Chapter 134: Need a Witness

In the car.

Wu An's phone rang.

It was his sister-in-law Mei Yueqin calling.

He wanted to answer.

The police officer beside him hurriedly warned, "You must not answer the call!"

Wu An ignored him.

He answered directly.

His sister-in-law's worried voice came, "Second son, what's going on? I heard a police car took you away?"

"Are you okay?"

"Where are you now?"

The police officer's face darkened, scolding, "Hang up immediately."

"Sister-in-law, I'm fine, don't worry. The police just took me to learn the situation; a small mishap, I can handle it." Wu An soothed for a moment, hung up, then glared at the officer with a sour expression and asked, "Did you guys arrest me?"

The officer was taken aback, "Well… that's not the case."

Wu An raised his tone, "Since it's not, what attitude are you taking toward me?"

"My father is a Village Committee Cadre."

"He always says his words are to serve the people."

"May I ask, why can't I answer the phone?"

The officer sneered, "Kid, don't argue with me."

"Whether you've committed anything, you know that yourself."

He said they called you for investigation, but in fact they've already got their eyes on you; otherwise, why summon someone else and not you?

Wu An acted boldly, saying, "I advise you to speak more cautiously."

The officer became angry.

The police officer driving the car quickly tried to smooth things over; when they arrived, Yu Kai Lang had already exchanged words with them, with no clues, only Guang Liangjun's one‑sided statements.

If this got too tense it would look bad; the kid also mentioned his father is a village cadre, so even if you don't respect a monk's face, you must respect a Buddha's.

Wu An sat in the back seat, and on the way to the town he almost fell asleep.

The police officer beside him gave him a push.

Wu An rubbed his eyes and muttered, "The compact car is just comfortable."

The officers burst out laughing in irritation.

It was his first time seeing someone so daring, and he said, "This kid really isn't afraid of his own shadow being crooked?"

Wu An followed inside, secretly sighing with relief.

Based on his behavior in the car, the two officers showed little reaction; most likely he won't face any violent enforcement.

Don't be fooled by his outward nonchalance.

In fact, his heart was still a bit uneasy.

This is, after all, 2012.

Those who get it, get it.

He followed into a room—not an interrogation room. Shortly after sitting down, someone entered: Yu Kai Lang, who was in charge of recording the testimony.

"Drink water."

Yu Kai Lang poured him a glass of water, sat opposite him, and said, "My colleague told me your attitude is terrible."

Wu An replied calmly, "I'm here to cooperate with the investigation, not to undergo interrogation."

"If his attitude is already bad, I can't be any better."

"Officer Yu, I left the dock and went straight home; I didn't meet anyone on the road. As you said, my relatives can't testify for me."

"I can't find a witness."

"I also can't prove it myself."

"So the pressure is now on you."

Yu Kai Lang glared, a perfect example of "strike first to be strong," coughed twice, and said, "Alright, alright, let's finish the statement first."

"Did you have a conflict with Guang Liangjun?"

"Yes."

"Guang Liangjun was attacked that night; what's your take on it?"

"First, it definitely wasn't me. Second, Guang Liangjun is a gambling addict, his family is broken, he has unpaid debts, and the people who want to get him are probably too many to count on one hand."

"Besides, do you think I'd retaliate the moment a conflict occurs?"

Yu Kai Lang paused, then said, "You might think we'd think that way, so you act opposite to clear your suspicion."

"…," Wu An smiled, "My thoughts are deeper; I think a step higher, so considering that you'd think I'm acting opposite, I won't retaliate immediately."

Yu Kai Lang furrowed his brow; this infinite nesting made conversation impossible. Wu An's performance was airtight; without evidence they couldn't do anything to Wu An.

He decided to take the initiative: "So, you do have thoughts of revenge against Guang Liangjun?"

Wu An took a sip, "Officer Yu, since you also understand the feud between me and him, if you were in my shoes, would you not want revenge?"

"To be honest, if I weren't restrained, Guang Liangjun would already have been beaten half to death by my friends."

Yu Kai Lang fell silent.

According to his understanding, Wu An was right.

Soon, the statement was finished.

Yu Kai Lang pressed further, "You really can't find anyone to testify for you?"

Wu An shook his head.

Yu Kai Lang said, "Think carefully: when you walked from the dock, did you bump into anyone, encounter anything, etc."

"You said you met someone selling food at a stall in the neighboring village—could that person testify for you?"

Wu An still shook his head and said, "According to the time frame you gave, she's already left."

He didn't really want to trouble Gu Anran.

Moreover, having Gu Anran testify would require perjury, which he didn't even dare to think about.

Yu Kai Lang also thought the person Wu An mentioned wasn't acquainted, so he could only let it go, not pressing further, lest Wu An think too much and suppose he was looking for evidence.

Actually.

He was actually thinking of ways to help Wu An clear his suspicion.

Outside the door, Guang Liangjun's shout rang out: "You've caught the person, right?"

"That brat will definitely make excuses!"

"Don't listen to him; it was definitely him who hit me."

"I want to talk to him, talk about compensation."

Wu Anle laughed: "Officer Yu, there's just someone being unreasonable at the station—no evidence at all, yet they demand I pay compensation, won't extort me, they want me to support him in his old age?"

Yu Kai Lang's face looked unpleasant; he said, "I'll go check it out."

"You stay here and drink tea, don't go out."

"I'll come back later to take you away."

Wu An smiled and nodded.

He wasn't in a hurry.

Having gone to this trouble with no evidence at all, it's even less likely any will turn up; Guang Liangjun's word alone is no different from a fart.

Instead, he felt somewhat glad he had acted impulsively.

If it had been truly well-planned, it might instead have left obvious clues.

Yu Kai Lang came out of the room, saw the frenzied Guang Liangjun, and instantly got a terrible headache; having already stayed up late, he thought, When will this ever end?

The leadership said to avoid suspicion, so they simply washed their hands of it and let him and his master take responsibility.

How could they possibly take responsibility?

This is just a "cold case"—there's no way to find the killer.

What Wu An said is right; someone like Guang Liangjun getting beaten is actually quite normal—aside from anything else, those loan sharks are also highly suspect.

……

A Qing ran all the way to the neighboring village, asked several old men and women, and finally found Gu Anran's home; at first glance, he even thought he had arrived at Wu An's old house.

A Qing hadn't expected Gu Anran to live in such a place, but he didn't have time to think further; he hurriedly called out Gu Anran, who quickly came out of the house, saw him, and exclaimed in surprise, "A Qing, what's this?"

A Qing explained the situation; Gu Anran's expression changed, he told him to wait a moment, then turned and went back inside.