Chapter 63: Who is the Killer?

Zhang Xiaoxiao's eyes widened, and her mouth gaped open wide enough to fit an egg. Although she had harbored suspicions, she never in her wildest dreams imagined that the assistant, Xue Shan, was the one who had framed Wang Ziyang.

This meant that just a few days ago, the man had gotten into a car with Wang Ziyang, and had even driven Wang Ziyang home.

He had been drinking too.

Therefore, after the car accident occurred, unwilling to let his life be ruined, he chose to evade responsibility, dragging Wang Ziyang from the back seat into the driver's seat.

Then, after wiping away all traces of his presence, he hailed a taxi and fled the scene.

Wang Ziyang had been so drunk he was completely unconscious, and thus had not noticed a thing.

When he woke up, finding himself in the driver's seat, he subconsciously assumed that he was the one who had been driving and caused the accident.

He had then called the police, only to be charged with drunk driving by the authorities.

Immediately following the incident, Xue Shan had fled the scene, returned to the restaurant, and then taken a taxi back to his own home, pretending as though nothing had happened at all.

It was simply that his conscience had been too heavy, and he had failed to completely erase all the evidence, allowing lawyer Qi Qin to notice the irregularities and apply for a forensic examination inside the vehicle.

Now, faced with irrefutable evidence and realizing he had no choice but to confess, he had chosen to reveal the truth.

Prior to this, she had never considered this possibility at all, assuming it to be nothing more than an ordinary traffic accident.

Looking at the person across from her, she was utterly shocked.

This was also the first time she had ever confronted the darkness of human nature face-to-face.

"Was it really you?" she still could not help asking.

Ye Sangsang glanced at Zhang Xiaoxiao, sighed inwardly, and turned her gaze to Xue Shan, who was trembling all over. "Then why don't you recount the process of your crime? I assume, unlike Wang Ziyang, you haven't forgotten everything."

[Goodness gracious, no wonder Wang Ziyang said he couldn't remember anything.]

[The two of them were never on good terms to begin with; naturally, he would seize the opportunity to do this.]

[Wang Ziyang is so innocent.]

The live broadcast chat room was engaged in a heated discussion. Before this, they had all firmly believed that Wang Ziyang was the culprit.

After all, judging from the surface, the evidence was conclusive.

A hint of anger colored Xue Shan's expression. His entire body trembled even more violently, and his eyes were bloodshot.

"I hated him. Why was he able to become the vice president so smoothly and at such a young age, while I still had to claw my way up from the bottom? And on top of that, he was going to fire me." Xue Shan's tone was laced with pure resentment. He seemed utterly unable to comprehend why a crime he had meticulously plotted had been exposed so easily.

Ye Sangsang's gaze landed on the other man's clenched fists. His anger was genuine, yet she could not quite fathom what exactly he was angry about.

This outcome had long been anticipated, and yet it was she who had pushed everything to this very point.

Pulling back her thoughts, Ye Sangsang spoke again: "You should still give a detailed account of your crime. I will consider helping you surrender yourself voluntarily to the public security bureau so that you may receive the leniency granted to voluntary surrender."

[Sister Sang showing a rare streak of benevolence.]

[This guy is basically just jealous and resentful of his boss, right? So he seized the opportunity to frame him immediately.]

[Ordinary people would never think of such a trap.]

Zhang Xiaoxiao looked at Ye Sangsang in bewilderment. Clearly, they were the ones who had tracked down the culprit, so why on earth was she offering him the privilege of a voluntary surrender?

"You have such a kind heart," Xue Shan said with a meaningful smile.

A gentle smile bloomed in the depths of Ye Sangsang's eyes, looking remarkably soft. "Sometimes, it is best to spare others where possible and avoid driving matters to absolute extremes. That is my personal code of conduct."

Beside her, Zhang Xiaoxiao wore a look of doubt and puzzlement, seemingly finding this side of Qi Qin rather strange.

