The evidence was conclusive, but Zhang Liangcheng did not go to prison; instead, he descended into hell.

When he received the fifth letter, he had already lost all fear of death.

In the end, he merely pleaded desperately with Jiang Yuming not to hand the voice recorder to the police.

He was willing to use his "accidental" death to secure a hefty seven-million-dollar insurance for Xiaohuan for her future life.

On the day of Zhang Liangcheng's funeral, Xiaohuan did not attend.

Because... she had gone mad.

She somehow learned that her mother and biological father died at the hands of her most revered foster father.

In one night, her beliefs shattered.

33 Jiang Yuming's Perspective, Extra Chapter (1)

Half a year later, I coincidentally met Miss Zhang Nan in a mental hospital because of a case.

I hadn't seen her for a long time, and I almost didn't recognize her.

After all, she really didn't like to smile back then.

She asked if I wanted a drink, and I agreed.

We talked about daily life and work.

When her father "Zhang Liangcheng" was mentioned, she had a slight, almost imperceptible reaction.

"Miss Zhang, I've always wondered how your father Zhang Liangcheng knew Liu Xianghua and Lin Xuan were in danger."

She smiled lightly, "How would I know? Could it be that I told him?"

"Would Miss Zhang like to hear my deduction once more?"

"Detective Jiang sure loves deducing, remembering things from so long ago. You have quite a memory."

I ignored her teasing and continued on my own.

"From the beginning, this case was a prank caused by a misunderstanding. Those anonymous letters without signatures had nothing to do with the murder case."

"From beginning to end, the unluckiest one wasn't Zhang Liangcheng, who complained about his fate, but Zhao Wei, who was kept in the dark! He was the imagined enemy of Zhang Liangcheng, the one who started it all—Zhao Wei."

"Li Mengting's ex-husband—Zhao Wei, was actually an honest, good man working as an executive in a company. For some reason, Zhang Liangcheng killed him—no, he thought he killed him!"

"Zhang Liangcheng mailed himself the first letter, reminding himself to punish Zhao Wei. Of course, the letter's text used more extreme words: 'If this man dies, you will get seven hundred dollars.'

"He requested something from himself, with a seven hundred dollar reward. After you said you saw Zhao Wei, Zhang Liangcheng followed and beat him up, perhaps just to vent his anger."

"But the next day, when you saw the news of a death on the bulletin board in the neighborhood and told your father, Zhang Liangcheng couldn't help but link it to Zhao Wei, wondering if he had accidentally killed him."

"What's worse is that over the next period, Zhang Liangcheng kept receiving anonymous letters. Every name mentioned in the letters soon brought him the monetary rewards mentioned."

"This bizarre series of events left Zhang Liangcheng both thrilled and terrified. Who was imitating his habits and sending him strange anonymous letters?"

"When he received the fourth letter, he saw that his ex-wife Yang Mengting's name was on it. Zhang Liangcheng vaguely felt that there might be some connection to himself behind these letters."

"So, he disguised himself and went to his ex-wife's hospital to see if he could catch the murderer who might harm her."

"But when he arrived at the hospital prepared for everything, he found that his ex-wife had died because someone pulled her ventilator. At that moment, he went mad, putting a rope around the neck of another patient asleep on a bed and almost strangling the patient."

"The story's reasoning is very logical, then what?" Zhang Nan calmly took a sip of water.

"I investigated the hospital where Yang Mengting was hospitalized. A nurse reported that a patient had been attacked by an unknown person, and I thought of Zhang Liangcheng."

"Since Zhang Liangcheng learned of his ex-wife's death, it seemed his world had lost all hope. Just as he was nearly in despair, Zhang Liangcheng unexpectedly received the fifth letter, revealing that the next person to die was him!"

"Originally having lost the courage to live, Zhang Liangcheng suddenly realized that all of this seemed designed from the start, and he was the next one to die, also the last."

"So, Zhang Liangcheng thought of me again! As I previously mentioned, the murderer’s arrangement of the fifth letter was a big mistake. Without the fifth letter, Zhang Liangcheng would have broken down mentally long ago!"

"Then who is the real murderer?"

Zhang Nan asked me in confusion, seeming to listen intently.

"Remember the postcard we found on Zhang Liangcheng's mirror?" I continued.

"What postcard?"

"The sticker with Lin Xuan's portrait. Xiaohuan once served as Lin Xuan's life assistant, so she could easily get the news about Lin Xuan's car accident."

"In the bookstore that published Liu Xianghua's obituary, an editor who used to be Xiaohuan's boyfriend revealed the obituary timing in advance."

34 Jiang Yuming's Perspective, Extra Chapter (2)

"You suspect Xiaohuan? Why would she do that? My father treated her well."

"I didn't say I suspect her, Miss Zhang."

Zhang Nan blinked, her tone somewhat playful and innocent.

"Then who does Detective Jiang suspect? Is it me?"

"Miss Zhang, your sister Xiaohuan should trust you a lot, right?" I smiled.

"So it would be easy for you to ask her about the whereabouts of these two people."

"If I'm not mistaken, you must have hated your father greatly."

"Thirteen years ago, your father Zhang Liangcheng abandoned your mother Xie Hua for Yang Mengting. Your mother couldn't bear the blow and committed suicide by taking sleeping pills."

I stared intently at Zhang Nan.

Her expression was so calm that it gave nothing away.

If it weren't for her slightly trembling hands, I wouldn't have been able to read her.

"Your father transferred all his love to Xiaohuan, who had no blood relation to him, neglecting his own flesh and blood—you."

"So, when you accidentally discovered your father's plan to defraud insurance for Xiaohuan’s benefit one day."

"You had a bold idea."

"You wanted to avenge your mother and claim what was yours."

"So you wrote the second letter in the tone of the first letter and deliberately told Zhang Liangcheng Zhao Wei's location."

"You followed Zhang Liangcheng. Initially, Zhang Liangcheng just wanted to beat him up to vent his anger, but you killed him, making Zhang Liangcheng think he was the one who killed him."

"As for Yang Mengting, you were the one who pulled out her ventilator at the hospital in advance."

"Everything was part of your plan."

"You used the letters to break Zhang Liangcheng's willpower, terminated Yang Mengting's life, and destroyed Xiaohuan's belief."

"Finally, you reasonably took care of the huge insurance for your sister."

"Tell me, am I right, Miss Zhang?"

She deeply looked at me, was silent for a few seconds, and then suddenly smiled brightly.

"Detective Jiang deserves to be a detective; even the stories you make up are so interesting. But a story is still just a story. Now that it has an ending, should we stop reliving the process, don't you think?"

35 Jiang Yuming's Perspective, Extra Chapter (3)

Finally, I left first because of an emergency call from my client.

The conversation with Miss Zhang ended there.

A few months later, I received an anonymous letter—

【Jiang Yuming, if this man dies, you will get seventy million dollars.】