Chapter 158: Motive for the Murder
Under the bright lights, Chen Mo’s straight back appeared somewhat slight, yet it exuded a rock-like resilience.
Watching him leave, Li Gang and Li Fengzhi remained where they were, unable to calm their racing minds.
The surveillance footage of Li Tie’s savage attack and Chen Mo’s calm, decisive counterattack was seared into their minds like a brand.
They never would have imagined that the quiet, honest brother they once knew was actually a terrifying criminal capable of murder.
The cold light of the police station illuminated the devastated expressions on Li Gang and Li Fengzhi’s faces.
Li Fengzhi’s heart sank, especially when she recalled Li Tie’s crazed eyes in the video and Chen Mo’s final, cryptic words.
She even felt a shameful sense of relief—relief that Chen Mo’s appearance had drawn out the evil in Li Tie’s heart, directing it at him instead of her own daughter.
The shame was for her own thoughts. She was actually relieved that the disaster had been diverted to someone else, even though a life had been on the line.
If Chen Mo had been just an ordinary high school student, without the skills he displayed in the video, he would be dead right now.
Naturally, Li Fengzhi felt incredibly guilty toward Chen Mo.
When Liu Xin saw the couple arrive, he took them to see Li Tie.
Li Tie, who had been stubbornly defiant, instantly fell silent upon seeing them.
He lowered his head, unable to meet her gaze, especially when he saw the heartbroken look in Li Fengzhi’s eyes.
Things were straightforward after that. With his psychological defenses shattered and the surveillance footage capturing everything clearly, Li Tie confessed everything.
But when it came to the most crucial part, he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
His motive for the attack.
Why he wanted to kill a high school student who had nothing to do with him.
No matter how the police questioned him, they couldn’t get him to talk about it.
But as a veteran officer, Liu Xin already had a good idea of what was happening.
He had questioned the couple, Li Gang and Li Fengzhi, after they arrived at the station to get some background information.
But what he learned was something Liu Xin had not expected.
’This couple actually let their high school-aged daughter live in a strange boy’s house?’
Liu Xin had a daughter himself, and he simply couldn’t imagine such a scenario.
’If it were me, I would never allow it.’
He then suddenly recalled what Chen Mo had said earlier.
He’d said the surveillance footage involved privacy and needed to be edited. Hearing that, it was hard for Liu Xin’s mind not to jump to certain conclusions.
However, Chen Mo and Su Yuqing had both reached the age of consent. If her own parents didn’t mind, he had no right to interfere.
So he hadn’t said anything more about it.
But with this new information, Liu Xin began to piece together a possible motive for Li Tie’s attack.
After incorporating his new theory into the interrogation, Liu Xin finally broke Li Tie, who confessed the real reason.
It turned out he had always harbored feelings for Li Fengzhi.
After she became his sister-in-law, his feelings for her had only grown stronger, making his life an agony.
After all, when Li Fengzhi had been with another man, he could at least fantasize about her.
But now that she was his brother’s wife, he felt that continuing to think those thoughts would make him worse than an animal.
But Su Yuqing was different. She was only Li Gang’s adopted daughter. Though he was nominally her uncle, they shared no blood relation.
Su Yuqing was her own person.
He felt that if he transferred his affections to Su Yuqing, there would be no ethical dilemma.
However, because of their age difference and the fact that she was still young, he didn’t dare reveal his feelings. He planned to wait until she graduated from high school and was out in the world, then he would slowly try to get close to her and start a relationship.
He was particularly confident because, in his interactions with Su Yuqing, he could clearly sense that she liked him.
This gave him immense satisfaction and self-assurance.
What he didn’t know was that Su Yuqing’s fondness for him was simply the affection one has for an elder.
As an elder, he often looked after Su Yuqing and Li Mingyu. For a girl like Su Yuqing, who had been starved for affection as a child, she was naturally grateful for his care and liked him for it.
But this was merely the fondness a junior has for a senior.
It had nothing to do with romantic love.
But Li Tie had twisted this affection, projecting it into a romantic fantasy.
He believed that Su Yuqing was just too young, and like him, didn’t dare to reveal her true feelings.
He thought that once she was old enough, they could be together openly and legitimately.
He had been clinging to this sick fantasy all along.
And he would have been content to wait.
He would wait until the beautiful fruit he longed for had ripened.
But now, before the fruit was even ripe, someone else had come to pick it. That was something he absolutely could not tolerate.
The gaze that Chen Mo and Su Yuqing had felt on them when they left the house had belonged to Li Tie.
At the time, however, Li Tie didn’t realize that Su Yuqing was moving out for good.
He had only been confused, wondering where Su Yuqing was going.
He had tried asking Li Gang about it at the hospital, but the reply he got was, "We parents don’t always know what our kids are up to. They aren’t like we were; they have minds of their own."
Li Tie didn’t press the matter after hearing Li Gang’s response.
He just assumed it was probably some school-organized event.
He never would have imagined that Su Yuqing had actually moved into someone else’s house.
But the previous night at the hospital, after Li Fengzhi ran into Chen Mo, she had personally mentioned that Yuqing was staying at his home.
This instantly caused Li Tie to connect it to what he had seen that day, and he finally understood what it meant that Su Yuqing had left with a suitcase alongside Chen Mo.
Then, to top it all off, Chen Mo had casually mentioned Su Yuqing taking care of him.
That was what directly ignited the flames of jealousy in Li Tie’s heart!
He could no longer contain his murderous intent at that moment.
That was also when Chen Mo noticed something was wrong with the look in his eyes.
But Chen Mo had been sick and groggy that day; how could he have been expected to pay attention to such a detail?
After seeing the doctor, he went home, took his medicine, and fell asleep, forgetting all about it.
After hearing the motive, Liu Xin nodded in satisfaction.
’Li Tie’s logic and criminal motive are sound.’
Everything stemmed from his twisted, obsessive love.
The guy couldn’t have the mother, so he transferred his affections to Su Yuqing, who bore some resemblance to her.
Su Yuqing’s biological parents were both very attractive, but each had their flaws. Su Yuqing, however, had inherited only the best of their features.
As a result, anyone who might have been attracted to her parents would find those same qualities magnified in her.
Li Fengzhi, for example, often projected her hatred for Su Chengfeng onto Su Yuqing, because the girl was a perfect reflection of the very features she had always found most attractive in the father.
Likewise, Li Tie’s twisted transference of affection stemmed from Su Yuqing possessing the same desirable features as Li Fengzhi.