Routine questioning

Gu Xiaofan tried to help Xu Ruobei, who was already crying uncontrollably, to sit down. But they didn't know whether it was because she was crying too much or for some other reason, Xu Ruobei kept holding on to Zhong Han's coat sleeve and kept crying. No matter how much Gu Xiaofan persuaded her from the side, she didn't let go.

After several ineffective attempts by Gu Xiaofan, even though Zhong Han's body was stiff and his face was blue, he could only let Xu Ruobei continue to hold him and cry. There were wet marks on his sleeves.

Several times, they thought that Xu Ruobei was done crying at last when she was exhausted and gasp unexpectedly, but she pauses for a while and then continue to cry deeply, with no intention of stopping.

Finally, just when Zhong Han's complexion was already ugly to a certain extent, Xu Ruobei finally let go of Zhong Han. While taking the facial tissue that Gu Xiaofan handed over to wipe away the tears on her face, she finally saw Zhong Han's crumpled sleeves. She gave Zhong Han a embarassed look: "I'm sorry, I... lost my temper a bit. I can compensate you for the laundry later."

"No need, I'll excuse myself for a moment." Although Zhong Han's face hadn't recovered yet, he still smiled at Xu Ruobei, then took out the key of the locker from his desk drawer and walked away.

"I'm causing you trouble." Xu Ruobei watched Zhong Han go away, then turned her head and smiled at Gu Xiaofan, the smile was a bit bitter.

Gu Xiaofan quickly waved his hand: "It's okay, we can all understand your current situation. Whoever it is, the reaction won't be much better."

After hearing Gu Xiaofan's words, Xu Ruobei's eyes became red again. Tears filled her eyes again and she hurriedly wiped them with a tissue. She raised her head slightly, trying to force the tears back into her eyes with her trembling body and tip of her nose is red. Her face looked even more pitiful than when she came first.

Gu Xiaofan comforted Xu Ruobei a few times, hoping she could pull herself together and cheer up. Xu Ruobei didn't say anything except a few words of apology for her crying out of control just now. Zhong Han came back after a while. His jacket has been changed. It seems that after changing the clothes that were wet from crying, his whole state has recovered and he looked refreshed again.

"Ms. Xu, are you sure that the deceased is your husband Ren Xuefeng,? What I mean is that the body was severely deformed when we found it, and it is not so easy to identify." Zhong Han sat in front of his desk. He  crossed his fingers on the table and looked at Xu Ruobei seriously.

Xu Ruobei nodded weakly: "I'm sure. Even if my husband's body is severely deformed, I can still tell where is a birthmark or scar on his body. There is absolutely no way I can be mistaken."

"Then did he disappear back then, or did he run away from home?" Gu Xiaofan asked.

"I don't know" Xu Ruobei twisted her fingers. "He is a businessman. His work and rest time are not particularly stable. It is not uncommon for him to not go home for several days when he is busy. If he left for ten days or half a month, I can't say whether he disappeared or should be counted as running away from home."

"Then the last time you saw him, do you remember what kind of mental state he was in?" Gu Xiaofan tried to make Xu Ruobei remember.

Xu Ruobei buried her face in to her two  palms and shook her head in pain: "I don't remember. All I know is that he hasn't come home for many days. I called him but couldn't reach him. Then I felt something was wrong. So I ran to the Public Security Bureau to report the case.”

"Didn't you say that he eloped with his secret lover? Why did you have such a suspicion at that time?"

Hearing Gu Xiaofan ask about this matter, Xu Ruobei's pale face flushed a little: "I...we had a quarrel before. I thought he spends too little time with me at home recently, so I wondered if he has been raising another women outside.  Since we had a quarrel and I couldn't find him later, when I went to the police station, I said a few angry words."

"You can't just think your husband is having an affair for no reason, right?" Gu Xiaofan felt that the word "angry words" alone was not enough to explain this matter.

Xu Ruobei sighed: "You don't understand. Haven't you guys heard a saying 'women become rich when they become bad, men become bad when they are rich'. There are too many gossips in the outside world. My husband Ren Xuefeng had to do a lot of socializing outside in order to discuss business. He may go in and out of any place. Every day, I don’t know how many people remind me to keep an eye on him, lest some women take my husband’s money and snatch him away. At first I didn't care, I believed in my husband. But day after day, month after month, listening to such reminders and advice, what else can I do without thinking about it!"

