Motive - The Brave Kitten's Total Affirmation Bot

The only sound in the interrogation room was the faint hum of electronic equipment running; everyone had fallen into a state of speechlessness. Those past events, which sounded so terrifying to them, were real knives that had fallen upon the victim. Sympathy and comfort offered more than a decade later were far too late; speaking rashly would only sound like someone making careless remarks, unburdened by the pain themselves.

So, Yuan Hang looked toward Shen Zhengning for help, his eyes filled with earnest encouragement: 'Brother, say something.'

Shen Zhengning: “Sorry to interrupt, may I use the restroom?”

“...You may.” Yuan Hang was taken aback by the sudden interruption, wondering inwardly what kind of tactic this was. “Turn right outside the door, it's at the end of the hall.”

The one tasked with pushing the wheelchair was, of course, Zhuang Mingqi. The two of them silently crossed the corridor and entered the empty restroom.

Restricted by the stab wound after all, Shen Zhengning braced himself on the handrail to pull himself up from the wheelchair, gritting his teeth to swallow a low hiss. Suddenly, without any warning, he took a step forward, opened his arms, and loosely enveloped Zhuang Mingqi, giving him a hug lighter than air that ended the moment it began.

At that moment, Zhuang Mingqi seemed somewhat dazed and sluggish, mentally on the verge of collapse. His mind was so numb he couldn't distinguish pain from sorrow. Recalling the immense trauma in such detail was tantamount to placing him back in that scene to experience it all over again; not breaking down midway through was a testament to his proper healing over the years. Shen Zhengning's sudden approach startled him into taking a reflexive step back, but the other man had no intention of pressing closer. He simply tapped him lightly on the shoulder blade with the heel of his palm, “I touched you just now, my apologies.”

Being touched... what would happen?

The indelible scars of the past carved into him and the stress response that had lasted for over a decade were like a lit fuse, finally detonating the accumulated pain. From inside a stall came the sound of dry heaving that made one's throat tighten involuntarily. Shen Zhengning just stood silently outside the door, listening silently, waiting silently for him to vent his pain, before passing a tissue through the gap in the door.

He had actually had a rough guess about Zhuang Mingqi's ordeal, but he hadn't predicted the convoluted ending, nor had he expected what it would feel like to hear him say it with his own ears. Shen Zhengning rarely regretted his decisions, but right now, he wanted to go back an hour ago. He shouldn't have agreed to Yuan Hang's request; he should have forcefully kept Zhuang Mingqi at the hospital, no matter what it took.

What was the point of bringing up a past that had already been burned to ashes? How did that damn murderer have the gall to falsely accuse Zhuang Mingqi? Being forced to prove one's innocence because a mad dog bites you—he, who had naively believed this logic, really should go back to the hospital and check if he had been infected with the stupidity virus by that mad dog.

Whoosh—

The sound of flushing snapped him out of his thoughts. Zhuang Mingqi walked to the sink and cleaned himself up with the bone-chilling tap water. A bit of color was rubbed back into his pale face, and his senses returned to his mind. He met Shen Zhengning's gaze in the mirror.

“I thought I could handle it,” his voice was a little hoarse, his tone soft and tinged with the exhaustion of a struggle. “I told my therapist about this experience before. She would cry every time, but I couldn't. I thought it was a sign of healing, but I never expected that Chinese and English would be on completely different levels of difficulty.”

The immersive power of his mother tongue was just too strong; it easily pierced through the psychological defenses he had built up for over a decade.

Thankfully, Shen Zhengning was there to take charge, promptly finding an excuse to take him out to deal with his emotions. After throwing up, the suffocating feeling that had been pressing down on him finally began to dissipate, as if he had once again escaped death. And amidst the pain, it seemed as though something heavy had loosened by a tiny crack.

“Let's go back.”

“Mm.”

Shen Zhengning corrected him, “I mean, let's go home.”

Zhuang Mingqi: “...”

“I'm human too. I may not be crying on the outside, but my heart is actually leaking. I urgently need Jesus to send down some holy light to heal my spiritual trauma.” Shen Zhengning said in a subtly roguish tone, “Forget about Yuan Hang. Let's make a run for it.”

For someone as meticulous as him to back down for someone's sake... Although Zhuang Mingqi didn't need sympathy, he quite liked the feeling of being favored. He finally turned to face Shen Zhengning directly, lowering his gaze and smiling softly. Although the curve of his lips was still a bit forced, the gloom in his eyes had dispersed. “No.”

Shen Zhengning: “Hmm?”

Let it end here. Put a stop to this unpleasant, painful memory. No one would blame him for not being strong enough. He could escape back to his peaceful daily life to heal, using Shen Zhengning's pity as a sedative. After all, the murderer was already caught, the dead couldn't be brought back to life, and digging too deeply into the truth of the past didn't have much meaning. Just letting it all end would be enough.

“Zhengning, although I've had my share of bad luck, I've also been fortunate enough to meet people who protected me. What I've always lacked isn't luck, but courage.” Zhuang Mingqi turned the wheelchair around. “Ye Tongsheng was murdered under mysterious circumstances. His family gave up on pursuing the truth, abandoning him once again. If it weren't for you and Yuan Hang, he would have remained forever at the bottom of that river.”

