Xu Wenchao closed his eyes and broke into a self-deprecating smile. “I really don’t know what got into me then. She was the only thing I could think about, and whenever I thought of her, I was upset—but I still longed for her. I was full of grief and rage, and I wanted to rip Wu Guangchuan apart with my bare hands. One day, when I couldn’t bear it anymore, I lied to the teacher, saying I was sick. I went looking for Su Xiaolan and saw her with an unfamiliar girl. I hesitated and didn’t go up to them—just left quietly. But soon after, I found out that that girl had disappeared. It even made the local news. That was when I started to get a bad feeling. The next day, I went to her place on the grounds that I was bringing over her homework. I saw her cutting up a dress. It was…the dress that girl had been wearing that day.
“She panicked and asked me not to tell anyone. I was scared. Honestly scared. I didn’t even have the guts to think hard about the whole thing. It felt like the sky had fallen… But in the end…in the end, I couldn’t bring myself to expose her, and I agreed.” Xu Wenchao reached up to cover his face. “I was the class representative. It was easy for me to get a day off ‘sick.’ The teacher trusted me, so I didn’t need a note. But for Su Xiaolan, I spied, lied, and covered up for criminals. I gave up my normal life for her… She ruined me, she ruined me completely, but I still liked her so much.”
“Did you see Su Hui at her home?”
“Su Hui?” Xu Wenchao snorted. “If I’d run into that demon, do you think I’d be alive to speak to you now?”
Luo Wenzhou massaged his temples lightly with his thumbs. “Do you mind if I smoke?” he asked politely.
“Could I have one too?”
Luo Wenzhou handed a cigarette over readily. “I wouldn’t have figured you for a smoker.”
“I’m not.” Xu Wenchao accepted the cigarette, his fingers trembling but his tone a little more relaxed. “I occasionally smoke a few during social obligations, but I don’t really smoke on my own… Sorry, but today has been really painful. I’ve kept all this hidden for over twenty years. I always pretended that none of it ever happened. Nobody knows, not even the people I’m closest to.”
“Mm.” Luo Wenzhou glanced at his phone; there was no news from Tao Ran and Lang Qiao. The smoke break eased the atmosphere between the officer and his suspect. “I think I can understand,” Luo Wenzhou said amicably. “But can you tell me what you were thinking when you helped Guo Heng investigate Wu Guangchuan?”
“At the time, I thought Wu Guangchuan was forcing her to do things.” Xu Wenchao exhaled a lungful of smoke. “I promised Su Xiaolan I wouldn’t tell the police or anyone else, because otherwise, her life would be over. I was so naive back then… A young boy always wants to be a hero. I wanted to get rid of Wu Guangchuan myself and save Su Xiaolan. While I was following Wu Guangchuan, Guo Heng discovered what I was doing. He was investigating Wu Guangchuan secretly, just like me. I thought we were both doing it for the people we loved. I felt bad for him. Plus, I figured it would be a little safer to team up with an adult. It never occurred to me that he’d stab Wu Guangchuan to death. If I’d known, I would never have helped him.”
“Why not?”
“That man was crazy. It was a good thing that I never told him what Su Xiaolan did, and that Wu Guangchuan died before he could say anything, or Su Xiaolan wouldn’t have walked out alive.” Xu Wenchao took two deep drags, then exhaled. It looked like smoke was coming out of all his orifices, blurring his face. “Thinking about it now still gives me the chills.”
“Gives you the chills…” Luo Wenzhou’s eyes bored into him. “After Wu Guangchuan died, what was your relationship with Su Xiaolan like?”
Xu Wenchao fell silent for a while. He looked up with difficulty, adjusting his posture, as if his collar was bothering him. “She hadn’t been forced at all. She’d done it all willingly. She was like an opium poppy growing among roses, toxic to the core. And she actually…she actually truly loved…” Xu Wenchao wiped his face roughly. “After that, she seemed to wither away, like she was a zombie. I couldn’t believe it. Can you imagine my helplessness? And I had to pretend not to know. I saved up my allowance for so long just to buy her once from her mother.”
“Hold on.” Luo Wenzhou paused. “Su Luozhan isn’t your daughter, is she?”
“No,” Xu Wenchao said immediately. “I never touched Su Xiaolan. When I paid for her, I only wanted to spend time with her. It wasn’t how you’re thinking. She was so vicious, so messed up, but I still loved her. I couldn’t stop her, nor myself…”
Xiao-Wu, who’d spent the whole day being harassed by the victims’ families, reached his breaking point. He looked as though he was about to jump up and beat Xu Wenchao’s artsy head into a pulp. Once again, though, Luo Wenzhou held him back. His grip on Xiao-Wu was so strong, his hand could’ve been forged out of metal.
“Boss!” Xiao-Wu protested.
“Wait. I’ve got a few more questions,” Luo Wenzhou said in a low voice. “Xu Wenchao, when did you start handling the aftermath for Su Xiaolan? And what role did you play overall?”
“After Su Hui died…” Xu Wenchao took a moment to think about it, then sighed. “About ten years ago now. Su Xiaolan prayed for the woman’s death every day, but when she really did die, her daughter felt alone and helpless. And the gambling parlor her mother owned was about to be torn down. Su Xiaolan said she could only ask me for help; she didn’t trust anyone else. What else could I do? I had no boundaries when it came to her. At the time, the owner of an apartment in Xiangyang Community was about to move overseas. I was making a decent amount that year, and my family gave me some money, so I bought it. The original owners left in a hurry, though, so we never got around to exchanging the deed.” He lowered his head. “I let her use that apartment.”
“Oh—I get it,” said Luo Wenzhou. “At first, Su Xiaolan was a young girl. Before she could grow up, she got pregnant, then became a mother, so she could always play the role of someone who needed help. She used that to set the girls at ease, then kidnapped them, sold them to perverts, and killed them to keep them silent, with you providing a location and then getting rid of the bodies afterward. How? You chopped the bodies up, then dumped them somewhere. Did I get it right?”