Gu Xiaofan thought about it, and felt that this was indeed the case. If someone always said some unsettling negative words in her ears, she might not be able to ignore them completely.

"May I ask, how did you and your husband meet? As far as I know, the age gap between the two of you is not very small." Zhong Han who had been silently listening to the conversation between Gu Xiaofan and Xu Ruobei without opening his mouth for a while finally asked a question that sounded a bit sharp.

Xu Ruobei's complexion changed slightly, as if she didn't like this topic a little bit. But she had to respond. So she gave Zhong Han a wry smile, moved her hair scattered around her cheeks behind her ears and said, " The two of us have a age gap almost enough to be a father and daughter in the old days. I know what you think in your heart. It has been almost seven years since Ren Xuefeng and I got married. I was just 25 years old. He already forty-two years old and he is a big boss. With our age and relationship, I must have been a mistress, right?"

"Don't think that way, my colleague didn't mean that." Gu Xiaofan hurriedly explained for Zhong Han, for fear that Xu Ruobei's displeasure would prevent the rest of the inquiry from proceeding smoothly.

Xu Ruobei waved her hand: "Don't be nervous, I'm not unhappy. Even if you think that way, it's normal. You're not the first one to think that way and you won't be the last. Many people thought that Ren Xuefeng's first marriage was failed because of my intervention. In fact, it was not true at all. When I met him, he had been divorced for more than a year. At that time, Ren Xuefeng happened to be in the lowest point in his life. He was single and had no one to rely on or take care of him. He was also very mature, which made me feel that he was very different from other young men of similar age around me. I felt very safe by his side, so the two of us got together not long after we met.  Usually I helped him take care of his life, and I relied on him."

When she said those words, Xu Ruobei's eyes became a little distracted, as if her whole body was caught in memories. She looked over Zhong Han's shoulders and looked behind him. She didn't look at any specific objects. Looking straight into the distance: "During that time, it was really special happiness. Both of us felt that we had found the best partner that we could spend the rest of our lives with each other. At that time, because of the divorce, Ren Xuefeng's factory suddenly encountered funding problems. There was a difficulty of turnover. I was anxious to find relatives and friends to help him raise money to tide over the difficulties. It felt like begging for food with a golden bowl that could not be sold. When we were in the most difficult time, the two of us ate instant noodles every day for more than half a month, which made me feel sick when I saw instant noodles. Fortunately, the factory started to operate normally and the payment was quickly recovered. After getting through it, Ren Xuefeng was very touched. As soon as the economic situation improved, he immediately bought a diamond ring and proposed to me. I was very touched at the time and I agreed without thinking too much."

Zhong Han silently listened to Xu Ruobei's memories, and when he heard this, he frowned, and interjected, "So, from your tone, you regret it now. Do you feel that you didn't think it enough at the beginning and made a hasty decision?"

Xu Ruobei was stunned for a moment. She looked at him and shook her head: "I don't regret it and it was not hasty. I just... I just didn't think about whether the price of being a businessman's wife can be afforded by me or am I wiloing to pay. I am willing to bear it. After Ren Xuefeng and I got married, we had a very sweet and happy life for almost a year. After that, his business became better and better and the bigger it became, the busier he became. He was so busy that he came homedrunk. He was so tired that he didn’t even bother to talk. Sometimes I felt that the relationship at the beginning was like a dream. It was very beautiful, but it was getting farther and farther away from me, a little out of reach.”

"Then did you discuss about this issue before Ren Xuefeng disappeared?" Zhong Han seemed to be full of curiosity about the relationship between Xu Ruobei and Ren Xuefeng.

Xu Ruobei finally got a little disgusted. She put on a straight face and asked Zhong Han: "What do you mean by asking this? Do you want to say that you suspect that I killed my husband because I resented him for not having time to accompany me? If you think so , then I can only say, officer, your imagination is too outrageous!"

"I didn't mean that. Don't get me wrong. I'm just curious." Facing Xu Ruobei's accusation, Zhong Han was not in a hurry or annoyed, with a look of indifference, "If I offend you, I can apologize. We are just doing  a routine questioning, Ms. Xu. How much do you know about the matter between your husband and his ex-wife?"

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