As it turned out, Ye Tongsheng hadn't been wrong in his judgment of people. Shen Zhengning was indeed someone worth entrusting... although he still didn't understand why Ye Tongsheng had been so bold back then as to recruit him, someone who was on the verge of escaping that hell, as a helper.

—Perhaps it was just because he was the only one living on the third floor, and there was no other choice.

The situation back then and his current circumstances strangely overlapped. His entire life seemed to be spent passing through such crossroads.

“Now it's my turn to take that step,” he said. “At the very least, I must protect his good name.”

Shen Zhengning was silent for a moment, then suddenly raised a hand to cover his eyes. “Ah, such a dazzling light... It's too much, I feel like I'm going to be baked to a crisp.”

Zhuang Mingqi: “...Are you some kind of demon that you'd melt from a little baking? And why is Silver Jesus while I can only be an oven?!”

Shen Zhengning looked up at the ceiling. “Do you want some mille-feuille? We can pick some up on the way back later.”

Zhuang Mingqi: “Don't you dare change the subject!”

Yuan Hang watched the two return to the interrogation room with composed expressions. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but Zhuang Mingqi's complexion seemed a bit better than before. He cleared his throat. “Then let's continue from where we left off. Mr. Zhuang, when you set fire to the center, did you confirm that Zeng Yuancheng wasn't present?”

“We didn't specifically confirm it, but according to his usual routine, he generally wasn't at the center at night,” Zhuang Mingqi said. “I only found out Zeng Yuancheng had died after being called in for questioning by the police. However, their version was a bit different from yours. They told me that Zeng Yuancheng had failed to notice the fire in time because he was drunk, missed the window to escape, and ultimately died of smoke inhalation.”

Yuan Hang flipped open the case file in front of him. “Zeng Yuancheng's autopsy report shows that his blood alcohol concentration exceeded 200 milligrams per 100 milliliters. After questioning witnesses, the police also confirmed that he had attended a dinner party that night and taken a taxi to the center while intoxicated. However, the case file states that the cause of the fire at the center was a gas explosion, with no mention of arson. You were completely erased from this case... Do you know the specific reason why?”

Zhuang Mingqi's gaze swept lightly over the earphone in Yuan Hang's left ear, a hint of mockery in his tone. “I can tell you, but you... you all might not want to hear it. I'll give you a fair warning: if you can't accept it, don't turn around and accuse me of making things up.”

Yuan Hang silently made a 'please go on' gesture.

“Because the repercussions would have been too severe. All the patients handled by this center were minors, and who knows how many of them suffered abuse. Moreover, Zeng Yuancheng's adolescent psychological correction program was a key project of the Third Hospital. All his past papers, achievements, and honors were questionable. If the matter blew up, the entire medical system in Xingcheng would face a massive upheaval.”

“In any case, the center was burned to the ground, and all records and physical evidence were completely destroyed. Rather than stir up trouble and cause instability, it was better to just cover it up. Although some parents later tried to demand an explanation from the hospital, the man was dead, leaving no one to testify against, so it all eventually came to nothing.”

Yuan Hang's face turned green. Mindful of the superior listening in on his earpiece, he gave an awkward dry cough. “I-I see...”

“You don't need to feel uncomfortable, Officer Yuan.” Zhuang Mingqi said, making a rare, fair-minded remark. “Times were different then. The general climate back then can't be compared to now. If I didn't trust the police, I wouldn't be sitting here.”

“...Ah, right.” Yuan Hang once again glanced earnestly at Shen Zhengning and stammered, “Thank you for your cooperation.”

“Under the circumstances at the time, Ye Tongsheng's plan to completely destroy the center was the only way to save everyone. Anyone else in that position could not have guaranteed they would have done a more thorough job.” Shen Zhengning took over the conversation, speaking up. “They were a group of underage kids who, in a desperate situation, saved themselves, saved others, and saved countless people who would have come after them. To be honest, I don't have that kind of courage, and I certainly don't have the courage to criticize them. Because to be able to sit together with truly brave people is already an honor for us survivors.”

This was the real response that had been covered up by the 'oven' topic earlier. Zhuang Mingqi couldn't help but look at him sideways. In the earpiece, Dai Lin clicked his tongue. 'That silver tongue. Yuan Hang, look at how he wraps things up. You should learn from him.'

The atmosphere in the interrogation room was silently shifting in favor of the witness. Shen Zhengning spoke unhurriedly and incisively, “The murderer's so-called 'revenge' sounds quite convincing at first, but it doesn't hold up under scrutiny. First, Ye Tongsheng and the others were still minors when it happened. Second, the police didn't press charges, so Zeng Yuancheng's death could at most be considered an accident. Since the police case file doesn't record Ye Tongsheng and the others' act of arson, where did the murderer learn about what Ye Tongsheng did? And if he knew who his 'father's killer' was, how could he not know why his own father was so hated?”

“Twelve years have passed since the fire. I remember Zou Jinliang is thirty-three, right? He dared to make his move after stalking Ye Tongsheng for only two weeks. He was an adult at the time of the incident and had full capacity to act. If he was determined to get revenge, why didn't he act at any point during these twelve years?”

“Ultimately, whether Zou Jinliang murdered Ye Tongsheng for revenge is debatable. He's trying to paint himself as someone who endured humiliation and nursed a grievance for a long time, possibly to conceal his true motive.”