[Ah, the profile didn't mention that Qi Qin was a saintly savior figure, did it? He just had a slightly stronger sense of justice than most.]

[Sister Sang is definitely not that kind of person. I suspect her soul has been replaced.]

[To think any of you would actually believe that. I only know that whenever Sister Sang smiles like that, she is up to no good. I guarantee you, she is neither a saint nor a savior.]

"Lawyer Qi makes a very valid point. Come to think of it, I should thank Lawyer Qi," Xue Shan said with a trace of mockery.

Gazing at him, Ye Sangsang said sternly, "Looking out for the best interests of my client is my duty as a lawyer."

Xue Shan's expression turned murky and unfathomable, heavy with hidden thoughts. "Since Lawyer Qi wishes to know the process, I will briefly explain."

"Let me tell you everything I did."

In truth, Xue Shan had long been at odds with Wang Ziyang. Wang Ziyang was good at everything—he possessed good looks, a fine family background, and an exceptionally pleasant temperament and personality.

He had even effortlessly attained the position of company vice president without engaging in the vicious backstabbing typical of others.

Many people in the company maintained good relations with him; he practically seemed the epitome of perfection.

Compared to people like themselves, who came from ordinary backgrounds and whose abilities were at best mediocre, he appeared particularly detestable. Xue Shan truly disliked Wang Ziyang.

He simply refused to believe that such a person existed in this world, and had therefore always regarded it as a mere facade.

Especially after hearing that the other man intended to quietly dismiss him behind his back, the resentment and dissatisfaction in his heart had reached their peak.

He knew that the other man disliked his slickness and his willingness to use any means to achieve his ends.

"I was the one who wanted to drive. The moment I learned about the dismissal that day, my heart was filled with anger." He paused. "Coupled with the fact that I had been drinking, my mind was entirely consumed by that matter and overflowing with jealousy. I drove him into the back seat and even took the opportunity to slap him twice."

"I hadn't drunk all that much, and knowing that traffic police were unlikely to be out on patrol that day, I drove away smoothly."

"Before reaching the scene of the accident, the anger in my heart grew heavier and heavier. I drove right through without even looking at the traffic lights."

"I never imagined anyone would be there, until I felt the impact of hitting someone, which snapped me back to reality."

Ye Sangsang watched as his expression shifted from anger to fear, and finally settled into sheer terror. "You harbored malicious intentions right then and there?"

"No, I even got out of the car to take a look. Seeing that the girl wasn't dead and had only lost consciousness, I actually felt a sense of relief... All the strength in my body was drained away in that exact moment."

After checking on her, Xue Shan had returned to his seat and remained frozen for over a minute before regaining his senses.

Zhang Xiaoxiao frowned. "So, how did you come up with the idea to frame Wang Ziyang?"

"It was just his bad luck. While I was completely at a loss, he started muttering nonsense about work from the back," a mocking glint filled his eyes. "I looked at him collapsed in the back seat through the rearview mirror, and an idea struck me."

"I quickly wiped away any traces of myself in the driver's seat and dragged him over into it. I knew his alcohol tolerance was abysmal, and the amount of liquor he'd been forced to drink that night would render him completely devoid of consciousness. When he woke up, there was a very high probability he would assume he had experienced an alcohol-induced blackout."

"After doing all that, I quickly moved toward the other side—right past the green belt—successfully hailed a taxi, and took a cab from the restaurant back to my own home, thereby establishing an alibi for myself."

"I executed it flawlessly, and Wang Ziyang even confessed. It's just a pity that you were far too thorough, actually thinking of this angle and getting the police to investigate."

Having cast aside all caution, Xue Shan spilled out everything he had done.

Ye Sangsang looked at him; verifying these claims would not be difficult. For instance, they could check the footprints near the green belt once more, as well as the taxi driver from that night.

That would confirm the man was indeed in the car that evening.

She raised her gaze to stare fixedly at Xue Shan. "Your projected scenario did indeed play out, but you overlooked one thing: he was simply too drunk. How could someone with a low tolerance for alcohol possibly drive?"

