Chapter 51: Birds of a Feather

This was crucial — through this question, Yu Dazhang could directly gauge how things really stood between father and son.

As for whether they admitted the father-son relationship, that no longer mattered.

A paternity test would settle it in one go.

Kong Lingjie's earlier reaction had already amounted to an indirect admission.

Sure enough, the moment he heard the question, Kong Lingjie began to hem and haw:

"I, I, uh, what I mean is… I just didn't want to worry her anymore… so I just…"

"It's Zhou Zizhe who doesn't want to acknowledge you, isn't it." Yu Dazhang cut him off, his eyes narrowing to slits:

"I bet he doesn't even want to acknowledge you as his biological father — he only kept in touch because you tracked him down and he had no choice."

"You didn't blame him, and you didn't want your ex-wife hurt a second time, so you kept it to yourself."

"Being rejected by your own son doesn't feel good, does it?"

Kong Lingjie's face turned ugly; his lips pressed tight together, and he said nothing.

Yu Dazhang didn't press him either, but went on:

"You thought that if you came over to take the blame, we wouldn't be able to get to Zhou Zizhe — because on paper there's no direct relationship between you."

"Unfortunately, you missed one very important thing… logic."

"Taking the fall for someone comes down to two possibilities: money, or sentiment."

"And 'sentiment' breaks down into family ties, friendship, and love."

"You know process of elimination, right? The only relationship between you that fits the logic is family."

As he spoke, Yu Dazhang picked up that little bottle again:

"You guessed there's blood inside, and you're sure it's Zhou Zizhe's."

"Let me tell you — this is a blood sample our criminal police obtained with your ex-wife's consent."

"Don't worry, we didn't tell her the child had been found."

"Zhou Zizhe will undergo a paternity test together with you and your wife."

"Know what that's called?"

Yu Dazhang set the little bottle down, fixing his gaze on Kong Lingjie's now deathly pale face:

"It's called ironclad evidence! It's called proof beyond doubt! No one can save you two!!"

Those ringing words plunged the man opposite into a deathly silence.

He lowered his head, as if trying to escape Yu Dazhang's gaze.

A moment later, he raised his head again, his eyes brimming with regret and fury, and with undisguised despair.

"It's all my fault. If I hadn't lost him back then, none of this would have happened."

"No — it's not my fault. It's those damned traffickers. Those beasts should be hacked to pieces, their bones ground to ash!"

Kong Lingjie roared, and the man who had seemed cowardly and introverted was suddenly a different person.

Now a fierce light flashed in his eyes.

"Right, it's all those beasts' fault. Why don't you go catch them? You should be going after those scumbags!"

"Zizhe is a victim too. Besides, whatever mistakes he made I've taken the blame for — what more do you people want?"

"A son owes, the father pays. Let me shoulder every charge. I beg you, let him go!"

As if clutching at the last straw, Kong Lingjie fixed a pleading gaze on the two men opposite, hoping to see some sign of softening on their faces.

But reality was bound to disappoint him. Lu Zhongxin's face was expressionless, while Yu Dazhang's was written all over with contempt and mockery.

"A son owes, the father pays?" Yu Dazhang stared at Kong Lingjie with icy eyes:

"From the moment you decided to sacrifice someone else to show off your fatherly love, you two have been birds of a feather."

"Don't make me sick."

After saying that, Yu Dazhang stood up, gave a nod to Lu Zhongxin beside him, and walked out.

Before stepping out, he took one last look at Kong Lingjie, who had lowered his head again, and clenched his fist.

The man didn't deserve a shred of pity!

If he weren't a police officer, he would have lunged over and beaten Kong Lingjie senseless.

Lu Zhongxin was more than capable of handling the rest of the interrogation; Yu Dazhang only needed to send someone else in. After a few words with the task force, he and Qian Cheng went to another interrogation room.

He had originally planned to question Zhou Zizhe the next day, but while interrogating Kong Lingjie just now, Yu Dazhang had changed his mind.

Since the biological father Kong Lingjie had already cracked, they might as well cut off this last straw too.

When to wrap up the case?

Today!

Yu Dazhang closed his eyes to rest, rapidly running through the procedure in his mind.

The relationships between them were all sorted out, and the evidence at every link had been gathered in full.

Motive for murder, the act itself, the post-crime plotting, moving and hiding the body, staging the scene, and finally the cover-up…

That was it. Nothing left out.

This case could already meet the standard of… excluding every reasonable doubt.

From here on, it was just a matter of time.

Please... bookmark... 6... 9... book... bar....!

If Zhou Zizhe would come clean on his own, the case could be closed sooner.

Otherwise, it would take a bit more effort.

But the outcome wouldn't change.

At this thought, Yu Dazhang felt a great ease spread through his whole body, and an indescribable exhilaration in his heart.

A while later, Zhou Zizhe was led into the interrogation room by two team members.

Upon meeting again, composure had returned to his face, yet the hatred hidden in his eyes remained clearly visible.

"It has been more than three hours since we last met," Yu Dazhang said leisurely:

"I think you should have figured it out by now."

Zhou Zizhe nodded but said nothing.

"Guess where I just came from?" Yu Dazhang asked with a smile.

He wanted to give the other person a false impression... that he was very relaxed now because he had found new clues.

Qian Cheng, who was recording nearby, stopped; he did not understand why Yu Dazhang was asking this question.

It made absolutely no sense.

Why was he even engaging the suspect in wordplay?

Unexpectedly, this time Zhou Zizhe spoke:

"The other interrogation room?"

"Congratulations, you're right." Yu Dazhang had intended to give him a thumbs-up, but immediately realized that the relationship between the two was not suitable for such a gesture.

Putting on a serious expression, Yu Dazhang said:

"Kong Lingjie, that is, your biological father, has already started confessing."

"Is that so?" Zhou Zizhe looked neither surprised nor shocked, as if he had expected this all along.

"That's not like you," Yu Dazhang said, looking at him with some surprise:

"You should have tried to defend yourself."

In Yu Dazhang's understanding of Zhou Zizhe, he was the kind of person who would argue three points even when in the wrong.

Extreme, stubborn, and self-righteous—this was the real Zhou Zizhe, a spoiled child who was insecure and introverted.

But the person before him was acting somewhat abnormally.

"It's useless," Zhou Zizhe shook his head:

"I studied criminal investigation at the police academy; I have researched almost all criminal investigation techniques."

"The moment you started to suspect, this matter could no longer be concealed."

"Perhaps the ancient method of blood recognition could still make mistakes, but DNA testing cannot be wrong."

"You will definitely make us conduct the test, and I cannot change your decision."

This was bad; he had calmed down... Hearing this, Yu Dazhang felt not happy but rather a bit nervous.

Seeing that Yu Dazhang did not immediately respond, Zhou Zizhe took the opportunity to make a request:

"Can I see the statements of Zhang Yan's parents? If that's inconvenient, reading them to me is fine too."

(End of this chapter)