To Zhang Yi'ang's surprise, after being notified by the police that he was suspected in Lu Yibo's murder case, Lang Botu did not flee. Instead, he drove straight to the police station and confidently retorted to the detectives, "How am I suspected of killing Lu Yibo?"
The detectives didn’t know either, having only heard that Chief Zhang had identified Lang Botu as the killer, so they took him in for interrogation first.
In the interrogation room, Lang Botu sat on the chair, his face filled with anger. Not far away in another room, Zhang Yi'ang and others collectively sat in front of the monitor, observing the entire interrogation process.
"Let me ask you, were you driving your BMW SUV on Pingkang Road around 10 p.m. on November 5th?" The interrogators first verified his identity as per protocol before beginning the formal questioning. One officer asked the questions while the other recorded, both wearing earpieces to receive real-time instructions from their superiors.
"I drive that car on Pingkang Road every day! I live in that direction, officer!"
"Take this seriously!" the interrogator snapped.
"Yes, yes, but the issue is you’re accusing me of killing Lu Yibo, which is completely absurd. Lu Yibo died by the river on the evening of the 5th. The river is close to Pingkang Road, sure, but I pass by Pingkang Road almost every day. How does that make me the killer?"
"Wait—" The officers inside and outside the interrogation room all stiffened. The interrogator pressed, "How did you know Lu Yibo died on the evening of November 5th?"
Zhang Yi'ang smiled at the others. "See? He gave himself away with just one question." The group nodded silently—Lang Botu was looking more and more like a murderer.
Lang Botu answered calmly, "You told me. You said I’m suspected of killing Lu Yibo and asked me about the evening of November 5th. So obviously, Lu Yibo must have been killed that night. Otherwise, why would you ask me about the 5th?"
"Then how did you know he died by the river?"
"A body was found by the river near Pingkang Road yesterday. A lot of people know about it. I figured it must be Lu Yibo."
This explanation seemed perfectly reasonable. The group studied Lang Botu again—well, he didn’t seem much like a murderer now.
"What were you doing before driving that night?"
"Having dinner with friends."
"Until what time?"
"It’s been so many days. I don’t remember clearly."
"Where were you, and who were you with?"
After some thought, Lang Botu named a restaurant and listed a few friends, which the recorder noted down.
"What were you doing on November 6th?"
"I went to Beijing for a business trip in the afternoon."
"What for?"
"Company business."
"Specifically?"
"A few investment opportunity presentations for the bank."
"Aside from the trip, what else have you done these past few days?"
"Nothing much—oh, I went to the hospital on the morning of the 6th and again after returning the day before yesterday."
"Why did you go to the hospital?"
"To see a doctor, obviously. I had a bad cold those days. That morning, I woke up feeling weak all over. At the hospital, they found I had a fever of 39°C. I got an injection and took medicine during my trip to Beijing. I’m still not fully recovered." He coughed a few times to show he was still sick.Hearing this response, everyone in the monitoring room was stunned. Wang Ruijun hesitated and glanced at Director Zhang: "If he had a high fever and severe flu during those days, it's highly unlikely he could be the killer. Why would anyone choose to commit murder while suffering from a fever and flu?"
Zhang Yi'ang narrowed his eyes slightly and turned to instruct someone else: "Call Forensic Doctor Chen over to examine him and see if he really had the flu."
Wang Ruijun whispered a reminder: "Um... Dr. Chen is a medical examiner... He doesn’t diagnose illnesses, does he?"
But Zhang Yi'ang ignored this: "He can determine the time of death—can’t he figure out whether the man had a severe flu that day?"
With orders from the superior, the subordinates had no choice. Wang Ruijun waved for a junior officer to fetch Forensic Doctor Chen. The officer went to the medical examiner’s office and reluctantly relayed the director’s request. Upon hearing that he was being asked to diagnose a living person’s flu, Forensic Doctor Chen flew into a rage, exclaiming, "I’m not some quack doctor! I spend my days evaluating injuries for the living and performing autopsies on the dead, and now I’m supposed to check for fevers and colds? If I start diagnosing colds, won’t everyone in the unit come to the medical examiner for every little ailment? Absolutely not—I refuse to go!"
With Forensic Doctor Chen unwilling to come, Zhang Yi'ang had no choice but to have the interrogation team ask Lang Botu if he had any medical records. Lang Botu said he did—his medical records were in his office, and he could call his secretary to bring them over.
The interrogation of Lang Botu was temporarily suspended. The group in the monitoring room decided to wait for his medical records before deciding their next steps. Based on the current interrogation, opinions were divided into two factions. Veteran officers like Wang Ruijun and Song Xing believed Lang Botu couldn’t be the killer—his demeanor was natural, without any signs of nervousness, and apart from the fact that he had passed Pingkang Road, there was no other evidence linking him to the murder. He passed Pingkang Road every day, so that alone proved nothing. The other faction consisted of only two people: Zhang Yi'ang, who firmly believed Lang Botu was the killer, and Li Qian, who unconditionally trusted his judgment.