"I lost fair and square. Having committed such deeds, I am now ready to accept the consequences," he smiled bitterly.

Zhang Xiaoxiao frowned. This man had committed such acts, and yet he still considered himself pitiful?

Wang Ziyang truly was perfect in every way, easily arousing envy, but that was hardly a justification for such behavior!

[Is he trying to win sympathy?]

[It's just pitiful for that young girl. Xue Shan looks like he has no money for compensation, and insurance companies don't cover accidents caused by drunk driving.]

[There's no way to balance both sides now; the most tragic victim is still Lin Xiu.]

Ye Sangsang remained silent, watching as Xue Shan picked up his phone, dialed 110, and informed the authorities that he wished to turn himself in.

The police arrived swiftly, and Xue Shan was taken away.

Ye Sangsang remained seated, sipping coffee for a long time. Had she not occasionally moved, those watching the live stream would have thought the video feed had frozen at that very moment.

Beside her, Zhang Xiaoxiao had no idea what Ye Sangsang was pondering. Clutching her documents, she sat quietly and waited for her to finish thinking.

After about half an hour, Ye Sangsang finally stood up and walked toward the door.

Zhang Xiaoxiao had been lost in thought, but seeing Ye Sangsang rise, she hurriedly stood up and followed.

"Where are we going, Lawyer Qi!" she plucked up the courage to ask.

Ye Sangsang turned her head to look at her. "Notify the client's parents to prepare to pick him up from the detention center."

"Ah! Okay... right, right," she hastily grabbed her phone to look up numbers and make the calls.

Listening to the emotional and grateful words from the other end of the line, Zhang Xiaoxiao's face burned with a sense of undeserved guilt, for she hadn't actually done anything.

The handling officers still needed to verify the details, cross-examine the specifics, and conduct a scene reenactment to definitively prove that the assistant Xue Shan was the perpetrator before they could release Wang Ziyang from the detention center.

Ye Sangsang chose not to skip ahead in the timeline; instead, following Zhang Xiaoxiao's phone calls, she chose to follow the police's lead and observe from the sidelines.

Evidence outside the vehicle, such as tire tracks and the approximate time of the accident, had all been authenticated.

Now that new clues had emerged, the green belt situated some seven or eight meters away from the accident scene needed to be thoroughly combed through once more.

The vicinity featured a newly constructed road with six lanes in both directions, providing a shorter route to the residential villa area than before, and it was a stretch of road virtually unpatrolled by traffic police.

Traffic was not sparse during the day, and cars could be encountered from time to time.

At night, however, it was considerably more desolate, meaning the suspect had indeed been rather fortunate to be able to cross the green belt and hail a cab shortly thereafter.

Given that several days had passed, fingerprints might be difficult to collect, but footprints and any soil tracked onto the suspect might still yield testable results.

The police acted with remarkable efficiency, quickly recovering footprints and obtaining the testimony of the taxi driver from that night.

The driver hadn't washed his car, and the mud Xue Shan had smeared in the corner could still be detected.

However, evidence of this nature alone was still insufficient to definitively prove who was driving at the time. One could not simply assume Xue Shan was guilty just because he confessed; what if he retracted his statement in court? In that case, everything would have to start over.

Therefore, additional corroborating evidence was required.

Yet at this moment, Ye Sangsang, having received these updates, took no further action.

It seemed that having reached this point, even she was unable to unearth any further clues.

Zhang Xiaoxiao grew somewhat anxious, as they were now merely a hair's breadth away from the finish line.

Perhaps Heaven had not completely closed all doors for Wang Ziyang, for the police soon visited and interviewed an eyewitness who stated that they had seen the two men getting into the car.

According to the eyewitness, the person driving the vehicle was precisely Xue Shan.

Coupled with Xue Shan's on-the-spot confession, the matter was now set in stone.

Both human witnesses and physical evidence were fully accounted for.