Chapter 243：Strawberry

Zhou Yun Sheng didn't let Xue Yan dress his wound, anyway, forensic would have to open up the bandage to take photos for evidence, so it was a waste of effort. Moreover, the more pitiful he looked, the more the photos could win the judge's sympathy in court. The police found Xue Jing Yi unconscious in the garage and thought the Xue Zi Xuan at her side was the murderer. They immediately handcuffed him, and had the medical personnel carry Xue Jing Yi out, speaking softly in comfort. When they walked out Xue house's main entrance and found another 'Xue Jing Yi' covered in blood, their eyeballs almost popped out.

"Police officers, she's the murderer, she wanted to kill me." Zhou Yun Sheng was hiding in Xue Yan's embrace, pointing to Xue Jing Yi on the stretcher.

The detectives in charge of the case found that it wasn't going to be so simple. They sent the wounded to the hospital for treatment first, and after making sure their conditions were stable, they separated and interrogated them. Who were the perpetrators who were the victims, they were still confused, but of course, they most wanted to know why the famous child piano prodigy suddenly had a twin brother. There must be tons of layers to this story.

Xue Rui and Xue Li Dani received a phone call while still at the banquet, because the police didn't know the whole story, they were very vague, only asking them to quickly come to the police station. At the police station, they learned that one twin wanted to dig out the other's heart, and immediately guessed the situation. If they weren't holding each other up, they would've both fainted.

Because Zhou Yun Sheng's performances were too high profile, he could currently be considered the most popular person in the country, so the police attached great importance to this case. And because it involved the 10th National Summit's performance, even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs got involved, repeatedly urging for this case to be quickly solved. Even worse, the paparazzi that squatted around Longquan Mountain daily to try and get shots of the famous child piano prodigy had reacted instantly, posting the news all over the Internet.

"Child piano prodigy Xue Jing Yi has been arrested by the police as a murder suspect!"

"Xue Jing Yi is suspected of being involved in a murder case, and is now being investigated by the police."

"Is she the victim or the murderer, was it a grudge between the rich and powerful, or an emotional dispute? The famous child piano prodigy Xue Jing Yi has been suspected of sinking into bloody madness."

Various sensational headlines grabbed the public's attention. Zhou Yun Sheng had attracted attention from hundreds of millions of people worldwide, and most of them were highly educated socialites and music industry heavyweights who were all concerned about this matter. It was too late for the police to suppress the news, the case was too widespread, so the only thing they could do was speed up the investigation and give the anxious public a reasonable explanation. The police and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff all broke out in cold sweat, desperately wishing for Xue Jing Yi to not be involved in any scandals.

Now, Xue Jing Yi was definitely the most famous figure in China, it wasn't exaggerated to say that she was the flag that represented the country's image, if this flag fell, it would certainly receive worldwide attention. Plus China was hosting the 10th National Summit where Xue Jing Yi was scheduled to perform, this matter would definitely impact China's international image.

If national leadership wasn't currently undergoing a change, this kind of thing could be quietly erased from above, but the new leadership attached great importance to public opinion, not daring to deceive the people under them. The investigation was too public, so they had to bite the bullet and investigate it thoroughly, or the masses would make a fuss, and everyone's official cap would be blown off.

While handling the case, the police officers' moods were on a roller coaster, completely chaotic. Because Xue Jing Yi had received too much stimulus, she voluntarily told them her plans to kill Huang Yi for his heart in full detail, but she also repeatedly insisted that she was the real piano prodigy. Her expression twisted and crazy, her hands still stained with blood, she tapped the interrogation room's table like she was playing a piano, her head swaying in intoxication. Afterwards, she asked the investigator, "Isn't my 'My Empire' excellent? It's certainly not inferior to Huang Yi and Ivanov's."

The detective's heart chilled, realizing that this piano prodigy had been ruined. In the end, what kind of stimulus did she receive to drive her to murder? Who was that boy? Why did he refer to himself as Xue Jing Yi when he called the police? Why did he look identical to Xue Jing Yi? What was their relationship?

The detective responsible for questioning Xue Jing Yi was confused and uneasy, on the other hand, the detective responsible for questioning Zhou Yun Sheng was full of righteous indignation, and deep relief. This boy was the real piano prodigy, and he was purely innocent. He was brought to Longquan Mountain by Xue family and placed under house arrest, but Xue Jing Yi discovered his extraordinary musical talent and wanted to exploit him, she had him substitute for her in the competition, and after it ended, when he was no longer useful, she tried to dig out his heart.