"Director, if Lang Botu’s medical records confirm he indeed had a fever of 39 degrees Celsius on the morning of the 6th, then I don’t think he could be the killer," Song Xing cautiously suggested, maintaining an objective stance despite his recent fall from grace within the unit. A high fever was extremely debilitating—if he truly had a fever of 39 degrees, his body would have been weak and aching. How could he have had the energy to commit murder?
Zhang Yi'ang shook his head. "Even if he had a fever, it was on November 6. Lu Yibo died on the evening of November 5. At the very least, Lang Botu was in perfect health on November 5—otherwise, how could he have attended a friend’s dinner party?"
"Well..."
Zhang Yi'ang snorted coldly. "There’s another suspicious point. If he was so severely ill on November 6, why did he still go to Beijing for a business trip? If the trip was crucial, that would be understandable—but he went to attend an investment pitch by an investment bank and stayed for several days. Isn’t that strange?"
Most investment pitches by banks were just attempts to lure people into funding projects. Truly good investment opportunities were usually snapped up internally—why would they need to raise funds publicly? Lang Botu had been the second-in-command at Auto Group for years—he should know all about these capital market tricks. Would he really travel to Beijing with a fever and stay for two full days just for an investment pitch?Zhang Yi'ang added, "He also has one major flaw. If he didn't kill Lu Yibo, when we told him we suspected his involvement in Lu Yibo's death, his first reaction should have been to say he was sick with a cold at the time and couldn't possibly have had the strength to commit murder. Why didn't he mention that from the start?"
"Right, why didn't he say it?"
"Because he had it all planned out. If he'd said it immediately, we'd suspect he'd prepared his alibi in advance. So he deliberately held back, waiting for us to discover his cold and fever, letting us actively rule him out as a suspect."
"That makes sense." Hearing Zhang Yi'ang lay out these two points, everyone's stance shifted slightly toward suspecting Lang Botu again.
However, after a few seconds of thought, Song Xing hesitantly said, "Chief... uh, I think there's a slight issue here."
"Go on."
"If Lang Botu had said from the beginning that he was sick and lacked the strength to kill, we'd suspect he'd prepared his alibi. Now that he didn't mention it initially and we discovered his illness ourselves, we still suspect him. So... no matter when Lang Botu says he was sick, we'll suspect he's lying?" A Chinese idiom flashed through Song Xing's mind—"suspecting the neighbor of stealing an axe." Once, a man lost his axe and suspected his neighbor's son had stolen it. Everything about the boy's behavior seemed to confirm his guilt. Later, when the man dug up his lost axe, the neighbor's son no longer seemed like a thief at all.
Zhang Yi'ang pursed his lips and turned to Wang Ruijun. "What do you think?"
"Well... it does seem like what Lao Song is saying makes sense."
"Alright then," Zhang Yi'ang sighed. "Let's make a bet—"
"No need for bets!" Wang Ruijun interjected anxiously. He was afraid the chief might follow Forensic Doctor Chen's example and wager someone's resignation over this. Whether he won or lost, it would undoubtedly be Wang Ruijun resigning—certainly not the chief. They were all just doing their jobs, with catching the real killer as their shared goal. Why make bets?
"We'll just bet one yuan."
"Oh..." Wang Ruijun sighed in relief. "Fine, what's the bet?"
"I bet Lang Botu's hospital test results will show bacterial flu, not viral flu. If it's viral, I'll release him immediately."
"Ah! What's the reasoning behind that?" Wang Ruijun was completely baffled.
Zhang Yi'ang explained, "The day before his fever, he had the energy to attend a dinner party, and the afternoon of his fever, he had the energy to travel to Beijing. This suggests his cold was intentional. How do you catch a cold on purpose? Simple—after killing Lu Yibo on the evening of November 5th, he went home and took cold showers repeatedly. In this weather, cold showers easily cause fever. He deliberately gave himself a cold and fever so we'd rule him out during the investigation. Colds caused by exposure are bacterial, while viral colds require an infection source—you can't just catch one on demand. So I bet his is bacterial. Otherwise, I'll let him go immediately."
The team nodded half-convinced, each wondering if criminals these days had really become this sophisticated in covering their tracks.Half an hour later, Lang Botu's company staff delivered his medical records to the police station. The records included a visit on November 6, noting a fever of 38.8°C, and the lab results indeed confirmed a bacterial cold! Wang Ruijun looked incredulously at the composed and smiling Director Zhang, then turned back to the surveillance footage of Lang Botu, finding the man increasingly suspicious.
The interrogation continued, but soon the investigator had exhausted all prepared questions. Lang Botu's answers were all reasonable and well-founded, with no apparent connection to the murder. The only questionable point was Zhang Yi'ang's earlier observation that Lang Botu had attended a dinner the day before his fever and traveled to Beijing that afternoon. This merely suggested he had been a mobile source of infection while sick—lacking public responsibility—but the law didn’t mandate staying home with a cold, nor could they charge him for it.
