Chapter 210: The Killer Is Him?

“Boyfriend?” Wu Yan asked suspiciously, “What’s his name? Why did he persuade you to deceive us? What’s your connection with Lou Zhen?”

Huang Li was already terrified that the police had discovered her secret, and now, seeing the female officer who had once been kind to her staring at her with clear revulsion, she grew even more frightened!

Gu Changzheng, seeing this, spoke gently: “Huang Li, I believe you’re not the main culprit, but I hope you’ll tell us everything you know so we can clear your name.” Huang Li looked at Gu Changzheng timidly, wiped her tears with her hand, and choked out: “Officer, I really didn’t know the aunt would jump. Otherwise, I’d never have given her the key!”

“What?!” Wu Yan cried out. “You gave her the key?!”

Huang Li shrank back in fright, her lips trembling as she whispered: “I—I was told to give it by Zhiyuan.”

“Zhiyuan? Who is he?” Gu Changzheng asked quickly. The name sounded familiar, as if he’d heard it somewhere before.

“Zhiyuan—he’s my boyfriend,” Huang Li stammered.

“Do you have a photo of him on your phone?” Gu Changzheng asked.

Huang Li nodded. “Yes, yes—I’ll show you.”

When Gu Changzheng saw the thin-faced man in Huang Li’s phone photo, a figure flashed through his mind! Though he’d only seen him once, the man’s features and expression were too similar to An Nan—oh! Zhang Yiyuan! He remembered: the son of Zhang Yiyuan, the man he’d met at Junhe Hospital!

Gu Changzheng felt a pang of suspicion—how could Zhang Zhiyuan be involved with a hotel maid?

Wu Yan noticed his expression and asked: “Captain Gu, do you know this man?”

Gu Changzheng stared at the handsome man’s photo on the phone, gave a soft “hmm,” then turned to Huang Li: “Tell us everything about him—when and where you met, why he asked you for the rooftop key. Leave nothing out.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but the authority in his tone made Huang Li dare not breathe loudly. She lowered her head and began recounting her story with Xiaohai…

Zhang Zhiyuan, though significantly older than Huang Li, was not only handsome and mature, but also generous. By chance, when Huang Li felt unwell, she went to Junhe Hospital for a checkup. Unfamiliar with the layout, she accidentally met Zhang Zhiyuan, who was patrolling the hospital. He warmly accompanied her through the examination, and they chatted naturally. Zhang Zhiyuan wasn’t just good-looking—he knew exactly how to charm girls. Though they’d just met, his calm, refined, handsome, and witty personality had completely captivated the inexperienced Huang Li!

They exchanged phone numbers. Zhang Zhiyuan seemed genuinely interested in this young girl, and soon arranged a few more meetings. Huang Li naturally came to see him as her lover. Over time, she told him everything about herself. At the age when first love blooms, and with no other male experience, Zhang Zhiyuan appeared to her as a perfect man: handsome, funny, and—crucially—wealthy. In no time, Huang Li was utterly bewitched, unable to tell up from down.

Within months of dating, they became intimate. Newly awakened to passion, Huang Li saw only her lover, and obeyed every word Zhang Zhiyuan said.

To make their meetings easier, Zhang Zhiyuan rented a room at the hotel where Huang Li worked. Once, after they made love, he casually noticed her large keychain and learned she held the hotel’s keys. Seeking thrill, at his request, they secretly met on the hotel rooftop several times.

Later, to make things more convenient, Zhang Zhiyuan had Huang Li make a duplicate key to the rooftop, and also asked her to copy the key to the iron door on the fire stairs between the 4th and 8th floors, which had been installed by Boss Tian. When Huang Li asked why, he said it was so he could come up to meet her more easily—he didn’t want to take the elevator every time, fearing staff might notice.

Gu Changzheng asked: “So you gave all the keys you made to Zhang Zhiyuan?”

Huang Li nodded fearfully. “Yes. Whenever I was on duty, the keys were always with me. I made the copies mainly so he could come and go freely.”

“So your claim that you lost the keys was also his idea?”

“Y-yes. He told me that since I’d made so many keys, the keymaker would remember me. If anything unusual happened, I should say I’d lost them—so no one would know why I’d made them.”

Gu Changzheng smiled silently. Zhang Zhiyuan was clearly a major suspect. He immediately called Liu Han, who had taken the hotel surveillance footage back to the bureau, and ordered him to check the footage and see if Zhang Zhiyuan appeared around the time Lou Zhen jumped.

Then he told Wu Yan to take Huang Li back to the bureau under the pretext of assisting the investigation. Huang Li must not leave their sight until they’d contacted Zhang Zhiyuan.

———

Let’s rewind to 5:30 p.m. that day. Lou Zhen had just finished a long, intense afternoon of mahjong in the smoky, noisy parlor and was heading back to her supermarket when a clear, melodious ringtone suddenly reached her ears.

She instinctively stopped walking, reached into her small handbag, and pulled out her elegant phone. When her eyes landed on the familiar number displayed on the screen, her lips curled into a charming smile. She quickly pressed answer and brought the phone to her ear.

Before she’d even spoken a few words, her already lovely face flushed crimson like a blooming spring flower. Clearly, whoever was on the other end had said just the right things to make her heart flutter. The radiant glow on her face left no doubt—the caller was someone deeply close to her, perhaps even the lover she longed for.

Lou Zhen replied in a sweet, syrupy voice: “Mmm! We’ll meet on the rooftop tonight. But won’t it be risky going up so early? Someone might see us.” Though her side of the conversation was silent, her blush deepened further, glowing like a ripe apple. Clearly, the other person had whispered passionate, heart-pounding words that left her breathless.

After the call ended, Lou Zhen gently lowered her phone, satisfied, and slipped it back into her bag. Then she swayed her slender, supple waist, and her steps quickened unconsciously…