Chapter 1524: Flaw
After seeing Li Dingguo, Ye Fan and Zhang Lu went to the place where Han Zizhen and Shang Xiaoran lived.
Ye Fan and Zhang Lu showed their IDs, and the couple didn’t dare slack off, but it was obvious that a guarded look appeared on their faces.
After the four of them sat down, Shang Xiaoran said forthrightly, "Tell us how you need us to cooperate, don’t hold back. If you suspect we’ve got a problem, feel free to investigate, we guarantee we’ll cooperate."
Shang Xiaoran was straightforward. She knew Ye Fan and Zhang Lu wouldn’t come for nothing, so she dispensed with pleasantries.
"My wife’s a blunt person, please don’t take offense," Han Zizhen tried to smooth things over from the side.
As for Shang Xiaoran’s attitude, both Ye Fan and Zhang Lu admired it, and felt no displeasure at all.
"We’re not here to investigate you for anything, but to confirm one matter. Please tell us the truth," Ye Fan glanced at the couple, Han Zizhen and Shang Xiaoran, and asked quite politely.
"Ask whatever you like, we definitely won’t hide anything," Han Zizhen replied modestly and courteously, gentle and polite.
He also knew Ye Fan and Zhang Lu had come with a purpose, surely to investigate something, so of course he wouldn’t try to fob them off.
"Around noon seven days ago, you two should have been at home? Do you remember what happened at that time?" Ye Fan pressed. That time point was when Liu Anping entered the couple’s home and copied the key.
"Seven days ago? Do you remember?" Han Zizhen pondered for a while, but couldn’t recall for the moment, and turned to ask his wife.
"Seems like it was the day Liu Anping came over with gifts to see us. After lunch I felt a bit groggy and unknowingly overslept. It should’ve been that day. I wasn’t feeling well then, so I remember it more clearly," Shang Xiaoran said, not entirely sure.
"Oh, right, it was a Thursday. Then it should be that day," Han Zizhen finally spoke with certainty.
The couple conferred for a bit and finally confirmed that seven days ago was the day Liu Anping came to visit them.
"What, you suspect Liu Anping’s death has something to do with us?" Shang Xiaoran, with a clear conscience, said openly, "If you really suspect us, then bring out the evidence and take us in. Don’t waste time on unrelated stuff."
"We know perfectly well who killed Liu Anping." Ye Fan didn’t mind Shang Xiaoran’s attitude and said calmly, "We came here just to confirm one matter. Since you already remember what happened seven days ago, when Liu Anping came to see you, nothing out of the ordinary happened? I may as well tell you, on that very day Liu Anping copied the key in your hand, and the surveillance outside happened to capture the footage."
"What? How is that possible?" Shang Xiaoran’s expression changed drastically. She suddenly shot to her feet, looked at Ye Fan and Zhang Lu and shouted, "You’re not joking? You didn’t get it wrong?"
"This? Th-this? How could that be?" Han Zizhen was utterly shocked and at a loss for words.
Ye Fan and Zhang Lu nodded gravely, waiting for the couple to digest this information.
"Ever since I brought the key back home, I’ve always kept it locked in the safe. In addition to the numeric code there’s a fingerprint lock. Even if Liu Anping came over, he couldn’t possibly open the safe," Shang Xiaoran muttered, utterly baffled and full of doubt.
"Exactly. Could there be some kind of misunderstanding here?" Han Zizhen’s expression turned ugly.
"Do you still remember what happened at the time?" Ye Fan was very concerned about this point.
"Liu Anping loafs about, but for the sake of Old Liu, Liu Qianjin, we’ve always looked after him. We don’t give him big money, but if he needs a bit of cash we’ll help out, and we don’t expect him to pay it back—just see it as helping out. That time, Liu Anping brought some fruit and yogurt, said it was to thank us for how we usually take care of him. He also said he was about to become a rich man, and when that happened he’d treat us to a big feast to express his thanks. We just laughed and didn’t take it seriously, but at the time Liu Anping swore up and down that he was about to turn his life around. We could only humor him with a few polite words."
Han Zizhen recalled while explaining, "My wife made lunch, and the three of us ate together. We couldn’t resist Liu Anping’s enthusiasm and also drank the yogurt he brought. I don’t know what happened, but we felt especially sleepy. After sending Liu Anping off, my wife and I napped for over two hours."
"I remember this clearly. I had something to do that day, but because I overslept I missed a meeting. Even when my phone rang I didn’t wake up. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but now that I think about it, it doesn’t seem right," Shang Xiaoran said seriously.
"Maybe it was during that period that Liu Anping stole the key and then made a copy," Zhang Lu said thoughtfully.
"It seems you’ve always treated Liu Anping quite well. You two got drowsy and went to rest, leaving Liu Anping in the house, and you felt quite at ease with that?" Ye Fan asked casually.
"Of course we were at ease. Liu Anping may not be hardworking, but he has his bottom line. And since we treat him well, he’s good to us too. The friendship is real enough. It’s a pity Liu Anping died just like that. It’s tough on Old Liu," Shang Xiaoran said, full of sadness.
"We checked Liu Anping’s call records and found that before he died he called you. Do you remember what he talked about?" Ye Fan looked at Han Zizhen and asked.
"He didn’t say much, just rambled on about useless stuff, kept complaining that his girlfriend wanted to break up with him and so on. Other than that, there wasn’t much else." Han Zizhen spoke solemnly, then added belatedly, "Right, his mood was very low at the time, maybe he’d had a fight with his girlfriend. I comforted him a bit but didn’t take it seriously. If I’d paid more attention, maybe this tragedy wouldn’t have happened."
After a few polite exchanges, Ye Fan and Zhang Lu took their leave.
In the car, Zhang Lu asked curiously, "Did you notice anything?"
"Yeah." Ye Fan said lightly, "Han Zizhen’s logic is clear. He acts like he doesn’t understand some things, but in fact he understands them quite well. It’s like he’d already prepared his wording—his answers were very smooth. But he also exposed a flaw."
"What flaw?" Zhang Lu asked urgently, secretly wondering why she hadn’t noticed anything.
"Han Zizhen said that only after seeing Liu Anping out did he and his wife lie down to rest. I asked Shang Xiaoran from the side: my question was, ’You two got drowsy and went to rest, leaving Liu Anping at home—did that make you feel at ease?’ Shang Xiaoran instinctively answered in the affirmative. That’s completely at odds with Han Zizhen’s answer. And Han Zizhen didn’t catch the implication hidden in my wording. Isn’t that strange?" A sly glint flashed in Ye Fan’s eyes.
"So, between Han Zizhen and Shang Xiaoran, one of them is lying. That means one of them definitely has a problem?" Zhang Lu grew highly alert, full of unease. Still holding onto a final sliver of hope, she said, "Could it be that they were both groggy at the time and just forgot when Liu Anping actually left?"
"Don’t harbor fantasies or expectations about anyone. Our job now is to dare to suspect anyone. Don’t make conclusions based on subjective assumptions," Ye Fan warned.
Zhang Lu nodded solemnly in acknowledgement.