The boy still couldn't accept the reality of it, his face was frightened and pale, constantly trembling, and if someone got too close to him, he would fearfully escape and curl up into a ball, showing what kind of life he lived in Xue house. They didn't see him as a human, not only did they plan to dig out his heart, they thoroughly used him in the meantime. He thought he was helping his twin sister fulfill her last wish, so he'd handed over all the glory and achievements he'd achieved. Little did he know, the family he treated so sincerely were all evil spirits, they were outwardly gentle and loving to him, but secretly, they planned to drain his life, in every sense of the word.

The butler was still in a coma, so he couldn't be interrogated, but Xue Zi Xuan was unexpectedly very cooperative, explaining the matter clearly in its entirety. The investigators got three confessions, spread them out on the table and gave them a comprehensive look over, immediately, the boy's experience gripped their hearts. A naive boy carted from a remote village to this bustling metropolis, did he embrace the future with hope filled eyes? But it was just a murderous trap, the familial love he longed for had never existed.

In the interrogation room, Zhou Yun Sheng was hugging both his knees and shrinking into his chair, his cheeks, hands, coat and jeans all stained with blood, his complexion deathly pale, looking very pitiful. He mumbled, frightened, "I killed someone, I killed Fu Bo, sorry, I-I didn't mean to." As he talked, he buried his head deeper into his knees and cried.

The police had already extracted enough evidence from the garage, including the surveillance video, so they knew the whole story of what went on in the garage. Seeing the boy so frightened and self-blaming, they were both distressed for his naive kindness, and indignant at Xue family's cold-blooded ruthlessness.

"Don't cry, Fu Bo is not dead, his situation is no longer critical, and he will probably wake up tonight. And even if he did die, you are not a murderer, you were just defending yourself. Don't feel scared, no one here will hurt you." A female police officer attempted to pat the boy's back, but seeing him escape in fright, she almost broke out in tears. God damn that Xue Jing Yi, such a pitiful child, how could she try to kill him? He was her brother, willing to give up anything for her, does she even have a heart?

Yes, she didn't have a heart. How else could she dig out someone else's heart just so she could live? She was not a human, she was a beast.

The police officers took turns to comfort the boy without success, after investigating, they found out that he had no living relatives and felt even more pity for him, each scraping together some money to help him find a place to live. Xue Rui and Xue Li Dani were being detained and interrogated, but he couldn't go back to that devil den, it would be too psychologically disturbing.

Zhou Yun Sheng's ears reddened when he received the police officers' donations, one uncle even volunteered to take him home and look after him.

"Thank you for looking after Xiao Yi, you can rest assured, I will take care of him." Xue Yan pushed his wheelchair over. He had been patiently waiting in the sitting room, from 9 am to 6 pm, not leaving or moving.

"Mr. Xue, you are his…?" The police chief was hesitant. He was now very vigilant of anyone surnamed Xue.

"Uncle." Zhou Yun Sheng walked over to stand at his side, explaining to the crowd, "He is my uncle, and has always taken very good care of me. I want to go back with my uncle, thank you for your kindness." He gave the donations back, and looked at the other man with eyes full of attachment.

The police officers were helpless, and had no choice but to send him off, telling him to call them for help if something happened.

"Finally done, let's go back and get some sleep." Getting into the car, Zhou Yun Sheng sunk into his seat and sighed.

"Does the wound still hurt? Let me see." Xue Yan unbuttoned his shirt and looked at his gauze wrapped chest, very clean and neat, and his tight frown finally loosened.

"I doesn't hurt. It'll scab over in a few days and it won't even leave a scar. I want to sue Xue Jia for premeditated murder, help me contact the best lawyer in the country."

"Good, leave the rest to me, you just have to relax." Xue Yan pulled him onto his lap, and lovingly kissed his pale lips.

———–

Because society was highly concerned about this case, the police handled the case very quickly, and the evidence and confessions were presented to the higher ups that evening, the higher ups then reported it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The murderer was indeed Xue Jing Yi, but it was not the Xue Jing Yi they were looking for. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs breathed a sigh of relief and immediately let the police hold a press conference to clarify the truth. The boy had amazing musical talent, was handsome, good natured, and his life experience was very rough, all this together made his life seem a bit legendary. After the case was exposed, his good reputation would not only be unaffected, the public would feel more pity and love for him.

He only replaced Xue Jing Yi and participated in the competition because Xue Jing Yi had tricked him, saying it was to complete her last wish. If it was someone else, this replacement would be a stain on their reputation, but he'd been held under house arrest with no personal freedom, he had no choice but to follow Xue Jing Yi's instructions. Plus his motive was virtuous, no one could find fault.

So there was no need to hide this matter, on the contrary, it was better to let the public understand the truth as soon as possible, so the sensational rumors could stop.