"Do you think this is a detective novel, young man?"

"Of course, this is not a detective novel!"

Jiang Yu-ming crossed his hands and leaned back relaxedly.

A trace of sarcastic smile emerged at the corner of his mouth.

"To take a step back, even if I were the one who killed Zhao Wei and Yang Meng-ting, how do you explain the deaths of Liu Xiang-hua and Lin Xuan? They are public figures, how could I possibly have killed them?"

"Of course,

you don't have to kill them! You couldn't possibly kill them! You just need to call the bookstore a day in advance to inquire about the time when Liu Xiang-hua's obituary will be published, and at the same time, fabricate an anonymous letter and send it to yourself."

"As for the time of Lin Xuan's death, you can similarly inquire through his fan club and send a letter to yourself in advance. Arranging these unrelated people together to create a serial murder case is not impossible."

"The motive? How do you explain my motive for doing this!"

"Yang Meng-ting is Zhao Wei's ex-wife, and isn't her current husband you, Mr. Zhang? You should know better than anyone that Yang Mengting is Meng An-xue. And killing a wife who betrayed you and a rival in love, this motive explains everything, right?"

"Young man, maybe you still don't understand the essence of life!"

Father flicked the ashes into the teacup and spoke slowly.

"For me, my wife running off with another man is actually more of a relief. Meng An-xue, no, Yang Meng-ting, is a woman with an extremely strong sense of vanity."

"Living with her all these years, no matter how hard I try, no matter how much money I have, I could never satisfy this woman's insatiable desires. I'm tired, really, I want to stop and rest."

"So you planned Yang Meng-ting's death?"

"Yes. Meng-ting was my first love, I once loved her madly! Like all first loves that are destined to fail, she got married, and the groom wasn't me."

"I knew in my heart that at first, she despised me for not having a high education and not being able to provide her with a sufficient material life."

"Later, I worked desperately, hoping to make something of myself, to win her back into my arms."

"Sometimes, fate is truly wondrous. Thirteen years after I married Xiao-nan's mother, Meng-ting came running to me crying, begging for another chance!"

"She said her marriage wasn't happy, that man actually used domestic violence on her! And so, I divorced Xiao-nan's mother and got back together with Meng-ting, who had changed her name."

"The lesson from the failure of her first marriage didn't teach Meng-ting how to live a peaceful life. Her obsession with luxury reached an almost frenzied level."

"She was vain and materialistic. Despite my considerable wealth, she was still not satisfied. Just last month, on the day the company went bankrupt, at my most desolate and helpless moment, Meng-ting left me again, this time taking Xiao-huan with her."

"I don't hate her at all, really, I only hate myself for being incompetent, unable to give her a better life!"

"So you planned to kill her, then commit suicide, to die together with her?" Jiang Yu-ming asked.

"That's right! When I received the fourth letter, I made up my mind! After killing her, I would commit suicide! Since we cannot live through poverty together, let us die together. Maybe in our next life, we will be reborn into wealth and won't have to endure hardship."

"To ensure your daughter Xiao-huan would have a good life, you two took out a seven million yuan life insurance, right?"

"Yes. I stumbled upon your post online and came up with this plan. The moment I saw you, I told myself that this young temporary detective is the most suitable candidate. I used you to investigate this case so as to reach the conclusion that 'my wife and I' were murdered. I deliberately fabricated anonymous letters to mislead you!"

Jiang Yu-ming picked up the teacup and took a big gulp.

The tea slid down his throat, leaving a faint chrysanthemum aroma between his lips and teeth.

He took out the recorder in his hand, cleared his throat, and his voice grew brighter—

"Mr. Zhang, I hope you can also candidly tell all this truth in front of the police."