Ning, is there something that you know of?”

“…”

Bai Muchuan sighed. He was trying to lure out Yu Ning’s real emotions. “Lima was a pitiful woman. You sympathize with her a lot, right?”

Yu Ning did not lift his head. He only responded with an “Mm”.

Bai Muchuan stared at him and suddenly banged the table.

“Yu Ning!” he chided, “Lift your head and talk!”

Yu Ning’s shoulders trembled slightly as he raised his head.

Under the bright lights of the interrogation room, his reddened eyes were obvious to see.

“That’s better. This is basic courtesy. You should know this very well, right?”

Bai Muchuan looked calmly at him and suddenly changed his topic. “She was being targeted for murder—”

Yu Ning shook his head. “I don’t know that. It’s not me.”

“I know it’s not you for sure.” Bai Muchuan chuckled. “When she died, you’re still here.”

“So…” Yu Ning started to calm down. “Who killed her?”

Bai Muchuan did not answer him and continued what he wanted to say.

“We searched Lima’s house and discovered that she had a special hobby.”

There was a second of inattentiveness in Yu Ning’s eyes, and he did not respond to what Bai Muchuan had said.

Bai Muchuan said slowly, “She ‘collected’ all those men who had a sexual relationship with her…”

He just mentioned briefly about Lima’s strange hobby but did not put it explicitly. He only gave Yu Ning a knowing look.

“Now, can you tell me again, what is your relationship with Lima?”

“…”

Yu Ning’s mouth moved, but nothing came out.

Bai Muchuan’s eyes started to turn cold and imposing.

“Yu Ning, you’re a smart person. I need not tell you more about the nature of this case, right?”

“…”

“We found the DNA of yourself and Ye Lun on Cui Ming’s robe… Just from this point alone, you’re already one of the biggest suspects in this case. We have the right to keep you in custody…”

Yu Ning remained quiet.

Bai Muchuan spoke once again. “The moment we do that, the news would leak out. Your acting career, your reputation, your image; all those that you have been treasuring and protecting, will be stained with this mark forever. The public would not care about why you were being held in custody. They will come up with their own reasons… and ruin you!”

“…”

“And we, the police, whom you have subconsciously been resisting and opposing, are the only ones who could absolve you of all suspicion!”

“…”

Yu Ning still did not talk.

It was silent inside the interrogation room.

It seemed that he had reached the limit of his stress level.

Yu Ning’s eyes protruded slightly. He was breathing carefully, and his expression kept changing.

Bai Muchuan had his eyes fixated on his face throughout…

He did not want to miss every little detail about the changes in his expression.

A moment later, Bai Muchuan rubbed salt into the wound.

“Ye Lun has told us everything. He will leave this place soon. As for you… are you intending to oppose us right till the very end?”

*No! *He cried in his head.

It’s not that…

Yu Ning suddenly snapped. “No!”

He was looking at Bai Muchuan and his body was quivering slightly.

…

A person’s psychological defense was akin to a dam.

The dam would seem to be really sturdy and strong.

However, when it bursts, it could no longer hold the water.

They took slightly more than an hour to interrogate Yu Ning.

The result was what Xiang Wan had guessed. Out of the many men involved with Lima, Yu Ning should be the only one who had developed feelings for her.

However, Yu Ning did not admit that what he felt was love.

Rather, he said that it was more of a feeling of being in the same boat.

It was sympathy, as well as compassion.

Yu Ning was the one who met Lima at Abdul’s hotpot restaurant. He was the one who recommended Lima to Meng Chi.

Initially, he had really felt that Lima’s appearance really fitted a character in “The Grey List”. When he tried to know more about her, Lima took the chance and made full use of her natural ability to act and told Yu Ning about her suffering all these years in a more exaggerated manner to gain his help to join the showbiz industry.

Hence, the story was able to proceed.

Yu Ning did not have a good family background.

He differed from Ye Lun, who was born with a silver spoon and enjoyed early success from childhood as he became a popular child star.

Whatever Yu Ning had today, he did it by depending on himself.

In order to go far in his career, he had sacrificed and abandoned a lot of things.

His difficult experiences in life were no lesser than Lima’s—

His sympathy toward Lima was similar to sympathizing with his younger self in the past.

To him, by lending Lima a hand, it felt like he was comforting himself.

He felt like he saw his past self through her. When he was desperate and had lost hope, if only there was someone who extended a helping hand to him.

…

“I’ve never thought of sleeping with her.

“I’ve never wished for her to repay me…

“I had just wanted to help her.

“Consequently… I did sleep with her, but that was only because I had… drank some wine.

“I didn’t expect that she was such a loose woman. After being a part of the cast… she would actually sleep with Ye Lun.

“Her behavior had disappointed me, so I questioned her about it. She said that Ye Lun… had forced her.

“Ye Lun has connections and some background in this industry… She didn’t want to offend a person like him.

“When I asked Ye Lun about this, he did not deny that. He even rebuked me and I ended up exchanging blows with him…

“However, Ye Lun was not the cause of my injury…”

True enough.

The one who lied was Yu Ning.

…