Chapter 202

Mu Mian was waiting for Fang Rui in the lobby of the traffic police station. A female officer on duty handed her a cup of warm water.

Mu Mian held the cup with both hands, quietly watching the ripples that occasionally formed on the surface of the water.

“Young lady, what’s wrong?” the officer asked gently.

Mu Mian whispered, “I might lose a friend soon. I’m really sad. I don’t want him to die, but I can’t stop death.”

Just as the officer was about to comfort her, Mu Mian handed the cup back. “Could you add some cocoa powder for me? Or some sugar… I’d like something sweet.”

It seemed she didn’t need much comforting after all.

“How about coffee powder?” the officer offered.

Mu Mian shook her head. “No, life is already bitter enough. I don’t want coffee.”

“Alright then, wait a moment. I’ll ask my colleague for some milk tea powder.”

Mu Mian slowly sipped the overly sweet milk tea. Just then, she spotted Fang Rui and hurried over to him. “Did the driver confess who was behind this?”

“No, he insists it was just drunk driving.”

Mu Mian frowned. “I’ve always thought the standards for drunk driving aren’t flexible enough.”

“Why do you say that?”

“The human body can build tolerance to certain stimuli. People who drink regularly have a higher alcohol tolerance than those who don’t. So, even if someone’s blood alcohol level meets the legal limit, they might not actually be drunk. And for others, it’s the opposite.”

Fang Rui nodded. “His blood alcohol level was 85mg/100ml, just slightly over the limit. That can’t be a coincidence.”

By the time they left the traffic police station, it was already 11 p.m. The rain had stopped, but the night was still shrouded in a heavy mist.

Then, Zhang’s mother called.

“Fang Rui, Zhang Qiang’s surgery was successful, but he’ll need to stay in the ICU for a few more days before he’s out of danger. Don’t worry about him too much. Get some rest.”

Mu Mian could hear Zhang’s mother crying. She felt that Officer Zhang wasn’t as safe as they hoped.

“Auntie, what did the doctor say?”

“The doctor said… even if Zhang Qiang pulls through, he might end up in a vegetative state… How could someone so lively and talkative end up like this?”

“Auntie, Zhang Qiang will get better.”

After hanging up, Fang Rui and Mu Mian stood by the empty roadside for a long time, so long that the rain began to pour again.

Mu Mian had never feared death before. She saw it as an unchangeable law of nature, so she could face it calmly, whether it was her own or someone else’s.

But now, she felt a little afraid—not of death itself, but of its consequences. If she died, how heartbroken would her sister and Fang Rui be? Officer Zhang couldn’t grieve anymore, and Chen Xue might mourn her, or maybe not.

Suddenly, Mu Mian felt relieved that she didn’t have many friends. If she died, only a few people would be sad. Unlike Officer Zhang, who had so many friends and family mourning for him.

Fang Rui shielded Mu Mian’s head from the rain. “Mu Mian, it’s raining. Let’s go back.”

“Okay. Fang Rui, if you want to cry, you can. It’s okay to cry. Tears aren’t a sign of weakness—they just show how much you’re hurting.”

“Mm.”

After a moment, Mu Mian added, “Fang Rui, I won’t die so soon. I’ll try to live a long, long time. You can’t die quickly either.”

“Okay.”

Then Mu Mian thought of something else. They couldn’t possibly die at the same time. One of them would inevitably be left behind. One of them would end up alone.

Seeing the rain streaming down Fang Rui’s face, she swallowed her words.

The next day, Fang Rui and Mu Mian went to the home of the driver, Li Xinyu.

He was a local who used to own a house in the old town, but he sold it to pay off gambling debts. His parents and son had moved to a rented place in the urban village.

Fang Rui first asked Li Xinyu’s neighbors about him.

“That son of theirs is completely useless. He’s deep in debt, and not long ago, debt collectors were showing up at his door every day. It was terrifying.”

“Have they stopped coming recently?”

“It seems like they’ve stopped.”

“Has Li Xinyu’s financial situation improved?”

“It’s gotten much better. At least they can afford meat now. When they first moved here, his elderly mother would only buy cabbage. But for the past month, Li Xinyu’s been doing the shopping, buying fish and meat every day. I wonder where he got the money.”

“How’s his alcohol tolerance?”

“He can hold his liquor really well. He’s always drinking with his buddies at the street-side stalls downstairs. He can down several pounds of baijiu by himself!”

Fang Rui and Mu Mian went to Li Xinyu’s home. An elderly woman with graying hair and a hunched back opened the door.

When she learned why they were there, her expression changed. She went to a chest in the room and pulled out a bundle of money, handing it to Fang Rui. “Officer, my son must have committed a crime. This is the dirty money. I’m handing it over. Can you reduce his sentence?”

“Granny, how do you know this is dirty money?”

“I know my son. How else would he suddenly have so much money? He must have stolen it. I haven’t spent a single cent of it. Take it all.”

The bundle contained about twenty to thirty thousand yuan.

Just then, Mu Mian received a report.

“Fang Rui, he’s lying. His alcohol metabolism data shows that he had just finished drinking at the time of the accident. It wasn’t from the night before, like he claimed.”

Fang Rui and Mu Mian took the money to the detention center.

At first, Li Xinyu stubbornly denied everything. But when he saw the bundle of money, his eyes grew moist.

“You have a high alcohol tolerance. Even though the breathalyzer showed you were drunk, you were still fully conscious, weren’t you? You deliberately crashed into them, didn’t you?”

“Of course not! It wasn’t on purpose.”

Fang Rui pointed to the money. “Your mother told me everything. She wants you to confess, reform, and become a better person.”

“I…”

“We also found your debtors. They said you’ve paid off all your debts.”

Li Xinyu remained silent.

“Your ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‍alcohol metabolism data shows that you had just been drinking at the time of the accident, not the night before like you said.”

“I confess! I owed over a million in gambling debts. I couldn’t pay it back. Someone approached me, offering to clear my debts and give me another 1.5 million after the job was done. She told me that drunk driving would only get me a few years in prison. I was desperate, so I agreed.”

“Who did she want you to kill?”

“A month ago, she told me to crash into an armored truck and make sure everyone inside died. I was terrified—there were police officers in that truck! But I was so desperate for money that I agreed. Then they suddenly called it off, but they let me keep the money.”

Fang Rui realized the truck must have been the one transporting Chen Shu.

“Later, she came to me again, asking me to kill two people at once—the drivers of a white car and a black car. She told me to make sure they both died in the crash. I had no choice but to stage the accident.”

“What’s her name? Any distinctive features?”

“She’s a young woman in her twenties, quite pretty. But who would’ve thought she’d be so ruthless, even willing to kill police officers.”

Fang Rui had someone sketch a portrait based on Li Xinyu’s description.

When Fang Rui and Mu Mian saw the familiar face, they both thought of the same person.