So far, the police had produced no substantive evidence, making the interrogation difficult to proceed. The investigator glanced up at the surveillance camera, silently seeking guidance from the leadership.
The others were also at a loss, their eyes turning to Zhang Yi'ang.
Zhang Yi'ang stood up, smiling confidently. "Let me have a word with him."
Leaning on his cane, he left the room and entered the interrogation chamber. The investigators stood aside, allowing him to take the central seat.
"Lang Botu, I’m Zhang Yi'ang. I’ll give you one last chance—confess or not?"
Hearing his name, Lang Botu’s expression faltered slightly. He stammered, "I... I really didn’t kill anyone. What do you want me to confess to?"
Zhang Yi'ang shook his head, casually picking up the interrogation record containing Lang Botu’s handwritten statement. "Your handwriting is quite elegant—very distinctive."
"Thank you."
Zhang Yi'ang gestured for an officer to retrieve two photocopies of group photos from the evidence room and handed them to Lang Botu.
"Take a look. Recognize these?"
"They’re old group photos of us."
"Look carefully. The date in the bottom-right corner—you wrote that, didn’t you?"
"Y-yes, I did. What does that prove?" He grew slightly nervous.
"Let me ask you another question. How was your relationship with your brother, Lang Bowen?"
"We... we got along well."
"Not exactly, right? There were many things—many thoughts—you never shared with him, correct?"
"I—no, I don’t understand what you’re saying." His demeanor visibly tensed, surprising everyone in the room. The previously composed Lang Botu had suddenly changed after just a few seemingly casual questions from Director Zhang. What did the director know? Their exchange seemed to carry a meaning only the two of them grasped.
"Don’t understand? Then think harder."
Lang Botu lowered his head slightly. After a few seconds, he looked up again, his expression reset to one of utter innocence. "Sir, I truly don’t know why you’re interrogating me. Lu Yibo and I had some rapport—how could I possibly have killed him?"
"You and Lu Yibo had rapport? Ha! More like a grudge!"
Lang Botu’s face paled, though he struggled to maintain composure.
"Then who do you think killed Lu Yibo?"
"I don’t know. Instead of asking me, you should question his girlfriend.""Girlfriend?" Zhang Yi'ang was slightly taken aback. Their investigation had only indicated that Lu Yibo was single; they had no idea he had a girlfriend. "Lu Yibo had a girlfriend?"
"Of course. These days, who doesn't have a girlfriend?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the single policemen inside and outside the interrogation room collectively protested, shouting, "What are you saying? Stay serious—this is an interrogation!" At that moment, as they looked at Lang Botu, they were convinced this bastard was definitely the killer.
"Who was his girlfriend?"
"Zhou Qi, the owner of the Hydrotherapy Club on the hotel's third floor."
This came as a surprise to them. None had expected Zhou Qi to be Lu Yibo's girlfriend. In their few interactions with the two, neither had ever mentioned it, and none of the hotel staff knew either.
Zhang Yi'ang thought for a moment, deciding to first look into Zhou Qi's situation. Without evidence, Lang Botu in his current state wouldn't confess. He stood up and said sternly, "We'll verify this immediately. But don’t think you can get away with it—I know it was you. You all, keep interrogating him. Don’t let him sleep. Keep at it until he confesses."
Hearing this, Lang Botu’s face paled in fear. "You... how long are you going to keep me here?"
"Indefinitely."
"You can’t do this! What does Lu Yibo’s death have to do with me? You have no proof—how can you just lock me up? You said this was a summons. I know summonses last at most twenty-four hours. You can’t hold me indefinitely. I’ll file a complaint!" Lang Botu cried out in panic.
At the mention of a complaint, one of the interrogators cautiously pulled Zhang aside outside the door. "Chief Zhang, do you really plan to hold him indefinitely?"
"Of course."
"Well... the criminal police informed him it was a summons. By regulation, we have to release him after twenty-four hours tomorrow. Otherwise, if he complains, it could be troublesome."
"Then we won’t treat it as a summons. We’ll classify him as a key suspect in a criminal case and detain him for investigation. That way, the twenty-four-hour rule doesn’t apply."
The interrogator voiced his concern, "But we don’t have any evidence. Using investigative detention might raise procedural issues."
Zhang Yi'ang turned back into the room and asked, "Lang Botu, I’m notifying you now that you’re a suspect in Lu Yibo’s homicide case. We’re changing your summons to investigative detention. There’s no twenty-four-hour limit for investigative detention. Are you familiar with the judicial regulations on investigative detention?"
"I’m not very clear on that."
"Perfect!" Zhang Yi'ang turned to his subordinates. "See? He doesn’t know. Then there’s no problem."
The interrogator thought it over. Well, if he doesn’t understand the procedure, it does seem fine.
Zhang Yi'ang turned and shut the door, ignoring Lang Botu’s cries of innocence.
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