Chapter 681 — The Poisoning Exposed
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Once the source of the poison was found, the police sent officers to investigate the school cafeteria. There was no mystery to it — they quickly narrowed the suspects down to Zhong Yongliang and Gao Xiaofu, who had come to the cafeteria early that noon.
According to the cafeteria's head chef, only Zhong Yongliang and Gao Xiaofu had ever been alone with the dishes in the kitchen. No one else had come near them.
And once the chef was ruled out as a possible poisoner, the police fixed their sights on Zhong Yongliang and Gao Xiaofu.
Zhong Yongliang hadn't expected the police to react so fast either. Gao Xiaofu's call had barely ended before the police came knocking.
"Hello, I'm Liu Wangli, captain of the First Squad of the Criminal Investigation Division, Songshan City Police Bureau. Here's my identification." Liu Wangli found his way there quickly enough; the man who received him was Zhong Yongliang's father, Zhong Fabai.
"Hello, Officer Liu. You've finally come — thank goodness!" Zhong Fabai hurriedly clasped Liu Wangli's hand with great warmth, which left Liu Wangli somewhat taken aback. He couldn't fathom why Zhong Fabai should be so cordial; he was there to arrest the man's son, after all.
"Mr. Zhong, are you actually eager for me to be here?" Liu Wangli asked, rather puzzled.
"I am indeed. My son Pinliang — ever since that organ-harvesting ring took one of his kidneys, he's been in a daze, full of self-doubt. I wanted to go to the police, but he wouldn't hear of it for anything; he was afraid the criminals would come back for revenge. I've been heartsick for my boy." Zhong Fabai sighed, his voice tinged with pity. "Since you've come to our door, Officer, please do talk some sense into Pinliang — persuade him to cooperate with you and bring those criminals to justice!"
"What?" The words hit Liu Wangli like a thunderbolt, and he stood there speechless. He had never imagined that Zhong Yongliang was himself a victim of the kidney-harvesting syndicate. Clearly, the matter was far more tangled than he had assumed. Was there something else going on beneath the surface?
He resolved to speak with Zhong Yongliang himself before drawing any conclusions, and so he asked, "I see. Where is Zhong Yongliang right now?"
"He's in the ward right inside! He told me that at school he's suffered nothing but cold stares and jeers — his classmates say he's missing a kidney, that he's no longer a real man, that he's a eunuch!" Zhong Fabai's voice caught, and he sighed again. "They even mock him by saying he sold his own kidney just to buy an ID. Officer Liu, tell me — with our family's financial standing, would we ever need to sell a kidney? I, Zhong Fabai, may not be wealthy, but I am at least the manager of an entertainment venue! Can't I afford a simple ID?"
"..." These were things Liu Wangli had never anticipated. Hearing Zhong Fabai out, he found himself growing sympathetic toward Zhong Yongliang. Yet how was it that Zhong Yongliang had gone off to school earlier in the day only to poison someone, and then turned up back at the hospital as a patient? A puzzled look crossed his face. "Did Zhong Yongliang actually go to school today? According to our investigation, he should have been at school — so why is he hospitalized?"